Isabella, Tartarus survivor

Aria

Chapter 6

I thought everything was going to be ok. That was stupid of me. They came out of nowhere, circling in the air above our heads. Percy uncapped his pen, and it turned into a sword. I needed to ask him how that was possible, but now was definitely not the time. Percy jabbed his sword at the nearest one, and it grimaced in what I thought was it's attempt at a smile. A voice shoved it's way into my head- no, not a voice, but several voices. I didn't know how I'd never come across these things before. "We are the arai. You cannot destroy us." They said, in voices that made me feel like someone was dragging nails across a chalkboard in my brain. I heard Annabeth gasp, and Percy exhaled, hard. I could tell they were hearing the same thing as I was.

"Guys," Annabeth said, "Don't touch them. They're the spirits of curses." I heard Bob say:

"Bob doesn't like curses."

"No Bob." Percy replied, "I don't either." The came the voices again. I grunted in pain as they said

"We serve the bitter and the defeated. We serve the slain who prayed for vengeance with their final breath. We have many curses to share with you." Shit.

I watched as Percy slashed at the nearest aria, and red patches started blossoming on his shirt.

"Percy, you're bleeding!" Annabeth cried. "Oh, gods, on both sides."

"Geryon," Percy grunted. "This is how I killed him..." Double shit. I ducked as an aria flew at me and I slashed at it with my dagger. I yelped and my hand flew to my stomach. I was bleeding, like Percy. Damn. This was how I'd killed every monster I'd come across since I got here. The more I killed, the more I'd bleed. But it had to be done. We were going to die anyway, by the curses or by the aria. I slashed at another one as it flew by.

I slashed at another two, when I heard Annabeth cry out "I can't see!" I saw Percy run to her. This was not good. I heard Bob yell "SWEEP!" and he hit the entire line of aria that were flying towards Annabeth and Percy with his broom. They disintegrated into dust. I held my breath, waiting for Bob to get cursed, but nothing happened. "The titan is already cursed. Why should we torture him further? You, Percy Jackson, have already destroyed his memory." The voice of the aria screeched. I saw Bob turn to Percy and ask

"My memory... it was you?" I heard Percy desperately trying to reason with him, but I couldn't catch the conversation. I was being swarmed by aria. I slashed at them, feeling dizzy from the blood loss but I knew I didn't have a choice. But, by pure chance, I heard one word that changed everything. A name. "Nico." I heard Bob say. "Nico visited. Told me about Percy. Said Percy was good. Said he was a friend. That is why Bob helped Percy." I had to stop listening again, and fight off more aria, but the name stuck with me. Nico. It couldn't be the same person I was thinking of. He was dead. I was sure there a lot of people called Nico. It couldn't be my one.