I am so sorry guys I can't see reviews right now, which is infuriating because I can't respond to you guys. Anyway, enjoy this chapter.
Annabeth hated being away from Percy and Rachel for too long- oh she understood the need for it but that didn't mean it was something she was okay with. A fact that she'd made very clear when they were alone in their room, cuddling tight to her two girlfriends.
Things had been so... complicated. She could still feel a sort of tension there- not between her and Rachel of course but between them and Percy.
And there was something in Percy that there hadn't been before.
She'd acknowledged a lot of her issues, her fear, but Annabeth knew that there was a long way to go before things were better.
And she'd spoken to Hazel and Frank too. She didn't like the sound of how Percy had lost it- oh she knew Percy had done things in Tartarus that were... pushing it somewhat but- they weren't in Tartarus any more, and Hazel and Frank had both seemed almost uncomfortable with what had happened, though they'd tried to hide it.
There was so much to worry about, but- cuddling always helped. And when the next morning came she woke bright and early, slipping out of bed without Percy and Rachel noticing.
And she was willing to admit that she did spare ten minutes just to watch her sleeping girlfriends, Percy was snoring softly, drooling onto the pillow- which brought back fond memories of the early days, watching Percy in the infirmary when she'd first come to camp, watching over her during and after their first quest. They'd been co-dependant for a while, to say the least. Percy had struggled to sleep without her and Grover. And she'd always been terrible for drooling when she was sleeping. A fact that Annabeth had held back from teasing about too much, the last thing Percy had needed was to be embarrassed about being seen sleeping.
When she went on deck Jason- who was on guard duty told her that they had reached Sparta, so she quickly headed below deck to wake Piper, who admitted that she'd had a dream- she warned Annabeth and a giant waiting for them in Sparta, of the giants plans, what little they could understand.
Annabeth decided against waking Percy and Rachel before they left at that.
With the way Percy was at the moment Annabeth wasn't sure how Percy would react- but Percy's reactions seemed volatile at the moment. It could get kind of explosive if Annabeth wasn't careful and that was the last thing they needed.
The only ones up on deck when Annabeth and Piper made it up there were Jason, Leo, Luke and Thalia, and they said their goodbyes easily enough. And less than an hour later, the two of them stood on a hill overlooking the ruins of Ancient Sparta. They'd already scouted the modern city, which, strangely, reminded Piper of Albuquerque – a bunch of low, boxy, whitewashed buildings sprawled across a plain at the foot of some purplish mountains. Annabeth had insisted on checking the archaeology museum, then the giant metal statue of the Spartan warrior in the public square, then the National Museum of Olives and Olive Oil- Annabeth tried not to think of what Percy would say- she'd undoubtedly make some smart ass comment about how Saltwater was better than olives, but no giants attacked them. They found no statues of chained gods.
Unfortunately they couldn't avoid the ruins forever. And Annabeth was willing to admit that she didn't have a good feeling about whatever was going to happen.
And it wasn't as impressive as Annabeth had hoped. They stood on the hill that had once been Sparta's acropolis.
And her lack of enthusiasm worried her. Once upon a time she'd have been filled with joy by the sight. Now she just felt stressed and tired.
The weathered slope was covered with dead grass, rocks and stunted olive trees. Below, ruins stretched out for maybe a quarter of a mile: limestone blocks, a few broken walls and some tiled holes in the ground like wells.
Annabeth closed her eyes, trying to focus herself, hand reaching up absent-mindedly to play with the ring hanging on her camp necklace.
"You okay?" Piper's voice was soft.
"I'm fine." Annabeth exhaled, "Just- it's a lot at the moment. With Percy and the boys-"
"She seems to be doing pretty well all things considered."
"She's not." Annabeth pulled a face, "Not really. I mean-" she shook her head, running her fingers through her hair. "Percy's always been good at pretending to be better than she is. She'll pull through, I know she will but- it's going to take time and I just scared how much damage the rest of the quest might do. Don't get me wrong Rache l and I will do whatever it takes to keep her but- there was so much damage done and- I don't know how much fight she has left."
"I think she'll do it for everyone else." Piper said after a moment, "I don't know her that well but from everything I've seen... even if she won't live for herself she'll fight to make you guys happy."
"I hope you're right." when Piper pulled her into a hug Annabeth didn't resist. She hugged back tightly, closing her eyes.
And then a roaring sound came from the ruins. One of the stone lined pits spewed out a three storey geyser of flames before shutting off just as quickly.
Annabeth groaned lowly as Piper pulled away and blinked. "What the heck?"
"I don't know what that was." Annabeth straightened, "But it's probably something we should check out." Three pits lay side by side like finger holes on a recorder. Each one was perfectly round, two feet in diameter, tiled around the rim with limestone; each one plunged straight into darkness. Every few seconds, seemingly at random, one of the three pits shot a column of fire into the sky. Each time, the colour and intensity of the flames were different.
"They weren't doing this before." Annabeth walked a wide arc around the pits, eyeing them suspiciously as her mind raced, taking in how often, how high the flames went and the color but there wasn't a pattern. "'There doesn't seem to be any pattern. The timing, the colour, the height of the fire … I don't get it."
"Did we activate them somehow?" Piper wondered.
"There must be some kind of a mechanism." Annabeth muttered the words as she searched, "I wish Leo was here he can sense stuff like that."
Flames shot from the middle pit. Annabeth counted silently. The next time, a geyser erupted on the left. She frowned. "That's not right. It's inconsistent. It has to follow some kind of logic."
Then Piper spoke, "It isn't rational." she said, "It's emotional."
"What-" Annabeth blinked, "How could it possibly be emotional they're fire pits-" she let out a shriek as Piper thrust her hand out over the pit on the right. Instantly, flames leaped up. Piper barely had time to withdraw her fingers.
"What the fuck Piper?! What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't thinking." Piper said quickly, "I was feeling. What we want is down there. These pits are the way in. I'll have to jump-"
"Oh come on that's the sort of thing Percy and Leo would suggest-" Annabeth said quickly, "It's crazy. Even if you don't get stuck in the tube you have no idea how deep it is you could get stuck or could fall to your death."
"You're right."
"And what if the fire comes again?"
"It could happen."
Piper unbuckled her sword and tossed it into the pit on the right. "I'll let you know if it's safe. Wait for my word."
"Don't you dare," Annabeth warned.
Piper jumped.
Annabeth blinked at the spot where Piper had been a moment before, forcing herself to take a deep breath.
Why in the name of the gods did she seem to hang around with people who were all totally crazy? That was on par with Percy and Leo levels of crazy and Annabeth knew what she was talking about there.
She leaned over slightly, peering down into the pit as best she could without actually risking getting burned to death. "Piper?" She called down, her heart pounding in her chest, her chest tight with worry.
"Yeah!" the voice was faint from down below, but it made Annabeth almost sob with relief.
"Thank the gods!" she was alive. That was good. That was very good. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, hold on a sec!"
And it wasn't like Annabeth had that much choice. She was going to have to talk to Jason. Maybe they could recruit Calypso and Will and start a 'my partner is a reckless idiot' club. Rachel would be part of it too, obviously.
"Annabeth!" Piper's voice drew Annabeth's attention and she leaned over a little bit more, "It's a long drop but it's safe to come down. Maybe... uh, you have a rope you can fasten so we can get back up?"
"On it." at least Annabeth carried rope with her- and it wasn't hard to fasten it to a sturdy stone nearby and it was long enough for Annabeth to slowly slide down it.
She glared at Piper when she saw her. "Piper McLean that was without a doubt the dumbest risk I've ever seen anyone take and I date a dumb risk-taker"
"That's a lie." Piper pointed out, "You watched Leo and Nico jump into Tartarus after Percy."
And damn her but she wasn't wrong.
Annabeth looked around slowly- the put was about thirty foot deep maybe, the chamber they were in was round, about the size of a helicopter pad. The walls were made of rough-hewn stone blocks chiselled with Greek inscriptions – thousands and thousands of them, like graffiti.
There were three bronze dragon statues stood in a row aligned with the holes in the roof- and they'd all been decapitated, presumably by Piper.
At the far end of the room, on a stone dais, stood the human-sized bronze statue of a warrior, and he definitely looked familiar to Annabeth- she scowled faintly as she looked at him. Heavy bronze chains were wrapped around his body, anchoring him to the floor.
On either side of the statue loomed two dark doorways, ten feet high, with a gruesome stone face carved over each archway, with lion's manes instead of hair.
"Those were the dragons of Ares right?" Piper was nudging the nearest decapitated dragon head with her foot. "That's one of his sacred animals right?"
"Yes." Annabeth nodded, "And that would be Ares himself. What do you think those doorways-"
Piper held out her hand. "Do you hear that?"
The sound was like a drumbeat … with a metallic echo.
"I do." Annabeth breathed out, nodding as Piper tilted her head.
"I think it's coming from inside the statue. The heartbeat of the chained god."
And Annabeth pulled out her dagger, "I don't like this." there was a strange feeling in her chest- a tight fear, she couldn't seem to force it down like she was usually so good at doing with her emotions. "We need to leave."
"I think the shrine is ramping up our emotions." Piper said suddenly, "It's like being around my mom, except this place radiates fear, not love. That's why you started feeling overwhelmed on the hill. Down here, it's a thousand times stronger."
"Okay-" Annabeth forced herself to breath, "We need to focus and get the statue out. Maybe haul it up with the rope but-"
"Wait-" Piper was looking ip at the snarling stone faces above the doorways. "A shrine that radiates fear. Ares had two divine sons didn't he?"
"We need to get out of here." Annabeth said quickly-she could remember Percy and Rachel telling her about their run in with the two gods- both of whom had reason to hate her. "Phobos and Deimos are nasty. We need to leave Piper. Percy and Rachel told me about them."
"I think those are their faces above the doors." Piper said, pointing, "This place isn't just a shrine to Ares. It's a temple of fear.
And then, deep laughter echoed through the chamber.
And Annabeth felt sick.
The giant was already there.
