Storm Rising

Chapter 4

Percy's POV

"Nico," I cry out, even though I know he can't hear. I wave my hand in front of the iris message, making it disappear, and sprint over to Annabeth.

"Annabeth, Nico is hurt. A skeleton or something just knocked him out. The underworld is having a break out. He needs our help," I say frantically.

Annabeth scans the room frantically for Hades, but he's nowhere in sight. "We'll never make it in time," She says, despair evident in her voice. "No other quick way to the underworld.

I look around the room, the hopeless of the situation filling me. What god could or the greater question will help us?

"Could I be of any help, Percy?" A voice says behind me.

Startled, we spin around to find Hestia standing behind us. "I can help you for Nico is practically your family and the hearth is the center of any family."

"Thank you," Annabeth said nodding her head respectfully.

"You should take the other child of the underworld, Hazel. She will be of a great help to you," Hestia tells us.

"I'll get her," I say before leaving Annabeth with Hestia.

I spot Hazel laughing with Frank. I don't want to interrupt their time together, but Hazel will be devastated if Nico were to... No, Percy, think happy thoughts. I weave my way through the crowd to the pair.

When Hazel sees the look on my face, fear becomes evident on her face. "What's wrong?" Hazel asks.

Frank, who had his back to me, turns around. "Percy?" He asks.

"It's Nico, Hazel. There's been an underworld breakup and Hestia will teleport us there. She also said you should come."

At the mention of her brother Hazel immediately jumped up and grabbed her spatha. "I'm coming."

Frank stood up, also. "If she's going, I'm going, too," He said.

I nodded, then motioned for them to follow me back to Hestia. Every second we wasted was another second Nico could be getting hurt.

"Everyone ready?" Hestia looked at us. I nodded.

"Wait, Percy, can I come?" Another voice calls out. It's Reyna.

"Sure," I motion her over.

"Join hands." I grabbed Annabeth and Hazel's hands, while Frank grabbed Hazel's other hand and Reyna's. Hestia touched my shoulder and the world went dark.

When sight came back to us, I found we were in front of DOA recording studios. It looked calm inside, well, as calm as the death waiting room can get. This can't be right. Where is Nico?

I beckoned the others and we walked inside. I saw Charon sitting at his podium with the rest of the souls drifting around the room.

"Charon!" Annabeth called as we ran over to him.

"Where's Nico?" Hazel asked.

"We managed to push the souls back into the underworld. They are battling around the Styx. As for Master's son, I don't know," He says.

I bite back an angry retort. Instead, I say "Thank you, Charon. We'll be going down then."

"All right, Mr. Perseus. Best of luck," He says, handing me the elevator card. Mr. Perseus? Gah, what is it with these immortals and titles? Can't a guy just have a simple name for once?

Annabeth swipes the card through the elevator and we descend into the realm of Hades.

"What's the game plan?" Hazel asks as the elevator goes deeper into the earth.

"I don't know," Annabeth says. "I need to assess to situation first. Percy, if we are near the river Styx, your powers can control that right?" I nod. Nico was the only one who saw me use the Styx. Hurry up, stupid elevator! I need to help Nico!

"I can bring the stalactites down if needed," Hazel adds in. Reyna has remained quiet this whole time. I wonder why she wanted to come. I shrug off the thought. Be focused for Nico's sake.

Annabeth nods thoughtfully. "It will have to do, for now. Frank, could you shoot down some souls with your arrows or turn into a hellhound and push them back?"

Before Frank can answer, the elevator doors ding open.

"That's not right, we're supposed to go across the Styx," Annabeth says, tiny bit of fear creeping into her voice.

I'm about to agree with her, when I look out over the underworld and words leave me. The souls might have been pushed back into the underworld but the battle is not going well. Hades and Persephone are barely managing to keep the skeletal guards under control. Thanatos is sending soul after soul back to their rightful place, but there are simply too many. Cerberus and some hellhounds are dissitagrating souls back to their respectful place. I finally spot Nico fighting his way through skeletons. He must of gotten some kind of ambrosia because he's fighting but still very pale. There is a girl fighting next to him with knives, but it takes me a whole to recognize her. It's Bianca! She seems to be solid, still a little weak.

"Nico! Bianca!" Annabeth calls out, unable to help herself.

Nico turns to us and is about to yell back at us, when a club swings around from an undead caveman man. Nico is forced to put all of his attention on his fight.

"Come on, we have to help them!" I yell drawing Riptide. We charge at the skeletons. As we are about to crash into the fray, Frank turns into a huge helhound knocking down many enemies at a time. Annabeth draws her knife while Hazel wields her spatha. I stab a soul in its gut and kick one in the chest that was about to stab Annabeth in the back.

"You should never touch my friends," I say and plunge my sword through its white, flaky head. It crumbles into ashes.

Meanwhile, Hazel and Frank are making pretty good headway through the skeletal army. Frank, the hellhound, uses his huge paws to swipe away souls, while Hazel guards his back, swinging her spatha with a look of rage in her eyes.

Annabeth and I are almost to Bianca and Nico when a skeleton sneaks up on Bianca and kicks the knives out of her hands. The skeleton attacking her takes advantage of this to stab Bianca in the shoulder. She falls and appears to cry out in pain, yet the battle is so loud no one can hear her. Nico has his back turned fighting seven shades. Frank and Hazel are trying to dispatch a newly arrived group of shades. Annabeth is fighting dagger to dagger with the soul of Mediah. Reyna is fighting, wait is that Circe. There is no help nearby for Bianca. I made a split second desicion. I won't let Bianca die again.

I stab the skeleton next to me. The skeleton, who kicked the knives out of her hands, raises his sword, ready to kill her. I throw riptide like a spear.

For those of you who have been as unfortunate to witness my archery, it sucks. Luckily, that doesn't seem to apply to throwing swords. Riptide slams, point first into the skeleton's neck, disintegrating it.

Bianca looks around widely for the killer of the skeleton until she sees me. "Percy!" She cries. She reaches for her knives but they disappeared along with the skeletons. She curses them loudly.

"Language, Bianca," I say.

"Shut up! What can I use?" She retorts.

"Take riptide!" I yell, as I run towards her.

"But what will you use?" She asks. By this time, I've reached her. I yank riptide out of the skeleton's ashes and hand it, hilt first to her.

"My powers. It's time the skeletons learned their lesson from messing with my friends," I say. "Get the others under an overhanging or somewhere safe.

Bianca nods before running over to Nico. While slashing down skeletons left and right, she tells him the plan.

He nods before racing off to tell Reyna, who has just beaten Circe. I close my eyes letting the power of the Styx slowly build. I give my friends a count to thirty, yes I can count that high, to get to safety.

But when I'm on twenty-six, I hear a scream that chills me to the bone.

I whirl around. It's Annabeth. A knife sticks, hilt out, of her stomach with a eerily grinning skeleton above her.

My vision goes red and the river erupts.