End of the Line

#9 - A Painful Reunion

Chapter 9 - A Painful Reunion
published: Wednesday, 23 January 2019

Annabeth held her dagger out to light up her path. The glow was hardly anything, but it was all she had. She regretted not taking Leo with her. Not only was he a human torch, he would also have calmed her down with his terrible jokes.

Her heart was racing a mile a minute from fear, but also in anticipation at the idea of seeing Percy again.

She didn't know whether to be angry at him, or to be relieved. To hug him or to throw him off the highest castle tower. She really wanted to do the second.

Annabeth ignored her hammering heartbeats. She chided herself for being so ditzy. This was a rescue mission. She couldn't afford to be distracted by anything.

This was the third of three towers she had to search. If she was going to find Piper or Percy, it was going to be here.

The staircase leading up to the tower was nearby, but Annabeth had to walk along an entire corridor to get to it.

Glass cabinets lined the walls, displaying items that nearly propelled her stomach out of her mouth.

There were limbs hacked off from their owners – still bloody – displayed like prizes. It was disgusting.

She tried not to look at the eyeballs as she walked briskly past them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth suddenly saw something that glinted in the light of her dagger.

She halted in her tracks.

It was Riptide.

She would recognise that pen anywhere. It had been Percy's sword since they were 12, and always reappeared in his pocket. They must've taken it off of him when he was kidnapped.

Just looking at it brought back a rush of painful memories that Annabeth forced out of her mind. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to slow down her pounding heart.

After a few moments, Annabeth took in another shaky breath. She had to stop going off like an alarm every time she thought about Percy, but she couldn't help it.

He'd betrayed her; not just broken her heart, but shattered it into a million pieces.

Stop, Annabeth told herself. You're an independent, intelligent woman, and you don't need him.

She stared at Riptide as she took another deep breath. It was shrouded in some sort of black mist, probably to keep it from returning to Percy.

In a split second of relapse against her better judgement, Annabeth smashed her dagger through the glass cabinet. The shatter echoed around the hallway.

As soon as she'd done it, Annabeth silently chided herself for her reckless actions.

"What was that?" a voice came from another room further down. Footsteps started to increase in volume.

Annabeth froze. She quickly grabbed Riptide and ducked behind a wooden cabinet, waiting with bated breath.

Someone walked out into the corridor.

"Maybe it was the kitchens, Master," someone said. Their voice sounded male, like a regular human's.

"Maybe," a deeper voice mused.

Annabeth felt her heart speed up once again.

Tartarus.

She would've recognised his voice anywhere. She'd heard it in the hardest quest of her life, and frequently in her nightmares.