Contents
LXVI
Overview
Nico guides the crew into the true Necromanteion, where they drink a ritual poison to navigate the first level. Hazel senses a hidden sorceress and growing power of the dead. In a bone-floored cavern, a massive ambush splits the team; Hazel and Leo are sealed off, while Nico raises Roman spirits and Frank takes command, charging the monsters.
Summary
Nico leads Frank, Hazel, Leo, Jason, and Piper through tourist-crowded ruins to a stone doorway beneath a death-storm. After eating Triptolemus’s barley cakes to counter poison, they descend into ancient tunnels. Hazel confirms the upper levels are a later manor; Nico insists the House of Hades lies deeper. Hazel dissolves a boulder blockage, revealing older black-stone stairs painted with Hades’s cattle.
At the Necromanteion’s entrance, a chalice of green poison appears. Nico drinks first, testing trust; all follow. In twisting corridors marked by cows, white poplars, and owls, Hazel navigates unstable paths while Nico warns that the dead grow stronger and hints at a hidden sorceress opposing Hazel. Nico notes the Doors of Death open every twelve minutes. Voices whisper; Frank hears an ancestor command him to lead at “the break” and mention Pylos.
The group reaches a vast circular chamber floored with fused bones and gems, ringed by many exits. Frank alone sees a Roman legionnaire’s ghost beckon from one passage. Before Hazel can safely plot a route, Earthborn, Cyclopes, hellhounds, and gryphons pour in; boulders shatter the floor, opening a huge chasm. Frank tackles Hazel and Leo toward the ghost’s tunnel as missiles rain down.
Across the new gulf, Jason, Piper, and Nico are encircled. At Frank’s shout, Nico raises Diocletian’s scepter; a Roman legion of ghosts manifests but shuffles in confusion, only briefly disrupting the monsters. Frank orders Hazel and Leo to continue to the Doors and save Percy and Annabeth, accepting the tactical risk. Another barrage collapses the tunnel mouth, sealing Hazel and Leo away.
Believing Hazel and Leo must press on, Frank swallows his fear and rage. With the enemy massing and the floor crumbling, he assumes the leadership his ancestor demanded and charges the monster army as Jason, Piper, and Nico brace behind the wavering ghostly ranks.
Who Appears
- Frank ZhangPOV; hears an ancestor urging him to lead, spots a guiding ghost, orders Hazel and Leo ahead, then charges the monster army.
- Hazel LevesqueSenses the tunnels, dissolves a boulder, warns of a hidden sorceress and unstable paths; separated with Leo to find the Doors.
- Nico di AngeloGuides entry, administers ritual poison, tracks the Doors’ timing, and summons a Roman legion with Diocletian’s scepter.
- Leo ValdezProvides light and fire, quips under pressure; dives with Hazel into the tunnel and is sealed off from the others.
- Jason GraceTrusts Nico by drinking first after him; fights to hold the near side as monsters surround the rear guard.
- Piper McLeanEndures the poison, stays with Jason and Nico, helps defend against the encircling monsters.
- Roman legionnaire ghostAppears only to Frank, silently beckoning toward the correct passage before the ambush.
- Earthborn, Cyclopes, gryphons, and hellhoundsGaea’s forces; launch a coordinated ambush that shatters the floor and splits the team.