The Daughter Of Night (Original Version)

35- I Take A Pleasant Walk Through Hell

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I had no idea why this kept happening to me. Kampe disintegrated and I stared down at my hands. My mother had to have known that Kampe would be here. This was a test. One I think that I passed.

Whatever this was she could explain it.

I shook this away. Before I could ask my mother anything I had to get Percy and Annabeth safely out and before I could do that I would have to find them.

As a rule it took nine days to fall from earth to Tartarus, it had been around four days. I had to work out where they would fall so I could be there for them.

The hole would probably open on the glassy planes. That's what I had always called them anyway. I didn't know their proper name. I decided that this was my best bet at finding them, so I headed up the hill away from the heart of Tartarus and towards the planes.

No more monsters dared to attack me, but I knew that they were there, I could almost feel them in the shadows, watching me. I wasn't sure why they didn't attack me, but I was glad of it.

It took me a few days to make it to the planes, by that time I had two more days until Percy and Annabeth should arrive.

I followed the river for what felt like hours, but could have been days. Until I came across two people on the bank. One seemed to be unconscious and the other was force feeding the first some of the fire water.

Percy and Annabeth. My face broke into a grin and I hurried towards them.

Percy had begun to regain consciousness and Annabeth was hugging him tight to her.

I cleared my throat, "I hate to interrupt but..."

"Ri?" They both turned to look at me with shocked, almost happy expressions.

"Hi." I gave them a small wave.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Annabeth scrambled to her feet.

"That doesn't matter." I pulled my backpack off and offered them each a canteen of water and some ambrosia. They ate it greedily.

"We need to head to the doors of death." Percy said as he stood up, "Do you know where they are?"

I nodded, "I can take you as far as the mansion of Nyx." I told them. "It's not far from there."

"What?" Annabeth frowned, "You're not coming back?"

"I am," I lied, "I have a different way out." I didn't say anything else and I could tell that Annabeth didn't buy my lie.

"Anyway." I zipped my bag back up and slung it over my shoulder. I spotted a group of empousi picking their way along the bank. They hadn't spotted us yet, but they would soon. "We need to get out of sight, then we can start to make our way to the doors, though I'm pretty sure that they'll be heading there too so we can follow them."

We did that. The three of us hid behind some rocks as the monsters passed us, Then we followed them at a distance.

Percy and Annabeth walked together and talked quietly. I was left to my own thoughts.

We stayed with the empousi as they walked away from the banks of the Phlegethon and deeper into Tartarus.

The empousi were fighting amidst themselves. Then I did the stupidest thing. I tripped and cursed loudly.

This made the empousi realise that we were there.

They turned on us and bared their teeth, snarling. They seemed as though they were going to eat us, or kill us, I wasn't really sure which one they would go for.

"Percy Jackson," one of them who seemed to be the leader cooed, I don't even have to return to the mortal world to destroy you and you brought your friend Annabeth, what's the matter daughter of Athena? Don't have your weapon? Bummer."

To say that I didn't like empousi would be an understatement. In fact it could be nominated for the understatement of the year awards and maybe go on to win the entire competition.

I inferred from the way this empusi was mainly focusing on Annabeth that Annabeth had killed her before.

I thought vaguely that maybe I could shadow travel us out of the situation, but then I remembered that I didn't like shadow travel and that it was even worse in Tartarus. It would be hard enough with just me, let alone with two other people.

I glanced at Annabeth and Percy who seemed to come to the same conclusion as I had.

"So," Percy rubbed the back of his neck, "I guess you're wondering what we're doing in Tartarus."

"No I'm not, I just want to kill you." She replied.

Annabeth quickly chimed in, "Well that's too bad, because you have no idea what's going on in the mortal world."

"Gaia has spoken," the empousi glared at her, "we know enough."

"You're heading towards a major defeat." I added, they looked at me for the first time, only seeming to realised that I was here at this moment.

Annabeth nodded, "Kelli is leading you all into another defeat."

The rest of the demons muttered and shifted.

"She's right, my mother Nyx, she's on Gaia's side, why do you think I decided to go with the gods," I spoke up, "I sided with them because they're going to win, just like last time."

"The girl lies!" Kelli insisted, "So the Titans lost, that was just part of the plan to wake the earth mother and now she and the giants will destroy the mortal world and we'll totally feast on demigods." The empousi gnashed their teeth, preparing to feed off of us.

"The Greeks and Romans have united!" Percy bared his forearm at them, showing his SPQR tattoo, "You know what you get when that happens? You get BAM!" He stomped his foot and the empousi scrambled back.

"Bold talk for a bunch of demigods lost in Tartarus." Kelli smiled.

"We're not lost." I snapped back, "The doors of death are that way." I pointed in the vague direction of the doors.

Kelli growled, "For two years I churned in the void. Do you know how completely annoying it is to be vaporized, slowly reforming. I wonder what would happen to a demigod who is killed in Tartarus."

The empousi attacked us. But this time no flash of light came to my aid.

One of them jumped on my shoulders and tried to move my hair aside to get to some flesh and feed off of me. But I shook her off. Percy and Annabeth weren't doing so well.

I tried to rush to their aid, but someone else beat me to it.

The thing happened again *wiggles eyebrows* I'm pretty sure people are beginning to catch on now...
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~Em xx