plague bringer - a heroes of olympus insert

𝗑𝗑𝗂𝗂. 𝖽𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝗍𝗋𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖺𝗍 𝗁𝗈𝗆𝖾, 𝗄𝗂𝖽𝗌

After her fall into Tartarus, jumping three hundred feet to the Mansion of Night should have felt quick. Instead, Aria's heart seemed to slow down.

Between the beats she had ample time to write her own obituary. Aria Foster, died age 16. BA-BOOM. (She was very glad she got to celebrate her birthday on February 23rd before this leg of the quest.) BA-BOOM. Died of massive injuries while leaping like an idiot into the abyss of Chaos and splattering on the entry hall floor of Nyx's mansion. BA-BOOM. Survived by her amazing mother. BA-BOOM. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Camp Half-Blood, assuming Gaea hasn't already destroyed it.

Her feet hit the solid floor. Pain shot up her legs, but she stumbled forward and broke into a run. Above them in the dark, Nyx and her children scuffled and yelled, "I've got them! My foot! Stop it!"

Aria kept running. She couldn't see anyway, so she closed her eyes. She used her other senses—listening for the echo of open spaces, feeling for cross-breezes against her face, sniffing for any scent of danger—smoke, or poison, or the stench of demons. She was terrified, but forced herself to keep going.

The squabbling sounds of Nyx's children got farther away. That was good. In the distance ahead of her, Aria began to hear a throbbing sound, like her own heartbeat echoing back, amplified so powerfully, the floor vibrated underfoot. The sound filled her with dread, so she figured it must be the right way to go. She ran toward it. As the beat got louder, she smelled smoke and heard the flickering of torches on either side. She guessed there would be light, but a crawling sensation across her neck warned her it would be a mistake to open her eyes.. Whatever horrors lay in the Mansion of Night, they weren't meant for mortal eyes. Seeing them would be worse than staring at the face of Medusa. Better to run in darkness.

The throbbing got louder still, sending vibrations straight up Aria's spine. It felt like someone was knocking on the bottom of the world, demanding to be let in. She sensed the walls opening up on either side of her and slowed down. The air smelled fresher—or at least not quite as sulfurous. There was another sound, too, closer than the deep pulsing...the sound of flowing water.

Her heart raced. She knew the exit was close. If she could make it out of the Mansion of Night, maybe they could leave the dark brood of demons behind. Suddenly her eyes flew open as she almost pitched forward into who-knew-what.

Aria threw her weight away from the pit and plunged her dagger from Damasen into the ground. Luckily it stuck and she was able to pull herself from the edge.

"It's okay," she muttered to herself as she sat, staring at the abyss. She was trembling against her will, but tried to shake it off. She stood to her feet, forcing herself to keep going. She couldn't afford any chance to relax or calm down. She had to keep going and get out of Tartarus.

She looked around trying to find that source of the water she had heard. However, before she could see it, she could hear it. Something sounded terribly wrong with the water. Within the roaring current, thousands of voices cried out—shrieking in agony, pleading for mercy.

'Help!' they groaned. 'It was an accident! The pain!' their voices wailed. 'Make it stop!'

Aria didn't need her eyes to visualize the river—a black briny current filled with tortured souls being swept deeper and deeper into Tartarus. "The River Acheron," she guessed, muttering to herself. "It's the River of Pain. The ultimate punishment for the souls of the damned —murderers, especially."

'Murderers!' the river wailed. 'Yes, like you!'

'Join us,' another voice whispered. 'You are no better than we are.'