𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 | P. Jackson, A. Chase¹

11. 𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘢'𝘴 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴

"Why?" Percy asked.

"Of course she hates Lotus flowers!" Olivia realized. "The Lotus Casino! She always just told me she was stuck in time, but she didn't age because she was there!"

Olivia bolted through the gates, and the others chased after her, struggling to navigate the Underworld the way she did. The howling from Cerberus was so loud now it shook the ground, but Olivia just smiled as she came to a stop.

About fifty feet in front of them, the green mist shimmered. Standing just where the path split into three lanes was an enormous shadowy monster. Olivia said something about how he was half transparent for everyone else, like the dead. But she only reached for him, grinning at her old friend.

But Cerberus wasn't focused on her. He was staring straight at Percy.

As Percy stared at the three-headed dog, he said the first thing he thought of: "He's a Rottweiler."

To his surprise, Cerberus was a regular purebred Rottweiler, except for the fact that he was twice the size of a woolly mammoth, mostly invisible, and had three heads.

The dead walked right up to him the same way Olivia did, with no fear at all. The ATTENDANT ON DUTY lines parted on either side of him and walked. The EZ DEATH spirits walked right between his front paws and under his belly, which they could do without even crouching.

"I'm starting to see him better," Percy said quietly. "Why is that?"

"You're getting closer to being dead," Olivia explained. "It makes things related to the dead easier to see."

The dog's middle head craned toward the group. It sniffed the air and growled.

"It can smell the living," Percy realized.

"But that's okay," Grover said despite his trembling. "Because we have a plan."

"Right," Annabeth said. Percy never heard her voice sound so shaky. "A plan."

They followed Olivia's lead and moved toward the monster.

The middle head snarled at them, barking so loud Percy felt like his eyeballs were rattling.

"Can you understand it?" he asked Grover.

"Him," Olivia protested. "He's not gonna hurt you."

"Hey, there," Olivia said, smiling up at Cerberus. The right head growled at her, sniffing her with his nose that was as big as Olivia's torso. Recognition flashed across three pairs of eyes. Suddenly, Cerberus seemed compliant, barking softly and licking Olivia's arm with his left head.

"Oh, I know they haven't played fetch with you in so long," Olivia cooed. She rubbed Cerberus' middle head, making the other two long for attention. She subtly turned to Percy and made a gesture towards the spirits passing Cerberus.

As Percy led the others past Olivia and Cerberus, the giant dog started to turn towards them. "An-ah," Olivia stopped him, clicking her tongue in disapproval. "Cerberus, sit."

The dog sat, focusing on Olivia. Percy risked a glance back to make sure she was okay, and saw her playing with a ball of light in her hands. "Good boy, Cerberus!" Olivia cheered.

The light illuminated her face, giving her an ethereal glow, bright light contrasted against her brown eyes, making them appear golden. Percy silently wondered if she was going to have another premonition or if she just always had multi-colored flecks in her eyes.

"Olivia," Annabeth called. She took a big rubber ball out of her bag from Waterland. She tossed it Olivia's way, and the daughter of Apollo held it up to Cerberus as her light ball faded.