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FIC: Daughter of Wisdom, chapter 18
Title: Daughter of Wisdom
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan, Grover Underwood, Chiron, various others, Gen
Fandom: Percy Jackson
Summary: What Annabeth Chase wants most is to undertake a quest, and when that chance comes, she’s taking it-even if that means teaming up with the son of her mother’s biggest rival. She thinks she’s prepared for everything that could happen, but right from the start, nothing goes to plan. And everything she thinks she knows about the quest, her life, and her family, may just be turned on its head. An alternate PoV retelling of The Lightning Thief.
In this chapter
Chapter Title: I Stop Hiding From The Truth
Rating: PG
Characters: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Grover Underwood, Hades
Word Count: 3,861
Chapter Summary: The trio have a narrow escape and Annabeth stops ignoring the piece of the puzzle that has been trying to slot itself into her mind.
A/N: As always, recognisable dialogue comes from Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.
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Hades's palace came into sight halfway through Asphodel. We stopped to look at it-this massive black fortress that stretched across the width of the Fields. It glittered softly and I realised that it probably provided most of the light in the Underworld.
'I suppose it's too late to turn back,' Grover said with a sigh.
'We'll be okay,' Percy said.
'Maybe we should search some of the other places first. Like, Elysium, for instance …' Grover turned longingly towards the tiny, secure valley on the right, where the souls of the blessed luxuriated in eternal bliss.
I took his arm and turned him back towards Hades's palace. 'Come on, goat boy.'
Grover pulled away from me. He activated Luke's sneakers and floated up, only his body didn't follow his feet. He fell on his bum and lay in the grass.
'Grover, stop messing around.' Of all the places to play a fool …
'But I didn't-ahh!' He took off, screaming in panic. 'Help!'
Percy lunged for him, but missed. The shoes had taken on a life of their own. They dragged Grover straight towards the palace, his arms flailing desperately. We raced after him.
'Untie the shoes!' I called.
We barrelled through crowds of spirits and burst out of Asphodel in front of the palace gates, but then the shoes swung right and carried Grover down a steep slope, into a dark tunnel. A stitch started to form in my side, but I couldn't stop running. Grover was already starting to disappear from view.
'Grover! Hold on to something!'
I heard scraping against the rocks and Grover's terrified wheezing as he tried to do as Percy said and grab hold of the tunnel walls. We plunged deeper into the darkness, which seemed to constrict around us like it was alive. My hair stood up on end and it wasn't just because the temperature had dropped ten degrees.
Grover came into sight again at the edge of a sharp drop-off. He clawed desperately at the ground, scrambling for purchase against the power of the flying shoes. Percy came to a halt at the sight of the cliff, which opened up into an even darker, deeper pit.
It looked different from the cliff I'd seen in my dream long ago at the winter solstice, but somehow I knew it was the same. The evil voice that had spoken to me from below the mist lived here. And although Percy hadn't described the pit in his dreams all that well, I knew instinctively that this was it.
There was, ultimately, only one pit that mattered.
There wasn't time to think of all that, though. Grover was still fighting tooth and nail to keep from falling in.
'Come on, Percy!' I jerked him forward.
'But that's-'
'I know! The place you described in your dream! But Grover's going to fall if we don't catch him.'
We wouldn't have got there in time if Grover hadn't managed to kick one shoe off. The remaining shoe, just as Percy had predicted, wasn't strong enough to carry Grover's weight, especially not once he managed to wrap his arms around a rock. It gave us enough time to catch up. We hauled him away from the cliff edge, slapping at the shoe, which had also come off and was now trying to kick us in the face. It finally took off and disappeared into the pit.
I felt like crying. The magic shoes … Hermes's flying sneakers … Luke's present. How could they, of all things, have gone nuts?
Grover sniffled. 'I don't know how … I didn't …'
Percy held up a hand. 'Wait. Listen.'
I thought I heard the cold, spine-tingling laughter from my nightmares. Then a low, malevolent chanting rose from the pit. It had no words I could have possibly recognised-not Greek, not English, not any language I'd ever heard-but which I somehow understood to be a deep, ancient tongue.
'Percy, this place-' I started to say shakily. It was the idea my brain didn't want to entertain before, the conclusion it still didn't want to reach although we were standing right her, giving me no choice.
'Shh,' he said.
'Wh-what's that noise?' Grover moaned.
'Tartarus. The entrance to Tartarus.' I wanted to stress how important it was that we leave, now, but my voice failed me.
Percy drew his sword. The light of its bronze blade winked at me, giving me courage. My hand flew up my sleeve. My bronze dagger felt warm under my hand.
'We have to get out of here,' I said firmly.
It was harder than breaking out of the Lotus Casino. The pit had a magnetic force and we were like scrap metal being enticed to its depths. I would have collapsed and given up and let it suck me in, if it hadn't been for the bracing glow of my dagger against my arm. It centred me, reminding me I had to struggle on. Beside me, Percy was using his sword like a hiking pole, using it to force himself on. Grover had a look of pure determination on his face.
Our hands found each other. Together, we found the strength to stumble forward until the Fields of Asphodel came into view again. The wind that had been tearing at our backs like a vacuum cleaner died. A cheated howl followed us up.
'What was that?' Grover gasped. 'One of Hades's pets?'
Percy looked at me. I couldn't respond, although my mind had finally, reluctantly, put together the pieces. Talking about it would make it real, and I felt like if I had to accept that, I'd sit right down in the Fields of Asphodel and become one of the blind, unknowing souls.
I think Percy got the picture, because he didn't push it. He put his sword away and said, 'Let's keep going.'
We limped through the palace gates painted with scenes of doom, past Persephone's orchard garden with its eternally blooming pomegranates, into the skeleton-guarded fortress. They leapt aside on our arrival, the palace doors sweeping open. I guess I'd been right about Hades wanting us to get there. I tried not to think about what would happen when he discovered that we didn't have what he wanted.
Hades was waiting on his throne, looking just like I'd seen him in my dreams. His posture was relaxed but at the same time, there was an underlying tension to his form, like a coiled spring ready to burst if we pressed the wrong button. His fathomless black eyes regarded us coldly. I had the feeling he'd observed every moment of our journey through the Underworld-including our side trip to the edge of Tartarus.
The fact that he seemed unbothered by it actually made me feel better. Between Hades and the Titan churning in the pit, I'd take Hades.
I guess that was testament to just how terrifying the ancient voice had felt. Hades had been scary enough the last time I'd seen him, with his Helm of Darkness smouldering fear from his feet. I couldn't see the magic helmet now, but that didn't mean much. It was an invisibility hat much more powerful than my Yankees cap.
Hades spoke at last. 'You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon. After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish.'
If Percy was as bemused as I was about this statement, he didn't show it. Fortunately, he stayed respectful. 'Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests.'
Hades leaned forward. 'Only two requests? Arrogant child. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet.'
Percy seemed to lose his nerve then. He gulped and looked away from Hades at the accompanying throne-this one smaller, also made of obsidian and inlaid with diamonds, but without the bones beneath it. Persephone's winter seat.
Seconds ticked by. Hades waited, but he would not stay patient for long. I poked Percy and cleared my throat meaningfully.
'Lord Hades …' Percy stammered quickly, then got back on track. 'Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It would be … bad.'
'Really bad,' Grover chimed in.
'Return Zeus's master bolt to me. Please, sir, let me carry it to Olympus.' Percy's fingers drummed nervously against his thighs. I crossed mine behind my back, hoping.
'You dare keep up this pretence, after what you have done?' Hades didn't exactly raise his voice. He remained languidly in his seat. But the entire room seemed to vibrate with his anger.
What had we done? That was the crux of the matter, I realised, the missing piece to the mystery that had been unfolding since the Kindly Ones had descended on us in the bus back in New York, screaming, where is it?
I had the feeling that we were about to find out.
'Um … Uncle, you keep saying "after what I've done,"' Percy said hesitantly. 'What exactly have I done?'
The angry vibration exploded into an earthquake that dislodged rock and dust from the palace ceiling. The effect was compounded by the thunderous march of the skeleton guards from the outer perimeters into the room, weapons raised threateningly.
'Do you think I want war, godling?' Now his voice was raised. He spread his arms as if to say, look at this.
'You are the Lord of the Dead. A war would expand your kingdom, right?' Percy said. I had to give him credit for how steady he managed to keep his voice. Hades looked ready to shoot bolts from his eyes. Or perhaps just snap his fingers and have his skeleton guards crush us into dust.
Hades snorted. 'A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of Asphodel? Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone?' He went on into a long rant about his manpower issues, overpopulation and congestion problems, and the ridiculous expenses of over-expansion.
I thought of the DOA brochure: downsizing in the Underworld has reduced the number of staff at major security checkpoints.
'And the dead just keep arriving! No, godling, I need no help getting subjects. I did not ask for this war.'
I hoped that meant he wouldn't be so keen to kill us and add to his inflated population.
'But you took Zeus's master bolt,' Percy said stupidly. I felt like kicking him. It seemed obvious at this point that Hades wasn't our thief.
'Lies!' Hades was so incensed, he actually got to his feet and started advancing on us. 'Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not so stupid. I see his plan.'
'His plan?'
'You were the thief on the winter solstice. 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 helmet.' He continued to harangue Percy, but one point stuck out like a red flag.
His helmet. I inhaled sharply.
'But … Lord Hades, your helmet of darkness is missing, too?' I blurted out.
So it wasn't just invisible-the Helm of Darkness really wasn't here, and hadn't been since the winter solstice. How could it be, though? Chiron hadn't given any indication whatsoever that anything else had been stolen.
'Do not play the innocent with me, girl!' Hades roared. '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!' Percy protested. 'Poseidon didn't-I didn't-'
'I have said nothing of the helmet's disappearance, because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help.' Hades was pacing the floor in front of us now as he revealed how he'd tried to capture Percy until it was clear Percy was coming anyway.
My heart dropped to the region of my ankles, but it wasn't because of the threats Hades started to make about sending a legion of dead warriors on to earth make war, or even the back-and-forth argument that Percy idiotically picked with Hades then-give it back/I don't have it!
I couldn't run from the terrifying conclusion any longer. The voice in the pit wanted two items brought to him. Two great symbols of power were missing.
Remember, this was the bolt that defeated the King of the Titans himself.
Kronos, my mind supplied, the father of the gods. I felt like vomiting.
And he had a servant. Someone had carried out his bidding but failed to deliver. It wasn't Percy, I knew that. But there had been a group of half-bloods on Mount Olympus at the winter solstice. I wondered why the finger of blame hadn't descended on us earlier.
My mother had bene right. You must uncover the truth. I told you before that you would need to see clearly, to look past your emotions. The three Olympian brothers had been fixated on their rivalries, convinced that one of the others must be the culprit, so much so that they had targeted Percy, as the only known son among them. It had blinded them to the possibility of someone else orchestrating the entire debacle.
My own fear had kept me from seizing on the terrifying truth as well. It had been so much easier to convince myself and the others that Hades was the mastermind, like Chiron had deduced, because I didn't want to believe that a primordial force was awakening in Tartarus, planning his rise to power.
Percy and Hades continued to argue back and forth, sounding less like a powerful god threatening a demigod and more like two stubborn relatives sniping at each other over Thanksgiving dinner.
'But I don't have your helmet. I came for the master bolt!' Percy insisted.
'Which you already possess! You came here with it. Little fool, thinking you could threaten me!'
'But I didn't!'
'Open your pack, then.' Hades threw down this gauntlet with the air of a challenger.
Grover and I both stared at Ares's backpack. Percy unzipped it with trembling fingers. He held it open and light burst from it, dazzling us all.
Zeus's master bolt crackled with power.
'Percy, how …' I croaked.
'I-I don't know. I don't understand.'
Hades laughed mirthlessly. 'You heroes are always the same. 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 helmet. Where is it?'
None of us knew what to say. I squeezed my Waterland pack nervously, wondering if it would spontaneously produce the Helm of Darkness, just as the bolt had mysteriously appeared in Percy's backpack. I could have sworn it hadn't been there when I'd checked our supplies in the zoo transport. Unless there had been a secret compartment. But why, and who …?
Ares.
He'd given us the backpack. Had he been siding with Kronos all along, against the rest of his family? It was the simplest explanation, but something was still missing. Ares was still a god. He couldn't usurp another god's symbol of power directly, any more than Hades could have. There still had to be a go-between.
I felt slightly ill as I thought of Clarisse and her ludicrous accusation of Percy when the hellhound appeared at camp. A ploy to deflect the suspicion from her?
The idea of Clarisse as a traitor and spy didn't sit quite right with me. Sure, she could be a nasty piece of work, but she'd always struck me as direct and straightforward, without much stealth or finesse.
Still, the other options were unthinkable. Steady, good-natured Beckendorf. Travis and Connor Stoll: light-fingered but so full of light-hearted mischief you could never imagine them working for evil. And Luke, my Luke-no way.
'There is no mistake,' Hades said contemptuously. 'I know why you have come-I know the real reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for her.'
The golden ball I'd seen in my dreams materialised in Hades hand. He flicked it upwards and it elongated into a full-size shimmering globe, radiating heat like the sun. Mrs Jackson stood motionless inside it.
Next to me, Percy sucked in his breath. His hand reached out to his mother, an expression of utmost longing on his face.
Hades sat back in his throne and folded his arms. 'Yes. I took her. I knew, Percy Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me eventually. Return my helmet, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change.'
I didn't know what Percy would do. It felt like our original task had morphed into a totally different, but equally impossible mission. I tried to focus on the quest: get the lightning bolt, return it to Olympus. Well, we had the lightning bolt, and apparently had had it all along, but now we had to get out of the Underworld if we were to return it-escape from Hades, who wanted the bolt.
I wanted to tell him again-you can't bargain with Hades, not even for your mom-but of course I couldn't exactly say that in front of Hades himself. And even if I could, I had a feeling it wouldn't make a difference.
Percy loved his mom. It was clear in the way he talked about her, the way he'd looked every time we'd spoken of her. He would do anything for her.
Looking at Mrs Jackson's face, frozen in terrified concern, I felt like the feelings were probably mutual. It put a lump in my throat, thinking about what the pair of them must have been like together. It was because of her that Percy had so much faith in family.
'Ah, the pearls,' Hades said suddenly. I glanced at Percy. His hands were in his pockets, searching. He stopped and looked at Hades with dread. Hades smirked at him. 'Yes, my brother and his little tricks. Bring them forth, Percy Jackson.'
Percy's hand emerged from his pocket with the three milky pearls the Nereid had given him. The gift we hadn't yet paid for.
'Only three.' Hades stroked his chin in faux-thoughtfulness. 'What a shame. You do realise 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.'
Everything comes with a price, I thought.
'We were tricked, set up,' Percy said.
'Yes,' I said-that much was obvious, 'but why? And the voice in the pit-'
The strategy fell neatly into my head like the unlocking of a puzzle box: steal two weapons of power. Pit brother against brother and render the earth in warfare. Capture Percy and use him to claim the last weapon of power. Unite the three and rise from Tartarus.
'I don't know yet, but I intend to ask,' Percy said grimly.
Ask who? I wanted to say, but this was no time for a conversation. Hades was pressuring Percy for his decision.
Let your head guide you and not your heart. You are the daughter of wisdom. There is no room for fickle emotion in a quest for truth.
It was a simple logic puzzle, ultimately. We had two options-use the bolt or use the pearls.
'Percy, you can't give him the bolt,' Grover said. I agreed. The bolt wasn't really an option. We needed it to complete the quest-we had to complete it first before we could move on and solve the rest of our problems.
Which meant we had three pearls for four of us.
'Leave me here,' Grover said. 'Use the third pearl on your mom.'
Percy stared at him, horror-struck at the idea. 'No!'
'I'm a satyr. 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.'
He might be logically right about that, but I couldn't take it. Not after Thalia, standing eternally as a tree. I couldn't bear any more sacrifices on my behalf. I couldn't let him do it.
Nor could I let Percy stay. He had to complete the quest, and he had to get his mother back. It would break him if he'd come all the way and lost her again. Grover was Percy's best friend, his protector, and he could still have an incredible future ahead of him.
There was only one other alternative.
I drew my knife. 'No,' I told them, and to my relief, my voice came out steady and strong. '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 looked at the skeleton warriors, at least two dozen of them, all levelling their weapons at us. I hoped the pearls would work quickly. I'd have to be really fast and even if I managed to hold them off, I'd probably only buy my friends seconds. But this was it. Both Grover and Percy had already proven their mettle. This was my chance to show that I had what it took to be a hero, too.
Even if it was my last stand. 'I plan to go down fighting.'
'No way,' Grover protested. 'I'm staying behind.'
'Think again, goat boy.'
'Stop it, both of you!' Percy ordered. 'I know what to do.'
He shoved a pearl at each of us. 'Take these.'
The pearl was no bigger than the tip of my index finger, perfectly smooth. It seemed to hum with energy.
'But, Percy,' I started to say.
Percy shook his head at me. He turned to his mother, and the look in his eyes would haunt me for years. 'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I'll be back. I'll find a way.'
'Godling?' Hades said uncertainly.
'I'll find your helmet, Uncle,' Percy promised. 'I'll return it.' Amidst Hades's spluttering protests, he managed to throw in a mini-lecture-a pay raise for Charon, playtime for Cerberus-before commanding us, 'Now, guys!'
In unison, we flung our pearls to the ground. They shattered. Hades yelled in fury. The skeleton guards leaped forward.
The pearl fragments burst into a fine, green light. I smelt saltwater and sea air.
Then I was surrounded by a shining white globe and rising with increasing speed towards the cavernous palace ceiling.
We shot up and up at rollercoaster speed, straight through the ceiling, travelling through solid ground, away from the Underworld and Hades's towering rage.
Chapter 19
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan, Grover Underwood, Chiron, various others, Gen
Fandom: Percy Jackson
Summary: What Annabeth Chase wants most is to undertake a quest, and when that chance comes, she’s taking it-even if that means teaming up with the son of her mother’s biggest rival. She thinks she’s prepared for everything that could happen, but right from the start, nothing goes to plan. And everything she thinks she knows about the quest, her life, and her family, may just be turned on its head. An alternate PoV retelling of The Lightning Thief.
In this chapter
Chapter Title: I Stop Hiding From The Truth
Rating: PG
Characters: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Grover Underwood, Hades
Word Count: 3,861
Chapter Summary: The trio have a narrow escape and Annabeth stops ignoring the piece of the puzzle that has been trying to slot itself into her mind.
A/N: As always, recognisable dialogue comes from Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.
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Hades's palace came into sight halfway through Asphodel. We stopped to look at it-this massive black fortress that stretched across the width of the Fields. It glittered softly and I realised that it probably provided most of the light in the Underworld.
'I suppose it's too late to turn back,' Grover said with a sigh.
'We'll be okay,' Percy said.
'Maybe we should search some of the other places first. Like, Elysium, for instance …' Grover turned longingly towards the tiny, secure valley on the right, where the souls of the blessed luxuriated in eternal bliss.
I took his arm and turned him back towards Hades's palace. 'Come on, goat boy.'
Grover pulled away from me. He activated Luke's sneakers and floated up, only his body didn't follow his feet. He fell on his bum and lay in the grass.
'Grover, stop messing around.' Of all the places to play a fool …
'But I didn't-ahh!' He took off, screaming in panic. 'Help!'
Percy lunged for him, but missed. The shoes had taken on a life of their own. They dragged Grover straight towards the palace, his arms flailing desperately. We raced after him.
'Untie the shoes!' I called.
We barrelled through crowds of spirits and burst out of Asphodel in front of the palace gates, but then the shoes swung right and carried Grover down a steep slope, into a dark tunnel. A stitch started to form in my side, but I couldn't stop running. Grover was already starting to disappear from view.
'Grover! Hold on to something!'
I heard scraping against the rocks and Grover's terrified wheezing as he tried to do as Percy said and grab hold of the tunnel walls. We plunged deeper into the darkness, which seemed to constrict around us like it was alive. My hair stood up on end and it wasn't just because the temperature had dropped ten degrees.
Grover came into sight again at the edge of a sharp drop-off. He clawed desperately at the ground, scrambling for purchase against the power of the flying shoes. Percy came to a halt at the sight of the cliff, which opened up into an even darker, deeper pit.
It looked different from the cliff I'd seen in my dream long ago at the winter solstice, but somehow I knew it was the same. The evil voice that had spoken to me from below the mist lived here. And although Percy hadn't described the pit in his dreams all that well, I knew instinctively that this was it.
There was, ultimately, only one pit that mattered.
There wasn't time to think of all that, though. Grover was still fighting tooth and nail to keep from falling in.
'Come on, Percy!' I jerked him forward.
'But that's-'
'I know! The place you described in your dream! But Grover's going to fall if we don't catch him.'
We wouldn't have got there in time if Grover hadn't managed to kick one shoe off. The remaining shoe, just as Percy had predicted, wasn't strong enough to carry Grover's weight, especially not once he managed to wrap his arms around a rock. It gave us enough time to catch up. We hauled him away from the cliff edge, slapping at the shoe, which had also come off and was now trying to kick us in the face. It finally took off and disappeared into the pit.
I felt like crying. The magic shoes … Hermes's flying sneakers … Luke's present. How could they, of all things, have gone nuts?
Grover sniffled. 'I don't know how … I didn't …'
Percy held up a hand. 'Wait. Listen.'
I thought I heard the cold, spine-tingling laughter from my nightmares. Then a low, malevolent chanting rose from the pit. It had no words I could have possibly recognised-not Greek, not English, not any language I'd ever heard-but which I somehow understood to be a deep, ancient tongue.
'Percy, this place-' I started to say shakily. It was the idea my brain didn't want to entertain before, the conclusion it still didn't want to reach although we were standing right her, giving me no choice.
'Shh,' he said.
'Wh-what's that noise?' Grover moaned.
'Tartarus. The entrance to Tartarus.' I wanted to stress how important it was that we leave, now, but my voice failed me.
Percy drew his sword. The light of its bronze blade winked at me, giving me courage. My hand flew up my sleeve. My bronze dagger felt warm under my hand.
'We have to get out of here,' I said firmly.
It was harder than breaking out of the Lotus Casino. The pit had a magnetic force and we were like scrap metal being enticed to its depths. I would have collapsed and given up and let it suck me in, if it hadn't been for the bracing glow of my dagger against my arm. It centred me, reminding me I had to struggle on. Beside me, Percy was using his sword like a hiking pole, using it to force himself on. Grover had a look of pure determination on his face.
Our hands found each other. Together, we found the strength to stumble forward until the Fields of Asphodel came into view again. The wind that had been tearing at our backs like a vacuum cleaner died. A cheated howl followed us up.
'What was that?' Grover gasped. 'One of Hades's pets?'
Percy looked at me. I couldn't respond, although my mind had finally, reluctantly, put together the pieces. Talking about it would make it real, and I felt like if I had to accept that, I'd sit right down in the Fields of Asphodel and become one of the blind, unknowing souls.
I think Percy got the picture, because he didn't push it. He put his sword away and said, 'Let's keep going.'
We limped through the palace gates painted with scenes of doom, past Persephone's orchard garden with its eternally blooming pomegranates, into the skeleton-guarded fortress. They leapt aside on our arrival, the palace doors sweeping open. I guess I'd been right about Hades wanting us to get there. I tried not to think about what would happen when he discovered that we didn't have what he wanted.
Hades was waiting on his throne, looking just like I'd seen him in my dreams. His posture was relaxed but at the same time, there was an underlying tension to his form, like a coiled spring ready to burst if we pressed the wrong button. His fathomless black eyes regarded us coldly. I had the feeling he'd observed every moment of our journey through the Underworld-including our side trip to the edge of Tartarus.
The fact that he seemed unbothered by it actually made me feel better. Between Hades and the Titan churning in the pit, I'd take Hades.
I guess that was testament to just how terrifying the ancient voice had felt. Hades had been scary enough the last time I'd seen him, with his Helm of Darkness smouldering fear from his feet. I couldn't see the magic helmet now, but that didn't mean much. It was an invisibility hat much more powerful than my Yankees cap.
Hades spoke at last. 'You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon. After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish.'
If Percy was as bemused as I was about this statement, he didn't show it. Fortunately, he stayed respectful. 'Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests.'
Hades leaned forward. 'Only two requests? Arrogant child. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet.'
Percy seemed to lose his nerve then. He gulped and looked away from Hades at the accompanying throne-this one smaller, also made of obsidian and inlaid with diamonds, but without the bones beneath it. Persephone's winter seat.
Seconds ticked by. Hades waited, but he would not stay patient for long. I poked Percy and cleared my throat meaningfully.
'Lord Hades …' Percy stammered quickly, then got back on track. 'Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It would be … bad.'
'Really bad,' Grover chimed in.
'Return Zeus's master bolt to me. Please, sir, let me carry it to Olympus.' Percy's fingers drummed nervously against his thighs. I crossed mine behind my back, hoping.
'You dare keep up this pretence, after what you have done?' Hades didn't exactly raise his voice. He remained languidly in his seat. But the entire room seemed to vibrate with his anger.
What had we done? That was the crux of the matter, I realised, the missing piece to the mystery that had been unfolding since the Kindly Ones had descended on us in the bus back in New York, screaming, where is it?
I had the feeling that we were about to find out.
'Um … Uncle, you keep saying "after what I've done,"' Percy said hesitantly. 'What exactly have I done?'
The angry vibration exploded into an earthquake that dislodged rock and dust from the palace ceiling. The effect was compounded by the thunderous march of the skeleton guards from the outer perimeters into the room, weapons raised threateningly.
'Do you think I want war, godling?' Now his voice was raised. He spread his arms as if to say, look at this.
'You are the Lord of the Dead. A war would expand your kingdom, right?' Percy said. I had to give him credit for how steady he managed to keep his voice. Hades looked ready to shoot bolts from his eyes. Or perhaps just snap his fingers and have his skeleton guards crush us into dust.
Hades snorted. 'A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of Asphodel? Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone?' He went on into a long rant about his manpower issues, overpopulation and congestion problems, and the ridiculous expenses of over-expansion.
I thought of the DOA brochure: downsizing in the Underworld has reduced the number of staff at major security checkpoints.
'And the dead just keep arriving! No, godling, I need no help getting subjects. I did not ask for this war.'
I hoped that meant he wouldn't be so keen to kill us and add to his inflated population.
'But you took Zeus's master bolt,' Percy said stupidly. I felt like kicking him. It seemed obvious at this point that Hades wasn't our thief.
'Lies!' Hades was so incensed, he actually got to his feet and started advancing on us. 'Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not so stupid. I see his plan.'
'His plan?'
'You were the thief on the winter solstice. 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 helmet.' He continued to harangue Percy, but one point stuck out like a red flag.
His helmet. I inhaled sharply.
'But … Lord Hades, your helmet of darkness is missing, too?' I blurted out.
So it wasn't just invisible-the Helm of Darkness really wasn't here, and hadn't been since the winter solstice. How could it be, though? Chiron hadn't given any indication whatsoever that anything else had been stolen.
'Do not play the innocent with me, girl!' Hades roared. '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!' Percy protested. 'Poseidon didn't-I didn't-'
'I have said nothing of the helmet's disappearance, because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help.' Hades was pacing the floor in front of us now as he revealed how he'd tried to capture Percy until it was clear Percy was coming anyway.
My heart dropped to the region of my ankles, but it wasn't because of the threats Hades started to make about sending a legion of dead warriors on to earth make war, or even the back-and-forth argument that Percy idiotically picked with Hades then-give it back/I don't have it!
I couldn't run from the terrifying conclusion any longer. The voice in the pit wanted two items brought to him. Two great symbols of power were missing.
Remember, this was the bolt that defeated the King of the Titans himself.
Kronos, my mind supplied, the father of the gods. I felt like vomiting.
And he had a servant. Someone had carried out his bidding but failed to deliver. It wasn't Percy, I knew that. But there had been a group of half-bloods on Mount Olympus at the winter solstice. I wondered why the finger of blame hadn't descended on us earlier.
My mother had bene right. You must uncover the truth. I told you before that you would need to see clearly, to look past your emotions. The three Olympian brothers had been fixated on their rivalries, convinced that one of the others must be the culprit, so much so that they had targeted Percy, as the only known son among them. It had blinded them to the possibility of someone else orchestrating the entire debacle.
My own fear had kept me from seizing on the terrifying truth as well. It had been so much easier to convince myself and the others that Hades was the mastermind, like Chiron had deduced, because I didn't want to believe that a primordial force was awakening in Tartarus, planning his rise to power.
Percy and Hades continued to argue back and forth, sounding less like a powerful god threatening a demigod and more like two stubborn relatives sniping at each other over Thanksgiving dinner.
'But I don't have your helmet. I came for the master bolt!' Percy insisted.
'Which you already possess! You came here with it. Little fool, thinking you could threaten me!'
'But I didn't!'
'Open your pack, then.' Hades threw down this gauntlet with the air of a challenger.
Grover and I both stared at Ares's backpack. Percy unzipped it with trembling fingers. He held it open and light burst from it, dazzling us all.
Zeus's master bolt crackled with power.
'Percy, how …' I croaked.
'I-I don't know. I don't understand.'
Hades laughed mirthlessly. 'You heroes are always the same. 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 helmet. Where is it?'
None of us knew what to say. I squeezed my Waterland pack nervously, wondering if it would spontaneously produce the Helm of Darkness, just as the bolt had mysteriously appeared in Percy's backpack. I could have sworn it hadn't been there when I'd checked our supplies in the zoo transport. Unless there had been a secret compartment. But why, and who …?
Ares.
He'd given us the backpack. Had he been siding with Kronos all along, against the rest of his family? It was the simplest explanation, but something was still missing. Ares was still a god. He couldn't usurp another god's symbol of power directly, any more than Hades could have. There still had to be a go-between.
I felt slightly ill as I thought of Clarisse and her ludicrous accusation of Percy when the hellhound appeared at camp. A ploy to deflect the suspicion from her?
The idea of Clarisse as a traitor and spy didn't sit quite right with me. Sure, she could be a nasty piece of work, but she'd always struck me as direct and straightforward, without much stealth or finesse.
Still, the other options were unthinkable. Steady, good-natured Beckendorf. Travis and Connor Stoll: light-fingered but so full of light-hearted mischief you could never imagine them working for evil. And Luke, my Luke-no way.
'There is no mistake,' Hades said contemptuously. 'I know why you have come-I know the real reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for her.'
The golden ball I'd seen in my dreams materialised in Hades hand. He flicked it upwards and it elongated into a full-size shimmering globe, radiating heat like the sun. Mrs Jackson stood motionless inside it.
Next to me, Percy sucked in his breath. His hand reached out to his mother, an expression of utmost longing on his face.
Hades sat back in his throne and folded his arms. 'Yes. I took her. I knew, Percy Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me eventually. Return my helmet, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change.'
I didn't know what Percy would do. It felt like our original task had morphed into a totally different, but equally impossible mission. I tried to focus on the quest: get the lightning bolt, return it to Olympus. Well, we had the lightning bolt, and apparently had had it all along, but now we had to get out of the Underworld if we were to return it-escape from Hades, who wanted the bolt.
I wanted to tell him again-you can't bargain with Hades, not even for your mom-but of course I couldn't exactly say that in front of Hades himself. And even if I could, I had a feeling it wouldn't make a difference.
Percy loved his mom. It was clear in the way he talked about her, the way he'd looked every time we'd spoken of her. He would do anything for her.
Looking at Mrs Jackson's face, frozen in terrified concern, I felt like the feelings were probably mutual. It put a lump in my throat, thinking about what the pair of them must have been like together. It was because of her that Percy had so much faith in family.
'Ah, the pearls,' Hades said suddenly. I glanced at Percy. His hands were in his pockets, searching. He stopped and looked at Hades with dread. Hades smirked at him. 'Yes, my brother and his little tricks. Bring them forth, Percy Jackson.'
Percy's hand emerged from his pocket with the three milky pearls the Nereid had given him. The gift we hadn't yet paid for.
'Only three.' Hades stroked his chin in faux-thoughtfulness. 'What a shame. You do realise 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.'
Everything comes with a price, I thought.
'We were tricked, set up,' Percy said.
'Yes,' I said-that much was obvious, 'but why? And the voice in the pit-'
The strategy fell neatly into my head like the unlocking of a puzzle box: steal two weapons of power. Pit brother against brother and render the earth in warfare. Capture Percy and use him to claim the last weapon of power. Unite the three and rise from Tartarus.
'I don't know yet, but I intend to ask,' Percy said grimly.
Ask who? I wanted to say, but this was no time for a conversation. Hades was pressuring Percy for his decision.
Let your head guide you and not your heart. You are the daughter of wisdom. There is no room for fickle emotion in a quest for truth.
It was a simple logic puzzle, ultimately. We had two options-use the bolt or use the pearls.
'Percy, you can't give him the bolt,' Grover said. I agreed. The bolt wasn't really an option. We needed it to complete the quest-we had to complete it first before we could move on and solve the rest of our problems.
Which meant we had three pearls for four of us.
'Leave me here,' Grover said. 'Use the third pearl on your mom.'
Percy stared at him, horror-struck at the idea. 'No!'
'I'm a satyr. 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.'
He might be logically right about that, but I couldn't take it. Not after Thalia, standing eternally as a tree. I couldn't bear any more sacrifices on my behalf. I couldn't let him do it.
Nor could I let Percy stay. He had to complete the quest, and he had to get his mother back. It would break him if he'd come all the way and lost her again. Grover was Percy's best friend, his protector, and he could still have an incredible future ahead of him.
There was only one other alternative.
I drew my knife. 'No,' I told them, and to my relief, my voice came out steady and strong. '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 looked at the skeleton warriors, at least two dozen of them, all levelling their weapons at us. I hoped the pearls would work quickly. I'd have to be really fast and even if I managed to hold them off, I'd probably only buy my friends seconds. But this was it. Both Grover and Percy had already proven their mettle. This was my chance to show that I had what it took to be a hero, too.
Even if it was my last stand. 'I plan to go down fighting.'
'No way,' Grover protested. 'I'm staying behind.'
'Think again, goat boy.'
'Stop it, both of you!' Percy ordered. 'I know what to do.'
He shoved a pearl at each of us. 'Take these.'
The pearl was no bigger than the tip of my index finger, perfectly smooth. It seemed to hum with energy.
'But, Percy,' I started to say.
Percy shook his head at me. He turned to his mother, and the look in his eyes would haunt me for years. 'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I'll be back. I'll find a way.'
'Godling?' Hades said uncertainly.
'I'll find your helmet, Uncle,' Percy promised. 'I'll return it.' Amidst Hades's spluttering protests, he managed to throw in a mini-lecture-a pay raise for Charon, playtime for Cerberus-before commanding us, 'Now, guys!'
In unison, we flung our pearls to the ground. They shattered. Hades yelled in fury. The skeleton guards leaped forward.
The pearl fragments burst into a fine, green light. I smelt saltwater and sea air.
Then I was surrounded by a shining white globe and rising with increasing speed towards the cavernous palace ceiling.
We shot up and up at rollercoaster speed, straight through the ceiling, travelling through solid ground, away from the Underworld and Hades's towering rage.
Chapter 19