TERRIFIED . . . annabeth chase

fifty five.

AFTER THEIR FALL into Tartarus, jumping three hundred feet to the Mansion of Night should have felt quick.

Instead, Val's heart seemed to slow down. Between the beats she had ample time to write her own obituary.

Valentina Rosales, died age 17.

BA-BOOM.

Died of massive injuries while leaping like an idiot into the abyss of Chaos and splattering on the entry hall floor of Nyx's mansion instead of, like she'd expected for years, dying from the Hanahaki curse.

BA-BOOM.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Camp Half-Blood, assuming Gaea hasn't already destroyed it.

Her feet hit solid floor. Pain shot up her legs, but she stumbled forward and broke into a run, hauling Annabeth and Percy after her.

Above them in the dark, Nyx and her children scuffled and yelled, "I've got them! My foot! Stop it!"

Val kept running. She couldn't see anyway, so she closed her eyes. She used her other senses — listening for the echo of open spaces, feeling for cross-breezes against her face, sniffing for any scent of danger — smoke, or poison, or the stench of demons.

And, naturally, the daughter of Death skills that had saved her multiple times throughout her seventeen years. This was totally a peace of cake.

The squabbling sounds of Nyx's children got farther away. That was good. Annabeth and Percy were still running at her side, holding her hands. Also good.

In the distance ahead of them, Val began to hear a throbbing sound, like her own heartbeat echoing back, amplified so powerfully, the floor vibrated underfoot. The sound filled her with dread, so she figured it must be the right way to go. She ran toward it.

As the beat got louder, she smelled smoke and heard the flickering of torches on either side. She guessed there would be light, but a crawling sensation across her neck warned her it would be a mistake to open her eyes.

"Don't look," Val said. "Even I'm not looking, and I'm the daughter of Thanatos."

"Wasn't planning on it," Percy said. "You can feel that, right? We're still in the Mansion of Night. I do not want to see it."

Smart. That was one reason why Val liked him. Even if their friendship was bittersweet.

Whatever horrors lay in the Mansion of Night, they weren't meant for mortal eyes. Seeing them would be worse than staring at the face of Medusa. Better to run in darkness.

The throbbing got louder still, sending vibrations straight up Val's spine. It felt like someone was knocking on the bottom of the world, demanding to be let in. She sensed the walls opening up on either side of them. The air smelled fresher — or at least not quite as sulfurous. There was another sound, too, closer than the deep pulsing . . . the sound of flowing water.

She knew the exit was close. If they could make it out of the Mansion of Night, maybe they could leave the dark brood of demons behind.

Then she realized what was coming, with her senses. She tugged on Percy and Annabeth's hands, effectively stopping them from death.

* * *

"Annie!" Val yanked her back, surprising strength coming from her and pulling her back to where she and Percy were standing — hopefully close to each other, considering their hands were still interlocked.

Suddenly, Annabeth's arms tackled around Val, who immediately rubbed her back.

"It's okay," Val promised. "I got you two away. I'm sorry I didn't warn you in time."