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FINDING THE PLACE WAS EASY. Percy led us right to it, on an abandoned stretch of hillside overlooking the ruined Forum.
Getting in was easy too. Jason's gold sword cut through the padlock, and the metal gate creaked open. No mortals saw us. No alarms went off. Just stone steps spiraled down into the gloom.
"I'll go first," Jason said.
"No!" Piper yelped.
We all turned to her.
"Piper," I said, realizing. "The image in the blade... you've seen it before, haven't you?"
She nodded, her eyes holding a kind of nervous light. "I didn't know how to tell guys. I saw the room down there filling with water. I saw the four of us drowning."
Jason and Percy both frowned.
"I can't drown," Percy said, though he sounded like he was asking a question.
I frowned at that. I remembered the time I couldn't control the water in Achelous' river. There was a chance I could have drowned if he wanted me to.
"Maybe the future has changed," Jason speculated. "In the image you showed us just now, there wasn't any water."
"Be rational, you two," I said, reasonably. "It's not entirely improbable."
Piper looked at me in relief but the two boys still didn't seem concerned.
"Look," Percy said. "I'll check it out first. It's fine. Be right back."
Before Piper or me could object, he disappeared down the stairwell.
We waited silently for him to come back. When we heard his footsteps, and he appeared at the top, looking more baffled than relieved.
"Good news: no water," he said. "Bad news: I don't see any exits down there. And, uh, weird news: well, you should see this...."
We descended cautiously. Percy and I took the lead, with our weapons drawn. Piper followed, and Jason walked behind her, guarding our backs. The stairwell was a cramped spiral, no more than six feet in diameter. Me and Percy kept our eyes open for traps, staying aware.
No traps, but we could only hope there were no monsters too.
Finally, we reached the bottom.
Percy turned. "Watch this last step."
He jumped to the floor of the cylindrical room, which was five feet lower than the stairwell.
Reminding me all too much of an empty pool.
I suppressed a shudder. I prayed Piper's vision really did change. Even if it didn't, there wasn't much we could do. If we wanted to save Nico, we had to do this, and time was running out.
I went after Percy, jumping then bending my knees as I landed to absorb impact. Piper sat on the edge of the stairwell end while I held out a hand to help her down. Jason followed shortly after.
