Chapter 8: Reality Bites Me

I scribbled notes in my notebook as Percy drove us to California. Apparently, Percy doesn't fly.

Chiron gave us enough money to take us there, because Nico needed to save his strength to get us out of the Underworld. He had already got us to New Mexico.

As we started out, a car had run into a rock, so I suggested we help.

"Hello?" I yelled. "Do you need any help?"

"Yes, my dear," the voice of an elderly woman called. "Please, help me, I'm hurt."

"Okay," I replied. We all went behind the rock to see if we could help. I knelt beside what appeared to be an elderly woman. As I reached for her, I saw it was a hideous beast. It appeared to be a large hyena with large rigid teeth.

Aaron pulled me back and drew his sword.

"That's a Leucrota," he said. "It uses voices to lure it's prey."

"Come here, my sweets," it said in the voice of the woman. "I just want to take a bite."

Percy quickly ran towards the beast distracting it. The beast followed and Aaron removed his two bronze swords and attacked the creature.

Within the matter of seconds, the beast was killed and all that remained was a pile of gold dust.

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Nico said. "But that gives a whole new meaning to the Little Red Riding Hood story."

We all jumped back into the van and got out of there before any more monsters showed up. Percy and Aaron sat up front with Nico, Annabeth, and myself in the back.

"What else could we be missing?" I asked. "I mean we've searched everywhere!"

"We'll save him Juliet, I promise," Annabeth said. "What else can you think of that might have part of him in it?"

"Well, I searched his belongings at the Hermes cabin before we left and looked for those words you told me, I didn't find anything," Aaron said.

"We found his baseball, his necklace, his sword, but what are we missing?" I muttered.

"Percy, what was Luke," I said. "…killed with?"

"Annabeth's knife," he replied. "He stabbed himself under his left arm."

Annabeth removes the celestial bronze blade from its sheath. The rays of sun reflected off of it causing it to shine inside the van.

She passed the blade to me and I examined it. I could not find any writing on it anywhere.

"It must not be one," I said. "It doesn't even have ἀπαλλάσσω on it."

As soon I said the word, the blade did just as the baseball, the necklace, and the sword did before it. A blue aura surrounded the blade and then, the tip of the blade produced a blue ball.

I took the ball and added to the satin bag I had the others in.

"Well, I guess it doesn't have to have it on it," Nico said.

"Great," Aaron said. "At this rate will never find the other one."

"Well, maybe, it'll be on the way there," I said. "We can't give up now."

Mom, I prayed. Please help us find the last piece, I know it's not your area, but just send me a bit of guidance.

You know where the last piece is my sweet a voice, which I had heard all my life, the voice my mother the goddess Aphrodite, replied. I know you'll find it. It's inside of you.

Thanks Mom I replied.

I dozed off somewhere between Arizona and the state line of California. I couldn't remember what I had dreamed about. Probably something random like living Katy Perry's music video for "California Gurls" or something normal like being a house wife like Samantha from Bewitched.

When I awoke, we were in California. Lucky for me "California Gurls" was playing on the radio. I checked my phone for the time. It was already Thursday and we had a day until the summer solstice.

"Someone shut off the awful music," Nico groaned.

"Cheer up emo kid we're in Cali," I teased.

Nico appeared to make an obscene hand gesture towards me, but I wasn't sure.

I saw Percy and Annabeth were both asleep in the back. Aaron was driving.

I made my way up to the passenger seat and sat next to him.

"So," I replied. "tell me about you."

"Why?" he asked. "I'm just a regular boy."

"No you're a demigod son of Ares, which has to be interesting," I replied.

"Well, my mom," he stated. "She is a hard worker who has always been there. She met my dad when she was young and wild. She now works as a secretary."

"My dad is a photographer," I replied. "He works a lot, so my step mom and I don't always get along."

"I can see why your mom was attracted to him," he laughed.

"So, what's it like being a son of Ares?" I replied.

"A lot of training," he said. "Think of a military boot camp, except better and harder."

"Military boots are cute," I replied.

We stopped for gas in at Sheets in LA before heading to the Hollywood sign. Who would have thought hell and Hollywood would be associated together?

While everyone else went inside to get snacks or use the restroom, I pumped the gas. A middle-aged man with an athletic figure and salt-and-pepper hair approached me.

"Are you Juliet Hood?" he asked.

"Um, yes," I replied reaching for my necklace just in case he was a monster.

"I have a package for you," he replied. "Please sign here." He held out a package with a piece of paper attached. I signed it and returned it to him.

"Have a great day," he replied. I looked into his eyes, which were a bright blue. He gave a quick wink and in a flash he was gone.

When everyone came back, I told them what had happened.

"That was Hermes, Luke's dad," I said. "It had to have been but why was he so secretive about it?" I asked.

"Maybe he doesn't want to play favorites," Percy said.

I opened the package to find a pair of pink Converse tennis shoes with wings on them.

"Luke stole a pair from his dad's house, he said he had hundreds more," Percy added.

"I'll keep them in the box, but I'll make sure to use them in an emergency," I replied.

We drove what seemed like to be forever up a path that leads to the Hollywood sign.

When we got as far as we could, we parked and made out way to the sign. The letters were larger than I had imagined. I switched my New Balance shoes for the pink converse.

"Don't run unless you want to fly," Percy said.

As we approached the Hollywood sign, a tall muscular man with sandy blonde hair, which appeared to be black from a distance stood with a large Cyclops behind him.

"Hera nous aider.'' I said.

"You speak French?"Aaron said.

"Apparently," I replied. "I didn't know."

"All of Aphrodite's children speak French," Annabeth added. "It's the language of love."

"Well, what did you say?" Percy asked.

"Hera help us."