Contents
XXIV
Overview
Exhausted in Tartarus, Annabeth, Percy, and Bob follow a feeling toward the Death Mist. They encounter and befriend a skeletal-flashing kitten that Bob names Small Bob. Entering a colder, darker forest, they are ambushed by arai—curses of Mother Night—who surround them, escalating the peril of their quest.
Summary
Annabeth trudges through Tartarus with Percy and Bob, battling intrusive, demoralizing thoughts as the landscape wears them down. Bob insists they are heading for “the lady” who grants Death Mist but avoids naming her. He follows a feeling, waiting for the darkness to grow darker before going “sideways.”
They halt when vibrations approach, prepare to spring, and discover the source is a calico kitten whose purr shakes the ground. The kitten occasionally flashes as a glowing skeleton. Percy recognizes it as one of the Smithsonian skeleton kittens created by Atlas’s mistaken dragon-teeth sowing. Bob bonds with it and names it Small Bob, declaring it a good monster.
Bob leads them into a colder microclimate and a forest of tall, bare, cylindrical black “trees.” Uneasy, Annabeth senses movement above. The group closes ranks as winged hag-like creatures drop around them, resembling Furies but lacking whips and appearing in multiples.
A single disembodied voice identifies the creatures as the arai—the Curses—speaking with a unified will. They declare their purpose: to curse and destroy the intruders in the name of Mother Night. The circle tightens around Annabeth, Percy, and Bob, leaving them trapped and escalating the immediate threat to their mission.
Who Appears
- Annabeth ChaseExhausted yet vigilant; wrestles with dark intrusive thoughts; senses danger in the forest; tries to lead with caution.
- Bob (Iapetus)Guides them toward the Death Mist by instinct; refuses to name the lady; bonds with and carries Small Bob.
- Percy JacksonSupports Annabeth, recognizes the skeleton-kitten from Atlas’s mishap, prepares to fight as threats appear.
- Small BobCalico kitten that intermittently becomes a glowing skeleton; bonds with Bob and accompanies the group.
- The AraiWinged hag-like beings speaking with one mind; surround the heroes to curse them in Mother Night’s name.