-Percy-
"So how far is this Stone you have been talking about?"
Annabeth was moving along at quite a faster pace now that her ankle was healed. She seemed a little better now that we had actually had some food and water, and I no longer had to support her weight. Hell, I felt like I could take on a monster and then some! Addie had cast a spell to help with the heat. My lips were no longer cracking and my skin was no longer peeling. It was still hotter than Hades, but it was more tolerable by far.
"We will have to find a place to rest, but we should be able to make it there by tomorrow morning, no problem. You said that you have some friends that are going to meet you on the other side, at the House of Hades?" she asked. She out her hand, and Annabeth took it, a smile on her face. We were heading towards an outcropping of rock, to a shallow hallway off the main cavern we had entered earlier in the morning. The huge river of lava cut through the base, sending globs of molten rock and heat up at us. The globs were not striking us anymore; we were up way too high up for that. We spent the majority of the time awake climbing up.
"Why are we climbing up, again?" I huffed as I pulled myself up to them.
"Well, we could follow the river, but so will Gaia's forces. I thought it best to take a little shortcut," she replied breezily back to me. I reached out another hand, getting a handhold to pull myself up the last little bit.
But I was flailing. I felt my stomach drop, and my center of gravity tipped. I was falling backward with nothing to stop me.
Until I hit a rock. I was lying parallel to the ground, a new jut of rock underneath my back. Annabeth was looking at Addie, a wondering look on her face. The rock lifted me up and deposited me on the same level as Annabeth and Addie.
"Be careful, this volcanic rock breaks pretty easily," Addie said as hoisted herself over the last ledge.
I looked at Annabeth, and I knew her expression matched my own.
"Was that her?"
She nodded, a wild look in her eyes. It was her problem-solving look, and I knew she was trying to figure Addie out.
"I think so. I have never seen a demigod have that power though, never even heard of it. Even the Demeter kids can't control the earth. They can just make things grow out of it!"
We both looked up, and Addie's expectant gaze fell down on us. All of a sudden, the earth shifted out from underneath us, sending us flying up towards Addie. The ledge extended itself, catching us before we fell back down. I was a little miffed, and Addie looked positively thrilled.
"Yep. That was me," she snickered as she turned her back on us. She began walking through a narrow passageway. I stole a quick glance at Annabeth, and we followed her into the dark recesses of the tunnel. I pulled out Riptide, its faint bronze glow giving us the necessary light.
"So how did you come by a power like that?" I asked.
"I'm not really sure," she replied. She held up her hand, and we stopped behind her. She kneeled and put her hands on the ground. I felt an almost imperceptible ripple under my feet. The only way I could describe it was like when a dolphin does sonar. She stood back up and waved us forward.
"So that's how you feel them! You use your creepy earth powers to feel them out," I realized aloud.
"They are not creepy," Addie snapped back. "I think they are pretty awesome, seeing as they saved your ass back there."
I huffed out, irritated that she was right. Annabeth laughed beside me, and I saw Addie return a grin.
"I've never seen another demigod have a power like that," Annabeth thought out loud. "Did it come from your Olympian parent?"
"Umm, kind of?" she said mysteriously.
"When you say kind of, what do you mean?" Annabeth pressed.
"Well yes, but no."
"Well, that cleared things up perfectly," I muttered.
"Why haven't you mentioned your parent? Do you even know ours?"
"Well, of course, I know who your Olympian parents are! I thought that was obvious. I haven't mentioned my father, because I'm not allowed to. I literally cannot say his name or acknowledge he is my father, so I would stop asking."
"Why not?" I said brutally.
"Because I was ordered to," she said simply. I guess neither one of us knew how to respond to that, so Annabeth asked a different question.
"So, what is this Stone place?"
"You've heard of Alcatraz, right? Well, the Stone is like the Alcatraz of the Underworld. It's where all the high-security monsters and other nasties are kept. Some of the Titans are there, along with the really big, old monsters that the Gods don't want coming back. Gaia has somehow managed to get a few out, but there are others who will never be able to leave that place."
"Like who? You said we were going to see someone, right?"
"Right. We are going to see Iapetus, and if he does not know, then we will see if Phoebe is there."
"Who?" I said rashly. The names sounded familiar, but I could not remember who they were.
"Good gods, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth scoffed. "They are both Titans. Phoebe is the titan of intelligent thought and prophecy. Iapetus is the titan of mortality. Iapetus is Prometheus's father," Annabeth added. I had a run-in with Prometheus in the last titan war, and he was not one of my favorites.
"That's right. They have both been here long enough that they should know how to get where we need to go. Phoebe owes me a favor, a favor I intend on cashing in. You'd be surprised how well gossip travels down here."
"Why didn't Kronos let them out for the Titan War?" Annabeth inquired. "The most recent one, I mean."
"Well, Iapetus has been down here since before the first Titan War. And Phoebe jumped ships towards the end of the first one, so Kronos was not exactly happy with her."
A large sound echoed in the cave, and all three of us tensed up. Addie's daggers formed in her hands, increasing the glow around us. Annabeth pulled out her knife, and we were all still, listening for any more of the noise.
"Come on," Addie whispered. "Not much farther until we stop for the night."
We moved forward, taking care to make as little noise as possible.
"Do you not feel anything?" Annabeth said quietly.
Addie shook her head, but a worried expression stayed on her face. "Something does not feel right."
A sudden, harsh wind blew through the tunnel, and it felt more like Antarctica than the pits of hell. I felt something hit me hard in the back of the head.
"Percy!" Annabeth screamed.
I felt darkness surround me, and I crumpled to the ground.
"Addie, you get better every time I see you. I swear you could beat the legion to a pulp with one hand behind your back."
I was dreaming again, and Addie and the boy named Ry stood in front of me. Addie had a sword in her hands, as did the boy beside her. They were both dressed for fighting, sweat clinging to their bodies. It was a beautiful, sunny day. They were practicing on a cliff overlooking a river. Rome was nowhere in sight. Instead, they were surrounded by grassy fields, the cloud's shadows darkening the grass in different spots. Addie waved her hand, and a bench made out of rock and dirt rose from the ground. The pair sat on it, and the boy named Ry made a motion with his hand, and water rose from the river. It formed into a perfect ball, and he motioned it towards Addie's lips. She drank from it, smilingly gratefully in his direction.
"Well, the legion would have you, so I could only take out a little over half of them before you stopped me," she laughed. "I really wish I could fight. I hate all of this lady stuff Father and Mother are forcing me to do."
"I know. They are just looking out for you."
"Maybe, Orion. It does not make it any easier, however," she sighed.
"I'm your big brother; I'm going to look out for you!" he said sincerely. Oh, so that's why the pair of them looked so similar.
"By a few minutes," she murmured back disdainfully. "That is all."
"That's what older twin brothers are for! Everyone just wants to hide the fact that you are a terrifying demigod that could rule the world. They are just trying to tame you, Addie. I do not care how much you deny it; you could beat me any day of the week."
"That's very Greek of you to say, Ry. Are we not supposed to believe in the glory of Rome and the Senate?" she asked with raised eyebrows.
"We believe in the gods, and that is that. Speaking of gods, was that Mars I saw when we were riding up?"
Addie froze, and she seemed to wither under her brother's pressing gaze. She nodded her head and shivered just a little. Orion put an arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. Her hand grabbed his other one, and he stroked it comfortingly.
"Did he try anything again? Did he hurt you?" Orion said stiffly. I could hear the undercurrent of anger and fear in his voice, the same feelings I had myself: anger for how he was treating her and fear for what he could possibly do. Her brother apparently felt the same way.
Her hand flashed up to her arms, where faded purple splotches sat on her biceps. Orion followed her hands, and he blanched when he saw the bruises.
"I am going to find a way to fucking send him to Tartarus."
Exasperation and fury appeared in Addie's gaze, and she gripped her brother's arm. "Ry, you have got to stop saying things like that! Zeus and the others, Jupiter, whatever their aspect, would not appreciate that kind of talk. We cannot challenge them. Mars is a god, Ry. If he truly wants something, then there is nothing I can do to stop him and neither can you." Her voice broke towards the end. The defeat was apparent in her voice like she was already condemned to death.
"Like Tartarus, Addie. We have the power to oppose them if we must. I will try and speak to father, ask him for guidance. Maybe Athena or Diana will help you. I can ask Tiberius as well. If he knew, he would do anything to help. Maybe his father can do something about this."
"Maybe," she sighed. Orion grabbed her shoulders, making her face him. He moved his hand to her face forcing her gaze into his own.
"Do you want to be Mars's plaything?"
"No, I do not," she replied firmly.
"Then I swear on our father's name that I will not let him touch you. I will figure out something, Addie. This I promise you."