𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗗 ⋆━━⋆ percy jackson

𝐢𝐯. not a typical disney step-mom

CASSIE decided under ground mazes totally sucked when they found the skeleton of a milk man.

Grover gulped. "He's been down here a long time."

He pointed to the skeleton's bottles, which were coated with white dust. The skeleton's fingers were clawing at the brick wall, like he had died trying to get out.

"Only bones," Tyson said. "Don't worry, goat boy."

"The milkman doesn't bother me," Grover said. "It's the smell. Monsters. Can't you smell it?"

Cassie sprayed the skeleton with some perfume. "What do monsters even smell like?"

Grover thought about it, distracting himself. "Kind of like eggs and gasoline."

"Ew."

Tyson nodded. "Specially underground smells like that."

"Oh, good," Grover whimpered. "I thought maybe I was wrong."

"We have to get deeper into the maze," Annabeth said. "There has to be a way to the centre."

"We're so going to get lost." Percy said.

Cassie gave him a pointed look. "At least we haven't found any monsters."

Annabeth glared. "You've just jinxed it."

She led them to the right, then the left, through a corridor of stainless steel like some kind of air shaft, and they arrived into a Roman tile room with a fountain.

But they weren't alone.

What Cassie noticed first were his faces. Both of them.

They jutted out from either side of his head, staring over his shoulders, so his head was much wider than it should've been, kind of like a hammerhead shark's.

Cassie wondered if he ever did his contour, and if so how did he do it.

Looking straight at him, all she saw were two overlapping ears and mirror-image sideburns.

He was dressed like a New York City doorman: a long black overcoat, shiny shoes and a black top hat that somehow managed to stay on his double wide head.

"Well, Annabeth?" said his left face. "Hurry up!"

"Don't mind him," said the right face. "He's terribly rude. Right this way, miss."

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Uh... I don't..."

Tyson frowned. "That funny man has two faces."

Cassie laughed, the man glared at her and Tyson.

"The funny man has ears, you know!" The left face scolded. "Now come along, miss?"

"No, no," the right face said. 'This way, miss. Talk to me, please."

The two-faced man regarded Annabeth as best he could out of the corners of his eyes.

It was impossible to look at him straight on without focusing on one side or the other.

And suddenly Cass realized that's what he was asking- he wanted Annabeth to choose.

Behind him were two exits, blocked by wooden doors with huge iron locks.

The two-faced doorman held a silver key, which he kept passing from his left hand to his right hand.

Cassie looked at the one (two?) "Who even are you?"

"I'm your best friend," the right face said.

"I'm your worst enemy," the left face said.

"I'm Janus," both faces said in harmony. "God of Doorways. Beginnings. Endings. Choices."