Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.
Story: Divided Soul
Chapter 24: Frozen Death
Diros Cave
Scipio knelt on the ground his green eyes were as dark as a forest at night. Jason knelt down beside him. The rest of the seven stared down at the son of Neptune and their leader. Annabeth's eyes never left Scipio. Her grey eyes were dark and her worried expression showed how concerned she was for Scipio and the bombshell he just dropped.
Jason stared at his friend worriedly. "How can the river Styx go dry?" Jason asked the question the others wanted to say.
Scipio shook his head. "I have no idea, but now I know why the Mark of Achilles has been acting so strangely. The power of the river is being restrained somehow," Scipio said. His brow was furrowed in confusion as he stared down at the dry riverbed.
Jason helped Scipio to his feet. He had never seen the Consul of Rome, as helpless as he was right now. This new information had totally turned Scipio's world upside down.
"What can we do?" Leo asked. Jason looked at Scipio, but the son of Neptune just stared at the empty riverbed.
"Annabeth, any ideas?" Jason asked hopefully.
Annabeth broke her gaze away from Scipio to acknowledge Jason. She studied the empty riverbed as her mind raced with facts, figures and stories that she had heard about the river.
"We should follow the empty riverbed upstream. Hopefully, that will lead us to our answer," Annabeth reasoned.
Jason nodded. "That's a good plan," Jason said. He walked over to Alex and Gwen. The two children of Rome watched their leader curiously. "Watch out for Scipio," Jason whispered. The two Romans nodded.
Jason stepped forward to lead the group along the bank of what was once the river Styx. The others followed him. Scipio brought up the rear of the group. His eyes kept moving to look at the empty stream bed.
Gwen and Alex made sure to stay back with Scipio. They gave each other concerned looks as they kept a watchful eye on the son of Neptune.
The group walked for an hour until they reach a sheer rock wall. Annabeth analyzed the wall carefully. The others watched her as she studied the rock surface. She used her celestial bronze knife to scrape the rock. She turned toward the others thoughtfully. "This was a waterfall," she said as she scraped mud off her knife onto the ground. "We can climb the rock wall on the edge of where the waterfall was. The hand holds are pretty good."
Jason motioned for the others to follow his lead as he began to climb the rock wall.
Annabeth looked at Scipio worriedly. Piper put her arm around her friend's shoulder. "He'll be okay," Piper reassured. Annabeth nodded, but it was clear that she wasn't so sure he would be.
The heroes began to climb the rock wall. Scipio was the last to start climbing. Gwen and Alex kept an eye on the son of Neptune as they scaled the rock wall. After a good hour of climbing the seven reached the top. The top of the cliff was dark and a cool breeze blew along the dry river bed. The demigods looked upstream for any sign of the reason for the disappearance of the river.
"No sign of anything," Jason admitted.
Annabeth looked upstream straining her eyes to see anything out of the ordinary. They might be in the underworld, but a dry river Styx was something that no one could have anticipated. Piper stepped up to her friend with Leo at her side. Jason and Annabeth stood in front of their two friends. They were all lost in thought before the daughter of Aphrodite asked, "Do you think this has anything to do with Nico's disappearance?"
"Who knows, Nico disappears for weeks at a time. He might be on one of his excursions," Annabeth said.
Leo shook his head. "He wouldn't do that with the whole world at stake," Leo said.
Annabeth sighed. "You're right, but we have enough to worry about without having to agonize over Nico. The others knew that Annabeth thought of Nico like a little brother and they all knew that he would do anything for her or Percy.
"Don't worry; we'll find him and solve this problem," Leo said.
Jason grinned at Leo's optimism. Suddenly, Jason's grin disappeared as he looked over Leo's shoulder. The others looked at the direction that Jason was staring. Scipio was gone.
"We need to follow him," Alex said as he and Gwen ran up to Jason.
"What happened?" Jason asked curiously.
"He was sitting on the ground, so Gwen and I started to check our packs and weapons after the climb. We only turned around for a second. When we turned back he was gone," Alex said.
Gwen nodded. "We followed his tracks upstream," Gwen said.
"We ran back to let you know. We need to hurry before he gets too far ahead of us," Alex urged.
The six demigods raced forward. Gwen guided them as she followed the footprints made by the son of Neptune. Annabeth stood next to Gwen looking down at the ground as the group stopped running.
"How do you know which way he's going?" Annabeth asked. She couldn't see any footprints. The son of Neptune's steps were too light.
Gwen smiled. "Lupa taught me how to track. I guess having a wolf as a teacher comes in handy," Gwen said. "Jason, that way." Gwen pointed further upstream, but for some reason Scipio had moved away from the dry river bed.
Jason led the group forward. As they moved the temperature dropped significantly. The group could see their breath and finally they could see ice on the ground. They moved slowly as the icy ground made it hard to run. The river bed was still dry, but now there were frozen puddles of water in some places.
"I didn't know the water of the Styx could freeze," Piper said.
Everyone looked at Annabeth for the answer. The daughter of Athena was proud that her friends relied on her at times like these. "The river is enchanted, but it still contains water. It may carry the lost dreams of the deceased, but its still water. It can burn away your mortal soul or kill an immortal, but in most ways it acts like a normal river. It can freeze or evaporate like any other stream," Annabeth said.
Jason led the group further upstream. Remarkably, the temperature decreased further. If they didn't make it to the headwaters of the river soon they would most likely freeze to death. Ironic since they were already in the underworld. Their souls wouldn't have very far to go.
Eventually, after several hours of walking the group reached a large lake. Annabeth pointed out a large earthen dam that blocked the water from moving downhill.
"That's why the streams dry," Jason said. The others nodded.
"Look at the lake. The water is frozen solid," Leo pointed out. Leo made a small fire appear in his hands.
"Leo, put out the flame. It will give away our position," Jason ordered. Leo reluctantly snuffed out the flame between his hands. The son of Hephaestus hated the cold, but he knew that Jason was right.
"Over there," Alex said as he pointed to some movement behind a large boulder. Jason and the others strained their eyes to look, but all they could make out was a person kneeling behind the boulder.
Jason motioned for the others to follow him closely. They reached the boulder. Scipio knelt on the ground as he peered around the large rock.
"Scipio, what's going on?" Jason asked.
Scipio turned around to address the son of Jupiter; His eyes were no longer dark. They were a more vibrant green. Jason had never seen them that color before. "Over there," Scipio whispered. Jason peeked around the side of the boulder. The lake was frozen like they thought, but the sight that shocked him the most was the large celestial bronze cage that housed three unusual prisoners. The first prisoner was a boy about thirteen wearing an aviator's jacket and a skull ring. Nico, the son of Hades sat on the floor of the cage. He was dirty and his hair was matted from sweat. He had several scratches on his face and his left eye was bruised and swollen shut.
The second prisoner was a tall dark skinned man with black wings that were tucked tightly against his back. He wore celestial bronze armor and his hands and feet were chained to the bars of the cage.
The last prisoner was tucked against the back of the cage. Jason couldn't tell who or what the prisoner was because the person or thing was frozen within a large block of ice.
As Jason watched the prisoners, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. A large man over nine feet tall stepped out of the shadows. He had greyish hair with silver eyes. He wore silver armor and a red cape. A long celestial bronze sword hung from his belt. He stepped toward the cage with an evil smile on his face.
"Son of Hades, I see that you've given up hope," the man said.
Nico looked up and spat at the man. "My friends will come. You will not win Iapetus," Nico said.
Iapetus smiled. "I do hope your friend Percy Jackson shows up. It would be my pleasure to take my revenge on him. I thank my mother for returning my memories. I cannot believe that I thought my name was Bob," Iapetus said angrily. "I will kill that boy."
Nico looked up at the Titan. "Percy isn't coming, but I have friends and allies that will. They will defeat you and your mother," Nico proclaimed.
Iapetus's evil grin widened. "Brave talk child of the dead, but my mother's plan is working. The doors of death are open thanks to the control of the Styx. That river will no longer block the souls of the dead or more importantly the monsters from reforming. Thanatos here is no threat now," Iapetus said as he pointed to the minor god that was chained to the bars.
"My lord will come and free me and his child," Thanatos said.
Iapetus laughed. "Hades, he doesn't even know what happened. Tartarus has him busy fending off monster revolts near Elysium and Asphodel. He's too busy to save you," Iapetus taunted.
Nico looked back at the prisoner encased in ice. "What have you done to her?" Nico asked sadly.
Iapetus walked close to Nico and stared fiendishly into the eyes of the son of Hades. "The lady of the Styx is no longer a concern. Her form reflects that of her domain. The source of the river is frozen and so is she," Iapetus explained.
"The Styx is too powerful to be restrained for long. She will break free and so will the waters," Nico proclaimed.
Iapetus laughed again. "I've had enough of your blustering child," Iapetus said. He reached through the bars quickly grabbing the collar of Nico's jacket. He pulled the boy forward crashing his head into the metal bars. Nico fell to the ground unconscious.
Jason could feel the others behind him. He turned to see Annabeth with a pained and angry expression on her face. "That bastard," Annabeth said.
"We need to help him," Piper said.
"I know, but we need a plan," Jason said. He looked at Annabeth, but she was cut off before she could speak.
"Here's the plan," Scipio said. Everyone turned toward the son of Neptune. This was the Scipio they were used to. Jason gave Annabeth a questioning glance, but she was staring at Scipio curiously. "I'm sorry about earlier. My link to the river was causing me pain and I felt drawn to this place. Now I know why. We have to free the prisoners. The lady of the Styx must be free, so the river can flow. That will close the doors of death. Thanatos must be free, so the monsters won't reform, so easily."
"So what's your plan?" Jason asked.
Scipio stared at each of his friends. His gaze lingered on Annabeth for a moment, but then he returned his attention to the leader of the mission. "I fight Iapetus; the rest of you free the prisoners and figure out how to break open that dam," Scipio explained.
Jason nodded. He knew it wasn't wise to argue with the Consul of Rome. He knew that Scipio was the only one powerful enough to take on the Titan alone and win. Jason also knew that it would take all of the others to free the prisoners and break open the dam.
"You can't go along with this Jason," Annabeth said in disbelief.
"Annabeth, he's right. Scipio is the only one who can fight the Titan here," Jason explained.
Scipio turned toward Annabeth. "Let me do this. I can beat him," Scipio said.
"The mark of Achilles isn't working. He can kill you," Annabeth said. Her grey eyes were dark with worry.
"I'm near the river's water. My powers will return. My strength is greatest here. Please let me do this," Scipio pleaded.
Annabeth knew something was up. She knew that this was part of the bad feelings that she had since Scipio had proclaimed that he wasn't the leader and that his destiny was close at hand. However, the logical side of her won out. Scipio was right. He was the best one to take on Iapetus. Scipio didn't know this, but Annabeth did. Percy had already fought and beat Iapetus before. "Alright, but be careful," Annabeth said. Scipio nodded.
"When my fight with the Titan begins, go help the others," Scipio said. Jason nodded.
Scipio stood and walked toward the frozen lake. He stepped onto the ice. The frozen water held his weight easily. He held his gladius and trident pendant in his hand before his body began to glow. The light reflected off the ice sparking the interest of the Titan.
"Who are you?" Iapetus said. Before he raised his hand and torched lit up around the edge of the lake.
Scipo stepped forward into the torch light. He wore his golden armor and helmet. His golden gladius was in his hand and his shield was on his left arm. He stayed on the frozen lake.
"I am Scipio Marcellus, son of Neptune and Consul of Rome. It is time for you to pay for your evil deeds Titan," Scipio proclaimed.
Iapetus stepped forward with his long sword in hand. He walked onto the ice. "A Roman son of the sea god; I will take my revenge on you. Prepare to die," Iapetus said as he approached Scipio.
A broad smile stretched across Scipio's face. His plan was working.
Iapetus saw the demigod smile. "Your friends won't free my prisoners," Iapetus said. He raised his hand and the celestial bronze bars glowed with power. Those bars are unbreakable as long as I live," Iapetus said.
Jason and the others looked on helplessly. Scipio's face darkened. "Then I must kill you," Scipio said. The son of Neptune knew that this was his time. His choice to save the world.
Iapetus laughed. "I'm immortal boy," Iapetus said as his laughter intensified. "I can't be killed."
Scipio's green eyes turned black. Jason and his friends looked at him curiously. Annabeth's eyes widened in realization, but it was too late. Scipio stretched his senses out to the frozen water. The son of Neptune could control all forms of water, even ice. A large tugging sensation in Scipio's gut alerted him to the use of his powers. The ice began to crack and move. Iapetus's eyes widened in surprise as he realized what Scipio was doing. The ice broke to pieces sending the son of Neptune and the Titan into the waters of the Styx below.
AN: Another cliffhanger. Don't hate me. Stay tuned more to come.