The Whisper of the Abyss
In the end, none of the four really wanted to sleep among statues, much less in Medusa's bed. So they grabbed a few things from the shop and ended up setting up a small camp outside, right beneath a large tree growing in the middle of a clearing.
The place looked like people threw parties there from time to time. The ground was littered with crushed cans, food wrappers, and all kinds of trash that was better not examined too closely.
Luckily for them, Harry had learned a few quick-drying and cleaning spells, so he cast them on everyone, including himself. Thanks to that, they didn't need to start a fire just to dry off, which would have been a terrible idea anyway in the middle of a dark forest.
Annabeth, as soon as Harry's spells had dried and cleaned her, thanked him softly before lying down on the blankets they had taken from Auntie M's place. The moment her head touched the ground, she fell asleep almost instantly. It looked like the excitement of the first day of the trip had really hit her hard.
Grover, for his part, used the flying shoes and rose up to a low branch of the tree. There he leaned back against the trunk while looking up at the night sky.
Meanwhile, Harry was arranging a blanket not far away to use as a bed.
Percy glanced toward Grover. The satyr seemed strangely melancholic.
"Go to sleep. I'll take the first watch," Percy told the satyr.
Grover looked at him for a moment. Then his gaze drifted toward Annabeth, who was sleeping deeply, and after that toward Harry.
"You know… I think maybe it wasn't such a good idea to choose Annabeth for the quest," he said quietly.
That made Harry raise his head from what he was doing and look at Grover. Percy also stared at him, his expression turning a little guilty.
"Did it bother you that much that we didn't get along?" Percy asked, feeling a brief wave of guilt.
"No. It's not that," Grover said quickly. "It's just… well, it's not really my place to say anything about her. But I can say this much. Annabeth is probably the worst person to help Hades. It's not that she hates him, but she definitely doesn't trust him very much. Or, more specifically… his Furies."
Grover shook his head slightly.
"I don't want her to suffer again," he added, sounding a little guilty.
Percy looked toward Harry for a moment. Harry had a thoughtful expression.
"Well… I think it's already too late now. Even if we told her to go back, do you really think she would listen?" Harry asked.
Grover looked at him and sighed while shaking his head.
"I just ask that you don't be too hard on her. Especially you, Percy," Grover said, looking particularly at him. "She's had a pretty rough life. But she's a good person. After all… she forgave me."
His voice faltered slightly when he said that.
"You said earlier that five years ago you failed your first mission to help a demigod," Harry said while looking at Grover, as if he had just realized something. "So… does that have something to do with Annabeth?"
"I can't say," Grover replied quickly.
His lower lip trembled a little, as if if they kept asking he might break into tears. So Harry had no choice but to hold back the urge to keep pressing. Percy did the same.
Harry took the chance to lie down while yawning heavily, clearly sleepy, leaving only Percy and Grover awake.
Though, in truth, they didn't have much more to say.
"Go to sleep, Percy. You're more tired than I am. You're just pushing through it," Grover said softly. "I'll take the first watch."
Percy was about to refuse, but the satyr pulled out his flute and began playing a soft melody.
That made Percy, even though he was a little annoyed, unable to stop himself from letting out a yawn.
And before he realized it…
he fell asleep.
Percy opened his eyes suddenly.
He was standing inside a completely dark cave.
But he wasn't alone.
Creatures of every kind, made of mist and smoke, seemed to surround him like a swirling storm. They whispered as they spun around him like strands of shadow.
Without fully understanding it, Percy somehow knew what they were.
The spirits of the dead.
They tugged at his clothes, trying to push him forward.
Yet, as if he were in some strange trance, his steps didn't stop. He kept walking closer and closer to the edge of a massive dark abyss deep within the cave.
The deep black pit looked endless.
Even so, Percy felt as if something was about to rise suddenly from the depths of the abyss.
Something enormous.
Something evil.
"Oh… a small new hero," a playful voice suddenly said from deep inside the abyss.
It sounded ancient.
Deep.
Evil.
"Too weak… too young… and yet… you might still be useful."
The voice now sounded deep and cold.
"Why don't you make a deal with me, boy…? I'll give you what you're looking for."
At that moment, an image began forming above the abyss.
Percy recognized it immediately.
It was his cousin Dred.
He was training with his sword, striking downward again and again. His body was covered in sweat that soaked through his clothes and even dripped onto the ground. Every swing of his blade produced a sharp, dry sound.
His gaze was serious.
Not the look he had when Percy and Harry spent their time annoying him, or when they ate the snacks Aunt Mor sent them.
This was a different look.
A kind of loneliness that seemed impossible for anyone else to understand.
The image shifted.
Now Percy could see his Aunt Mor.
She was surrounded by an endless number of monsters. Hellhounds, gargoyles, even a massive rhinoceros covered in bronze armor. And behind them, a gigantic dragon.
She cast spells rapidly, making them explode one after another.
When the dragon unleashed a stream of fire, Percy wanted to shout at her to be careful.
But he didn't need to.
His Aunt Mor raised a shield that protected her from the flames, though part of her clothing burned.
Then she lifted her wand.
A green curse flew toward the dragon.
And the monster exploded into black dust.
Even then, Percy could see the exhaustion on his aunt's face.
She turned around… only to see another horde of monsters spreading across a vast plain.
And there, for a moment, Percy managed to see something else.
A giant with multiple arms and multiple faces.
The creature grabbed some of the monsters… and threw them into the sky as if they weighed nothing at all.
Aunt Mor let out a sigh before continuing to fight.
"Help me get out, boy," the voice insisted, as a force seemed to pull Percy toward the darkness of the abyss. "If you help me… I will give them the freedom they want so badly. I will remove the curses placed upon their bodies."
Percy was confused. He knew about Dred's curse, the one that kept him from leaving the island. But… his Aunt Mor?
It was the first time he had ever heard something like that.
Yet suddenly several things began fitting together in his mind.
When she said she was going out to "clean"…
maybe that was exactly what she had been doing.
Annabeth had once told him that Europe was full of monsters. Far more than America.
That was why she had been so surprised that Harry and Percy had lived in England for years without being attacked.
Percy looked back at the battle.
And for the first time, he understood why.
He also understood the words his mother and Aunt Mor had told them before sending them to the camp. They had said that there they would be safe. Because they were busy preparing a place for when they returned.
And now Percy understood what that truly meant.
Aunt Mor was fighting all of that alone…
for them.
"Bring me the lightning bolt," the voice from the abyss said. "And face those treacherous gods… those gods who only know how to curse others when they don't get what they expect. Gods who despise the lives of people who are braver than they are."
Suddenly, the spirits around him seemed to grab Percy.
But not to push him into the abyss.
Quite the opposite.
They seemed to be trying to stop him from approaching while shouting.
"Don't listen to him. Wake up."
But Percy could feel a different force gripping his body from the inside, trying to use him as a door to come out.
"Wake up," the dead whispered urgently.
"Wake up."
As he felt his body shaking, Percy suddenly opened his eyes. The echo of the abyss still seemed to rumble inside his head.
The first thing he saw was Annabeth's face very close to his, looking at him with a slightly mocking expression.
"Wow. Looks like the zombie's alive after all," she said before stepping back.
"How long was I asleep?" Percy asked while rubbing his eyes. He could still feel a small tremor running through his body.
"Long enough for all of us to be ready to leave without you," Annabeth said while pointing toward Harry.
Harry already had everything packed.
Grover, meanwhile, seemed to be playing with a small pink poodle that looked fairly dirty.
"Come on, Percy. You'd better eat something," Harry said as he tossed him a hamburger wrapped in aluminum foil that he had probably saved from the night before.
Percy caught it in the air.
And of course, he silently thanked his brother for that.
Percy looked at the poodle for a moment. Grover was feeding it while smiling foolishly, as if he were having a conversation with it.
"Is he talking to the dog?" Percy asked.
"His name is Gladiolus," Harry said calmly while taking a bite of his own wrapped hamburger. "Say hello."
Percy looked at Annabeth, then Grover, and finally Harry, waiting for them to laugh at the joke or something.
But no one did.
"I'm not saying hi to a pink poodle," Percy replied.
"Percy, I said hello to the poodle, so you're saying hello too," Annabeth cut in.
"Gladiolus has a way to help us on our journey," Grover said with a smile while pointing at the dog.
The poodle barked happily a couple of times… and then threw Percy a look that was pure contempt.
Percy was about to say something when suddenly the sound of wings flapping caught everyone's attention.
All four of them looked up at the sky.
There they saw a bird approaching at high speed, a letter tied to its leg.
"Bitey?" Harry said as he recognized the owl with dark feathers somewhere between gray and black.
"Sirius's owl?" Percy said as well, recognizing it while walking closer to Harry.
The owl landed on a nearby branch, right at Harry's height, and slightly lifted its leg.
Harry looked at the bird for a moment. Then at the letter.
He slowly reached out his hand…
and immediately pulled it back after dodging a peck from Bitey.
Then he quickly grabbed the letter.
"Ha. It's funny when it happens to you and not just to me with Hedwig," Percy said with amusement while looking at his brother and the owl known for being a little aggressive.
Annabeth, curious, stepped closer to the owl. Her expression showed clear disapproval at the fact that it was being used as a messenger, though she didn't say anything.
Harry ignored his brother's comment and opened the letter with a small smile, wondering what his godfather might have written.
His eyes quickly scanned the first lines.
Then they stopped.
His smile disappeared.
His face turned pale.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Percy asked, frowning.
Harry slowly lifted his gaze.
"We have to run."
"What?" the others said.
"We have to run. They're coming for us."
Harry looked at Percy urgently.
"Percy, grab Bitey and run. They're close."
Harry ran toward the small temporary camp and cast several quick spells.
The blankets and everything lying on the ground flew straight back toward Medusa's house.
Percy looked at his brother, shook his head quickly… and then looked at the owl.
"Damn," he muttered.
He grabbed it.
And got bitten a couple of times.
A second later, the four of them were sprinting through the forest at full speed.
Grover was carrying Gladiolus.
Annabeth ran with them, looking just as confused.
And Percy held Bitey in his arms while the owl kept biting him again and again.
"Ouch. Ouch. Ouch!"
Only a few minutes later, two figures appeared walking between the trees.
They stopped exactly where Percy and the others had been moments before.
A hand picked up the aluminum wrapper from Percy's hamburger and squeezed it slightly.
"They already ran away, didn't they?" a female voice said with a small smile.
"Black probably sent them a warning in that letter," said the man holding the wrapper, his expression somewhat serious.
Then he looked toward the nearby shop for a moment.
"You're faster. Go after them. I'll check what they were doing here," the man said. "Notify Dorian and the others so they can cover the possible directions."
"You're making this sound more like a hunt than the simple favor Sally asked for, you know," the woman said with slight amusement.
"They're in dangerous territory. Are you sure you want to leave them alone?" he replied.
The woman's expression changed instantly.
Her face turned serious.
She turned and ran into the trees at almost inhuman speed.
The man watched her disappear between the trees.
His eyes slowly scanned the place where the kids had been only minutes earlier.
"Your mother is going to be very angry with you, kids," he murmured calmly. Even so, a hint of concern crossed his face.
It was Adrien.
Meanwhile, Gema was already running in the direction the kids had taken.
Now Percy and the others were no longer just in the middle of two dangerous missions.
They were also being hunted by the Knights of Pendragon.
All just to drag them straight back to their mother.
And when Sally found out they had escaped from the camp…
she would probably be furious.