𝕍𝕖𝕟𝕚 𝕍𝕚𝕕𝕚 𝕍𝕚𝕔𝕚¹ | ᴘᴇʀᴄʏ ᴊᴀᴄᴋꜱᴏɴ

9. Looks like papa's backyard

ꕥ "It hurts, Lora," Grover whined.

"Of course it hurt you idiot." Lorelei said, healing his hand. "Stygian iron is not made to be handled by anyone that's not from the underworld."

"I know that now, don't I?" Grover whined again.

"Oh, stop whining." Lora said, standing up from his side. "I finished healing it 3 minutes ago. It will scar, but that's it."

Grover abruptly stopped whining and looked at his now fully healed hand. "Oh."

"Oh," Lorelei mocked. "Where to now?"

"Probably that building with the sign I can't read for shit." Percy said, pointing to a building with a glowing neon sign.

Lorelei huffed, smacking Percy's arm. "You were like two seconds ahead of me, fish face."

Percy whipped his head around to face her. "Again with, fish face? Seriously it's like a hate crime at this point witch bitch."

Lorelei shrugged in reply.

"Aunty Em's Garden Emporium." Grover translated. "Something isn't right about this place."

Percy and Annabeth crossed the street following the smell of food.

"Hey guys... It doesn't feel right here." Lorelei warned, then muttered. "It feels like death."

"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "It smells like food and it's open. It could be a snack bar."

"Snack bar," Percy said wistfully.

"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."

"Guys, Grover is right, maybe we should skip this place." Lora agreed.

Percy and Annabeth ignored them.

The front garden was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.

"Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"

"More like it looks like papa's backyard." Lorelei muttered to Grover. "Seriously, this place reminds me of the meadows. It's like I can hear the voices of the statues too. Wait... shit."

Percy and Annabeth stopped at the warehouse door.

"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."

"Guys he is right." Lorelei said firmly. "There is a garden full of petrified stone statue's and the sign...This place belongs to Aunty Em. Anyone wanna take a guess as to who that is?"

"Oh shit," Annabeth swore. "We have to go."

"That's what we have been trying to say." Lorelei hissed at her, grabbing Percy's hand as she led them away.

The group barely make it five steps from the doorway before Lorelei stops them shoving Percy behind her and summoning her wings to shield the group from view. A screech sounds above head before Alecto lands a few paces away from them.

Percy tries to move forward but Lorelei flares her wing and keeps him behind her. Alecto hissed quickly looking downward as a voice behind them says

"Not today friends, not on my doorstep, please."

The group turns around before Annabeth swears under her breath and diverts her eyes to the ground, Grover quickly following her lead. Percy glances at them, confused before going to turn his head towards the woman.

Suddenly, hands are on his cheeks, and his head is forcibly being, turned away. Sea-green meets honey-gold.

"Don't look at her," Lorelei whispers to him, maintaining eye contact. "Even if you feel like you have to look, don't. Just keep your eyes on me, Perce."