Aven Wilson has never once been happy. Thanks mom.
To this date, she is the only known daughter of Akhlys, goddess of misery and poison, and, oh boy, can you tell. It's hard to stick around her, and Aven doesn't blame the people that avoid her gaze...
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▬▬▬𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖬𝖠𝖯 𝖫𝖤𝖠𝖣 𝖴𝖲 𝖳𝖮 𝖵𝖠𝖫𝖤𝖭𝖢𝖨𝖠 𝖡𝖮𝖴𝖫𝖤𝖵𝖠𝖱𝖣, where we stood in the shadows of gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS.
Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.
It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece.
Percy turned to us. "Okay. You remember the plan."
"The plan," Grover gulped. "Yeah. I love the plan."
"What happens if the plan doesn't work?" I asked.
Percy waved me off. "Don't think negative."
"Right," Annabeth said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and we shouldn't think negative."
Percy took the pearls out of his pocket, the four milky spheres the Nereid had given him in Santa Monica. Our escape plan.
Annabeth sent me a guilty glance. She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Percy. You're right, we'll make it. It'll be fine."
She nudged me.
"Yeah," I agreed, nodding. "In and out, no problems."
I elbowed Grover. "Oh, right!" he chimed in. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mom. No problem."
Percy looked at us, smiling like he was grateful for our awkward attempts to cheer him up. I was grateful, too, that Annabeth had completely given up on trying to pick fights with Percy. We were all on the same page, now–just in time for the most dangerous part of our quest.
We walked inside the DOA lobby.
Muzak played softly on hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were steel gray. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator. Nobody moved or talked, or did much of anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see them all just fine, but if I focused on any one of them in particular, they started looking . . . transparent. I could see right through their bodies. It was downright eerie.
