55 Chapter 55 what are you doing?

"But if I'd already retrieved the bolt," Andromeda said, "why would I be travelling to the Underworld?"

"To threaten him?" Grover suggested. "To bribe or blackmail him into getting your mum back."

"But the thing in the pit said it was waiting for two items," Andromeda said with a knitted eyebrow. "If the master bolt is one, what's the other?"

"It would have to be something really important for Hades to send the Furies after us," Mimir said. Jakob sat silently as he thought about it. Who would want to bring ruin to the gods by sending a servant to steal the bolt? The only enemy that he could think of was a Titan, but they were locked away, imprisoned. The only Titan that he could think of that could do all that was…

All of a sudden, his thoughts came to a halt as he realized the answer. The dread that was building up was because he was trying to deny the truth. But now that it was more clear, he now knew.

"Kronos," Jakob whispered, and instantly all the people in the cab got a cold feeling.

"What did you say?" Andromeda asked.

"Kron–"

"Don't say the name!" Annabeth said sharply, startling everyone. "No, it can't be! It-it has to be Hades."

"Annabeth," Jakob said, now serious. "It can't be Hades. He hails from the Underworld, not Tartarus, the pit. It has to be Kronos." And again, the cold experience came back again. To Jakob, it felt like small knives scraping down his back. But he continued. "He's the only one who we can fully suspect that's behind all of this. We're going the wrong way."

Annabeth shivered, probably feeling the same way the rest of the group felt. "You really shouldn't say his name like that, Jakob. I'm serious."

"I don't really give a damn. Fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself." Jakob said with an eye roll. He didn't understand the whole not using the name thing.

"Right, so there's a possibility the bloody Cannibal Titan himself is rising... wonderful." Mimir said sarcastically.

"So, Kron – the Crooked One is the one behind all this?" Andromeda asked.

"When it comes to someone who'd want to see the Olympians brought to ruin the most, it would be him." Mimir said darkly. "After all, his own children are responsible for his fate and imprisonment in Tartarus. He's had a very, very long time to reform and plan his return."

Wasteland rolled by. They passed a sign that said CALIFORNIA STATE LINE, 12 MILES.

"The answer is in the Underworld," Annabeth assured them. "You saw spirits of the dead, right? There's only one place that could have them. We're doing the right thing."

She tried to boost the morale by suggesting clever strategies for getting into the Land of the Dead, but the team wasn't really into it.

At sunset, the taxi dropped them at the beach in Santa Monica. The place smelled a bit foul. There were carnival rides lining the Pier, palm trees lining the sidewalks, homeless guys sleeping in sand dunes, and surfer dudes waiting for the perfect wave.

Grover, Annabeth, Jakob and Andromeda walked down to the edge of the surf.

"What now?" Annabeth asked.

The Pacific was turning gold in the setting sun. Andromeda was reminded of Montauk as she stared at the sea opposite of the one she was so used to. How could there be a god who could control all that? What did her science teacher use to say – two-thirds of the earth's surface was covered in water? How could she be the son of someone that powerful?

Without a word, Andromeda stepped into the surf.

"Andie, what are you doing?" Annabeth asked.

The Daughter of Poseidon kept walking, up to her waist, then her chest.

The blonde called after her. "You know how polluted that water is? There's all kinds of toxic –"

Andromeda was underwater before she could finish.

"Ugh!" Annabeth threw her hands up. "Why did she do that?"

"Given she's the daughter of Poseidon and her father has summoned her here, it's most likely she'll receive him underwater than on the surface." Mimir reasoned, believing that's the cause.

"So what now?" Grover asked.

"We wait until she resurfaces." Jakob said.

They waited a few minutes, but eventually Andromeda resurfaced and came out of the water, telling them of the gift she was given. Four pearls.

Annabeth grimaced. "No gift comes without a price."

"They were free," Andromeda told her.

"When it comes to the Gods, Andie, there's always a price." Jakob said darkly.

"He's right," Annabeth said. "'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' That's an Ancient Greek saying that's translated pretty well into American. There will be a price. You wait."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the rest of their money, they took the bus into West Hollywood. Andromeda showed the driver the Underworld address slip she'd taken from Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, but the guy never heard of DOA Recording Studios.

"You remind me of somebody I saw on TV," he told Andromeda. "You a child actor or something?"

And immediately after he said that, Jakob was quick to explain that they were stunt doubles of a new action film coming out. The guy asked for autographs as they got off at the next stop.

They wandered for miles on foot, looking for DOA. Nobody seemed to know where it was. It didn't appear in the phone book either.

Twice, they had to duck into alleys to avoid cop cars.

Andromeda saw her stepdad on the television, fake crying about how Andromeda was some terrorist in training and how he wanted his car back. They also had a grainy picture of them and Ares outside that diner in Denver. Grover had to pull her away before she tried to punch the TV and window in anger. Jakob reassured her that her stepfather would pay. Andromeda seemed happy about that.

It got dark, and hungry-looking characters started coming out on the street to play. Jakob simply told the group to stay close to him.

Want to read 20+ chapters ahead from here or just want to support take a visit on my patreon.

Link ---> patreon.com/V22

Thank you for your support, your support is our greatest motivation.

-------------------------------------------------------------