"What do you think about the House of Night?" I ask him taking his hand in mine. He's still really cold despite how warm it is down here. He stares at our hands for a couple of seconds like he doesn't usher stand the gesture. I squeeze his hand lightly and he looks back up at me.
"What about it?" I shrug.
"Well what do you think you'll see in it." He didn't say anything when we were all talking about our worst fears. I mean I didn't say anything because I can't even remember the dreams but he just sat there.
"I don't know my life will probably just flash before my eyes." He says bitterly.
"Your life hasn't been that bad has it?" He gives me this look, like I couldn't possibly understand everything he's been through.
"My mother was killed by Zeus. My dad dropped my sister and I off at a hotel for seventy years. My sister dies. I become an outcast at both camps." I stop him there.
"You hopped back and forth between both camps?" He smirks.
"Yeah I found out about Camp Jupiter and brought Hazel there." I arch an eyebrow.
"Impressive, but Nico I think you chose this." He opens his mouth to protest but I beat him to it. "Your sister died and you left Camp Half-Blood in a rage. You could have stayed. Let Percy explain." Nico shakes his head.
"She was my sister. She always looked after me and I had nobody." He sighs and rubs his forehead.
"Hey you have me now." I say hitting his arm.
"Ew." I scoff, and kiss him lightly even though the sunglasses are in the way.
"Let's go back huh?" I nod slowly and squeeze his hand again before letting go and heading back to the group. I sit back down next Percy after parting ways with Nico.
"Did you two make out." he jokes. I hit him across the chest and Percy begins snickering.
"Shut up and just watch out for monsters." i say gesturing out towards Tartarus.
"There's nothing. Everyone is scared of your sword. I wouldn't be surprised if Night herself was." There's a deep cackle and everyone shoots up stiffening. Swords are pulled and tensions are high as women with bat wings and a gown made out of the galaxies themselves. Her eyes were bright and luminous but you couldn't see much more of her face it was too dark. I don't know when the blood red landscape had faded away behind us or how we had gotten so close to this big black void of nothingness. It must have been Night who transported us here. Just hearing her own name made her come to us or us go to her.
"Percy Jackson." she purrs.
"Hey Night we're here for the tour again!" Tour? I glance at Percy in complete and utter confusion and everyone else looks confused as well.
"Silence! There is no Tour of Tartarus you insolent demi-god!" Percy shrugged.
"Eh. It was worth a shot. How do you feel about my sisters sword?" he questions motioning towards me. She hisses at me. She actually hisses.
"Rude. I can see why nobody visit's on this tour." She screeches.
"There is no tour!" she exclaims.
"Then why are we back?" Jason shouts at her. Night says nothing. "Can we check out your mansion? Heard it's really fun down there." Those bright eyes turn towards me again and narrow.
"Fun! In my Mansion!" It's funny seeing a goddess get pissed off. Except also very scary.
"Yeah take us down there!" i cry out stepping forward making sure my sword is pointed up towards her. She moves backwards at least i think she does.
"Get that filthy thing away from me!" she cries out.
"What this?" i ask moving closer still and trying to make a swipe for her.
"Children!" she screams out and her kids, minor god and goddesses and all types of other monsters begin popping up except they all get frightful scared when they see the sword.
"Mother! The first sword!" someone protests.
"Attack them!" she snaps in dismay as her children cower in fear.
"Ah it doesn't bite." i say sliding the blade back into the scabbard. This seems to ease the tension in the air. "But i do!" with a fake evil laugh i stab out towards the monster closest to me who screams so loudly everyone turns and runs. Except Night.
"I will not be thwarted by demi-gods again!" she screams. Not listening to her i whistle for Nightwing. Who whimpers and gaze down at the mansion probably because he's too close to it even from this high up.
"Hey boy up, for a little shadow travel? Or do you wanna go?" i whisper in his ear as he whimpers and moans eyes still on the mansion bellow. "You can go. It's ok." i say with a smile. "Go on." Nightwing glances at me before taking off and disappearing into the dark. "there goes that option. Might not see him for a while." i murmur. "Ready to jump guys?" i call out to everyone.
"Umm..." Jason says pointing up at Night.
"Oh what is she going to do? We just want to go through your house. We won't break anything. We won't even look at anything if that's ok with you." instead of replying normally she lets out an inhuman screech and lunges for me i doge her somehow and bring my sword down making a clean cut on her arm which oozes golden blood immediately. It doesn't stop flowing.
"What have you done!" she screams at me and literally seems to fall to pieces in front of us like I've just dismembered her. She wasn't dead though as her limbs continued to twitch and her mouth continued to shout things at us.
"When i pull myself together i am going to.." that last part is muffled when her face slumps forward into the ground.
"What was that?" i call out with a laugh before turning back toward my friends who all look a little shocked and confused and terrified. "You guys have got to stop staring at me like that." i say with a heavy sigh.
"You just.. Keep surprising us." Percy says with a shrug.
"Glad I'm just full of surprises then!" i reply a bit sarcastically. I turn around and face Chaos and the House of Night far far below us.
"So we just.. Jump." Jason said stepping closer to me as i put my sword back in it's place.
"Will we even make it?" Hazel breathes out. I stare at the mansion far below us trying to judge the distance but if time doesn't matter down her why should distance. What we thought could have been a mile may have been ten or two steps. Everything looked the same down here.
"Annabeth and i made it. Barely." i sigh and glance at him as the others join us at the edge.
"Not helping." i say. Percy shrugs and give me a tight smile. "So running jump?" i question holding out my hand towards him.
"I guess. Annabeth and i didn't use one." i snort and roll my eyes
"Well we're going to use one. Should we all holds hands or is that too much?" i ask gripping Percy's hand tightly.
"Just the pairs i think. Why else would our kid siblings be here then." Thalia says messing up Jason's hair.
"Hey!" he cries out but makes no attempt to fix it.
"It was Violet's quest." Hazel points out taking Nico's hand in hers.
"So technically we brought you here." i continue trying to delay jumping into this dark void.
"Oh yeah thanks for that." Nico mutters. We laugh and it seems to surprise Nico.
"So. Here we go then." i say slowly backing up and watching the others follow me. I can still hear Night shouting at us and i would have laughed if we weren't about to leap off a cliff. We jump. I land painfully on my feet with Percy about a foot in front of me. I almost crumble to the ground and Percy stumbles as our friends land around us all safe from harm. At first i thought we wouldn't make it. It looked too far away and i decided that jumping was a bad idea sometime between jumping and landing on the ground. "Oh gods!" i cry out rubbing my legs and letting go of Percy's hand as pain races up my legs.
"We should run. Like now." Jason interrupt's pointing up at a moving dark wall. I don't know what it is but it's coming for us and sounds angry.
"Right. Run." i say grabbing Percy's hand again before racing up the steps and past the columns.
"Close your eyes!" Percy shouts just as we burst through the doors.
"What if we hit something? A statue!" i shout snapping my eyes shut as we barrel down through the darkness blind.
"Then we hit a statue!" Nico's voice sounds far away and that sort of scares me but i continue to run and pray to heaven that i don't run into anything solid. After what seems like a good twenty minutes of being chased by ferocious voices unable to see i begin to hear a rushing, roaring river.
"What's happening?" i ask when Percy stops.
"The River Acheron." my eyes fly open and there indeed is a river in front of us. I don't dare look behind us at the Mansion though.
"We have to jump." Percy says. His hands are twitching and i don't understand why. Ther's a distinct moaning wailing sound emanating from the river. The shrieks behind us grow louder. Suddenly Nico breaks free from Hazel and rushes toward the river. "Nico!" Percy shouts tearing after him and letting go of my hand. I don't understand what's going on until Jason let's go of Thalia's hand and slams his hands over his ears.
"It's the River of Pain!" Thalia says cringing and wincing.
"He's going to jump in and drown himself." I take off after Nico and Percy as he tries to hold him back and away from the roaring current.
"Let go of me!" Nico shouts at Percy.
"No! Your'e not jumping into that." Percy shouts back continuing to push on his chest Nico's boots sliding on the ground. I grab onto Nico's arm and he whips around to look at me.
"Stop it!" i shout at him. He seems to break free of the River's control for a split second before growling again and continuing to push past Percy.
"Guys!" Hazel cries out. I glance back and spot Night's children descending upon us.
"Thalia!" i shout. She seems to understand and grabs Jason and races toward Hazel.
"We're jumping!" i scream keeping a strong hold on Nico and my brother as the monsters barrel our way. "Grab hold." i cry out letting go of Percy to hold onto Jason's arm.
"What do you mean jump!" Hazel shouts scared.
"Into the river. I'm so sorry!" i shout back.
"Violet no!" Percy screams as I use Nico's strength and mine against his and give him one good hard shove making sure Nico has a tight grip on him as i do. We plunge into the icy water together and the sounds of advancing monsters are drowned out.
Ok Violet. Stupid idea. I tell myself as i breath in misery and pain and woe. You and Percy can breathe underwater. They can't. Dumb idea, but i just had to get everyone away from the monsters. I don't know how Percy and Annabeth jumped over this river because it was nearly twenty feet across but they did it. That wasn't my plan though. I was going to control the water as it tossed and turned as bringing on literal waves of pain and make it dump us somewhere else. But you're not good at it. A voice hissed in my ear. Give into the pain. Theyr'e dead because of you. They may be dead already. Shut up. I concentrated, hard. So hard i thought i heard glass shattering in the back of my mind. Suddenly my group of friends and i were standing/kneeling on a hurricane. Thalia and Hazel coughed up water and shivered. Nico looked dead and that scared me. Jason wasn't moving. Percy was gone.
"No!" i screamed before plunging back into the water. Somehow the hurricane didn't dissipate and i survived a twenty foot fall straight into the painstakingly cold water.