Chapter Text
Zeus, looking over at his mother with a hint of admiration, nodded. "You're right, Mother. I never expected him to act with such courage. Perhaps there's more to the boy than I thought."
Hades gave a slight nod. "He showed fearlessness when it was needed. His actions spoke of his bravery."
Apollo smiled slightly. "The boy has officially earned my respect. It's rare to see someone who can outsmart a monster."
Susano'o chuckled, his voice filled with approval. "I'm impressed. Cerberus might be a monster, but it's clear the boy knew how to tame him. Not just with force, but with patience."
"My son showed that facing an opponent isn't always about brute force; it's about understanding them and knowing when to act," Athena added.
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the room from the rest of the gods.
Poseidon scowled, his arms crossed as he glared at the wall ahead. He hated that his mother and the other gods around him were now accepting the half-breed, their praises ringing in his ears like a dull echo. He shook his head, clearly disapproving.
He seemed to be the only one who didn't see Athena's son as anything special.
New title:
We Find Out The Truth, Sort Of
"Oooh, the next scene we'll watching will be super important. I wonder what she will find out," Zeus said, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"Maybe it will be revealed who stole the bolt," Shiva said.
Imagine the largest concert crowd you've ever seen, a football field packed with a million fans.
Now imagine a field a million times that big, packed with people, and imagine the electricity has gone out, and there is no noise, no light, no beach ball bouncing around over the crowd. Something tragic has happened backstage. Whispering masses of people are just milling around in the shadows, waiting for a concert that will never start.
If you can picture that, you have a pretty good idea what the Fields of Asphodel looked like. The black grass had been trampled by eons of dead feet. A warm, moist wind blew like the breath of a swamp. Black trees—Grover told me they were poplars—grew in clumps here and there.
The cavern ceiling was so high above us it might've been a bank of storm clouds, except for the stalactites, which glowed faint gray and looked wickedly pointed. I tried not to imagine they'd fall on us at any moment, but dotted around the fields were several that had fallen and impaled themselves in the black grass. I guess the dead didn't have to worry about little hazards like being speared by stalactites the size of booster rockets.
"Not much different from the Asphodel Meadows in Helheim," Hades murmured.
Anthony, Grover, and I tried to blend into the crowd, keeping an eye out for security ghouls. I couldn't help looking for familiar faces among the spirits of Asphodel, but the dead are hard to look at. Their faces shimmer. They all look slightly angry or confused. They will come up to you and speak, but their voices sound like chatter, like bats twittering. Once they realize you can't understand them, they frown and move away.
The dead aren't scary. They're just sad.
Percilla's remark about the dead being "just sad" drew the gods' attention.
"Sad, you say?" mused Beelzebub, his tone thoughtful. "They wander aimlessly, yes, but to call them sad? They have no will left. Perhaps they were sad once, but now they're simply... empty."
"Sad? That's not what I would call it," Poseidon scoffed. "They may be lost, but they're not pitiful."
"Sadness is the right word," said Hades. "What is worse than being forgotten? To be trapped in an endless haze of uncertainty."
We crept along, following the line of new arrivals that snaked from the main gates toward a black-tented pavilion with a banner that read:
JUDGMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION
Welcome, Newly Deceased!
Shiva and Buddha smirked, evidently finding the banner amusing.
The god of destruction chuckled. "Well, that's cheerful. Nothing says 'eternal judgment' like a warm welcome."
Buddha grinned, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Right? They make it sound like you're checking into a five-star hotel. 'Welcome, Newly Deceased! Enjoy your stay—forever.'"
Shiva laughed. "Hospitality at its finest. Too bad the amenities are a bit... polarizing."
Out the back of the tent came two much smaller lines.
To the left, spirits flanked by security ghouls were marched down a rocky path toward the Fields of Punishment, which glowed and smoked in the distance, a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating the different torture areas. Even from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music. I could just make out a tiny hill, with the ant-size figure of Sisyphus struggling to move his boulder to the top. And I saw worse tortures, too—things I don't want to describe.
"I do not understand how opera music can be considered torture," Apollo remarked, drawing nods of agreement from the other gods of music.
Hades smirked. "Maybe my counterpart thinks it's a punishment because mortals can't handle true artistry. Or maybe it's because some performances drag on longer than eternity itself." He shrugged. "Either way, it gets results."
The line coming from the right side of the judgment pavilion was much better. This one led down toward a small valley surrounded by walls—a gated community, which seemed to be the only happy part of the Underworld. Beyond the security gate were neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history, Roman villas and medieval castles and Victorian mansions. Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbow colors. I could hear laughter and smell barbecue cooking.
Elysium.
In the middle of that valley was a glittering blue lake, with three small islands like a vacation resort in the Bahamas. The Isles of the Blest, for people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium. Immediately I knew that's where I wanted to go when I died.
Poseidon and the other gods stiffened when she mentioned wanting to go to Elysium when she died.
The Tyrant's expression darkened as he crossed his arms. "She doesn't need to worry about that," he said firmly. "I'll make sure my daughter never dies. Elysium or not, her place is with me."
His tone left no room for argument.
"That's what it's all about," Anthony said, like he was reading my thoughts. "That's the place for heroes."
But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it was compared to the Fields of Asphodel or even the Fields of Punishment. So few people did good in their lives. It was depressing.
"Yeah, there are only a few good humans. Most of humanity are just garbage," some minor god remarked.
Brunhilde grimaced, realizing the god was right. Most of humanity are...awful people.
Garbage, huh? she thought bitterly. Maybe, but humans have the potential for change. Didn't Chaos say that the humans and gods mirror each other?
We left the judgment pavilion and moved deeper into the Asphodel Fields. It got darker. The colors faded from our clothes. The crowds of chattering spirits began to thin.
After a few miles of walking, we began to hear a familiar screech in the distance. Looming on the horizon was a palace of glittering black obsidian. Above the parapets swirled three dark batlike creatures: the Furies. I got the feeling they were waiting for us.
At the sight of the familiar trio from hell, everyone gripped the arms of their seats tightly.
"Ugh, it's those three ugly bitches again!" Loki grumbled, his voice dripping with disdain.
"I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover said wistfully.
"We'll be okay." I tried to sound confident.
"Maybe we should search some of the other places first," Grover suggested. "Like, Elysium, for instance ..."
"Come on, goat boy." Anthony grabbed his arm.
Grover yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings, and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Anthony. He landed flat on his back in the grass.
"Grover," Anthony chided. "Stop messing around."
"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 seemed to have no effect. "Maia, already! Nine-one-one! Help!"
The gods chuckled.
"Oh dear," Aphrodite murmured, watching the scene unfold with mild amusement. "It seems Grover is in a bit of a hurry."
I got over being stunned and made a grab for Grover's hand, but too late. He was picking up speed, skidding downhill like a bobsled.
We ran after him.
Anthony shouted, "Untie the shoes!"
It was a smart idea, but I guess it's not so easy when your shoes are pulling you along feetfirst at full speed. Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get close to the laces.
We kept after him, trying to keep him in sight as he ripped between the legs of spirits who chattered at him in annoyance.
I was sure Grover was going to barrel straight through the gates of Hades's palace, but his shoes veered sharply to the right and dragged him in the opposite direction.
"I think those shoes are acting quite strange," Apollo commented.
Ares nodded. "It's like they're cursed or something."
With that, they both froze.
The rest of the deities froze too, and any remaining humor disappeared.
"Wait! I didn't mean it seriously! Those shoes aren't cursed, right?" Ares exclaimed in a panic, pulling down his helmet.
The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed. Anthony and I had to sprint to keep up. The cavern walls narrowed on either side, and I realized we'd entered some kind of side tunnel. No black grass or trees now, just rock underfoot, and the dim light of the stalactites above.
"Grover!" I yelled, my voice echoing. "Hold on to something!"
"What?" he yelled back.
He was grabbing at gravel, but there was nothing big enough to slow him down.
The tunnel got darker and colder. The hairs on my arms bristled. It smelled evil down here. It made me think of things I shouldn't even know about—blood spilled on an ancient stone altar, the foul breath of a murderer.
"The shoes seem to be intentionally leading them somewhere," Susano'o stated, narrowing his eyes.
His comment put the gods, especially Poseidon, on edge.
Then I saw what was ahead of us, and I stopped dead in my tracks.
The tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern, and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block.
Instinctively, the gods knew the place where the two kids and satyr were was bad.
"Those three need to turn back! There's something off about that place!" Zeus yelled anxiously.
"Isn't this the place close to what Percilla saw in her dream?" Hades asked, looking uncomfortable.
"Percilla, do not go any further!" Poseidon shouted, his expression a mix of fear and desperation as his fists clenched tightly.
Grover was sliding straight toward the edge.
"Come on, Percy!" Anthony yelled, tugging at my wrist.
"But that's—"
"I know!" he shouted. "The place you described in your dream! But Grover's going to fall if we don't catch him." He was right, of course. Grover's predicament got me moving again.
He was yelling, clawing at the ground, but the winged shoes kept dragging him toward the pit, and it didn't look like we could possibly get to him in time.
What saved him were his hooves.
The flying sneakers had always been a loose fit on him, and finally Grover hit a big rock, and the left shoe came flying off. It sped into the darkness, down into the chasm. The right shoe kept tugging him along, but not as fast. Grover was able to slow himself down by grabbing on to the big rock and using it like an anchor.
He was ten feet from the edge of the pit when we caught him and hauled him back up the slope. The other winged shoe tugged itself off, circled around us angrily, and kicked our heads in protest before flying off into the chasm to join its twin.
The deities visibly relaxed, relieved that the shoes were finally gone.
"Well, I didn't see that coming," Apollo muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Ha! Shoes with a death wish."
"Those shoes were enchanted—and not in a good way," Athena stated firmly.
"Obviously," Poseidon growled, crossing his arms.
"Forget the shoes," Hades said grimly. "There's something deeper at play. Something waiting."
Rhea remained tense and silent, unsure if she should voice her suspicions, uncertain if her assumption was correct.
We all collapsed, exhausted, on the obsidian gravel. My limbs felt like lead. Even my backpack seemed heavier, as if somebody had filled it with rocks.
Grover was scratched up pretty bad. His hands were bleeding. His eyes had gone slit-pupiled, goat style, the way they did whenever he was terrified.
"I don't know how ..." he panted. "I didn't..."
"Wait," I said. "Listen."
I heard something—a deep whisper in the darkness.
The gods had only a few seconds to relax before they tensed up again.
Another few seconds, and Anthony said, "Percy, this place—"
"Shh." I stood.
The sound was getting louder, a muttering, evil voice from far, far below us. Coming from the pit.
Grover sat up. "Wh—what's that noise?"
Anthony heard it too, now. I could see it in his eyes. "Tartarus. The entrance to Tartarus." I uncapped Anaklusmos.
All the gods gasped in shock.
"TARTARUS!" Hera screeched. "Those kids were so close to entering Tartarus?!"
"They must turn back now!" Zeus thundered, his face pale with fury.
Poseidon's voice was a low growl. "It's too dangerous for her to stay there! Percilla must leave!"
Hades muttered, "If they entered Tartarus , they may never return."
Rhea felt dizzy.
If it's my counterpart's HUSBAND trying to lure her in like I suspected, please don't let him succeed!
The bronze sword expanded, gleaming in the darkness, and the evil voice seemed to falter, just for a moment, before resuming its chant.
I could almost make out words now, ancient, ancient words, older even than Greek. As if ...
"Magic," I said.
"We have to get out of here," Anthony said.
Together, we dragged Grover to his hooves and started back up the tunnel. My legs wouldn't move fast enough. My backpack weighed me down. The voice got 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 were inhaling. For a terrifying moment, I lost ground, my feet slipping in the gravel. If we'd been any closer to the edge, we would've been sucked in.
"Is whatever in that pit trying to drag them back?!" Enma, the Buddhist god known as the King of Hell, exclaimed.
Hades's expression is grim. "It's reaching for them. It knows they're there."
Everyone fell silent, dread washing over the gods like a wave.
"Whatever it is," Poseidon said, his voice low and dangerous, "it had better not get its hands on Percilla."
We kept struggling forward and finally reached the top of the tunnel, where the cavern widened out into the Fields of Asphodel. 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's pets?"
Anthony and I looked at each other. I could tell he was nursing an idea, probably the same one he'd gotten during the taxi ride to L.A., but he was too scared to share it. That was enough to terrify me.
I capped my sword, put the pen back in my pocket. "Let's keep going." I looked at Grover. "Can you walk?"
He swallowed. "Yeah, sure. I never liked those shoes, anyway."
He tried to sound brave about it, but he was trembling as badly as Anthony and I were. Whatever was in that pit was nobody's pet. It was unspeakably old and powerful. Even Echidna hadn't given me that feeling. I was almost relieved to turn my back on that tunnel and head toward the palace of Hades.
Almost.
"Just who was trying to reach her? We did think it was a god before," Odin wondered.
"My thought would be my counterpart, but it's highly unlikely since he's waiting for her in his palace," Hades said.
The Furies circled the parapets, 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 saw that the engravings on the gates were 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 African famine victims waiting with empty bowls—but all of them looked as if they'd been etched into the bronze thousands of years ago. I wondered if I was looking at prophecies that had come true.
Inside the courtyard was the strangest garden I'd ever seen. Multicolored mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, and weird luminous plants grew without sunlight. Precious jewels made up for the lack of flowers, piles of rubies as big as my fist, clumps of raw diamonds. Standing here and there like frozen party guests were Medusa's garden statues—petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs—all smiling grotesquely.
In the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orange blooms neon bright in the dark. "The garden of Persephone," Anthony said. "Keep walking."
Persephone and Demeter frowned at the sight of the scene.
I hope my other self tries to leave her husband. Also, she has terrible taste in garden decor, the goddess of spring thought.
I understood why he wanted to move on. The tart smell of those pomegranates was almost overwhelming. I had a sudden desire to eat them, but then I remembered the story of Persephone. One bite of Underworld food, and we would never be able to leave. I pulled Grover away to keep him from picking a big juicy one.
Hades looked away when his wife and mother-in-law glared at him with hate from across the room.
Melinoë, Macaria, and Zagreus shifted in their seats, looking uncomfortable.
We walked up the steps of the palace, between black columns, through a black marble portico, and into the house of Hades. The entry hall had a polished bronze floor, which seemed to boil in the reflected torchlight. There was no ceiling, just the cavern roof, far above. I guess they never had to worry about rain down here.
Every side doorway was guarded by a skeleton in military gear. Some wore Greek armor, some British redcoat uniforms, some camouflage with tattered American flags on the shoulders. They carried spears or muskets or M-16s. None of them bothered us, 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.
"You know," Grover mumbled, "I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-to-door salesmen."
My backpack weighed a ton now. I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to open it, check to see if I had somehow picked up a stray bowling ball, but this wasn't the time.
"Maybe it's just her anxiety," Hermes said, his voice tinged with concern.
"Well, guys," I said. "I suppose we should ... knock?"
Every deity in the room waited with anticipation to see that universe's Hades.
Especially Hades himself.
I wonder what he looks like, the King of Helheim thought.
A hot wind blew down the corridor, and the doors swung open. The guards stepped aside.
"I guess that means entrez-vous," Anthony said.
The room inside looked just like in my dream, except this time the throne of Hades was occupied.
He was the third god I'd met, but the first who really struck me as godlike.
He was at least ten feet tall, for one thing, and dressed in black silk robes and a crown of braided gold. His skin was albino white, his hair shoulder-length and jet black. He wasn't bulked up like Ares, but he radiated power. He lounged on his throne of fused human bones, looking lithe, graceful, and dangerous as a panther.
Everyone looked shocked.
"That's Hades?!" Shiva exclaimed.
"How is he the Hades of that world?!" Zeus shouted in disbelief. "He looks like a sick homeless man!"
"I can't believe that's what my alternate self looks like!" Hades exclaimed in surprise. "He looks more like a hermit than even you, Zeus!"
"Hey!" Zeus yelled, clearly offended.
Poseidon scoffed. "I disagree with my daughter's assessment. He doesn't look powerful at all."
Adamas shook his head. "How could a god who looks as pathetic as him be Hades' counterpart?" he muttered.
The shock quickly turned into disappointment. Everyone had expected the god to appear differently from what they saw; he certainly didn't look like a god.
I immediately felt like he should be giving the orders. He knew more than I did. He should be my master. Then I told myself to snap out of it.
Hades's aura was affecting me, just as Ares's had. The Lord of the Dead resembled pictures I'd seen of Adolph Hitler, or Napoleon, or the terrorist leaders who direct suicide bombers. Hades had the same intense eyes, the same kind of mesmerizing, evil charisma.
"I don't see how his eyes are mesmerizing," Hades muttered. "My copy seems to be trying too hard to look intimidating."
"You are brave to come here, Daughter of Poseidon," he said in an oily voice. "After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish."
Murmurs of confusion rippled through the room.
"What has she done to him?" Thor asked.
Numbness crept into my joints, tempting me to lie down and just take a little nap at Hades's feet. Curl up here and sleep forever.
I fought the feeling and stepped forward. I knew what I had to say. "Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests."
Hades raised an eyebrow. When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy faces appeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment, as if the garment were stitched of trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment, trying to get out. The ADHD part of me wondered, off-task, whether the rest of his clothes were made the same way. What horrible things would you have to do in your life to get woven into Hades's underwear?
Despite the tense atmosphere, the gods couldn't hold back their laughter at Percy's unexpected remark.
Zeus let out a booming laugh. "Hades's underwear, huh? I always knew you had a unique way of thinking, Percilla."
Apollo chuckled, unable to contain himself. "Hades's underwear? Seriously, Percy? That's the kind of thing only you would think about in the middle of a crisis."
Buddha snorted in amusement. "I'll admit, I didn't expect that from her. But at this point, maybe I shouldn't be surprised."
A slight smile tugged at the corner of Hades's mouth. "My niece is always one for strange commentary, no matter the situation she's in. I do wonder where she gets it from."
Poseidon let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. "That's my girl," he said fondly, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Never a dull moment."
"Only two requests?" Hades said. "Arrogant child. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet."
All the laughter disappeared, and the expressions turned serious.
"He better not try to kill her," Beelzebub said coldly.
I swallowed. This was going about as well as I'd feared.
I glanced at the empty, smaller throne next to Hades's. It was shaped like a black flower, gilded with gold. I wished Queen Persephone were here. I recalled something in the myths about how she could calm her husband's moods. But it was summer. Of course, Persephone would be above in the world of light with her mother, the goddess of agriculture, Demeter. Her visits, not the tilt of the planet, create the seasons.
Persephone raised an eyebrow. My counterpart is willing to calm her husband's moods? So, does that mean she cares for him? I hope not.
Anthony cleared his throat. His finger prodded me in the back.
"Lord Hades," I said. "Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It would be ... bad."
"Really bad," Grover added helpfully.
"Return Zeus's master bolt to me," I said. "Please, sir. Let me carry it to Olympus."
Hades's eyes grew dangerously bright. "You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?"
"This doesn't seem to be going well," Dionysus muttered.
I glanced back at my friends. They looked as confused as I was.
"Um ... Uncle," I said. "You keep saying 'after what you've done.' What exactly have I done?"
Realization suddenly hit Athena.
"Wait, is he assuming that she has stolen something from him? Athena asked.
Hades, Poseidon, and the rest of the gods glared at the cheap-looking god on the screen.
The throne room shook with a tremor so strong, they probably felt it upstairs in Los Angeles. Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits.
Hades bellowed, "Do you think I want war, godling?"
I wanted to say, Well, these guys don't look like peace activists. But I thought that might be a dangerous answer.
"Yeah, just keep your mouth closed, Percy!" Apollo said worriedly.
"You are the Lord of the Dead," I said carefully. "A war would expand your kingdom, right?"
"A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?"
"Well..."
"Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?"
Hades raised an eyebrow, paying close attention to what his counterpart was saying.
Is he talking about overpopulation?
I opened my mouth to respond, but Hades was on a roll now.
"More security ghouls," he moaned. "Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"
"Charon wants a pay raise," I blurted, just remembering the fact. As soon as I said it, I wished I could sew up my mouth.
Apollo, Shiva, Buddha, Beelzebub, and Adamas all smacked their foreheads in unison.
"Don't get me started on Charon!" Hades yelled. "He's been impossible ever since he discovered Italian suits! Problems everywhere, and I've got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. No, godling. I need no help getting subjects! I did not ask for this war."
"Why don't he let his dog eat some of them? That is how I dealt with any overcrowding in Helheim," Hades remarked dryly, earning incredulous stares from most of the gods in the room.
Zeus, Poseidon, Beelzebub, and even Rhea don't look surprised.
Adamas, on the other hand, wore an expression that clearly said, Are you serious, bro? since he wasn't aware of this, despite living in Helheim.
"But you took Zeus's master bolt."
"Lies!" More rumbling. Hades rose from his throne, towering to the height of a football goalpost. "Your father may fool Zeus, girl, but I am not so stupid. I see his plan."
"His plan?"
"So, it wasn't him who took my counterpart's ridiculous bolt," Zeus stated.
"Now it seems he's claiming the other Poseidon did it," Hades added.
"You were the thief on the winter solstice," he said. "Your father thought to keep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus, You took the master bolt and my helm. Had I not sent my Fury to discover you at Yancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war. But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon's thief, and I will have my helm back!"
"His helm was stolen?" Hades asked, his expression one of surprise.
Poseidon's face darkened with rage. "How dare he assume that Percilla stole those insignificant items! The gods of that universe are utterly incompetent for failing to secure their so-called symbols of power!"
"But ..." Anthony spoke. I could tell his mind was going a million miles an hour. "Lord Hades, your helm of darkness is missing, too?"
"Do not play innocent with me, boy. You and the satyr have been helping this hero—coming here to threaten me in Poseidon's name, no doubt—to bring me an ultimatum. Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?"
"No!" I said. "Poseidon didn't—I didn't—"
"I have said nothing of the helm's disappearance," Hades snarled, "because I had 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. So I searched for you myself, and when it was clear you were coming to me to deliver your threat, I did not try to stop you."
The god of the Underworld felt a twinge of pity for his counterpart.
"His own family won't help him?" Hades muttered, almost incredulous. "What kind of miserable dynamic is that? Even I wouldn't let things spiral that far."
Rhea frowned in disapproval. "Family is supposed to stick together. Did my counterpart fail to knock any sense into her children?"
"You didn't try to stop us? But—"
"Return my helm now, or I will stop death," Hades threatened. "That is my counterproposal. I will open the earth and have the dead pour back into the world. I will make your lands a nightmare. And you, Percilla Jackson—your skeleton will lead my army out of Hades."
"If he dare touches her, I will drown his entire realm in the seas of my wrath!" Poseidon snarled, his voice trembling with fury.
The other gods shared his anger.
The skeletal soldiers all took one step forward, making their weapons ready.
At that point, I probably should have been terrified. The strange thing was, I felt offended. Nothing gets me angrier than being accused of something I didn't do. I've had a lot of experience with that.
"Yeeesss, girl, yeeesss!" Durga cheered. "Take no shit from him!"
"You're as bad as Zeus," I said. "You think I stole from you? That's why you sent the Furies after me?"
"Of course," Hades said.
"And the other monsters?"
Hades curled his lip. "I had nothing to do with them. I wanted no quick death for you—I wanted you brought before me alive so you might face every torture in the Fields of Punishment. Why do you think I let you enter my kingdom so easily?"
Poseidon and Hades really wanted to kill this god.
Hades would have liked nothing more than to slice the hand-me-down version of himself in half with his bident.
"Easily?"
"Return my property!"
"She doesn't have it!" Poseidon roared.
"But I don't have your helm. I came for the master bolt."
"Which you already possess!" Hades shouted. "You came here with it, little fool, thinking you could you threaten me!"
"But I didn't!"
"Open your pack, then."
A horrible feeling struck me. The weight in my backpack, like a bowling ball. It couldn't be....
Everyone's eyes widened as they watched her open her backpack.
I slung it off my shoulder and unzipped it. Inside was a two-foot-long metal cylinder, spiked on both ends, humming with energy.
"Percy," Anthony said. "How—"
The gods gasped.
"Is that the bolt?" Zeus asked, looking shocked.
"No way...what the hell?" Shiva muttered in bewilderment. "How was that thing in her backpack?"
"It wasn't in her backpack before, right?" Ares asked, looking uncertain.
Poseidon, Hades and everyone else started feeling uneasy again.
"I—I don't know. I don't understand."
"You heroes are always the same," Hades said. "Your pride makes you foolish, thinking you could bring such a weapon before me. I did not ask for Zeus's master bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me. I am sure it will make an excellent bargaining tool. And now ... my helm. Where is it?"
I was speechless. I had no helm. I had no idea how the master bolt had gotten into my backpack. I wanted to think Hades was pulling some kind of trick. Hades was the bad guy. But suddenly the world turned sideways. I realized I'd been played with. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades had been set at each other's throats by someone else. The master bolt had been in the backpack, and I'd gotten the backpack from ...
"ARES!" Nearly all the deities yelled.
"That motherfucker tricked them!" Zeus snarled.
The majority of the gods, especially Hades, Rhea, and Poseidon, looked pissed.
"WHAT?!" Ares screeched in fear. "It's not me!" The god of war immediately looked left and right to try to find a place to hide.
Aphrodite sighed. "Honey, of course it's not you. We meant your copy."
Ares froze, scratching the back of his head while laughing nervously. "Oh... right, forgot about that."
"Why would the other Ares trick her?" Apollo asked.
"Lord Hades, wait," I said. "This is all a mistake."
"A mistake?" Hades roared.
The skeletons aimed their weapons. From high above, there was a fluttering of leathery wings, and the three Furies swooped down to perch on the back of their master's throne. The one with Mrs. Dodds's face grinned at me eagerly and flicked her whip.
"There is no mistake," Hades said. "I know why you have come—I know the real reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for her."
Hades loosed a ball of gold fire from his palm. It exploded on the steps 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.
Once again, the gods were shocked.
"It was him who took her mother?" Leto exclaimed in disbelief.
I couldn't speak. I reached out to touch her, but the light was as hot as a bonfire.
"Yes," Hades said with satisfaction. "I took her. I knew, Percilla Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me eventually. Return my helm, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change."
Rhea looked murderous. "Give her back her mother, you piece of shit!"
The Titaness's cursing shocked all of her children, the rest of the Olympians, and the other deities.
I thought about the pearls in my pocket. Maybe they could get me out of this. If I could just get my mom free ...
"Yes, try to use those," Hestia urged, her voice laced with hope.
"Ah, the pearls," Hades said, and my blood froze. "Yes, my brother and his little tricks. Bring them forth, Percilla Jackson."
"How the fuck did he know she has the pearls?" Buddha asked, his expression confused.
My hand moved against my will and brought out the pearls.
"Only three," Hades said. "What a shame. You do realize each only protects a single person. Try to take your mother, then, little godling. And which of your friends will you leave behind to spend eternity with me? Go on. Choose. Or give me the backpack and accept my terms."
"I do not like this, she shouldn't be forced to choose," Artemis said worriedly.
Rhea nodded in agreement. "Yes. This is unfair."
Poseidon had an idea of who his daughter should leave behind.
She should just take the satyr and leave Athena's son behind, he thought.
I looked at Anthony and Grover. Their faces were grim.
"We were tricked," I told them. "Set up."
"Yes, but why?" Anthony asked. "And the voice in the pit—"
"I don't know yet," I said. "But I intend to ask."
"Decide, girl!" Hades yelled.
"Damn, they gotta hurry," Buddha said.
"Percy." Grover put his hand on my shoulder. "You can't give him the bolt."
"I know that."
"Leave me here," he said. "Use the third pearl on your mom."
"No!"
"I'm a satyr," Grover 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."
"No." Anthony drew his 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 her mom out of here. I'll cover you. I plan to go down fighting."
The gods' respect for the two of them increased.
"I can't believe they're both willing to sacrifice themselves," Hestia murmured.
"No way," Grover said. "I'm staying behind."
"Think again, goat boy," Anthony said.
"No, no, no! None of them will be left behind!" Rhea shouted.
Zeus nodded in agreement, his voice softer than usual. "Mother's right. No one should be left behind. There needs to be a way for all of them to leave together."
Hades added, "I don't condone sacrificing anyone, even if they're willing. If she chooses to go, they all go."
Everyone else stayed silent.
Poseidon scowled.
"Stop it, both of you!" I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. They had both been with me through so much. I remembered Grover dive-bombing Medusa in the statue garden, and Anthony saving us from Cerberus; we'd survived Hephaestus's Waterland ride, the St. Louis Arch, the Lotus Casino. I had spent thousands of miles worried that I'd be betrayed by a friend, but these friends would never do that. They had done nothing but save me, over and over, and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom.
"I know what to do," I said. "Take these."
I handed them each a pearl.
Anthony said, "But, Percy ..."
Everyone gasped.
"Is she planning not to save herself?!" Loki exclaimed.
"No, Percilla! Don't do it!" Poseidon yelled.
I turned and faced my mother. I desperately wanted to sacrifice myself and use the last pearl on her, but I knew what she would say. She would never allow it. I had to get the bolt back to Olympus and tell Zeus the truth. I had to stop the war. She would never forgive me if I saved her instead. I thought about the prophecy made at Half-Blood Hill, what seemed like a million years ago. You will fail to save what matters most in the end.
"I'm sorry," I told her. "I'll be back. I'll find a way."
The smug look on Hades's face faded. He said, "Godling ... ?"
"Her mother is the one she couldn't save, according to the prophecy. She is the person that matters most to her," Odin stated.
His wife Frigg, Rhea, Leto, and the other goddesses began sobbing.
Zeus, Hades, and Adamas frowned, while Poseidon looked expressionless.
"I'll find your helm, Uncle," I told him. "I'll return it. Remember about Charon's pay raise."
"Do not defy me—"
"And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. He likes red rubber balls."
"Percilla Jackson, you will not—"
I shouted, "Now, guys!"
We smashed the pearls at our feet. For a scary moment, nothing happened.
Hades yelled, "Destroy them!"
The army of skeletons rushed forward, swords out, guns clicking to full automatic. The Furies lunged, their whips bursting into flame.
"SHIT!" Everyone screamed, anxiety and fear in their eyes.
Just as the skeletons opened fire, 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, which was starting to float off the ground.
Anthony and Grover were right behind me. Spears and bullets sparked harmlessly off the pearl bubbles as we floated up. Hades yelled with such rage, the entire fortress shook and I knew it was not going to be a peaceful night in L.A.
"Look up!" Grover yelled. "We're going to crash!"
Sure enough, we were racing right toward the stalactites, which I figured would pop our bubbles and skewer us.
"Oh no..." Artemis gasped.
"How do you control these things?" Anthony shouted.
"I don't think you do!" I shouted back.
We screamed as the bubbles slammed into the ceiling and ... Darkness.
Were we dead?
"No, you're not," Loki said, as though answering her.
No, I could still feel the racing sensation. We were going up, right through solid rock as easily as an air bubble in water. That was the power of the pearls, I realized— What belongs to the sea will always return to the sea.
"Those pearls helped them escape to the ocean," Thor said.
Poseidon and the other deities looked relieved.
For a few moments, I couldn't see anything outside the smooth walls of my sphere, then my pearl broke through on the ocean floor. The two other milky spheres, Anthony 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 the Santa Monica Bay, knocking a surfer off his board with an indignant, "Dude!"
I grabbed Grover and hauled him over to a life buoy. I caught Anthony and dragged him over too. A curious shark was circling us, a great white about eleven feet long.
I said, "Beat it."
The shark turned and raced away.
The surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms and paddled away from us as fast as he could.
"Pfft," Loki, Buddha, Shiva, Adamas, and Anubis snickered.
Somehow, I knew what time it was: early morning, June 21, the day of the summer solstice.
In the distance, Los Angeles was on fire, plumes of smoke rising from neighborhoods all over the city. There had been an earthquake, all right, and it was Hades's fault. He was probably sending an army of the dead after me right now.
But at the moment, the Underworld wasn't my biggest problem.
I had to get to shore. I had to get Zeus's thunderbolt back to Olympus. Most of all, I had to have a serious conversation with the god who'd tricked me.
Scene end.
"They are running out of time," Susano'o stated.
"And luck," Tyche added.