DEVOTION, percy jackson

No Need to Call Him Sir, Mr Charon.

The group stood in the darkness of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.

The lobby was brightly lit despite the dark atmosphere. Percy turned to look at the group. "Okay. You remember the plan?" The boy asked them. "The plan," Grover gulped. "Oh, I totally remember the plan." Tallulah said, nodding her head.

"Yeah. I love the plan." Annabeth said, "What happens if the plan doesn't work?" "Don't think negative." Percy told her. "Right," she said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negative."

Tallulah's eyes widened, both at the girl's bluntness and Percy's reaction to the words. The boy's mood shifted and his eyes widened a fraction of an inch with hurt and insecurity. Percy took out the glimmering pearls from his pocket and looked at them.

Annabeth, realizing what she said was rude, apologized and said, "I'm sorry, Percy. You're right, it'll be fine." "The plan will work." Tallulah said. Tallulah gave Grover a nudge. "Oh, right!" he chimed in. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mom. No problem."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him. Percy slipped the pearls back in his pocket. "Let's kick some Underworld ass." Tallulah gave him a grin. They walked inside the lobby.

__

Tallulah was not a huge fan of the lobby. It was overly bright with people everywhere. Some were sitting, some were standing and pacing. Normally she didn't mind crowds and could push her way through, but the only problem was that the folks in this lobby were completely see through.

The kids walked up to the podium the guard stood at. He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore a rich looking Italian suit. He wore a name tag. It read Charon.

"Your name is Chiron?" Percy asked him. "Oh my gods." Tallulah whispered to herself with disbelief.

 Charon leaned across the desk. His smile was sweet and cold. "What a precious young lad." He had a strange accent, as if he had learned English as a second language.

"Tell me, mate, do I look like a centaur?" "N-no." Percy stammered. "Sir," he added smoothly. "No need to call him sir, Mr. Charon. He's not that sophisticated." Tallulah said with a grin. She saw Annabeth and Grover look at each other in the corner of her eye. Percy just stared at her, and Tallulah couldn't tell if she offended him or not.

He pinched the name tag and ran his finger under the letters. "Can you read this, mate? It says C-HA-R-O-N. Say it with me: CARE-ON." "Charon." "Amazing! Now: Mr. Charon." "Mr. Charon," Percy said. Tallulah and Annabeth just stared at the bizarre encounter.

"Well done." He sat back. "I hate being confused with that old horse-man. And now, how may I help you little dead ones?" Percy got noticeably anxious. He looked to Annabeth and Tallulah. "We want to go to the Underworld," Annabeth said. Charon's mouth twitched. "Well, that's refreshing."

"It is?" Tallulah asked. "Straightforward and honest. No screaming. No 'There must be a mistake, Mr. Charon.'" He looked them over. "How did you die, then?"

Percy nudged Grover. "Oh," he said. "Um . . . drowned . . . in the bathtub." "All four of you?" Charon asked. They all nodded. "Big bathtub." Charon looked mildly impressed.

Tallulah could not believe Grover. She gave him a look that said, 'A BATHTUB? Really?' Grover shrugged at her to say 'sorry it was the best I could do.'

"I don't suppose you have coins for passage. Normally, with adults, you see, I could charge your American Express, or add the ferry price to your last cable bill. But with children . . . alas, you never die prepared. Suppose you'll have to take a seat for a few centuries." Charon explained to them. "Oh, but we have coins." Percy said as he set three golden drachmas on the counter.

"Well, now . . ." Charon moistened his lips. "Real drachmas. Real golden drachmas. I haven't seen these in . . ." His fingers hovered greedily over the coins. Charon suddenly looked back at Percy. His impossibly cold stare bore into the boy's head, causing his hands to visibly shake.

"Here now," he said. "You couldn't read my name correctly. Are you dyslexic, lad?" "No," Percy said. "I'm dead." Tallulah rolled her eyes. If Percy kept this up Tallulah's eyes would be stuck in the back of her head.

Charon leaned forward and took a sniff, which was really weird. "You're not dead. I should've known. You're a godling." 'Shit.' Tallulah thought. "We have to get to the Underworld," Percy insisted. Charon made a growling sound deep in his throat.

Immediately, all the people in the waiting room got up and started pacing, agitated, lighting cigarettes, running hands through their hair, or checking their wristwatches. Tallulah could feel the mood shift instantly.

"Leave while you can," Charon told them. "I'll just take these and forget I saw you." He started to go for the coins, but Percy snatched them back. "No service, no tip." Percy demanded. His tone fooled the man, but Tallulah could see his hands shaking again.

Charon growled again—a deep, blood-chilling sound. The spirits of the dead started pounding on the elevator doors, trying to escape the dangerously tense room. "It's a shame, too," Percy sighed. "We had more to offer." "Oh yeah," Tallulah nodded along. "We are totally rich." Grover nodded with her, "Totally loaded."

Percy held up the entire bag from Crusty's stash. He took a handful of them and let them spill through his fingers onto the desk. Charon's growl changed into something more like a lion's purr. "Do you think I can be bought, godlings? Eh . . . just out of curiosity, how much have you got there?"

"A lot. "I bet Hades doesn't pay you well enough for such hard work." Percy said with mock innocence. "Oh, you don't know the half of it. How would you like to babysit these spirits all day? Always 'Please don't let me be dead' or 'Please let me cross for free.' I haven't had a pay raise in three thousand years. Do you imagine suits like this come cheap?" Charon complained to the demigods.

"You deserve better," Percy agreed. "A little appreciation," Tallulah said. "Respect." Annabeth told him. "Good pay." Grover said with a nod. With each word Percy put a coin on the fancy desk. All four of them gave Charon their best smiles.

Charon glanced down at his silk Italian jacket, as if imagining himself in something even better. "I must say, lad, you're making some sense now. Just a little." Percy stacked more coins. "I could mention a pay raise while I'm talking to Hades." 

He sighed. "The boat's almost full, anyway. I might as well add you four and be off." Tallulah looked at Annabeth and smiled, both of them surprised the plan actually worked.

Author's Note:

So sorry for the filler but i need post something so here this is!

Im curious, whats your fav part of the story so far?