In which Percy Jackson finds himself tied up with the mischievous daughter of Apollo.
or
In which Juliet Alexander would do anything to make the son of Poseidon smile.
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𝟎𝟎𝟗.𝟒
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They did their summons after dark, at a twenty-foot-long pit in front of the septic tank. The tank was bright yellow, with a smiley face and red words painted on the side: HAPPY FLUSH DISPOSAL CO. It didn't quite go with the mood of summoning the dead.
The moon was full. Silver clouds drifted across the sky.
"Minos should be here by now," Nico said, frowning. "It's full dark."
"Maybe he got lost," Augustus said hopefully.
"Hope that son of a bitch got lost." Percy mumbled, he wasn't really looking forward to meeting Minos considering that ghost had some hand in his separation from Patroclus.
Nico poured root beer and tossed barbecue into the pit, then began chanting in Ancient Greek. Immediately the bugs in the woods stopped chirping. In Percy's pocket, the Stygian ice dog whistle started to grow colder, freezing against the side of his leg.
"Make him stop," Tyson whispered to Juliet.
Part of her agreed. This was unnatural. The night air felt cold and menacing. But before she could say anything, the first spirits appeared. Sulfurous mist seeped out of the ground. Shadows thickened into human forms. One blue shade drifted to the edge of the pit and knelt to drink.
"Stop him!" Nico said, momentarily breaking his chant. "Only Bianca may drink!"
Percy drew Riptide. The ghosts retreated with a collective hiss at the sight of my celestial bronze blade. Juliet's body was frozen, was this how she was when she was roaming the underworld. She felt a heavy weight press on her abdomen, looking down she couldn't see anything but it felt as if the spear she'd walked around impaled with in her afterlife followed her wherever she was anywhere near the underworld.
Percy was busy slashing but it was too late to stop the first spirit. He had already solidified into the shape of a bearded man in white robes. A circlet of gold wreathed his head, and even in death his eyes were alive with malice.
"Minos!" Nico said. "What are you doing?"
"My apologies, master," the ghost said, though he didn't sound very sorry. "The sacrifice smelled so good, I couldn't resist." He examined his own hands and smiled. "It is good to see myself again. Almost in solid form—"
