❛013❜

IT WAS ANNABETH'S idea.

she loaded them into the back of a vegas taxi as if they actually had money, and told the driver, "los angeles, please."

the cabbie chewed his cigar and sized them up. "that's three hundred miles. for that, you gotta pay up front."

"you accept casino debit cards?" annabeth asked.

he shrugged. "some of 'em. same as credit cards. i gotta swipe 'em through, first."

annabeth handed him her green lotuscash card.

he looked at it sceptically.

"swipe it," annabeth invited.

he did.

his meter machine started rattling. the lights flashed. finally an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign.

the cigar fell out of the driver's mouth. he looked back at them, his eyes wide. "where to in los angeles...uh, your highness?"

"the santa monica pier," annabeth sat up a little straighter. ivy could tell she liked the your highness thing. "get us there fats, and you can keep the change."

maybe she shouldn't have told him that.

the cab's speedometer never dipped below ninety-five the whole way through the mojave desert.

on the road, they had plenty of time to talk. percy shared about his last dream, but seemed to forget the more he tried to recall them.. the lotus casino had short-circuited all of their memories.

"the silent one?" annabeth suggested when percy described some special name or title from the pit.

"the rich one?" said ivy. "both of those are nicknames for hades."

"maybe..." percy said unsurely.

"that throne room sounds like hades's," grover said. "that's the way it's usually described."

percy shook his head. "something's wrong. the throne room wasn't the main part of the dream. and the voice from the pit... i don't know. it just didn't feel like a god's voice."

but maybe... her blood ran cold. no. it couldn't be. by annabeth's expression, she was thinking the same. the crooked one.

"what?" percy asked them.

"oh... nothing." annabeth said. "i was just– no, it has to be hades. maybe he sent this thief, this invisible person, to get the master bolt, and something went wrong–"

"like what?"

"i–i don't know," she continued. "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 had to hide the bolt, or he lost it somehow. 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."

wishful thinking, but ivy prayed she was right.

"but if i'd already retrieved the bolt,' percy said, "why would i be travelling to the underworld?"

"to threaten hades," grover suggested.

ivy hummed. "to bribe or blackmail him into getting your mom back."

the son of poseidon whistled. "you two are an evil pair."

"why, thank you," the satyr said.

"groovy and i are icons, what can i say."

percy laughed "but, seriously, the thing in the pit said it was waiting for two items," he said. "if the master bolt is one, what's the other?"

grover shook his head, clearly mystified.

ivy and annabeth exchanged a glance, percy's brain was clearly forming questions. she begged him with her eyes not to ask, because she didn't want to answer. please, don't ask. please, don't ask. please, don–

"you have an idea what might be in that pit, don't you?" he asked them. "i mean, if it isn't hades?"

annabeth looked at ivy, who shook her head vigorously. "percy... let's not talk about it. because if it isn't hades... no. It has to be hades."

wasteland rolled by. they passed a sign that said: california state line, 12 miles.

ivy got the feeling she was missing one simple, critical piece of information. it was like when she stared at a common word she should know, but couldn't make sense of it because one or two letters were floating around. the more she thought about the quest, the more sure she was that confronting hades wasn't the real answer. there was something else going on, something even more dangerous. but it couldn't be... no, it wasn't him.

the problem was: they were hurtling towards the underworld at ninety-five miles an hour, betting that hades had the master bolt. if they got there and found out they were wrong, they wouldn't have time to correct themselves. the solstice deadline would pass and war would begin.

"the answer is in the underworld," annabeth assured them. "percy saw spirits of the dead, right? there's only one place that could be. we're doing the right thing."

the daughter of athena tried to boost their morale by suggesting clever strategies for getting into the land of the dead, but ivy's heart wasn't in it. there were just too many unknown factors. even if she did research on everything there was of every part of the underworld years ago, in ancient times they were even more scared of it than people are now.

the cab sped west. every gust of wind through death valley sounded like a spirit of the dead. every time the brakes hissed on an eighteen-wheeler, it reminded her of echidna's reptilian voice.

at sunset, the taxi dropped them off at the beach in santa monica. It looked exactly the way l.a. beaches do in the movies, only it smelled worse. there were carnival rides lining the pier, palm trees lining the sidewalks, homeless guys sleeping in the sand dunes and surfer dudes waiting for the perfect wave.

grover, annabeth, percy, and ivy walked down to the edge of the surf.

"what now?" ivy asked.

the pacific was turning gold in the setting sun. it amazed her how one god controlled it all. there was more sea than there was land on earth. it was now that ivy understood the fear the campers had of percy, because he was the son of the sea god. in only a matter of time percy would truly show how truly powerful he was.

he stepped into the surf.

"percy?" annabeth said. "what are you doing?"

he kept walking, up to his waist, then his chest.

the blonde called after him, "you know how polluted that water is? there're all kinds of toxic–"

"don't get some sort of foot fungus–" ivy said.

that's when his head went under.

"there he goes," the daughter of aphrodite flailed her arms. "i'm not healing him this time when he gets his feet full of fungus."

"that's gross, ivy!" grover made a gagging motion.

she shrugged as she plopped down on the sand. "so is the water. and feet in general."

annabeth sighed. "let's just wait until he gets back without talking about gross things."

ivy silently agreed as she admired the sunset. humming a tone under her breath, sweet and soft. having time to think, she realized how much she missed camp. her crazy siblings. her friends. playing or singing on the occasional camp fire with the apollo cabin. capture the flag. she hoped they would get out of this quest alive so she could go home again...

percy came out of the sea when the sunset was almost gone. he told them what happened while he was under the sea, and showed them the pearls.

annabeth grimaced. "no gift comes without a price."

"they were free," percy said.

"no." the blonde shook her head. "'there is no such thing as a free lunch.' that's an ancient greek saying that translated pretty well into english. there will be a price. just you wait."

ivy rolled her eyes. "forever the optimist, annie."

on that happy thought, they turned their backs on the sea.

with some spare change from ares's backpack, they took the bus into west hollywood. percy showed the driver the underworld address slip he'd taken from aunty em's garden gnome emporium, but he'd never heard of doa recording studios.

"you two remind me of somebody i saw on tv," he told percy and ivy. "you a child actor or something?"

"we're...stunt doubles," ivy said. "for a lot of child actors."

"oh! that explains it."

they thanked him and got off quickly at the next stop.

they wandered for miles on foot, looking for DOA. nobody seemed to know where it was. it didn't appear in the phone book.

twice, they ducked into alleys to avoid cop cars.

percy froze in front of an appliance store window because a television was playing an interview with somebody who looked very familiar– his stepdad, ivy couldn't remember his name. he was talking to barbara walters– as if he were some kind of huge celebrity. she was interviewing him in what looked to be a new york apartment, in the middle of a poker game, and there was a young blonde lady sitting next to him, patting his hand.

a crocodile tear glistened on his cheek. he was saying, "honest, ms walters, if it wasn't for sugar here, my grief counsellor. i'd be a wreck. my stepson took everything i cared about. my wife... my camaro... i– i'm sorry. i have trouble talking about it."

"there you have it, america." barbara walters turned to the camera. "a man torn apart. an adolescent boy with serious issues. let me show you, again, the last known photo of this troubled young fugitive, taken a week ago in denver."

the screen cut to a grainy shot of percy, ivy, annabeth, and grover standing outside the colorado diner, talking to ares.

"who are the other children in this photo? one of them is clearly the accomplice percy jackson had on the gateway arch's explosion, but still remains unidentified," barbara walters said dramatically. "who is the man with them? is percy jackson a delinquent, a terrorist, or perhaps the brainwashed victim of a frightening new cult? when we come back, we chat with a leading child psychologist. stay tuned, america."

"c'mon," grover told percy. the satyr hauled him away before he could punch a hole in the appliance-store window.

it got dark, and hungry-looking characters started coming out on the streets to play. now, after everything she's been through, ivy didn't scare easily. but l.a. was intimidating. it was spread out, chaotic, hard to move around. it reminded her of ares. it wasn't enough for l.a. to be big; it had to prove it was big by being loud and strange and difficult to navigate, too. she didn't know how we were ever going to find the entrance to the underworld by tomorrow, the summer solstice.

they walked past gangbangers, bums and street hawkers, who looked at them like they were trying to figure if we were worth the trouble of mugging. others eyed ivy up as if she wasn't a child.

as they hurried passed the entrance of an alley, a voice from the darkness said, "hey, you."

you wouldn't know percy is a new york, because being the idiot he is, he stopped.

before she knew it, they were surrounded. a gang of kids had circled them. six of them in all– white kids with expensive clothes and mean faces. like the kids at yancy academy: rich brats playing at being bad boys. one of the boys took a step closer to ivy, entering her personal space.

as she was about to punch him, percy uncapped his sword.

when the sword appeared out of nowhere, the kids backed off, but the leader (the one who was close to ivy) was either really stupid or really brave, because he changed his focus from ivy to percy and took out a switchblade.

percy stupidly swung his sword.

the kid yelped. but he must've been one hundred percent mortal, because the blade passed harmlessly right through his chest. he looked down. "what the..."

"run!" percy screamed at his three friends.

they pushed two kids out of the way and raced down the street, not knowing where they were going. they turned a sharp corner.

"there!" annabeth shouted.

only one store on the block looked open, its windows glaring with neon. the sign above the door said something like: crstuy's watrebde alpace.

"crusty's waterbed palace?" grover translated.

it didn't sound like a place ivy would ever go except in an emergency, but this definitely qualified.

they burst through the doors, ran behind a waterbed, and ducked. a split second later, the gang kids ran past outside.

"i think we lost them," grover panted.

ivy was about to started scold percy for being reckless when a voice behind them boomed, "lost who?"

they all jumped.

standing behind them was a guy who looked like a raptor in a leisure suit. he was at least two metres tall, with absolutely no hair. he had grey leathery skin, thick-lidded eyes, and a cold reptilian smile. he moved towards us slowly, but ivy got the feeling he could move fast if he needed to.

his suit might've come from the lotus casino. it definitely belonged back in the seventies. the shirt was silk paisley, unbuttoned halfway down his hairless chest. the lapels on his velvet jacket were as wide as landing strips. the silver chains around his neck– ivy couldn't even count them.

"i'm crusty," he said, with a tartar-yellow smile.

ivy resisted the urge to say, like an ugly toenail.

"sorry to barge in," percy told him. "we were just, um, browsing."

"you mean hiding from those no-good kids," he grumbled. 'they hang around every night. i get a lot of people in here, thanks to them. say, you want to look at a waterbed?"

ivy was about to say no, thanks when he put a huge paw on her shoulder and steered her deeper into the showroom.

there was every kind of waterbed you could imagine: different kinds of wood, different patterns of sheets; queen-size, king-size, emperor-of-the-universe-size.

"this is my most popular model." crusty spread his hands proudly over a bed covered with black satin sheets, with built-in lava lamps on the headboard. the mattress vibrated, so it looked like oil-flavoured jelly.

"million-hand massage," crusty told us. "go on, try it out. shoot, take a nap. i don't care. no business today, anyway."

"thanks but," ivy started. "i don't think–"

"million-hand massage!" grover cried, and dived in. "oh, you guys! This is cool."

"hmm," crusty said, stroking his leathery chin. "almost, almost."

"almost what?" percy asked.

he looked at annabeth. "do me a favor and try this one over here, honey. might fit."

annabeth said, "but what –"

he patted her reassuringly on the shoulder and led her over to the safari deluxe model with teakwood lions carved into the frame and a leopard-patterned bedspread. when annabeth didn't want to lie down, crusty pushed her.

"hey!" she protested.

crusty snapped his fingers. "ergo!"

ropes sprang from the sides of the bed, lashing around Annabeth, holding her to the mattress.

grover tried to get up, but ropes sprang from his black-satin bed, too, and lashed him down.

"not cool!" he yelled, his voice vibrating from the million-hand massage. "not cool at all!"

the giant looked at annabeth, then turned towards ivy, she backed up from him, but he snapped his fingers again, "ergo!"

the daughter of aphrodite realized a little too late how close she was to a hair dryer chair. the dryer head piece propped open. ropes flew out of the chair and wrapped themselves around ivy's middle, arms and legs. the robes pulled her back, forcefully sitting her in the chair. the dryer head piece placed itselves on top of her head, a gag wrapped itself around her mouth, stopping her from using her charmspeak.

percy tried to step away, but his hand shot out and clamped around the back of his neck. "whoa, kid. don't worry. we'll find you one in a sec."

"let my friends go."

"oh, sure i will. but i got to make them fit, first."

ivy tried and failed to scream at crusty through the gag. tugging at the roped around her but that only made them tighten their hold.

"what do you mean?"

"all the beds are exactly six feet, see? your friends are too short. got to make them fit. the brunette will have to wait a little, i need my new stretcher for her. she's far too short."

annabeth and grover kept struggling.

"can't stand imperfect measurements," crusty muttered. "ergo!'

a new set of ropes leaped out from the top and bottom of the beds, wrapping around grover and annabeth's ankles, then around their armpits. the ropes started tightening, pulling her friends from both ends.

"don't worry," Crusty told percy. "these are stretching jobs. maybe eight extra centimetres on their spines. they might even live. now why don't we find a bed you like, huh?"

"percy!" grover yelled.

ivy struggling continued, completely powerless against mr. toe nail.

"your real name's not crusty, is it?" percy asked.

"legally, it's procrustes," toe nail admitted.

"the stretcher," percy said. ivy remembered the story: the giant who'd tried to kill theseus with over-hospitality on his way to athens. she hoped percy remembered, too.

"yeah," toe nail said. "but who can pronounce procrustes? bad for business. now crusty, anybody can say that."

"you're right. it's got a good ring to it."

toe nail's eyes lit up. "you think so?"

'oh, absolutely," percy said. "and the workmanship on these beds? fabulous!"

ivy wanted to scream at percy to stop making monster friends and get on to killing him if he didn't annabeth and grover turning into gumby.

he grinned hugely, but his fingers didn't loosen on his neck. "i tell my customers that. every time. nobody bothers to look at the workmanship. how many built-in lava lamp headboards have you seen?"

"not too many."

"that's right!"

"percy!" annabeth yelled. "what are you doing?"

thank you, ivy thought. at least she's voicing my thoughts.

"don't mind her,"percy told procrustes. "she's impossible."

the giant laughed. "all my customers are. never six feet exactly. so inconsiderate. and then they complain about the fitting."

"what do you do if they're longer than six feet?"

"oh, that happens all the time. It's a simple fix."

he let go of percy's neck, but before he could react, toe nail reached behind a nearby sales desk and brought out a huge double-bladed brass axe. he said, "i just centre the subject as best i can and lop off whatever hangs over on either end."

"ah," ivy saw percy's adam's apple go up and down. "sensible."

"i'm so glad to come across an intelligent customer!"

the ropes were really stretching their friends now. annabeth was turning pale. grover made gurgling sounds like a strangled goose. ivy was still gagged and held in too-tight-bounds that were cutting her circulation, but otherwise she remained unharmed.

"so, crusty..."percy said casually. as if gumpy one and two: the live action wasn't happening. "does this one really have dynamic stabilizers to stop wave motion?"

"absolutely. try it out."

"yeah, maybe i will. but would it work even for a big guy like you? no waves at all?"

"guaranteed."

"no way."

"way."

"show me."

toe nail sat down eagerly on the bed, patted the mattress. "no waves. see?"

percy snapped his fingers. "ergo."

ropes lashed around crusty and flattened him against the mattress.

"hey!" he yelled.

"center him just right," percy said.

the ropes readjusted themselves at his command. crusty's whole head stuck out the top. his feet stuck out the bottom.

"no!" he said. "wait! this is just a demo."

the son of poseidon uncapped riptide. "a few simple adjustments..."

"you drive a hard bargain," toe nail told percy. '"i'll give you thirty percent off on selected floor models!"

'"i think i'll start with the top." percy raised my sword.

"no money down! no interest for six months!"

he swung the sword. crusty stopped making offers.

percy cut the ropes off of the best. annabeth and grover got to their feet, groaning and wincing and cursing him a lot.

"you look taller," percy told annabeth

"very funny," she said. "be faster next time."

hello?! ivy yelled through her gag. fighting against the bounds around her as her friends forgot about her.

percy looked to be suppressing a laugh. "oh, but you look prettier when you're quiet."

the daughter of aphrodite glared at him.

"fine. i'll get on with it," he cut the ropes. the second she was free, she smacked him in the head.

"ow!" percy yelped.

"that's for leaving me waiting," ivy said. "and for your information, i'm alway pretty! even when i'm talking."

percy rolled his, he looked at the bulletin board behind crusty's sales desk. she followed his line of sight, there was an advertisement for hermes delivery service, and another for the all-new compendium of l.a. area monsters– "the only monstrous yellow pages you'll ever need!" under that, a bright orange flier for doa recording studios, offering commissions for heroes' souls. "we are always looking for new talent!" doa's address was right underneath with a map.

"come on," percy told them.

"give us a minute," grover complained. "we were almost stretched to death!"

"then you're ready for the underworld," the son of poseidon said. "it's only a block from here."

a speaks!

this chapter is booring. nothing really happens but meh. just percy trying to protect ivy and messing up. bc its percy.

thoughts???