Chapter 09

The closer we got to the city, the more frequent the cars got. Once we were within the suburbs – the sun had risen a considerable amount by now – there was a constant stream of cars going into and leaving the city.

"Since you're living nearby, have you ever gone to LA?", I asked Jess. For most of the way, I had been busy with my own thoughts, thinking of a new name for my sword. Something didn't sit quite right with me when it came to 'Featherbreaker'.

"A couple of times, enough that it isn't anything too special anymore. Actually saw the movies here. You know, 'Percy Jackson and blah blah blah'."

"You did? Have you read the books as well?"

"I planned to. Wanted to watch the movies first to see what I was getting into, but ever since I didn't pick the books up."

"Yeah, I can see that. The books are a lot better than the movies make you believe." We passed a crossing. The books had never described where the entrance to the Underworld was in detail but Jessica seemed to know the way pretty well. "I didn't think demigods would read the books. I mean- isn't that just normal life for you?" Too late I remembered how Annabeth had been snapping at Percy for getting to fight the minotaur while the other kids got pity quests at most.

"Hah, I'd be terrified if it was", Jess laughed. "For most of us, camp just consists of training and perfecting our trade- in my case research. What Percy did definitely wasn't normal, even for demis. He's the exception."

I nodded along. She was just repeating what I had already concluded myself but I passed on telling her that. Instead, I let my eyes wander around the cityscape. By now, we had managed to arrive at a less polished part of LA, with buildings that were in dire need of a fresh coat of paint and people that looked like they were up to not much good either. I felt their curious eyes on us. Despite Jess leading us through the city without ever stopping to reconsider the direction, we must have still looked like tourists to them, and tourists don't go to such areas. That's when I spotted the women. A couple of them, maybe three or four were attracting two guys into a conversation. Nothing that would have shocked me too much if it wasn't for the bronze and mule legs they had. My fist closed around the grip of my sword and I already had done two steps in their direction when Jess held me back: "What are you doing?", she hissed.

"Don't you see them? Those are empusai! They'll kill those guys."

"I know! But I also know that this is none of our business. We know nothing about them, or how many they are. And we have other things to do. The prophecy mentions nothing regarding this, does it?"

"But we are supposed to be hero-"

"No, we're not", he cut me off. There was bitterness in her tone. "We're not heroes, we're on a mission. And as long as they don't interrupt us doing our job, we'll leave them be! This is not a story in your books."

I had nothing to say in reply. Her words had hit me like a sledgehammer, shutting me down completely so Jess was able to just pull me along until we were out of sight of the monsters. "This isn't right", I finally mumbled.

"I know", my companion replied. Somehow, she managed to do so while also pressing her lips together. "But that's the job. You see that, don't you?"

"... Yes. Our mission is something else."

There was nothing to talk about anymore, at least I was not in the mood for talking. Simply watching the proceedingly more ugly walls go by and thinking about how different my expectation really had been was enough to keep me busy. Eventually, we stopped in front of a run down studio. I remembered now that the entry to the underworld was at the Valencia Boulevard in the books, but maybe that was just some random location to protect the actual entrance. By now, I trusted Jessica to know where to go more than my memory of those books.

"Anyone there? Charon?", Jessica called out into the empty lobby of the building, but nobody answered. "Well, that much was to be expected. He's missing, after all", she shrugged.

We made our way through the lobby, following the signs "Dead, this way!" until we ended up at a blackened door with a darkened bronze handle. I could see that Jess was about to move in, but something in me wanted to take initiative. I pushed the door open.

The first thing I noticed was the cold. The bronze handle was almost freezing to the point that my hand would have gotten stuck to it if it had been wet. Then, there was that blue shimmer beyond the door. At first, I thought it was just some LEDs, but then I realized that the room was full of ghosts. It was like it had been described in the books. Out of the corners of my eyes, they almost looked like normal people. But the more I took them into my vision, the more incorporal they got. Just- it was impossible to not have at least 20 ghosts at once in direct line of sight. The room was practically overflowing with them.

Still, no Charon to be seen. There was a little desk that looked like a reception, it even had a cash register on it but simply another ghost sat on the chair behind it, staring into the empty air. As soon as Jess saw him, however, she gasped: "Jacob, look! The poet!"

"The po-", and while asking, I recognized the face of the ghost from drawings in textbooks. "Shakespeare!", I exclaimed. Of course, rationally I knew that he would be in the Underworld. Everyone was, after all. But seeing the man in the flesh (well, almost) was something entirely else.

The ghost raised his head at the calling of his name, looking us straight in the eyes: "There's no dead here motivated enough to speak aloud, who are you two?"

I exchanged a quick look with Jess, then stepped forward. "I'm Jacob Cooper, sir. And this is Jessica Yang, daughter of Hecate. We were sent here to find Charon. It was said that a poet could help us with his location, so if you know anything..."

"I'm surprised that a Hecate brat doesn't know the location herself", the ghost interrupted me. "Why would I help the one who put all of us into this misery?"

"I- Excuse me?" Another quick glance towards Jess. Her lips were pressed together, staring down the ghost.

"What my mother does has nothing to do with me. Nor does she tell me anything about this."

"Jess, what do you-"

"Later", she cut me off.

"It is your kin who did this to my fellows. Your blood is responsible for this misery. The golden half, anyways. And now you even drag a mortal into divine affairs-"

"I wasn't dragged!" This time, it was me interrupting. "I was the one chosen for this quest. I was the one going to Camp Halfblood myself!" Without waiting for Shakespeare's response, I grabbed Jessica by the wrist and dragged her out of the room. Only when I was certain that we were out of earshot of the poet, I continued:

"I hate to ask you for this, but I don't think we get information out of him any other way. Can you do anything with your magic to get those souls across Styx? Any sort of ritual, maybe?"

What followed was a long pause. And then a hesitant answer: "I think I can do something like this. Maybe. But it would go against all traditions of the Underworld. Nobody but Charon ferries the souls across Styx. I have no clue what will happen if we break that sort of tradition."

"Then I'll take responsibility!... Can I take responsibility?"

Something about my rushed exclamation got a smile out of Jess even in this situation. "I think, yeah. If I weave your name into the ritual, it should be you who's connected to it. I would more or less be viewed as the tool you used to complete it."

"Perfect! Do you need anything for this? Any magical artifacts or something?"

"Nothing, I don't have here already", she answered while tapping her backpack. "But a bit of sleep up front wouldn't be bad. I have no idea how you are still standing."

Just as if her words had reminded my body, I suddenly felt tired again. "You know what, this might not be too bad of an idea", I answered. "Do we want to go to a hotel or are we just going to sleep in the lobby here?"

"I miss a proper bed, but this will do. Let's save the money we have for when we really need it."

I nodded in agreement and started looking for a corner I could use to sleep. Despite only having a backpack as a pillow, I lost consciousness almost as soon as I laid down vertically.

I knew I was in a dream the moment I opened my eyes again. And not a new one for me either. It was the same island again, with the same cave. I was standing directly in front of the entrance and my body seemingly moved on its own, inching towards the darkness ever so slowly. Soon, I could see nothing. Neither the entrance behind me, nor anything in front of me, just the darkness. But my body still continued moving and I was clearly still dreaming.

Finally, I saw something again! A dim light, coming from a lantern. The closer I got, the more I could make out. The lantern was standing on a simply made table, two chairs standing opposed to each other, both taken. The person turned with their back towards me seemed to have been a woman, although there was no making out her face. And as opposed to the other person, an old man, she was sitting perfectly straight in her chair, sipping from a cup of something. The man opposite her. slumped pose one could adapt while still sitting down. There were weird shadows around his eyes, even though he was staring directly into the lantern.

"It seems they have arrived in Los Angeles", the woman said. I never heard an Ancient Greek accent before, but instantly knew that this had to be one. "The griffon didn't stop them, nor the giant brothers. And for one, I'm at least thankful for the latter."

The hunched over figure didn't react to what she said.

"What I am saying is", she started sounding impatient. "We should relocate you. It won't be long until they have found you and then not even my divination helps us. Heroes tend to warp the future in the most surprising-"

"No." It was almost a growl, spoken so uncleanly that I almost didn't understand it. The man had an Ancient Greek accent as well. "I'm tired of running. Tired of staying. I don't want to do anything anymore."The figure looked up, and then I saw the cause for those weird shadows around his eyes. Empty eye sockets were staring at the woman.

I couldn't help but let out a gasp. Reading about Charon's eyes was one thing, but seeing how terrifying they were- The ferryman's head snapped around, looking directly at me. I couldn't react anymore, couldn't run, speak or hide. The screeching of a chair being pushed backwards ripped me out of my sleep.