Order of the Olympians

Order of the Olympians Chapter 26

                                                                              Chapter 26

"You're lying, Annabeth. All you do is lie!"

Annabeth sank to her knees and shook her head, unable to stop the tears falling from her eyes. "I'm not! I swear I'm not! The spiders are real!"

Her stepmother stood next to Frederick Chase while they looked down on her with hateful sneers. "We hate you. All you do is lie and put our family in danger. You scare your brothers. Everything is your fault!"

Annabeth buried her face in her hands and wept.

Someone shoved her from behind, and she went sprawling into the dirt. Annabeth lifted herself up on shaky arms and blanched when she saw Thalia and Luke standing side by side. She was seven years old all over again, but instead of her best friends protecting her, keeping her safe until they reached Camp Half-Blood, they spat just inches from her.

"You're just slowing us down. We'll get caught by the monsters if we keep you with us." Thalia shook her head with narrowed eyes.

Luke's grin was stretched too wide and his expression too manic to belong to him. "We never wanted you, Annabeth. You're a loser, and you can't protect yourself. If we leave you here, then the monsters will come after you and not us."

"No!" Annabeth cried, scrambling to her feet. "Don't leave me! Please!"

The shadows that had been creeping along the edges of her vision pounced, and Annabeth was blinded. Panic set in and her breathing came in short, harsh pants. "Percy! Why would you leave me!"

They said they would always be together. Percy had promised that he wouldn't leave her by herself, but he lied. She was alone in Tartarus, blind and defenseless. She was going to die and her boyfriend, the one person who had become another part of her soul, had left her alone.

Annabeth crumpled to the rocky terrain, scraping her knees as she curled in on herself.

And then she cried.

XX

Blackjack touched down on the deserted streets of London just as the lengthening sun dropped below the horizon. Guido and the four Thestrals weren't far behind, and soon the group of demigods, wizards, and witches were back on solid ground. Some were more grateful for this fact than others.

"Never...again..." Ron said weakly as he released his death grip on Will and slid ungracefully off the horse.

When the others dismounted shakily, but stayed on their own two feet, Hermione had yet to surrender her grip on Percy's waist. He coughed, "Er...Hermione, I think you can let go now."

"Mmurmm!" She mumbled with a fierce shake of her head, her face still buried into Percy's shoulder blades. Harry gently grabbed her arm and tugged, indicating that he would help her down. She held on tight to both boys until she found her footing and immediately latched herself around Harry's neck. "I...hate...flying! Never, never again!"

Percy dismounted Blackjack and laughed at his pegasus' whinnies. "I know, right? She's just like Thalia! Go ahead and take the others for a ride, but stay close enough where you can hear Reyna's whistle, alright?" The winged horse gave a signal and pushed off into the twilight sky with his powerful wings, leading the small herd away.

A warm summer breeze flitted through the streets, ruffling Percy's hair slightly. He should have welcomed such an intrusion, but he was too on edge to respond with anything but a shiver. "Harry, once we get inside, do you think you can find the Department of Mysteries?" He asked.