The Truths Spoken In The Sea Of Lies

This lacks the element of suprise

Oaths shattered by Hades,

Rhea's pride in Nico blooms,

Aidoneus vents scorn.

***

They emerged in Central Park just north of the Pond. Mrs O'Leary looked pretty tired as she limped over to a cluster of boulders.

"The Underworld has two major entrances," Nico said. "You know the one in L.A. ... and I guess you also know this one."

"Yeah The Door of Orpheus, the lyre dude who couldn't stop himself from turning around to see if his girl was following him 'cause she didn't make a sound, I mean come on she was a ghost of course she wouldn't make a sound !" Rhea rolled her eyes.

"Right..." Nico slowly nodded. "Anyways he used his music to charm the earth and open a new path into the Underworld. He sang his way right into Hades's palace and almost got away with his wife's soul. Moving on! How's your singing?"

"Do you want an Ariel or an Ursula? Or maybe a sonic-like scream, 'cause I can do all of 'em." Rhea smirked.

Nico gave her a look.

"I'll call Grover, hold on a minute."

She shut her eyes and concentrated. Grover.

Hmm.

Grover,

Hmm-hmmmm, something said.

An image came into her head. She saw a giant elm tree deep in the woods, well off the main paths. Gnarled roots laced the ground, making a kind of bed. Lying in it with his arms crossed and his eyes closed was a satyr. He was covered in twigs and leaves like he'd been sleeping there a long time. The roots seemed to be shaping themselves around him, slowly pulling him into the earth.

Rhea took a deep breath. WAKE THE FUCK UP !!! THE ENCHILADAS ARE ON FIRE!!!

His eyes shot open. A blur of thoughts filled her head like he was suddenly on fast-forward. The image shattered and Rhea massaged her temple.

"What happened?" Nico asked.

"Grover is on his way."

A minute later, the tree next to them shivered. Grover fell out of the branches, right on his head.

"Oufff." Rhea grimaced.

"Woof!" Mrs. O'Leary looked up, probably wondering if they were going to play fetch with the satyr.

"Blah-haa-haa!" Grover bleated.

"You good bro?"

"Oh, I'm fine." He rubbed his head. His horns had grown so much that they poked an inch above his curly hair. "I was at the other end of the park. The dryads had this great idea of passing me through the trees to get me here. They don't understand height very well."

He grinned and got to his feet—well, his hooves, actually. Since last summer, Grover had stopped trying to disguise himself as human. He never wore a cap or fake feet anymore. He didn't even wear jeans, since he had furry goat legs from the waist down. His T-shirt had a picture from the book Where the Wild Things Are. It was covered with dirt and tree sap. His goatee looked fuller, almost manly (or goat-ly?), and he was as tall as Rhea now.

"Good to see you, G-man," Rhea said. "And of course, you remember Nico."

Grover nodded at Nico, then he gave Rhea a big hug. He smelled like fresh-mown lawns.