there must be more than this provincial life.
[ percy jackson x original character ]
[ book three in the belle series ]
[ the mark of athena, the house of hades, & the blood of olympus ]
[ bonus: the lost hero, the hidden oracle, the ship of the dea...
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𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖝-𝖘𝖊𝖕𝖙: KELLI THE EMPOUSA RETURNS
★ 。／｜＼。★
WHEN THEY REACHED the ledge, Belle started to believe that her plan wasn't a very good idea. She was sure that they had just signed the warrants for their deaths, because the way to get down plus what was at the bottom was scarier than anything Belle had ever seen — including the Labyrinth.
The cliff dropped down more than eighty feet, and waiting at the bottom was a river of fire cutting a path through a jagged crevasse made of obsidian. Horrible shadows were casted on the faces of the cliffs from the illumination of the fire. Even from so high up, the heat from the river was intense. Belle was still chilled down to her bones from the River Cocytus, but now her face felt raw and red with sunburn. Each breath she took required more effort. The cuts she got on her hands and arms were bleeding more rather than less. Even if her and Percy could make it down to the River of Fire — which she doubted they could — her plan seemed incredibly insane.
"Uh . . ." Percy trailed off. He examined the cliff before pointing to a tiny fissure running diagonally from the edge all the way to the bottom. "How about we try that ledge there? We might be able to climb down."
At least he didn't say that they would be crazy to try. Instead, he managed to sound hopeful about it. Belle was grateful for his optimism even though she was worried she was leading him to his doom. Not that it mattered, anyways. If they stayed in Tartarus any longer they were going to die. Blisters had started to form on their arms from being exposed to the toxic air. The whole entire environment wasn't healthy in any way shape or form and was only trying to kill them faster.
Belle was forced to let go of Percy's hand — even though she didn't want to — as they started to go down the cliff with Percy in the lead. The ledge was barely wide enough for a toehold. Their hands clawed for any crack in the glassy rock to better stabilize themselves. Belle had attempted to wrap her bloody palms with the sleeves of her t-shirt, but her fingers were still slippery with blood and were weak.
Just a few steps below her, Percy grunted as he tried to reach for another handhold. "So, this fire river . . . what's it called?"
"The Phlegethon," Belle answered. "Now quiet. Concentrate on going down."
"The Phlegethon?" Percy repeated. He shinnied a little further along the ledge. They had made it roughly a third of the way down, but that was still high enough for them to die if they fell. "Honestly, that sounds like a marathon for hawking spitballs."
