there must be more than this provincial life.
[ percy jackson x original character ]
[ book three in the belle series ]
[ the mark of athena, the house of hades, & the blood of olympus ]
[ bonus: the lost hero, the hidden oracle, the ship of the dea...
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𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖙-𝖘𝖊𝖕𝖙: TARTARUS MAKES AN APPEARANCE
★ 。／｜＼。★
THE DEATH MIST camouflage plan seemed to be working. However, as a Demigod Belle knew that luck didn't last long. So, naturally, she expected something to go wrong.
When they were about fifty feet from the Doors of Death, Belle suddenly froze in her tracks. Percy stopped a little ways ahead of her, looking back at her in concern and tugging her hand to encourage her to keep moving. She shook her head and kept her gaze straight on the Doors. Percy followed to where she was looking, and once he noticed what was wrong, he froze too.
"Oh my Gods," Belle uttered in shock. "They . . . they look the same."
The Doors of Death were framed in Stygian Iron and were two panels of silver and black etched with art deco designs. Besides the fact that the colors were inverted, they looked exactly like the elevators that led up to Mount Olympus in the Empire State Building.
Belle suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe just by seeing them. Not only did she miss working up on Mount Olympus growing plants to match Annabeth's architecture, she missed everything that she had left behind — New York City, her boarding school, Camp Half-Blood, the Demeter Cabin, Katie, Connor, and Travis. Her eyes stung with tears and she was sure if she tried to talk she would just burst out crying. The Doors of Death seemed like a personal insult to her, like it was designed to remind her of everything she couldn't have. But it also gave her a sense of hope, like a reminder of everything she had to get back to.
Once those thoughts passed, she noticed the other details of the Doors — the frost spreading from the base, a purplish glow in the air surrounding them, the chains that held them down to the ground. Those chains were cords of black iron that ran down either side of the frame. Hooks that were embedded in the fleshy ground of Tartarus' heart tethered the chains. The two Titans, Krios and Hyperion, both stood guard at the anchor points.
Right in front of Belle's eyes, the entire fame suddenly shuddered and black lightning flashed into the sky. The chains shook, making Krios and Hyperion plant their feet on the hooks to keep them secure. Both panels of the Doors slid open to reveal the gilded interior of an elevator car. Belle felt Percy tense next to her like he was about to charge forwards.
Bob put a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Wait."
"Group A-22!" Hyperion yelled to the surrounding crowd. "Hurry up, you sluggards!"
