Indigo Eyes

Chapter 9

"I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover said wistfully as they passed the judgement court and Elysium, the place that looked as if it was a resort in the Bahamas. It looked perfect to put it simply. 

"We'll be okay," Percy tried to reassure them but he didn't sound confident.

"Maybe we should search some of the other places first," Grover suggested. "Like, Elysium, for instance..."

"Come on, goat boy," Annabeth said as she grabbed his arm.

"Yeah, don't get scared now," Cressida added before Grover yelped.

His trainers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth. He landed flat on his back in the grass. "Grover," Annabeth chided. "Stop messing around."

"But I didn't-"

He yelped again, his shoes flapping like crazy as they levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from them.

"Maia!" he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. "Maia, already! 911! Help!"

Percy tried to grab for his hand, but it was too late as the satyr picked up speed and skidded like a bobsled down the hill as they began running after him.

"Can you hold him down or something?!" Percy called to Cressida who held a hand out in front of her, trying to concentrate as she ran.

"Vine. Vine!" she shouted but it wasn't working. "We're underground and in Hades' kingdom, I don't think my father's powers are going to work down here!"

"Untie the shoes!" Annabeth yelled.

It was a smart idea, but it's not so easy when your shoes are pulling you along feet-first at full speed. Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get close to the laces.

As he was being pulled along so fast that they were sure he was going to go straight through the gates of Hades' palace but instead, he was pulled sharply to the right and in the opposite direction. The slope got steep, and Grover picked up speed, the three demigods sprinting to keep up as the cavern walls narrowed and they realised they entered a kind of tunnel.

"Grover!" Percy yelled, his voice echoing through the tunnel. "Hold onto something!"

"What?!" he yelled back, graving at gravel but there was nothing big enough to slow him down.

As they got further into the darkness of the tunnel, it felt evil. Like a horror movie when the characters entered a haunted abandoned house. Like nothing good, nothing happy could ever happen again.

The tunnel then widened into a huge dark cavern and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block. And Grover was sliding right towards the edge.

"Come on, Percy!" Cressida called, she and Annabeth grabbed each of his wrists as they tugged him along.

"But that's-'

"We know!" Annabeth shouted. "The place you described in your dream! But Grover's going to fall if we don't catch him."

But even Cressida knew that they were too far away to reach him in time.

What saved him were his hooves. The flying sneakers had always been a loose fit on him, and finally, Grover hit a big rock and the left shoe came flying off. It sped into the darkness, down into the chasm. The right shoe kept tugging him along, but not as fast. Grover was able to slow himself down by grabbing onto the big rock and using it like an anchor, but even though the right shoe wasn't fast, it was strong. And Grover's fingers were slipping.

And then Cressida stopped running.

A thought had occurred to her, more specifically, an answer as to why her vines were growing. They were miles underground and she was trying to summon the vines from beneath her as she always did, but there was no earth underneath her. She had to pull the vines from above where the earth and the soil were.