Chapter Ten — ANNABETH
"You know, it's almost a shame it's summer, and that Ethan and Luke aren't school age yet," Percy commented as we pulled into a parking spot near the Empire State Building after dropping the kids off, once again, at his mother's place.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," I replied. "I swear they're gonna think we're moving them in there." My husband laughed.
"Ah, man, I know Mom loves them, but I doubt she'd want three more Poseidon kids running around her house," he said. He shut the car off and we got out; we'd parked a little bit away from the front due to all the regular city congestion so we would have to walk a little.
"Well, hey, there're my kids, too," I protested as we walked. "That means they're three Athena kids, too, Seaweed Brain." Percy smiled.
"Well, I'll grant you that," he conceded, "but you know Ally takes more after me." I scowled, knowing he was right. He laughed again at my silence. Then we rounded the corner and there was the entrance to Mt. Olympus. We both smiled and walked in; in the lobby, waiting for everyone else to come, was the rest of our friends, sans the Egyptians.
Percy noticed, too. "Well, looks like everyone's here," he observed, "except the ones they actually want to see."
I looked at my watch. "Well, we said nine," I told him. "They have five minutes to spare."
"Hey guys," Piper greeted, getting up from her chair next to her husband. Percy and I returned her greeting. The Cherokee demigod twirled a strand of hair around her finger, then looked behind us at the doors.
"We didn't pass them, but Annabeth just said they have a few more minutes," Percy, noticing her gaze, told her. Piper nodded.
"Yeah, I know." She cracked a smile. "Did your boss get super pissed with all the days you've been taking? I know mine was pretty upset."
I shrugged. "She's actually very understanding," I replied. "And I've been taking sick days, not vacation days, so it's not so bad." Piper nodded, and then all of a sudden the door behind us burst open, squealing on its hinges. We all turned to see the Egyptians had arrived. Carter and Zia looked somewhat out of breath; the collar of Carter's blue business shirt was flipped over, while his wife smoothed down the skirt of her knee-length white summer dress, which had a light blue slash in the middle. Sadie, dressed in white pants, a green blouse, and blue slipper shoes, was rolling her eyes, and Walt, dressed similar to Carter in business clothes, just sighed, though he also looked somewhat nervous.
"No need to break the door down," Sadie told her brother. He straightened up and glared at her.
"Sadie, it's not good to keep powerful and possible hostile entities waiting, by being late. Which is your fault, by the way."
"I don't see why not, since we've done it before," his sister replied. "And it really wasn't; I blame Philip and Khufu, they wouldn't give that back to me." She scowled. "Kept playing keep-away-from-Sadie, the rotten wankers." Then she seemed to notice the rest of us were here, and she blushed.
"Oh, well, hello," she said. "Sorry 'bout that. Um, so, we're here! Empire State Building! Like Piper said. Why are we at the Empire State Building?"
"Because this is the entrance to Mt. Olympus," Nico, coming from the back to the front, answered. He looked even paler than normal, and his eyes kept flickering back and forth. I wondered what was wrong with him. Our new friends looked puzzled, which I understood.
"But...Mt. Olympus is in Greece," Walt pointed out, confused.
"Yes, well, the actual mountain is, that's true," Nico responded. "But the...spiritual essence of Mt, Olympus, the place where the gods make their home as they move with the flame of Western Civilization, is, currently, on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building."
Carter added his own disbelief, "The Empire State Building only has 102 floors," he said. Nico, apparently the current spokesperson for all things Greek, said,
"Well, the physical limit that mortals see is 102 floors, but Olympus is on the 600th." Carter looked like he was going to say something else, but his wife put a hand on his arm.
"It's not so much different from all our laws and truths, Carter," she said. Her husband blinked at her, then nodded.
"Yeah...Yeah, I guess you're right," he conceded. He looked back at the rest of us. "Well, then, lead the way."
We obliged, and Percy approached the desk man, Charon, who had been looking at Sadie and Carter and their spouses as if they were something he found on the bottom of his shoe. Percy noticed as well, and with a scowl, demanded, "The key to the 600th floor." He held out his hand. Charon glanced at it, then continued glaring at the Egyptians.
"I'm not giving it to you if you're going to bring them on my elevator," he replied gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest. My husband's scowl deepened and he looked like he was going to argue, but then Carter stepped forward, exuding an air of confidence and authority. He offered a charming smile and glanced at Percy, who blinked, then stepped back, looking as curious as I was to see how this played out. Carter turned back to Charon.
"Hello," he said pleasantly. "Now, I'm sure there's some misunderstanding here. My family and I were personally invited by the gods of Olympus, and I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate us not showing up because one their servants wouldn't let us pass."
"I am more than just a servant –" Charon began, sounding insulted, but Carter kept on, interrupting him,
"And I'm also sure I could easily clear up this misunderstanding, with just a call to them. Would you like that? I could do it all, or one of my friends here – I hear you know them rather well? – could call them; you wouldn't have to do a thing." Carter's smile became a touch more devious as Charon looked more and more uncomfortable. "I mean, if you're only confused in your duty, then I'm sure they'll understand. Right? They're understanding folks, I'm sure?"
Charon paled, and finally he reached underneath the desk and produced the Key. Hand shaking, he gave it to the Egyptian, who took it gracefully. He turned around and grinned, obviously pleased with his performance. Zia and Walt smiled back in return while Sadie rolled her eyes. I was fairly impressed, especially with the stately, leader-like aura he'd had. It reminded me of Percy's and Jason's own auras. Carter was obviously a born leader.
"Alright, then," he said. "I got the key. So, what do we do now?" We demigods shared a small laugh, then I stepped up and took the key from him. Turning toward the elevator, I said,
"Well, we'll go up in a few groups; it's not big enough for all of us."
"What, it's not bigger on the inside than the outside?" Sadie asked, an extremely amused smile appearing on her face, as if she was sharing an inside joke with herself. I frowned at her, not comprehending, though the quote sounded familiar. Shaking my head, I pressed the UP button.
"Well, Percy, Jason, Sadie, Walt, Carter, Zia, and I will go up first," I continued. Then an amused smile of my own appeared on my face. "And then...you'll get the treat of you lives."
The eyes of my new friends lit up. "Oh, we'e always up for that," Sadie said. "Let's get to it!"
The elevator dinged, and then the doors opened.