Sasha suddenly came to an abrupt halt in front of me, her body tensing. I waited impatiently behind her, shuffling on my feet. Her head tilted back to me and she whined in her throat, but turned back and sniffed at the air cautiously. Without warning, she broke into a run and skidded around the corner. I bolted after her, almost tripping over her when she suddenly stopped.
"You really gotta give a girl warning," I breathed, staggering back slightly.
Sorry, my lady, Sasha apologised distractedly. She sniffed at the door of a shop and I squinted at the sign. It took a moment for me to decipher it. It read; CRUSTY'S WATER BED PALACE.
"Are you kidding me?" I hissed. Sasha whined, glancing back at me with an offended look. "Sorry, but..."
They are here, my lady, she insisted.
"I trust you completely," I assured her, slipping my bow off my shoulders and taking a few hesitant steps toward the window. Carefully, I leant forward and peered past the neon signs blocking my gaze. Before I could see anything, Annabeth screamed. That wiped all rational thought from my mind.
My lady- Sasha started, but I had already pulled an arrow from my quiver and whipped back around, pushing the door open. I actually jolted to a horrified stop as I scanned the room.
Percy, Annabeth and Grover were each strapped to a water bed, Percy and Annabeth on either side of Grover. Ropes had been wrapped around their waists, legs and wrists, holding them in place. More ropes had been wrapped around their ankles and their armpits, pulling them in opposite directions. Annabeth was paling fast, her expression so pained I wondered if I would ever forget it. Grover let out a weak, nervous bleat and Percy scowled at a man I hadn't noticed at first, struggling and wincing when he twisted wrong.
The man was at least seven feet tall, with absolutely no hair. He had grey, leathery skin, thick lidded eyes and a cold, reptilian smile. His suit made it look like he had just stepped out of the Lotus Casino. It definitely belonged in the seventies. He turned and eyed me thoughtfully, tapping his chin slowly.
"Um, we might just have one over there," he said carefully, turning to face the right direction.
"A-Ac-cai-ca," Percy choked. Annabeth let out a weak whimper, no energy to scream properly. Grover bleated again.
Without conscious thought, I armed my bow and narrowed my gaze as the man took a step toward me. Sasha skidded around my feet, snarling angrily. He completely ignored her, as though her jaws didn't have the power to rip him apart. I pulled the bow back, the tip cracking with more lightning than I have ever used before. That made him falter in his steps.
"Acacia!" Grover yelled out. Before I could change my mind, I turned and aimed at the rope around his waist.
"Watch yourself," I warned quietly, my entire body shaking with the sheer force of thunder. The second the arrow was released, it cracked like lightning and sped toward Grover, thunder disturbing everything else around it. The tip skimmed Grover by millimetres and somehow, by some miracle, the lightning stuck to the rope and avoided Grover like the plague. The man took another step toward me.
My lady please, Sasha as good as begged. It has been so long.
I sighed, lowering my bow and regarding the man stood in front of me with disgust. "Sure, why not?" The words were hardly out of my mouth when Sasha lunged at the man. He fell back with the weight of the wolf, letting out a surprised yelp. I turned my attention back to Percy, Annabeth and Grover. The ropes around Grover had been completely burned away and I leapt forward to catch him and steady him before he fell. "Are you okay?" I asked carefully.
"Yeah, but-" Grover cut off, glancing back at Percy and Annabeth. The lightning had split in two, freeing Percy and Annabeth as fast as it could. And... well, it was lightning. It could do things pretty fast. I caught Annabeth before she hit the ground and Grover tried to catch Percy, but the two stumbled to the ground. Sasha barked loudly, snapping at a water bed and bursting it, lapping up the water quickly.
He will not be moving again, my lady, Sasha announced happily.
I grimaced at her, shuddering slightly. She looked kinda scary. "We should get going," I muttered, slinging my bow back over my shoulder. I didn't let it turn back into the locket. For some reason, I felt safer with it like this.
"Acacia's right," Annabeth gasped, rubbing her spine and frowning. Percy shoved a hand in his pocket, clenching it around his pen. "We should get moving."
"Where to?" Grover breathed, rolling his shoulders and wincing.
"DOA Recording Studios," Percy answered, his voice croaking a little. I raised an eyebrow, shaking my head. "I have no idea."
Perhaps I will be able to smell it out, Sasha suggested cautiously, toddling toward me and standing by my feet. The Underworld has a ... distinctive smell.
"What?" Annabeth asked immediately after the rumbling in Sasha's throat stopped.
"She says she might be able to smell the place out," I replied sourly. "Apparently, the Underworld stinks." Sasha whined her disapproval at my phrasing but Percy snorted.
"One way to put it I guess," he grumbled. "Okay then. Lead the way." Sasha glanced at him, then at me. I nodded once. She barked and spun around, trotting out of the shop with Percy, Annabeth and Grover hot on her heels. I had just made it to the door when a golden light emitted from behind me. I turned slowly, hand inching closer to my belt.
"Will you ever learn to relax?" Apollo mocked, leaning casually against the wall. I sighed, letting my hand drop to my side.
"There's a goddess determined to kill me and I'm travelling to the Underworld," I frowned. "I don't think relaxation really comes into the equation."
Apollo shrugged, smirking.
"Well, congratulations," he said. "Not many would have been able to shoot with that much accuracy. And the power..." He trailed off, his expression a little distant. I raised an eyebrow. "I guess I forgot how powerful a half-blood could be."
"Powerful?" I repeated, a little surprised.
Apollo snorted. "Suppose it's a good thing for you at the moment, what with Hera." His eyes hovered on the bow and quiver over my shoulder. "Good luck. You'll need it."
"Thanks, I'm filled with confidence," I sighed sarcastically.
Apollo smirked at me. He started to say something as I turned, so I stopped and glanced back at him expectantly. "You're not done, you know," he warned me, his expression oddly grave.
My stomach twisted, but I raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"
"Your test," he explained. "My test. You're not done. I mean, you're a brilliant archer, but that's only half the battle."
I wasn't entirely sure what to say to that. I was almost positive that if another god had said that to me, I'd been incredibly nervous. But for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to feel it. I met his gaze unwaveringly for a moment, then nodded once and turned out of the shop. At the end of the street, Sasha barked at me, her head tilted to the side in confusion. Taking a deep breath, I ran toward her and tried to shake the odd feeling I had.
Twenty minutes later, the four of us and Sasha were stood in front of the DOA Recording Studios trying to muster the courage to go inside.
"Does anyone else feel really bad about this?" Percy frowned.
I snorted, staring up at the building with an increasing feeling of nausea. "Percy, I was kidnapped and kept here for a year because I wasn't supposed to be born," I reminded him sourly. "You think I'm overjoyed to be here again?"
He winced sharply. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"Can we just go?" Grover said, shuffling beside me nervously. I glanced at him and Annabeth, both of whom looked more than a little scared. Percy was frowning again, but I could tell he was the same. I already knew I was.
"We'll be fine," I nodded carefully, taking a step toward the studios. "Positive thinking."
"In the Underworld?" Annabeth asked, frowning slightly.
I set my expression with a frown. "Look, I am not walking in here with the thought that I am actually going to die. If we do survive this, I want to come back sane. So quit with the negativity and let's get this over with." Annabeth, Grover and Percy blinked, then nodded numbly and followed me through the gates. Sasha didn't move.
"Erm, Acacia?" Annabeth said slowly. I pursed my lips, gulping slightly. I knew Annabeth wanted Sasha to come with us. Just like I knew Sasha wanted to come with us. But I also knew she couldn't.
"Sasha, meet us when we get back, okay?" I asked in a small voice.
She whined in her throat, shuffling just outside the gates. Of course my lady, she said sadly. I'll find you.
"If we aren't back by morning-"
My lady, you will-
"Sasha," I interrupted, gulping. The wolf whined, but remained slight. "If we aren't back by morning, head back to Camp. Chiron will know what's going on."
Yes my lady, Sasha sniffed. Good luck. To all of you. I grimaced at her, turning and heading into the Recording Studios with Percy, Grover and Annabeth hot on my heels. As we stepped through the front doors, Percy pulled me back and halted in front of Annabeth and Grover.
"Here," he said, placing a small pebble in my palm. When I looked more closely, it looked like a seagreen pearl. I frowned curiously, glancing back up at him. He looked pale and ill as he gulped and took a deep breath. "I'm not a hundred percent sure what they do, but I have four."
"Percy," Grover started slowly, grimacing. "What about your mum?"
Percy paled even more. "Percy, you have to be careful," Annabeth muttered. "Hades will use your mum as bribery." Percy frowned, but he didn't say anything.
I pursed my lips tightly, gulping. "If there is any way to get your mum back, I'll help you, I promise. But if this war starts Percy..."
"I get it," he muttered. "Besides, if I get her back and start a war, she'd only ground me for the rest of my life."
"On the up side, it wouldn't last very long," Grover shrugged. The three of us stared. "What? It's true." Rolling my eyes, I turned to face the room.
The lobby of DOA studios were incredibly dull, which was predictable I suppose. The walls and carpets were a steel grey and the chairs were covered with black leather. And the place was crowded. Every seat was taken. There were people sitting in the corners, standing up, pacing, staring out the windows and standing by the elevators. If I looked into the distant, I could everyone perfectly fine out the corner of my eyes. If I then tried to look at them properly, they started to look transparent.
Percy nudged my arm and pointed across to the security guard. "Well, here goes nothing," I muttered, letting Percy led the way across the room. The security guard raised his eyebrows and looked up at us questioningly.
Grover bleated nervously. "We're dead," he stammered quietly. I bit my lip hard, closing my eyes so that the security guard wouldn't see me roll them. Apparently, it looked like I was about to cry with devastation at the news I was dead.
"Aw, little dear going to cry?" the guard sneered. I kept my eyes shut, trying not to laugh. The stupid idiot thought I was about to cry? "You ain't got money, you're not getting through, crying or not." My teeth couldn't have got any further into my bottom lip.
"We need to get to the Underworld," Percy insisted. There was a pause, in which I kept my eyes shut tightly.
"You're not dead," the guard said bluntly.
My eyes opened and narrowed. "Look, does it really make much of a difference to you anyway?" I snapped.
The guard laughed once. "I hardly get paid as it is, half-blood," he scowled. "I'm not about to risk what little money I do get by letting four living demigods into the Underworld." I raised an eyebrow, glancing at Percy. Apparently, we were thinking the same thing. Behind us, Annabeth groaned quietly, lowering her head into her hands and muttering sourly to herself.
"You know what?" Percy started. "I agree. Staying here all day, doing the work you do, and you can't be paid enough." The guard frowned, but nodded slowly. I glanced down at the name tag. I almost called him Chiron, but I adjusted myself quickly.
"Charon, is it?" The guard raised his eyebrows, impressed.
"First one to get my name right in years," he grumbled. "Always mixing me up with that ridiculous old centaur Chiron. Do I look like I'm half horse?"
"Terrible," I agreed. "Under paid and underappreciated." Charon watched me cautiously, but I could tell he was lapping it up. Percy pulled out a stack of drachmas from his backpack and sat them in front of Charon. His eyes flashed greedily and he reached out for them. Percy snatched them away again quickly, smirking slightly.
"Not so fast," he sighed. "You think I'm stupid?" Charon eyed his expression, as though wondering whether to push him or not. Whatever he saw, he turned to me, his eyes narrowed. I met his gaze, my face straight and defiant.
"I suppose there is room for four more," he admitted reluctantly. Percy set two drachma down on the stand. He eyed money in Percy's hand, flicking it toward the lesser amount he'd had put in front of him. Percy smiled back pleasantly. "Wait by the elevator." He set four more drachma down and turned for the elevator. "Hey! You've got more there!"
"Oh, so we have," I smiled, pulling Percy back before he could hand the lot over. "Consider it a bonus for arrival."
Charon groaned, but pulled a pass from his stand and moved toward us. He shoved a few lost souls out of the way and opened the elevator, muttering about how inconvenient half-bloods could be. I smiled slightly as Percy, Grover, Annabeth and I slipped into the elevator. The music wasn't the cheesy stuff that usually got on my nerves. Instead, it was a gloomy, depressing tune that sent shudders down my spine.
None of us said a word as we waited. The elevator started its descent, a journey that seemed to last forever. With every passing second, the sense of impending doom increased. What the hell was I thinking? I couldn't go back to the Underworld. It was because of Hades that I'd been moved to Scotland, that I spent three years of my life fighting constantly to protect my mother and me. I would have preferred death.
Then again, I wondered what would happen to me in the Underworld. My father had turned Thalia into a tree to stop her travelling to the Underworld, yet it was his orders that brought me here. It told me one or two things. One, he didn't care. Or two, he thought I might actually survive. I tried to make myself believe the second, but everyone else had stared at me with pity. None of them thought we had a hope of surviving.
The elevator suddenly jerked forward and for a moment, I couldn't see properly. My stomach churned uncomfortably and I instantly felt... sea sick? I blinked rapidly, trying to see what was going on. We were in a boat, travelling down a river. A polluted river at that. But it wasn't with oil, or filth as such. It was rubbish. Things like dolls with no heads and shredded bits of paper that looked like certificates of some sort.
"What is all this?" Annabeth gasped, her eyes wide and appalled. Charon snorted and I turned, my jaw dropping. He had changed, a black cloak draped over him with its hood up. I couldn't see his face very well, but what little I could see made me turn away quickly.
"The River Styx," Charon grumbled. "Polluted with all the wasted dreams of mortals." I pursed my lips tightly, my chest feeling heavier and heavier the further we moved. Annabeth took one of my hands and squeezed it tightly, shaking slightly. I tightened my hand around hers, straightening out. I wasn't going to let this place get to me. I refused.
The boat jolted to a stop on the bank, but I didn't move to get off. Annabeth stood, still holding my hand. She had Percy's in her other and her face couldn't have been any paler. I jumped to my feet and off the boat, pulling her and Percy with me. Turning back to Charon, I held out the drachma.
He snorted. "Thought you'd forgotten then," he frowned.
I scowled back. "I don't forget," I answered. "And I told you I would. I stick to my word."
Charon raised an eyebrow, staring at me oddly. Then he seemed to go rigid. "You're Acacia Grace," he suddenly said, in an overly loud voice. In the same second, Percy and I both had him at sword point.
"Want to say that a little louder?" Percy spat angrily, and I flicked my gaze toward him uncertainly for a second.
Charon snorted, holding his hands out and settling back into the boat. "Not my problem," he said. "Lord Hades will be thrilled to see you again, Miss Grace." His tone didn't fill me with confidence, and Percy yanked me back as the boat started to move away from the shore.
"We'll be fine," Annabeth squeaked behind me. I didn't turn to look at her, staring at the spot Charon had just disappeared from. "I mean, getting in is half the battle, right?"
"I'm not leaving you here, Acacia," Percy told me confidently.
"I don't plan on staying," I answered simply, my chest clenching at the sound of my strangely calm voice.
"We should get moving," Grover bleated anxiously. Taking a deep breath, Percy and I turned to stand by Annabeth and Grover's side. For a moment, the four of us stared into the Underworld with an impending sense of doom.
"Ready?" Percy asked with a shaky voice.
"No," the three of us replied.
"Sounds about right," I conceded. "Best get it over with then."