Flowergirl, Percy Jackson

005. Life, Death, and Cereal

"There are two major entrances to the Underworld," Lila says to Percy. He looks around at the barren circle of rocks sceptically. "Well, that we know of." 

"You know the one in LA," Nico adds. 

"Charon's ferry?"

"Most souls go that way, but there's a smaller path, harder to find. The Door of Orpheus."

"The dude with the harp." 

"Dude with the lyre." Nico rolls his eyes. "But yeah, him. He used his music to charm the earth and open a new path into the Underworld. He sang his way right into Hades's palace and almost got away with his wife's soul. He persuaded Persephone." 

They all know the story- Lila perhaps better than most, considering her nightmares about the poor guy. 

"So this is the Door of Orpheus." Percy looks unimpressed. In all fairness, it does look exactly like any other pile of rocks. "How does it open?"

"We need music," Nico scowls at them both. "How's your singing?"

"Um, no." Percy says eloquently. "Can't you just, like, tell it to open? You're the son of Hades and all. Li? What about you?" She shakes her head. 

"It's not so easy. We need music."

Last summer, after the Battle of the Labyrinth, the Apollo cabin organised a karaoke night to try and raise spirits. It definitely worked, though Lila had been kind of irked that Nico wasn't invited because "that's not the kind of spirits we're trying to raise". Still, Lila remembers drinking too much nectar and screaming her heart out to 'Don't Stop Me Now' with Silena while Clarisse drunk something she shouldn't've been to try and unhear them. She also remembers Percy and Tyson belting out a song, so unrecognisable Lila doesn't even remember which it was. 

"I don't think we're the people for that," Lila winces. 

Percy nods. "I have a better idea." he turns, calling "GROVER!"

Lila has very little faith in this plan, seeing as Grover has been missing for so many months, but she says nothing, choosing to settle beside Mrs O'Leary. They wait for what seems to be a long time, until the sun begins to set and traffic slows down until it is only a steady hum, not the constant racket of New York. 

After a while, Percy joins her, leaning against the hellhound's back. "You good?" He asks. 

Lila hums. "I hate this place."

"You've been before?"

She shrugs. "I dream about it a lot." 

His eyes narrow. His dreams always seem to foretell of some great danger; perhaps he worries that hers do the same. They don't though - her dreams are so erratic and confusing they may as well have been written by the Oracle of Delphi. "What kind of dreams?"

Lila rolls her eyes. "Stop stressing, it's not a big deal." He doesn't say anything. "Just, like, Orpheus and Eurydice. Sometimes I just see the tunnel but I know it's this place. I'm sure there's no reason for it. Maybe it's just that it's one of the only heroes my mother ever met. I dream of other things too. More last year, but they've started coming back again." 

"Last year? Oh, like what?" 

"Well, I had this one where I was Icarus," Lila comments. "That was the worst one. And the first." 

His eyes narrow. "When was this?"

She tilts her head, squeezing his hand. "Why?"

"I had a similar dream. I was Daedalus."