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"What is it?" Percy asked

She tried to stagger toward the ladder Why was she s swept out from under her and she fell on her face

"Her ankle!" Hazel shouted from the ladder "Cut it! Cut it!"

Annabeth’s mind oolly from the pain Cut her ankle?

Apparently Percy didn’t realize what Hazel ged her toward the pit Percy lunged He grabbed her ar as well

"Help the in their direction, Hazel trying to disentangle her cavalry sword from the rope ladder Their other friends were still focused on the statue, and Hazel’s cry was lost in the general shouting and the ru of the cavern

Annabeth sobbed as she hit the edge of the pit Her legs went over the side Too late, she realized as happening: she was tangled in the spider silk She should have cut it away iht it was just loose line, but with the entire floor covered in cobwebs, she hadn’t noticed that one of the strands rapped around her foot--and the other end went straight into the pit It was attached to so her in

"No," Percyin his eyes "My sword…"

But he couldn’t reach Riptide without letting go of Annabeth’s are Percy fell with her

Her body sla She must have blacked out briefly froain, she realized that she’d fallen partway into the pit and was dangling over the void Percy had e about fifteen feet below the top of the chas Annabeth’s wrist with the other, but the pull on her leg was

No escape, said a voice in the darkness below I go to Tartarus, and you will come too

Annabeth wasn’t sure if she actually heard Arachne’s voice or if it was just in herkeeping her froe the size of a bookshelf

Nico leaned over the edge of the chas out his hand, but he wasfor the others, but even if they heard her over all the chaos, they’d neverfelt like it was pulling free of her body Pain washed everything in red The force of the Underworld tugged at her like dark gravity She didn’t have the strength to fight She knew she was too far down to be saved

"Percy, let o," she croaked "You can’t pull me up"

His face hite with effort She could see in his eyes that he kneas hopeless

"Never," he said He looked up at Nico, fifteen feet above "The other side, Nico! We’ll see you there Understand?"

Nico’s eyes widened "But--"

"Lead them there!" Percy shouted "Promise me!"

"I--I will"

Below thehed in the darkness Sacrifices Beautiful sacrifices to wake the goddess

Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth’s wrist His face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, his hair dusted with cobwebs, but when he locked eyes with her, she thought he had never looked ether," he proain"

Only then did she understand ould happen A one-way trip A very hard fall

"As long as we’re together," she said

She heard Nico and Hazel still screaht far, far above--ht she would ever see

Then Percy let go of his tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, he and Annabeth fell into the endless darkness

Chapter 52

Leo was still in shock

Everything had happened so quickly They had secured grappling lines to the Athena Parthenos just as the floor gave way, and the final colu snapped Jason and Frank dove down to save the others, but they’d only found Nico and Hazel hanging froone The pit to Tartarus had been buried under several tons of debris Leo pulled the Argo II out of the cavern seconds before the entire place i lot with it

The Argo II was now parked on a hill overlooking the city Jason, Hazel, and Frank had returned to the scene of the catastrophe, hoping to dig through the rubble and find a way to save Percy and Annabeth, but they’d coone The scene ar with police and rescue workers Notheir heads for ht in the ood cars

Dazed with grief, Leo and the others carefully loaded the Athena Parthenos into the hold, using the ship’s hydraulic winches with an assist froh what they were going to do with it, Leo had no idea

Coach Hedge was toothe deck with tears in his eyes, pulling at his goatee and slapping the side of his head, , "I should have saved them! I should have blown up more stuff!"