𝑨𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑺 • 𝑃𝐸𝑅𝐶𝑌 𝐽𝐴𝐶𝐾𝑆𝑂𝑁 ²

TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
—dumb underworld

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—"TO be honest with you," Percy looked at Judith as she adjusted her scimitars on her belt, "I wouldn't mind a two month nap. Sounds like a total dream."

Judith just scoffed, pushing him along to the dark cave in front of them before he could see her smirk at his comment. If she was honest, she could go for a lengthy nap as well. The past few hours had taken their toll on her and she wasn't quite sure what to do about it, but sleep sounded like as good a solution as any.

After her hissy fit at the Jackson apartment downtown ( which Judith could admit now was totally embarrassing ), they'd shadow traveled to Central Park, per Nico's command. It was the second of two locations to the Underworld, the other one in L.A. ( which Percy had used to retrieve his mother a few years back ). This one, apparently, required music to activate — like who decided that?

After a few minutes of arguing over who would take one for the team and sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,' Percy had the bright idea to get in touch with Grover over their empathy link. Considering that tether had been radio silence for the past few months, Judith didn't have high hopes. But surprisingly, when a boy wanted to avoid musical humiliation, he could do anything he put his mind to. Grover, groggy yet unharmed, arrived with terrible bed head and a dirt riddled shirt.

  Judith and Nico turned away from the heartfelt reunion between the friends, choosing to rouse Mrs. O'Leary from her short nap instead. They tuned back in at the mention of Morpheus' involvement in the uprising. Grover had been in pursuit of reclaiming the Wild when the Titan of dreams struck Central Park.

Percy was hardly rattled by the news, claiming, 'Sandman is the least of my problems right now.' Grover hadn't quite known how to respond to that, and frankly, Judith didn't either. She wasn't surprised that Percy was becoming desensitized to the dangers lining up in front of him — that was hardly unexpected after all these years. But disregarding yet another threat was just begging for trouble down the line. Grover picked up on this as well, deciding to find out whatever he could about Morpheus before the inevitable war. After opening the entrance to Hades with his reed pipes first, of course.

  And the kicker — the real kicker, was Grover pulling Judith aside before he left.

  "He heard the prophecy, didn't he?"

  Judith could do nothing but nod, and Grover sighed.

  " ... Look out for him, Judith." While I can't, is what he didn't say.

  And then he was gone, leaving the daughter of Ares with a nearly impossible task. As the girl looked at him now, rigid shoulders betrayed his nonchalant voice. His hands were stuffed deep in his pockets, no doubt clutching his pen in wariness.

  They stood at the threshold of darkness, staring into the abyss, and Judith felt that same eerie emptiness she'd encountered when searching for Nico in the Labyrinth.

  The boy in question looked between the two older kids. "Ready?" They didn't answer, but it had to be noted that they both tensed in preparation. "It'll be fine. Don't worry."

  "I've been here before, I'm practically home," Percy tried to joke, his voice coming out strangled. "Let's do this."

  Judith took one last glance at the dark sky above before they all plunged into the inky black. The light from the entrance quickly faded behind them and the only light came from Judith and Percy's celestial bronze blades. The stairs continued on for miles, it felt like — dangerously narrow and steep.