Celestial - a Percy Jackson fanfic [BOOK ONE]

Chapter seventeen

The man behind the security guard's desk was tall and regal-looking. He had dark skin and bleached blonde hair in a buzz cut. He had dark shades on and an Italian silk suit.

"You name is Chiron?" Percy asked after reading the guard's name tag.

I nudged Percy, whispering to him. "His name tag says 'Charon.'"

Percy froze as the guard tsked him. "Tell me, mate, do I like like a freakin' centaur?"

"N-no, sir," Percy stuttered.

The guard gestured to the name tag on the front of his jacket. "Can you read this, mate? I hate being confused with that old horse-man. And now, how may I help you little dead ones?"

I chewed on the inside of my cheek nervously. All around us, the lobby was filled with waiting spirits. If you looked at one for too long, they would flicker and begin to look transparent.

"We want to go to the Underworld," Annabeth responded.

Charon's mouth twitched. "Well, that's refreshing. Straightforward and honest. No screaming. No 'there must be a mistake, Mr. Charon!' How did you die then?"

Nobody answered right away, until Percy elbowed Grover.

"Oh," he said. "Um... drowned. In the bathtub."

I mentally face palmed.

"All three of you?"

We nodded.

"Big bathtub," Charon looked mildly impressed. "I don't suppose you have coins for passage. Normally, with adults, you see, I could charge you American Express, or add the ferry to your last cable bill. But with children... alas, you never die prepared. Suppose you'll have to take a seat for a few centuries."

"What, sir?" I asked, setting a pile of coins on the counter in front of him. Percy had found more coins in Crusty's office desk. "We have coins."

"Well, now," Charon licked his lips at me, reaching for the coins. "Reach golden drachmas. I haven't seen these in..."

Before he touched the coins, Charon looked over at Percy, staring at him with his piercing eyes. "Here now, you couldn't read my name correctly. Are you dyslexic, lad?"

"No," Percy shifted his weight awkwardly. "I'm dead."

Performance of the century, I'm telling you.

Charon leaned forward to take a big sniff of Percy. "You're not dead, you're a godling."

"We have to get to the Underworld," Percy stated.

A growl rose deep from Charon's throat. "Leave while you can. I'll just take these and forget I saw you."

Before Charon could grab the coins, Percy reached across the counter and yoinked the coins back into his possession.

"No service, no tip," Percy sighed. "It's a shame, too. We had more to offer."

I untied the little brown bag of the drachmas from my belt and began to let the coins spill through my fingers.

"Do you think I can be bought, godling?" Charon purred. "Just out of curiosity, how much have you got there?"

"A lot," I mused. "I'm willing to bet that Hades doesn't pay you well enough for such hard work."

"You don't know the half of it. I have to babysit these spirits all day, always 'please don't let me be dead' or 'please let me across for free.' I haven't had a pay raise in three thousand years. Do you imagine suits like these come cheap?"