The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus Book 4)

chains.’

LXIV
     

PERCY
     
    ‘I APETUS!’ H YPERION BELLOWED. ‘Well, well. I thought you were hiding under a cleaning bucket somewhere.’
    Bob lumbered forward, scowling. ‘I was not hiding.’
    Percy crept towards the right side of the Doors. Annabeth sneaked towards the left. The Titans gave no sign of noticing them, but Percy took no chances. He kept Riptide in pen form. He crouched low, stepping as quietly as possible. The lesser monsters kept a respectful distance from the Titans, so there was enough empty space to manoeuvre around the Doors, but Percy was keenly aware of the snarling mob at his back.
    Annabeth had decided to take the side Hyperion was guarding, on the theory that Hyperion was more likely to sense Percy. After all, Percy was the last one to have killed him in the mortal world. That was fine with Percy. After being in Tartarus for so long, he could barely look at Hyperion’s burning golden armour without getting spots in his eyes.
    On Percy’s side of the Doors, Krios stood dark and silent,his ram-horned helmet covering his face. He kept one foot planted on the chain’s anchor and his thumb on the UP button.
    Bob faced his brethren. He planted his spear and tried to look as fierce as possible with a kitten on his shoulder. ‘Hyperion and Krios. I remember you both.’
    ‘Do you, Iapetus?’ The golden Titan laughed, glancing at Krios to share the joke. ‘Well, that’s good to know! I heard Percy Jackson turned you into a brainwashed scullery maid. What did he rename you … Betty?’
    ‘Bob,’ snarled Bob.
    ‘Well, it’s about time you showed up,
Bob
. Krios and I have been stuck here for
weeks
–’
    ‘Hours,’ Krios corrected, his voice a deep rumble inside his helmet.
    ‘Whatever!’ Hyperion said. ‘It’s boring work, guarding these doors, shuffling monsters through at Gaia’s orders. Krios, what’s our next group, anyway?’
    ‘Double Red,’ said Krios.
    Hyperion sighed. The flames glowed hotter across his shoulders. ‘Double Red. Why do we go from A-22 to Double Red? What kind of system is that?’ He glared at Bob. ‘This is no job for me – the Lord of Light! Titan of the East! Master of Dawn! Why am I forced to wait in the darkness while the
giants
go into battle and get all the glory? Now,
Krios
I can understand –’
    ‘I get all the worst assignments,’ Krios muttered, his thumb still on the button.
    ‘But
me
?’ Hyperion said. ‘Ridiculous! This should be your job, Iapetus. Here, take my place for a while.’
    Bob stared at the Doors, but his gaze was distant – lost in the past. ‘The four of us held down our father, Ouranos,’ he remembered. ‘Koios and me and the two of you. Kronos promised us mastery of the four corners of the earth for helping with the murder.’
    ‘Indeed,’ Hyperion said. ‘And I was happy to do it! I would’ve wielded the scythe myself if I’d had the chance! But you,
Bob …
you were always conflicted about that killing, weren’t you? The
soft
Titan of the West, soft as the sunset! Why our parents named you the
Piercer
, I will never know. More like the
Whimper
.’
    Percy reached the anchor hook. He uncapped his pen and Riptide grew to full length. Krios didn’t react. His attention was firmly fixed on Bob, who had just levelled the point of his spear at Hyperion’s chest.
    ‘I can still pierce,’ Bob said, his voice low and even. ‘You brag too much, Hyperion. You are bright and fiery, but Percy Jackson defeated you anyway. I hear you became a nice tree in Central Park.’
    Hyperion’s eyes smouldered. ‘Careful, brother.’
    ‘At least a janitor’s work is honest,’ Bob said. ‘I clean up after others. I leave the palace better than I found it. But you … you do not care what messes you make. You followed Kronos blindly. Now you take orders from Gaia.’
    ‘She is our
mother
!’ Hyperion bellowed.
    ‘She did not wake for
our
war on Olympus,’ Bob recalled. ‘She favours her second brood, the giants.’
    Krios grunted. ‘That’s true enough. The children of the pit.’
    ‘Both of you hold your tongues!’ Hyperion’s voice was tinged with fear. ‘You never know when he is listening.’
    The elevator dinged. All three Titans jumped.
    Had it been twelve minutes? Percy had lost track of time. Krios took his finger off the button and called out, ‘Double Red! Where is Double Red?’
    Hordes of monsters stirred and jostled one another, but none of them came forward.
    Krios heaved a