The Mark of Athena - Death Sense

Leo didn’t want to make Hazel miserable all over again, but this was different. True success requires sacrifice. Leo had chosen to break that cookie. Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

Nico di Angelo shuffled over, leaning on his black sword. “Leo, they’re not dead. If they were, I could feel it.”

“How can you be sure?” Leo asked. “If that pit really led to…you know…how could you sense them so far away?”

Nico and Hazel shared a look, maybe comparing notes on their Hades/Pluto death radar. Leo shivered. Hazel had never seemed like a child of the Underworld to him, but Nico di Angelo—that guy was creepy.

“We can’t be one hundred percent sure,” Hazel admitted. “But I think Nico is right. Percy and Annabeth are still alive…at least, so far.”

Jason pounded his fist against the rail. “I should’ve been paying attention. I could have flown down and saved them.”

“Me, too,” Frank moaned. The big dude looked on the verge of tears.

Piper put her hand on Jason’s back. “It’s not your fault, either of you. You were trying to save the statue.”

“She’s right,” Nico said. “Even if the pit hadn’t been buried, you couldn’t have flown into it without being pulled down. I’m the only one who has actually been into Tartarus. It’s impossible to describe how powerful that place is. Once you get close, it sucks you in. I never stood a chance.”


- The Mark of Athena, Chapter 52