Shadows in the Sandstorm
Annabeth led the two idiots… ahem, sorry, the two mission partners toward the road to look for a taxi. They had just left the restaurant and were heading straight to the edge of the avenue to flag one down.
But Percy had a strange feeling stuck in his chest and began looking around insistently.
Grover, for his part, started trembling for no apparent reason; he even let out a couple of nervous bleats that immediately drew Annabeth's attention.
"What is wrong with you two?" she asked, frowning as she watched both of them act weird in the middle of the sidewalk.
"Don't you feel that?" Percy murmured while reaching into his bag and slowly pulling out his sword.
"What are you…" Annabeth didn't finish the sentence. A cold shiver ran down her spine and, in an instant, she shifted into maximum alert.
The wind had stopped abruptly; the heat wasn't the normal Las Vegas heat, it was a heavy, thick heat, like the air right before a storm. The most unsettling thing was the silence. Even though they were surrounded by people walking, laughing, and enjoying the day, the whole environment sounded muffled, as if someone had lowered the world's volume.
"Let's move," Annabeth said immediately; they couldn't stay there, not if something was approaching.
Percy and Grover nodded, and the three of them started walking, nearly on guard.
They advanced tensely, their eyes scanning every building, every shadow, every corner. They didn't see anything, and that only made their anxiety grow.
As they passed in front of a huge window, Percy, who was still scanning the area, stopped abruptly; his eyes widened. In the glass reflection he had seen a huge shadow, distorted, far too big to be human. But it vanished the moment he blinked.
And then the wind returned, not as a soft breeze, but as violent gusts that lifted dust from the street. People started covering their faces and rushing away to find shelter as the cloud of dust spread out of control.
There was so much dirt suspended in the air that it slightly dimmed the sunlight, creating a false twilight. The automatic streetlights began turning on even though it was still daytime; their sensors were probably covered in dust and thought it was night. A few lights flickered without rhythm, which only made the atmosphere even more unsettling.
Grover was at the verge of collapse. "Guys…" he said with a trembling voice, his legs shaking as if they were about to give out.
Percy swallowed hard, still staring at the glass as if expecting the shadow to appear again.
"We should run," he finally said, and didn't wait for an answer. He bolted at full speed, and Annabeth and Grover followed. Cars screeched to a halt and honked angrily when they saw the three of them crossing the street without looking.
They didn't know where to run, but all three felt that if they stood still, they would die.
As they ran, they heard a sound that made their skin crawl. A dragging noise, a shrrrk… shrrrk… that kept pace with their steps. Percy turned his head for an instant to see what was following them.
The only thing visible through the dust cloud was a massive shadow running after them. It had no fixed shape; it shifted, vibrated, stretched, and contracted as if it didn't belong to this world. But one thing was certain; it was gigantic. As big as Echidna had been when she fought Miraak.
Around them they heard cars crashing, brakes screeching, desperate honks. And even so, the shadow kept getting closer.
The trio didn't stop for a second. Terror pushed them forward.
"It's close, really close!" Grover shouted, his voice breaking. He felt such a deep, primal fear that he could barely control his own legs.
They darted into an alley at full speed; the shadow paused for a moment when it lost sight of them. They took advantage of that, slipped out the other end, and rushed into a different alley, hiding behind a huge dumpster to try to mask their scent.
They were breathing hard; running like that with dirt in their eyes, nose, and mouth was exhausting.
"What the hell was that thing?" Percy managed to shout.
Annabeth jumped on him and covered his mouth instantly.
The shadow passed by the alley entrance. It stopped. It stayed there for several eternal seconds that froze their blood. Then it moved on.
Only then did they dare to exhale.
"Maybe the casino sent someone or something to capture us again," Annabeth whispered. She had no idea what had chased them; with that dust storm appearing out of nowhere, it was impossible to see more than a few meters ahead.
Almost an hour passed before the storm of dirt finally began to calm. Only then did the three exit the alley. Their hair was full of dust, they were a total mess, and they definitely smelled like a dumpster.
"Great, and right after we finally managed to shower," Percy complained, sniffing his hands in annoyance.
The clothes Miraak had given him were still clean, but his body and hair were another story. He shook a lock of hair and a cascade of dirt fell to the ground.
"Look at that," Annabeth said with a surprised grimace, pointing down the street.
Percy followed the direction of her hand and felt his blood turn cold. There were fallen poles everywhere, burst cables hanging down, overturned cars that had been parked before. Whatever had chased them was enormous. Incredibly enormous.
They had been lucky. If it had been any faster, they would be inside that thing's stomach right now.
"We need to get out of here right now," Annabeth said seriously.
Percy and Grover didn't argue at all. They moved immediately to look for a taxi anywhere it might be safe.
It took them a couple of blocks to reach a less-damaged area where taxis were still passing. As soon as they spotted an empty one, they flagged it down and got in.
"To Los Angeles, please," Annabeth said without wasting a second.
The taxi driver, with an unlit cigar between his teeth, looked them up and down. "It's five hundred kilometers; do you have the money to get there? And if you do, you'll have to pay in advance," he said with distrust; a trio of teenagers covered in dirt did not exactly inspire confidence.
Annabeth elbowed Percy. He let out an "ouch," then understood from her gestures that she was demanding he pay.
Percy complained for a few seconds, muttering something about how everyone treated him like a walking wallet. He finally pulled out a stack of hundred-dollar bills and handed it to the taxi driver. He didn't count it or ask for the price; he just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
"If you take us as fast as possible, you can keep the change," Percy said with a slightly arrogant tone. He had always wanted to say something like that.
The taxi driver's eyes widened as he took the stack with a trembling hand. He checked it quickly, then pulled out an infrared light to verify if the bills were fake. When he confirmed they were real, his expression shifted into a mixture of surprise and joy.
"Of course, your highnesses, where to?" he said immediately, delighted by his unexpected stroke of luck.
"To the Santa Monica Pier," Annabeth said with hauteur. Apparently, she had liked that "your highness" part.
As soon as she finished speaking, the car accelerated so hard it felt like a turbo had kicked in. Percy noticed that the speed never dropped below one hundred and fifty kilometers per hour.
He was truly a man who did his job exactly as he was asked to, without asking questions.
He would be a good partner in crime, Percy thought, letting himself get lost for a second in that ridiculous idea.
To distract himself, Percy began telling his friends about his previous dream; the lightning thief, the conversation, and the strange feeling of familiarity with the voice. But he didn't remember the title the mysterious man had used to refer to himself.
"The Silent One, Pluto," Annabeth suggested, mentioning some titles associated with Hades.
"I don't think so," Percy said, shaking his head slightly. Still, he kept focusing on the voice. It was surprisingly familiar and close, as if he had heard it many times. But for some reason he couldn't associate it with anyone, as if something were blocking the connection.
"In any case, the throne room was Hades's. They always describe it that way," Grover said seriously.
Percy frowned. "But that wasn't the important part. The hall was empty, and the conversation came from a big, dark pit. Hades moved from his place to talk to someone else."
"I think it wasn't any god, and that it came from the bottom of that pit," Percy added.
Annabeth's eyes widened slightly, as if a dangerous idea had crossed her mind. Percy noticed immediately.
"What do you think?" he asked in a quick whisper.
"No… I don't think…" Annabeth hesitated for a moment, then shook her head firmly. "It has to be Hades. It's the most logical thing. Maybe something went wrong when he sent someone to steal the bolt."
Percy looked at her strangely. "For someone who loves Greek gods so much, you seem to have something personal against Hades."
The truth was that Annabeth defended the gods even when they were unbearable, like Ares. But with Hades… something made her react differently.
Annabeth's expression tightened slightly.
Percy's eyes widened as he understood instantly. "It's because of Thalia, right?"
"What?" Annabeth exclaimed, surprised that Percy had connected the dots so easily. Sometimes he acted like an idiot, but when he wanted to… he saw things no one else saw.
Especially after he said his teacher had given him something to improve his intelligence, though Annabeth suspected it was something else.
"You said you had met the Furies before, and that some monsters sent by Hades attacked when you were with Thalia. She ended up turned into a pine tree after receiving a mortal wound. You blame him, right?" Percy said.
"I… I don't…" Annabeth couldn't deny it. She lowered her gaze. "Yes," she finally admitted. "But think about it. Maybe it's some kind of revenge because his siblings broke the pact. Zeus had a daughter and Poseidon did too. Maybe that's why he wants to attack you; to turn you into a scapegoat and make his brothers fight each other."
"But why would he go to so much trouble just because he couldn't have children?" Percy asked seriously.
Annabeth did not respond. Her lips pressed together in frustration.
"And the voice in the pit told him to retrieve the objects. If the master bolt is one, what's the other?" Percy asked, now confused and worried.
"I don't know," Annabeth admitted. "But we have to complete the mission."
Percy narrowed his eyes, thoughtful. "I know. But I still feel like confronting Hades isn't the real mission. I'll do it anyway, because he has my mother… but something doesn't fit."
The car kept moving as a heavy silence settled over them. They passed a sign indicating that only twenty kilometers remained.
"In any case, the answer is in the Underworld. You saw monster spirits; that means we're on the right path, or at least close," Annabeth said, trying to ease Percy's tension a little.
"Mm," he murmured, staring out the window.
Then suddenly, Percy turned toward the window facing the desert… and his eyes opened wide.
He smacked Annabeth's shoulder several times urgently.
"What?" she said, annoyed by the hits. She followed the direction Percy was pointing.
And both of them froze.
In the middle of the desert, running alongside the taxi at the same speed, there was a man wearing a black trench coat.