The Underworld's Child

27 | Stranger Danger in Hoover Dam

"Ugh, where in Tartarus are we?" She places a hand on her forehead gingerly.

"Glad to have you back with us," Percy said. "Here." He handed her a piece of ambrosia.

"Thank you," she said. She took the piece and started chewing on it. "How long was I out for?"

"Pretty long," he answered. "You woke up once muttering about Bianca before passing out again and you're awake now."

"Hey, Elle." Grover waved beside Percy.

She waved back and finished her ambrosia before washing it all down with water.

The tow truck ran out of gas at the edge of a river canyon.

Thalia got out and slammed the door. Immediately, one of the tires blew. "Great. What now?"

She scanned the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional clumps of barren mountains plopped here and there. The canyon was the only thing interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe four meters across, with green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert.

"There's a path," Grover said. "We could get to the river."

She tried to see what he was talking about, and finally noticed a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face. Mm, not it.

"That's a goat path," Percy said.

"So?" he asked."

The rest of us aren't goats."

"We can make it," Grover said. "I think."

"No," Percy said. "I, uh, think we should go farther upstream."

Thank the gods for Percy, she thought grateful.

Grover said, "But-"

"Come on," he said. "A walk won't hurt us."

☀︎︎☽︎☾︎☀︎︎

They followed the river about half a mile before coming to an easier slope that led down to the water. On the shore was a canoe rental operation that was closed for the season, but he left a stack of golden drachmas on the counter and a note saying IOU two canoes.

"The least you can do is write it right," she commented after looking at his notes. "Here, I'll write them."

She scratched his and wrote it down properly. "There."

"We need to go upstream," Zoe said. "The rapids are too swift."

"Leave that to me," Percy said. They put the canoes in the water.

Thalia turned and helped Grover get their canoe into the water. She helped Zoe and waited for Percy to get on.

As soon as we got into the river, she looked over the edge of the boat and found a couple of naiads staring. They looked like regular teenage girls, the kind you'd see in any mall, except for the fact that they were underwater.

"I hate naiads," Zoe grumbled.

A stream of water squirted up from the back of the boat and hit Zoe in the face.

"She-devils!" Zoe went for her bow.

"Whoa," Percy said. "They're just playing."

"Cursed water spirits. They've never forgiven me."

"Forgiven you for what?"

She slung her bow back over her shoulder. "It was a long time ago. Never mind."