Warning: Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Titan's Curse' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Magical Labyrinth' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed as long as you inform me about it.
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & The Sword of Hades
Christmas in the Underworld was NOT my idea. If I'd know what was coming, I would've called in sick. I could've avoided an army of demons, a fight with a Titan, and a trick that almost got my friends and me cast into eternal darkness.
Not to mention I already ditch school early this semester to help Clarisse with getting her father Ares' war chariot back from Deimos and Phobos so she could finish Ares' ritual (a long story). So I was determined not to ditch again unless I really have to.
So here I was, at Goode High school, sitting in the auditorium with all the other freshmen finishing an English Exam containing an essay on A Tale of Two Cities. I had a bit of an advantage over most of the students though. One: I pulled some strings with Camp Half-Blood to get me the Ancient Greek version since my brain is hardwired for it causing me to be dyslexic with any other written language; and two: I had extra time in this exam due to my Dyslexia as well as ADHD to finish the exam.
I was finishing the test after having so much time on it with other students when Mrs. O'Leary burst onto the stage, barking like crazy.
Mrs. O'Leary is my pet hellhound. She's a shaggy black monster the size of a Hummer, with razor fangs, steel-sharp claws, and glowing red eyes. She's really sweet, but she usually stays at Camp Half-Blood, a demigod training camp I been attending since I was seven years old and saw as my second home. I was a little surprise to see her on stage, trampling over the Christmas trees, and Santa elves and the rest of the Winter Wonderland set. Sure I could summon her at anytime by blowing a special whistle my friend Annabeth had made for me based off of Daedalus' designs, but I didn't even have it out.
Everyone looked up and started snickering and laughing. A couple of girls said, "Awww, cute!"
Even Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who was a redheaded green eye mortal girl I befriended and hanged out with held back a giggle.
Our English teacher, Dr. Boring (I'm not kidding; that's his real name), adjusted his glasses and frowned.
"All right," he said. "Whose poodle?"
I sighed in relief. Thank gods I didn't have to manipulate the Mist—the magical veil that keeps humans from seeing things the way they are. Only those like Rachel who has the ability called clear sight that allow her to see through the Mist are able to see things as it is. Only reason Rachel wasn't scared was because she met Mrs. O'Leary before, and—after telling her what happened to Mrs. O'Leary's previous owner Daedalus—knows she's mine.
"Um, my poodle, sir," I spoke up. "Sorry! It must've followed me."
Somebody behind me started whistling 'Mary had a Little Lamb.' More kids cracked up.
"Enough!" Dr. Boring snapped. "Percy Jackson—"
"I'll take her outside sir. I'm done anyways," I said as I closed my test booklet and ran toward the stage. Mrs. O'Leary bounded for the exit and I followed, but not before I snapped my fingers and manipulated the mist to make people think Mrs. O'Leary was a St. Bernard instead of a poodle along with making Mrs. O'Leary look like one to mortals as well.
…
Mrs. O'Leary ran down Eight Eighty-first Street toward the river.
"Slow down!" I yelled. "Where are you going?"
Mrs. O'Leary kept well ahead of me. She turned to bark every once in a while as if to say Move it, slowpoke! She ran three blocks north, straight into Carl Schurz Park. By time I caught up with her, she leaped an Iron fence and disappeared into a huge topiary wall of snow covered pushes.
"Aw, come on," I complained. I didn't have a chance to grab by coat back at school. I was already freezing, but I climbed the fence and plunged into the frozen shrubbery.
On the other side was a clearing—a half acre of icy grass ringed with bare trees. Mrs. O'Leary was sniffing around, wagging her tail like crazy. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. In front of me, the steel-colored East River flowed sluggishly. White plumes billowed from the rooftops in Queens. Behind me, the Upper East Side loomed cold and silent.
Then I had a familiar tingle on the back of my neck, like the electricity in the air just increased, along with the sense of death.
I wasn't the only one who sense it. Mrs. O'Leary lifted her head and her nostrils quivered.
Then, the bushes rustled and a golden deer burst through. When I say gold, I don't mean yellow. This thing had metallic fur and horns that looked like genuine fourteen-karat. It shimmered with an aura of golden light, making it almost too bright to look at. It was the most beautiful creature I'd seen, and I knew what it was.
Mrs. O'Leary licked her lips like she was thinking dear burgers! I forgotten about the familiar senses of electricity and death when I saw this and shouted, "No, girl! Heal! Don't even think about attacking the deer!"
Unfortunately, the bushes rustled again and two figures in a hooded parkas leaped into the clearing, both with their arrows notched in her bow before I could stop Mrs. O'Leary."
I quickly reached for my thermos that I had hidden under my shirt, uncapped it and readied it to fire he girls aimed at me—then froze.
"Percy!"
They pushed back their silvery hoods of their parkas. I recognized the girls immediately, including the tiara one of them was wearing that marked her as the first lieutenant of Artemis.
"Thalia! Bianca!" I said recapping my thermos. "What are you doing here?"
"We were following the golden deer," Thalia said, "It's the sacred animal of Artemis, so we figured it was some sort of sign."
"I take it you were following your hellhound?" Bianca asked.
"Yeah! I think she was sent for me, but I don't—Mrs. O'Leary, no!"
Mrs. O'Leary was sniffing the deer and basically not respecting its personal space. The deer butted her in the nose. Pretty soon the two of them were playing a strange game of keep-away around the clearing.
"This can't be a coincidence. The three of us ending up in the same place at the same time," Thalia said.
She's right. Demigods didn't have coincidences. Bianca was a good friend and Thalia was a sister to me, but I haven't seen them since after the Battle of the Labyrinth.
"Maybe a god is messing with us," I said, "Although I thought I would get a break before winter solstice after helping Clarisse deal with Deimos and Phobos."
"You fought Fear and Terror?" Thalia asked. Leave it to Thalia to know when I said 'deal with' means fighting.
"It's a long story, that involves some things that Clarisse and I agreed to never bring up again," I responded.
Thalia nodded in understanding. She of all people knew what it's like to face stuff that you would rather not bring up.
"Eitherway, it's good to see you two again," I said.
"Yeah," Bianca agreed.
"Maybe if we get out of this in one piece we'll buy you a cheeseburger," Thalia said, "How's Annabeth doing after—you know…"
"Pretty good. She got Beckendorf to help her make some Daedalus designs for inventions including a permanent dog whistle for Mrs. O'Leary," I responded.
I was about to show them the whistle when a cloud passed over the sun. The golden deer shimmered and disappeared, leaving Mrs. O'Leary barking at a pile of leaves.
I uncapped my pen Riptide, which extended into a three-foot-long sword that I had in my pocket. Thalia and Bianca drew their bows. A patch of darkness passed over the clearing and a boy tumbled out of it like he'd been tossed, landing in the grass at our feet.
"Ow," he muttered. He brushed off his aviator's jacket. He was about twelve years old, with dark hair like Bianca's, jeans, a black T-shirt, and a silver skull ring on his right hand. A sword hung at his side.
"Nico?" Bianca responded seeing her little brother. Although at this point the two were at the same age since Bianca was immortalize at twelve years old in return for joining the hunters.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"That's what I was going to ask you," Nico responded. "One minute I'm in a New Orleans graveyard. The next minute—is this New York? What in Hades' name am I doing in New York?"
"Nico di Angelo, watch your language!" Bianca snapped. Even as a hunter the same age as Nico now, she still acted like the older sibling.
Thalia and I looked at each other. The four of us being here is beyond coincidence. Each of us were a child of the big three, Thalia being the daughter of Zeus, Nico and Bianca being children of Hades, and me being the son of Poseidon.
This could be about the Prophecy referring to one of the big three who would turn sixteen and make a decision that saved or destroy the world, and right now I'm next candidate for the prophecy since Thalia is immortalize as a fifteen-year-old who was only a day away from turning sixteen.
The ground rumbled. Nico drew his own sword—black blade of Stygian iron. Mrs. O'Leary leaped backward and barked in alarm.
Too late, I realize she was trying to warn me.
The ground opened up under Thalia, Bianca, Nico, and me and we fell into darkness.
…
The last thing I expected when we fell into the darkness, was that we will land in a garden screaming in terror until we realize we weren't falling anymore, much to our embarrassment.
"What—where are we?" Thalia asked.
The garden was dark. Rows of silver flowers glowed faintly, reflecting off huge gemstones that lined the planting beds—diamonds, sapphires, and rubies the size of footballs. Trees arched over us, their branches covered with orange blooms and sweet-smelling fruit. The air was cool and damp—but not like a New York winter. More like a cave.
But what gave this place away was the familiar cemented garden gnomes of creatures known and hidden to mortals that were so life like they looked like they were once alive—Medusa's victims.
"Persephone's garden," I said as my eyes widened, "We're in the underworld."
"Whatever you do, don't eat anything," Bianca told us.
"Not unless you want to stay imprisoned here," Nico responded.
Thalia and I didn't need to be told twice. Being children of Poseidon and Zeus, we're not exactly welcome in Hades' domain, especially after the oath was made where none of the big three can have kids which Zeus and Poseidon broke. But this didn't make sense. Persephone's garden was within Hades' palace grounds. If Kronos wanted all of us, he wouldn't take us where Bianca's and Nico's dad was at… maybe if it was just Thalia and me, but not the di Angelos.
"Heads up!" Thalia warned.
I turned and found her aiming her bow at a tall woman in a white dress.
At first I thought the woman was a ghost. Her dress billowed around her like smoke. Her long dark hair floated and curled as if it were weightless. Her face was beautiful but deadly pale.
Then I realized her dress wasn't white. It was made of all sorts of changing colors—red, blue, and yellow flowers blooming in fabric—but it was strangely faded. Her eyes were the same, multicolored but washed-out, like the Underworld had sapped her life force. I had a feeling that in the world above she would be beautiful, even brilliant. "I am Persephone," she said, her voice thin and papery. "Welcome, demigods."
Nico squashed a pomegranate under his boot. "Welcome? After last time, you've got the nerve to welcome me?"
"Nico!" Bianca snapped.
"It's all right Bianca," Persephone said, "Your brother and my meeting ended with a family spat unlike when you last visited."
"Family spat?" Nico cried. "You turned me into a dandelion! And what do you mean unlike when Bianca last visited."
I almost forgot that during the quest to save Artemis, after Hades claimed Bianca he brought her to the Underworld. And since it was during winter, Persephone would have been down here as well.
"Nico, calm down!" Bianca ordered.
"No! I want to know!" Nico argued.
"As I was saying, demigods, I welcome you to my garden," Persephone said ignoring the squabbles of her stepchildren.
Thalia lowered her bow. "You sent the golden deer?"
"And the hellhound," the goddess admitted. "And the shadow that collected Nico. It was necessary to bring you together."
"Why?" I asked.
Persephone regarded me, and I felt like cold little flowers were blooming in my stomach.
"Lord Hades has a problem," she said. "And if you know what's god for you, you will help him."
…
We sat on a dark veranda overlooking the garden. Persephone's handmaidens brought food and drink, which none of us touched. The handmaidens would've been pretty except for the fact that they were dead. They wore yellow dresses, with daisy and hemlock wreaths on their heads. Their eyes were hollow, and they spoke in the chittering batlike voices of shades.
Nico finally quit arguing with his sister, for now, but it was clear he was not happy about being welcomed by his stepmom. From what I gathered, Bianca's short time here didn't come with a heart warm welcome with Persephone, but she didn't give her step mom a reason to turn her into a flower either.
Persephone sat on a silver throne and studied the four of us. "If this were spring, I would be able to greet you properly in the world above. Alas in the winter this is the best I can do."
She sounded bitter. After all these millennia, I guess she still resented living with Hades half the year and the fact her husband has illegimate children didn't help.
Sometimes I worried about meeting my immortal step-mother Amphitrite. I heard she's not as bad as Hera about Poseidon's illegitimate kids with other women, but I doubt she is happy about it either.
"I brought the four of you here for a reason. I need your help and quickly," Persephone said. "It concerns Lord Hades' sword."
Nico and Bianca frowned.
"Father doesn't have a sword," Nico said.
"He has a staff and his helm of darkness," Bianca remembered.
"He didn't have a sword," Persephone corrected
Thalia sat up "He's forging a new symbol of power? Without Zeus' permission?"
The goddess of springtime pointed. Above at the table, an image flickered to life: Skeletal weapon smiths worked over a forge of black fames, using hammers fashioned like metal skulls to beat a length of iron into a blade.
"War with the Titans is upon us, it's just a matter of time until they attack," Persephone said. "My lord Hades must be ready."
"But Zeus and Poseidon would never allow Hades to forge a new weapon!" Thalia protested. "It would unbalance their power-sharing agreement."
Persephone shook her head. "You mean it would make Hades their equal? Believe me, daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Dead has no designs against his brothers. He knew they would never understand, which is why he forged the blade in secret."
The image over the table shimmered. A zombie weapon smith raised the blade, still glowing hot. Something strange was set in the base—not a gem. More like…
"Is that a key?" I asked.
Nico made a gagging sound. "The keys of Hades?"
"Wait," Thalia said. "What are the keys of Hades?"
"I thought they were only legends," Bianca said, "I never brought them up because I never thought they were true."
"What?" I said.
Nico and Bianca looked even paler than their stepmother as Nico explained, "Hades has a set of golden keys that can lock or unlock death."
"They keys have the power to imprison a soul in the Underworld," Bianca said, "Or release it."
"It is true," Persephone said.
"Thalia, Percy, understand, I thought they were only legends," Bianca said, "I heard of it the last time I was here, but…"
"It's okay, Bianca, I understand," Thalia said.
"Hold on a second, if the keys existed, then wouldn't they already be a symbol of Hades' power?" I asked.
"That's right," Persephone said.
"So your re-forging one of his symbols into an actual weapon in secret," I responded.
"Yes."
Nico swallowed. "If one of those keys has been set in the sword—"
"The wielder can raise the dead," Persephone said. "Or slay any living thing and send its soul to the Underworld with a mere touch of the blade."
"That sword would make Hades unstoppable," Thalia said.
"So you see," Persephone said, "why you must help get it back."
I stared at her. "Did you say get it back?"
Persephone's eyes were beautiful and deadly serious, like deadly blooms. "The blade was stolen when it was almost finished. I do not know how, but I suspected a demigod, some servant of Kronos. If the blade falls into the Titan's lord's hands—"
Thalia shot to her feet. "You allowed the blade to be stolen! How stupid was that? Kronos has it by now.
Thalia's arrows sprouted into long stemmed roses. Her bow melted into honeysuckle vine dotted with white and gold flowers."
"Take care, huntress," Persephone warned. "Your father may be Zeus, and you may be the lieutenant of Artemis, but you do not speak to me with disrespect in my own palace."
Thalia ground her teeth. "Give… me… back… my… bow."
Persephone waved her hand. The bow and arrows changed back to normal. At this point I decided to keep my mouth shut at this point unless spoken too around Persephone unless I want my sword and thermos be turned into flowers.
If there's one thing I learned anything over the eight years—especially during all the quest and adventures I been on—is that even though minor gods and goddesses are considered, well, minor; their powers over their domains are very effective.
"Now, sit and listen," Persephone said. "The sword could have not left the Underworld yet. Lord Hades used his remaining keys to shut the realm. Nothing gets in or out until he finds the sword, and he is using all his power to locate the thief."
Thalia sat down reluctantly. "Then what do you need us for?"
"The search for the blade cannot be common knowledge," said the goddess. "We have locked the realm but we have not announced why, nor can Hades' servants be us be used for search. They cannot know the blade exists until it is finished. Certainly they can't know it is missing."
"If they thought Hades was in trouble, they might desert him," Bianca said.
"And join the Titans," Nico finished.
Persephone didn't answer, but if a goddess can look nervous, she did. "The thief must be a demigod. No immortal can steal another immortal's weapon directly. Even Kronos must abide by that Ancient Law. He has a champion down here somewhere. And to catch a demigod… we shall use the children of the Big Three. Alone you four are powerful, but when you combine your powers, you four are a great force. Besides, when you restore the sword to Hades, you will send a message to Olympus. Zeus and Poseidon will not protest Hades' new weapon f it is given to him by their own children. It will show that you trust Hades."
"But I don't trust him," Thalia said.
"Same here, but—" I responded.
"Percy—" Thalia warned.
"Thalia, you weren't there when the Telekhines presented Kronos with his scythe, I was. And from what I heard about it, and the fact it was forged by the metals used in Luke's sword made it dangerous as it is. And the fact that he still has Telekhine working for him, he might be able to use them to fuse the sword's blade into the Scythe and make it even more powerful," I said. "With that in mind, I rather allow Hades have the sword than Kronos."
"I can't believe I'm hearing you say that," Thalia said.
"He has a point though, Thalia," Bianca said, "My dad may not be the greatest person in the world, but he's a lot more trust worthy than Kronos."
"I'm going no matter what," Nico said.
"Time is wasting," Persephone said. "The thief may have accomplices in the Underworld, and he will be looking for a way out. The Underworld maybe on lockdown, but souls are always finding new ways out faster than Hades can close them. You must retrieve the sword before it leaves our realm, or all is lost."
"Even if we wanted to," Thalia said, "how would we find this thief?"
A potted plant appeared on the table: a sickly yellow carnation with a few green leaves. The flower listed sideways, as if it were trying to find the sun.
"This will guide you," Persephone explained. "The flowers always faces the thief. As your prey gets closer to escaping the petals will fall off."
Right on cue, a yellow petal turned gray and fluttered into the dirt.
"If all the petals fall off," Persephone said, "The flower dies. This means the thief has reached the exit and you have failed."
"As long as Hades swear on the river of Styx he will never use this sword against the gods, I'll do this," I said.
The goddess shrugged. "I am not Lord Hades, but I am confident he would do this—as payment for your help.
Another petal fell off the carnation.
"We better get going," I said.
"Fine," Thalia said standing up. "Let's go catch this jerk."
…
The Underworld didn't get into the Christmas spirit. As we made our way down the palace road into the Field of Asphodel, it looked pretty much like it had on my previous visit—seriously depressing with Shades traveling to nowhere. Only difference is I could hear the construction in the field nearby.
"Must be Daedalus," I said carrying the flower, which I agreed too.
Nico nodded as he led the way since his blade could clear a path through any crowd of the undead. Thalia and Bianca were staying in the far back, although I swear I could hear Thalia complaining about the whole point of this quest. Every once in a while I found her looking around.
The worse part of the trip was when the flower veered us to the Field of Punishment. We had to jump over a lava stream and picked our way past scenes of horrible torture.
The worse part was when we had to pass Tantalus' punishment. Although we walked around the lake he was in, Tantalus just had too look at my direction and gave the evilest glare he could while yelling, "JACKSON! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"
"Just ignore him," Nico said, "He yells that once in a while."
"Why is he yelling at you?" Bianca asked.
I shrugged. "He most likely blame me for the end of his reign of Terror in Camp Half-Blood just as he finally able to catch his food," I responded.
Thalia stopped. "Wait, are you telling me The Child Eater was the one who replaced Chiron when I was poisoned?"
I nodded. "And if he had his way, chances were you wouldn't be here."
Thalia shot Tantalus a deadly glare as she gripped her bow as if decided whether or not if the spirit in the field of punishment was worth shooting an arrow at.
The carnation tilted its face toward a hill on our left.
"Up there," I said.
Thalia Nico and Bianca stopped as we could hear a loud grinding noise coming from the other side of the hill, like somebody was dragging a washing machine. Then the hill shook with a BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! and a man yelled in curses.
"Please tell me that's not who I think it is?" Bianca said.
"Afraid so," Nico said. "The number-one expert on cheating death."
"I will have your head Jackson," Tantalus yelled which I ignored.
Too be honest, even if I wasn't traveling with children of Hades, Tantalus' didn't sound as threatening as they were when he was Activities Director two years ago. Maybe it's because I know that the spirits of the Field of Punishment can't escape their punishment without some kind of intervention.
Either way, I would rather deal with the Death-Cheater than hear Child-Eater's empty threats so which Nico move forward, I followed just to get out of Tantalus' vision.
…
Sisyphus was not what I expected. Sure the field of punishment is suppose to be brutal so spirits found here being angry is not a surprise, but Sisyphus looked like one of those troll dolls with orange skin, a pot belly, scrawny legs and arms, and a big loincloth/diaper thing around his waist. His ratty hair stuck up like a torch. He was hopping around, cursing and kicking a boulder that was twice as big as he was.
"I won't!" he screamed. "No, no, no!" Then he launched into a string of cuss words in several different languages that if I had a quarter for each cuss word he used, I would have made around five hundred dollars.
He started to walk away from the boulder, but after ten feet he lurched backward, like some invisible force had pulled him. He staggered back to the boulder and started banging his head against it.
"All right!" he screamed.
He rubbed his head and muttered some more cuss words. "But this is the last time. Do you hear me?"
Nico looked at us. "Come on. While he's between attempts."
We scrambled down the hill.
"Sisyphus!" Nico called.
Sisyphus didn't respond as he was focus on his rock. "I have rocks to move. Rocks to move!"
"Sisyphus, we need to talk," I said.
"I can't talk, I have rocks to move," Sisyphus said.
"This is getting us nowhere," Thalia muttered as she walked up and caught the old man by his hair forcing him to stop just as he started moving the rock. "I'll move your rock! Just shut up and talk to my friends."
Sisyphus stopped struggling. "You'll—you'll move my rock?"
"It's better than looking at you," Thalia glanced at me and Bianca. "Be quick about it. The she shoved Sisyphus toward us.
I wanted to warn Thalia that chances were she won't be able to do what Sisyphus couldn't do since task is most likely cursed so that Sisyphus or anyone who tried to carry on the burden will fail, but Thalia had already put her shoulder against the rock and started pushing it very slowly uphill.
Sisyphus scowled at me distrustfully and pinched my nose.
"Ow!" I said.
"SO you're not a Fury or some kind of servant of Hades," he said.
"No—hey give that back!" I responded when Sisyphus somehow pickpocketed me and got hold of my thermos.
He opened it and looked inside and saw that inside was coated with sea fossils.
"Fossilize sea shells—you're a child of the sea god, aren't you?" Sisyphus asked.
"Yes, and I would like it if you give that back," I responded extending one hand while holding the flower in the other.
Thankfully Sisyphus handed my thermos back, and with one hand I strapped it back to my belt.
"So what's the flower for?" Sisyphus asked.
"We're looking for someone," I said. "The flower is helping us find him."
"Persephone!" He spit in the dust. "That's one of her tracking devices, isn't it?" He leaned forward, and I caught an unpleasant whiff of old-guy-who's-been-rolling-a-rock-foreternity. "I fooled her once, you know. I fooled them all."
"Yeah, I know the story," I said. "First you chained up Thantos, the reaper of souls, so no one could die. Then Thantos got free and was about to kill you, so you to do your wife to do incorrect funeral right so you wouldn't rest in peace. Then you tricked Persephone into letting you go back to the world to haunt your wife. And you didn't come back."
The old man cackled. "I stayed alive for thirty years before they finally tracked me down!"
"And for that you were punished by rolling a boulder up a hill forever," I said looking up at Thalia to see that she was halfway up the hill now.
She gritted her teeth, pushing the boulder with her back. Her expression said Hurry up.
"A temporary setback!" Sisyphus cried. "I'll bust out of here soon, and when I do, they'll all be sorry!"
"How would you get out of the Underworld?" Nico asked. "It's locked down, you know."
Sisyphus grinned wickedly. "That's what the other one said."
"Someone else asked your advice?" Bianca asked gripping her bow.
"An angry young man," Sisyphus recalled. "Not very polite. Held a sword to my throat. Didn't offer to roll my boulder at all."
Bianca rolled her eyes.
"What did you tell him?" Nico said. "Who was he?"
Sisyphus massage his shoulders. He glanced up at Thalia, who was almost at the top of the hill. Her face was bright red and drench with sweat.
"Oh… it's hard to say," Sisyphus said. "Never seen him before. He carried a long package all wrapped up in black cloths. Skis, maybe? A Shovel? Maybe if you wait here, I could go look for him."
Bianca notched her arrow at Sisyphus giving him a distrusting look. "Nice try, but you're staying here until we're done with you and Thalia gets back."
"What did you tell him?" I demanded
"Can't remember."
This time Nico drew his sword. The Stygian iron was so cold it steamed in the hot air of the Punishment. "Try harder.
Sisyphus winced, "What kind of people are you two?"
"We're children of Hades and I'm a hunter of Artemis," Bianca said.
The color drained from Sisyphus' face. "I told him to talk to Melinoe! She always has a way out!"
My eyes widened as Nico lowered his sword, even Bianca was hesitant. Obviously the three of us know who Sisyphus was talking about: the goddess of ghosts and one of Hades' servants. She's also the reason for what mortals call avenging ghost as she would come to the mortal world and haunt people, mostly of the person they feel most responsible for that person's death.
"Are you crazy?" Nico said, "That's suicide!"
The old man shrugged. "I've cheated death before. I could do it again."
"What did this demigod look like?"
"Um… he had a nose," Sisyphus said, "Am mouth and one eye and—"
"One eye?" I interrupted. "Did he have an eye patch?"
"Oh… maybe," Sisyphus said. "He had hair on his head. And—" He gasped and looked over my shoulder. "There he is!"
Nico and I fell for it but Not Bianca.
As soon as we turned Bianca had already shadow traveled infront of Sisyphus and had her arrow notched right at his chest.
"You made the worse mistake possible trying to fool me," Bianca said.
Sisyphus let loose bad words in Ancient Greek, Latin, English, French, and several other languages I'm surprise a dead-man from ancient Greece knew so well.
"Incoming!" Thalia shouted.
I looked up and might have used a few cuss words myself. The boulder was bouncing straight for us. Nico Bianca and I jumped out of the way as Sisyphus yelled, "NOOOOOOO!" as the thing plowed into him. Somehow he braced himself and stopped it before it could run him over. I guess he'd had a lot of practice.
"Take it again!" he wailed. "Please. I can't hold it."
"Not again," Thalia gasped. "You're on your own."
He treated us to a lot more colorful language. It was clear he wasn't going to help us any further, so we left him to his punishment. Before I thought I prefer dealing with the Death-Cheater over the Child-Eater empty death threats, but now I prefer neither of them.
"Melinoe's cave is this way," Nico said.
"I know the way," Bianca said, "What's up with you, Percy?"
"The one-eye demigod Sisyphus mention. It got to be Ethan Nakamura son of Nemesis," I said. "He's the one who freed Kronos, the one that allowed Kronos to take complete possession over Luke's body." I clenched my fist in frustration and anger.
"I remember," Nico said. "But if we're dealing with Melinoe, we've got bigger problems."
"You're right," I responded.
As we walked away, Sisyphus was yelling, "All right, but this is the last time. Do you hear me? The last time!"
Thalia shuddered.
"You okay?" I asked.
"I guess…" She hesitated. "Percy, the scary thing is, when I got to the top, I thought I had it. I thought, This isn't so hard. I can get the rock to stay. And as it rolled down, I was almost tempted to try again. I figure I could get it the second time."
She looked back wistfully.
"Don't worry about it," I told her, "This is the field of punishment. If anyone could roll that rock up the hill, it wouldn't be much of a punishment."
"Maybe," Thalia said.
"Do you guys here construction work?" Bianca asked
I listened and noticed the sounds of construction and yelling. But unlike the screams of agony and torture, this was more like of excitement which was weird considering where we are.
"That must be Daedalus doing working on his punishment," I said, "To work on building a free-way and ramps across the underworld for eternity."
"Not much of a punishment," Thalia said. "Does a fury break down his work?"
"Doubt it," Nico said, "Dad really wants that free pass to ease up on the traffic flow of ghost coming in."
"It might be for the best to have a freeway and ramps here," I responded as I remembered Hades rant the first time I was down here with Annabeth and Grover.
"Come on," Bianca said, "The sooner we get this done, the better."
…
We walked for what seemed like eternity. Three more petals withered from the carnation, which meant it was now officially half dead. The flower pointed toward a range of jagged gray hills that looked like teeth, so we trudged in that direction over a plain of volcanic rock.
"Nice day for a stroll," Thalia muttered, "The Hunters are probably feast in in some forest glade right about now."
I wondered what my family was doing. My mom and new step-dad Paul would be worried when I didn't come home from school, but it wasn't the first time this had happened. They'd figured out pretty quickly that I was on yet another quest. My mom would be pacing back and forth in the living room, wondering if I was going to make it back to unwrap my presents.
Then there was thought of Melinoe. After facing fear and terror in my last quest, some might think that facing the goddess of ghost is nothing, but I'm still worried. I mean, if Phobos can dig deep in my mind and find out my deepest fear that made my child hood fear of the Oracle look like nothing, then there's no telling what ghost of my past Melinoe can use against me.
Thalia and Bianca immediately dropped to a crouch as Thalia said, "Weapons!"
I put the potted carnation down and draw out Riptide and hit the button on my wrist watch spiraling out my shield
We stood shoulder to shoulder in a square like formation around the potted carnation. That's when I noticed what we're dealing with. A ring of a dozen daimones materialized around us.
They were part humanoid female, part bat. Their faces were pug-nosed and furry, with fangs and bulging eyes. Matted gray fur and piecemeal armor covered their bodies. They had shriveled arms and claws for hands, leathery wings that sprouted from their backs, and stubby bowed legs. They would've looked funny except for the murderous glow in their eyes.
"Keres," Bianca said, "Battle field spirits. They feed on violent death."
"Oh, wonderful," Thalia said.
"Get back!" Nico ordered the daimones. "The son of Hades commands you!"
The Keres hissed. Their mouths foamed. They glanced apprehensively at our weapons, but I got the feeling the Keres weren't impressed by Nico's command.
"Soon Hades will defeated," one of them snarled. "Our new master shall give us free rein."
"What new master?" Bianca demanded.
The lead daimon lunged but Bianca shot her arrow point-blank into its ugly bat face, and the creature disintegrated.
The rest of them charged. Thalia and Bianca dropped their bows and drew their hunting knives. I ducked while blocking the attack with my shield. Nico's sword whistled over my head, cutting a daimon in half. I took my sword and sliced and jabbed and three or four Keres exploded around me, but more just kept coming.
"Iapetus shall crush you!" one shouted.
I struck the Keres with my sword and disintegrated them.
Nico was also cutting an arc though the Keres. His black sword absorbed their essence like a vacuum cleaner, and the more he destroyed, the colder the air became around him. Thalia flipped a daimon on its back, stabbed it, and impaled another one with her second knife without turning around.
"Die in pain, mortal!" another one yelled. However Bianca shadow travelled behind it and stabbed it straight through the chest with her hunters knife, destroying it.
Good thing too because I heard one coming behind me and swiftly turned in an one-eighty degree while slashing my sword right through the last Keres, not killing it, but it did shock the daimon long enough for me to give it the final blow.
I spiraled my shield back in wristwatch form before I picked up the carnation. We only lost one petal during the battle.
"The Keres will be back," Nico said.
"Especially since we know what we're up against," Bianca said.
"One of the Keres mention Iapetus," Thalia said. "He's supposed to be locked up in Tartarus along with his brothers. He's supposed to still be down there."
I gripped my sword so tight my knuckled turned white. Iapetus was the Titan of the west, brother of Kronos known for piercing his enemies, father of Atlas. He was supposed to be in Tartarus with the rest of his brothers who helped Kronos in the last Titan war.
"But if the sword of Hades can lock death—" Bianca said.
"Then maybe," Nico said, "It can also free the Titans and everything else locked up in Tartarus. We can't let them try."
"And if Ethan Nakamura down here, you can bet he's the one who recruited the Keres and possibly any other of Hades minions, especially if it means more chaos and evil or torture," I said as realization hit me, "Nico… what's the chance of Melinoe's cave being locked up, and the chance of her changing sides?"
Nico frowned for a bit. Even Bianca seemed concern by the question.
"Not good," Nico said.
"For her cave being locked up?" Thalia asked.
"For both," Nico said, "Hardly anyone enters Melinoe's cave without her permission and if she's given a good deal she will give it."
I picked up the carnation. Which had four petals left.
"Let's go!"
…
As we walked for a bit before we reached our first problem, a dark narrow river churning with black water through a gorge of volcanic rock. Not to mention even the foam churned black. The far bank was only thirty feet across, but that was too far to jump and their was no bridge. This was not the River of Styx.
"The River Lethe." Nico cursed in ancient Greek.
"Nico!" Bianca snapped.
I didn't blame Nico for cursing. I would myself. The River of Lethe had the power to erase any memory with just a single drop of water. I remember Luke telling how it was where souls from the Field of Elysium goes if they choose to be reborn, so they forget their former lives.
"You think you can control it?" Thalia asked.
"I don't know—I never tried with Underworld Rivers," I looked down at the potted plant that was pointing to the other side of the river, "But right now it's worth to try though."
I handed Thalia our potted flower and walked toward the river.
I concentrated on the current—the raging black water past. I imagine it was part of my own body. I felt the water respond to my presence, which was a good sign. I could control the flow, make it respond to my will.
I didn't want to stop the flows, the current would back up and flood the valley, exploding all over us as soon as I let it go. But I had another idea.
I raised my arms like I was lifting something over my head, and imagine the river arching up over our heads like the St. Louis arch
Sure enough the river rose. It surged out of its banks, flowing up and then down again in a great arc—a raging black rainbow of water twenty feet high. The riverbed in front of us turned to drying mud, a tunnel under the river just wide enough for three people to walk side by side.
Thalia Bianca and Nico stared at me in amazement.
"Go!" I said.
They didn't need to be told twice as they scrambled into the riverbed and made their way across the sticky mud.
Not a single drop. I can't let a single drop of water touch them.
The River Lethe fought me. It didn't want to be forced out of its banks. It wanted to crash down on my friends, wipe their minds clean and drown them. But I held the arch.
Once Thalia Nico and Bianca made it across I slowly made my way.
This way if something happened I can forced myself dry, I thought as I made it out of the bank with Thalia's help. I stumbled a bit once I was safe and the River of Lethe fell back into the river bank.
"How good are we with the Carnation?" I asked.
"Not good," Thalia said showing it to me. There were only two pedals left making it look like bunny ears.
"At least we're here," Bianca said.
"Now just to face Melinoe," Nico responded pointing to the cave in the mountain in front of us.
As if in response, a hissing sound echoed down the mountain. White mist billowed from the cave like someone had turned on a dry ice machine.
In the fog, a large image appeared—a tall woman with disheveled blond hair. She wore a pink bathrobe and had a wineglass in her hand. Her face was stern and disapproving. I could see right through her, so I knew she was a spirit of some kind, but her voice sounded real enough.
Meanwhile, Thalia Nico and Bianca was frozen.
"Now you come back," she growled. "Well, it's too late."
Thalia lowered her bow. "Mother?" Her eyes teared up. Suddenly she looked about seven years old.
The spirit threw her wineglass. It shattered and dissolved into the fog. "That's right, girl. Doomed to walk the earth, and it's your fault! Where were you when I died? Why did you runaway when I needed you?"
"I—I—"
"Enough!" I uncapped Riptide, "Stop it Melinoe!"
Melinoe turned toward me. The image flickered, and I saw the goddess of ghost in her true form. Her right half was pale chalky while and her left half was pitch black and harden. She wore a golden dress and a golden shawl. Her eyes were empty black of voids, and when I looked into them, I felt as if I were seeing my own death. And that's what confused me.
Melinoe's should be showing me my ghost—the spirits of the one who died that I regret, felt guilt for, feared seeing, at least that's I read. But Melinoe's form doesn't look like anyone I knew who died.
"Where are your ghost?" she demanded in irritation. "Why can I not see yours?"
That's what I was trying to figure out. Yeah, a whole lot of my friends died in the battle of the Labyrinth, but I came to pass. Zoë Nightshade: I made peace over. Halcyon Green: I been honoring his memory by sticking to the future he gave me. Daedalus: well, since he's not suffering in the Field of Punishment it's hard to see him as a ghost.
And that's when it dawn to me why.
I smirked and said, "Luke isn't dead."
"What?" Melinoe said.
"The only person I still feel guilty for what happened to him is Luke, but he's not dead," I responded, "His body is possessed, but he's still alive."
"How can you be sure?" Melinoe asked. "His spirit could be in the field of punishment for all you know."
"True, but he's not, otherwise you would show me him," I responded, "Now let my friends go!"
I slashed at Melinoe with my sword. She backed up quickly, growling in frustration. The fog dissipated around my friends. They stood blinking at the goddess as if they were just seeing how hideous she was.
"What is that?" Thalia said.
"Melinoe," Bianca said.
"She tricked us," Nico said.
"You are too late, demigods," Melinoe said. Another petal fall off my carnation, leaving only one. "The deal has been struck."
"What deal?" I demanded.
Melinoe made a hissing sound, and I realized it was her way of laughing. "So many ghosts, my young demigod. They long to be unleashed. When Kronos rules the world, I shall be free to walk among mortals both night and day, sowing terror as they deserve."
"Where is the sword of Hades?" I demanded. "Where's Ethan?"
"Close," Melinoe promised. "I will not stop you. I will not need to. Soon, Percy Jackson, you will have many ghosts. And you will remember me."
Thalia notch her arrows and aimed at the goddess. "If you open a path to the world, do you really think Kronos will reward you? He'll cast you into Tartarus along with the rest of Hades' servants."
Melinoe bared her teeth. "Your mother was right, Thalia. You are an angry girl. Good at running away. Not much else."
The arrow flew, but as it touched Melinoe she dissolved into fog, leaving nothing but the hiss of her laughter. Thalia's arrow hit the rocks and shattered harmlessly.
"Stupid ghost," she muttered.
I could tell she was really shaken up. Her eyes were rimmed with red. Her hands trembled. Nico and Bianca looked shaken up. I don't know who their ghost might be, maybe their mother, but I wasn't going to ask.
"Come on," Bianca said, "The thief is probably in the cave."
"Yeah," Nico said, "we should stop him before—"
Just then, the last petal fell off the carnation. The Flowers turned black and wilted.
"Too late," I said.
A man's laughter echoed down the mountain.
"You're right about that," a voice boomed. At the mouth of the cave stood two people—a boy with an eye patch and a ten-foot-tall man in a tattered jumpsuit. The boy I recognized: Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis. In his hands was an unfinished sword—a double-edge blade of black Stygian iron with skeletal designs etched in silver. It had no hilt, but set in the base of the blade was a golden key, just like I'd seen in Persephone's image.
The giant next to him had eyes of pure silver. His face was covered with scraggly beard and his gray hair stuck out wildly. He looked thin and haggard in his ripped prison clothes, as though he'd spent the last few thousand years at the bottom of a pit, but even in this weakened state he looked plenty scary. He held out his hand and a giant spar appeared. Fitting considering he was called the 'Piercer'.
The Titan smiled cruelly. "And now I will destroy you."
"Mater!" Ethan interrupted. He was dressed in combat fatigues with a backpack slung over his shoulder. His eye patch was crooked, his face smeared with soot and sweat. "We have the sword. We should—"
"Yes, yes," the Titan said impatiently. "You've done well, Nawaka."
"It's Nakamura, master."
"Whatever. I'm sure my brother Kronos will reward you. But now we having killing to attend to."
"My lord," Ethan persisted. "You're not at full power. We should ascend and summon your brothers from the upper world. Our orders were to flee."
The Titan whirled n him. "FLEE? Did you say Flee?"
The ground rumbled. Ethan fell on his butt and scrambled backward. The unfinished sword of Hades clattered to the rocks.
"IAPETUS DOES NOT FLEE! I have waited three eons to be summoned from the pit. I want revenge, and I will start by killing these weaklings!"
He leveled his spear at me and charged.
If he'd been at full strength I would have been dead. Even weakened and just out of the pit, the guy was fast. He moved like a tornado, slashing so quickly I barely had time to dodge the strike before his spear impaled the rock where I'd been standing.
Iapetus yanked the spear out of the ground, but as he turned to face me, Thalia and Bianca shot his flank full of arrows, from his shoulder to his knees. He roared and turned on them, looking angrier than wounded. Ethan Nakamura tried to draw his own sword, but Nico yelled, "I don't think so!"
The ground erupted in front of Ethan. Three armored skeletons climbed out and engage him, pushing him back. The sword of Hades still lay on the rocks and we need to get it. If I could only get to it…
Iapetus slashed with his spear but Bianca grabbed Thalia and they melted into the shadows and disappeared. When they melted out of the shadows and Thalia shot Iapetus.
I charged forward and stabbed downward with Riptide, impaling the blade into the Titan's calf.
"AHHHH!" Golden ichor gushed from the wound. Iapetus whirled and the shaft of his spear slammed into me, sending me flying.
I crashed into the rocks, right next to the River Lethe.
"YOU DIE FIRST!" Iapetus roared as he hobbled toward me.
I was doomed. The only place I had to escape was the river of Lethe. I got an idea.
Meanwhile Thalia tried to get Iapetus' attention by zapping him with arcs of electricity from her knives, but she might as well have been a mosquito. Bianca tried to shoot him down with arrows, and Nico stabbed him with his sword, but the arrows were still not as affected and Iapetus knocked him aside without looking. "I will kill you all! Then I will cast your souls into the eternal darkness of Tartarus!"
Now or never. First I manipulated the Mist around the Lethe hoping it would help. I took out my thermos and summoned a water blast from it with a strong tugging feeling in my gut. The blast hit Iapetus hard but didn't do any damage
"Hey Iapetus! You're uglier than your son!" I taunted the Titan. "I can see where Atlas get his stupidity from."
Iapetus snarled. He limped forward as I walked backwards a little quicker. After a few steps. I hit the button in my wrist watch and spiraled out my shield. I took it off my arm and threw it at Iapetus. Iapetus swatted my shield away as he got closer to me.
Finally I stopped and Iapetus raised his spear at me. "Get ready to die weakling!"
He lunged his spear at me, but dodge it with ease.
"Hey Iapetus! I hope you know how to swim!" I said.
Iapetus' eyes widened as he realize where he was, ontop of the River of Lethe thanks to the fact that I condensed the water to hold both of us. I quickly dispersed the water around Iapetus and he fell in the river with a FLOOM as I willed myself to stay dry from the water splashing out.
I walked back to the shore where my friends were. Thank gods they had moved out of the way when they saw what I was doing and although they were amazed by what I just did. Up by the cave, Ethan Nakamura was just cutting down the last skeleton. He turned and froze when he saw his Titan ally gone.
He then glanced at the sword of Hades lying in the dirt, but before he could lunge for it, two silver arrows sprouted in the ground at his feet.
"Not today," Bianca said.
"One more step and we'll pin your feet," Thalia threated.
Ethan ran straight into the cave. Both Thalia and Bianca took aim.
"Don't guys, he's not worth it," I said as I picked up my shield.
Suddenly out of the river Iapetus came out.
We took out our weapons ready to fight but he said the next thing that stopped us.
"Who are you guys? Can one of you tell me who I am?"
The four of us looked at each other having no idea how to answer. It was clear that the Lethe erased his memory. I decided to answer.
"You're actually a friend of mine," I lied trying to think of a name. "I'm your friend—Bob."
Thalia and Bianca shook their head as Nico picked up the sword of Hades.
"Really? Okay!" Iapetus—I mean Bob, said.
….
We got an express ride back to the palace of Hades. Nico sent word ahead, thanks to some ghost he'd summoned out of the ground, and within a few minutes the three Furies themselves arrived to ferry us back, although one of them had to hold Nico and Bianca and lugged Bob the Titan, despite their protest. What can I say, after Bob lost his memory I felt we should at least bring him back.
Anyway, we arrived at the throne room of Hades in one piece. The lord of the dead sat on his throne of bones, glowering at us and stroking his black beard like he was contemplating the best way to torture us. Persephone sat next to him, not saying a word, as Nico and Bianca explained about our adventure.
Hades did promise not to use it against the gods, but not before he gave me a look that told me I better not say anything else. I doubt he had forgotten about how Annabeth and I told him how Charon wanted a pay raise or to play with Cerberus the last time I was here.
Nico laid the sword at his father's feet and bowed, waiting for a reactin.
Hades looked at his wife. "You defied my direct orders."
I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but Persephone didn't react, even under his withering gaze.
He turned back to Nico and Bianca. His gaze softened a little, like rck soft rather than steel. "You two will speak of this to no one."
"Yes, lord," Nico and Bianca agreed.
The god glared at me and Thalia. "And if your friends do not hold their tongues, I will cut them out."
Thalia and I nodded reluctantly.
Hades stared at the sword. His eyes were full of anger and something else—something like hunger. He snapped his fingers. The Furies fluttered down from the top of his throne.
"Return the blade to the forges," he told them. "Stay with the smiths until it is finished, and then return it to me."
The Furies swirled into the air with the weapon. That's when it dawn to me.
"You are wise, my lord," Persephone said.
"If I were wise," he growled, "I would lock you in your chambers. If you ever disobey me again—"
He let the threat hang in the air. Then he snapped his fingers and vanished into the darkness. Making the sword was Persephone's idea. That's why Hades wasn't there when Persephone gave us the mission. Hades didn't know the sword was missing. He didn't even know it existed. Persephone must of also shut down the underworld and couldn't tell Hades about it. We were used.
Persephone looked paler than usual. She took a moment to smooth her dress the turned toward us. "You have done well, demigod." She waved her hand and four roses appeared at our feet. "Crush these, and they will return you to the world of the living. You have my lord's thanks."
"I could tell," Thalia said.
"And I will reward you for your silence for the matter," Persephone said looking at me as if knowing that I figured out her plan. I wanted to bring up what I realize, but there was something more important needed to deal with.
"Lady Persephone, if you care, once Hades has calm down, maybe you can talk to him about getting Bob a job here in the Palace," I said, "If we send him back to the pit and he runs into his brothers, they might remind about before he lost his memory," I said.
Persephone studied me carefully and looked at Bob formally known as Iapetus. She must have realize I had a point: having a amnesiac Titan working in the palace was better.
"Very well, Percy Jackson, I'll see what I can do," Persephone said.
…
Nico, Thalia, Bianca, and I said our good-byes on a balcony overlooking Asphodel. Bob the Titan sat inside, building a toy house out of bones and laughing every time it collapsed.
"I'll help keep an eye on him," Nico said. "He's harmless now."
"Just be careful, Nico," Bianca said, "And please, watch your language. Just because your my brother and we're currently the same age, doesn't mean I won't threaten you with my arrow the next time I catch you cursing."
"Fine," Nico muttered. "By the way, Percy. You haven't forgotten my offer, have you?"
A shiver went down my spine. "I'm still thinking about it."
Nico nodded. "Well, whenever you're ready." He shook our hands before going back inside.
After he was gone, Thalia said, "What offer?"
"Something he told me last summer," I said. "It's supposed to help me fight Kronos, but it's dangerous, and I've had enough danger for one day."
Bianca studied me. "It wouldn't happen to be related to how Kronos possess Luke, would it?"
"I'm not sure. Nico said we'll do a bit more research once I have decided," I responded.
Thalia sighed. "Well, until then how about we get some dinner."
Bianca and I couldn't help but smile at the idea. We haven't had anything decent to eat since we came here.
"Sure!" We agreed.
And together we crushed the roses that would return us to the world.