Percy had thought that getting into the underworld without being dead would be incredibly hard, but Luke said it was surprisingly easy. Leaving the underworld was where things got complicated. When Percy asked how they were going to leave the underworld, Luke just shrugged and said that they would just figure it out if they got that far.
Luke was right, getting to the underworld was simple. They just had to have a golden drachma each, and Luke said that he was the son of Hermes, and that was all that was needed for Charon to happily take them across the River Styx. He seemed to know Hermes and actually liked him decently enough, so he was more than happy to do them a favor.
Percy had thought that Luke would be frustrated about having to rely on his dad's name to get into the underworld, but the older boy didn't so much as scowl. He didn't even look angry or start talking off when Charon told him to say hi to Hermes for him. Luke just nodded absently as they got off the boat.
Percy and Grover exchanged confused glances. Something was going on with Luke. He must have a lot on his mind if it was even stronger than his hatred for his dad.
Percy was about to ask Luke what was going on what he stopped in his tracks and looked back towards them, a confident smirk on his face. He looked normal, but Percy knew it was just an act. Luke couldn't have gotten over whatever was going on with him so quickly.
"Alright, Grover, shoes off." Luke said. "The only people here are spirits who couldn't care less about if you have goat feet or not. And now that we're underground, Percy can wear those shoes, just like we planned."
Grover was all too happy to kick off his shoes and pants. He handed the winged shoes to Percy, who was a little more reluctant. He gave Luke a cautious look.
"Are you sure I'll be able to fly with these here?" Percy asked.
"Positive," Luke said. He gave Percy a reassuring smile, though there was an odd look in his eyes. "I swear, nothing bad's going to happen to you while you're wearing those shoes."
Percy really wanted to believe him, but he was anxious to be down here, and he had no idea what was bothering Luke, or why he felt the need to hide it. He trusted Luke, but he wanted just a little more assurance.
"Will you swear by the River Styx?" Percy asked. Luke looked alarmed, and Grover looked between them anxiously, but Percy wasn't stepping down. He'd been told that such an oath was the most serious promise that somebody could make. It was like what Percy used to see pinky promises as when he'd been about five.
Luke glanced towards the River Styx, which they were still standing right next to. He closed his eyes and turned back to Percy. His eyes had softened and looked somewhat pained. Percy hoped that meant he was letting his walls down and being sincere.
"I don't like to swear by the River Styx," Luke said quietly. "It's talked about as a very serious thing, but the gods frequently break the oaths they make."
"They do?" Percy asked.
'The big three swore on the River Styx to not have any more demigod children, and, well," Luke gestured to Percy, who felt embarrassed and irritated. He didn't like to think about how he was the result of a broken promise. It wasn't a good feeling. "Poseidon's not really being punished though, at least not that any of us know of. It's just another thing where the gods think they're above the standards that they hold everybody else to."
Luke sighed. "The point is, I just don't like swearing on the River Styx, just for the principle of it, but I'll do you one better." Luke leaned forward slightly so he was closer to Percy's eye level. "My version is less binding, but way more personal. So, Percy Jackson, I, Luke Castellan, swear in the name of my mother, May Castellan, that I will do my best to not let anything bad happen to you while you're under my protection."
Percy took a deep breath and felt some of the tightness in his chest loosen slightly. Luke was right, this one did feel better. If Luke was going to keep the promise, it was because he wanted to, not because he felt threatened into it.
"Okay," Percy said. He put on the shoes and wiggled his toes to get used to the feeling. The shoes were way too big for him, but they were secure enough at the heel that Percy wasn't worried that they would fall off. He still wasn't completely sure about going into the air, but if he needed to actually use them, he wanted to feel comfortable enough to do it.
"Maia," Percy said, like he had heard Grover do multiple times before. Wings appeared at the heel of the shoes and Percy lurched forward slightly as they lifted him into the air. He was worried that they would throw him against the wall or speed him through the underworld, but they just calmly hovered a few inches off the ground.
"They'll listen to your thoughts," Luke said. "Like an extension of your feet. They'll only go where you want them to go."
"Wait a second," Grover frowned. "Why did they go nuts on me then?"
Luke shrugged. "Satyrs weren't meant to fly."
Grover pouted and crossed his arms. "Neither were sons of Poseidon." Grover was bitter and jealous, but he didn't linger on it too much. When Luke started walking through the underworld Percy fluttered slowly behind him while Grover was nearby to make sure that nothing bad suddenly happened.
Luke led them past all of the spirits and straight through the gates of the underworld. Percy was worried when he saw Cerberus, but all Luke had to do was give him a little wave and the three-headed dog let them pass through without problems. Percy had never heard of Hermes being a guide to the underworld until recently, but now he didn't think he was ever going to forget it. Luke may not like getting his powers from his dad, but they definitely came in handy.
Percy was curious about everything he saw, but he couldn't ask much about it. Luke was clearly not in the mood to answer any questions, and Grover was already really nervous. Percy didn't want to make Grover even more anxious by asking about the details of the underworld.
The question that Percy had the hardest time keeping to himself was where his mother was. She hadn't technically died, she'd just been taken away, so would she be in the Fields of Asphodel? Or was she somewhere completely different? The only thing keeping Percy quiet was that he doubted that Luke actually knew the answer. The only person who might was Hades, and they were on their way to his palace now.
As they went Percy's shoes jerked every once and awhile. Percy didn't know what was going on. Maybe Zeus had some control in the underworld after all, and he was messing with him. Maybe Percy's thoughts were just so jumbled that the shoes were a little confused. Percy didn't know, he just wished it would stop. He was nervous enough as it was, he didn't need his flying shoes going nuts on top of everything else.
Luke occasionally glanced towards Percy, frowning slightly when he saw him jerk around in the air. Percy thought about landing, but he was just starting to get used to this. Besides, it wasn't every day that Percy was able to fly, and he wanted to enjoy it as long as he could.
As they passed through the Fields of Asphodel Percy could see Hades palace in the distance. The weird thing was that they didn't seem to be walking straight there. They seemed to be walking just to the right of the palace. Where were they going?
Percy was about to ask Luke why they weren't going to the palace when his shoes jerked him far to the right towards a cave. Percy yelped and tried to rein his shoes in, make them listen to him, but they just dragged him more. It felt like the shoes were finally doing what Percy had expected them to do from the start. Why now though? What had changed?
"Percy!" Grover grabbed Percy's hand, but instead of stopping or pulling him down to the ground the shoes just ended up dragging both of them along. Luke watched them with wide eyes. He looked frozen, which really wasn't like him
"What's happening?" Grover asked, his voice trembling, showing his anxiety.
"Make it stop." Percy yelled as his shoes were pulling him towards a cave. He tried to pull his shoes off, but they seemed to be stuck and it was really awkward to bend forward to try to reach his feet. Percy had no reason to think that something wrong was happening, but with every foot he was pulled the more anxious he felt. He was terrified.
As Percy was pulled into the entrance to the cavern he shuddered as he realized that this place felt incredibly familiar. He had been here before. Maybe not in person, but he'd definitely been here in a dream, or a nightmare. Percy still didn't know who was here, but he had no interest in finding out. He wanted to get out of here.
"Luke, help!" Percy said in a shout that was just shy of a scream.
There was a long pause, way too long for Percy's comfort. His shoes were dragging him deeper into the cavern. Percy thought he saw a pit ahead when Luke came running into the cave, a determined yet conflicted and terrified look in his eyes.
"Grover, try to hold him back," Luke said as he withdrew his sword. "Percy, I need you to hold as still as you can, okay? This is going to be close."
Percy clenched his eyes shut tight. He had an idea what Luke was up to, and he didn't like this plan at all. He didn't want that sword anywhere near his feet, but he also didn't want to be dragged anywhere near that pit. He wanted to get out of this cavern. Percy couldn't believe it, but he would rather be confronting the lord of the dead than stay in here for a minute longer.
"Just do it," Percy whimpered. Nothing happened right away. Percy could hear Luke breathing heavily and muttering under his breath. Percy tried to understand what he was saying, but there must be a breeze or something in the cavern, because Percy felt a chill and thought he heard some moaning in the cavern.
The chill and moaning only got louder, but Percy didn't dare open his eyes to see what was going on. He would rather not know.
Luke grunted in frustration and Percy heard the sound of his sword being swung. Percy flinched as one of his feet dropped towards the ground. It was released. Percy opened his eyes just in time to see Luke use his sword to cut the wings off of his other shoe.
Percy fell on top of Grover, who was still clinging tightly to him. He quickly and effortlessly picked Percy up, pulled Grover to his feet, and ran back towards the entrance of the cavern. Percy couldn't help but stare towards the pit as Luke ran. The moaning was louder and sounded almost angry. Percy felt like he was in his nightmare again. The only thing missing was the scared boy being tormented by his lord.
The scared boy who had sounded so familiar. Percy hadn't been able to place the voice before, and he hadn't thought much about him since he'd woken up, He'd been too worried about Luke, who'd been having another one of his nightmares. Those nightmares seemed to happen all the time, and the boy in Percy's dream seemed to frequently be shown things that he didn't want to see, as punishment.
It was probably just a coincidence. Percy desperately wanted it to be a coincidence, but when he tried to remember what the boy had sounded like, all he could hear now was Luke. Percy had to know.
Once they were outside the entrance to the cavern Luke stopped running. He set Percy on the ground and sat down next to him. Luke was breathing harshly, and Percy didn't think it was just because Luke had been running. He sounded like he was about to start freaking out. He was hyperventilating worse than Grover was.
"...Luke?" Percy looked at his friend in concern and slight caution. "What was that cavern?"
Grover shook his head. He looked like he was going to be sick. Percy suspected that Grover knew what was going on and really didn't want to talk about it. It must be really bad to bother these two so much.
Luke tossed his sword carelessly to the side, which Percy was shocked to see. At camp Luke could go on and on about proper sword care and respecting your weapon. Seeing him treat his own personal sword like this was just wrong.
Luke took a deep breath and faced Percy. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Percy said. He was freaked out, but he needed some answers. He couldn't afford to panic right now. "But what happened?"
Luke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That pit in there was the entrance to Tartarus." Grover shuddered, and Percy felt a shiver go down his spine as well. He knew that Tartarus was a prison for the worst kinds of monsters and titans. Percy didn't want to have anything to do with that place, and the thought that he'd been so close to falling into the pit was absolutely terrifying.
What was even scarier was just why he'd ended up that close to Tartarus. "Why were your shoes trying to drag me into the pit?" Percy couldn't keep his voice from cracking. He was scared of what Luke would say.
Luke hesitated for a long moment before he reached for Percy's backpack, which he'd almost forgotten he had. "It wasn't really about you." Luke said. Percy wasn't used to hearing him sound so self-conscious and unsure. Luke opened the backpack and showed the inside to Percy. "It was about this."
Percy looked in and flinched when he saw the contents of the backpack. He reached a hand in and pulled out what could only be the master bolt. Grover's eyes widened in alarm when he saw it and he scrambled back as though he was afraid that it was going to attack him. Grover's eyes were glued to the master bolt, but Percy's gaze was only on Luke.
How did you know it was in there?" Percy asked. Luke didn't answer immediately, his silver tongue failing him. Percy felt the pit in his stomach get worse. His cheeks felt weird, though he didn't know if it was because blood was rushing into his head, or pulling away from it. He felt both furious and absolutely terrified, and he didn't know which was stronger.
Percy shrank away from Luke, holding the backpack and the master bolt close to his chest. "Luke, how did you know?"
His lack of a response was answer enough.
A/N: Things are really coming to a head now.
I thought about having this chapter from Luke's point of view, but it just didn't feel quite right. Next chapter will be from Luke's point of view though, promise. It's about time we get into that boy's head.