Imagine, for a moment, the largest field you've ever seen, or maybe a huge concert hall concert hall, or perhaps Time's Square.
Now, imagine a field, a million times that size. Imagine a field like those endless wheat fields of Kansas, or the cornfields of Indiana, imagine it sprawling and wide and disappearing beyond the horizon. Now imagine that it's pitch black out, the lights are out, the sun is set, and the moon and stars hidden behind clouds.
Now imagine whichever you choose completely packed, you can barely move. There are whispering masses of people just milling around in the shadows, doing nothing but waiting. Waiting for what? Who knows, certainly not them.
If you could imagine that, you had a pretty good idea what the Fields of Asphodel looked like.
The black grass had been trampled by eons of dead feet. There was a warm, moist wind that blew like the breath of a swamp (and despite the smell I welcomed the warmth as the cold of the underworld sapped my energy). Black trees—Grover informed us they were poplars—grew in clumps here and there.
The only usable light came from the ghosts themselves, faint pale greyish white light that gave us just enough to see.
The cavern ceiling was so high and dark above us it might've been a bank of storm clouds, except for the stalactites which glowed faint gray and looked wickedly pointed.
I side-eyed them and hoped that they wouldn't fall on us. Dotting the grass were examples of the fallen stalactites that had impaled themselves in the black grass. I supposed the dead didn't have to worry about little hazards like being speared by stalactites the size of booster rockets.
Annabeth, Grover, and I tried to blend into the crowd… as well as the living in colorful clothes could blend in with the dead in drab misty gray chitons. We did our best to keep an eye out for security ghouls.
I did see if there were any faces I recognized. Were any figures from my dreams here? Would I see Lara, Abel, Esme, or even Calisto if I searched hard enough? Were they in Elysium? The Fields of Punishment?
The dead were hard to look at though.
It wasn't even the mist, not like on land. There wasn't a buzzing messing with me. They simply… shimmered. They blurred and drifted and seemed confused, or maybe angry. They would come up to us and speak, but their voices were like twisting whispers and we couldn't understand.
Many left when they realized that.
My heart ached, they were all… they were all so sad. They seemed so alone.
My gaze slid over the dead, and I faltered for just a moment at the faint glitter of jewels in the corner of my eye.
My gaze locked onto a ghost. Gold eyes met mine, and then they were lost in the crowd.
I blinked, gold eyes, like Abel's, like Kronos-tito, like the boy at the Hotel.
I shook my head, hurrying forward as Annabeth called for me.
We continued to creep along, following the line of new arrivals that snaked from the main gates toward a black-tented pavilion with a banner that read:
JUDGEMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION
Welcome, Newly Deceased!
The line crawled, long and windy and only moved a step at a time every five to ten minutes.
Out of the back of the tent we could just glimpse two much smaller lines. They were stopping at a desk and moving on at a faster rate than the line moved in.
The spirits going to the left line were flanked by security ghouls and were marched down a rocky path toward the Fields of Punishment, which glowed and smoked in the distance.
It was a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and caves. There were miles of barbed wire, or electric sparking fences, or pits of water with fish (piranhas? And was that a sea snake?) leaping out of them, separating the different torture areas.
I caught a glimpse of some of the punishments.
People being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches, or listening to opera music. I saw things that made me pale, knives gleaming and blood splattering. Screams could be heard faintly from here and Annabeth and Grover looked just as nervous as me. I saw worse, but I couldn't bear to describe them. They'd give me nightmares for some time.
The line coming from the right side of the judgement pavilion was much better. It led towards vast fields in the distance. These fields were bright and filled with flowers. The ghosts there seemed bright in comparison to those in Asphodel. Beyond even that I could see a glimmer of blue with a white isle in the center.
Elysium.
I knew where I wanted to go when I died.
"That's what it's all about," Annabeth murmured. It was almost like she'd read my mind. "That's the place for heroes."
Despite the size of the field in the distance… it was small. Well, not small, you could fit millions, maybe billions, in there. It was still massive. But…
My gaze slipped towards the Fields of Punishment, many times more massive, and then back to the Asphodel Fields which could make the whole continent of Asia seem small.
Elysium was small in comparison to the other two.
So few people lived lives where they did good enough to go to Elysium.
We left the judgement pavilion (slipping through the crowds of ghosts and clinging to each other to not be lost amongst them) and moved deeper into the Asphodel Fields.
It was getting darker, even for us. Annabeth and Grover's clothes lost color (strangely mine didn't, I was wearing one of the outfits Triton got me from the sea). The crowds of chattering spirits began to thin.
It was a good three, maybe four, hours of just walking. I got the sense that time wasn't the same here, and despite the hours of walking it still felt like maybe one at most had passed. Nearly the opposite of the Lotus Hotel.
Grover tried to chat to keep our spirits up and we listened to him idly.
I shook my head at the feeling of sparks crackling across my skin. It was strangely familiar, perhaps there's another being in the underworld nearby?
I kept an eye out.
It was many miles of walking before we heard a familiar screech in the distance, and I finally noticed a familiar burning itch again. It overlaid uncomfortably on top of the crackling electricity that had slowly been growing stronger.
Looming on the horizon, still a vast distance between us and it, was a palace of glittering obsidian. It seemed to glow and even sparkle in the darkness of the underworld. Above the parapets we could see three circling specks, and even from here I knew who they were. The Erinyes.
"I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover said wistfully.
"We'll be okay," I reassured. "Hades-ton is a just and fair God. I can't think of a myth where He broke a promise or really acted cruelly."
"What's the 'ton' mean?" Grover said, stopping. "I feel like we should talk about this. Right now. This moment."
Annabeth snorted, "It would be smart to take a break before we get any closer, I guess. Just to make sure we're ready"
I shook my head, Grover was trying to delay. But I could use a break too.
"It means Uncle." I said as we sat down.
"Wow… what's Aunt?"
"Do you just want him to give you a lesson in the undersea language?" Annabeth laughed.
"Yes."
She shook her head, fiddling with the end of one of the 'tails' of her veil.
"Well, uh," I tried to think of how to explain. "Aunt would be 'vai'. There are different titles for different people, like, the different kinds of Kings and Queens all have different titles and the suffix changes depending on them. So, do like, messengers and fighters and generals, different family members too. There's also general suffixes for children or adults."
"Wow, that's really interesting. You should tell us about every single one, like now."
"Grover," Annabeth laughed. "We'll be okay. You can question Percy about undersea culture and it's language later."
"Maybe just a few?" He looked so pleading.
I softened, he was scared, understandably. I was scared too, but I had to do this. I had to save my mom, prevent war.
It couldn't hurt to talk for a few minutes about things that aren't stressful at all.
"Well, the undersea language, or at least undersea common I suppose since the kingdoms do have their own languages, is called Halmaheran. And uh, I can't go over all of them. They can vary from place to place and by status and a bunch of other stuff, but… I guess I could explain the big ones?"
"Yes!" Grover cheered.
Annabeth rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
"So, um, the term for King varies a lot. Like, Okeanus-ari has a different suffix than Poseidon-ore but both mean King."
"You should go into the history- OW !"
"Hush Grover." Annabeth chided. "You're getting a small break, don't push it. We still have a quest to finish."
"Fine, fine, so then what about Queen? Does that vary too?"
"Yeah. Tethys-ran is different than Amphitrite-nai. And there are different terms for ruler as well, 'tav' being the one I've heard."
"That's cool, why are they different?"
"Grover!"
"I'm just asking."
She sighed, "Percy can tell you all that later. Right now, he's just telling us about the major suffixes. We can't get distracted."
"Right, well uh. The term Kharon had me use, 'tane', that basically translates to Mr? But a very respectful Mr... It's not quite, but that's the closest English translation. It's a basic term of respect."
"Oh, that makes sense."
"Yeah. It changes based on the pronouns you use. So someone using he/him would be 'tane' but she/her would be 'vane'. It's really only pronouns and some suffixes that have gender connected to them though."
"Oh cool, so they/them would be?"
"'Pane'."
"Oooh."
"Then there's 'paru' which means messenger, sorta. It's the suffix you use when speaking to messengers on duty. Then there's 'tito' which is like, grandfather. 'Pilo' would be grandparent and 'viro' grandmother. Oh yeah, and the basic mr/ms/mx would be 'te/ve/pe', though those can vary more depending on pronoun.If you're talking to kids you would usually use 'tou' and it's variations."
"What's that mean?" Annabeth asked.
"Um, basically cute little one? Usually an adult using it for a kid."
"That's adorable," Grover mumbled.
I smiled. It was nice that they were so interested in sea culture. I'd never gotten to share it with my land friends (not that I'd ever had many of those).
"Yeah, so then… um, I'm trying to think of any other important ones…"
"What would Hades be? Like, if we were talking to Him as a King and not an uncle. Or as both."
"Oh, when it's both you kinda blend the terms together? But He's the underworld King… I think the proper term of King for him is 'ira'… or is it 'ohe'…"
I bit my lip and tried to remember, I thought that Triton mentioned it once, but it was kinda offhand because he said I wouldn't need to know it anyways.
Even Triton was wrong occasionally it seemed.
"I think 'ohe' is for rulers of death, so that would be Thanatos… then 'ira' is for the underworld rulers, so that's Hades-ton. And if I was calling him uncle and King then it would be Hades-tiran."
"That's really cool!" Grover said. "So, everything has its own term?"
"Yeah, sorta."
"That's all really interesting, Percy. I never really considered how the different areas would have different cultures. I wonder if the underworld has a similar culture."
I thought back to the dream, Abel…
"I think it has its own culture," I murmured.
"Well," Annabeth said. "I think we should get moving. As nice as the impromptu culture lesson was, we need to go to Hades-ira's palace."
I brightened, she called him Hades-ira! I couldn't help but grin.
"Okay, but consider. My choices are probable painful death over there, or listening to Percy talk about the sea over here. The second one makes him happy and the first one means we die. I know which one I'm picking."
Annabeth's deadpan look made me laugh.
"Annabeth is right, we should be going. I can tell you more about it later if you really want, but I'm feeling all rested now."
"Fine," he grumbled. "If we survive this I expect a full presentation with visual aids."
Annabeth shook her head, "If we survive this the Athena cabin will help him and the camp can all come watch and learn about undersea culture. Now, let's get moving again."
We stood and started the trek to the palace.
As we kept walking Grover started offering suggestions for areas we could double check for the lightning bolt before going to the palace.
I was laughing over his suggestion to go back and double check the judgement pavilion when I noticed the feathery feeling from Grover's shoes flare up.
I faltered when the shifting sands surged and Grover yelped.
I grabbed for his arm as he stumbled, "Grover!"
His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from us. He landed flat on his back.
"Grover," Annabeth called. "Stop messing around." Her eyebrows were furrowed as she started towards him, I hurried along behind her.
"But I didn't—"
He yelped again. His shoes were flapping like crazy now. They levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from us.
" Maia !" He yelled, but the magic word had no effect. I could feel the shifting sands curling over my skin, clearly coming from Grover's shoes. " Maia , already! Nine-one-one! Help!"
We bolted after him and tried to grab him but he was moving too fast, and with every passing second he picked up speed. He was skidding downhill like a bobsled.
We ran after him.
Annabeth shouted, "Untie the shoes!"
A smart idea, but not so easy in practice when your shoes were pulling you along feet first at full speed. Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get close to the laces.
"For Pontus sake," I gasped out. "Do some sit-ups."
Annabeth snorted as we tried to speed up. We were doing all we could, and we could just barely keep him in sight as he zipped between the legs of spirits who chattered at him in annoyance.
I frowned as the feeling of electricity got stronger. It was nearly scorching at this point. I wanted to stop, I wanted to turn away. I didn't want to be near whatever is giving me this feeling (like before Zeus sent lightning down at us). But we had to keep going. Grover needed us.
I hissed as it seemed to spark over my skin, not quite painful but close.
I almost thought Grover was heading towards Hades-ton's palace, but he suddenly veered sharply to the right and dragged him away.
The slope got steeper and a new feeling edged my senses.
Burning, sharp, spiraling fire and endless pain.
It was a familiar sensation.
The figure of sharpness and pain from that dream.
And also the pit from the dreams of Kronos-tito.
Grover was picking up speed even more, but me and Annabeth were slowing. We were both out of breath, pushing ourselves to keep running, to sprint when we'd already been after him for a few minutes. I could do distance runs, but this wasn't letting us pace ourselves. We were just sprinting.
The cavern walls narrowed on each side, and I realized we'd entered some kind of side tunnel. No black grass or trees were around, only rocks and the dim light of the stalactites above.
"Grover!" I yelled, realizing the rocks were partly buried. "Hold on to something!"
"Hold onto what?" He yelled back.
He was grabbing at gravel, but despite the many rocks, none were in his path.
The tunnel got darker and colder and familiar. Shifting sands drifted over my senses, getting stronger.
And yet, something else, something I hadn't felt in my dreams speaking with Kronos-tito. The strange recognition of pain, blood, blazing hellfire. It brought to mind things I shouldn't know, blood spilled at an ancient stone altar, the foul breath of a murderer, deadly poison with no cure, a figure on the ground, betrayal in their eyes.
I saw what was ahead and almost faltered.
The tunnel had widened into a huge dark cavern, and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block.
The pit.
It never felt quite so… dangerous… in my dreams.
I moved faster, trying to reach Grover who was sliding straight toward the edge.
Somehow I knew if Grover fell in there we'd never reach him again.
"Percy, can you use your water to grab him?" Annabeth yelled.
Duh, how could I have not thought of that?
I flicked the lid off the waterskin, always at my side. A twist of my wrist called out a thread of water and I sent it flying to Grover.
I guided it to wrap around his arm and continue winding up.
Us and him moving made it hard, I slowed down as I focused.
He was yelling, clawing at the ground, but the winged shoes kept dragging him heedless of his protests and my water.
I hardened it to ice, then yelped when the shoes nearly yanked me off my feet with the sudden pull.
I focused hard, sending more water with one hand as Annabeth kept running forward.
Thankfully, his hooves saved the day.
The flying sneakers had never quite fit him, but now with Grover being partly held in place with my ice rope and all of his kicking the shoes came loose. The left shoe went flying off and sped into the darkness to disappear into the chasm.
The right shoe kept trying to tug him along, but Annabeth managed to reach him. She, and me with my ice rope, pulled him back up the slope as the right shoe pulled itself free as well.
It flew around their heads as I moved forward, melting the ice with a thought and pulling it back to curl around me. The second shoe kicked them in the head before zipping down into the chasm to join its twin.
We all collapsed, exhausted, on the obsidian gravel.
I was exhausted, and the still present electricity (that I'd never felt at the pit in my dreams) was not helping.
Grover groaned, shifting the backpack as if it was too heavy for him.
He was scratched up pretty bad. His hands and up his arms were bleeding, along with his knees. His eyes had gone slit-pupiled, goat style, the way they did whenever he was terrified.
"I didn't know how…" he panted. "I didn't…"
"Wait," I said. "Listen."
I heard a whisper, deep and cold and cutting, one I recognized.
A memory of a figure of burning, fire and pain and sharp edges. That one, that's what this voice sounds like.
Another few seconds, and Annabeth said, "Percy, this place—"
"Shh," I stood.
I felt it, the way the burning edges seemed to be reaching.
The sound was getting louder, a muttering, sharp, grating voice from far, far, below us. It was coming from the pit.
I understood suddenly.
It was the pit.
Grover sat up. "Wh—what's that noise?"
Annabeth heard it too, now. I could see it in her eyes.
"Tartarus," she whispered. "This is the entrance to Tartarus."
I pulled my trident charm, summoning it. With my other hand I wrapped the water I'd called out around us like a spinning shield.
The voice seemed to falter, just for a moment, before resuming it's chant.
This language, Thalozan, the ancient language of the immortals, and this was…
"Magic," I whispered.
"We have to get out of here," Annabeth said.
Together we dragged Grover to his hooves and started back up the tunnel. His knees were scrapped up pretty bad and he was limping, but we kept moving.
I remembered the first time I was at the pit in my dreams, Kronos-tito warned me it wasn't safe.
The voice grew louder and angrier behind us, and we broke into a run.
Not a moment too soon.
A cold blast of wind pulled at our backs, as if the entire pit was inhaling, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out at the feeling of burning and sharp pain that blazed over my body.
I used the water, shoving us forward even as I lost my footing.
If we'd been any closer to the edge we would've been sucked in.
It was a struggle, every step was agony and took all of our strength, but we made it to the top of the tunnel.
We could see the Fields of Asphodel where we stood now, and the wind died. A wail of outrage echoed from deep in the tunnel. Something was not happy we'd gotten away.
"What was that?" Grover panted when we'd collapsed in the relative safety of a black poplar grove. "One of Hades' pets?"
Annabeth and I looked at each other.
"I think…" I trailed off. "I think that there's more going on than we thought."
Kronos had wanted the bolt, but the pit seemed to want to drag us down. I didn't think it was for the same reason.
I laid down for a moment, catching my breath and blinking away tears from the pain I'd felt.
I hadn't realized that could be such a problem, I don't like it.
Annabeth pushed up, looking at me with a frown. "What's the matter?"
I just shook my head, "The… magic of the pit… it was… painful."
She nodded with a worried look and pulled the water bottle out of her bag.
"Here," she said. "Drink some water. Then we should clean Grover's scrapes and maybe let him change clothes since his got ruined. Then we can finish this quest."
I nodded, letting Annabeth dig out some bandages and an extra T-shirt and start cleaning Grover's injuries.
I feel like I should be doing that, but I could still feel the echoes from the pain of the pit (burning sharp pain that felt like a thousand knives had been jabbed all over me). I could barely move without pain and I just wanted to rest.
So, I laid there. I slowly sipped water as Annabeth carefully bandaged Grover up and then Grover ducked behind some trees to change clothes.
Annabeth sat beside me while we waited.
"Are you okay?"
I sat for a moment, trying to decide how to answer.
"I think so… just… echoing pain…"
"Do you... do you think it was K- Kronos who did that?"
I shook my head slowly.
"I felt His shifting sands," I murmured. "But it wasn't, it wasn't his power doing that spell. I think… I think it was Tartarus Himself that was trying to drag us in."
Annabeth frowned, "Why?"
"I don't know… I think there's something else going on but…"
She nodded. "We don't have enough information."
"Hey guys, I'm all set!"
Grover was wearing a fresh t-shirt, and no pants. Of course, he was a satyr and didn't really need them but… hopefully we weren't around any mortals until he got some pants on.
"Okay," I murmured. "Let's go."
We stood up, Annabeth offering me a hand, and grabbed our bags.
Grover grunted picking up his, "This thing is heavy."
"We didn't put anything new in it," Annabeth pointed out.
"Yeah, I know. It's just weirdly heavy now."
I rolled my shoulders, trying to ignore the electricity crackling over my skin, but my gaze was drawn to the bag as Grover and Annabeth started walking.
Was it… was it coming from the bag?
I furrowed my brow, why…
"Are you coming, Percy?" Annabeth asked, looking back at me.
"Yeah… I'm coming."
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
The Erinyes circled the parapets ahead of us, high in the gloom. The outer walls of the fortress glittered black, and the two-story-tall bronze gates stood wide open.
Up close I could see there were engravings on the gates, scenes of death.
Some were from modern times—an atomic bomb exploding over a city, a trench filled with gas mask-wearing soldiers, a line of famine victims waiting with empty bowls, a volcano eruption over a city, an army of the dead facing the living (I knew that scene)—but some looked ancient, as if they'd been etched into the bronze thousands of years ago—Ancient Greek warriors laying siege to a city, many sickly people curled up in beds or on the streets, a volcanic eruption wiping out an ancient city, a meteor hitting the ground, fire burning over another ancient city.
I wondered if all of these had happened, or if some were prophecies, or all of them.
Inside the courtyard was a strange garden. It didn't have flowers, but instead multi colored mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, and luminous plants that grew without sunlight.
I could see many trees, trunks carved of tigers eye stones with emerald leaves and ruby and peridot fruits that caught the light and almost mimicked the real things.
There were glittering gemstone bushes as well, emerald and jade leaves with sapphire and garnet berries shining brightly in the dim light.
Diamond flowers with topaz centers dotted the courtyard, and to one side was a fountain with a complex coral pattern carved out of turquoise and opal letting water pour out of the openings. I could even see some pearls shining on it.
It felt of the sea, a familiar taste to the air.
The courtyard was beautiful, devoid of familiar plants, and yet it was the most beautiful garden I'd ever seen.
I noticed as we moved through that there were statues around, and that there was a familiar faint stiffness in my body. I hadn't really noticed it because of the other sensations. The echoing pain still remained with the scorching electricity and the burning shadows were becoming much clearer on top of the icy chill of the underworld.
There were many statues, some ancient ones, in Greek chitons or armor, a few satyrs, mid-note on their pan-pipes, assorted children in pretty dresses or fancy shirts and pants, looking all set for a party, or mid-spin, or looking up in awe.
Those must have been some of Medusa's… best work… They were… hauntingly beautiful.
In the very center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees. They were the only living trees in the garden and had orange blooms that were neon bright in the dark.
"The garden of Persephone," Annabeth warned. "Keep walking."
I understood why she wanted to move on, this garden was a trap. Everything was so soothing, even the sensations here--while there are still so many--were more pleasant, a sea breeze, fresh flowery scents, and the pomegranates that smelled almost overwhelming.
Grover's eyes were nearly glazed over. Of course, his sense of smell was far stronger than ours.
I bit my lip as Annabeth grabbed both of our arms and pulled us through.
We walked up the steps of the palace, between twisting black columns, through a black marble portico, and into the House of Hades.
The entry hall had a polished bronze floor, which almost seemed to boil in the reflected torchlight. There wasn't a ceiling, just the cavern roof, far above. I guessed they didn't need to worry about rain when they're underground.
Every side doorway was guarded by a skeleton in military gear. Some wore Greek armor, other's Roman, a few wore armor I didn't recognize. I saw two wearing armor of sea origin, some British redcoat uniforms, some camouflage with tattered American flags on the shoulders, some of other modern militaries (only I didn't know them at a glance).
They held a variety of weapons, swords, spears, muskets, even some M-I6s (which didn't make me worried at all ). None of them bothered us, and none had more than a faint graveyard dirt scent associated with them, but their hollow eye sockets followed us as we walked down the hall, toward the big set of doors at the opposite end.
Two U.S. Marine skeletons guarded the doors. They grinned down at us, rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests and at least a dozen other weapons visible on each of them (and probably more not visible).
"You know," Grover mumbled, "I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-to-door salesmen."
"What gave it away?" I mumbled back. "The fact that everyone's dead, or the fact that everyone here looks ready to go to war?"
Grover grunted, shifting the backpack, "A mix of both honestly."
Annabeth shook her head, smiling faintly. "Come on guys, focus."
"Right," I said. "I'm completely focused. Should we knock?"
A hot wind blew down the corridor, feeling like burning shadows, and the doors swung open. The guards stepped aside.
"I guess that means entrez-vous ," Annabeht said.
We walked into the throne room.
The room was vast and made of what seemed to be pure obsidian. It glittered darkly, the torches throwing dancing shadows along with the twisting reflections. The room was drenched in burning shadows, the feeling centering from the figure on the throne.
Hades sat lounged on his throne, wearing a pitch black Greek chlamys that draped elegantly over him.
His skin was the palest I'd ever seen, as if He hadn't been in the sun once in the last three thousand years. It wasn't sickly though and made the contrast with the rest of the room that much greater. His hair was shoulder-length with faint curls, and jet black.
His eyes caught my attention though, they were the same eyes as Kronos-tito, the same eyes as Abel, the boy from the Hotel, the ghost in the Fields of Asphodel. They were a striking, molten gold that seemed to glow. I supposed He got His eyes from His dad.
He was stretched out on his throne, looking like it was the most comfortable seat to ever exist, yet He looked lithe, graceful, and dangerous.
Of the Gods I'd met, he was the first to truly seem Godly.
It wasn't simply the sensations He held, it was something more. He looked like He ruled the world and knew it, but He didn't seem… arrogant, just lazily confident.
I pushed past the effect His aura tried to push on me, the order to bow.
And then I bowed anyways, because He was a King and we were in His throne room.
"You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon," He spoke with a voice that was deep, like dark chocolate. "After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply foolish."
I felt the cold of the underworld press down on me, stronger than ever, but I pushed my power out. I willed myself to stand strong against all of these overwhelming sensations.
"Hades-tiran-"
He raised an eyebrow.
"I believe there has been some," I hesitated. "Some misunderstanding."
"Oh? You say that I am wrong?"
"Your Erinyes have let us know that something of yours was taken, I can only assume that it was taken alongside Zeus' Master Bolt."
His eyes narrowed.
"But I did not take Zeus' Master Bolt, nor did I take whatever of yours was stolen."
"No?"
I licked my lips, my fingers automatically twisting to a sign of respect. This was extremely stressful, and he seemed… displeased.
"No, Hades-tiran."
"Then I must ask, nephew of mine, what that there in the satyr's bag is."
I blinked once, twice, oh.
Oh.
Oh no.
Me and Annabeth turned to Grover, who'd gone very pale.
"Uh, the bag?" He squeaked. "The bag I have on my back? The bag from Ares? That bag?"
"Oh no," I muttered.
Annabeth pulled it off his back, opening it.
Her look of dread said enough, but she pulled what was in the bag out regardless.
The Master Bolt.
"You say you did not take it, nephew, and yet the Master Bolt is right there. So then, I ask you, where is my Helm?"
"Your helm, it was stolen too?" Annabeth said.
"Why didn't you say something?" Grover asked. "The Gods would've helped you!"
I swallowed.
"Helped me," Hades snorted. "Don't be ridiculous, I have no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help. I can ill afford for word to get out that my most powerful weapon of fear is missing. And so I searched on my own, and found you, my nephew. You who has the bolt with you right now."
"Ah, Hades-tiran, that… wasn't there… like… this morning." I stared at the Master Bolt in Annabeth's hands.
This was from Ares.
The bag was from Ares.
Had Ares-
"We- we were given the bag. It was a reward for completing a side-quest for Ares. It-"
I licked my lips as I turned back to Him and bowed.
"If the bolt came from Ares, then the Helm may be with him still."
Hades rose, the folds of the chlamys draping over Him. His gold eyes flashed.
"You are accusing another God of stealing my Helm? And yet you have come here?"
"I came not for the Bolt, but to request my mother be returned."
"Hmph," He stepped down from the dais. "That is a first from one of my brother's children. You came here not to accuse me, but to plead for you mother? What do you plan to do about the war then, nephew?"
He paused, gaze intent, before he continued.
"For there will be war. You claim to have not taken the Bolt, you accuse another God of doing this. What proof do you have? You have the stolen item right there, you are skilled in the powers of the sea. I have watched you, you know far too much to not have been trained."
He was standing at the foot of the dais, "All the evidence. Points. To. You."
I swallowed. He wasn't wrong.
"In all the myths I know, you are one of the fairest Gods. It would not make sense to me for you to steal the Bolt, and your Erinyes accused me of the theft before I even arrived at camp. I- I would hope that you would not start a war."
I took a deep breath.
"I did know, in a way, of my heritage. But I did not know my father was Poseidon-ore. I didn't know that until He claimed me at camp. I am trained, but not by Him or by His orders."
I raised my head, looking him in the eyes.
"I realize this looks… bad… for me. But I am not the thief. The bag was a gift from Ares, I do not know if He ordered your Helm or Zeus' Bolt to be stolen, I don't know if He knew what the bag was or held, all I know is we received the bag from Ares, and now it has the Master Bolt."
"A bold statement," He murmured, His gaze intent. "You wish for your mother back? I wish for my helm back. You say you did not steal it, and yet, you have little evidence to defend yourself with. Especially with my brother's Bolt with you. You look nothing but guilty, nephew."
He spread his hands, and the room was dizzying from His burning shadows for just a moment. Annabeth steadied me.
The doors opened, and his skeleton soldiers entered.
Annabeth shoved the Bolt back into Grover's bag (Ares' bag), and he shouldered it.
My heart sank.
"You wish to bargain for your mother? You said yourself that is why you came."
He loosed a ball of twisting gold flames from his palm. It exploded in front of me, and there was my mother, frozen in a shower of gold, just as she was at the moment when the Minotaur began to squeeze her to death.
My breath caught, I reached out, but the light was as hot as a bonfire.
"Yes," Hades crooned. "I took her. I knew, nephew, that you at least, would come to bargain eventually. Alecto had learned of how you care for your mother, you would not leave her in my hands. I knew that you would come, and come you did."
His gaze was hard, but His expression had almost… softened?
"She is not dead, you know. Not yet at least. Return my Helm to me, and you and your friends may leave with your mother."
I thought of the pearls in my pocket, I could use them.
"Ah, the pearls," Hades said. I faltered. "Yes, my brother and his little tricks. Bring them out, nephew."
I did. There was no point in disobeying Him when He was already so angry.
"Only three," Hades said. "A shame. You are aware that each only protects a single person, yes? What will you do then? Will you return my Helm to me? Or will you take your mother and one friend and flee, leaving the other to my wrath?"
He hadn't noticed the pearl on my bracelet.
I had four pearls and four people. Only… the one on my bracelet would take me straight to Triton, and only I would survive the sea where it would take me. But then they would have to complete the quest alone. They would have to retrieve His helm and find Ares, then return the bolt to Zeus, all in less than 24 hours.
I bit my lip, I could choose to save my mom, and my chest ached at the thought of leaving her.
But if I did that, if I saved her now… If I saved her now would I be dooming her?
I remembered Annabeth's conversation with me. If I saved her would I doom her to a world of war? Would I doom her alongside the world just for a chance to save her?
I wanted to say yes.
I looked at them, Annabeth and Grover looking back with grim expressions.
Hades-ton waited patiently.
"We were tricked," Grover said. "Set up."
"Yes, but why?" Annabeth asked. "And the voices of the pit—"
"I don't know yet," I said. "But I intend to ask."
"Percy," Grover put his hand on my shoulder. "You can't give Hades-ira the Master Bolt."
Despite the seriousness of the situation I couldn't help a faint smile at the use of Halmaheran.
"I know that."
"Leave me here," he said. "Use the third pearl on your mom."
"No!"
"I'm a satyr," he said. "We don't have souls like humans do. He can torture me until I die, but he won't get me forever. I'll just be reincarnated as a flower or something. It's the best way."
I shook my head as Annabeth interrupted.
"No." She drew her bronze knife. "You two go on. Grover, you have to protect Percy. You have to get your searcher's license and start your quest for Pan. Get his mom out of here. I'll cover you. I plan to go down fighting."
"Now way," Grover said. "I'm staying behind."
"Think again, goat boy," Annabeth snapped.
Hades-ton watched silently, his gaze following us.
I listened as they argued and made my choice.
I couldn't let them suffer for this, I couldn't let the war happen. I wished there was a better way, and it ached deep that this was my choice, but I had to trust that Hades-ton was the just God I'd always viewed Him as.
"Stop it," I interrupted their argument on who was going to die. They'd been with me through so much, and now wanted to sacrifice themselves for my mom.
None of this was right, none of it was fair.
"I know what to do," I said. "Take these."
I handed them each a pearl.
Annabeth frowned, "But, Percy…"
I turned and faced my mother. I desperately wanted to hand her the third pearl and use the one Triton gave me to get out. But she would be furious, and… and I had a duty. I was a Prince of the Sea, I couldn't… I couldn't put my wishes first.
I couldn't save my mom, not now. She would be devastated to learn I'd saved her instead of the world.
For Triton, for my friends, for Annabeth and Grover, even for my mom; I had to do this.
I remembered the prophecy, ' You will choose to leave what matters most in the end'.
I'd made my choice.
"I'm sorry," I told her. "I'll be back, I'll return to speak with Hades-ton again."
Hades frowned, stepping forward. "What are-"
"I'll find your Helm, Hades-ton. I'll return it to you. Kharon would like some vacation days, and Kerberos seemed like he needed a nap."
His gold eyes narrowed, "Nephew-"
"Now, guys!"
We smashed the pearls at our feet, and for a moment nothing happened. But I felt the power well up, the sea wrapping around us in rubbing salt and crashing waves.
"Seize them," Hades-ton ordered sharply.
The skeletons rushed forwards, the Erinyes lunged, but they were too late.
The power wrapped around us as the pearl fragments at my feet exploded with a burst of green light and a gust of fresh sea wind. I was encased in a milky white sphere that started to float off the ground.
Annabeth and Grover were right behind me as we rose towards the ceiling.
The Erinyes snapped up to meet us, one lashing their whip at the pearl bubble, but it slipped harmlessly off.
Hades-ton's power swept up, and I felt Poseidon-ore's, my Metuano, rise to meet. The two clashed as Hades-ton tried to overwhelm the magic of the bubbles as we floated ever higher.
The clash of powers shook the bubbles and shook through the air.
"Look up!" Grover yelled. "We're going to crash!"
Above us were stalactites, coming up fast. But it was okay, the bubbles would protect us.
"How do you control these things?" Annabeth shouted.
"It's okay!" I called back. "You don't need to!"
Hades-ton sent a blast of gold flame crashing towards us. A last-ditch attempt to stop our escape.
And then we slipped into darkness.
I could feel the way powers clashed, Hades-ton's rocking the earth at the last counter from Poseidon-ore's.
We slid through the rock as easily as an air bubble in water.
For a few moments, I couldn't see anything outside of the smooth walls of my sphere, then my pearl broke through on the ocean floor. The two other milky spheres, Annabeth and Grover, kept pace with me as we soared upward through the water. And— ker-blam !
We exploded on the surface in the middle of Santa Monica Bay and knocked a surfer off his board with an indignant, "Dude!"
I grabbed Grover and hauled him over to a life buoy, snagging Annabeth as well. A curious shark was circling us, a great white about eleven feet long.
"Hey, buddy," I murmured. "I don't think this is a good spot for you. Head into deeper water."
The shark turned and swam away.
The surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms and paddled away from us as fast as he could.
I knew the day and time (I always knew in the water). It was 8:30am, June 20. The day of the summer solstice.
Annabeth groaned as she adjusted her now soaked veil. I reached out, pulling the water from it, leaving it completely dry.
In the distance, Los Angeles burned.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Triton POV
"Kymopoleia I swear to Pontus if you don't stop following me around-"
"Oh don't be so mean, my dearest brother-"
"I'm your only brother." I snapped
"Not true! We have little Perseus," She grinned wickedly at my dark look.
"He's my brother, not yours."
"You can't hog him!"
"Watch me."
"Oh, so possessive brother dearest-"
"Call me brother dearest one more time-"
"I just wanna meet my new little brother-"
"You just want to annoy Metu"
"Oh and you don't-"
"And Persi is my little brother-"
"You can't keep him, he belongs to all of us-"
"He doesn't belong to anyone-"
"You just said he was yours-"
"He's his own person and is simply my precious little brother so keep your hands off-"
"I just want to meet him." She stopped, smiling at me. "Besides, Metu hasn't spent time with us girls in ages. Now he does because this little demigod child of his might get adopted? This kid better be something special."
My eyes narrowed, "Jealousy is unbecoming."
She threw her hands out, "Come on, Triton, let me have some fun. I'll even promise to not attack him."
"Oh, how kind of you."
"I know right! Aren't I the best?"
I glared at her, shifting my pile of messages in my arms. I had work to do and she was getting in the way.
"Just, leave him alone. Don't make me force you to."
"Bossy, brother dearest." She flicked her dark blue tails dramatically. "Do you need help with your work?"
I turned away and swam off, ignoring her laughing behind me.
I couldn't wait for this whole mess to be over with. Most stressful few months of the last thousand years, that's for sure.
Hopefully next summer would be more peaceful.