The Veiled Legacy | PJO - Book Two

ten

ARIANA IS DYING

Bob seriously knew how to use a broom. He slashed back and forth, destroying the demons one after the other while Small Bob the kitten sat on his shoulder, arching its back and hissing.

In a matter of seconds, the arai were gone. Most had been vaporized. The smart ones had flown off into the darkness, shrieking in terror.

Ariana wanted to thank the Titan, but her voice wouldn't work. Her legs buckled. Her ears rang.

Through a red glow of pain, she saw Percy and Annabeth a few yards away, wandering blindly towards the edge of the cliff.

"Uh!" Ariana grunted.

Bob followed her gaze. He bounded towards Annabeth and scooped them both up. Annabeth yelled and kicked, pummelling Bob's gut, but Bob didn't seem to care. He carried them both over to Ariana and put them down gently.

The Titan touched her forehead. "Owie."

Annabeth stopped fighting. Her eyes cleared. "Where - what -?"

She saw Ariana and Percy, and a series of expressions flashed across her face - relief, joy, shock, horror.

"What's wrong with Ari?" she cried. "What happened?"

She cradled Ariana's shoulders and wept into her scalp. Ariana wanted to tell her it was okay, but of course it wasn't. She couldn't even feel her body any more.

Percy reached for Ariana's hand, he squeezed it twice. Ariana gave them both a slight smile.

Her consciousness was like a small helium balloon, loosely tied to the top of her head. It had no weight, no strength.

It just kept expanding, getting lighter and lighter. Ariana knew that soon it would either burst or the string would break, and her life would float away.

Annabeth took Ariana's face in her hands and tried to wipe the dust and sweat from her eyes.

Bob loomed over them, his broom planted like a flag. His face was unreadable, luminously white in the dark.

"Lots of curses." Bob said. "Ariana has done bad things to monsters."

"Can you fix her?" Percy pleaded. "Like you did with Annabeths blindness? Fix Ariana!"

Bob frowned. He picked at the name tag on his uniform like it was a scab.

Annabeth tried. "Bob -"

"Iapetus." Bob said, his voice a low rumble. "Before Bob. It was Iapetus."

The air was absolutely still. Ariana felt helpless, barely connected to the world.

"I like Bob better." Annabeth's voice was
surprisingly calm. "Which do you like?"

The Titan regarded her with his pure silver eyes. "I do not know any more."

Bob crouched next to Annabegh and studied Ariana. Bob's face looked haggard and careworn, as if he suddenly felt the weight of all his centuries.

"I promised." he murmured. "Nico asked me to help. I do not think Iapetus or Bob likes breaking promises."

He touched Ariana's forehead.

"Owie." the Titan murmured. "Very big owie."

Ariana sank back into her body. The ringing in her ears faded. Her vision cleared. She still felt like she had swallowed a deep fryer.

Her insides bubbled. She could sense that the poison had only been slowed, not removed.
But she was alive.

Ariana tried to meet Bob's eyes, to express her gratitude. Her head lolled against her chest.