Annabeth helped me put the veil over my hair again. She had me try first (I didn't do very well) and then fixed. it where I messed up. She also put on her veil.
"The sun is going to set soon," she said in explanation. "The solstice is tomorrow, and with the sun setting I need to veil."
She laid the veil (a pretty grey with red embroidery) on top of her head and pinned it down. Then she crossed the lengths on the sides at the base of her scalp, hiding all of her hair (which she'd pulled into a bun). She pinned that in place, leaving the end strands to drape over her shoulder like a tail.
Once that was done we headed back to the road.
We used the Lotus Card again to get on the bus and ended up riding it around aimlessly.
Grover got a few odd looks for his walking, having the gait of a goat didn't make it easy to hide, especially without his braces, but we managed.
None of us were quite sure what we were looking for, we hadn't any idea where the entrance to the underworld was.
It ended up being thirty minutes of following the bus route before I noticed the sensation of burning shadows.
I shot up as the bus slowed to a stop.
"Thank you," I called as I hurried off the bus.
Annabeth and Grover squawked and scrambled after me.
"What the Hades!? What's going on Percy?" Annabeth asked, hurrying to match my steps.
"I sense the burning shadows, like when my mom was taken," I said distractedly. "I think we're near the entrance to the underworld."
Annabeth stopped, "Burning shadows? What?"
I paused, suddenly realizing I'd never actually told them about the sensations I felt.
"Oh, uh, I can sorta… sense things? Like, with magic, or terrors, and like, Godly powers."
Annabeth's eye twitched.
"Have you been able to do this the whole time?" She hissed.
I hesitantly nodded.
"Why didn't you say anything!? Could you sense the Erinyes? Medusa? The Khimaira? Ares? The trap from Hephaestus?"
I shuffled, "Well, yes. But I didn't really understand most of it. It's… kinda new? And I'm not good at recognizing what sensations are bad and which are good or what they mean. I think the buzzing I feel is the mist, and the itchy feel is a curse, but Thalia's tree has an itch to it. And a lot of places have some sort of feel to them, but they don't cause us any trouble."
Annabeth frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Well, the camp itself is like... a lot of different things. It was really overwhelming and kind of uncomfortable. But none of it was dangerous to us. I wasn't sure if the stuff outside of the camp was just… a powerful feeling that maybe was cursed too? Or if it was actually a threat. I'm still not really able to tell, I just recognize the burning shadows."
Grover shook his head, "So you can sense Godly power… wow."
"That would've been nice to know, we could help you figure out what the different feelings mean," Annabeth huffed.
I flushed, "Well, it's not like you can feel them. And it's a sea magic thing, I don't think you guys could help much."
Annabeth scowled, opening her mouth.
"Okay guys," Grover interrupted. "We're all tired and tense, let's all take a deep breath. Percy, you need to tell us things like that in the future. Even if we can't help you with it, we can at least be aware and can discuss if you need to, or you can give us warnings of the things you sense. Annabeth, he told us now and he wasn't keeping secret maliciously, he just didn't think to bring it up. Getting mad doesn't do us any favors."
Annabeth and I looked away.
"Sorry," I muttered after a moment. "I should've mentioned it."
She sighed, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped like that."
"Great," Grover said. "Now then, let's follow Percy's magic sensor and find the underworld."
My lips twitched at that, 'magic sensor'.
"Right, let's go."
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
It was only about ten minutes before we stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS.
Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.
I bit back a giggle, it really wasn't that funny, but my Tonton seemed to have a dark sense of humor.
It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a guard wearing sunglasses.
The thing that held my attention the most wasn't anything visible though, it was the feeling of burning shadows, the smell of freshly turned dirt, and the strong buzz that laid over the building.
I turned to my friends, trying to ignore the sensations here. They weren't as bad as some (the lightning and the stiffness from Zeus and Medusa were my least favorite) but they were still uncomfortable.
"Okay, remember the plan."
"The plan," Grover gulped. "Yeah, I love the plan."
Annabeth shuffled, "We went through a dozen of them. This one should work, it worked for Orpheus."
"Yep," Grover squeaked. "It worked for one of the greatest musicians of all time. Surely it can't fail for us."
Annabeth kicked him.
"This is going to work," she said firmly. "It's our plan, we've gone through it and have two backups."
"Yeah, and I think I like the backups even less."
"Don't think negative," I told Grover.
"Right, we're just going into the Land of the Dead, I'm absolutely positive about our eminent deaths."
Annabeth kicked him again.
"We've gotten this far," Annabeth said fiercely.
Grover nodded, leaning on his un-kicked leg, "Yeah, we can do this… we uh, we'll find the Master Bolt and save your mom. No problem at all."
I touched my pocket with the pearls and adjusted my back pack. Grover and Annabeth readied themselves as well, Annabeth with her lovely moon bag and Grover with the one from Ares. The extra bag was buried in mine.
"We've got this," I said. "Lets go finish this quest."
We walked inside the DOA lobby.
Fun thing I learned immediately, whatever portal that door seems to be, it muted the sensations from the room.
I bit my lip at the burning shadows curling over my skin. The smell made me feel like I was standing in a dirt field rather than a waiting room. And there was a new sensation, like misty longing. It was… disconcerting.
The buzzing was mostly gone though.
Background music played softly on hidden speakers, piano I think. The carpet was black and the walls a steel grey. Pencil cacti grew in the corner, bony and spiky. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken.
There were people sitting on couches, and chairs, and people standing up, a few crouching in the corners too. Some stared out the windows, some watched the elevator, one tried to go to the door, but became misty then turned back to their seat.
Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything. Out of the corner of my eye they seemed perfectly normal, if slightly pale, but looking at them straight on made it clear that they weren't. They would turn… transparent. I could see right through them.
Does the difference in our appearance make it obvious that we weren't dead?
…
Hopefully not.
The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so we had to look up at him.
He was definitely not just a ghost, the shadowy feeling was very strong around him. It reminded me… it reminded me of those figures, from that dream a few nights ago. The dripping shadows and swirling galaxy's. Shadowy, indistinct, but… sharp.
I got the feeling he was dangerous.
He was tall and elegant, with deep brown skin, reminding me of twilight with how dark it was. His hair was even darker, like onyx, in neat braids that ended at the nape of his neck. He wore sleek dark-grey wrap-around sunglasses and a silk Italian suit that was a crisp charcoal grey. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag.
I read the name tag and my brow furrowed, I vaguely remember that the ferryman of the underworld had a name like Khiron's, but I didn't really focus on underworld myths (a mistake I clearly needed to fix).
Was his name actually Khiron?
I looked at him with a frown, "Your name is… Khiron?"
I winced at how the shadows seemed to twist as he leaned across the desk. I couldn't see his eyes, his glasses hid them, but the shadows and his smile got his feelings across. His smile was sweet and cold, like Lagi's snake companion.
"What a precious young lad." His accent was familiar, kinda like Triton's but more… smooth? Triton's reminded me of Halmaheran, with more 'i' sounds and kinda rolly. His was… smooth and I wasn't sure, maybe a Greek accent? That would make sense. "Tell me, Det, do I look like a centaur?"
"Er, No, Tiai."
His head tilted slightly, before he pinched his name tag and ran his finger under the letters.
"Can you read this, Det? It says, K-H- A -R-O-N. Say it with me: KAR-ON."
"Kharon."
"Amazing! Now: Mr. Kharon, or, what was it you used, Halmaheran? Kharon- tane ."
"Kharon-tane," I said sheepishly.
"Well done." He sat back. "I hate being confused with that old horse-man. Thinks he's so great because he helps with training the living, ridiculous. And now, how may I help you de-mervy?"
I faltered, I really didn't expect him to be so helpful. I looked to Annabeth.
"We want to go to the Underworld," she said.
Kharon's mouth twitched. "Well, that's refreshing."
"It is?" she asked.
"Straightforward and honest. There's no screaming, no 'There must be a mistake, Mr. Kharon.'" He looked us over. "How did you die, then?"
"Oh," Grover chimed. "Um… drowned… in the bathtub."
I resisted the urge to drop my head.
"All three of you?" Kharon asked, his lips twitching faintly.
"Um, Grover," I said. "You have to stop calling the pool a bathtub."
Grover nodded, "Right, sorry."
Annabeth coughed.
"Well, that would make more sense. How unfortunate."
He seemed to find us amusing. I really hoped he wasn't just humoring us, or if he was, that he continued humoring us until we were in the underworld.
"I don't suppose you have coins for passage. Normally, with adults, you see, I could charge your last credit card, or add the ferry price to your last, hmm what's it called," he frowned, tapping his chin and muttering, "voy posdny set za teviz."
He spoke a language I didn't know but reminded me of the language Abel spoke in the dream Kronos showed me. It wasn't the same, but the way he spoke it… whispery but sharp.
His expression cleared. "Ah yes, television! I could add it to your last television bill. Unfortunately, with children… uvy, you never die prepared. I suppose you'll have to take a seat for a few centuries."
"Oh, but we do have coins." I slid three golden drachmas on the counter, part of the stash Ares gave us.
"Well now…" Kharon licked his lips. "Natoy drakmy, real golden drachmas. I haven't seen these in…"
His fingers hovered over the coins, a look of longing on his face. The shadows seemed to coil around them, softer and eager.
We're so close
Then Kharon looked at me. The shadows shifted, darkening on my skin. "Here now," He murmured. "You couldn't read my name tag correctly. Are you dyslexic, det?"
"What's dyslexia?" I questioned innocently, maybe playing dumb will work?
Kharon leaned forward and sniffed the air. "Ah, you're not dead. I should've known. You're a Godling."
"We really need to get to the Underworld," I insisted.
Kharon made a growling sound deep in his throat.
The hair on my arms raised and I could feel the way the whole roomed pressed on us, shadows wrapping tight and cooling the air.
The people in the waiting room were suddenly agitated, some turning towards us with misty forms hardening, icy feels rising, others scrambling around the room, looking for a way out, some looked towards the elevator, some towards their watches, and a few started pacing.
"Leave while you can," Kharon warned us. "I'll just take these and forget I saw you."
He started to reach for the coins, but I snatched them up.
Three options, three backups, persuasion, bribery, force.
He let out another low growl. Shadows almost seemed freezing now. It was very different from Hades-tonno burning shadows.
Persuasion first.
"Please," I implored. "I need to speak to Hades-ton."
See, the main problem with our plan was that we didn't know the laws of the underworld. I only knew the laws of the sea. Annabeth and Grover knew the laws of land. The underworld was something else entirely.
"Surely there are times when exceptions are made," I questioned, pulling on all my training from Triton. "He took my mother to him alive. Do I not have the right to present my case to him to return her?"
Kharon considered us, "Well, he did bring a mortal woman down… A family member does have the right to speak to him so long as her soul has not been reaped."
His gaze flicked over the rest of us.
I felt a surge of hope, maybe we could do this!
"Three people, especially two unrelated ones, would not be allowed though."
Persuasion plus bribery maybe?
I picked up the bag of drachmas that Ares gave us.
"We would make it worth your time to ferry the extra two," I offered.
I scooped up a handful and let them slip back through my fingers to cascade back into the bag.
Kharon made a new sound, almost like a deep purr.
"An idea," He mused. His gaze flicked to the bag. "Exceptions are made on occasion, but they aren't done often..."
The implications were clear, we had to make it well worth His while to bring Annabeth and Grover across.
I started stacking coins on the desk. "I bet it's a lot of work watching over all these spirits and ferrying them across. The population grows all the time."
"Oh, you don't know the half of it! Osiris is locked up someplace, so all of His souls are run through us right now, you know, giving the whole 'congrats you're dead' speech and ferrying them to the Egyptian hall of judgement to wait for Osiris."
He huffed, pulling off His sunglasses to rub his eyes. The iris was pitch black.
"Did you know the Norse have three places their souls go when they die? Minimum! Sometimes there are exceptions to that . On occasion souls slip through the cracks and end up here, and oh the paperwork for getting them to the right place! And sometimes, the ones that are Norse are also Greek which means we then have to handle where the soul goes."
I winced at that, that seemed complicated.
"And don't even get me started on the children who are reincarnated Hindu Gods! Their system is great, Yama is very majestic and just and all, but when there's a crossover of heritage and reincarnation, ugh. We have a lot of arrangements to do. And the many Gods of the Turtle Island? Well actually quite a few of them are nice and great conversationalists and they're pretty good at handling their dead… though a few are a bit… hmm… less pleasant. But the point is, the overlap in heritage is happening a lot more and it's a huge pain."
He took a deep breath, "The paperwork it all causes! And that's not even including overlap in heritage via relationships. Sometimes they'll marry and want to be together in the afterlife and, ugh. By Nyx it's ridiculous, I barely have time to watch my shows and I'm a God and able to be in multiple places at once."
I nodded sympathetically (wow that did sound miserable, at least the ocean Gods just had to coordinate in anti-pollution efforts and when territory disputes happened handle those). He sounded like he needed a good rant, poor guy.
"You definitely deserve plenty of appreciation," I agreed. "More respect, and certainly good pay."
I ended up emptying the bag from Ares, a pile of twenty-seven golden drachmas gleaming on the table.
"I must say, det, you do make a good argument."
I put two coins from my own stash on the pile.
"I could speak to Hades-ton about it when I meet with Him."
He sighed. "Well, the boat is almost full, anyway. I might as well add you three and be off."
He stood, scooping up all our money as He did. It seemed to vanish into His hands.
"Come along," He said.
We pushed through the crowd of waiting spirits, they tried grabbing at our clothes, but they were like the wind, insubstantial and misty. Their voices spoke things I couldn't understand, a whispery sounding language (Like the one the ghosts and Abel spoke).
Kharon just huffed, shoving them aside, grumbling under his breath in that language he'd been speaking that I didn't know.
He escorted us into the elevator, which was already crowded with souls of the dead (each one holding a green boarding pass). Kharon grabbed two spirits who were trying to get on with us and pushed them back into the lobby.
"Right. Now, no one get any ideas while I'm gone," he announced to the waiting room. "And if anyone moves the dial to Wii music again, I'll make sure you're here for another thousand years. Understand?"
"Wii music?" I muttered.
He shut the doors and put His key card into a slot in the elevator panel. The elevator started to descend, and I shivered as the shadows wrapped tighter.
"What happens to the spirits waiting in the lobby?" Annabeth asked.
"Nothing," Kharon said.
"For how long?"
"Forever, or until I'm feeling generous."
"Oh," she said. "That's… fair."
Kharon raised an eyebrow, "Whoever said death was fair, molaya? Too many souls pass on, too few are able to pay. Those that pay get to pass on as soon as the line shortens enough for them, those that don't have to wait till a time when we can fit them in. Those in the waiting room can't pay, so they wait."
Annabeth frowned, "Oh… that's sad. Is there a way to pay for them?"
Kharon's lips twitched, "You'd best be saving your money for yourself, you'll be dying soon enough, where you're going."
"We'll get out alive," I said. "Hades-ton is fair."
Kharon laughed, "He's certainly one of the fair death Gods, but that doesn't make Him kind. You've angered Him, calling Him uncle won't earn you His mercy."
I pursed my lips.
A dizzy feeling hit me as the shadows surged, making me blink my eyes rapidly. Everything felt of the shadows, but beneath us…
I looked over the side, to where the lashing currents feel came from.
The elevator had turned to a boat. The air was misty and the spirits around us changed shape as their modern clothes shifted into gray hooded robes. Beneath us the water was black and dirty. It made my heart ache to see the pollution the underworld river held.
I did a double take as I looked up, seeing Kharon's new look.
His Italian suit has been replaced with a long black himation (that Ancient Greek cloak) wrapped around Him. His glasses were gone as well, allowing me to see His eyes once more. Only… His eyes were empty sockets now, completely dark, like night but without any stars.
He saw me looking, "Well?"
"Nothing," I said, dipping my head.
I could see the way His skin seemed to go transparent, the shadows settling around me, as if He had come home (I suppose He had).
The boat swayed.
Grover groaned, "I think I'm getting seasick."
Kharon poled us across the dark, oily river, swirling with all the pollution.
Bones, dead fish, plastic dolls, crushed carnations, soggy diplomas, old books, shining trophies, the river had all kinds of things.
"The River Styx," Annabeth murmured. "It's so…"
"Polluted," Kharon said. "For thousands of years you humans have been throwing in everything as you come across—hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me."
Ahead of us I could see the far shore, glimmering with deep light, almost shining but with nothing to give it that light.
I swallowed hard. This was… I felt as if I shouldn't be here. I was of the sea, not the underworld. Being here was wrong.
And yet I had to.
Annabeth grabbed my hand. I held tight, this was… scary. We both drew reassurance from having someone living next to us.
I murmured a prayer. To Thanatos to pretty please not take our souls, a whispered plea for mercy from Hades-ton. Should I have been calling him Uncle Hades more out loud? I defaulted to Halmaheran for that… I mean, it meant the same thing… I'd stick with Halmaheran.
The shoreline of the Underworld came into view. Craggy rocks and black volcanic sand stretched inland about a hundred yards to the base of a high stone wall that marched off in either direction as far as the eye could see.
I realized what he meant earlier when he said people were brought as line shortened. The line was almost to the beach.
Hundreds of ghostly figures stood in twisting lines following markings in the sand and rock.
A sound came from there, my eyes squinting as I felt the air get even colder with the smell of dog.
That must have been Kerberos, the guard dog of Hades.
I took a deep breath, my fingers closing around my Ocarina. I can do this. We've got this.
"The Daemon of the Dark is hungry," Kharon said. His smile seemed skeletal in the twisty light. "Bad luck for you Godlings."
"Do we get a pass for being here to meet with Hades-ton?"
"With three of you? No, you'd only get one, so it wouldn't help you anyways."
"Lovely," I mumbled as the boat scraped onto the black sand shore. The dead began to disembark. I could see an old man stumbling off, a woman holding a little girl's hand, an old couple hobbling along hand in hand, a young boy shuffling silently, and many more.
Kharon turned to us, "I'd wish you luck, det, but there isn't any down here. Do be polite."
He took up His pole, shooing us off His boat as He began singing in that whispery language, the one the dead spoke. A warbling whispery song that echoed as He ferried the empty barge back across the river.
We turned to the path the dead took. Somehow the line was almost reaching us and that was just sad.
The three of us shared a look and started forward.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
I wasn't sure what I expected. Maybe something like Okeanus' palace, carved from stone and dark with crushing pressure. Or maybe something like the pit, a vast empty area with a deep entrance. Or maybe Pearly Gates like the classic depiction Christians have. Maybe big black portcullis towering over us. But the entrance was none of that.
There were three separate entrances under one huge black archway, like it was really big. You could fit my whole school under that arch. There was writing on it, in thousands of languages, large enough that I could clearly read the Halmaheran writing saying YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS.
I furrowed my brow, wasn't Erebus the name of the Primordial Deity of Shadows and Darkness? I couldn't remember if it was a title in the underworld too (I really should've done more reading on the underworld).
But as we moved closer I could see that it looked a bit like the airport security I'd seen in movies. Security checked them, they passed through gates that reminded me of the metal detectors (except they were made of carved black stone and were very imposing). Shining black stones gleamed on the tops of the metal detector gates that reminded me of security cameras with how they turned to follow the spirits. Beyond the gates I could see what almost seemed to be toll booths manned by ghouls in black chitons.
I could hear the Kerberos howling loudly now, and I could feel his presence, but I couldn't see him.
The dead queued up in the three lines, two marked ATTENDANT ON DUTY and one marked EZ DEATH. The EZ DEATH line was moving right along, but the other two were crawling.
"I suppose that line goes to the Asphodel Fields," I muttered.
"For sure," Annabeth agreed. "They don't want to risk judgement, since it might go against them."
"Wow," Grover said. He was looking at something to the side. "Look at that."
A couple of black-clothed ghouls had pulled aside one spirit and were frisking him at one of the desks. The face of the dead man was vaguely familiar.
"He's that preacher who made the news, remember?" Grover asked.
"Oh, yeah." We'd seen the guy on TV a couple of times at the Yancy Academy dorm. He was an annoying televangelist from upstate New York who'd raised millions of dollars for orphanages and then got caught spending the money on stuff for his mansion, like gold-plated toilet seats, and an indoor putt-putt golf course.
He'd died in a police chase when his "Lamborghini for the Lord" went off a cliff.
"Are they giving him special treatment?" I asked.
"I guess," Grover said. "He was pretty bad. Do the bad ones get his personal attention?"
"That would make sense," Annabeth murmured.
We moved closer to the gates, weaving around the spirits complex lines. The howling of Kerberos was so loud now that it shook the ground at my feet, but I still couldn't figure out where exactly he was.
The air was frigid and there was a faint feel of acid tingling over my skin.
Then, about fifty feet in front of us, the air twisted. Shadows came together and took form. Standing just where the path split into three lanes was an enormous shadowy dog… sorta.
It was black like tar, with twisting deep deep red snakes twisting around the three large dog heads. The dog itself was clearly a Rottweiler only twice the size of a woolly mammoth (Rottweiler puppies were adorable and I really really wanted one as a child. Now I wanted one like Kerberos with three heads except… not wanting me dead).
The dead walked right up to him, and past him. They had no fear of him at all.
The ATTENDANT ON DUTY lines parted on either side of him, while the EZ DEATH spirits walked right between his front paws and under his belly.
"Is he supposed to become more visible the closer we get to him?" I questioned.
"I think…" Annabeth moistened her lips. "I'm afraid it's because we're closer to death."
"Lovely."
The dog's middle head craned towards us, sniffing the air. He growled, and I noticed his tail was also a serpent.
This just got better and better.
"It can smell the living," I mumbled as I rubbed at the acidic feel on my arms. The chill was almost unbearable.
"That's okay," Grover said, trembling. "We have a plan."
"Right," Annabeth whispered. "A plan. Percy start the plan."
I lifted my Ocarina, my hands shaking slightly.
I paused to take a deep breath then brought it to my lips.
I started to play.
At first it was a bit shaky. I felt a bit self-conscious playing in front of so many people. My fingers felt clumsy moving through the motions of one of the few songs I had memorized.
As I continued though I steadied. I put all my concentration into it and focused intently on placing my fingers.
Everyone else fell away as I played the song Fetu taught me, a lullaby from his home.
He called it Kalalano Henulai, or the Tempest's Lullaby.
The song echoed out, soft notes threading through the air as I drew on all my practice to play the song properly. The lilting opening notes flowed into softer longer notes that twisted to make a soothing melody.
"It's working," Grover whispered.
I opened my eyes, I hadn't realized I'd closed them. Kerberos was swaying slightly, his heads drooping.
I kept playing, my fingers dancing over the ocarina.
I remembered the feeling when facing Medusa, the way the song had risen up and twined through my voice. I tried to pull it up on purpose this time.
The last notes of the song flowed out and I shifted back to the chorus so that I could start over.
Kerberos' heads yawned as he sat down.
The spirits beneath him dissipated, starting to reform further away.
I played through the chorus and started back at the beginning.
Kerberos yawned again, laying down. The heads settled on his front paws. He watched us tiredly as the snakes wound around one another, settling into comfy positions.
I kept playing. The melody twisting through the air as I pushed all my want for him to sleep into my song.
He yawned once more as his eyes drifted shut.
I closed my eyes again, pushing all my power into the familiar tune.
"Per- yawn -cy," Annabeth pushed my shoulder. "That's- that's good."
Grover's eyes were closed, and he almost toppled over.
Annabeth yanked Grover, putting a hand on my shoulder to guide me as we carefully went around Kerberos.
"That- yawn -that's a nice song," Grover mumbled. "Uh, Percy. A- yawn -really nice song."
I hummed as I paused for breath, talking a few deep gulps of air. It was getting hard to breathe again.
We slid through the EZ DEATH gate, and I nearly jumped out of my skin as it started wailing. The black turned a stark white as it wailed.
"UNAUTHORIZED POSSESSIONS! MAGIC DETECTED!"
Kerberos shot up and started barking.
Me and Grover shared a look and we bolted through the gate.
More alarms blared.
We rushed into the underworld, dashing through crowds of spirits and reaching a grove of trees.
I stumbled as we staggered into hiding in the trunk of an immense black tree.
Security ghouls scuttled past, yelling for backup from the Erinyes.
Wings beat overhead and a familiar burning itch crawled over my skin. It was noticeable even in the icy cold of the underworld, or perhaps more noticeable due to it.
The Erinyes were nearby.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Kymopoleia POV
I stretched out in Metuno chair. It was very comfy.
He had been swimming back and forth, but he'd paused when Herophile went over to him.
Honestly, why did the whole family need to be here?
Triton looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, though Benthesikyme just joined him so they'd probably start talking about their work. They always got along, what with both being overprotective and devoted to their work.
Rhodos was… fixing Metuno sun catchers. She was always the most mature (and as the eldest sister she made sure we knew it). Recently she'd been pretty sad though, Helios was asleep and though the marriage hadn't been her choice she did grow to love him. She took the most after Mevu of all of us.
I popped another slice of fish into my mouth as Mevu swam in.
"Now, we can begin."
Oh goody.
"What is it we're doing?" I asked. "Planning to overthrow Zeus?"
Rhodos' lips twitched.
Metu sighed, "Don't even joke about that. He's so very temperamental right now."
Herophile perked up, "Oh, I know! I know!"
"What are we doing then?" Triton asked, a smile gracing his lips.
"Ten letters! Two words! First one rhymes with poor, second one rhymes with tonsil."
"War Council?" Benthesikyme asked.
"Yes!"
I couldn't help the grin, Herophile had always enjoyed her gift of prophecy, gaining Apollo's favor only made that gift stronger.
"We are doing a war council," Mevu confirmed. "But we also need to discuss something else."
"First, the war," Metu said.
"Right," Mevu moved to the desk. She placed the scrolls of pressed kelp and shell markers on the desk.
"Firstly," Metu started. "We have arranged the warriors if the worst should come to pass and war does occur. I have spoken with the other Gods on the council and have gained quite a few on our side. Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, and Aphrodite are firmly on our side."
"Well that's helpful," Triton mused.
"We have spoken with the other sea deities," Mevu added. "The various rulers are prepared to defend their lands and even lend some aid if we are at risk. They don't wish for Zeus to be trying to push control on them any more than we do."
I raised my hand.
"Yes, Kymopoleia?"
"Yeah, do I get to cause some storms? Cause I'm getting a 'cause some storms' vibe here."
"If this should come to war then yes, you will be more than welcome to cause some storms. Zeus will not control the weather above the seas."
I grinned, I loved making storms.
"Now, you five will be staying here until this blows over."
Blows over, hah.
"The majority of the details about your responsibilities and placements for this possible war are in these notes. Please read them thoroughly."
"Yeah, yeah," I huffed. "Is that all? Can I go back to my show now? There's a new episode of 'What Could Go Wrong When Mortals Do Anything' on HTV."
"Oh, I love that show!" Herophile chirped.
"We still have another thing to talk about," Mevu said.
"What else is there to cover?" Benthesikyme wondered.
"Actually," I drawled, suddenly realizing what's up. "I think I know."
"Do you," Metu asked drily.
I smirked, "Is this about those rumors of your new son? And the rumors that Okeanus is challenging you for custody of him?"
Rhodos sighed, "Okeanus is trying to steal Triton again?"
"Not Triton," I corrected. "The other one. I dunno his name though."
Herophile was all but vibrating, "We have a new little brother!?"
Oh yeah, I forgot, she really loved all the little siblings. She even liked Khrysaôr , and he was a smug bastard.
Metu sighed, "Yes-"
Herophile squealed. "Why didn't anyone tell me!? Why am I always the last to learn everything?"
"Don't you know most things?" Triton pointed out.
"Not the point. Now I need to know everything about him. What's his favorite color? Favorite food? Favorite HTV show? Ooh, favorite movie genre? Does he like games? What's his favorite animal? What about-"
"Herophile," Mevu interrupted. "I know you're excited. But I need you to take a deep breath. We need to talk about Perseus right now."
"His name is Persi, actually," Triton corrected.
"His full name is Perseus," Mevu countered.
"I am not calling my little brother by the same name as a child of Zeus ."
"That's so great!" Herophile chirped. "You like him too! Oh, we should have a family trip. The Bahamas? That's in your territory. Or, or, we could go to Hawaii! Námaka's waters are the most amazing, and the animals there, so sweet. Or, maybe-"
"Herophile, please," Metu said.
"Sorry," She said unapologetically.
"Did you say that Okeanus is trying to steal this little brother, Perseus?" Rhodos asked.
"His name is Persi."
"I think it's hilarious. Metu didn't even tell us he had a kid." I leaned forward, "I think he had this coming."
Metuno eye twitched.
"Kymopoleia," Mevu said sternly. "Don't."
"What? I'm right. We're always told when Metu has a kid, always. But this time… he didn't see the need to apparently. I guess this kid wasn't so important."
Metuno eyes flashed, and I tensed at the way the water roiled.
"Watch yourself, Kymopoleia," Metu snapped. "He is my son, and a prince of Atlantis. I kept quiet about him for his safety and I will not have you questioning me on this."
Ooh, Metu was touchy about this kid.
I opened my mouth but Rhodos cut in.
"We understand, Metua, and Kym please stop antagonizing Metua."
I rolled my eyes as she continued.
"But we do wonder why we weren't informed of his existence. And what does he have to do with this meeting?"
"As you know, I made the oath to have no more Half-Blood children."
"I see that went swimmingly," Benthesikyme mused.
Metu let out a sigh, "I couldn't risk anyone talking about him in a place where others would find out about him. You all saw what happened to Zeus' daughter, and that was with just Hades targeting her. Both of them would've targeted Perseus."
Rhodos nodded, "I see. But even we could not know of him? Our own brother?"
"I didn't want to take any risks with his safety."
Rhodos pursed her lips but flicked her fingers in acknowledgement.
"Can we meet him?" Herophile pleaded. "Pleeeaaassseee."
Mevu placed her hand on Metuno arm.
"If you stay till he comes then yes. He should be arriving in mid hurricane season."
"Yes!"
"I think I'll stay," I chirped, ignoring Metuno suspicious look. "I'm curious about this little Perseus."
"His name is Persi !"
"Sure, whatever," I waved my hand dismissively.
"What did we need to talk about with him anyways," Benthesikyme asked with a frown. "And Triton, how do you know him?"
Triton flushed and my gaze zeroed in on that. Oh he wasn't just being oddly protective, he actually knew the kid.
Mevu interrupted before that conversation could start.
"We will be announcing Perseus' existence to the sea, and we need your support."