***Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed! Here's Chapter 25, from Annabeth's POV. Chapter 26, featuring Hazel's POV, will be up by Thursday, May 29.***

XXV. ANNABETH

Annabeth had been trapped before. She thought the worst was when Atlas pinned her underneath the weight of the sky, which had been excruciatingly painful and left her helpless, a feeling she hated. But being stuck in a metal cage like a maltreated animal was humiliating. And to make matters worse, she was trapped in a cage in the middle of the Parthenon.

Ever since she had learned about the existence of the temple, and particularly its relevance to her mother, Annabeth had wanted to visit the Parthenon. Not only was it the most important temple of Athena, the building was also an architectural marvel. There were no straight lines in the entire place, yet due to an optical illusion it appeared that all the pillars were perfectly formed. The truth, Annabeth knew, was that if the structure had been designed with perfectly straight lines its pillars and walls would have appeared to bend or narrow. It was truly a genius design. But this wasn't exactly the way she had imagined seeing it.

The attack had happened so suddenly she and Jason never stood a chance. The moment the first dracaena landed on the deck, Annabeth had run for the helm to sound the alarm and wake the others, but she never made it there. Two more dracaenae and a Cyclops had been dropped by their gryphon rides onto the deck in front of her. She managed to kill both of the snake-women before the Cyclops grabbed her and forced her to drop her sword. At the mast, Jason had killed the first dracaena, plus three Cyclopes, but he was overwhelmed by two more Cyclopes, who grabbed his arms and held him in place as another dracaena hit him over the head with the butt of her spear. Jason went limp, his sword hitting the deck with a dull thud. Annabeth tried to bite the hand her Cyclops captor had clamped over her mouth, so she could at least yell for help, but it didn't work. The monster didn't even flinch. Before she could do anything else, the gryphons swooped back down and carried their group off to the Parthenon.

Now, Annabeth glanced over at Jason leaning against the bars a few feet away. He still looked a little dazed; she guessed the snake-woman had hit him pretty hard. "You doing okay?" she asked.

Jason winced as he gingerly felt the knot on his forehead. "I'll live. But I'm pretty sure I'll have a permanent concussion by the time this quest is over."

Annabeth managed a small smile. "You don't have anything to pick a lock with, do you?"

Jason shook his head. "I could try lightning, but there's a good chance I'd electrocute you. And, honestly, I'd rather face Gaea than Jackson if that happened." He looked at her sideways. "You know they're going to try to rescue us, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Annabeth's heart sank. She knew Percy would come after her as certainly as she'd known he would try to rescue her from Atlas. But she was equally certain that, just like with Atlas, he and their friends were being led into a trap. "Do you think they believed Porphyrion about being at Mount Olympus instead of here?"

"No idea."

They lapsed into silence. Annabeth leaned back against the cold metal bars and closed her eyes. Think of something positive, she told herself. She thought about Percy pulling her into his room after dinner, the adorably nervous look on his face when he told her she meant everything to him, the way her heart began to race, the feel of his lips on hers. He had seemed reluctant to let her go and although she had tried to pretend otherwise, she hadn't wanted to leave. She felt safe in Percy's arms. But, like on the banks of the Acheron in Tartarus, she knew the sad reality was that none of them were safe. Obviously, she thought wryly, opening her eyes to the sound of pounding footsteps coming closer.

She and Jason both turned to watch as Porphyrion and the golden giant Alcyoneus lumbered forward, carrying between them a massive casket. Annabeth felt nauseous. Except for the fact that it was made of clay rather than gold, the casket looked almost exactly like the one in which Kronos had reformed.

The floor shook as the giants dropped the casket directly in front of Jason and Annabeth's cage. Alcyoneus leered at them. "Not much longer, demigods." He stamped his foot and water began to pour from a crack in the marble floor of the temple. It flowed around the base of the casket, softening the clay. "The casket will be dissolved by sunrise, revealing the Earth Mother's form. And then all we'll need to do is add a few drops of your blood."

"All of their blood," Porphyrion corrected.

Alcyoneus frowned. "It will only take a few drops to wake the Earth Mother. Why kill them when we can torture them?"

Porphyrion's mouth twisted in annoyance, like this was a conversation he was tired of repeating. "Yes, a few drops would wake the Earth Mother. But to achieve her full power, she requires a complete sacrifice. She needs their life's blood. All of it." Porphyrion turned his blank white eyes on Annabeth and Jason, then said softly, "Besides, we'll have the other five to torture. That should be more than enough."

Annabeth felt sick, but as the giants began to walk away, she remembered something Hazel had told her. "It won't work," she called to the giants' retreating backs.

Porphyrion and Alcyoneus paused, then turned back to look at her. "And why is that?" Alcyoneus sneered.

"Because you need willing victims," Annabeth said, hoping she was right. Hazel had said Gaea required her mother's willing sacrifice in order to raise Alcyoneus. When Marie Levesque had denied her that and died resisting Gaea, the earth goddess's plan had fallen apart. "You can kill me, but I'll never willingly help to raise Gaea."

"Same here," Jason said, glaring at the giants.

Porphyrion and Alcyoneus exchanged a look, then Porphyrion said, "And why do you think we want your friends to join us?"

"But you told them to go to Mount Olympus," Jason said.

Porphyrion shrugged. "If they go to the mountain, Enceladus will capture them and bring them here. But we all know they will check this temple first. You demigods are as predictable as you are noble."

"Why do you need the others?" Annabeth asked. "You have us for the sacrifice."

The giant king gave Annabeth a smile that chilled her blood. "Well as you just said, daughter of Athena, you won't willingly die to raise Gaea. But I have a simply strategy to force your cooperation. Alcyoneus mentioned torture; that's always a good method. Love is also a useful tool. If I combine the two, well—son of the sky god, you met Cupid in Croatia, didn't you? You saw for yourself how dangerously powerful love can be."

Sparks shot down Jason's arms. He was glaring at the giant, his jaw set, but his face was pale.

"How long will you hold out, once you hear Piper McLean screaming in pain? And you, my dear," Porphyrion continued, his blank white eyes boring into Annabeth's, "how long will you be able to listen to Percy Jackson begging me for mercy before you willingly turn yourself over to Gaea?"

Annabeth's breathing was shallow. She wanted to sob or scream. Most of all, she wanted a weapon she could drive right into Porphyrion's sneering face. But she had nothing. All she could do was sit there as the giants marched out of the temple, roaring with laughter.

Jason's face was ashen. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know." Annabeth sank to her knees inside the cage, watching as the first softened pieces of clay crumbled away from the casket. Despair gripped her. She looked at the ruins of the temple around her. The Parthenon had once been imbued with the power of Athena. Please Mom, Annabeth prayed silently, I need your help. Give me a sign, an idea, anything. Please. She waited, holding her breath, hoping.

But there was no response.