The Adventure That Lies Ahead | PJO x HP

CHAPTER 13

They stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS.

Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.

It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece.

Percy turned to the three. "Okay. You remember the plan?"

Isa was starting to feel better after being stretched two inches.

"The plan," Grover gulped. "Yeah. I love the plan."

Annabeth said, "What happens if the plan doesn't work?"

"We do what we do best," Isa said. "We wing it."

"Don't think negative," Percy reprimanded.

"Right," Annabeth said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negative."

"Just think about books, Annabeth, and you should be fine," Isa deadpanned. In any other situation, it would've been funny, but considering the fact that they're entering the Land of the Dead... circumstances changed.

Isa wasn't necessarily scared of going to the Underworld. Nervous is the better term for it.

Percy took the pearls out of his pocket, the four milky spheres the Nereid had given him in Santa Monica. They didn't seem like much of a backup in case something went wrong.

Annabeth put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Percy. You're right, we'll make it. It'll be fine."

She gave Grover and Isa a nudge.

"Oh right!" Grover chimed in. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mom. No problem."

"Yeah..." Isa said, nodding with a smirk on her face. "If we die anyway, at least we're already in the Underworld."

Percy smiled at them gratefully, even after Isa's remark.

He slipped the pearls back inside his pocket. "Let's whoop some Underworld butt."

They walked inside the DOA lobby.

Muzak played softly on hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were steel grey. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows, or waiting for the elevator. Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything. Out of the corner of her eye, Isa could see them all just fine, but if she focused on any one of them in particular, they started looking... transparent. She could see through their bodies.

The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so they had to look up at him.

He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag.

Percy read the name tag then looked at him in bewilderment. "Your name is Chiron?"

He leaned across the desk. Isa couldn't see anything in his glasses except for her own reflection, but his smile was sweet and cold, like pythons, right before it eats you.

"What a precious young lad." He had a British accent, but as if he learned English as his second language. "Tell me, mate, do I look like a centaur?"

"N-no."

"Sir," he added smoothly.

"Sir," Percy added. Isa wanted to laugh.

He punched the name tag and ran his finger under the letters. "Can you read this, mate? It says C-H-A-R-O-N. Say it with me: CARE-ON."