CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
PICK YOUR POISON

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ANNAIS KNEW THERE WAS no turning back the second the Argo II crossed into Greece. It was quiet. That was the first thing she noticed. It prickled like a bug crawling beneath her skin, burrowing in deep where she couldn't claw it out. The landscape that stretched below them was a barren plain strewn with boulders and cedar trees. Cicadas echoed through that hollow silence, a repetitive sound buzzing in Annais' ears even when the ship moved further inland away from the trees. The air quite literally rippled with heat. In every sense of the word, they had reached the gates of Hell on Earth.

"Hot and steamy," Leo grinned from where he stood at the helm. Mel hovered a few feet away from him, having sat beside Hea upon her insistence. She didn't seem to understand why and Hea's calculated expression gave nothing away, but Annais had a feeling that, like her, Hea had realised Leo was lying. That this was the kind of secret which would destroy their sister. "Makes me homesick for Houston! What do you say, Hazel? All we need now are some giant mosquitoes and it'll feel just like the Gulf Coast!"

"Have you learnt nothing, Valdez?" Hea glowered.

"We'll probably get attacked by Ancient Greek mosquito monsters now," added Hazel as Leo raised his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"There!" From his station perched atop the foremast, Nico pointed towards a winding green river that snaked through the valley about a kilometre away. Annais had tried to join him once the group made their hasty return to the Argo II, but Nico had insisted he'd be fine. He still couldn't look her in the eyes, even then, with the House of Hades and its Doors of Death taking top priority. Annais was past the point of pretending that it didn't hurt, but she did as he asked and left him alone. "Manoeuvre us that way, Leo. We're close to the temple."

He'd barely gotten the words out before the sky rippled with lightning again. Not too long into their final voyage, the others had started to notice the phenomenon. Leo had let out a screech worthy of a banshee when the black lightning first sucked the colour out of the sky. It was a rare moment where Annais didn't doubt what emotions he was letting them see. The amusement didn't last long, though. Pretty soon, the reality of what this meant dawned on them, contributing to the looming silence.

"Everyone, arm yourself," Jason commanded as he strapped on his sword belt, prompting Annais to reach for one of Hea's extra daggers, just in case. At the same time, Mel tucked a familiar hair pin into her bun and tried her best to smile when she noticed Annais staring. "Leo, get us close but don't land. No more contact with the ground than necessary! Piper, Hazel, get the mooring ropes."

"On it," Piper made a small saluting gesture with two of her fingers before hurrying away. Hazel kissed Frank on the cheek then ran after Piper, her face bright red as Hea snickered.

"What do you want me to do?" Annais asked Jason.

"Just see what Leo needs done," he replied, also kissing her on the cheek despite her pursed lips. "I'm gonna get the aerial moorings, okay?"

"Okay," she murmured as he rushed off. She turned to Leo, who had paused upon hearing his name. "Alright, hit me! What stupid idea do you have in mind this time?"

Leo pouted at her. He'd chased after Hazel to drag her back to where Frank and Mel were waiting. Hea had disappeared to help Jason and Gleeson, who were already arguing from the looks of it. Annais thought about breaking them apart but thought better of it when Gleeson turned his glare on Hea. Typical.

"Trust me on this one," Leo was insisting when Annais focused back on him. "Frank, you'll like it."

"Me?" Frank frowned, painfully aware of Annais and Mel watching him curiously. "But I hate your plans."

Leo rolled his eyes. "I need that piece of magic firewood--" He began snapping his fingers for emphasis. "Come on, make it snappy!"

"Magic firewood?" Annais questioned as Frank choked on his own tongue and Hazel protectively covered her coat pocket, exclaiming, "Leo, you can't--"

"I found a solution," Leo persisted stubbornly. Without meaning to, he glanced over Hazel dismissively and turned back to Frank, who had stopped his choking noises and was now just pale-faced and trembling. Annais had a feeling his reaction would've been nowhere near as bad if she and Mel weren't witnessing it. "Look, it's your call, big guys, but I can protect you."

"I'm sorry, what are we missing here?" Annais piped up. "What's this magic firewood?"

The son of Mars couldn't tear his eyes away from where Hazel had now reached into her pocket. She made a questioning sound that he nodded at, and Annais was positively befuddled when she pulled out a piece of firewood wrapped in bubble wrap. Through the prickly material, Annais could see that one side was charred, but the way Hazel held it indicated a great level of care.

"It's a long story," Frank sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. After a quick scan of the deck to check no one else was nearby, he continued. "When I was a baby, Juno -- sorry, Hera -- showed up and told my mum and grandma that my life was tied to this stick."

"Seriously?" Mel's brows furrowed. "I'm sorry to sound rude, but isn't a bit of firewood... insignificant? What was her reason?"

"'Too many powers,'" Frank quoted miserably. His voice was thick with doubt, but not in the story. Himself, Annais realised. He doubted that Hera was right. "I know should've said something, but--"

"It doesn't matter now," muttered Annais, seeing no point in arguing. She'd long since learnt that it did nothing. She'd forever replay her last fight with Ezra and wonder what would've been different if she'd just kept her mouth shut. "Tell us what you can do, Leo."

But Hazel wasn't willing to bend at her sister's word. She tightened her grip on the stick and waited for Frank to give her the go-ahead.

"It's okay," he mumbled.

"But... fine."

In Leo's hands, it wasn't much bigger than a screwdriver. It was more obvious than ever how right Mel was. This stick determined every breath that filled Frank Zhang's lungs. Annais was more surprised that he'd manage to keep it safe for so long, especially with the amount of physical combat they landed themselves in. Someone or something out there had to be watching over Frank, for better or worse.

Smiling gleefully, Leo brandished a plain white cloth. "Behold."

Frank scoffed, crossing his arms across his large chest. "A handkerchief?"

"A surrender flag?" Hazel continued when Leo shook his head.

"I like that one," Annais nodded at Hazel's suggestion.

"No, you unbelievers!" Leo snapped, silencing them. "This is a pouch woven from seriously cool fabric. It's a gift from... a friend of mine."

Friend? Mel's eyes flared with interest. How convenient it was that Leo couldn't look at her again. What friends did Leo have that they didn't know about? Annais wondered if she'd ever know or if Leo and Mel would simply continue with this awkward, unspoken tension between them.

Back to the matter at hand. Leo slipped the firewood into the pouch and pulled it shut with a loop of bronze thread. "The drawstring was my idea," he declared happily. "It took some work lacing that into the fabric, but the pouch won't open unless you want it to. The fabric breathes just like regular cloth, so the firewood isn't any more sealed up than it would be in Hazel's coat pocket."

"Uh... how is that an improvement, then?"

Annais was just asking herself the same thing when Leo tossed the pouch at Frank. "Here, hold this so I don't give you a heart attack." The other boy barely managed to catch it, fingers fumbling awkwardly before he clutched it to his chest like a baby. Then, Leo summoned a fist of fire that licked up the sleeve of his jacket without burning it. "See? It doesn't burn!"

"I'm impressed," Annais admitted, leaning in curiously for a closer look. "But just one problem, Valdez. You're immune to fire."

Leo rolled his eyes at her. "Yeah, but I have to concentrate if I don't want my clothes to burn." Annais shuddered at the mental image alone of Leo getting his flame on and ending up butt naked. That was more of Leo Valdez than she ever wanted to see. She'd have to ask him to burn her eyes after. "But I'm not concentrating, and this is totally fireproof cloth. Which means your firewood won't burn in that pouch."

Hazel, to give her credit, remained unconvinced. "How can you be so sure?"

"Sheesh, tough audience. Guess there's only one way to persuade you."

He held out his hand to Frank, who nearly tripped over his own feet in his attempt to get away. "Uh, no -- that's okay, Leo. Thanks, but I -- I can't--"

Annais couldn't help but pity Frank. She wondered what kind of life anyone could possibly live having to protect the one thing that would determine how much time they got to spend on Earth. Most people never knew when they would die. It just happened. For Frank Zhang, he'd known from the very beginning. It was enough to drive even the strongest of heroes mad.

"Man, you've gotta trust me," Leo was saying.

Frank handed him the pouch before he could change his mind. He inhaled a shallow breath, forcing the last morsels of air into his lungs as he steeled himself with one final look at Hazel then at Annais and Mel. Annais tried to smile reassuringly but it didn't seem to convince him.

"Okay," he said. "Try not to kill me."

With that, Leo's hand lit up again. Frank squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the world to go KABOOM! but nothing happened. The pouch didn't blacken or burn. Frank's heart continued to beat, even after Leo extinguished his fire. Frank slowly opened his eyes, jaw dropping from the shock.

"Who's your best buddy?" Leo crowed.

"Leo, that's amazing," Mel gushed before Frank could muster the words. Annais grimaced as her sister and Leo shared a rare fond look, whatever tension there was between them momentarily forgotten. "You're amazing."

"And we're standing right here," Annais pointed out. "So what happens now?"

"It's up to you, man," Leo nodded at Frank. "Who wants to take this newly ultra-safe piece of firewood?"

"I'll keep it," Frank surprisingly decided.

Geez, what was it with Annais getting caught in awkward couple spats? First Leo and Mel, now Hazel and Frank. Hazel's eyes brimmed with hurt as she lowered her head so he wouldn't see. Annais guessed she'd spent most of her time protecting that firewood for him through every fight, every near death experience they'd shared together. It bonded them, formed a sense of trust where one quite literally laid down his life for the other. And now Frank was taking that trust back? Yikes. Annais should've just stayed with Jason.

"Hazel, it's not about you," Frank winced as Annais and Mel grimaced at each other. "I can't explain, but I... I have this feeling I'm going to step up when we're in the House of Hades. I need to carry my own burden..."

Whatever else was said faded away as Annais' stomach suddenly dropped. It was a strange sensation to explain, like they'd bobbed over a giant wave and her mind was now scrambling to line up with her body. Faint shadows lingered in the air, those shadows that usually surrounded people. Each mass seemed to lament with woe or pain. They told stories of losing themselves to Death. She followed the whispers over to the helm, ignoring the others confusedly calling her name as she ended up standing next to Hea. She must've heard the whispers too.

At some point, everyone else joined them. When Jason's arm nudged around her waist, Annais forced herself to look away from where the shadows had descended towards the glittering river. They dipped beneath the surface like fish out of water, expanding with gaping lungfuls of liquid. Soon, the river was as dark as the sky. When lightning ripped it apart again, it illuminated a cluster of ruins that loomed at the top of the nearest hill. It was here where the shadows festered. Here where the lightning sparked. Yet another wave of colour-bleaching energy ripped through the air, rocking the ship from side-to-side and sending a cold shockwave across the previously barren land.

"It's the Necromanteion," Nico answered everyone's silent question.

"The House of Hades," murmured Hea. In contrast to Annais, she seemed comfortable so close to the Necromanteion. Like the darkness was a space she frequented often doing whatever it was Hea Min did when she wasn't spending time with Aphrodite and Hephaestus or being dragged along on life-threatening quests.

Piper hugged her torso with shaking arms. She took a step back from the edge, admitting, "I feel vulnerable floating up here like this. Couldn't we set down in the river?"

"No," Annais blurted when Leo shrugged as if to say why not? She blanched with every eye suddenly on her. The shadows picked up their whispers. Great. So now she could see them, hear them and physically control them. What next? "That's the River Acheron."

Jason brows furrowed. "But I thought the Acheron was in the Underworld. How can you be sure?"

"Apart from the voices that are currently wailing in our ears?" Hea deadpanned.

Jason's frown deepened. He turned to look at Annais for confirmation, squeezing her waist in what she thought was a comforting gesture when she nodded. "It's pure evil. Pain. So much suffering."

"Sounds like a blast," Leo grimaced. "But I still don't understand how it's here."

"Its headwaters are in the mortal world," Hazel explained. "That river below us? Eventually, it flows underground, straight into the realm of Pluto -- er, I mean Hades. Landing a demigod ship on those waters..."

"We'd be asking to go for a swim," Hea muttered in disgust.

"Yeah, let's stay up here. I don't want any zombie water on my hull."

"For once, you've got your priorities straight, Valdez."

For a while, they stood and watched as the Argo II drifted further inland. Soon, they were practically on top of the House of Hades, dodging the lightning as it came and went from the sky, a light-switch flicking back and forth. Annais buried her head against Jason's chest, attempting weakly to muffle some of the whispers that had picked up in intensity. He rubbed a hand between her shoulder-blades which soothed some of the tension from her muscles.

"So, uh, Nico," she heard Frank clear his throat and wondered what he was about to say. "Have you learned to use that thing?"

"We'll find out." They must've been referring to the sceptre. "I don't intend to try until I have to. The Doors of Death are already working overtime bringing in Gaea's monsters. Any more activity raising the dead, and the Doors might shatter permanently, leaving a rip in the mortal world that can't be closed."

"Sounds delightful," Hea said.

At the same time, Gleeson grunted, "I hate rips in the world. Let's go bust some monster heads."

Annais lifted her head just in time to see Frank and the satyr exchanging a significant look. Huh. Strange. "Hey, Coach, you should stay on board and cover us with the ballistae."

"Stay behind? Me? But I'm your best soldier!"

Hea seemed to take personal offence to this, but with a nudge from Frank, she pursed her lips and frowned between them, all of a sudden suspicious. "We might need air support like we did in Rome," Frank continued despite her pointed stare on the side of his face. "You saved our braccae."

"Well..." It was a true miracle. Most of the fight had vacated Gleeson until he was left with grudging acceptance. "I suppose someone had to save your braccae."

"So that's settled then," Jason said, before Hea could begin to question them like it was obvious she wanted to. He separated from Annais to stand at the front of the group, looking the picture of pure heroism as he took charge. "Everybody else, let's go to the ruins. Time to crash Gaea's party."

And time to find Ezra Min, either dead or alive.

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SHE WANTED TO BE sick the second her feet collided with the Greek soil. Something was undeniably wrong with the ruins before them. Despite knowing it was the House of her father, that it was made from the same rot and decay as his children, Annais couldn't help but feel disconnected from it. The House of Hades was unholy in every sense of the word. Like a saint in Hell, a sinner on Heaven's door, she wanted to turn and flee. She wasn't supposed to be here. None of them were.

And yet, they weren't the only ones visiting the ruins that day. Despite the midday heat and the storm that raged just beneath their feet, a group of oblivious tourists were climbing over the ruins. There were only a few and they didn't give the demigods a second look, but that wasn't what alarmed Annais. Typically, the Mist did a good job of deterring regular mortals. At the very least, it left them with an uneasy feeling that was enough to drive them away. The fact the House of Hades was immune scared her.

"From here," Nico turned to the others as they arrived at a stone doorway leading straight into the side of the hill. For the time being, he'd taken over for Jason, navigating the hillside as Death called to him. "It gets tough."

"Sweet," Leo clapped his hands together. "'Cause so far, I've totally been pulling my punches."

It didn't take much to leave Nico Di Angelo in a foul mood, especially if your name was Leo Valdez. "We'll see how long you keep your sense of humour," he glared at the other boy. "Remember, this is where pilgrims came to commune with dead ancestors. Underground, you may see things that are hard to look at, or hear voices trying to lead you astray down the tunnels."

"Whatever happens, don't freak out," Hea continued, determination gleaming in her dark eyes. "Ghosts can smell fear."

Leo frowned at her. "Wait, really?"

Hea shrugged. "How should I know?"

Annais had to wonder sometimes if Hea's comments were purposeful or not. She face-palmed as Leo spluttered in disbelief, pointing out, "But this is your dad's house..."

"Well, father dearest isn't exactly the most inviting, is he?"

Everything was already going to shit.

"Okay," Nico scowled, looking absolutely done with them while the rest watched on, either confused or fed up. "Frank, do you have the barley cakes?"

Thank you, Nico, Annais sent up a silent prayer to her brother.

"What?" Frank frowned.

"The cakes."

"Gods, this is a mess," Mel muttered to herself as Hazel said it was actually her who had the cakes and pulled out the magical barley crackers they'd made from the grain Triptolemus had given them in Venice.

"Let's not waste time then," Nico said, taking one of the crackers for himself. "Eat up."

As it turned out, crackers of Death tasted absolutely disgusting. Annais grimaced as she quickly chomped into hers then realised her mistake once she'd swallowed it down and was left with chunky bits in her teeth. She was struggling to pick them out with her tongue when Jason came over.

"Don't you dare," she grumbled as he puckered his lips teasingly.

"Come on, don't you want to kiss me?"

"My mouth tastes like ass," she deadpanned. "What do you think?"

"Okay," Nico choked down the last of his barley, fortunately saving Annais from the kiss of Death. "That should protect us from the poison."

"I'd have taken the poison," Hea muttered.

Shockingly, Leo agreed with her. "Poison? Did I miss the poison? 'Cause I love poison."

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a frustrated sigh. "Just... stick close together, and maybe we can avoid getting lost or going insane."

On that happy note, he turned and disappeared into the tunnel. Hea was hot on his heels, leaving Annais and Mel to hurry after them while the rest brought up the rear. The tunnel began to dizzyingly spiral downward, a mosaic of white stone arches that reminded Annais of a ribcage. Like the River of Acheron, shadows clung to every surface. Annais could barely see at times, reaching for Mel's hand in the darkness. She squeezed back with shaking fingers, the two girls keeping each other present in the moment as slowly but surely, the darkness swallowed them whole.

"This wasn't part of a temple," Hazel whispered at one point. She'd ventured to the front of the group just before they left the last of the sunlight behind. She was running her hands along the masonry, getting a feel of their environment and its bloody history. "This was the basement for a manor house, built in later Greek times."

"A manor house?" Frank repeated with a confused frown. "Please don't tell me we're in the wrong place."

That would be just their luck, but Annais was pretty certain this was the place. Death was everywhere, but each step in this tunnel reminded Annais of stepping foot in a freshly dug grave. This had to be the House of Hades.

"The House of Hades is below us," Nico assured them. "But Hazel is right. These upper levels are much newer. When the archaeologists first excavated this site, they thought they'd found the Necromanteion. Then they realised the ruins were too recent so they decided it was the wrong spot. But they were right the first time. They just didn't dig deep enough."

The tunnel lead them around a corner, then suddenly ended in a block of stone. The group waited as Nico contemplated their options.

"A cave-in?" Jason eventually asked.

In the dim light of their torches, Annais could just make out the shake of Nico's head in reply. "A test. Hazel, would you do the honours?"

Annais shuffled aside to let her past, momentarily releasing Mel's hand. Hazel was quiet as she surveyed the hunk of rock for a heavy moment. Then, when the others were least expecting it, she placed her hand on the rock and the entire boulder exploded in a spray of dust. The tunnel shuddered around them. Cracks spread across the ceiling like spider webs. Annais thought for sure the roof was about to come down, then the silence came. Once the dust had settled enough for her to see (and breathe) again, she spotted the set of polished black stairs carved deep into the ground.

"Well, that's not terrifying at all," Hea murmured before nudging Nico into motion.

At the top of the stairs, the ceiling suddenly dipped until it was just skimming Frank's head. He would've had to duck to walk properly, which would've been comical had their new surroundings not taken most of Annais' attention. Paintings on the walls on either side of the stairs were strange yet crude pictures of black cattle marching into the shadows. Their eyes seemed to blink at them, at Annais in particular. Their mouths curled open to reveal sharp white teeth.

"I really don't like cows," Piper muttered.

"Agreed," Frank shuddered.

Nico stepped closer to trace one of the pictures with his finger. "Those are the cattle of Hades. It's just a symbol of--"

"Hey, look," Frank suddenly pointed. "Was that there before?"

"What?" Annais frowned and followed his gaze.

On the first step of the stairwell, a golden chalice gleamed alluringly. Annais was almost positive that it hadn't been there when they first started looking at the cows. Carefully, when no one else did, she crept closer for a better look. The chalice was brimming with an eerie green liquid that reminded her of sea sludge.

"Yuck," she grimaced as she picked up the cup and caught a whiff of decay. The liquid smelled like old socks, like laundry that was left too long to dry. "Who wants the first sip then?" No one volunteered. "Great, looks like I'm the guinea pig."

Then, before anyone could protest, she tipped her head back and let several drops of the poison drip onto her tongue. She coughed but pinched her mouth shut, refusing to vomit it back up when they had precious liquid to waste. It threatened to burn its way through the back of her throat, surely popping a few blood vessels in her effort to keep it down, but the taste of blood was an improvement from the poison. When it became clear she wasn't about to die, Nico took the cup for himself then marvelled at it.

"We're standing at the ancient entrance of the Necromanteion. Odysseus came here, and dozens of other heroes, seeking advice from the dead."

"How inspiring," Hea scoffed, snatching the chalice and sipping from it, seeing no point in hesitating. She grimaced but otherwise showed no outward reaction. "Lovely. Tastes like piss."

"I thought it was wet socks," Annais muttered.

"You're really selling this poison to me, ladies," Leo scrunched up his nose.

Hea handed the chalice back to Nico. He examined it for a moment, then took his own sip. Unlike his sisters, he had no reaction at all. He offered the chalice to Jason next. "You asked me about trust and taking a risk?" Annais' stomach dropped as Jason's eyebrows raised with surprise. "Well, here you go, son of Jupiter. How much do you trust me?"

Jason didn't hesitate. He took the cup and drank. Annais hid a smile.

Once the rest of them had seen that Jason didn't drop dead -- after all, he was the first out of the group to drink the poison who wasn't a child of Hades -- they each took turns finishing the poison. First it was Piper, closely followed by Mel then Leo, who nearly vomited on Hea's shoes trying to keep it down. After that was Hazel, then Frank, who drained the chalice and yelped as it smoked away in his hands.

Nico nodded, apparently satisfied. "Congratulations. Assuming the poison doesn't kill us, we should be able to find our way through the Necromanteion's first level."

"Just the first level?" Piper huffed and folded her arms over her chest.

Nico didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Hazel and gestured towards the stairs. "After you, sister."

Off they went.

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A/N: -trojanwar surprise!