Okay, maybe storming away was childish...and totally something Miss Paris was great at. I kicked a small stone as I walked.
All of a sudden I felt the urge to have Mrs. O'Leary with me. I whistled and abruptly a huge black shape appeared. The hellhound ran full force into me and sent me flying. She bounded over to me and licked me with such impact I thought my head was going to detach from my body.
"Hey, girl. I missed you too," I laughed, glad to have someone, or maybe a better term was something, happy to see me. "Want to go visit some of your pals?" Mrs. O'Leary might be a pet, but there were other hellhounds in the Underworld that she had "befriended".
"WOOF!" A booming bark rumbled from her throat. A large, slippery shoestring landed on my face when she did so. I wiped my face on my arm, grinning, and remembered my jacket. I'd left it in Percy's cabin. I figured I'd better go get it. It could get cold where Mrs. O'Leary and I were headed.
"C'mon, girl," I said and Mrs. O'Leary followed me to the Poseidon cabin.
As I walked past the picnic pavilion, dodging behind trees so no one saw me, I heard Annabeth's voice. She sounded shocked and aghast. "Oh...Gods...Paris, I-I'm so sorry."
I heard someone gasping for air.
What was going on?
"What?" Percy asked. Someone handed him a sheet of paper.
I quickly ducked behind a tall fir tree as Percy looked at me. Then, I realized, he was looking at Paris. I peeked through the branches and saw that her body was shaking. Unexpectedly, Paris wheeled about. She barreled down the dirt path, it seemed her feet were barely touching the ground. Where was she going?
As I began walking again I decided it was none of my concern. I ducked into Percy's cabin and grabbed my jacket which was lying on my unmade bed. I yanked the sheets up. I glanced around the cabin and saw a scrap piece of paper and a pen. I wrote Percy a quick note telling him where I was headed.
Percy,
Headed to my dad's. Taking Mrs. O'Leary with me. Don't worry, I'll be back ASAP. Wanted to take Mrs. O'Leary to see her buddies.
See ya soon,
Nico
I yanked my arms through the sleeves of my jacket and called Mrs. O'Leary away from the squirrel she was sniffing. By the looks of it, that poor squirrel was going to have a heart attack very soon. "Okay, Mrs. O'Leary, stop terrifying woodland creatures," I snickered and whistled again. "Ready to go?"
Mrs. O'Leary barked what muct have been a yes.
Shadow travel is the quickest to get from point A to point B. I'm not quite sure how to explain what shadow travel is. Any child of Hades or hellhound can do so. It's greatly tiring, but a fast way to travel. It's almost like you become a shadow. I can shadow travel on my own, but Mrs. O'Leary seems to enjoy it, and I felt better taking her with me to the Underworld.
When Mrs. O'Leary and I arrived at the gateway to Hades, or the Underworld, I felt a strange sensation run up and down my spine. I always did when I came "home".
"The Ghost King," Charon, the Ferryman, who takes the dead across the River Styx, bowed low to me.
I nodded to him. I rarely spoke when I was down here. The utter silence was intimidating, and I felt no need to announce my presence with my voice, which would echo across the entire Underworld. You're probably wondering why being down here, in my father's realm, was something I was uncomfortable doing. You see, when you grow up as I did, in the mortal world, going into Hades is still a rather frightening concept, even though I am the rightful Ghost King. I took that title from King Minos.
