I hailed a taxi and shoved us all in. For once, I was being smarter then Annabeth. "Los Angeles, please."
The driver looked at us. "That's three hundred miles. For that, you gotta pay upfront."
"You accept casino debit cards?"
He shrugged. "Some of them. Same as credit cards. I gotta swipe them through first."
I handed him my LotusCash card. He eyed it skeptically. "Swipe it,"
He did and it started rattling. The money kept coming up until there was an infinity sign next to it.
The cigar fell out of his mouth and he looked at us. "Where to in Los Angeles... uh, Your Highness?"
"The Santa Monica Pier." I sat a little straighter. I could get used to people calling me something like that. "Get us there fast, and you can keep the change."
I definitely shouldn't of said that because we were going over 95 the entire way.
•.•.•.•
Percy told us about his dreams. Some voice from a pit with a servant who he swears voice sounded familiar.
"The Silent One? The Rich One?" Annabeth suggested. "Both of those are nicknames for Hades."
"Maybe..."
"The throne room sounds like Hades's," Grover said. "That's the way it's usually described."
Percy shook his head. "Somethings wrong. The throne room wasn't the main part of the dream. And that voice from the pit... I don't know. It just didn't feel like a god's voice."
Me and Annabeth looked at each other, eyes wide.
Percy looked between us. "What?"
"Oh... nothing." I stammered. "We were just—No, it has to be Hades."
Annabeth nodded. "Maybe he sent this thief, this invisible person, to get the master bolt, and something went wrong—"
"Like what"?
"I—I don't know," Annabeth admitted. "But if he stole Zeus's symbol of power from Olympus, and the gods were hunting him, I mean, a lot of things could go wrong."
"So this thief has to hide the bolt, or he lost it somehow." I added. "Anyway, he failed to bring it to Hades. That's what the voice said in your dream, right? The guy failed. That would explain what the Furies were searching for when they came after us on the bus. Maybe they thought we had retrieved the bolt."
Percy looked at us like there was something wrong with us. "But if I'd already retrieved the bolt, why would I be traveling to the Underworld?"
"To threaten Hades," Grover suggested. "To bride of blackmail him into getting your mom back."
Percy whistled. "You have evil thoughts for a goat."
"Why, thank you."
"But the thing in the pit said it was waiting for two items. If the master bolt is one, what's the other."
Grover shocked his head. I genuinely had no clue, but Annabeth seemed to be working something out with that Athena head of hers.
"You have an idea what might be in that pit, don't you?" Percy asked her. "I mean, if it isn't Hades?"
The voice better be Hades, because if it's what I'm thinking it is, we are in for it.
"Percy... let's bit talk about it. Because if it isn't Hades... No. it had to be Hades."
I studied Percy's face as he lost himself in thought.
Once again, I was calling him a poor kid. He had to stop total world destruction in a day, and his mother could also be brought back.
"The answer is in the Underworld," I assured him. "You saw spirits of the dead, Percy. There's only one place that could be. We're doing the right thing."
Me and Annabeth took turns sharing ideas on how to get in the Underworld, but Percy didn't seem interested.
We all slowly stopped talking, and I thought of my old times at camp, before everything went like this.
•••
"Coriane!" Annabeth called from the mess hall. It was fall and most campers were gone, so Mr. D and Chiron allowed us campers to sit wherever and have the occasional sleepover to keep us busy.
I ran over and slid on the bench next to her, and Luke came over shortly after, sitting across from us.
Annabeth blushed. "Hey Luke."
"Hey Annabeth." He smiled, then turned to me. "Hey Cor."
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and I knew my face was blushing.
A few weeks ago, Annabeth was claimed as a child of Athena, which was exciting. I could see it coming, as she was super smart.
Luke was claimed a little bit later by Hermes, so we were still in the cabin.
Annabeth turned to me. "Based on some of your knowledge in things, I'd assumed you'd be a daughter of Athena with me, but you'd think she'd claim us at the same time."
I shrugged. "It's okay. Plus, all of your siblings have blonde hair and grey eyes. I, on the other hand, have this brown and hazel eyes."
Luke laughed. "Don't worry Cor, I'm sure you'll be claimed soon.
We ate, and I put in an offering, begging whoever my mom was to claim me.
One of the Aphrodite girls, Silena, would send small smiles to me here and there. Luke had talked about her briefly, saying she was like every other one of the Aphrodite girls and being obsessed with herself and makeup.
It was kinda rude, but I didn't know what to say, I barley knew the girl.
Chiron agreed to letting Annabeth stay in the Hermes cabin for the night, so me, Luke and Annabeth were all messing around when the cabin turned pink.
Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Oh. My. Gods."
"What?" I asked.
"Coriane," Luke said excitedly. "Look!"
I looked upwards and saw the light was coming from me. Above my head was some pink dove.
"You're a daughter of Aphrodite?" Annabeth screeched. Annabeth yanked me up and towards the big house. "Chiron!"
Luke followed aimlessly.
Chiron came out and looked at her, concern all over his face. "Annabeth! What is it? Is someone hurt?"
"No! Even better!" Annabeth yelled, a smile on her face. "Coriane got claimed!"
Chiron turned towards me, and flinched. "Ah, a child of Aphrodite."
"What? How'd you know? The dove is gone?" I questioned.
"Oh, come look in this water puddle, you might have some trouble for a few days."
I leaned over and my jaw was on the floor.
"What happened to my face?" I screamed.
It was covered in makeup and my hair was straight, not a stray hair in sight.
"When a child of Aphrodite is claimed, they get a makeover, it will last for a few days, I'm afraid."
"So, Aphrodite is goddess of love and beauty, right?"
"Of course."
"This is great!" I smiled. "I'll be beautiful, and can have all the boys fall in love with me! Plus, I can lay low since I'm not dangerous or whatever."
Chrion's smile faded and he looked almost sad. "Of course, you'll have much fun."
•••
"Hello? Earth to Coriane!"
A finger was snapped in my face.
I looked and saw Annabeth looking at me with a frown. "Finally, what were you spacing out on?"
"Oh... I was just thinking about when I got claimed."
Annabeth smiled. "Best week of my life. Watching you run around camp in a full makeover was the best thing ever."
"Yeah," I laughed. "So, what were you snapping in my face for?"
"Oh! We're here."
I looked out the window to see us at Santa Monica, and was awed at how... beautiful it was. Just like the movie I'd seen.
We got out of the cab and stood there.
I looked around. "What now?" Percy suddenly walked into the surf. "Percy? What are you doing?"
He kept walking, and walking. Annabeth gawked.
"You know how polluted that water is? There're all kinds of toxic chemicals in that water... and there he goes."
"Do we just wait for him?" Grover asked.
"Of course we do, what are we gonna do, leave him?"
We sat on a bench and waited for him, watching the sunset.
He finally came back and explained what happened.
Annabeth grimaced. "No gift comes without a price."
"They were free."
"No," I shook my head. "'There is no such thing as free lunch.' That's an Ancient Greek saying that translated pretty well into American. There will be a price. You wait."
We turned away from the sea and walked down the streets of Santa Monica, ready to enter the Underworld.