Contents
VIII
Overview
Exhausted and sustained only by the Phlegethon’s fire, Annabeth and Percy hide as a group of empousai argue their way along the riverbank. Led by Kelli, they reveal a summons from Gaea and a plan to reach the Doors of Death, with Percy marked as prey.
Recognizing a chance to track enemies to the Doors, Annabeth and Percy choose to follow them, converting danger into an opportunity to find their exit from Tartarus.
Summary
Annabeth and Percy, drained and hungry despite healing in the Phlegethon, press downstream through Tartarus. Hearing voices, Annabeth drags Percy behind a boulder beside the fiery river and forces herself to steady her breathing, assuming any encounter here could be fatal.
A group approaches, footsteps uneven and voices bickering. The speakers argue about directions and a summons from Gaea. One, sounding like a mortal teen, claims recent experience in the mortal world and insists the route will take three days. The leader figure called Serephone threatens consequences if she is lying.
The teen voice demands the monsters save one “special morsel”—Percy Jackson. When the speaker names herself as Kelli, Annabeth and Percy recognize the empousa who once attacked them in the mortal world. Annabeth recalls Kelli’s manipulation of the Mist, deadly allure, and her role in pushing Luke toward darker deeds. The squad passes by without noticing the demigods’ scent, perhaps masked by Tartarus.
Annabeth glimpses five empousai: mismatched legs of bronze and goat, fire hair, bone-white skin, and tattered dresses, with Kelli still in a ruined cheerleader uniform. The monsters are heading toward the Doors of Death in response to Gaea’s call, eager to feast on heroes, especially Percy.
Recognizing that the empousai are moving toward the very goal Annabeth and Percy must reach, Percy states their destination, and Annabeth agrees. Despite the danger and her lack of a weapon, they decide to follow the empousai to find and ultimately close the Doors of Death from within.
Who Appears
- Annabeth ChaseExhausted but alert; hides with Percy, identifies the empousai and Kelli, recalls past encounters, and decides to follow them to the Doors.
- Percy JacksonWeakened in Tartarus; recognizes Kelli’s voice, notes the monsters’ destination, and agrees to shadow them despite being targeted.
- KelliEmpousa leader in a tattered cheer uniform; boasts of Gaea’s summons, seeks the Doors of Death, and vows to devour Percy.
- SerephoneAncient-sounding empousa who challenges Kelli’s guidance, threatens consequences, then grudgingly follows toward the Doors of Death.
- Empousai squadGroup of vampiric monsters with fiery hair and mismatched legs; argue, then continue toward the Doors under Gaea’s summons.