plague bringer - a heroes of olympus insert

𝗑𝗑𝗏𝗂. 𝖺𝗇 𝗎𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖻𝗅𝖾𝗆

"Iapetus!" Hyperion bellowed. "Well, well. I thought you were hiding under a cleaning bucket somewhere."

Bob lumbered forward, scowling. "I was not hiding."

Aria crept toward the right side of the Doors. The Titans gave no sign of noticing her, but she took no chances. She kept her sword in its ring form. She crouched low, stepping as quietly as possible. The lesser monsters kept a respectful distance from the Titans, so there was enough empty space to maneuver around the Doors; but Aria was keenly aware of the snarling mob at his back.

She had decided to take the side of the doors away from Hyperion, on the theory that Hyperion was more likely to talk to Bob. On Aria's side of the Doors, Krios stood dark and silent, his ram's-headed helmet covering his face. He kept one foot planted on the chain's anchor and his thumb on the UP button.

Bob faced his brethren. He planted his spear and tried to look as fierce as possible with a kitten on his shoulder. "Hyperion and Krios. I remember you both."

"Do you, Iapetus?" The golden Titan laughed, glancing at Krios to share the joke. "Well, that's good to know! I heard Percy Jackson turned you into a brainwashed scullery maid. What did he rename you...Betty?"

"Bob," snarled Bob.

"Well, it's about time you showed up, Bob. Krios and I have been stuck here for weeks—"

"Hours," Krios corrected, his voice a deep rumble inside his helmet.

"Whatever!" Hyperion said. "It's boring work, guarding these doors, shuffling monsters through at Gaea's orders. Krios, what's our next group, anyway?"

"Double Red," said Krios.

Hyperion sighed. The flames glowed hotter across his shoulders. "Double Red. Why do we go from A-22 to Double Red? What kind of system is that?" He glared at Bob. "This is no job for me—the Lord of Light! Titan of the East! Master of Dawn! Why am I forced to wait in the darkness while the giants go into battle and get all the glory? Now, Krios I can understand—"

"I get all the worst assignments," Krios muttered, his thumb still on the button.

"But me?" Hyperion said. "Ridiculous! This should be your job, Iapetus. Here, take my place for a while."

Bob stared at the Doors, but his gaze was distant—lost in the past. "The four of us held down our father, Ouranos," he remembered. "Koios, and me, and the two of you. Kronos promised us mastery of the four corners of the earth for helping with the murder."

"Indeed," Hyperion said. "And I was happy to do it! I would've wielded the scythe myself if I'd had the chance! But you, Bob...you were always conflicted about that killing, weren't you? The soft Titan of the West, soft as the sunset! Why our parents named you the Piercer, I will never know. More like the Whimper."

Aria reached the anchor hook. She took off her ring and her sword grew to full length. Krios didn't react. His attention was firmly fixed on Bob, who had just leveled the point of his spear at Hyperion's chest. "I can still pierce," Bob said, his voice low and even. "You brag too much, Hyperion. You are bright and fiery, but Percy Jackson defeated you anyway. I hear you became a nice tree in Central Park."

Hyperion's eyes smoldered. "Careful, brother."

"At least a janitor's work is honest," Bob said. "I clean up after others. I leave the palace better than I found it. But you...you do not care what messes leave the palace better than I found it. But you...you do not care what messes you make. You followed Kronos blindly. Now you take orders from Gaea."

"She is our mother!" Hyperion bellowed.

"She did not wake for our war on Olympus," Bob recalled. "She favors her second brood, the giants."