A/N Persephone's description may not match many of yours, but remember, she has the ability to change her appearance.

Chapter Thirteen

After interviewing Rachel on possible ideas of seeing through the Mist, she reluctantly leaves to find her missing group. "It's been really nice to meet you. I hope to see you again!" she calls as she runs towards nothing in particular.

"Bye!" I call after her.

Garrott clucks in disapproval as he summons some more clouds. "Don't ever jump to conclusions again. Things can go wrong if you develop a habit of it."

Mia hops onto her little golden cloud after I fetch Cloud from his rabbit hunting excursion. "Are we going back to Camp Half-Blood?" she ask innocently.

Garrott forces a cold, hard laugh. "Home? We still haven't reached Hera's apple garden. Next stop is the Junkyard of the Gods."

After an hour or so, Garrott slides off his cloud while I awkwardly dismount Cloud. He screeches and sets off to find more rabbits. Garrott opens a pouch on his waist and pulls out something that wouldn't be able to fit in an average one.

"My brother made this," Garrott announces proudly, displaying the contorted contraption on the ground. It takes me a second to register his words when I realize he must be talking about Hephaestus.

Mia walks over and marvels about the way the bolts and screws and whatnot were placed. I tune out and go to investigate the junkyard. Just because I graduated (very) early does not mean I have to be excited about machines and other things.

In the middle of the rubbish was a huge robot like machine, rusty and limp. Smoke was seeping through the various joints. One of its feet had opened, sort of like a cellar door. I cautiously approached the opening, and instantly regret what I saw in there.

Bianca di Angelo lay unconscious on the floor of the foot, covered in dust and soot. A piece of metal seemed to be stuck in her neck. A scab had formed, but dried blood mixed with soil and other grimy things was caked over her neck and onto the floor.

Tears started trickling down my cheeks, for the horror of being part of this world was dawning on me.

Bianca di Angelo was dead.

I sat there, drowning in my steadily flowing tears, oblivious to the sound of my name being called from somewhere far, far away.

By the time Garrott and Mia find me, I was sleeping on the floor, probably as dirty as Bianca's corpse. Mia is horrified at the scene while Garrott bends down to touch (and possibly sniff) various places on the body.

"Seaweed, lightning, death, moon," he mutters. "Definitely Percy, Thalia, and that little brother of hers. I also think she joined Artemis' Hunt. Oh, and one of those Hesperides of Atlas." Garrott makes a face crossed between a grimace and an admiring expression.

I rack my brain for information about the Hesperides. From what I can remember, they are daughters of Atlas and their garden is where Hera's apple tree is. They are also supposed to be lovely.

"What's wrong with them?" I ask, trying to think of faults about the Hesperides.

"Most of them are selfish and vain," he spits. "They always try to charm me when I go there. It's annoying."

I'm silent until I notice the dead body again. Squinting, I see a large shadow looming over Bianca, its long fingers making a pulling movement.

Garrott notices this too, and calls, "Thanatos!"

The startled god appears quickly. I gasp. He was scary-looking with long dark robes concealing his face. Enormous wings protruded from his back, glittering in shades of purple and black. He stares up at Garrott, golden eyes gleaming, and says in a deep, lulling voice, "I am simply collecting her soul."

When he said that, I notice a shimmering gloop substance extracting from Bianca's body. It looked similar to me when I "died". "Bianca's soul," he whispers as he carefully placed it in a jar. Inside, her soul turns into translucent gas and forms into her body, like a ghost. Mia peers into it, and the ghost waves at her.

Thanatos starts to shrink back into the shadows until he remembers something. "Kayla," he says, "you're coming with me. Grab onto my robes."

I nervously grasp the hem, and when he disappears completely into the shadows, I'm sucked in with him.

Shadow travel is a horrible experience. I felt as if I was running at top speed through an incredibly dark tunnel. My legs and lungs gasped for air, but I could not stop. I was going so fast that my beads of sweat barely touched my skin before it was blown away. I could see Thanatos gliding in front of me, his robes billowing behind him, exposing his muscular legs. I could feel my legs cramping and my stomach digesting way too quickly. My lips and eyes stung from the wind and dryness. I wanted to die, have an easier way to get to the Underworld, give up the quest the gods gave…

"We're here."

I gasp for air, trying to catch my breath, until I double over and throw up. The ick disappears when it touches the dark ground.

I look around. The rocky ground is pitch black and random fires light up the scenery. I notice it matched Jenna's descriptions of the Underworld.

"Come," Thanatos says, gliding over to the River Styx's bank. He takes out several jars, unscrews them, gingerly sets down the souls, and watch them become gassy forms of their previous bodies.

Bianca di Angelo is one of them, and she notices me. "Kayla," she says.

I awkwardly wave to her then Thanatos says, "Come with me Kayla. The ruler wants to see you."

I follow him. When we reach the river, he holds out a hand and I take it. He then flies higher so I wouldn't touch the river currents, then he starts flying to a magnificent fortress.

I'm shocked at Hades' home. The walls and towers are made of gleaming obsidian and black marble. Ghostly lights illuminate the windows. Lava and other fiery liquids encircle the castle like a moat, with armed skeletons patrolling the borders.

Thanatos greets the skeletons and swoops inside. The entryway has a polished bronze floor and a large vase full of flowers made from jewels. Each room is more elaborate than the next. Thanatos leads me to the throne room.

The throne room was nearly empty except for Persephone and Hades deep in conversation. The goddess looked like crops in winter. Her hair is the color of grain; however, it seems to emit a gray aura, making it look like grain in winter's cold mist. Her dress is a faded green that seemed to be covered in frost. Her skin was a sickly pale, reminding me of a vampire.

Hades seems to be more stressful than the last time I saw him. His skin is also a sickly pale color while his black hair is damp and matted. Persephone keeps trying to calm him down and suggesting, "Let's go to the garden."

She notices me at the doorway and says, "Thank you for your services Thanatos. Will you please bring our visitor to the garden? We will be there shortly."

Thanatos gestures to me and I follow him. We walk through many rooms and take many turns, but finally he opens a large door and the room we are in is instantly flooded with light.

The dazzling garden is filled with lush trees laden with scrumptious fruits. I hear birds calling and the "sky" has clouds and a sun.

Persephone enters and she calls, "Come meet our guest Jenna!"

Tears fill my eyes when I see the girl I helped bring to Camp Half-Blood so long ago. Her curly hair is now waist-length and she's wearing black chiton. Jenna hugs me and I'm surprised at how tall she is. "Kayla," she whispers. "I'm sorry."

"About what?" I question. Persephone weakly smiles when Jenna says, "I might not leave this place. I'm happy here and I found my father."

I notice a ghost covered in soot and scars. His body is well-built and good-looking, with long ash blonde hair that covers his icy blue eyes that resembled Jenna's. He is pruning some trees and waves at me.

Persephone smiles, and it immediately changes her appearance. Her hair turns into a lovely pomegranate shade and her skin turns a light tan color. Her eyes are the same color as Mia's: a pine green shade. Persephone's dress seems to come to life; the mist goes away and the grass is dotted with blooming flowers.

When Persephone walks over to talk to Jenna's father, I notice bees appear where the dress ruffled.

Appearing from nowhere, Anubis starts to speak. "Kayla, you're going to my part of the world. Listen to the instructions I give you, and then go to the surface to summon Cloud. Come with me."