Imagine the largest concert crowd you've ever seen, a football field packed with a million fans.
Now imagine a field a million times that big, packed with people, and imagine the electricity has gone out, and there is no noise, no light, no beach ball bouncing around over the crowd. Something tragic has happened backstage. Whispering masses of people are just milling around in the shadows, waiting for a concert that will never start.
"That sounds really depressing," Apollo shook his head. Hades shot his nephew an irritated look to which he responded with a sheepish look. Apollo couldn't help it, he was right after all, the show must always go on! Even if there was no real concert there to begin with.
If you can picture that, you have a pretty good idea what the Fields of Asphodel looked like.
Hades groaned. The amount of expansion he'd have done to make the Fields of Asphodel that big. His poor kingdom!
The black grass had been trampled by eons of dead feet. A warm, moist wind blew like the breath of a swamp. Black trees—Grover told me they were poplars—grew in clumps here and there.
The cavern ceiling was so high above us it might've been a bank of storm clouds, except for the stalactites, which glowed faint gray and looked wickedly pointed. I tried not to imagine they'd fall on us at any moment, but dotted around the fields were several that had fallen and impaled themselves in the black grass. I guess the dead didn't have to worry about little hazards like being speared by stalactites the size of booster rockets.
"The dead don't," Demeter grumbled. The description sounded as bad as the last time she'd visited. What did her daughter see in the place?
Annabeth, Grover, and I tried to blend into the crowd, keeping an eye out for security ghouls. I couldn't help looking for familiar faces among the spirits of Asphodel, but the dead are hard to look at.
"Familiar faces?" Thalia asked confused. Percy shook his head and refused to answer.
She and Nico exchanged concerned glances.
Their faces shimmer. They all look slightly angry or confused. They will come up to you and speak, but their voices sound like chatter, like bats twittering. Once they realize you can't understand them, they frown and move away.
The dead aren't scary. They're just sad.
Nico looked at Percy, in complete agreement. The dead just need someone to talk to.
We crept along, following the line of new arrivals that snaked from the main gates toward a black-tented pavilion with a banner that read:
JUDGMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION
Welcome, Newly Deceased!
"How festive," Demeter rolled her eyes.
"Mother!" Persephone protested.
"The spirits are sad. And that's as warm a welcome as possible," Nico commented quietly to his friends. They just shook their heads in disbelief.
Out the back of the tent came two much smaller lines.
To the left, spirits flanked by security ghouls were marched down a rocky path toward the Fields of Punishment, which glowed and smoked in the distance, a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating the different torture areas.
"That actually sounds pretty interesting," Ares remarked thoughtfully. "Let me know if you ever need any ideas."
Hades stared at his nephew, before taking a calming breath. "I'll keep that in mind," he said scathingly.
Even from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music. I could just make out a tiny hill, with the ant-size figure of Sisyphus struggling to move his boulder to the top.
Thalia made a small noise of disgust, remembering her encounter with him and his rock. Percy and Nico shot her looks of agreement.
And I saw worse tortures, too—things I don't want to describe.
The Furies stared at Percy, who leaned back uncomfortably. Then Megaera shook her head. "Don't spoil any of our future ideas," she commanded.
"Uh, I hope I don't?" Percy shrugged, having no idea what made it into the book and what didn't.
The line coming from the right side of the judgment pavilion was much better. This one led down toward a small valley surrounded by walls—a gated community, which seemed to be the only happy part of the Underworld. Beyond the security gate were neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history, Roman villas and medieval castles and Victorian mansions. Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbow colors.
"Sounds as perfect as ever," Persephone sighed. Hades smiled gently at his wife. "Probably due to your suggestions," he told her. She beamed at him, making him lose most of his ire.
I could hear laughter and smell barbecue cooking.
Elysium.
In the middle of that valley was a glittering blue lake, with three small islands like a vacation resort in the Bahamas. The Isles of the Blest, for people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium. Immediately I knew that's where I wanted to go when I died.
"Everyone does," Zoë sneered whilst rolling her eyes.
"Best to aim high," Perseus interjected, before Percy could snap back.
"That's what it's all about," Annabeth said, like she was reading my thoughts. "That's the place for heroes."
"For the best of the best," Athena agreed with her daughter.
But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it was compared to the Fields of Asphodel or even the Fields of Punishment. So few people did good in their lives. It was depressing.
"So depressing. So very depressing," Hades shook his head. "Why can't more people be good?" Everyone paused to stare at Hades in surprise. Then he continued with, "I'd have less expansion to do then. The Fields of Asphodel are half my kingdom!" He whined. At that, everyone rolled their eyes while scolding themselves for expecting differently.
We left the judgment pavilion and moved deeper into the Asphodel Fields. It got darker. The colors faded from our clothes. The crowds of chattering spirits began to thin.
After a few miles of walking, we began to hear a familiar screech in the distance. Looming on the horizon was a palace of glittering black obsidian. Above the parapets swirled three dark batlike creatures: the Furies.
The Furies cackled softly. They loved hearing about themselves and this time there would be no harm coming to them, since they would be in the Underworld.
I got the feeling they were waiting for us.
"Probably are," Alecto agreed.
"I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover said wistfully.
"We'll be okay." I tried to sound confident.
"Maybe we should search some of the other places first," Grover suggested. "Like, Elysium, for instance..."
"You wish Goat Boy," Thalia laughed fondly. "Elysium or Maine. Which does Grover prefer?" Percy asked conversationally. "Definitely Maine," Nico rolled his eyes. The trio laughed.
"Come on, goat boy." Annabeth grabbed his arm.
Grover yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth. He landed flat on his back in the grass.
"What?" Hermes look perplexed. "The shoes shouldn't be doing that. Not at this point."
"Grover," Annabeth chided. "Stop messing around."
"But I didn't—"
He yelped again. His shoes were flapping like crazy now. They levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from us.
"Maia!" he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. "Maia, already! Nine-one-one! Help!"
"Why aren't the shoes working?" Hermes demanded angrily.
Percy only gestured towards the book.
I got over being stunned and made a grab for Grover's hand, but too late. He was picking up speed, skidding downhill like a bobsled.
"But where is he going?" Persephone asked slowly.
We ran after him.
Annabeth shouted, "Untie the shoes!"
It was a smart idea, but I guess it's not so easy when your shoes are pulling you along feetfirst at full speed. Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get close to the laces.
We kept after him, trying to keep him in sight as he ripped between the legs of spirits who chattered at him in annoyance.
Hades grumbled in annoyance. Now those three were interfering with daily order too.
I was sure Grover was going to barrel straight through the gates of Hades' palace, but his shoes veered sharply to the right and dragged him in the opposite direction.
"What?" Several of the gods asked in confusion.
"Then where is he going?" Perseus questioned slowly.
The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed. Annabeth and I had to sprint to keep up. The cavern walls narrowed on either side, and I realized we'd entered some kind of side tunnel. No black grass or trees now, just rock underfoot, and the dim light of the stalactites above.
Hades stiffened. "There? But that's..." he trailed off.
Percy nodded. "All will be answered," he said, gesturing towards the book.
"Grover!" I yelled, my voice echoing. "Hold on to something!"
"What?" he yelled back.
He was grabbing at gravel, but there was nothing big enough to slow him down.
The tunnel got darker and colder. The hairs on my arms bristled. It smelled evil down here. It made me think of things I shouldn't even know about—blood spilled on an ancient stone altar, the foul breath of a murderer.
"No." Hermes gasped in realization. The faces of the other gods went cold as well. Percy and Nico shuddered, flashes of memory coming back to them. Thalia grasped their hands to bring them back to reality.
Then I saw what was ahead of us, and I stopped dead in my tracks.
The tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern, and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block.
Grover was sliding straight toward the edge.
Thalia clenched their hands tighter, feeling them squeeze back. "You're both here and safe," she whispered to them fiercely. "Stay with me!"
"Come on, Percy!" Annabeth yelled, tugging at my wrist.
"But that's—"
"I know!" she shouted. "The place you described in your dream! But Grover's going to fall if we don't catch him." She was right, of course. Grover's predicament got me moving again.
He was yelling, clawing at the ground, but the winged shoes kept dragging him toward the pit, and it didn't look like we could possibly get to him in time.
The gods already had a mournful look on their faces, showing exactly what they thought was going to happen.
Hermes was shaking his head, whilst looking at Dionysus. Another brave satyr lost forever.
What saved him were his hooves.
They all blinked, seeming to not comprehend the word 'saved'.
The flying sneakers had always been a loose fit on him, and finally Grover hit a big rock and the left shoe came flying off. It sped into the darkness, down into the chasm. The right shoe kept tugging him along, but not as fast. Grover was able to slow himself down by grabbing on to the big rock and using it like an anchor.
"Oh, thank us," Apollo said dramatically, patting Hermes on the shoulder. Hermes patted Apollo's hand back, acting as if he were the one who had been on the edge instead of Grover.
He was ten feet from the edge of the pit when we caught him and hauled him back up the slope.
"He was exceptionally lucky," Persephone murmured.
The other winged shoe tugged itself off, circled around us angrily and kicked our heads in protest before flying off into the chasm to join its twin.
"The shoes really shouldn't have been doing that? What went wrong?" Hermes asked, baffled. His design hadn't had any problems when he'd used them.
"Maybe satyr magic isn't compatible," Apollo shrugged. Hermes nodded, it made sense. Satyrs were meant to have their feet on the ground, after all.
We all collapsed, exhausted, on the obsidian gravel. My limbs felt like lead. Even my backpack seemed heavier, as if somebody had filled it with rocks.
Grover was scratched up pretty bad. His hands were bleeding. His eyes had gone slit-pupiled, goat style, the way they did whenever he was terrified.
"I don't know how..." he panted. "I didn't..."
"Wait," I said. "Listen."
I heard something—a deep whisper in the darkness.
Zeus' face grew stony. "There is nothing there!" He insisted loudly. "Nothing!"
Another few seconds, and Annabeth said, "Percy, this place—"
"Shh." I stood.
The sound was getting louder, a muttering, evil voice from far, far below us. Coming from the pit.
"It's him," Hades said flatly. Zeus tried to argue but all of his siblings were looking at him with those dead eyes.
"It's him," Hestia agreed, before shakily picking the book back up and continuing.
Grover sat up. "Wh—what's that noise?"
Annabeth heard it too, now. I could see it in her eyes. "Tartarus. The entrance to Tartarus."
Just hearing the name made Percy and Nico recoil. Thalia grabbed both of their hands, doing her best to try and calm them.
I uncapped Anaklusmos.
The bronze sword expanded, gleaming in the darkness, and the evil voice seemed to falter, just for a moment, before resuming its chant.
Poseidon let out a dark chuckle making the demigods stare at him warily.
I could almost make out words now, ancient, ancient words, older even than Greek. As if...
"Magic," I said.
"We have to get out of here," Annabeth said.
"Most definitely a good idea," Theseus fretted.
Together, we dragged Grover to his hooves and started back up the tunnel. My legs wouldn't move fast enough. My backpack weighed me down.
"Why is your backpack so heavy? What do you have in there?" Athena asked, frowning as if something were on the edge of her memory. Ares glanced at his sister, working his mind furiously, trying to beat her to the answer.
The voice got louder and angrier behind us, and we broke into a run.
Not a moment too soon.
A cold blast of wind pulled at our backs, as if the entire pit were inhaling. For a terrifying moment, I lost ground, my feet slipping in the gravel. If we'd been any closer to the edge, we would've been sucked in.
"How?" Hera breathed out in horror.
"He's gotten stronger," Poseidon agreed grimly. "We'll have to keep strict watch."
"We don't have to do anything! That's all he can do!" Zeus argued furiously.
We kept struggling forward, and finally reached the top of the tunnel, where the cavern widened out into the Fields of Asphodel. The wind died. A wail of outrage echoed from deep in the tunnel. Something was not happy we'd gotten away.
"What was that?" Grover panted, when we'd collapsed in the relative safety of a black poplar grove. "One of Hades's pets?"
"I wish," Hades shook his head. The idea that their Father...well he didn't want to entertain it any further himself.
Annabeth and I looked at each other. I could tell she was nursing an idea, probably the same one she'd gotten during the taxi ride to L.A., but she was too scared to share it. That was enough to terrify me.
"She's not the only one," Demeter muttered, shivering as her own mind went back to those horrible times.
I capped my sword, put the pen back in my pocket. "Let's keep going." I looked at Grover. "Can you walk?"
He swallowed. "Yeah, sure. I never liked those shoes, anyway."
He tried to sound brave about it, but he was trembling as badly as Annabeth and I were. Whatever was in that pit was nobody's pet. It was unspeakably old and powerful. Even Echidna hadn't given me that feeling.
"You're perceptive," Ariadne noted. Percy shook his head. "I really wish I wasn't." Thalia, Nico and Jason nodded in agreement.
I was almost relieved to turn my back on that tunnel and head toward the palace of Hades.
Almost.
The Furies circled the parapets, high in the gloom. The outer walls of the fortress glittered black, and the two-story-tall bronze gates stood wide open.
Up close, I saw that the engravings on the gates were scenes of death. Some were from modern times—an atomic bomb exploding over a city, a trench filled with gas mask-wearing soldiers, a line of African famine victims waiting with empty bowls—but all of them looked as if they'd been etched into the bronze thousands of years ago. I wondered if I was looking at prophecies that had come true.
Inside the courtyard was the strangest garden I'd ever seen.
"Excuse me?" Persephone snapped half-heartedly. She was still a little shaken but no one insulted her garden. Percy only tiredly motioned towards the book.
Multicolored mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, and weird luminous plants grew without sunlight. Precious jewels made up for the lack of flowers, piles of rubies as big as my fist, clumps of raw diamonds. Standing here and there like frozen party guests were Medusa's garden statues— petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs—all smiling grotesquely.
"That's...different," Zoë blinked, never having seen a garden like that before. Artemis shook her head.
"I like it," Hades assured his queen, who gave him a brilliant smile in return.
In the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orange blooms neon bright in the dark.
At the mention of pomegranates, Hades and Persephone shared a loving look.
Meanwhile, Nico turned faint remembering his time in the jar. Percy and Thalia held on to him, helping him regain the ability to breathe.
"The garden of Persephone," Annabeth said. "Keep walking."
I understood why she wanted to move on. The tart smell of those pomegranates was almost overwhelming. I had a sudden desire to eat them, but then I remembered the story of Persephone. One bite of Underworld food, and we would never be able to leave. I pulled Grover away to keep him from picking a big juicy one.
"These satyrs. What is with their self-preservation instincts?" Hermes complained.
Artemis rolled her eyes. "It's probably hereditary," she snarked. Apollo nodded, remembering little Hermes' antics.
We walked up the steps of the palace, between black columns, through a black marble portico, and into the house of Hades. The entry hall had a polished bronze floor, which seemed to boil in the reflected torchlight. There was no ceiling, just the cavern roof, far above. I guess they never had to worry about rain down here.
"No rain there, no rain at camp, no rain up here. Not a fan of rain huh?" Orion joked.
"I'm the god of rain," Zeus said dangerously. Orion held up his hands to indicate he meant no harm.
Every side doorway was guarded by a skeleton in military gear. Some wore Greek armor, some British redcoat uniforms, some camouflage with tattered American flags on the shoulders. They carried spears or muskets or M-16s. None of them bothered us, but their hollow eye sockets followed us as we walked down the hall, toward the big set of doors at the opposite end.
Two U.S. Marine skeletons guarded the doors. They grinned down at us, rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests.
"You know," Grover mumbled, "I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-to-door salesmen."
My backpack weighed a ton now. I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to open it, check to see if I had somehow picked up a stray bowling ball, but this wasn't the time.
Ares' eyes widened. There could only be one reason...but why would he do that? What did he care? Not to mention he wasn't stupid enough to steal the bolt, then how?
"Well, guys," I said. "I suppose we should...knock?"
Hades shot Percy a strange look. Percy only shrugged tiredly back.
A hot wind blew down the corridor, and the doors swung open. The guards stepped aside.
"I guess that means entrez-vous," Annabeth said.
The room inside looked just like in my dream, except this time the throne of Hades was occupied.
He was the third god I'd met, but the first who really struck me as godlike.
Slowly, a smug smile spread over Hades' face. Ares and Dionysus both scowled furiously.
He was at least ten feet tall, for one thing, and dressed in black silk robes and a crown of braided gold. His skin was albino white, his hair shoulder-length and jet black. He wasn't bulked up like Ares, but he radiated power. He lounged on his throne of fused human bones, looking lithe, graceful, and dangerous as a panther.
I immediately felt like he should be giving the orders. He knew more than I did. He should be my master.
Hades was full on grinning at this point. It was a little unnerving for Percy, who kept avoiding eye contact.
Then I told myself to snap out of it.
Hades's aura was affecting me, just as Ares's had. The Lord of the Dead resembled pictures I'd seen of Adolph Hitler, or Napoleon, or the terrorist leaders who direct suicide bombers. Hades had the same intense eyes, the same kind of mesmerizing, evil charisma.
The grin on Hades' face fell immediately. "How dare you?"
"My mom," Percy reminded. "Plus you being the one who we thought stole the bolt?"
At the reminder, Hades began to frown. Hestia hurriedly read on to avoid his ranting.
"You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon," he said in an oily voice. "After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish."
Numbness crept into my joints, tempting me to lie down and just take a little nap at Hades's feet. Curl up here and sleep forever.
Perseus and Theseus groaned. Were they to never stop worrying?
I fought the feeling and stepped forward. I knew what I had to say. "Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests."
"Really, two?" Alecto cackled.
"You're just asking to be killed," Tisiphone shook her head in mock disappointment, a feral grin on her features.
Hades raised an eyebrow. When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy faces appeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment, as if the garment were stitched of trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment, trying to get out. The ADHD part of me wondered, off-task, whether the rest of his clothes were made the same way. What horrible things would you have to do in your life to get woven into Hades's underwear?
Hades' whole face had turned a bright red. "How dare you," he sputtered. When he noticed the other gods glancing at him, he roared "and there's no such thing!"
"Only two requests?" Hades said. "Arrogant child. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet."
I swallowed. This was going about as well as I'd feared.
I glanced at the empty, smaller throne next to Hades's. It was shaped like a black flower, gilded with gold. I wished Queen Persephone were here.
"Oh that is so sweet," Persephone cooed. Hades rolled his eyes, his face still red.
I recalled something in the myths about how she could calm her husband's moods. But it was summer. Of course, Persephone would be above in the world of light with her mother, the goddess of agriculture, Demeter. Her visits, not the tilt of the planet, create the seasons.
Annabeth cleared her throat. Her finger prodded me in the back.
Nico rolled his eyes. As if it weren't hard enough to talk to his dad, without someone telling you to be faster. Not that Percy had much room to complain considering he'd done the same thing to Nico.
"Lord Hades," I said. "Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It would be...bad."
"Really bad," Grover added helpfully.
"We need to expand your vocabulary," Jason shook his head at Percy who cracked a grin. "Why? Bad sums it up pretty well I think."
"Return Zeus's master bolt to me," I said. "Please, sir. Let me carry it to Olympus."
Hades's eyes grew dangerously bright. "You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?"
I glanced back at my friends. They looked as confused as I was.
"Um...Uncle," I said. "You keep saying 'after what you've done.' What exactly have I done?"
"Oh, now you've done it," Demeter sighed.
The throne room shook with a tremor so strong, they probably felt it upstairs in Los Angeles. Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits.
"And you say I'm dramatic?" Zeus glanced at his brother.
"You are," both Hades and Poseidon chorused. Zeus stared at Poseidon in betrayal while he and Hades grinned at each other.
Hades bellowed, "Do you think I want war, godling?"
I wanted to say, Well, these guys don't look like peace activists. But I thought that might be a dangerous answer.
"You thought?" Theseus got out, sounding as if he were being strangled. Perseus patted him on the back, worry written all over his own face.
"You are the Lord of the Dead," I said carefully. "A war would expand your kingdom, right?"
"Do you think I am desperate for subjects?" Hades demanded. "Were you just not paying attention or are you blind? Just hearing about the state of the Asphodel Fields is hurting me."
"A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?"
"Well..."
"Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?"
"Oh, I can't even image how much that must have cost!" Hades groaned, holding a hand up to his head. "And punishments? They all have to be unique. Even the Furies have trouble coming up with unique punishments all the time! Do you even know how many people are punished on a daily basis?"
The Furies were nodding furiously in agreement.
I opened my mouth to respond, but Hades was on a roll now.
"More security ghouls," he moaned. "Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"
"Take the Underworld they said," Hades gestured towards his brothers. "It's nice and cool. And you don't have to interact with people. Well look now. And the dead don't shut up, you know! They just want to complain and try to get back to the living world because surely it can't have been their time yet and there must be some mistake."
Persephone wisely allowed her husband to continue. For one, it meant she wouldn't have to listen to it by herself. The other, well everyone else deserved to know.
"Charon wants a pay raise," I blurted, just remembering the fact. As soon as I said it, I wished I could sew up my mouth.
"Charon? Charon?!" Hades shrieked. The others glared at Percy as if they too wished to sew up his mouth.
"Don't get me started on Charon!" Hades yelled. "He's been impossible ever since he discovered Italian suits! Problems everywhere, and I've got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. No, godling. I need no help getting subjects! I did not ask for this war."
"Like I've been telling you all this entire time," Hades grit out.
"But you took Zeus's master bolt."
"Lies!" More rumbling. Hades rose from his throne, towering to the height of a football goalpost. "Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not so stupid. I see his plan."
"His plan?"
"You were the thief on the winter solstice," he said. "Your father thought to keep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus, You took the master bolt and my helm. Had I not sent my Fury to discover you at Yancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war. But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon's thief, and I will have my helm back!"
"I didn't take it either," Poseidon grumbled.
"We know dear. The book has made that clear," Amphitrite consoled him.
"But..." Annabeth spoke. I could tell her mind was going a million miles an hour. "Lord Hades, your helm of darkness is missing, too?"
"Do not play innocent with me, girl. You and the satyr have been helping this hero—coming here to threaten me in Poseidon's name, no doubt—to bring me an ultimatum. Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?"
"Still," Poseidon continued stubbornly. "That's a stupid plan. If I did, and I would never, but if I did I'd have much better plan than that." Hades rolled his eyes in retaliatin.
"No!" I said. "Poseidon didn't—I didn't—"
"I have said nothing of the helm's disappearance," Hades snarled, "because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help.
The other gods wanted to protest but didn't know where to begin.
Hestia lowered the book. "We will. Believe us," she told her eldest brother who looked at her for a moment and then nodded.
I can ill afford for word to get out that my most powerful weapon of fear is missing. So I searched for you myself, and when it was clear you were coming to me to deliver your threat, I did not try to stop you."
"You didn't try to stop us? But—"
"Echidna was Zeus," Hades reminded Percy.
Percy nodded slowly. "And the others were just the side effects of knowing I was a demigod."
"Return my helm now, or I will stop death," Hades threatened. "That is my counterproposal. I will open the earth and have the dead pour back into the world. I will make your lands a nightmare. And you, Percy Jackson—your skeleton will lead my army out of Hades."
The skeletal soldiers all took one step forward, making their weapons ready.
At that point, I probably should have been terrified. The strange thing was, I felt offended. Nothing gets me angrier than being accused of something I didn't do. I've had a lot of experience with that.
Percy stared at Hades. He rolled his eyes but sighed. "Yes, yes, you and me both godling. You blamed me and I blamed you. I'd say we're even."
Percy thought for a moment and then shrugged. "Sure, being even works for me."
"You're as bad as Zeus," I said. "You think I stole from you? That's why you sent the Furies after me?"
"Of course," Hades said.
"And the other monsters?"
Hades curled his lip. "I had nothing to do with them. I wanted no quick death for you—I wanted you brought before me alive so you might face every torture in the Fields of Punishment. Why do you think I let you enter my kingdom so easily?"
"Easily?"
"I had it much harder," Hercules confessed. "It was much easier for you."
"He made it nearly impossible for Orpheus," Persephone remembered fondly. Percy shook his head and glanced at his friends. He couldn't believe that was what they considered to be easy.
"Return my property!"
"But I don't have your helm. I came for the master bolt."
"Which you already possess!" Hades shouted.
Athena's eyes widened. She understood now. She cursed herself, how had it taken her so long?
"You came here with it, little fool, thinking you could you threaten me!"
"But I didn't!"
"Open your pack, then."
Zeus straightened, in anticipation.
A horrible feeling struck me. The weight in my backpack, like a bowling ball. It couldn't be...
I slung it off my shoulder and unzipped it. Inside was a two-foot-long metal cylinder, spiked on both ends, humming with energy.
"My bolt!" He exclaimed happily and then immediately frowned. "Hold on...that pack..."
"I know what you're thinking but can we just read further?" Ares interrupted his father's thought process. Zeus frowned but nodded at Hestia to continue.
"Percy," Annabeth said. "How—"
"I—I don't know. I don't understand."
"You heroes are always the same," Hades said. "Your pride makes you foolish, thinking you could bring such a weapon before me. I did not ask for Zeus's master bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me. I am sure it will make an excellent bargaining tool. And now...my helm. Where is it?"
Zeus turned to yell at Hades but Hera shot him a warning look. He settled for a glare, which Hades blithely ignored.
I was speechless. I had no helm. I had no idea how the master bolt had gotten into my backpack. I wanted to think Hades was pulling some kind of trick. Hades was the bad guy.
Hades glared at Percy.
"Hey, my world view had just shifted again. I needed a moment to realign everything. I know better now!" Hades sighed in annoyance but nodded at him.
But suddenly the world turned sideways. I realized I'd been played with. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades had been set at each other's throats by someone else. The master bolt had been in the backpack, and I'd gotten the backpack from...
"Lord Hades, wait," I said. "This is all a mistake."
"A mistake?" Hades roared.
The skeletons aimed their weapons. From high above, there was a fluttering of leathery wings, and the three Furies swooped down to perch on the back of their master's throne. The one with Mrs. Dodds's face grinned at me eagerly and flicked her whip.
Alecto was grinning at Percy in a very similar way to her future self.
"There is no mistake," Hades said. "I know why you have come—I know the real reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for her."
Hades loosed a ball of gold fire from his palm. It exploded on the steps in front of me, and there was my mother, frozen in a shower of gold, just as she was at the moment when the Minotaur began to squeeze her to death.
Percy, Thalia and Nico all stiffened at that.
I couldn't speak. I reached out to touch her, but the light was as hot as a bonfire.
"Yes," Hades said with satisfaction. "I took her. I knew, Percy Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me eventually. Return my helm, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change."
Now it was their turn to glare at Hades.
I thought about the pearls in my pocket. Maybe they could get me out of this. If I could just get my mom free...
"Ah, the pearls," Hades said, and my blood froze. "Yes, my brother and his little tricks. Bring them forth, Percy Jackson."
My hand moved against my will and brought out the pearls.
"There are only three though," Ariadne said, eyes wide with realization. Dionysus rolled his eyes, fully confident that Percy would prove himself to be just like any other hero. One look at Artemis told him that she expected the same.
"Only three," Hades said. "What a shame. You do realize each only protects a single person. Try to take your mother, then, little godling. And which of your friends will you leave behind to spend eternity with me? Go on. Choose. Or give me the backpack and accept my terms."
I looked at Annabeth and Grover. Their faces were grim.
"We were tricked," I told them. "Set up."
"Yes, but why?" Annabeth asked. "And the voice in the pit—"
"Yes, the voice in the pit. We should remember that," Ares threw in. Zeus shot him a dirty look.
Hera shook her head at Ares. He quieted down, for now.
"I don't know yet," I said. "But I intend to ask."
"Decide, boy!" Hades yelled.
"Percy." Grover put his hand on my shoulder. "You can't give him the bolt,"
Zeus nodded fervently while the others simultaneously rolled their eyes.
"I know that."
"Leave me here," he said. "Use the third pearl on your mom."
"So brave," Hermes shook his head sadly.
"No!"
"I'm a satyr," Grover said. "We don't have souls like humans do. He can torture me until I die, but he won't get me forever. I'll just be reincarnated as a flower or something. It's the best way."
"Clearly he didn't know you very well," Thalia said, face set in a firm frown.
"No." Annabeth drew her bronze knife. "You two go on. Grover, you have to protect Percy. You have to get your searcher's license and start your quest for Pan. Get his mom out of here. I'll cover you. I plan to go down fighting."
"Impressive," Demeter said, in surprise. She hadn't expected an offer of such a sacrifice.
"No way," Grover said. "I'm staying behind."
"Think again, goat boy," Annabeth said.
"Stop it, both of you!" I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. They had both been with me through so much. I remembered Grover dive-bombing Medusa in the statue garden, and Annabeth saving us from Cerberus; we'd survived Hephaestus's Waterland ride, the St. Louis Arch, the Lotus Casino. I had spent thousands of miles worried that I'd be betrayed by a friend, but these friends would never do that. They had done nothing but save me, over and over, and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom.
"I know what to do," I said. "Take these."
I handed them each a pearl.
Dionysus and Artemis both sat up in surprise.
Annabeth said, "But, Percy..."
I turned and faced my mother. I desperately wanted to sacrifice myself and use the last pearl on her, but I knew what she would say. She would never allow it. I had to get the bolt back to Olympus and tell Zeus the truth. I had to stop the war. She would never forgive me if I saved her instead.
"You shall fail to save what matters most in the end," Aphrodite whispered, tears in her eyes. She could feel her own heart break at the thought. Percy nodded at her.
I thought about the prophecy made at Half-Blood Hill, what seemed like a million years ago. You will fail to save what matters most in the end.
"I'm sorry," I told her. "I'll be back. I'll find a way."
The smug look on Hades's face faded. He said, "Godling...?"
"I'll find your helm, Uncle," I told him. "I'll return it. Remember about Charon's pay raise."
Hades shook his head. He should've expected as such, but it still came as a surprise.
"Do not defy me—"
"And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. He likes red rubber balls."
"I know you play with Cerberus now," Percy put in quickly.
"If my future self didn't, I promise I will," Hades promised softly. It was as if all the tension had left Percy, who smiled back at Hades. He gave him a slight nod, which Hades knew meant a sincere thank you.
"Percy Jackson, you will not—"
I shouted, "Now, guys!"
We smashed the pearls at our feet. For a scary moment, nothing happened.
"It takes a few seconds," Poseidon said, a little amazed himself at what he had just heard. Never before had any other hero done such a thing. A look at the demigods of their own time, showed how none of them had ever even considered such a turn of events.
Hades yelled, "Destroy them!"
The army of skeletons rushed forward, swords out, guns clicking to full automatic. The Furies lunged, their whips bursting into flame.
Just as the skeletons opened fire, the pearl fragments at my feet exploded with a burst of green light and a gust of fresh sea wind. I was encased in a milky white sphere, which was starting to float off the ground.
Annabeth and Grover were right behind me. Spears and bullets sparked harmlessly off the pearl bubbles as we floated up. Hades yelled with such rage, the entire fortress shook and I knew it was not going to be a peaceful night in L.A.
"Look up.'" Grover yelled. "We're going to crash!"
Sure enough, we were racing right toward the stalactites, which I figured would pop our bubbles and skewer us.
"Have a little faith, would you?" Triton grumbled, half heartedly.
"How do you control these things?" Annabeth shouted.
"I don't think you do!" I shouted back.
We screamed as the bubbles slammed into the ceiling and...Darkness.
Were we dead?
No, I could still feel the racing sensation. We were going up, right through solid rock as easily as an air bubble in water. That was the power of the pearls, I realized—What belongs to the sea will always return to the sea.
Amphitrite gave a small smile. He had finally learned.
For a few moments, I couldn't see anything outside the smooth walls of my sphere, then my pearl broke through on the ocean floor. The two other milky spheres, Annabeth and Grover, kept pace with me as we soared upward through the water. And—ker-blam!
We exploded on the surface, in the middle of the Santa Monica Bay, knocking a surfer off his board with an indignant, "Dude!"
There was a slow, hesitant laugh at that.
I grabbed Grover and hauled him over to a life buoy. I caught Annabeth and dragged her over too. A curious shark was circling us, a great white about eleven feet long.
I said, "Beat it."
The shark turned and raced away.
"That shark just got the story of a life time," Triton shook his head. That would be all the sea creatures talked about for months, after the gossip had gone through.
The surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms and paddled away from us as fast as he could.
Somehow, I knew what time it was: early morning, June 21, the day of the summer solstice.
"Power of the sea," Theseus smiled weakly. His mind was on Ariadne. He hadn't been brave or strong enough to defy the gods. His younger and less experienced brother had done so several times in a matter of days. He didn't know what to think.
In the distance, Los Angeles was on fire, plumes of smoke rising from neighborhoods all over the city. There had been an earthquake, all right, and it was Hades's fault. He was probably sending an army of the dead after me right now.
"Probably," Hades shrugged.
But at the moment, the Underworld wasn't my biggest problem.
I had to get to shore. I had to get Zeus's thunderbolt back to Olympus. Most of all, I had to have a serious conversation with the god who'd tricked me.
"And that's it. End of the chapter," Hestia sighed.
"We have to keep going," Zeus said immediately.
"I'll read, Lady Hestia," Perseus offered. She sent the book over and he immediately flipped to where they'd left off...I Battle My Jerk Relative
Wow, this was an intense chapter. Things have been rough lately because of COVID but here it is. I know things are opening back up but everyone stay safe and maintain all safety regulations please!
Also a lot of you have been asking and I promise it may take me awhile but I most definitely am not abandoning this story. Anyways, next chapter Ares will be doing his best to keep himself out of trouble while Zeus does his best to believe that there are no external forces at work.
Reminder you can find me on tumblr under celestialtitania as well. Feel free to come talk to me about the story or just life in general. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!