The Path Of Glory (Annabeth Chase x Male Reader)

15. Water Beds Heaven

The moment she said that, they caught up with Ethan and Grover, and Percy stepped in the waves. Then his head went under the water.

"He...breaths under water, now?" Y/N said.

"Apparently," Ethan said.

"Yeah.... And why does he go there?"

"I told you," Annabeth said. "He had a dream, and you know, god stuff."

About ten minutes later, Percy came out of the water, completely dry—even his clothes.

He told them everything that had happened: he had met Nereid, a spirit of the sea sent by his father, who had given him five white pearls. Apparently they were supposed to smash them at their feet when in need. The result would depend on the need.

Annabeth grimaced. "No gift comes without a price."

"They were free," Percy said.

"No." She shook her head. "'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' That's an ancient Greek saying that translated pretty well into American. There will be a price. You wait."

"What a happy thought," Ethan said grimly.

With some spare change from Ares's backpack, they took the bus into West Hollywood. Y/N showed the driver the Underworld address slip he had taken from Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, but the driver had never heard of DOA Recording Studios.

"You remind me of somebody I saw on TV," the driver told him. "You a child actor or something?"

"Uh...I'm a stunt double...for a lot of child actors."

"Oh! That explains it."

They thanked him and got off quickly at the next stop.

They wandered for miles on foot, looking for DOA. Nobody seemed to know where it was. It didn't appear in the phone book.

Twice, they ducked into alleys to avoid cop cars.

It got dark, and hungry-looking characters started coming out on the streets to play. Y/N had never really know big cities, and L.A. was a spread-out, chaotic city where it was hard to move around. He didn't know how they were going to find the entrance to the Underworld by tomorrow, the summer solstice.

They walked past gangbangers, bums, and street hawkers, who looked at them like they were trying to figure if they were worth the trouble of mugging.

As they hurried past the entrance of an alley, a voice from the darkness said, "Hey, you."

Like an idiot, Y/N stopped.

Before he knew it, they were surrounded. A gang of kids had circled them. Six of them in all—kids with expensive clothes and mean faces.

Percy immediately uncapped his sword.

When the sword appeared out of nowhere, the kids backed off, but their leader was either really stupid or really brave, because he kept coming at them with a switchblade.

Percy swung his blade.

The kid yelped. But he must have been one hundred percent mortal, because the blade passed harmlessly right through his chest. He looked down. "What the..."

Y/N figured they had about three seconds before his shock turned to anger. "Run!" he screamed at the others.

They pushed three kids and raced down the street, not knowing where they were going. They turned a sharp corner.