Scorpion Tails and Greyhounds

Chapter Four

Hey, guys!
The writing and plot are going to get MUCH better from here on.
I swear on the River Styx!!!

"How much for four whole chickens?" I asked the shop owner.

"Four whole chickens!?" the guy exclaimed. "34 Denarii."

Hopefully, I have enough, I thought, reaching into my magical duffle bag and producing all the necessary money. I handed it over to the guy and took my chickens in two bags.

I made my way down the street and, when I was sure nobody could see me, slipped down into the sewer where Kaylee was waiting for me. "Here you go," I said, giving her one of the chickens. "Want to go exploring?"

She just scarfed down the chicken, bones and all. She would choke up whatever didn't melt in her saliva later. We strolled down the side path, ignoring whatever was in the murky water that rushed past us.

Eventually, we came up to hatch in the roof. "Wanna see where this goes?" I asked. I reached up and magically unlocked the hatch with an incantation and lifted it up...Where I came face to face with a pair of snarling greyhounds. One was entirely silver while the other was entirely gold.

"Uh-oh," I gulped.

*************

"Where's Argentum and Aurum!?" Reyna shouted for the fifth time that day. he had found them missing that morning and dragged Percy and Jason into a search. They were currently scouring Temple Hill with Jason searching from the sky.

"For the last time!" Percy yelled back. "I. Don't. Know. But it's not like someone would confuse them for a regular dog. These things don't just pop up out of the ground."

"Wel-!" Reyna started, then stopped. What was that sound and where was it coming from? Suddenly, the manhole cover a few feet away from them shot into the air, knocking Jason out of the sky as he was passing above. Both metal disk and blonde boy fell out of the sky, neither of them moving.

But Reyna and Percy weren't paying attention, because it was at that moment that Argentum and Aurum popped up out of the ground, chasing a black-haired boy and monster tiger with a scorpion tail.

The boy and the monster ran straight up the stairs of Pluto's Temple and through the entrance. The two skeleton guards on either side moved and blocked Argentum and Aurum's path with their shields and spears. The two greyhounds barked and snapped but couldn't break the shield-wall of four Roman legionnaires.

The boy and his monster peeked from behind skeletons, which made Argentum and Aurum bark and snap louder. They ducked back into the temple. "Can't a guy eat chicken and explore a sewer-system in peace!" the boy shouted from inside.