FIC: The Curse of Lethe, chpt 7

[shiiki]

Title: The Curse of Lethe
Author: shiiki
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Thalia Grace/Reyna Ramírez-Arellano + a full cast of supporting characters
Fandom: Percy Jackson

Summary: Percy and Annabeth intended to retire and spend a quiet four years at college in New Rome. However, old enemies have other ideas, and one very determined attack leaves Percy poisoned and fighting for his life and Annabeth facing the difficult decision of giving him the only cure: water from the Lethe...and dealing with the heartbreaking side-effects. There is hope, though, but will Percy, Annabeth, and their friends have the courage to brave Tartarus again to retrieve Percy's memories from the edge of Chaos?

In this chapter
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Will Solace, Nico di Angelo, OCs, Thalia Grace, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque
Word Count: 6,830

Chapter Summary: Percy gets a persistent back pain that becomes something much more sinister.

Notes: I took a bunch of liberties dissecting the Greek and Roman mythologies in the uni lecture. There’s all sorts of versions of old beliefs that you can find on the Internet, but I think the lack of a Roman counterpart for Chaos is telling in itself; also I chose to give the different interpretation of Tartarus as a prison for sinners (as opposed to the Fields of Punishment in Riordan-verse) to the Romans although there are grounds that the Greeks alluded to it as such as well. Whew, trying to keep this stuff consistent is a challenge indeed!

preciouschildrenofolympus’s illustration of the kiss scene can be found here.

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VII
PERCY

The heat of Annabeth's lips seared against his.

Percy's senses narrowed to that one point where they connected: salt and softness, fire and friction. Her mouth moved against his and he responded, inviting in every bit of her feverish want and unbridled lust.

An entire ocean roared in his ears, drowning out the rest of the world. Hands, fervent and desperate, reached up to cup his face. A million volts electrified his skin where her fingers met his cheeks. His blood pulsed hot, burning through his veins like an insatiable flame.

Every square inch of his body was on fire, but he would gladly throw himself on this pyre.

Annabeth's hands found their way down his arms, drifted across his sides. Her fingers brushed the small of his back, exposed by his rumpled t-shirt.

A different jolt struck him, this one more like the stab of a lightning bolt than the electrifying thrill that had been spreading from within. Tiny fingers crept up the inside of his spine, as if each vertebra was a handhold for an invisible climber making their way up the curve of his backbone.

A faint hiss echoed in the back of his head: Mine!

The voice was Annabeth's, and not Annabeth's at the same time.

He grabbed Annabeth's shoulders and forced himself up, away from the enticement of her flushed face and bewitching lips.

His words came out in a harsh pant: 'What the hell are you doing?'

Annabeth's hands flew to her parted, kiss-swollen lips. 'I-I'm sorry! I didn't-' Her eyes made perfect round O's, their greys dark with desire, her pupils the mesmerising eye of a storm.

Percy wanted to pull her back to him and lose himself in them.

He heard the echo of Bella's last laugh and the ghost of a firm stab in the back.

How could he have been so stupid?

He got to his feet and backed away from Annabeth.

'That drink.' He was breathing hard. 'It wasn't supposed to help me, was it? You planned this.'

Annabeth scrambled to her feet. 'No, I swear-Percy-Perseus-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-'

'What have you done to me?' he demanded.

Guilt was stamped plainly across her face. Her mouth moved soundlessly, just as it had that first day, when he'd challenged her version of events.

And just as he had then, Percy turned and walked away from her.

OoOoO

Percy leaned against the outside of the sword-fighting arena and closed his eyes. The cool, brick wall was a relief for his back, which was still throbbing with an insistent, clawing pain.

'You okay?'

He opened his eyes. Standing in front of him were Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. Under the torches that lit the streets, casting long shadows across their faces, there was no longer such an obvious contrast between them.

Percy shrugged. He had a vague impression that the pair had been in the sword-fighting arena just now and had witnessed the whole embarrassing scene between him and Annabeth. He wasn't sure he wanted to get into it with them.

'We tried,' Nico said. His voice sounded inexplicably defensive. What had Percy done to him?

'What are you talking about?'

'The drink you were accusing Annabeth about. It was supposed to help.'

Anger flared back up inside him. 'So what, you're here to defend her?'

Will elbowed Nico and gave him a look like, why don't I do the talking here? Nico shut his mouth and glowered at Percy.

'All I know,' Percy said, turning pointedly to address Will, 'is that I was fine, and then I drank that-that-potion or whatever, and then she-and now-'

'Well,' said Will cautiously, like he was trying not to startle a scared animal, 'we don't know if the potion had side effects. I mean, it was an experiment, right?'

Percy frowned. 'What kind of side effects are you talking about?'

Will shrugged. 'I won't know until I have a look.' He held his hand out to Percy. 'Do you mind?'

Confused, Percy took Will's hand. The blond boy concentrated for a second, then said, 'Your back's giving you trouble, isn't it?'

'Yeah-how did you know?'

'Healing magic. Just one of my gifts from my dad.' Will pressed his thumb against Percy's pulse point and murmured something that was almost musical. The throbbing in Percy's back reduced to a dull ache. 'Is that better?'

Percy nodded. 'That's amazing. Thanks.'

'No problem,' Will said. He dropped Percy's hand. 'It's just a temporary fix, though. Something's definitely going on in your system. And it's not the potion.'

Nico's head shot up. His dark eyes narrowed and fixed on Percy like he was trying to x-ray him.

Percy looked away. The kid was a bit creepy. 'Great. Like I didn't have enough problems.'

'I know it sucks,' Will said. 'But we haven't given up on trying to help you, okay?'

He didn't really have any reason to trust Will any more than the other demigods he'd met, but something about the kid's calm confidence reassured him. Percy rubbed at his back, then wished he hadn't, because it made the dull, achy spot spread.

'Yeah, okay,' he said at last.

'Good man.' Will rummaged in his pockets and came up with what looked like a chocolate bar made of many little squares-if chocolate was the colour of warm honey, that was. 'Take some of this with you. But don't take it unless the pain gets really bad.'

'What is it?'

'Ambrosia-the food of the gods. It's got healing properties for demigods, but if you eat too much, it'll burn your insides to ashes. You should have some on hand for emergencies, though.'

Percy hesitated. The cure sounded way worse than the problem. He preferred his insides un-immolated, thank you very much.

Will pressed the ambrosia bar into his hand. 'You'll thank me later,' he said. He gave Percy a wink that made Nico raise his eyebrows. Then the boys turned and headed back into the arena.

OoOoO

Maybe it was cowardly of him, but after the disastrous sword-fighting lesson, Percy avoided Annabeth as much as he could. It wasn't easy since they were still living in the same apartment, but he'd gotten a good sense of the schedule she kept by now.

It wasn't that he still believed she'd drugged him. His mind had immediately connected the shocking intensity of their kiss and the way it had drawn him in with Bella's soul-sucking one, but after he had some time to think about it, he realised one big difference.

That kiss had been all give-Bella drawing from him everything she wanted. This kiss…well, it made him imagine Bella's perspective: drinking from a deep font of intoxicating passion.

He had definitely taken from Annabeth as much as he'd given.

And he probably owed her an apology for jumping to conclusions.

But if he talked to her, they would have to discuss the kiss. Why she'd kissed him.

Why, if it wasn't thanks to some spell or potion, he'd kissed her back.

And why it had felt so damn good.

He couldn't even remember her. How was he supposed to work out what feelings he might or might not have had for her? What did you even say about something like that?

Compounding the problem was the tingle in his spine that had arrived during their kiss. It was hard to shake the feeling that he'd been cursed, and it was related to both kisses-Bella's and Annabeth's. It couldn't be a coincidence that he'd been virtually stabbed in the back each time. Nor that the empousa and the girl looked so much alike.

Will's healing magic had helped, but the pain was starting to flare up again. He wished Will had been a little more specific about how bad it ought to get before he tried the ambrosia. The warning about his insides burning up had been frankly terrifying. He definitely wasn't keen on taking medication with that sort of side effect unless it was really necessary. All the same, the constant, increasing back pains were making him feel like an old man.

He decided to chance the tiniest corner of one ambrosia square. The taste surprised him: rich and buttery, like salted popcorn. It filled him with a pleasant warmth that didn't exactly get rid of his pain, but numbed it to a bearable twinge of discomfort.

It would have to do.

He was almost late for Greek Mythology 101 again that morning because he waited until he heard the sound of Annabeth's bathroom door shutting to dash down the hallway and out of the apartment. Thank the gods for the bit of ambrosia he'd taken. There was no way he'd have been able to sprint to campus and up three flights of steps to the classroom without it. As it was, when he collapsed into his seat behind Jessica, he had a pinch in his back again.

Jessica gave him a curious look, but they didn't have time to talk as Dr Langley got started.

Following his own incomprehensible lesson plan, Dr Langley elected to drop the Greek histories and focus on a comparison of Greek and Roman gods. He spent a lot more time on the latter, which seemed a little pointless in a class titled Greek Mythology, but since Percy's knowledge of both was equally sparse, he tried his best to follow even though the sheer number of gods was giving him a headache.

'The Greeks also had a greater focus on primordial deities, that is to say, beings who came before the gods. We celebrate some of these whose lineage we can directly prove, for example Saturn and Caelus, whom they called-um…'

'Kronos and Ouranos.' The dark-haired know-it-all, who had been listening with a long-suffering look on her face throughout the lecture, finally broke her silence.

'Yes, I was going to say that,' Dr Langley said quickly. 'The father and grandfather of Jupiter. I mean, Zeus. But they had many fanciful ideas beyond that as well. Take, for example, the myth of Tartarus: a seething mass beyond the land of Pluto. While we Romans know this Tartarus to be the section of the Underworld reserved for the spirits of evildoers, the Greeks found the need to spin out more unnecessary layers beneath the Underworld, guarded by a made-up deity.'

'That's not a myth. Tartarus exists.'

Dr Langley raised his eyebrows. 'Is that so, Miss-er-Ramirez? And I expect you have proof of this? You've seen this Tartarus, then?'

'Just call me Reyna. And no, but…' Her dark eyes darted towards Percy. She fell silent and shook her head. The expression on her face sent a shiver up Percy's spine.

'Exactly,' Dr Langley said, his voice rich with smugness. 'The Greeks had plenty of myths about the gods, but we cut through to the truth about them. The real gods have honoured us with their presence and we have documented them dutifully in proper writing. The lineage of our gods trace back to Caelus and our Terra Mater; the Greeks may speak of other deities-Chaos, for instance-but it simply reflects their need to personify every element they can imagine, even the unformed nothingness that preceded the beginning of the world. I think we can safely assume this is actual myth.'

Everything begins and ends…in chaos.

Goosebumps prickled under Percy's sleeves. Although he avoided looking at Reyna, he could feel her eyes boring into him from across the room for the remainder of the lesson.

'Is it true?' he asked Jessica at the end of the class. 'Do you think it's just a myth, this Tartarus and Chaos stuff?'

Jessica shrugged. 'It doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, it's not like we'd ever need to pray to the god of nothingness, right?'

'But the gods appear to you-I mean, us?'

She gave him an odd look. 'Didn't Terminus just show up in here last week?'

Percy blinked. 'I didn't realise he was a god.'

Jessica grinned. 'Where on earth have you been living, Percy?'

Her brown eyes twinkled like it was all some big joke, like this god stuff wasn't as deadly serious as the other demigods made it out to be. The light-hearted way she was treating it reassured him.

The question slipped from his mouth without much thought. 'Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?'

Jessica's grin widened into a bright smile. 'Are you asking me out on a date?'

A small part of his brain, the same part that nagged at him to apologise to Annabeth and figure out what was going on between them, shouted in his head: What are you doing?

The rest of his brain argued back: Why shouldn't I? And why shouldn't he ask Jessica out? It wasn't like he knew what to do about Annabeth and that damned kiss. Maybe it would be good to see what it was like to date a girl who didn't have this whole mysterious history with him that he had no way of remembering. The way Jessica looked at him now was refreshing: no expectations, no fathomless eyes staring at him with sorrow and guilt. Just casual, untainted enjoyment.

If he wasn't going to get his memories back, maybe the best thing for him was to get on with life. And since all his experiences with the demigod stuff seemed, so far, to be disastrous at best and life-threatening at worst, moving outside that circle seemed a pretty good idea to him.

'Yeah, I guess so.' The words came out slightly defensive, but Jessica didn't seem to notice. She was busy scribbling something in her notebook. When she finished, she tore it out and handed it to him.

'My address,' she said. 'And my number, assuming you manage to get yourself a cell. If not-you could just come by around seven?'

'Sounds great,' he said.

Are you sure you know what you're doing? asked the annoying voice in his head.

Shut up, he told it.

OoOoO

Jessica chose the restaurant, one of the never-ending supply of pasta places that dotted the forum. Percy wasn't sure how she could tell one apart from the other.

'Actually, you may as well throw a dart to pick one. We don't really have much choice around here,' she said. 'What I really want is to try food from down south. Tacos or something. Would it kill them to add a bit of variety? But noooo, pizza and pasta and coffee-just the way Romans have done it for two thousand years.'

Personally, Percy didn't see anything wrong with a good pizza. He thought about Phoenix. He remembered some of the food Bella made being spicy. Maybe Jessica would have liked living there. 'Why didn't you apply somewhere else for college? I mean, it would have been something new.'

'That's the curse of being a legacy, isn't it? Just enough scent to draw monsters, not enough powers to deal with them.'

'Powers?'

'Well, duh, like fighting and all that stuff. The first-generation kids get all the advantages. Super strength and mind control and what-not, I guess.'

Mind control? The ache in his back, which had been settling in steadily again since the morning, flared with sudden heat.

'My brother used to complain about it a lot. He said the legion respects your credentials as a legacy only up to the point where it comes to choosing a Praetor. That's when they get picky about whether you have enhanced fighting ability. Mind you, he actually inherited some skill with auguries.'

'Is he still with the legion?'

There was a long pause. 'He died,' Jessica said finally. 'A few years ago.'

Percy winced. 'Sorry.'

Jessica shrugged. 'He shouldn't have left the camp. Got himself mixed up in that war-you know about it?'

'No clue,' Percy said, although the words felt like a lie.

'We never even got his body back. Reyna-you know, the girl who keeps correcting Dr Langley-she was the Praetor then, and she just told us he died in battle.'

'She was a Praetor? So she's a demigod, then.'

Jessica nodded. 'Daughter of Bellona or something like that.'

As if on cue, the chimes above the restaurant door jangled and Reyna herself entered, accompanied by a younger girl. Percy looked away quickly, not wanting them to see him, but something about the second girl drew his gaze back to her after a while.

She was sixteen, maybe, though he couldn't be sure. With her heavy leather jacket and confident bearing, she had an air of maturity way beyond her teens. That wasn't what caught his attention, though. It was the bright circlet she wore in her spiky hair. It was the sort of thing you might imagine a princess or a prom queen weaving into their braids. Not this girl with her dark-toned make-up, punk jacket, and ripped jeans.

'Percy?'

He tore his eyes away from Tiara-Girl. 'Sorry, what?'

'I said, what are you going to order?'

'Oh.' He scanned the menu. 'Pizza, probably.' He'd developed a liking for a good plain cheese pizza…maybe with pepperoni if he was feeling adventurous.

'Oh, don't be so boring,' Jessica said, thumbing through the menu. 'Look, they have a squid ink tortellini. Let's get that to share.'

'Don't you want one for yourself?'

'I couldn't possibly finish it. You get it, and I can steal from you. Oh, and then we can get the amaretto affogato to go with it.'

Percy was suddenly reminded of Annabeth eating an entire olive-topped pizza by herself in their living room. It had been about a week ago, just after they'd started their sword-fighting lessons. The pizza had smelt so good, he'd asked for a slice and she'd joked, 'Nuh-uh, you're not stealing my olives.' And then she'd ordered him another one-a plain old margherita that had been surprisingly delicious, even more than the olive-peppered slice he'd managed to snag from her.

He pushed the image away and ordered the squid ink pasta.

It arrived looking like sticky black clumps of tar. Jessica seemed to enjoy it, but each piece stuck going down his throat. It reminded him of the suffocating darkness he'd been in before finding himself on a truck in Phoenix. He put his fork down, wishing he'd just gotten the pizza.

Jessica didn't seem to notice. As she speared each piece of tortellini, she complained blithely about the various limitations of New Rome-no malls, slow Internet, the obsession with history.

Percy couldn't really relate. His attention kept drifting away from their conversation-which was becoming more of a monologue on Jessica's part anyway.

Across the room, Reyna and Tiara-Girl were settling into their meal. As though she sensed him watching them, Tiara-Girl looked up from her spaghetti. Their eyes met and even from a distance, Percy could see that they were a startling electric blue. They flickered from him to Jessica and back again and narrowed like an accusation.

Percy looked away. He was starting to regret this date idea.

His back was really starting to bother him again, too.

The pain was still manageable enough when he walked Jessica home after their meal. They stopped outside her building and she smiled at him.

'Well, thanks.' She kissed his cheek. Her lips tickled pleasantly against his skin. After she drew back, she waited for a second, an invitation.

His eyes drifted to her mouth. What would it be like to kiss her-a girl he wasn't sure he liked, exactly, but who at least had no complicated history, no baggage?

He leaned in.

Pain exploded up his spine.

Before their lips could touch, Percy's legs crumpled under him. He reached out instinctively to balance himself and fell forward into her. Jessica yelped and staggered under his weight. They both crashed to the ground.

'Percy, what the hell?'

'My back,' he gasped. 'I need-' He thought of the ambrosia squares Will had given him. Surely this counted as an emergency!

'Take his arm.'

The girl appeared out of nowhere, her footsteps like a ghost's. She grabbed one arm and ordered Jessica to take the other. Through the blinding haze of pain, he could see her tiara sparkling under the street lights.

She'd followed them. Was she spying on him?

He didn't have room to ponder this. Sharp claws were digging into his spine from inside his skin. Gleeful laughter echoed inside his head, which neither Jessica nor Tiara-Girl seemed to hear. They staggered down the sidewalk, dragging him along practically draped over Tiara-Girl, who was a lot stronger than her thin frame suggested. Jessica sounded like she was hyperventilating. Her repeated, 'Oh my gods, oh my gods!' drilled into his already-pounding head.

Finally, they arrived at the bottom of his apartment block.

'Annabeth!' shouted Tiara-Girl, loud enough to wake every building for miles.

Annabeth's head popped out of an upstairs window. 'Thalia? What-oh my gods, Percy!'

She didn't even bother to run down the stairs. In a flash, she had swung herself out the window, grabbed hold of a drainpipe, and shimmied down the two storeys as if she'd done it all her life.

Jessica swore. Annabeth ran to them and grabbed Percy's arm from her, supporting him much more firmly. She and Tiara-Girl-Thalia?-carried him into the building, all the way up to the apartment and into his room. The ambrosia was where he'd left it that morning. He broke off a full square and gulped it down.

'Can someone explain to me what's going on?' Jessica demanded.

Annabeth and Thalia turned to her. Both their expressions were as hard as ice. Jessica shrank back from them.

'What did you do to him?' Thalia said.

'Me? Are you nuts?'

'Leave her alone,' Percy said. The ambrosia was starting to take effect. Relief spread slowly from the back of his neck down to the base of his spine. The claws digging into him felt more like fingernails than knives. He glared at Thalia. 'Who are you and why were you following us?'

'I was looking out for you, Seaweed Brain,' Thalia snapped. The name sent another jolt down his spine. 'If it wasn't for me, you'd still be stuck out on the sidewalk with your useless…friend here.'

'Excuse me?' Jessica said.

'Thalia, she's just a legacy,' Annabeth said, though Percy had no idea how she knew this. 'She wouldn't be able to-'

Jessica shook her head. 'I'm outta here. Look, Percy, I like you and all, but first the sword thing, and now this…it's too much for me. I thought you weren't into all the demigod stuff.'

'I…' Percy wasn't sure if it was worth protesting. It looked as though even if he wanted to, he couldn't escape being a demigod and the insanity that surrounded it after all.

'See you around, Percy,' Jessica said, and left.

'Good riddance,' Thalia muttered.

Annabeth closed her eyes and pinched her forehead. 'Thalia, would you give me and Per-seus a moment?' She stumbled over his name like it confused her. He realised he'd never mentioned accepting 'Percy' after his initial outburst to her about it.

Thalia went out without further comment, leaving Annabeth alone with Percy-a situation he'd been trying to avoid all week. Her eyes were still closed, like she was thinking of what to say. When she opened them, they looked tired and bruised. Percy caught sight of his own reflection in the mirror. There was a faint lipstick mark where Jessica had kissed him.

Guilt and embarrassment twisted in his stomach. He rubbed at the mark, feeling angry as he did so.

What did he have to be guilty about? It wasn't like he'd promised Annabeth anything.

The nagging voice in his brain dripped with sarcasm. No, you just kissed her. That wouldn't have given her the wrong idea or anything.

Wait, she kissed me, he protested. It's not like we were something…were we?

'It's the same thing that happened on Monday, isn't it?' Annabeth said finally. 'Did it-has it been continuous, or did it come on suddenly when you-um,' she cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable, 'kissed her?'

'I didn't kiss her.' He wasn't sure why he felt the need to clarify. 'And the pain-it just…intensified.' That was putting it mildly.

Annabeth's head shot up quickly, but she didn't address his denial of a kiss with Jessica. 'So it didn't disappear after Monday.' She pursed her lips. Her tone was brisk now, like she was interviewing an eyewitness to a crime scene.

Percy shook his head. 'Will gave me this stuff. He said to take it in an emergency.'

Annabeth nodded. 'Ambrosia. Usually it works, but it's not a failsafe. I'm not sure what we're dealing with here, but…' She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bronze pendant: a glowing, round, three-inch disc that looked vaguely familiar. It was spinning of its own accord in her palm.

'It's been glowing and spinning since Monday,' Annabeth said.

Percy reached out and took it. When it touched his hand, gold lines appeared, forming a triangle on the surface of the bronze. The disc spun a few more times and came to rest. The pain in his back diminished to a dull throb.

'Where did you get this?'

'It was a spoil of war. When I stabbed the empousa. Monsters leave part of themselves behind sometimes when you kill them.'

Percy remembered it now-his fingers closing around a small, hard object when Bella had disappeared. He examined it closely. There was a catch on one end, as though a connected piece had broken off. It was still vibrating, thrumming with its own faint pulse.

Or maybe a ticking time bomb.

'That's definitely new,' Annabeth said, gesturing at the golden triangle now etched in the bronze. 'I don't know what symbol that is, though. The closest thing would be the Greek letter delta, but two of the sides are much too long.'

'My back hurts less when I'm holding it. Is that good?'

'I don't like it. Spoils of war can still work after the monster's dead-like Medusa's head; it still petrified people after it got cut off. But I have no idea what part of the empousa this pendant came from, or what magic it holds. And I definitely don't like that it's affecting you specifically.'

Percy scowled at the pendant. He certainly didn't remember seeing Bella carrying anything like it, but that didn't mean much. He was quite convinced by now that a lot of what he'd experienced with her had been an illusion. But he found himself wishing that Annabeth hadn't killed her, that she was here now, just so that he could interrogate her thoroughly about her motives and methods.

'I don't know what it means,' Annabeth admitted. 'But we will figure this out, okay? We're going to help you, Pers-Perseus.'

He couldn't help but contrast her determined expression with the discomposure on Jessica's face when she left. Even with her eyes sad and bruised, Annabeth looked like a girl who would fight to the death for anyone that she cared about.

His stomach clenched uncomfortably. Clearly she did care about him, even after all the accusations he'd thrown at her.

He wished she didn't. She deserved better than to care for an unappreciative jerk with a broken memory.

'You can call me Percy,' he said. 'I guess Perseus is a bit of a mouthful.'

Annabeth's mouth twitched. 'Yeah, kind of. But if it makes you more comfortable…'

'It doesn't, actually,' he admitted. 'Neither of them feels like me. Maybe I should just change my name to, I dunno, Mike, or something.'

She laughed. 'Do you think it would help? I mean, like, not knowing anything, no expectations, just a clean slate?'

The question caught him off guard. All this while, he'd been telling himself that he didn't want people telling him stories about his past because he couldn't be sure who he should trust. But there had been enough clues for him to work out that the demigods' version was the real one.

Maybe it wasn't that he didn't trust them, but that he was afraid it would just really suck if he knew exactly which memories he would never get back.

He didn't know which was worse: if the person everyone expected Percy Jackson to be was some hero he'd never be able to live up to, or a loser he'd be ashamed of being.

Annabeth didn't push him for an answer. 'Sorry,' she said. 'Look, let's just worry about making sure you don't die, okay? And then,' she took a deep breath, 'whoever you want to be-that's up to you.'

She got up to go. When she reached the door, she turned back. Swallowing hard, she said, 'And I'm sorry about-about the kiss. I know I just made things more complicated for you, and…well, I'm sorry.'

Her apology stunned him. She had to have felt him returning her kiss, had to have thought he was giving her mixed signals. Yet here she was, taking the blame for it.

When he'd anticipated an awkward conversation about the kiss, this wasn't what he'd imagined. Not for the first time, he wondered how exactly Annabeth had figured into his past life.

She was almost out of the room when he mustered up the courage to ask.

'Annabeth?'

She turned and waited.

'Were you my girlfriend?'

Annabeth's expression grew unfocused. She seemed to look right through him, like he'd become a ghost. There was a long silence, heavy with the weight of a million words unspoken and a thin thread of guilt that wove through all the things she hadn't told him. Percy was suddenly afraid that she would say yes. He was equally afraid that she would say no.

He shouldn't have asked.

At last, Annabeth said, very softly, 'Get some rest, Percy.'

OoOoO

He dreamt that he was suffocating.

He clawed at the layers of cracked earth pinning him down until they finally gave way to reveal a thin membrane that separated him from light and freedom. He pushed against it and it expanded upwards like a golden balloon filling slowly with air.

He inhaled deeply. A thick, viscous fluid entered his lungs. It had a sharp, spicy sting that awoke every nerve ending in his body. It crackled through flesh and sinew, strengthening his muscles and joints.

He straightened up as his legs-one shaggy with fur like a donkey's, the other a clunky bronze prosthetic that gave off a faint glow-filled with energy. Through the translucent golden bubble that encased him, he could see a sparse landscape of bristly black shrub and a cracked, parched terrain that stretched out for miles under a reddish sky.

He stretched out his arms. His fingernails were long and curved: sharp talons that pierced the membrane surrounding him. The muggy air escaped in a low hiss, evaporating immediately in the tepid heat. The casing of his bubble disintegrated and piled around his feet like flaky dead skin.

'Tartarus,' he spat. His voice was low and sinister. 'Curse those demigods.'

A round pendant glowed against his chest, beating in time with his own angry heartbeat. When he plucked it up, it swivelled to point into the distance, where the horizon disappeared into a seething black mass.

His lips curled into a thin smile. 'Perseus Jackson,' the hiss escaped from his lips. 'I will find you-the rest of you.'

The pendant shook in his hands and tugged him towards the rolling cloud of darkness.

And then he was out of the empousa's body, freefalling through black nothingness while gravelly laughter rumbled around him in cruel amusement.

I await you, little hero. The words were not in any language he could define, but he understood them nonetheless. There was something familiar, too, about the speaker. Here where everything begins. Here where it all ends.

Percy woke with a start. His sheets were sticky with sweat.

There was a knock on his door.

'Yeah?' he said.

Annabeth's head poked in. 'Are you feeling better?' she said. 'Sorry to wake you, but I might have an answer-well, actually Nico might have the answer to your predicament.'

'That's good, right?' She looked strangely sombre for someone who was relaying good news.

She didn't answer his question. 'A bunch of us came over. Come out when you're ready.'

The living room was packed. Frank Zhang, the Roman Praetor who had showed Percy around Camp Jupiter, towered over the rest of the group, talking softly to his girlfriend Hazel. Reyna from his Greek Mythology class was there, too, which was weird since they hadn't formally met yet. Next to her was Thalia the tiara girl, still incongruently dressed in her leather jacket and combat boots. Will Solace and Nico di Angelo rounded off the group, sitting quietly together on the sofa.

''Sup,' Percy muttered. It was disconcerting to have all their eyes on him at once.

'Percy, you know Frank and Hazel, and Will and Nico,' Annabeth said. 'And Thalia you met last night-'

'Kind of an abrupt introduction,' Thalia said. 'Sorry about that. You feeling better?'

'Er, yeah, thanks. And thanks for, um, you know.' He didn't feel like rehashing last night's situation in front of everyone, though he suspected they had been discussing it.

'And this is Reyna.'

Reyna stepped forward. 'We haven't been properly introduced,' she said. 'I'm in your-'

'Greek Mythology class,' he said, nodding.

'Right, so. Um, Nico, do you want to explain your theory?'

'It's not a theory,' Nico said. 'It's just an idea.'

'I'ts a good one,' Will said.

'The empousa said she was binding Percy's soul,' Nico explained. 'We thought we killed her before she could get to him, but what if she did manage to capture part of it? What if she took it with her, to-' He gulped.

'To Tartarus,' Reyna finished. 'That's what you're saying, isn't it? Part of Percy's soul is in the pit.'

Thalia swore. Hazel glared at her.

'It-that makes sense,' Annabeth said shakily. 'And if she's reforming, if she started reforming in Tartarus, like, on Monday, that might explain why Percy felt it then.'

'Wait-back up a sec,' Percy said. 'Reforming? I thought Bella was dead. And Tartarus, like the myth Dr Langley was talking about in class?'

'Monsters don't really die,' Annabeth explained. 'I mean, they do, but they keep coming back. Usually it takes a long time, but there are times when the process gets sped up. And if the empousa has a link to you-maybe that's helping her to come back quicker.'

'You mean she'll just pop up in the world and we can go find her? And get whatever it was she took from me? And that will fix my back?'

'Not exactly,' Will said. 'See, monsters go to Tartarus when they die. They have to regenerate there first. We think the empousa may have reformed in Tartarus, but we don't know how long it'll take for her to find her way back to our world. It might be ten years, or a hundred, even a thousand.'

'And you won't last a month unless you find her,' Nico said.

How do you know that? Percy wanted to ask, but he decided he might be better off not knowing. Nico didn't look like he was joking around.

'So I have to find her-in Tartarus, is that what you're saying?' He turned to Reyna. 'I thought Dr Langley said it doesn't exist?'

'Oh, it exists,' Reyna said grimly. 'And it's not just part of the Underworld. Dr Langley's an imbecile.'

'So people really have been to it.'

Everyone's heads turned to Annabeth and Nico, who had both turned very pale.

'You two?' Percy guessed.

'Percy,' Annabeth said slowly, 'you've been there.'

'Oh.' He didn't know what to make of this. 'Well, that should make it simpler, right? We can go find Bella in Tartarus, kick her ass and get back my, um, soul. Easy peasy. We already have seasoned travellers. Even if I don't remember any of it.'

'You don't understand.' Nico's voice was thin and hoarse. 'Nothing about Tartarus is "easy peasy." It's not like the Underworld. We were all lucky to get out alive.'

The image of the augur Ophelia slicing open the plush seal came to mind, its black stuffing spilling across the altar. It is a hard journey.

'I'll go with Percy,' Annabeth said. She looked him dead in the eyes. 'You said it yourself. You need someone who's been there.'

'Wait,' Frank said. 'Are we sure we need to do this? If the empousa stole bits of Percy's soul…if she's reformed in Tartarus…if finding her will help Percy-that's a lot of if's. And how will we track her down in Tartarus? I mean, from what you've said about it, the place is huge.'

Something clicked from his dream last night. Percy pulled out the bronze pendant, which was spinning again. It came to a stop in his palm, then swung like a pendulum so that the apex of the triangle pointed at the hall. Whichever way he turned it, the pendant swivelled towards the exit.

Annabeth's eyes widened. 'Of course!' she said. 'It's a compass!'

'Bella's got one, too,' he said. He told them about his dream, although he avoided the part where he'd experienced it from her perspective. And the bit about falling through darkness. He still wasn't sure what that was about.

The black stuffing of his plush-toy augury came to mind again. Percy's stomach squirmed.

'Tartarus is our best bet, then. And once we're there, that pendant will probably lead us straight to her.' Annabeth squared her shoulders. 'I'll go with Percy,' she repeated.

There was a short pause, then Thalia said, 'Count me in. You could use a Hunter.'

Frank and Hazel both looked terrified, but they nodded. 'We're in.'

Reyna's eyes looked far away, as though she was remembering something from the past. 'I'll do it.'

Nico's face was sheet-white. He opened his mouth, then closed it wordlessly. Will squeezed his hand. The two of them exchanged one long, poignant look, and then Will said, 'Nico and I will come, too.'

Percy didn't know what to say. He looked around the room, at the seven demigods who had just offered to follow him into hell. To a place worse than hell, by all accounts. And he didn't even remember any of them.

Thank you seemed way too small to cover it.

'You can't-you can't all do this for me,' he faltered.

'He's right,' Annabeth said. 'Eight demigods travelling together is just asking for trouble, even in the mortal world. We'd attract every monster in Tartarus the second we arrived.'

'Take me, then,' Thalia said. 'I don't count as a demigod any more.'

'What about the Hunters?'

'They're chilling with the Amazons at the moment. They'll get along without me for a while.' Thalia's face was obstinate. 'I've lost too many friends. I'm not losing the ones I've got left. I'm going.'

No one argued with her.

'Hazel, you can't go,' Nico said. 'You have a bigger task-don't forget we need someone on this side to get us out.'

Hazel slapped her forehead. 'Pluto's pauldrons, I forgot! The Doors of Death!'

'The what?'

'The only way out of Tartarus once we're there,' Nico said. 'It's how we escaped before. Someone's going to have to take a quest to find Thanatos and convince him to project the Doors to Tartarus.' He looked straight at Frank.

'He's right.' Frank's eyebrows furrowed in an expression that resembled a serious bulldog. 'I-I think I have a bargaining chip for that.'

Hazel raised her eyes to the heavens. 'We're going to have to convince the senate to authorise the quest. Both quests.'

'Not Percy's,' Reyna said. 'Not if the two of you aren't going. The rest of them aren't technically part of the legion. You two are on the senate and I'm a veteran advisor. Between the three of us, we should be able to get the senate's support. Although it'll still take a while to pass the motions and-'

'If we're going, we shouldn't put it off,' Nico said.

'That leaves five of us, then,' Will had gone so white, every blemish on his skin, from his golden freckles to the faded old battle scar on his arm, stood out in stark contrast. But he said bravely, 'That should work.'

'Are you sure?' Annabeth asked. 'Will, you don't know what it's like-'

'I do,' Nico said. He swallowed hard. 'We're sure.'

Percy looked at Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, and Will. 'So, when do we leave?'

'Tonight,' Nico said.

Chapter 8