ΉӨЦƧΣ ӨF ΉΛDΣƧ
ABOUT FIFTY FEET FROM THE DOORS OF DEATH, Lucia and Percy froze in their tracks.
"Fuck," Lucia frowned, her voice breaking. "They're the s—same."
Percy seemed to understand what she meant. Framed in Stygian iron, the magical portal was a set of elevator doors
—two panels of silver and black etched with Art Deco designs.
Except for the fact that the colors were inverted, they looked exactly like the elevators in the Empire State Building, the entrance to Olympus.
Seeing them, Lucia felt so homesick, she couldn't breathe.
Tears welled up in her eyes without her consent. She choked down a sob. She didn't just miss Mount Olympus or daylight or even her iPod.
She missed everything: Her father, Aunt, New York City, Camp Half-Blood, Sally and Paul, Annabeth, Nico, Will, Aurora.
She swallowed harshly, it felt like sand was pouring down her esophagus. She didn't trust herself to talk.
The Doors of Death seemed like a personal insult, designed to remind her of everything she couldn't have.
Everything just out of reach...
She felt fingers slip into her hand, she felt him squeeze. Her breathing steadied.... he was here....and that was something she couldn't be more grateful for. Even if she did still hated the circumstances they were in.
Once she got over her initial shock, she noticed other details: the frost spreading from the base of the Doors, the purplish glow in the air around them, and the chains that held them fast.
Cords of black iron ran down either side of the frame, like rigging lines on a suspension bridge.
They were tethered to hooks embedded in the fleshy ground.
The two Titans, Krios and Hyperion, stood guard at the anchor points.
The entire frame shuddered. Black lightning flashed into the sky. The chains shook, and the Titans planted their feet on the hooks to keep them secure. The Doors slid open, revealing the gilded interior of an elevator car.
Percy tensed, he pulled on Lucia's hand ready to charge forward with her, but Bob planted a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait," he cautioned.
Hyperion yelled to the surrounding crowd: "Group A-22! Hurry up, you sluggards!"
A dozen Cyclopes rushed forward, pushing each other, waving little red tickets, and shouting excitedly. As the Cyclopes got close, their bodies distorted and shrank, the Doors of Death sucking them inside.
The Titan Krios jabbed his thumb against the up button on the elevator's right side. The Doors slid closed.
The frame shuddered again. Dark lightning faded.
"You must understand how it works," Bob muttered. He addressed the kitten in his palm, maybe so the other monsters wouldn't wonder who he was talking to. "Each time the Doors open, they try to teleport to a new location. Thanatos made them this way, so only he could find them. But now they are chained. The Doors cannot relocate."
"Then we cut the chains," Lucia suggested.
She glanced at her boyfriend. His crestfallen eyes showed he was more pessimistic than he let on. Lucia knew he wouldn't voice it, out of wanting to keep her comfortable. But she was anything but comfortable in Tartarus.
"Our camouflage," Percy said. "Will it disappear if we do something aggressive, like cutting the chains?"
"I do not know," Bob told his kitten.
YOU ARE READING
²𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃𝐘✸ percy jackson
Fanfiction𝄞 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃𝐘.(n.) behold the blood of Hyacinthus, which had poured out on the ground beside him and there stained the grass, was changed from blood; and in its place a flower, more beautiful than Tyrian dye, sprang up. ❝ Near time...
