Juliette lags behind as Nico leads them through the Fields of Asphodel. Her suspicion grows as she watches the tenseness of his shoulders, the way his pale hands grip the pommel of his sword like he's holding on for dear life. The closer they get to the palace doors, the stronger his scarlet tendrils of shame seem to slap at Juliette's senses, crying out for attention. Finally, she's had enough.
"Stop."
The boys turn around to look at her. Percy looks just mildly curious, and the pure trust in his demeanor makes Juliette's blood start to boil. She narrows her eyes on Nico.
"What are you doing?" She snaps. He looks taken aback by her tone.
"I told you, I need to-"
"You know I'm not an idiot right?"
He freezes and stares at her with wide eyes. His guilty aura grows stronger.
"I'm not stupid, and I'm definitely not incompetent. The longer we've been down here, the guiltier your aura has felt. So, I'm gonna ask you one more time," She stalks up to him until they're inches apart and releases her hold on her powers. Scales paint her cheeks and her pupils narrow into serpentine slits. He looks up at her. A hint of his fear flicks at her skin. "What are you doing, Nico?"
His mouth opens and closes, but words fail to escape. Just as he starts to respond, three shapes slam into the ground on all sides of them.
Juliette pushes Nico away and spins around to stand back to back with Percy as he draws his sword. She nocks an arrow, and they're suddenly face to face with three red lipped and smirking women. They all wear variations of the same distressed velvet gown, bat wings protruding from their backs and bronze clawed talons stretching from their hands and feet. Percy tenses against Julie's back.
"Mrs. Dodds," He greets the tallest.
She sneers at him. "Welcome back, honey."
Nico stands from where Julie had shoved him to the ground, brushing off his aviator jacket. "You know Alecto?"
"If you mean the hag in the middle, yeah. She was my math teacher."
Juliette files that information away in her mental Weird Percy Tidbits folder and makes a plan to ask for that context when they're out of mortal peril. Instead, she glares harshly at the son of Hades, who drops his gaze to the floor.
"Are you serious, Nico?" She hisses. He flinches and turns to address Alecto.
"I've done what my father asked. Take us to the palace."
That's all Juliette needs to hear. She looses an arrow right into the smallest Fury's wing. The other two lunge at them, and she and Percy duck and roll out of the way.
Percy, the sweet trusting fool, lowers the tip of his sword and stammers out, "Wait a second, Nico what are you-"
"I'm afraid this is my new lead, Percy." Nico cuts him off. He's pale and stricken, his sword still sheathed. Juliette pushes his emotions from her. She rejects the strength absorbing his shame offers. No. She wants him to feel it. "My father promised me information about my family, but he wants to see you before we try the river. I'm sorry."
"You tricked us?" Percy breathes out in horror. The two uninjured Furies swoop down and snatch his arms, sending Riptide flying.
Juliette acts fast. She slings her bow over her shoulder and leaps into the air, letting her transformation wash over her as her feet leave the ground. Alecto drops Percy's right arm and meets Juliette's wyvern head to head, claw to claw.
They swipe at each other, leaving deep gouges on arms and wings and torsos. Juliette rears back to snap her fangs down on Alecto's leg, but the Fury kicks her celestial bronze talons out last second. Her foot collides with Juliette's fang, and she feels something snap. The force of the blow sends her hurtling back into the rocky terrain of the Underworld.
Bitter purple blood fills her mouth as she falls out of her transformation. There's a jagged sliver of tooth left where Julie's right canine once was. Alecto lands over her chest and readies a swipe of her claws. Juliette can hear Nico and Percy screaming at each other, or maybe at her, but she ignores them. She gathers the blood in her mouth and spits it up at the Fury, who howls in pain and stumbles back as the liquid starts to burn away her skin.
The Fury she'd shot earlier tackles her from behind. Julie can smell the creature's hands cooking from the cuts on Julie's arms, but the Fury seems too angry to care. She forces Juliette's head up by her hair and holds a bronze tipped talon to her throat.
Nico looks panicked. He's eyes dart between Percy's and Julie's restrained forms almost pleadingly. "Please, behave," He begs. Julie wants to spit in his face too. He turns to Percy. "Tell Juliette to come quietly. I don't want either of you to get any more hurt, Percy. My father is waiting. He just wants to talk."
Percy looks over at Juliette, and she watches him take in the gashes on her arms and the talon at her throat. His shoulders slump, and he glares hatefully down at Nico. "Jules, it's okay. Let's just see what he wants."
Alecto manages to wipe away enough of the blood that she's no longer howling in pain. Juliette smirks at the blistered mess that once resembled a face, and the Fury snarls at her, rearing back to aim at kick at the demigod's side. Nico's stygian iron blade appears between them, and his voice barks out a command.
"Stop! That's enough. You've got your orders, Alecto."
The Fury hisses in frustration, but relents. She snatches Nico's arm and lifts him into the air. The other two Furies haul up Percy and Juliette, flying them through the gates of the palace and dropping them roughly into the gardens in front of two skeletal thrones.
Juliette hits the ground hard and cries out. Blood splashes from her wounds onto the stone pathway, and the rocks begin to sizzle. Percy crouches beside her, hands hovering above her shoulders.
"Are you okay?" He asks frantically.
Julie spits out a mouthful of blood. It hits a nearby fern, and the plant crumbles to dust. "I'm gonna fucking kill him." She hisses. Nico stares at her from a few feet away with an agonized expression.
Percy exhales sharply and takes off his jacket. "Yeah. If I don't get him first." He mutters angrily, wrapping the cotton around her shoulders. It starts to smoke immediately.
The two of them look up at the thrones just as three shimmering figures appear. High pitched bickering rings out through the garden. "-told you he was a bum!"
"Mother!"
"We have visitors!" Hades interrupts. "Please!"
The god of the Underworld huffs tiredly and turns to peer down from his throne. Percy clutches Juliette's shoulders protectively as those intense black eyes lock onto them in satisfaction. "Percy Jackson." He greets smugly. "At last."
Juliette's never met Hades before. In all her time imagining what he looks like from Percy's terrifying stories of his quest to the Underworld, from her years getting to know Nico and his mysterious ways, she's painted quite the portrait in her mind of how he must appear. She pictured a hulking form the size of a high rise, made of pure darkness and terror. She imagined a snow white face, sharp and daunting, and a voice that sends icy vermin scuttling down her back.
In reality, he just looks like a guy. A middle aged guy wearing a tacky Screaming Man inspired suit.
Juliette doesn't bother to conceal her amusement. She grins at the god stupidly.
Demeter and Persephone are beautiful, each decked out in their own elements of nature. Juliette would probably be fangirling in another context - Persephone is every dryad child's hero - but, right now, she's angry and bleeding and would very much like to break Nico di Angelo's stupid enormous nose. So, she ignores them and goes back to staring down Hades.
Nico kneels before the king of the Underworld. "Father. I have done as you asked."
Hades peers down at his son in irritation. "Took you long enough. Your sister would have done a better job."
Nico's head falls, and Juliette can't decide who she's more mad at anymore.
Percy huffs beside her, his hands tightening on her shoulders. "What do you want, Hades?"
The god smirks. "To talk, of course. Didn't Nico tell you?"
"Nico didn't tell us anything." Julie snaps. She glares at her former friend, who can't seem to meet her eyes. "So, what, this whole thing was a lie? You brought us down here to get killed?"
Nico closes his eyes and turns away.
Hades raises an eyebrow at her. "What is this miserable thing melting my sidewalk, Nico?" He asks in exasperation. "Jackson, get your pet under control before I vaporize it. I've had enough of its kind wreaking havoc down here."
Percy cuts off Juliette's indignant squawk with a jab of his elbow. He places himself in front of her and glares over at Nico venomously. "I cannot believe I thought you were helping us." He hisses.
"Oh, no," Hades chuckles. "I'm afraid Nico was quite sincere about wanting to help you. The boy is as honest as he is dense. I simply convinced him to take a small detour and bring you here first."
"Father." Nico speaks up. For the first time, Juliette notices his aura tinged with anger. "You promised they wouldn't be harmed."
Hades rolls his eyes. "I promised Jackson wouldn't be harmed. I didn't expect you to bring a plus-one as well." He mutters. At Nico's frustrated glare, he sighs heavily and raises a hand towards Juliette. "Fine, fine."
A chill sweeps across Julie's limbs towards her heart, and she gasps. Icy pain flashes through her cuts and bruises for an instant. Then, her skin begins to knit together, and the fog of discomfort lifts from her mind. She runs her tongue along her teeth and finds a new canine in place like nothing ever happened.
Hades looks back at his son and gestures in a 'ta-dah' stance. "Happy now?"
Nico, get this, is not happy now. "You said if I brought Percy here, you'd tell me about my past - about my mother."
Queen Persephone sighs dramatically, draping herself across her throne. "Can we please not talk about that woman in my presence?"
"I'm sorry, my dove. I had to promise the boy something." Hades huffs in impatience.
Demeter stamps her foot angrily. "I warned you, daughter. This scoundrel Hades is no good. You could have married the god of doctors or the god of lawyers, but noooo. You had to eat the pomegranate-"
"Mother-"
"-and get stuck in the Underworld!"
"Mother, please-"
"And here it is August, and do you come home like you're supposed to? Do you ever think about your poor lonely mother?"
"DEMETER!" Hades shouts. "That is enough. You are a guest in my house-"
Percy and Juliette look at each other in bewilderment.
Their captors continue to bicker.
Percy clears his throat loudly. The three gods turn to look at their prisoners still on the floor. "Excuse me," He quips. "But, if you're going to kill me, could you just get on with it?"
Julie elbows him sharply in the ribs, and he doubles over.
"Well, this one has an attitude." Demeter remarks.
"Indeed," Hades agrees. "I'd love to kill him."
"Father!" Nico steps in front of Percy and Juliette. "You promised!"
"Husband," Persephone chides. "We've talked about this. You can't go around incinerating every hero. Besides, he's brave. I like that. And the girl is a friend of nature. She reminds me of that Orpheus boy. Do you remember him?"
Hades rolls his eyes. "Yes, I remember the Orpheus boy. Every mortal for millennia has remembered the Orpheus boy. Which is exactly why you should let me kill them."
"Father, you swore!" Nico insists. Julie can feel the fear pouring off of him as he faces his father for their sake. It almost makes her less angry with him. Almost. "You said you only wanted to talk to him. You said if I brought him, you'd explain."
Hades sighs like he's being asked to do something very taxing. "And, so I shall."
He goes on to tell the very pointedly abbreviated tale of Maria di Angelo - the beautiful daughter of an Italian diplomat from Venice, dodging questions about her death and his reasoning for placing Nico and Bianca in the Lotus Casino in the first place.
"But, why did you free us from the casino?" Nico asks. His controlled demeanor has completely shattered. For once, he looks his age.
"You know why." Hades says. "This idiot son of Poseidon cannot be allowed to be the child of Prophecy."
"So, what, you're just gonna let Olympus fall?" Julie challenges.
Percy plucks a ruby off a nearby plant and chucks it through Hades' robes. "You should be helping! All the other gods are fighting Typhon, and you're just sitting here-"
"Waiting things out." Hades finishes calmly. "Yes. When is the last time Olympus ever helped me, half blood? When's the last time a child of mine was hailed as a hero? Why should I rush out the help them? No. I'll stay here with my forces intact."
Juliette lowers her eyes. He has a point. Nico's never been accepted at camp. Even after he helped at the Battle of the Labyrinth, he disappeared without a trace and Chiron never had anyone out searching for him. An eleven year old boy was living on the streets. Alone. And nobody cared.
She knows how that feels.
"-when Kronos comes after you?!" Percy's still shouting at Hades.
"Let him try," Hades spits. "He'll be weakened. And my son, here, Nico-" He looks down at the boy in distaste. Julie feels defensiveness rise in her chest. "Well, he's not much now, I'll grant you. It would have been better if Bianca had lived. But, give him four more years of training-"
Juliette sighs. Blah, blah, blah. This family really knows how to yap, huh?
"-Nico will turn sixteen, as the prophecy says, and he will make the decision that saves the world-"
"Except it still won't be him." Julie interrupts with a roll of her eyes.
Hades goes silent. He cuts his eyes at her. "What?"
Julie feels herself pale.
Oh, shit. She said that out loud.
She looks over at Percy for help, but he just seems confused. Okay. Better roll with it, then. It's not like he isn't gonna be in the limelight soon anyway, if he's storming Othrys.
"He won't be the child of prophecy." She clarifies. "Unless you've got another prisoner we don't know about."
All three of the gods look at her in puzzlement. There's a spark of something like intrigue in Persephone's expression.
Hades leans forward dangerously. "What are you talking about, you jabbering creature?"
"Um, Zeus' son?" She says with a patronizing tilt of her head. Hades' eyebrows reach his hairline. Persephone and Demeter gape at her. "I know you know he exists. Or at least Poseidon does. He sent cyclops after him. And as far as I know, he's the one next in line for this prophecy. So, unless you plan on swiping him from under your brother's nose-" Julie's voice cuts off abruptly as Hades flicks his hand. She tries to finish her sentence, but no sound comes out. Her stomach flips, and she clutches at her throat.
Hades is staring down at her in horrified confusion. The intensity of his gaze makes fear skitter down her spine.
When he speaks, his voice is exactly the low and dangerous drawl she'd imagined. "I don't know how you know what you do, little monster, but be silent or I will muzzle you permanently."
Julie clenches her fists.
Persephone glides up behind her husband and lays a hand on his arm. Her warm brown eyes take Juliette in in fascination. "A tether, my love." She tells him gently.
Hades looks at her in surprise.
"How could that be possible?" Hades asks his wife. "Tethered mortals?"
"I'm unsure," Persephone replies. She studies Juliette. "She is a child of Love. But, no demigod could be powerful enough to create such a thing." She muses.
Hades frowns at Juliette in consideration. "What fool would link a tether between a Heartbreak and a Forbidden Child? That is a recipe for disaster."
"Or for something incredible." Persephone breathes. She beams down at Julie like she's the cutest thing since golden retrievers. "Oh, darling, let's keep her. I want to see it play out." She coos.
Keep her?
Hades sighs and waves a hand at Juliette. "Very well, flower. Nico, bring your pet Heartbreak to your room while I finish with Jackson."
"But, father-"
"Now, Nico."
Hades snaps his fingers, and Juliette is somewhere else.
Nico's bedroom in the Underworld is fairly bare bones (pun intended), but that doesn't stop Juliette from finding things to smash.
"I'm sorry!" Nico cries.
Juliette throws him the filthiest look she's capable of, picking up a glass faced clock and chucking it at his head. He ducks, and it goes sailing into the back wall and crashes to pieces on the red carpet.
"I didn't know he was going to do this!"
CRASH
"I swear on the Styx that I never meant for this to happen! That he told me he was just going to talk!"
SMASH
CRASH
"Please, just listen to me!" Nico pleads.
Juliette turns her back on him and tries the door again. Still locked. She tries to summon her demigod strength, and not even a tingle in her cheeks rises to her call. She kicks the door in frustration.
Nico sniffles behind her, and Julie glares back at him. Tears are streaming down his cheeks. That aviator jacket really is way too big for him, isn't it?
He looks so small.
"I didn't want this..." Nico sobs.
Some of Juliette's anger escapes her, and she lets out a long sigh. Her forehead thumps against the dark oak door and her own tears sting at her nose.
She turns back to face Nico and crosses her arms. He looks up at her hopefully.
She cocks out a hip and dramatically gestures at him to continue.
"I didn't mean to betray you," He whispers. "You both have been nothing but good to me for months. I didn't want this to happen, I just-" He chokes on a sob. "I didn't know what else to do. I need to remember her."
Nico looks painfully earnest, and Juliette finally melts. Her betrayal rushes out of her with her next exhale, and she pulls him into a hug. He slumps against her and starts shaking with the force of his sobs. Julie runs a hand through his dark curls and rests her chin on his head the same way Purple Aster used to do with her.
Once he's calmed down, Nico draws back and looks at the carpet in embarrassment. "Sorry." He murmurs. Juliette shakes her head and pokes him in the chest. Hard. He yelps and glares at her. She smirks.
"Percy's alive. I can sense him." Nico states quietly. The tightness in Julie's chest loosens a bit. He looks at her with furrowed brows. "I don't know what son of Zeus you were talking about, but if that's true, my dad probably won't kill Percy at all. He'll just keep him locked up until he has both of them. Was it true?"
Julie nods.
Nico sighs. "Okay. Then, I know where he probably is."
Stepping away from him, Julie gestures at the door again. Nico shakes his head.
"I don't think we can go that way. I might be able to shadow travel us out, but it's gonna be risky. We'll have to be fast. And, I'll be weak afterwards." He frowns at her worriedly. "You don't have your powers, do you?"
Julie shakes her head and huffs in annoyance. He nods his acceptance and reaches out for her hand.
"You ready?" He asks.
Juliette studies his outstretched palm. Nico looks wary, like he's not sure she'll be willing to take it. She'll admit, if Percy's freedom weren't at stake, she might consider figuring this out on her own.
But, it is. So, she laces their fingers together and lets Nico pull her through the darkness.
Once they're actually in the dungeon, getting past the guards is shockingly easy. Nico wiggles his fingers around like he's doing some spooky witchcraft, and the ten skeletons guarding Percy's cell all slump over and start to snore.
If Juliette had a voice she probably would have had to keep herself from laughing.
They swipe a set of keys off one of the guards and unlock the door, Nico immediately dropping down beside Percy's unconscious form and reaching to shake him awake. In the blink of an eye, the two's positions are flipped and Nico is pressed to the cold floor of the dungeon, Percy's sword at his throat.
Juliette jumps forward and wraps her arms around Percy's back, tugging to try and pull him off the boy. Without her demigod strength, Percy doesn't budge an inch.
"Want...to...rescue." Nico chokes out.
Percy presses the blade in harder. "Oh, yeah? And why should I trust you?" He snarls.
Juliette runs around to the other side of him, bracing her hands on Percy's shoulders to push him away.
"No...choice?" Nico coughs.
Percy glances up at Juliette, and she pleads with her eyes. He sighs and sits back, letting Nico go.
The younger boy scrambles away, coughing violently and trying to catch his breath. Juliette looks on in concern and rests a hand on his back. Percy continues to glare at him.
Nico finally recovers and Juliette helps him stand. He looks at Percy fearfully. "We have to get out of here."
"Why?" Percy challenges. "Does your dad want to talk to me again?"
Julie rolls her eyes and stamps her foot in impatience. They ignore her.
"Percy, I swear on the Styx that I didn't know what he was planning."
"You know what your dad is like!"
"He tricked me! He promised-" Nico buries his face in his hands and sighs sharply. "Look...Right now, we need to leave. I put the guards to sleep, but it won't last."
Percy glances at Julie warily, and she taps her wrist like she's wearing a watch. He sighs. "Fine. Let's go."
By the time they slam down on the banks of the Styx, Nico is one sleepy skeleton away from unconsciousness. He slips off the side of Mrs. O'Leary, and Percy narrowly catches him before he crashes into the ground. He immediately starts force feeding him pocket-lint ambrosia.
"'M better..." Nico mumbles unconvincingly.
Juliette hops down off the hellhound's back and leans over to catch her breath. She reaches up and gives the dog some chin scratchies for a job well done. She gets a full body slobber in return.
"Your powers drain you too much." Percy notes.
Julie is very upset she's unable to point out the astuteness of his observational skills today.
Well, meeting the infamous Greek hero Achilles' ghost on the banks of the River Styx before watching her adoptive brother swim in a conglomeration of all the lost dreams of the souls of Asphodel certainly wasn't on Julie's bingo board for this year.
Neither was watching Percy Jackson hold the Lord of the Underworld at knife-point.
As Hades evaporates, Nico releases Julie from his embrace, having shielded her from Percy's impromptu tidal wave of "will kill mortals on contact" cursed river water. They both stare openmouthed at the back of his shredded camp shirt as he heaves for breath.
"You just...with a sword...you just-" Nico stammers.
"I think the River thing worked." Percy says simply.
Juliette's eyes bug.
"Oh, gee, you think?" Nico squeaks.
Percy turns from them and picks up Hades' discarded robe of tormented souls. He drags it over to the river and drops it into the depths. "Be free." He whispers as they wash away with the current.
Julie and Nico look at each other, both of them still white with shock.
Percy fixes them with a hard gaze. "Go back to Hades." He orders. "Tell him he owes me for letting him go. Find out what's going to happen at Mount Olympus, and convince him to help."
Nico sputters beside Julie and sits up on his knees. "I...I can't. He'll hate me now. I mean...even more."
Sympathy squeezes at Juliette's chest.
"You have to," Percy snaps. His tone is a bit sharp for Julie's taste. "You owe me too."
Julie watches Nico's heart break. He goes red, and his voice comes out weaker than before. "Percy, I told you I was sorry. Please, let me come with you. I want to fight."
Percy shakes his head and reaches down to pull Juliette to her feet. "No. You'll be more help down here."
"You mean you don't trust me anymore."
"I mean I need you to get my sister her powers back." He corrects. Julie doesn't have time to feel warm and fuzzy at the term of endearment. She stumbles back and slaps a hand against his chest. Percy rolls his eyes at her. "What, you're 'coming too?' Yeah, because you'll be so helpful with your bow you aren't strong enough to pull and your inability to speak to anyone on the battlefield, right?"
Julie freezes. Then, closes her mouth in defeat. She makes sure to cross her arms petulantly and glare at him for good measure, though.
Percy quirks an eyebrow at her in amusement and pulls her into a tight hug. "Don't get smited please? Smote? Smitted? Don't get blown up."
Julie sighs dramatically, and he chuckles. They pull away, and she jabs a finger into his chest.
You stay alive, she tries to convey with her eyes. He nods and messes up her hair.
"What you said in the palace," He recalls. Julie cringes. "Zeus has another kid?"
Julie nods with a grimace. Her eyes light up with an idea, and she drops to her knees to write in the black sand.
Long story. West Coast. Knows about war. Taking Mt Othrys with friends.
Percy sputters. "Mount Othrys? Why haven't you mentioned this before now?"
Julie smiles at him guiltily.
Forgot? Sorry.
He shakes his head at her and points sternly. "Don't think this conversation is over." He demands. Julie grins at the familiar words and raises her hands in surrender.
Percy addresses Nico one last time. "Work on your father. You're the only one who may be able to get him to listen. I need to get this war started. It's time I found Luke."