NICO SMELT OF smoke. Louis didn't think he smelt any better though. The sooty smell was comforting surprisingly. It reminded him of all the times he'd spent sitting around a fire with Reyna, having late night talks. He missed Reyna, and he wondered if she was ok. He hoped she was ok. She wasn't in Tartarus at least, so that definitely meant she was at least ok.
A comfortable silence set over the two, both resting as much as they could while they had the chance.
“We could’ve fallen into the River Lethe,” Louis said, breaking the silence. “Lost all our memories.”
"Not all. I don't think I could ever forget you."
Louis smiled at Nico's words. It was one of the kindest things he'd ever been told. That's one of the great things he loved about their friendship. Nico made Louis feel important and appreciated. Their unlikey friendship was one to shock many, but it worked, and Nico made Louis a happier person, ans vise versa.
"Really?" Louis replied, a happiness seeping into his voice.
"Yeah," Nico agreed. "Your ideas are so delusional it's hard not to forget."
Louis' smile faded and was replaced with sarcasm. "Oh ha ha, very funny."
Of course Nico would never compliment him, that'd be like the world flipping upside down
Louis gazed across the ashen plains. Overlooking the particles floating through the blood-colored clouds or lurking in that dark fog. Even in such a depressing place, Louis felt calm during this moment. Nico's head lay resting on his shoulder, a comfortable silence forming between the two, and Louis actually felt ok for the first time being here.
Nico interrupted Louis' relaxation. “We should keep moving. You want some more fire to drink?”
“Ugh. I’ll pass.”
Reluctantly, they struggled to their feet. The rest of the cliff looked impossible to descend—nothing more than a crosshatching of tiny ledges—but they kept climbing down.
Louis' body went on autopilot. His fingers cramped. He felt blisters popping up on his ankles. He got shaky from hunger. Deffintly not his ideal day.
He wondered if they would die of starvation, or if the firewater would keep them going.
A billion years later, with a dozen new blisters on his feet, they reached the bottom and collapsed on the ground.
Ahead of them stretched miles of wasteland, bubbling with monstrous larvae and big insect-hair trees. To their right, the Phlegethon split into branches that etched the plain, widening into a delta of smoke and fire. To the north, along the main route of the river, the ground was riddled with cave entrances. Here and there, spires of rock jutted up like exclamation points.
Under Louis' hand, the soil felt alarmingly warm and smooth. He tried to grab a handful, then realized that under a thin layer of dirt and debris, the ground was a single vast membrane…like skin.
He almost threw up, but forced himself not to. There was nothing in his stomach but fire.
He didn’t mention it to Nico, but he started to feel like something was watching them—something vast and malevolent. He couldn’t zero in on it, because the presence was all around them. Watching was the wrong word, too. That implied eyes, and this thing was simply aware of them. The ridges above them now looked less like steps and more like rows of massive teeth. The spires of rock looked like broken ribs. And if the ground was skin…
Nico noticed Louis' uneasiness. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Your lying."
Louis tried to brush him off again. "It's nothing, don't worry. Let's just keep moving."
Louis tried to walk forward, but was pulled back by Nico grabbing his hand. "Well now I am worried. Just tell me what it is Louis."
Louis hesitated, he could tell Nico was stressed and he didn't want to add anything else onto it to make it worse. "This place it just . . . dosent feel right. It feels like something wrong or - I don't know. It just creeps me out."
Nico nodded, signalling that he felt the same. "We just have to keep going, put it behind us. Freaking out will only make things worse. Ok?"
"OK."
They stood, wiping soot from their faces. Nico gazed toward the darkness on the horizon. “We’re going to be completely exposed, crossing this plain.”
"Do we have another choice?" Louis tried.
"No."
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A WALK THROUGH Taturus felt like walking towards your death. Nico and Louis hadn't let go of each other's hands, both secretly too afraid of something bad happening to the other if they did let go.
About a hundred yards ahead of them, a blister burst on the ground. A monster clawed its way out…a glistening telkhine with slick fur, a seal-like body, and stunted human limbs. It managed to crawl a few yards before something shot out of the nearest cave, so fast that Louis could only register a dark green reptilian head. The monster snatched the squealing telkhine in its jaws and dragged it into the darkness.
"That's definitely not a terrifying sight."
"Sarcasm isn't helping."
"Neither is your attitude Nico."
They continued walking, trying to avoid the cave entrances, sticking close to the bank of the river.
They were just skirting one of the spires when a glint of movement caught Louis eye—something darting between the rocks to their right. His grip on Nico's hand tightened.
A monster following them? Or maybe it was just some random baddie, heading for the Doors of Death.
Suddenly he remembered why they’d started following this route, and he froze in his tracks.
“The empousai.” He grabbed Nico' arm. “Where are they?”
Nico scanned a three-sixty, his tired, sunken eyes bright with alarm.
If the empousai were still ahead of them, they should’ve been visible somewhere on the plains.
The empousai emerged from the rocks all around them—five of them forming a ring. A perfect trap.
Louis wished he hadn't gotten distracted by quality time with Nico and had actually used his brain instead to relise the trap they were walking into.
Kelli limped forward on her mismatched legs. Her fiery hair burned across her shoulders like a miniature Phlegethon waterfall. Her tattered cheerleader outfit was splattered with rusty-brown stains, and Louis was pretty sure they weren’t ketchup. She fixed him with her glowing red eyes and bared her fangs.
“Louis Blackwood, Nico Di Angelo” she cooed. “How awesome! I don’t even have to return to the mortal world to destroy you!”
She had four friends with her. The odds weren't exactly in their favours.
Louis drew his sword. He and Nico stood shoulder to shoulder, ready to fight. But neither of them was in good shape for battle. They were hopelessly outnumbered. There was nowhere to run. No help coming.
Fighting was a long shot.
That left Louis favorite tactics: trickery, talk, delay.
“So…” he started, “I guess you’re wondering what we’re doing in Tartarus.”
Kelli snickered. “Not really. I just want to kill you.”
Louis smiled nervously. "Oh, how lovely."
That would’ve been it, but Nico chimed in, understanding what Louis was trying to do.
“Too bad,” Nico said. “Because you have no idea what’s going on in the mortal world.”
The other empousai circled, watching Kelli for a cue to attack; but the ex-cheerleader only snarled, crouching out of reach of Louis' sword.
“We know enough,” Kelli said. “Gaea has spoken.”
“You’re heading toward a major defeat.” Nico sounded so confident, even Louis was impressed. Ussually Nico just sounded depressed.
Nico glanced at the other empousai, one by one, then pointed accusingly at Kelli. “This one claims she’s leading you to a victory. She’s lying. The last time she was in the mortal world, Kelli was in charge of keeping Luke Castellan faithful to Kronos. In the end, Luke rejected him. He gave his life to expel Kronos. The Titans lost because Kelli failed. Now Kelli wants to lead you to another disaster.”
The other empousai muttered and shifted uneasily.
"Who's Luke?" Louis whispered, a tinge of jelouesy lacing his voice.
“Enough!” Kelli’s fingernails grew into long black talons. She glared at Nico as if imagining him sliced into small pieces.
“The boy lies,” Kelli said. “So the Titans lost. Fine! That was part of the plan to wake Gaea! Now the Earth Mother and her giants will destroy the mortal world, and we will totally feast on demigods!”
The other vampires gnashed their teeth in a frenzy of excitement.
Louis prepared himself to attack, but how many could he dispatch before they overwhelmed him? It wouldn’t be enough.
“The demigods have united!” Nico yelled. “You’d better think twice before you attack us. Romans and Greeks will fight you together. You don’t stand a chance!”
The empousai backed up nervously, hissing, “Romani.”
Louis guessed they’d had experience with the Twelfth Legion before, and it hadn’t worked out well for them. For the first time in awhile, he felt proud being apart of the Twelfh Legion.
“Yeah, you bet Romani.” Louis bared his forearm and showed them the brand he’d gotten at Camp Jupiter—the SPQR mark, with the cornucopia of Fortuna. “You mix Greek and Roman, and you know what you get? You get BAM!”
He stomped his foot, and the empousai scrambled back. One fell off the boulder where she’d been perched.
That made Louis feel good, but they recovered quickly and closed in again.
“Bold talk,” Kelli said, “for two demigods lost in Tartarus. Lower your sword, Louis Blackwood, and I’ll kill you quickly. Believe me, there are worse ways to die down here.”
“Wait!” Nico tried again. “Aren’t empousai the servants of Hecate?”
Kelli curled her lip. “So?”
“So Hecate is on our side now,” Nico said. “She has a cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Some of her demigod children are my friends. If you fight us, she’ll be angry.”
Louis wanted to hug Nico, he was so brilliant.
One of the other empousai growled. “Is this true, Kelli? Has our mistress made peace with Olympus?”
“Shut up, Serephone!” Kelli screeched. “Gods, you’re annoying!”
“I will not cross the Dark Lady.”
Nico took the opening. “You’d all be better following Serephone. She’s older and wiser.”
“Yes!” Serephone shrieked. “Follow me!”
Kelli struck so fast, Louis didn’t have the chance to raise his sword. Fortunately, she didn’t attack him or Nico. Kelli lashed out at Serephone. For half a second, the two demons were a blur of slashing claws and fangs.
Then it was over. Kelli stood triumphant over a pile of dust. From her claws hung the tattered remains of Serephone’s dress.
“Any more issues?” Kelli snapped at her sisters. “Hecate is the goddess of the Mist! Her ways are mysterious. Who knows which side she truly favors? She is also the goddess of the crossroads, and she expects us to make our own choices. I choose the path that will bring us the most demigod blood! I choose Gaea!”
Her friends hissed in approval.
Nico glanced at Louis and he saw that he was out of ideas. Nico had done what he could. He’d gotten Kelli to eliminate one of her own. Now there was nothing left but to fight.
“For two years I churned in the void,” Kelli said. “Do you know how completely annoying it is to be vaporized, Nico Di Angelo? Slowly re-forming, fully conscious, in searing pain for months and years as your body regrows, then finally breaking the crust of this hellish place and clawing your way back to daylight? All because some little girl stabbed you in the back?”
Her baleful eyes held Nico's. “I wonder what happens if a demigod is killed in Tartarus. I doubt it’s ever happened before. Let’s find out.”
Adrenalin took over, and Louis sprang, slashing his sword in a huge arc. He cut one of the demons in half, but Kelli dodged and charged Nico. The other two empousai launched themselves at Louis. One grabbed his sword arm. Her friend jumped on his back.
Louis tried to ignore them and staggered toward Nico, determined to go down defending her if he had to; but Nico was doing pretty well. He tumbled to one side, evading Kelli’s claws, and came up with a rock in his hand, which he smacked into Kelli’s nose.
Kelli wailed. Nico scooped up gravel and flung it in the empousa’s eyes.
Meanwhile Louis thrashed from side to side, trying to throw off his empousa hitchhiker, but her claws sank deeper into his shoulders. The second empousa held his arm, preventing him from using his sword.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kelli lunge, raking her talons across Nico's arm. Nico screamed and fell.
Alam belles went off inside Louis' head at the sight. He stumbled in his direction. The vampire on his back sank her teeth into his neck. Searing pain coursed through his body. His knees buckled.
Then the other vampire bit his sword arm, and his sword clattered to the ground.
That was it. His luck had finally run out. Kelli loomed over Nico, savoring her moment of triumph. The other two empousai circled Louis, their mouths slavering, ready for another taste.
Louis' focus remaind on Nico. "Get away from him!" Louis screamed.
Then a shadow fell across Louis.
A large clifftop bolder dropped downwards, giving into gravity until adding on top of Kelli, trampling her into a mound of monster dust.
Nico yelped and tried to crawl away, and Louis turned towards the two remaining empousai standing behind him.
One was foolish enough to attack. She lunged with the speed of a tiger, but Louis' reflexes kicked in. He reached for his sword during the same moment.
With a single deadly swipe, he cut her to dust. The last vampire tried to run. But Nico picked up a rock and threw it her way. It sliced through the vampire, causing her to fall to dust.
Louis couldn’t speak. He couldn’t bring himself to believe that something good had actually happened. Nico looked just as shocked.
There was a moment of silence, both boys just staring back at each other. Before Louis ran to Nico, throwing himself into his arms. Neither of them spoke a word, and instead just held each other in a tight embrace, thankful the other had survived.
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