𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 || 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘹 𝘰𝘤

xɪᴠ - ɢᴏᴏᴅ ʙᴏʏ!!

——GOOD BOY!!

"NO SOLICITORS, NO LOITERING, no living." lilith read from the small writing underneath a black sign.

the main four were standing in the shadows of valencia boulevard. the sign in front of them was black with golden letters etched on it: doa recording studios.

it was midnight (making lilith a little restless), but the lobby ahead of them was fully lit. lilith could see a security desk inside with a tough looking guard with sunglasses and a small earpiece.

percy turned to his friends, "okay. you remember the plan."

ah, the plan, lilith thought. the plan that's going to get us killed.

"the plan," grover gulped, "yeah. i love the plan."

annabeth scowled, she was upset they agreed with percy's idea, "what happens if the plan doesn't work?"

"don't think negative." percy said.

"right." she muttered, "we're entering the land of the dead, and i shouldn't think negative."

percy took four little white spheres out of his pocket. they looked like solid balls of milkis. he kept his gaze on them for a while.

lilith sighed, "percy, it'll be fine. we'll make it, don't worry."

she looked at annabeth and grover for backup.

the daughter of athena put her hand on his back reassuringly, "yeah, what lilith said. you're right, we can do it."

lilith nudged grover when he didn't say anything.

he sprung into words, "oh, right! we got this far. we'll find the master bolt and save your mom. no problem."

percy looked at the three of them with grateful eyes. lilith smiled. she liked this little group they had made. lilith, percy, annabeth, and grover. it was nice.

the son of poseidon slipped the milkis pearls into his pockets again, "let's kick some underworld ass."

they sauntered into the doa lobby with fake confidence. soft jazz played on hidden speakers. both the carpet and the walls were steel gray, giving the place a depressing mood. in the corners, there were pencil cactuses growing in the shape of skeleton hands.

all of the furniture was leather and black, every single seat taken. people were sitting down, standing up, looking out the window, waiting for the elevator, literally anything that had to do with waiting. nobody talked or moved, or anything. when looking at them directly, they looked like normal people. same as lilith. but when she looked at them out of the corner of her eye, they looked almost transparent.

they were ghosts.

the security guard's desk was raised on a podium. the kids had to look up at him. lilith almost turned into one of those ghosts waiting in the lobby when she saw him.

he was tall and elegant and hot. definitely hot. his bleach blonde hair shaved in a military style complimented his dark colored skin perfectly. he looked muscular, and that was enough to make the daughter of hecate swoon. he wore all black sunglasses (like those ones famous people wear) and a silk italian suit that matched his hair. a black rose was pinned to his lapel underneath a silver tag.