𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐗𝐈𝐑, 𝐏𝐉

𝟎𝟎𝟓.𝟓

𝟎𝟎𝟓.𝟓

They'd ended up in the underworld, with Percy captured Mrs. Dodds, again. He'd met Grover in the Central Park and had gotten the really amazing news about Morpheus, after that he'd left Juliet a voice message telling her not to worry and plunged into the underworld.

And yeah now he was being taken hostage. 

If Juliet was here she would've called him an idiot for ending up in a suicidal situation again.

"All right, traitor," Percy growled at Nico. "You've got your prize. Take me to the stupid palace."

Alecto dropped him like a sack of turnips in the middle of the palace garden.

It was beautiful in a creepy way. Skeletal white trees grew from marble basins. Flower beds overflowed with golden plants and gemstones. A pair of thrones, one bone and one silver, sat on the balcony with a view of the Fields of Asphodel. It would've been a nice place to spend a Saturday morning except for the sulfurous smell and the cries of tortured souls in the distance.

Skeletal warriors guarded the only exit. They wore tattered U.S. Army desert combat fatigues and carried M16s.

The third Fury deposited Nico next to him. Then all three of them settled on the top of the skeletal throne. Percy resisted the urge to strangle Nico. He stared at the empty thrones, waiting for something to happen. Then the air shimmered. Three figures appeared—Hades and Persephone on their thrones, and an older woman standing between them. They seemed to be in the middle of an argument.

"—told you he was a bum!" the older woman said.

"Mother!" Persephone replied.

"We have visitors!" Hades barked. "Please!"

Hades, one of Percy's least favorite gods, probably due to the fact of Patroclus never getting Elysium, Hades smoothed his black robes, which were covered with the terrified faces of the damned. He had pale skin and the intense eyes of a madman.

"Percy Jackson," he said with satisfaction. "At last."

Queen Persephone studied him curiously. He'd seen her once before in the winter, but now in the summer she looked like a totally different goddess. She had lustrous black hair and warm brown eyes. Her dress shimmered with colors. Flower patterns in the fabric changed and bloomed—roses, tulips, honeysuckle.

The woman standing between them was obviously Persephone's mother. She had the same hair and eyes, but looked older and sterner. Her dress was golden, the color of a wheat field. Her hair was woven with dried grasses so it reminded me of a wicker basket. He figured if somebody lit a match next to her, she'd be in serious trouble.

"Hmmph," the older woman said. "Demigods. Just what we need."

Next to him, Nico knelt. Percy wished he had his sword so he could cut his stupid head off. Unfortunately, Riptide was still out in the fields somewhere.

"Father," Nico said. "I have done as you asked."

"Took you long enough," Hades grumbled. "Your sister would've done a better job."

Nico lowered his head. If he hadn't been so mad at the little creep, he might've felt sorry for him.

Percy glared up at the god of the dead. "What do you want, Hades?"

"To talk, of course." The god twisted his mouth in a cruel smile. "Didn't Nico tell you?"

"So this whole quest was a lie. Nico brought me down here to get me killed."

"Oh, no," Hades said. "I'm afraid Nico was quite sincere about wanting to help you. The boy is as honest as he is dense. I simply convinced him to take a small detour and bring you here first."

"Father," Nico said, "you promised that Percy would not be harmed. You said if I brought him, you would tell me about my past—about my mother."

Queen Persephone sighed dramatically. "Can we please not talk about that woman in my presence?"

"I'm sorry, my dove," Hades said. "I had to promise the boy something."

The older lady harrumphed. "I warned you, daughter. This scoundrel Hades is no good. You could've married the god of doctors or the god of lawyers, but noooo. You had to eat the pomegranate."

"Mother—"

"And get stuck in the Underworld!" "Mother, please—"

"And here it is August, and do you come home like you're supposed to? Do you ever think about your poor lonely mother?"

"DEMETER!" Hades shouted. "That is enough. You are a guest in my house."

"Oh, a house is it?" she said. "You call this dump a house? Make my daughter live in this dark, damp—"

"I told you," Hades said, grinding his teeth, "there's a war in the world above. You and Persephone are better off here with me."

"Excuse me," Percy broke in. "But if you're going to kill me, could you just get on with it?"

All three gods looked at him.

"Achilles, always had an attitude," Demeter observed.

"Indeed," Hades agreed. "I'd love to kill him." 

"Father!" Nico said. "You promised!"

"Husband, we talked about this," Persephone chided. "You can't go around incinerating every hero. Besides, he's brave. I like that."

Hades rolled his eyes. "You liked that Orpheus fellow too. Look how well that turned out. Let me kill him, just a little bit."

"Father, you promised!" Nico said. "You said you only wanted to talk to him. You said if I brought him, you'd explain."

Hades glowered, smoothing the folds of his robes. "And so I shall. Your mother—what can I tell you? She was a wonderful woman." He glanced uncomfortably at Persephone. "Forgive me, my dear. I mean for a mortal, of course. Her name was Maria di Angelo. She was from Venice, but her father was a diplomat in Washington, D.C. That's where I met her. When you and your sister were young, it was a bad time to be children of Hades. World War II was brewing. A few of my, ah, other children were leading the losing side. I thought it best to put you two out of harm's way."

"That's why you hid us in the Lotus Casino?"

Hades shrugged. "You didn't age. You didn't realize time was passing. I waited for the right time to bring you out."

"But what happened to our mother? Why don't I remember her?"

"Not important," Hades snapped.

"What? Of course it's important. And you had other children—why were we the only ones who were sent away? And who was the lawyer who got us out?"

Hades grit his teeth. "You would do well to listen more and talk less, boy. As for the lawyer . . ."

Hades snapped his fingers. On top of his throne, the Fury Alecto began to change until she was a middle-aged man in a pinstriped suit with a briefcase. She—he—looked strange crouching at Hades's shoulder.

"You!" Nico said.

The Fury cackled. "I do lawyers and teachers very well!"

Nico was trembling. "But why did you free us from the casino?"

"You know why," Hades said. "This idiot son of Poseidon cannot be allowed to be the child of the prophecy."

Percy plucked a ruby off the nearest plant and threw it at Hades. It sank harmlessly into his robe. "Listen, Hades, I've got somewhere to be, no offence, I have a panicked girlfriend and an entire camp of demigods, waiting for me, and if we are on the topic of war, You should be up there helping Olympus!" Percy pinched the bridge of his nose, god knows how mad Juliet was going to be with him,"All the other gods are fighting Typhon, and you're just sitting here—"

"Waiting things out," Hades finished. "Yes, that's correct. When's the last time Olympus ever helped me, half-blood? When's the last time a child of mine was ever welcomed as a hero? Bah! Why should I rush out and help them? I'll stay here with my forces intact."

"And when Kronos comes after you?"

"Let him try. He'll be weakened. And my son here, Nico—" Hades looked at him with distaste. "Well, he's not much now, I'll grant you. It would've been better if Bianca had lived. But give him four more years of training. We can hold out that long, surely. Nico will turn sixteen, as the prophecy says, and then he will make the decision that will save the world. And I will be king of the gods."

"You're crazy," Percy said, looking at his wristwatch, he was practically a dead man now. "Kronos will crush you, right after he finishes pulverizing Olympus."

Hades spread his hands. "Well, you'll get a chance to find out, half-blood. Because you'll be waiting out this war in my dungeons."

"No!" Nico said. "Father, that wasn't our agreement. And you haven't told me everything!"

"I've told you all you need to know," Hades said. "As for our agreement, I spoke with Jackson. I did not harm him. You got your information. If you had wanted a better deal, you should've made me swear on the Styx. Now, go to your room!" He waved his hand, and Nico vanished.

"That boy needs to eat more," Demeter grumbled. "He's too skinny. He needs more cereal."

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Mother, enough with the cereal. My lord Hades, are you sure we can't let this little hero go? He's awfully brave."

"No, my dear. I've spared his life. That's enough."

Percy was getting really bored of the melodramatics, whatever Hades wanted to do, he clearly wasn't going to succeed and would just waste Percy's time. Knowing Juliet, being late and disappearing off the face of earth without telling her would at least mean a weeks worth of silent treatment. If he took her to the beach to make it up maybe 5 days, but still that was too much.

"Jackson!" He looked up breaking out of his thoughts and saw the disgusted face of Hades, "I can hear your thoughts! I'm going to kill you and you are thinking about that daughter of Apollo!"

"Yeah, man she's gonna be so angry," Percy mumbled before giving Hades, the what are you gonna do about it? look.

Percy stared at Presephone and Demeter hoping they would stand up for him, but he knew they won't.

Persephone shrugged indifferently. "Fine. What's for breakfast? I'm starving."

"Cereal," Demeter said.

"Mother!" The two women disappeared in a swirl of flowers and wheat.

"Don't feel too bad, Percy Jackson," Hades said. "My ghosts keep me well informed of Kronos's plans. I can assure you that you had no chance to stop him in time. By tonight, it will be too late for your precious Mount Olympus. The trap will be sprung."

"What trap?" he demanded. "If you know about it, do something! At least let me tell the other gods!"

Hades smiled. "You are spirited. I'll give you credit for that. Have fun in my dungeon. We'll check on you again in—oh, fifty or sixty years."

His sword reappeared in his pocket.

Yeah, great timing. Now he could attack the walls all he wanted. His cell had no bars, no windows, not even a door. The skeletal guards shoved him straight through a wall, and it became solid behind him. He wasn't sure if the room was airtight. Probably. Hades's dungeon was meant for dead people, and they don't breathe. So forget fifty or sixty years. He'd be dead in fifty or sixty minutes. Meanwhile, if Hades wasn't lying, some big trap was going to be sprung in New York by the end of the day, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. And if he died then yeah, Juliet will perform necromancy just to torture him.

He sat on the cold stone floor, feeling miserable.

He didn't remember dozing off. Then again, it must've been about seven in the morning, mortal time, and he'd been through a lot.

He dreamed he was on the porch of Apollo cabin, The sun was rising by the sea and the Apollo kids were already bustling in their cabin. His eyes focused on Juliet sitting by the entrance, covered in a blanket with a steaming cup in her hand, Silena was leaning on her side, eyes closed but not asleep.

"Julie," Silena mumbled lightly, while Juliet took a sip of what Percy was sure was her honey tea.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry," Silena whispered, drifting to sleep, Juliet looked at her in confusion wondering the same thing as Percy on why she was apologising, "Silena, why are you apologising?"

But the daughter of Aphrodite was already asleep. Juliet sighed before covering Silena with the blanket and leaning her head on the cushion, she stood up and glanced inside to the clock strung over the cabin wardrobe. Percy's heart ached when he recognised Juliet wearing his t-shirt. She reached over for her phone and called, Percy could hear his own voice from the other end asking to leave a message.

"Where the hell are you Perce?"

Then the scene changed. He was in St. Louis, standing downtown under the Arch. He'd been there before. In fact, He'd almost fallen to his death there before.

Over the city, a thunderstorm boiled—a wall of absolute black with lightning streaking across the sky. A few blocks away, swarms of emergency vehicles gathered with their lights flashing. A column of dust rose from a mound of rubble, which he realized was a collapsed skyscraper.

A nearby reporter was yelling into her microphone: "Officials are describing this as a structural failure, Dan, though no one seems to know if it is related to the storm conditions."

Wind whipped her hair. The temperature was dropping rapidly, like ten degrees just since he'd been standing there.

"Thankfully, the building had been abandoned for demolition," she said. "But police have evacuated all nearby buildings for fear the collapse might trigger—"

She faltered as a mighty groan cut through the sky. A blast of lightning hit the center of the darkness. The entire city shook. The air glowed, and every hair on his body stood up. The blast was so powerful he knew it could only be one thing: Zeus's master bolt. It should have vaporized its target, but the dark cloud only staggered backward. A smoky fist appeared out of the clouds. It smashed another tower, and the whole thing collapsed like children's blocks.

The reporter screamed. People ran through the streets. Emergency lights flashed. Percy saw a streak of silver in the sky—a chariot pulled by reindeer, but it wasn't Santa Claus driving. It was Artemis, riding the storm, shooting shafts of moonlight into the darkness. A fiery golden comet crossed her path . . . maybe her brother Apollo. Yeah, Percy was kinda glad Apollo was busy so that he didn't yet know about him and Juliet.

One thing was clear: Typhon had made it to the Mississippi River. He was halfway across the U.S., leaving destruction in his wake, and the gods were barely slowing him down.

The mountain of darkness loomed above him. A foot the size of Yankee Stadium was about to smash him when a voice hissed, "Percy!"

He lunged out blindly. Before he was fully awake, he had Nico pinned to the floor of the cell with the edge of his sword at his throat.

"Want . . . to . . . rescue," he choked.

Anger woke him up fast. "Oh, yeah? And why should I trust you?"

"No . . . choice?" he gagged.

Percy wished he hadn't said something logical like that. He let him go.

Nico curled into a ball and made retching sounds while his throat recovered. Finally he got to his feet, eyeing Percy's sword warily. His own blade was sheathed. Still, Percy didn't trust him.

"We have to get out of here," he said.

"Why?" Percy said. "Does your dad want to talk to me again?"

He winced. "Percy, I swear on the River Styx, I didn't know what he was planning."

"You know what your dad is like!"

"He tricked me. He promised—" Nico held up his hands. "Look . . . right now, we need to leave. I put the guards to sleep, but it won't last."

Percy wanted to strangle him again. Unfortunately, he was right. They didn't have time to argue, and he couldn't escape on his own. He pointed at the wall. A whole section vanished, revealing a corridor.

"Come on." Nico led the way.

Percy wished he had Annabeth's invisibility hat, but as it turned out, he didn't need it. Every time they came to a skeleton guard, Nico just pointed at it, and its glowing eyes dimmed. Unfortunately, the more Nico did it, the more tired he seemed. They walked through a maze of corridors filled with guards. By the time they reached a kitchen staffed by skeletal cooks and servants, Percy was practically carrying Nico. He managed to put all the dead to sleep but nearly passed out himself. Percy dragged him out of the servants' entrance and into the Fields of Asphodel.

He almost felt relieved until he heard the sound of bronze gongs high in the castle. 

"Alarms," Nico murmured sleepily.

"What do we do?"

He yawned then frowned like he was trying to remember. "How about . . . run?"

Running with a drowsy child of Hades was more like doing a three-legged race with a life-size rag doll. Percy lugged him along, holding his sword in front of him. The spirits of the dead made way like the Celestial bronze was a blazing fire.

The sound of gongs rolled across the fields. Ahead loomed the walls of Erebos, but the longer they walked, the farther away they seemed. He was about to collapse from exhaustion when he heard a familiar "WOOOOOF!"

Mrs. O'Leary bounded out of nowhere and ran circles around them, ready to play.

"Good girl." Percy said. "Can you give us a ride to the Styx?"

The word Styx got her excited. She probably thought he meant sticks. She jumped a few times, chased her tail just to teach it who was boss, and then calmed down enough for Percy to push Nico onto her back. They climbed aboard, and she raced toward the gates. She leaped straight over the EZ-DEATH line, sending guards sprawling and causing more alarms to blare. Cerberus barked, but he sounded more excited than angry, like: Can I play too?

Fortunately, he didn't follow them, and Mrs. O'Leary kept running. She didn't stop until they were far upriver and the fires of Erebos had disappeared in the murk.

Nico slid off Mrs. O'Leary's back and crumpled in a heap on the black sand.

Percy took out a square of ambrosia—part of the emergency god-food he always kept with him. It was a little bashed up, but Nico chewed it.

"Uh," he mumbled. "Better."

"Your powers drain you too much," Percy noted.

He nodded sleepily. "With great power . . . comes great need to take a nap. Wake me up later."

"Whoa, zombie dude." Percy caught him before he could pass out again. "We're at the river. You need to tell me what to do."

He fed him the last of his ambrosia, which was a little dangerous. The stuff can heal demigods, but it can also burn them to ashes if they eat too much. Fortunately, it seemed to do the trick. Nico shook his head a few times and struggled to his feet.

"My father will be coming soon," he said. "We should hurry."

"So . . . I just jump in?"

"Sounds fun," Percy muttered.

The River Styx's current swirled with strange objects—broken toys, ripped-up college diplomas, wilted homecoming corsages—all the dreams people had thrown away as they'd passed from life into death. Looking at the black water, he could think of about three million places he'd rather swim. He couldn't believe he was back where it had all started, back where Achilles's downfall had written for itself.

"You have to prepare yourself first," Nico said, "or the river will destroy you. It will burn away your body and soul. There is only one way to stay anchored to your mortal life. You have to . . ."

He glanced behind him and his eyes widened. Percy turned and found myself face-to-face with a Greek Nereid.

For a second he thought it was Aphrodite, but the pretty eyes soon reminded him of someone else and the pain in his ankle returned in tenfold. It was Thetis, it was Achilles's mother.

"Son, my child," Tears escaped her eyes as she rushed forward, Percy's ankle ached to the point of his leg being paralysed, his legs couldn't move and Thetis was advancing towards him with her hands outstretched. 

"Don't get close!" He sounded crazy, screeching in the air to stop Thetis, he still remembered his own mother abandoning him, her hating Patroclus and disregarding his ancient rites.

He hated Thetis to the core, he wanted her as far away as possible.

"My son!" She yelled wanting to embrace him, but Nico drew his sword, making her step back.

"Don't come close to me you, you wench!" This wasn't Percy, it was Achilles.

Thetis held up her hand in surrender and took a step back, "Alright, Alright my child, I'll sat back, but don't do this, It will make you powerful. But it will also make you weak. Your prowess in combat will be beyond any mortal's, but your weaknesses, your failings will increase as well. We made that mistake once, don't make it again just live peacefully now, please, Achilles! I pushed the other one to his death for you!"

"The other one? You mean Luke?" 

"Plunged him to the river! For you my son! He'll die painfully! You won't!"

"Percy take a dip," Nico spoke while warding off 

"I have to," Percy said, now looking at Thetis. "Otherwise I don't stand a chance."

Thetis lowered her head, sobs echoing as she spoke. "Let the gods witness I tried, if you must do this, concentrate on your mortal point. Imagine one spot of your body that will remain vulnerable. This is the point where your soul will anchor your body to the world. It will be your greatest weakness, but also your only hope. No man may be completely invulnerable. Lose sight of what keeps you mortal, and the River Styx will burn you to ashes. You will cease to exist."

"I don't suppose you could tell me Luke's mortal point?"

She opened her mouth eagerly as if ready to tell him but only vanished in thin air. 

"Just wait on the shore. If anything happens to me . . . Well, maybe Hades will get his wish, and you'll be the child of the prophecy after all." Percy mumbled to Nico.

Before he could change his mind, he concentrated on the small of his back—a tiny point just opposite his navel. He didn't realise it then but it was the point right opposite to where Patroclus had been stabbed straight through with the spear. No place was perfect, but this seemed right to him, and a lot more dignified than, like, his armpit or something.

He pictured a string, a bungee cord connecting him to the world from the small of his back. And he stepped into the river.

It was as if  jumping into a pit of boiling acid. He planned to walk in slow and courageous like a real hero. As soon as the water touched his legs, his muscles turned to jelly and he fell face-first into the current.

Percy submerged completely. For the first time in his life, He couldn't breathe underwater. He finally understood the panic of drowning. Every nerve in his body burned. He was dissolving in the water. He saw faces—Rachel, Grover, Tyson, Annabeth, Augustus his mother—but they faded as soon as they appeared. Then new images, he saw people he didn't even remember, Ajax, Thetis, Agamemnon, Troy, Hector.

He was losing the fight. The pain was too much. He could hear screams echoing in his ears. His hands and feet were melting into the water, his soul was being ripped from his body. He couldn't remember who he was. The pain of Kronos's scythe had been nothing compared to this.

The cord, a familiar voice said. Remember your lifeline, idiot!

Suddenly there was a tug in his lower back. The current pulled at him, but it wasn't carrying him away anymore. He imagined the string in his back keeping him tied to the shore.

"Hold on, Perce." It was Juliet's's voice, much clearer now. "You're not getting away from me that easily."

The cord strengthened.

He could see Juliet now—standing barefoot above him on the canoe lake pier. He'd fallen out of his  canoe. That was it. She was reaching out her hand to haul him up, and she was trying not to laugh. Her face kept misting again and again, sometimes her hair was blonde sometime a dark black, sometimes her eyes were blue sometime they were brown. She was Juliet for Percy and Patroclus for Achilles.

"You are such an idiot sometimes." She smiled. "Come on. Take my hand."

Memories came flooding back to him—sharper and more colorful. He stopped dissolving. His name was Percy Jackson, he had the soul of Achilles. He reached up and took Juliet's hand.

Suddenly he burst out of the river. He collapsed on the sand, and Nico scrambled back in surprise. 

"Are you okay?" he stammered. "Your skin. Oh, gods. You're hurt!"

His arms were bright red. He felt like every inch of his body had been broiled over a slow flame. He looked around for Juliet, though he knew she wasn't here. It had seemed so real. With a surge he realised his emotions, anger, why was he angry and...longing.

"I'm fine . . . ." The color of his skin turned back to normal. The pain subsided. Mrs. O'Leary came up and sniffed him with concern. Apparently he smelled really interesting.

"Do you feel stronger?" Nico asked.

Before he could decide what he felt, a voice boomed, "THERE!"

An army of the dead marched toward them. A hundred skeletal Roman legionnaires led the way with shields and spears. Behind them came an equal number of British redcoats with bayonets fixed. In the middle of the host, Hades himself rode a black-and-gold chariot pulled by nightmare horses, their eyes and manes smoldering with fire.

"You will not escape me this time, Percy Jackson!" Hades bellowed. "Destroy him!"

"Father, no!" Nico shouted, but it was too late. The front line of Roman zombies lowered their spears and advanced.

Mrs. O'Leary growled and got ready to pounce. Maybe that's what set him off. Percy didn't want them hurting his dog. Plus, he was pretty sure, Achilles's soul was in full motion inside his body, the anger and arrogance was so extreme, Percy wanted to rip the god of dead apart.

He yelled, and the River Styx exploded. A black tidal wave smashed into the legionnaires. Spears and shields flew everywhere. Roman zombies began to dissolve, smoke coming off their bronze helmets.

The redcoats lowered their bayonets, but he didn't wait for them. He charged.

A hundred muskets fired at him, point blank. All of them missed. He crashed into their line and started hacking with Riptide. Bayonets jabbed. Swords slashed. Guns reloaded and fired. Nothing touched him.

He whirled through the ranks, slashing redcoats to dust, one after the other. His mind went on autopilot: stab, dodge, cut, deflect, roll. Riptide was no longer a sword. It was an arc of pure destruction.

Percy broke through the enemy line and leaped into the black chariot. Hades raised his staff. A bolt of dark energy shot toward him, but he deflected it off his blade and slammed into him. The god and him both tumbled out of the chariot.

The next thing he knew, his knee was planted on Hades's chest. He was holding the collar of his royal robes in one fist, and the tip of his sword was poised right over his face. This wasn't Percy, this was Achilles.

Silence. The army did nothing to defend their master. Percy glanced back and realized why. There was nothing left of them but weapons in the sand and piles of smoking, empty uniforms. He had destroyed them all.

Hades swallowed. "Now, Jackson, listen here. . . ."

He was immortal. There was no way Percy could kill him, but gods can be wounded. He knew that firsthand, and he figured a sword in the face wouldn't feel too good.

"Just because I'm a nice person," Percy snarled, "I'll let you go. But first, tell me about that trap!"

Hades melted into nothing, leaving him holding empty black robes.

He cursed and got to his feet, breathing heavily. Now that the danger was over, he realized how tired he was. Every muscle in his body ached. Juliet, he just wanted Juliet right now.

Nico's mouth hung open. "You just . . . with a sword . . . you just—"

"I think the river thing worked," Percy said.

"Oh gee," he said sarcastically. "You think?"

"Don't mess with me," Percy's words were stern, his gaze pure anger and Nico realised not to joke around.

Mrs. O'Leary barked happily and wagged her tail. She bounded around, sniffing empty uniforms and hunting for bones. Percy lifted Hades's robe. He could still see the tormented faces shimmering in the fabric.

He walked to the edge of the river, dropped the robe in the water and watched as it swirled away, dissolving in the current. "Be free." That's what Juliet would've wanted him to do.

Percy looked at the river contemplatively, he hadn't listened to Patroclus in his past life, and ended up killing his own lover. He'd ruined everything by not listening and being arrogant. He knew the characteristics of Achilles would come to play on his personality now, but he still didn't want Juliet to meet the same fate as her past life. 

Staring at the river he made his decision, in this life he'd listen to all her words religiously, he wouldn't let his arrogance and power take over his head. And at that moment he swore it on the river Styx.

"Go back to your father," he told Nico. "Tell him he owes me for letting him go. Find out what's going to happen to Mount Olympus and convince him to help."

Nico stared at him. "I . . . I can't. He'll hate me now. I mean . . . even more."

"You have to," Percy said. "You owe me too."

His ears turned red. "Percy, I told you I was sorry. Please . . . let me come with you. I want to fight."

"You'll be more help down here."

"You mean you don't trust me anymore," he said miserably.

Percy didn't answer. Now that his brain was functioning like Achilles's, everyone in his head was the enemy.

"Just go back to your father," He said, trying not to sound too harsh. "Work on him. You're the only person who might be able to get him to listen."

"That's a depressing thought." Nico sighed. "All right. I'll do my best. Besides, he's still hiding something from me about my mom. Maybe I can find out what."

"Good luck. Now Mrs. O'Leary and I have to go."

"Where?" Nico said.

Percy looked at the cave entrance and thought about the long climb back to the world of the living. "Back to my girlfriend, and to get this war started. It's time I found Luke."