Percy wanted to hug Annabeth, she was so brilliant.
One of the other empousai growled. “Is this true, Kelli? Has our mistress made peace with Olympus?”
“Shut up, Serephone!” Kelli screeched. “Gods, you’re annoying!”
“I will not cross the Dark Lady. ”
Annabeth took the opening. “You’d all be better following Serephone. She’s older and wiser. ”
“Yes!” Serephone shrieked. “Follow me!”
Kelli struck so fast, Percy didn’t have the chance to raise his sword. Fortunately, she didn’t attack him. Kelli lashed out at Serephone. For half a second, the two demons were a blur of slashing claws and fangs.
Then it was over. Kelli stood triumphant over a pile of dust. From her claws hung the tattered remains of Serephone’s dress.
“Any more issues?” Kelli snapped at her sisters. “Hecate is the goddess of the Mist! Her ways are mysterious. Who knows which side she truly favors? She is also the goddess of the crossroads, and she expects us to make our own choices. I choose the path that will bring us the most demigod blood! I choose Gaea!”
Her friends hissed in approval.
Annabeth glanced at Percy, and he saw that she was out of ideas. She’d done what she could. She’d gotten Kelli to eliminate one of her own. Now there was nothing left but to fight.
“For two years I churned in the void,” Kelli said. “Do you know how completely annoying it is to be vaporized, Annabeth Chase? Slowly re-forming, fully conscious, in searing pain for months and years as your body regrows, then finally breaking the crust of this hellish place and clawing your way back to daylight? All because some little girl stabbed you in the back?”
Her baleful eyes held Annabeth’s. “I wonder what happens if a demigod is killed in Tartarus. I doubt it’s ever happened before. Let’s find out. ”
Percy sprang, slashing Riptide in a huge arc. He cut one of the demons in half, but Kelli dodged and charged Annabeth. The other two empousai launched themselves at Percy. One grabbed his sword arm. Her friend jumped on his back.
Percy tried to ignore them and staggered toward Annabeth, determined to go down defending her if he had to; but Annabeth was doing pretty well. She tumbled to one side, evading Kelli’s claws, and came up with a rock in her hand, which she smacked into Kelli’s nose.
Kelli wailed. Annabeth scooped up gravel and flung it in the empousa’s eyes.
Meanwhile Percy thrashed from side to side, trying to throw off his empousa hitchhiker, but her claws sank deeper into his shoulders. The second empousa held his arm, preventing him from using Riptide.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kelli lunge, raking her talons across Annabeth’s arm. Annabeth screamed and fell.
Percy stumbled in her direction. The vampire on his back sank her teeth into his neck. Searing pain coursed through his body. His knees buckled.
Stay on your feet, he told himself. You have to beat them.
Then the other vampire bit his sword arm, and Riptide clattered to the ground.
That was it. His luck had finally run out. Kelli loomed over Annabeth, savoring her moment of triumph. The other two empousai circled Percy, their mouths slavering, ready for another taste.
Then a shadow fell across Percy. A deep war cry bellowed from somewhere above, echoing across the plains of Tartarus, and a Titan dropped onto the battlefield.
PERCY THOUGHT HE WAS HALLUCINATING. It just wasn’t possible that a huge, silvery figure could drop out of the sky and stomp Kelli flat, trampling her into a mound of monster dust.
But that’s exactly what happened. The Titan was ten feet tall, with wild silver Einstein hair, pure silver eyes, and muscular arms protruding from a ripped-up blue janitor’s uniform. In his hand was a massive push broom. His name tag, incredibly, read BOB.
Annabeth yelped and tried to crawl away, but the giant janitor wasn’t interested in her. He turned to the two remaining empousai, who stood over Percy.
One was foolish enough to attack. She lunged with the speed of a tiger, but she never stood a chance. A spearhead jutted from the end of Bob’s broom. With a single deadly swipe, he cut her to dust. The last vampire tried to run. Bob threw his broom like a massive boomerang (was there such a thing as a broomerang?). It sliced through the vampire and returned to Bob’s hand.
“SWEEP!” The Titan grinned with delight and did a victory dance. “Sweep, sweep, sweep!”
Percy couldn’t speak. He couldn’t bring himself to believe that something good had actually happened. Annabeth looked just as shocked.
“H-how…?” she stammered.
“Percy called me!” the janitor said happily. “Yes, he did. ”
Annabeth crawled a little farther away. Her arm was bleeding badly. “Called you? He—wait. You’re Bob? The Bob?”
The janitor frowned when he noticed Annabeth’s wounds. “Owie. ”
Annabeth flinched as he knelt next to her.
“It’s okay,” Percy said, still woozy with pain. “He’s friendly. ”
He remembered when he’d first met Bob. The Titan had healed a bad wound on Percy’s shoulder just by touching it. Sure enough, the janitor tapped Annabeth’s forearm and it mended instantly.
Bob chuckled, pleased with himself, then bounded over to Percy and healed his bleeding neck and arm. The Titan’s hands were surprisingly warm and gentle.