The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus Book 4)

more.’
    He crouched next to her and studied Percy. Bob’s face looked haggard and careworn, as if he suddenly felt the weight of all his centuries.
    ‘I promised,’ he murmured. ‘Nico asked me to help. I do not think Iapetus or Bob likes breaking promises.’ He touched Percy’s forehead.
    ‘Owie,’ the Titan murmured. ‘Very big owie.’
    Percy sank back into his body. The ringing in his ears faded. His vision cleared. He still felt like he had swallowed a deep fryer. His insides bubbled. He could sense that the poison had only been slowed, not removed.
    But he was alive.
    He tried to meet Bob’s eyes, to express his gratitude. His head lolled against his chest.
    ‘Bob cannot cure this,’ Bob said. ‘Too much poison. Too many curses piled up.’
    Annabeth hugged Percy’s shoulders. He wanted to say:
I can feel that now. Ow. Too tight.
    ‘What can we do, Bob?’ Annabeth asked. ‘Is there water anywhere? Water might heal him.’
    ‘No water,’ Bob said. ‘Tartarus is bad.’
    I noticed
, Percy wanted to yell.
    At least the Titan called himself
Bob
. Even if he blamed Percy for taking his memory, maybe he would help Annabeth if Percy didn’t make it.
    ‘No,’ Annabeth insisted. ‘No, there
has
to be a way.
Something
to heal him.’
    Bob placed his hand on Percy’s chest. A cold tingle like eucalyptus oil spread across his sternum, but as soon as Bob lifted his hand the relief stopped. Percy’s lungs felt as hot as lava again.
    ‘Tartarus kills demigods,’ Bob said. ‘It heals monsters, but you do not belong. Tartarus will not heal Percy. The pit hates your kind.’
    ‘I don’t care,’ Annabeth said. ‘Even here, there
has
to be someplace he can rest, some kind of cure he can take. Maybe back at the altar of Hermes, or –’
    In the distance, a deep voice bellowed – a voice that Percy recognized, unfortunately.
    ‘I SMELL HIM!’ roared the giant. ‘BEWARE, SON OF POSEIDON! I COME FOR YOU!’
    ‘ Polybotes ,’ Bob said. ‘He hates Poseidon and his children. He is very close now.’
    Annabeth struggled to get Percy to his feet. He hated making her work so hard, but he felt like a sack of billiard balls. Even with Annabeth supporting almost all his weight, he could barely stand.
    ‘Bob, I’m going on, with or without you,’ she said. ‘Will you help?’
    The kitten Small Bob mewed and began to purr, rubbing against Bob’s chin.
    Bob looked at Percy, and Percy wished he could read the Titan’s expression. Was he angry or just thoughtful? Was he planning revenge, or was he just feeling hurt because Percy had lied about being his friend?
    ‘There is one place,’ Bob said at last. ‘There is a giant who might know what to do.’
    Annabeth almost dropped Percy. ‘A giant. Uh, Bob, giants are bad.’
    ‘One is good,’ Bob insisted. ‘Trust me, and I will take you … unless Polybotes and the others catch us first.’

XXXIII
     

JASON
     
    J ASON FELL ASLEEP ON THE JOB. Which was bad, since he was a thousand feet in the air.
    He should have known better. It was the morning after their encounter with Sciron the bandit, and Jason was on duty, fighting some wild
venti
who were threatening the ship. When he slashed through the last one, he forgot to hold his breath.
    A stupid mistake. When a wind spirit disintegrates, it creates a vacuum. Unless you’re holding your breath, the air gets sucked right out of your lungs. The pressure in your inner ears drops so fast that you black out.
    That’s what happened to Jason.
    Even worse, he instantly plunged into a dream. In the back of his subconscious, he thought:
Really? Now?
    He needed to wake up or he would die, but he wasn’t able to hold on to that thought. In the dream, he found himself onthe roof of a tall building, the night-time skyline of Manhattan spread around him. A cold wind whipped through his clothes.
    A few blocks away, clouds gathered above the Empire State Building – the entrance to Mount Olympus itself. Lightning flashed. The air was metallic with the smell of oncoming rain. The top of the skyscraper was lit up as usual, but the lights seemed to be malfunctioning. They flickered from purple to orange as if the colours were fighting for dominance.
    On the roof of Jason’s building stood his old comrades from Camp Jupiter: an array of demigods in combat armour, their Imperial gold weapons and shields glinting in the dark. He saw Dakota and Nathan, Leila and Marcus. Octavian stood to one side, thin and pale,