The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus Book 4)

to attack, but the ex-cheerleader only snarled, crouching out of reach of Percy’s sword.
    ‘We know enough,’ Kelli said. ‘Gaia has spoken.’
    ‘You’re heading towards a major defeat.’ Annabeth sounded so confident, even Percy was impressed. She glanced at the other
empousai
, one by one, then pointed accusingly at Kelli. ‘This one claims she’s leading you to a victory. She’s lying. The last time she was in the mortal world, Kelli was in charge of keeping my friend Luke Castellan faithful to Kronos. In the end, Luke rejected him. He gave his life to expel Kronos. The Titans lost because Kelli
failed
. Now Kelli wants to lead you to another disaster.’
    The other
empousai
muttered and shifted uneasily.
    ‘Enough!’ Kelli’s fingernails grew into long black talons.She glared at Annabeth as if imagining her sliced into small pieces.
    Percy was pretty sure Kelli had had a thing for Luke Castellan. Luke had that effect on girls – even donkey-legged vampires – and Percy wasn’t sure bringing up his name was such a good idea.
    ‘The girl lies,’ Kelli said. ‘So the Titans lost. Fine! That was part of the plan to wake Gaia! Now the Earth Mother and her giants will destroy the mortal world, and we will
totally
feast on demigods!’
    The other vampires gnashed their teeth in a frenzy of excitement. Percy had been in the middle of a school of sharks when the water was full of blood. That wasn’t nearly as scary as
empousai
ready to feed.
    He prepared to attack, but how many could he dispatch before they overwhelmed him? It wouldn’t be enough.
    ‘The demigods have united!’ Annabeth yelled. ‘You’d better think twice before you attack us. Romans and Greeks will fight you together. You don’t stand a chance!’
    The
empousai
backed up nervously, hissing, ‘
Romani.
’
    Percy guessed they’d had experience with the Twelfth Legion before and it hadn’t worked out well for them.
    ‘Yeah, you bet
Romani
.’ Percy bared his forearm and showed them the brand he’d got at Camp Jupiter – the SPQR mark, with the trident of Neptune. ‘You mix Greek and Roman, and you know what you get? You get
BAM
!’
    He stomped his foot, and the
empousai
scrambled back. One fell off the boulder where she’d been perched.
    That made Percy feel good, but they recovered quickly and closed in again.
    ‘Bold talk,’ Kelli said, ‘for two demigods lost in Tartarus. Lower your sword, Percy Jackson, and I’ll kill you quickly. Believe me, there are worse ways to die down here.’
    ‘Wait!’ Annabeth tried again. ‘Aren’t
empousai
the servants of Hecate?’
    Kelli curled her lip. ‘So?’
    ‘So Hecate is on
our
side now,’ Annabeth said. ‘She has a cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Some of her demigod children are my friends. If you fight us, she’ll be angry.’
    Percy wanted to hug Annabeth, she was so brilliant.
    One of the other
empousai
growled. ‘Is this true, Kelli? Has our mistress made peace with Olympus?’
    ‘Shut up, Serephone!’ Kelli screeched. ‘
Gods
, you’re annoying!’
    ‘I will not cross the Dark Lady.’
    Annabeth took the opening. ‘You’d all be better following Serephone. She’s older and wiser.’
    ‘Yes!’ Serephone shrieked. ‘Follow me!’
    Kelli struck so fast, Percy didn’t have the chance to raise his sword. Fortunately, she didn’t attack him. Kelli lashed out at Serephone. For half a second, the two demons were a blur of slashing claws and fangs.
    Then it was over. Kelli stood triumphant over a pile of dust. From her claws hung the tattered remains of Serephone’s dress.
    ‘Any more
issues
?’ Kelli snapped at her sisters. ‘Hecateis the goddess of the Mist! Her ways are mysterious. Who knows which side she truly favours? She is also the goddess of the crossroads, and she expects us to make our own choices. I choose the path that will bring us the most demigod blood! I choose Gaia!’
    Her friends hissed in approval.
    Annabeth glanced at Percy, and he saw that she was out of ideas. She’d done what she could. She’d got Kelli to eliminate one of her own. Now there was nothing left but to fight.
    ‘For two years I churned in the void,’ Kelli said. ‘Do you know how completely
annoying
it is to be vaporized, Annabeth Chase? Slowly re-forming, fully conscious, in searing pain for months and years as your body regrows, then finally breaking the crust of this hellish place and clawing your way back to daylight? All because some
little girl
stabbed you