The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus #4)(45)

He fell into Tartarus to be with you, said a voice in her head. If he dies, it will be your fault.

“Stop it,” she said aloud.

Percy frowned. “What?”

“No, not you.” She tried for a reassuring smile, but she couldn’t quite muster one. “Talking to myself. This place…it’s messing with my mind. Giving me dark thoughts.”

The worry lines deepened around Percy’s sea-green eyes. “Hey, Bob, where exactly are we heading?”

“The lady,” Bob said. “Death Mist.”

Annabeth fought down her irritation. “But what does that mean? Who is this lady?”

“Naming her?” Bob glanced back. “Not a good idea.”

Annabeth sighed. The Titan was right. Names had power, and speaking them here in Tartarus was probably very dangerous.

“Can you at least tell us how far?” she asked.

“I do not know,” Bob admitted. “I can only feel it. We wait for the darkness to get darker. Then we go sideways.”

“Sideways,” Annabeth muttered. “Naturally.”

She was tempted to ask for a rest, but she didn’t want to stop. Not here in this cold, dark place. The black fog seeped into her body, turning her bones into moist Styrofoam.

She wondered if her message would get to Rachel Dare. If Rachel could somehow carry her proposal to Reyna without getting killed in the process…

A ridiculous hope, said the voice in her head. You have only put Rachel in danger. Even if she finds the Romans, why should Reyna trust you after all that has happened?

Annabeth was tempted to shout back at the voice, but she resisted. Even if she were going crazy, she didn’t want to look like she was going crazy.

She desperately needed something to lift her spirits. A drink of actual water. A moment of sunlight. A warm bed. A kind word from her mother.

Suddenly Bob stopped. He raised his hand: Wait.

“What?” Percy whispered.

“Shh,” Bob warned. “Ahead. Something moves.”

Annabeth strained her ears. From somewhere in the fog came a deep thrumming noise, like the idling engine of a large construction vehicle. She could feel the vibrations through her shoes.

“We will surround it,” Bob whispered. “Each of you, take a flank.”

For the millionth time, Annabeth wished she had her dagger. She picked up a chunk of jagged black obsidian and crept to the left. Percy went right, his sword ready.

Bob took the middle, his spearhead glowing in the fog.

The humming got louder, shaking the gravel at Annabeth’s feet. The noise seemed to be coming from immediately in front of them.

“Ready?” Bob murmured.

Annabeth crouched, preparing to spring. “On three?”

“One,” Percy whispered. “Two—”

A figure appeared in the fog. Bob raised his spear.

“Wait!” Annabeth shrieked.

Bob froze just in time, the point of his spear hovering an inch above the head of a tiny calico kitten.

“Rrow?” said the kitten, clearly unimpressed by their attack plan. It butted its head against Bob’s foot and purred loudly.

It seemed impossible, but the deep rumbling sound was coming from the kitten. As it purred, the ground vibrated and pebbles danced. The kitten fixed its yellow, lamp-like eyes on one particular rock, right between Annabeth’s feet, and pounced.

The cat could’ve been a demon or a horrible Underworld monster in disguise. But Annabeth couldn’t help it. She picked it up and cuddled it. The little thing was bony under its fur, but otherwise it seemed perfectly normal.

“How did…?” She couldn’t even form the question. “What is a kitten doing…?”

The cat grew impatient and squirmed out of her arms. It landed with a thump, padded over to Bob, and started purring again as it rubbed against his boots.

Percy laughed. “Somebody likes you, Bob.”

“It must be a good monster.” Bob looked up nervously. “Isn’t it?”

Annabeth felt a lump in her throat. Seeing the huge Titan and this tiny kitten together, she suddenly felt insignificant compared to the vastness of Tartarus. This place had no respect for anything—good or bad, small or large, wise or unwise. Tartarus swallowed Titans and demigods and kittens indiscriminately.

Bob knelt down and scooped up the cat. It fit perfectly in Bob’s palm, but it decided to explore. It climbed the Titan’s arm, made itself at home on his shoulder, and closed its eyes, purring like an earthmover. Suddenly its fur shimmered. In a flash, the kitten became a ghostly skeleton, as if it had stepped behind an X-ray machine. Then it was a regular kitten again.

Annabeth blinked. “Did you see—?”

“Yeah.” Percy knit his eyebrows. “Oh, man…I know that kitten. It’s one of the ones from the Smithsonian.”

Annabeth tried to make sense of that. She’d never been to the Smithsonian with Percy.… Then she recalled several years ago, when the Titan Atlas had captured her. Percy and Thalia had led a quest to rescue her. Along the way, they’d watched Atlas raise some skeleton warriors from dragon teeth in the Smithsonian Museum.

According to Percy, the Titan’s first attempt went wrong. He’d planted saber-toothed tiger teeth by mistake, and raised a batch of skeleton kittens from the soil.