Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief

We Find Out the Truth, Sort of

Imagine the largest concert crowd you've ever seen, a football field packed witha million fans.Now imagine a field a million times that big, packed with people, and imaginethe electricity has gone out, and there is no noise, no light, no beach ballbouncing around over the crowd. Something tragic has happened backstage.Whispering masses of people are just milling around in the shadows, waiting fora concert that will never start.If you can picture that, you have a pretty good idea what the Fields ofAsphodel looked like. The black grass had been trampled by aeons of dead feet.A warm, moist wind blew like the breath of a swamp. Black trees – Grover toldme they were poplars – grew in clumps here and there.The cavern ceiling was so high above us it might've been a bank of stormclouds, except for the stalactites, which glowed faint grey and looked wickedlypointed. I tried not to imagine they'd fall on us at any moment, but dotted aroundthe fields were several that had fallen and impaled themselves in the black grass.I guess the dead didn't have to worry about little hazards like being speared bystalactites the size of booster rockets.Annabeth, Grover and I tried to blend into the crowd, keeping an eye out forsecurity ghouls. I couldn't help looking for familiar faces among the spirits ofAsphodel, but the dead are hard to look at. Their faces shimmer. They all lookslightly angry or confused. They will come up to you and speak, but their voicessound like chatter, like bats twittering. Once they realize you can't understandthem, they frown and move away.The dead aren't scary. They're just sad.We crept along, following the line of new arrivals that snaked from the maingates towards a black-tented pavilion with a banner that read:

JUDGMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION

Welcome, Newly Deceased!

Out the back of the tent came two much smaller lines.To the left, spirits flanked by security ghouls were marched down a rocky pathtowards the Fields of Punishment, which glowed and smoked in the distance, avast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbedwire separating the different torture areas. Even from far away, I could seepeople being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run nakedthrough cactus patches or listen to opera music. I could just make out a tiny hill,with the ant-size figure of Sisyphus struggling to move his boulder to the top.And I saw worse tortures, too – things I don't want to describe.The line coming from the right side of the judgment pavilion was much better.This one led down towards a small valley surrounded by walls – a gatedcommunity, which seemed to be the only happy part of the Underworld. Beyondthe security gate were neighbourhoods of beautiful houses from every timeperiod in history, Roman villas and mediaeval castles and Victorian mansions.Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbowcolours. I could hear laughter and smell barbecue cooking.Elysium.In the middle of that valley was a glittering blue lake, with three small islandslike a vacation resort in the Bahamas. The Isles of the Blest, for people who hadchosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium. ImmediatelyI knew that's where I wanted to go when I died.'That's what it's all about,' Annabeth said, like she was reading my thoughts.'That's the place for heroes.'But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it wascompared to Asphodel or even Punishment. So few people did good in theirlives. It was depressing.We left the judgment pavilion and moved deeper into Asphodel. It got darker.The colours faded from our clothes. The crowds of chattering spirits began tothin.After a few miles of walking, we began to hear a familiar screech in thedistance. Looming on the horizon was a palace of glittering black obsidian.Above the parapets swirled three dark batlike creatures: the Furies. I got thefeeling they were waiting for us.'I suppose it's too late to turn back,' Grover said wistfully.'We'll be okay.' I tried to sound confident.'Maybe we should search some of the other places first,' Grover suggested.'Like, Elysium, for instance...''Come on, goat boy.' Annabeth grabbed his arm.Grover yelped. His trainers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pullinghim away from Annabeth. He landed flat on his back in the grass.'Grover,' Annabeth chided. 'Stop messing around.''But I didn't –'He yelped again. His shoes were flapping like crazy now. They levitated offthe ground and started dragging him away from us.'Maia!' he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. 'Maia,already! 911! Help!'I got over being stunned and made a grab for Grover's hand, but too late. Hewas picking up speed, skidding downhill like a bobsled.We ran after him.Annabeth shouted, 'Untie the shoes!'It was a smart idea, but I guess it's not so easy when your shoes are pullingyou along feet-first at full speed. Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get closeto the laces.We kept after him, trying to keep him in sight as he zipped between the legs ofspirits who chattered at him in annoyance.I was sure Grover was going to barrel straight through the gates of Hades'spalace, but his shoes veered sharply to the right and dragged him in the oppositedirection.The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed. Annabeth and I had to sprint tokeep up. The cavern walls narrowed on either side, and I realized we'd enteredsome kind of side tunnel. No black grass or trees now, just rock underfoot, andthe dim light of the stalactites above.'Grover!' I yelled, my voice echoing. 'Hold on to something!''What?' he yelled back.He was grabbing at gravel, but there was nothing big enough to slow himdown.The tunnel got darker and colder. The hairs on my arms bristled. It smelledevil down here. It made me think of things I shouldn't even know about – bloodspilled on an ancient stone altar, the foul breath of a murderer.Then I saw what was ahead of us, and I stopped dead in my tracks.The tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern, and in the middle was a chasmthe size of a city block.Grover was sliding straight towards the edge.'Come on, Percy!' Annabeth yelled, tugging at my wrist.'But that's –''I know!' she shouted. 'The place you described in your dream! But Grover'sgoing to fall if we don't catch him.' She was right, of course. Grover'spredicament got me moving again.He was yelling, clawing at the ground, but the winged shoes kept dragginghim towards the pit, and it didn't look like we could possibly get to him in time.What saved him were his hooves.The flying sneakers had always been a loose fit on him, and finally Grover hita big rock and the left shoe came flying off. It sped into the darkness, down intothe chasm. The right shoe kept tugging him along, but not as fast. Grover wasable to slow himself down by grabbing on to the big rock and using it like ananchor.He was three metres from the edge of the pit when we caught him and hauledhim back up the slope. The other winged shoe tugged itself off, circled around usangrily and kicked our heads in protest before flying off into the chasm to join itstwin.We all collapsed, exhausted, on the obsidian gravel. My limbs felt like lead.Even my backpack seemed heavier, as if somebody had filled it with rocks.Grover was scratched up pretty bad. His hands were bleeding. His eyes hadgone slit-pupilled, goat style, the way they did whenever he was terrified.'I don't know how...' he panted. 'I didn't...''Wait,' I said. 'Listen.'I heard something – a deep whisper in the darkness.Another few seconds, and Annabeth said, 'Percy, this place –''Shh.' I stood.The sound was getting louder, a muttering, evil voice from far, far below us.Coming from the pit.Grover sat up. 'Wh – what's that noise?'Annabeth heard it too, now. I could see it in her eyes. 'Tartarus. The entranceto Tartarus.'I uncapped Anaklusmos.The bronze sword expanded, gleaming in the darkness, and the evil voiceseemed to falter, just for a moment, before resuming its chant.I could almost make out words now, ancient, ancient words, older even thanGreek. As if...'Magic,' I said.'We have to get out of here,' Annabeth said.Together, we dragged Grover to his hooves and started back up the tunnel. Mylegs wouldn't move fast enough. My backpack weighed me down. The voice gotlouder and angrier behind us, and we broke into a run. Not a moment too soon.A cold blast of wind pulled at our backs, as if the entire pit were inhaling. Fora terrifying moment, I lost ground, my feet slipping in the gravel. If we'd beenany closer to the edge, we would've been sucked in.We kept struggling forward, and finally reached the top of the tunnel, wherethe cavern widened out into the Fields of Asphodel. The wind died. A wail ofoutrage echoed from deep in the tunnel. Something was not happy we'd gotaway.'What was that?' Grover panted, when we'd collapsed in the relative safety ofa black poplar grove. 'One of Hades's pets?'Annabeth and I looked at each other. I could tell she was nursing an idea,probably the same one she'd got during the taxi ride to L.A., but she was tooscared to share it. That was enough to terrify me.I capped my sword, put the pen back in my pocket. 'Let's keep going.' Ilooked at Grover. 'Can you walk?'He swallowed. 'Yeah, sure. I never liked those shoes, anyway.'He tried to sound brave about it, but he was trembling as badly as Annabethand I were. Whatever was in that pit was nobody's pet. It was unspeakably oldand powerful. Even Echidna hadn't given me that feeling. I was almost relievedto turn my back on that tunnel and head towards the palace of Hades.Almost.The Furies circled the parapets, high in the gloom. The outer walls of the fortressglittered black, and the two-storey-tall bronze gates stood wide open.Up close, I saw that the engravings on the gates were scenes of death. Somewere from modern times – an atomic bomb exploding over a city, a trench filledwith gas mask-wearing soldiers, a line of African famine victims waiting withempty bowls – but all of them looked as if they'd been etched into the bronzethousands of years ago. I wondered if I was looking at prophecies that had cometrue.Inside the courtyard was the strangest garden I'd ever seen. Multicolouredmushrooms, poisonous shrubs and weird luminous plants grew without sunlight.Precious jewels made up for the lack of flowers, piles of rubies as big as my fist,clumps of raw diamonds. Standing here and there like frozen party guests wereMedusa's garden statues, petrified children, satyrs and centaurs, all smilinggrotesquely.In the centre of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orangeblooms neon bright in the dark. 'The garden of Persephone,' Annabeth said.'Keep walking.'I understood why she wanted to move on. The tart smell of thosepomegranates was almost overwhelming. I had a sudden desire to eat them, butthen I remembered the story of Persephone. One bite of Underworld food, andwe would never be able to leave. I pulled Grover away to keep him from pickinga big juicy one.We walked up the steps of the palace, between black columns, through a blackmarble portico and into the house of Hades. The entry hall had a polished bronzefloor, which seemed to boil in the reflected torchlight. There was no ceiling, justthe cavern roof, far above. I guess they never had to worry about rain down here.Every side doorway was guarded by a skeleton in military gear. Some woreGreek armour, some British redcoat uniforms, some camouflage with tatteredAmerican flags on the shoulders. They carried spears or muskets or M-16s. Noneof them bothered us, but their hollow eye sockets followed us as we walkeddown the hall, towards the big set of doors at the opposite end.Two U.S. Marine skeletons guarded the doors. They grinned down at us,rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests.'You know,' Grover mumbled, 'I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-todoor salesmen.'My backpack weighed a ton now. I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to openit, check to see if I had some-how picked up a stray bowling ball, but this wasn'tthe time.'Well, guys,' I said. 'I suppose we should... knock?'A hot wind blew down the corridor, and the doors swung open. The guardsstepped aside.'I guess that means "entrez,",' Annabeth said.The room inside looked just like in my dream, except this time the throne ofHades was occupied.He was the third god I'd met, but the first who really struck me as godlike.He was at least three metres tall, for one thing, and dressed in black silk robesand a crown of braided gold. His skin was albino white, his hair shoulder-lengthand jet black. He wasn't bulked up like Ares, but he radiated power. He loungedon his throne of fused human bones, looking lithe, graceful and dangerous as apanther.I immediately felt like he should be giving the orders. He knew more than Idid. He should be my master. Then I told myself to snap out of it.Hades's aura was affecting me, just as Ares's had. The Lord of the Deadresembled pictures I'd seen of Adolph Hitler, or Napoleon, or the terroristleaders who direct suicide bombers. Hades had the same intense eyes, the samekind of mesmerizing, evil charisma.'You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon,' he said in an oily voice. 'Afterwhat you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply veryfoolish.'Numbness crept into my joints, tempting me to lie down and just take a littlenap at Hades's feet. Curl up here and sleep forever.I fought the feeling and stepped forward. I knew what I had to say. 'Lord andUncle, I come with two requests.'Hades raised an eyebrow. When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy facesappeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment, as if the garment werestitched of trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment, trying to get out. TheADHD part of me wondered, off-task, whether the rest of his clothes were madethe same way. What horrible things would you have to do in your life to getwoven into Hades's underwear?'Only two requests?' Hades said. 'Arrogant child. As if you have not alreadytaken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet.'I swallowed. This was going about as well as I'd feared.I glanced at the empty, smaller throne next to Hades's. It was shaped like ablack flower, gilded with gold. I wished Queen Persephone were here. I recalledsomething in the myths about how she could calm her husband's moods. But itwas summer. Of course, Persephone would be above in the world of light withher mother, the goddess of agriculture Demeter. Her visits, not the tilt of theearth, created the seasons.Annabeth cleared her throat. Her finger prodded me in the back.'Lord Hades,' I said. 'Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It wouldbe... bad.''Really bad,' Grover added helpfully.'Return Zeus's master bolt to me,' I said. 'Please, sir. Let me carry it toOlympus.'Hades's eyes grew dangerously bright. 'You dare keep up this pretence, afterwhat you have done?'I glanced back at my friends. They looked as confused as I was.'Um... Uncle,' I said. 'You keep saying "after what I've done". What exactlyhave I done?'The throne room shook with a tremor so strong they probably felt it upstairs inLos Angeles. Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along thewalls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every timeperiod and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room,blocking the exits.Hades bellowed, 'Do you think I want war, godling?'I wanted to say, Well, these guys don't look like peace activists. But I thoughtthat might be a dangerous answer.'You are the Lord of the Dead,' I said carefully. 'A war would expand yourkingdom, right?''A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects?Did you not see the sprawl of Asphodel?''Well...''Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past centuryalone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?'I opened my mouth to respond, but Hades was on a roll now.'More security ghouls,' he moaned. 'Traffic problems at the judgmentpavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. Icontrol all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!''Charon wants a pay raise,' I blurted, just remembering the fact. As soon as Isaid it, I wished I could sew up my mouth.'Don't get me started on Charon!' Hades yelled. 'He's been impossible eversince he discovered Italian suits! Problems everywhere, and I've got to handleall of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates isenough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. No, godling. I needno help getting subjects! I did not ask for this war.''But you took Zeus's master bolt.''Lies!' More rumbling. Hades rose from his throne, towering to the height of afootball goalpost. 'Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not so stupid. I seehis plan.''His plan?''You were the thief on the winter solstice,' he said. 'Your father thought tokeep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus. Youtook the master bolt and my helmet. Had I not sent my Fury to discover you atYancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start awar. But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed asPoseidon's thief, and I will have my helmet back!''But...' Annabeth spoke. I could tell her mind was going a million miles anhour. 'Lord Hades, your helmet of darkness is missing, too?''Do not play innocent with me, girl. You and the satyr have been helping thishero – coming here to threaten me in Poseidon's name, no doubt – to bring mean ultimatum. Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?''No!' I said. 'Poseidon didn't – I didn't –''I have said nothing of the helmet's disappearance,' Hades snarled, 'because Ihad no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, theslightest help. I can ill afford for word to get out that my most powerful weaponof fear is missing. So I searched for you myself, and when it was clear you werecoming to me to deliver your threat, I did not try to stop you.''You didn't try to stop us? But –''Return my helmet now, or I will stop death,' Hades threatened. 'That is mycounter-proposal. I will open the earth and have the dead pour back into theworld. I will make your lands a nightmare. And you, Percy Jackson – yourskeleton will lead my army out of Hades.'The skeletal soldiers all took one step forward, making their weapons ready.At that point, I probably should have been terrified. The strange thing was, Ifelt offended. Nothing gets me angrier than being accused of something I didn'tdo. I've had a lot of experience with that.'You're as bad as Zeus,' I said. 'You think I stole from you? That's why yousent the Furies after me?''Of course,' Hades said.'And the other monsters?'Hades curled his lip. 'I had nothing to do with them. I wanted no quick deathfor you – I wanted you brought before me alive so you might face every torturein the Fields of Punishment. Why do you think I let you enter my kingdom soeasily?''Easily?''Return my property!''But I don't have your helmet. I came for the master bolt.''Which you already possess!' Hades shouted. 'You came here with it. littlefool, thinking you could you threaten me!''But I didn't!''Open your pack, then.'A horrible feeling struck me. The weight in my backpack, like a bowling ball.It couldn't be...I slung it off my shoulder and unzipped it. Inside was a sixty-centimetre-longmetal cylinder, spiked on both ends, humming with energy.'Percy,' Annabeth said. 'How –''I – I don't know. I don't understand.''You heroes are always the same,' Hades said. 'Your pride makes you foolish,thinking you could bring such a weapon before me. I did not ask for Zeus'smaster bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me. I am sure it will make anexcellent bargaining tool. And now... my helmet. Where is it?'I was speechless. I had no helmet. I had no idea how the master bolt had gotinto my backpack. I wanted to think Hades was pulling some kind of trick.Hades was the bad guy. But suddenly the world turned sideways. I realized I'dbeen played with. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades had been set at each other's throatsby someone else. The master bolt had been in the backpack, and I'd got thebackpack from...'Lord Hades, wait,' I said. 'This is all a mistake.''A mistake?' Hades roared.The skeletons aimed their weapons. From high above, there was a fluttering ofleathery wings, and the three Furies swooped down to perch on the back of theirmaster's throne. The one with Mrs Dodds's face grinned at me eagerly andflicked her whip.'There is no mistake,' Hades said. 'I know why you have come – I know thereal reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for her.'Hades loosed a ball of gold fire from his palm. It exploded on the steps infront of me, and there was my mother, frozen in a shower of gold, just as she wasat the moment when the Minotaur began to squeeze her to death.I couldn't speak. I reached out to touch her, but the light was as hot as abonfire.'Yes,' Hades said with satisfaction. 'I took her. I knew, Percy Jackson, thatyou would come to bargain with me eventually. Return my helmet, and perhaps Iwill let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, thatwill change.'I thought about the pearls in my pocket. Maybe they could get me out of this.If I could just get my mom free...'Ah, the pearls,' Hades said, and my blood froze. 'Yes, my brother and hislittle tricks. Bring them forth, Percy Jackson.'My hand moved against my will and brought out the pearls.'Only three,' Hades said. 'What a shame. You do realize each only protects asingle person. Try to take your mother, then, little godling. And which of yourfriends will you leave behind to spend eternity with me? Go on. Choose. Or giveme the backpack and accept my terms.'I looked at Annabeth and Grover. Their faces were grim.'We were tricked,' I told them. 'Set up.''Yes, but why?' Annabeth asked. 'And the voice in the pit –''I don't know yet,' I said. 'But I intend to ask.''Decide, boy!' Hades yelled.'Percy.' Grover put his hand on my shoulder. 'You can't give him the bolt.''I know that.''Leave me here,' he said. 'Use the third pearl on your mom.''No!''I'm a satyr,' Grover said. 'We don't have souls like humans do. He cantorture me until I die, but he won't get me forever. I'll just be reincarnated as aflower or something. It's the best way.''No.' Annabeth drew her bronze knife. 'You two go on. Grover, you have toprotect Percy. You have to get your searcher's licence and start your quest forPan. Get his mom out of here. I'll cover you. I plan to go down fighting.''No way,' Grover said. 'I'm staying behind.''Think again, goat boy,' Annabeth said.'Stop it, both of you!' I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. They hadboth been with me through so much. I remembered Grover dive-bombingMedusa in the statue garden, and Annabeth saving us from Cerberus; we'dsurvived Hephaestus's Waterland ride, the St Louis Arch, the Lotus Casino. I hadspent thousands of miles worried that I'd be betrayed by a friend, but thesefriends would never do that. They had done nothing but save me, over and over,and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom.'I know what to do,' I said. 'Take these.'I handed them each a pearl.Annabeth said, 'But, Percy...'I turned and faced my mother. I desperately wanted to sacrifice myself and usethe last pearl on her, but I knew what she would say. She would never allow it. Ihad to get the bolt back to Olympus and tell Zeus the truth. I had to stop the war.She would never forgive me if I saved her instead. I thought about the prophecymade at Half-Blood Hill what seemed like a million years ago. You will fail tosave what matters most in the end.'I'm sorry,' I told her. 'I'll be back. I'll find a way.'The smug look on Hades's face faded. He said, 'Godling...?''I'll find your helmet, Uncle,' I told him. 'I'll return it. Remember aboutCharon's pay raise.''Do not defy me –''And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. He likes redrubber balls.''Percy Jackson, you will not –'I shouted, 'Now, guys!'We smashed the pearls at our feet. For a scary moment, nothing happened.Hades yelled, 'Destroy them!'The army of skeletons rushed forward, swords out, guns clicking to fullautomatic. The Furies lunged, their whips bursting into flame.Just as the skeletons opened fire, the pearl exploded at my feet with a burst ofgreen light and a gust of fresh sea wind. I was encased in a milky white sphere,which was starting to float off the ground.Annabeth and Grover were right behind me. Spears and bullets sparkedharmlessly off the pearl bubbles as we floated up. Hades yelled with such rage,the entire fortress shook and I knew it was not going to be a peaceful night inL.A.'Look up!' Grover yelled. 'We're going to crash!'Sure enough, we were racing right towards the stalactites, which I figuredwould pop our bubbles and skewer us.'How do you control these things?' Annabeth shouted.'I don't think you do!' I shouted back.We screamed as the bubbles slammed into the ceiling and... Darkness.Were we dead?No, I could still feel the racing sensation. We were going up, right throughsolid rock as easily as an air bubble in water. That was the power of the pearls, Irealized – What belongs to the sea will always return to the sea.For a few moments, I couldn't see anything outside the smooth walls of mysphere, then my pearl broke through on the ocean floor. The two other milkyspheres, Annabeth and Grover, kept pace with me as we soared upward throughthe water. And ker-blam!We exploded on the surface, in the middle of Los Angeles Bay, knocking asurfer off his board with an indignant, 'Dude!'I grabbed Grover and hauled him over to a lifebuoy. I caught Annabeth anddragged her over too. A curious shark was circling us, a great white about threemetres long.I said, 'Beat it.'The shark turned and raced away.The surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms and paddled away fromus as fast as he could.Somehow, I knew what time it was: early morning, June 21, the day of thesummer solstice.In the distance, Los Angeles was on fire, plumes of smoke rising fromneighbourhoods all over the city. There had been an earthquake, all right, and itwas Hades's fault. He was probably sending an army of the dead after me rightnow.But at the moment, the Underworld wasn't my biggest problem.I had to get to shore. I had to get Zeus's thunderbolt back to Olympus. Most ofall, I had to have a serious conversation with the god who'd tricked me.