The Blood of Olympus

Chapter 11: Hazel

        Hey everyone, how's it going? I'm doing ok, except for math finals in a week :(

        Anyways, enjoy the latest addition to this fanfiction! (ha ha, that sort of rhymes doesn't it? addition/fanfiction...no?...ok then...)

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        Chapter 11: Hazel

        Normally, Hazel was never afraid of the dark. But also normally, the dark did not include a pair of glowing red eyes, and leathery hands that seemed to be inching towards her throat. As she picked her way down the steep spiral staircase, the darkness enveloping her, she could feel Piper wedged behind her, and Frank right in front. Unfortunately, she could also feel the hag right next to her.

        Finally, after what felt like hours  - which hopefully it wasn't because then Annabeth would be dead - they emerged into a small cavern. It was about ten feet across, but the amount of gold, silver, and precious gems in it more than made up for the small area. 

        "Geez," Piper muttered, "Adonis is filthy rich,"

        "No kidding," Frank said, his eyes as wide as dinner plates, "this must be enough money to buy half the country!"

        The old hag snorted, "You demigods can never look past your own noses. Lord Adonis collects millions of dollars in gold and jewels, and then contributes it to various wildlife conservation societies around the world,"

        "Of course," Hazel muttered, "naturally the spirit of death is an environmentalist,"

        The moment the words left her mouth, a cold wind whooshed through the chamber, and the old hag grinned, 

        "He is here. Now you insufferable demigods will learn to hold your tongues! You will regret the day you attempted to infiltrate the sacred shrine of Adonis!" And she melted into the shadows.

        Piper coughed, "Melodramatic much? She kind of reminds me of - " but a voice interrupted her, and Hazel shivered involuntarily. It was a rich, deep, beautiful voice that sent tingles to the very tips of her fingers,

       "War. It kills, it tears, it rips apart at the very fabric of humanity, and feeds on lives. It is an ugly thing, and I cannot abide by ugliness," the voice resonated around them, echoing through the small shrine so that Hazel could not pinpoint exactly where it was coming from.

        "You find it surprising that I am, as you so bluntly put it, an environmentalist? Of course, you are a child of death. I do not mind you quite so much as the son of war, but demigods of your kind tend to be quite...narrow minded,"

        "You're a spirit of death as well," Hazel managed to whisper. That voice...it felt like it was surrounding her, smothering her, and just those words took a tremendous effort,

        "Wrong again, daughter of Pluto," Adonis said, and Hazel could detect a hint of smugness in hi voice, "true I represent death, but I also represent life, beauty, and rebirth. In short, I stand for the side of death that is beautiful. The destruction that gives way to peace. The flower that can still bloom in a barren wasteland. Therefore, is it so strange that I seek to preserve what few parts of the Earth are still beautiful and untouched?"

        Piper looked over at Hazel, and her expression said clearly, we don't have time for this. Hazel glanced at her watch and cursed; there were only twenty minutes left until Annabeth was officially in Pluto's custody. But Adonis, their only hope, was on a roll,