σɾɳιƚԋαʂ (ρʝσ x ɱαʅҽ σƈ)

I Meet the Lord of the Dead

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.

Grover: I suppose it's too late to turn back.

Theo: We'll be fine.

Grover: Maybe we should search some of the other places first. Like, Elysium, for instance...

Annabeth: Come on, goat boy...

She grabbed Grover's arm, and he yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth. He landed flat on his back in the grass.

Annabeth: Grover, stop messing around.

Grover: 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.

Grover: Maia!

The magic word had no effect.

Grover: Maia, already! NINE-ONE-ONE! HELP!

Theo: Shit!

Before we knew it, we were running after Grover. He was picking up speed, skidding downhill like a bobsled.

Annabeth: 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 zipped 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.

The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed. Annabeth, Theo, 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.

Percy: GROVER, HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!

Grover: WHAT?!

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.

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. Grover was sliding straight toward the edge.

I was broken out of my shock when Theo pulled me from the collar of my shirt.

Theo: COME ON!

Percy: But that's—

Theo: The place you described from your dream, I know! And Grover's headed straight for it!

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.