Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
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even with the gods and monsters and stuff. She put up with me going off on adventures, but now I
was asking her blessing to do something that would probably get me killed.
I locked eyes with Paul, and some kind of understanding passed between us.
"Sally." He put his hand over my mother's hands. "I can't claim to know what you and Percy
have been going through all these years. But it sounds to me . . . it sounds like Percy is doing
something noble. I wish I had that much courage."
I got a lump in my throat. I didn't get compliments like that too much.
My mom stared at her lemonade. She looked like she was trying not to cry. I thought about
what Hestia had said, about how hard it was to yield, and I figured maybe my mom was finding that
out.
"Percy," she said, "I give you my blessing."
I didn't feel any different. No magic glow lit the kitchen or anything.
I glanced at Nico.
He looked more anxious than ever, but he nodded. "It's time."
"Percy," my mom said. "One last thing. If you . . . if you survive this fight with Kronos, send
me a sign." She rummaged through her purse and handed me her cell phone.
"Mom," I said, "you know demigods and phones—"
"I know," she said. "But just in case. If you're not able to call . . . maybe a sign that I could
see from anywhere in Manhattan. To let me know you're okay."
"Like Theseus," Paul suggested. "He was supposed to raise white sails when he came home
to Athens."
"Except he forgot," Nico muttered. "And his father jumped off the palace roof in despair. But
other than that, it was a great idea."
"What about a flag or a flare?" my mom said. "From Olympus—the Empire State Building."
"Something blue," I said.
We'd had a running joke for years about blue food. It was my favorite color, and my mom
went out of her way to humor me. Every year my birthday cake, my Easter basket, my Christmas
candy canes always had to be blue.
"Yes," my mom agreed. "I'll watch for a blue signal. And I'll try to avoid jumping off palace
roofs."
She gave me one last hug. I tried not to feel like I was saying good-bye. I shook hands with
Paul. Then Nico and I walked to the kitchen doorway and looked at Mrs. O'Leary.
"Sorry, girl," I said. "Shadow travel time again."
She whimpered and crossed her paws over her snout.
"Where now?" I asked Nico. "Los Angeles?"
"No need," he said. "There's a closer entrance to the Underworld."
Chapter Seven
My Math Teacher Gives Me A Lift
We emerged in Central Park just north of the Pond. Mrs. O'Leary looked pretty tired as she
limped over to a cluster of boulders. She started sniffing around, and I was afraid she might mark
her territory, but Nico said, "It's okay. She just smells the way home."
I frowned. "Through the rocks?"
"The Underworld has two major entrances," Nico said. "You know the one in L.A."
"Charon's ferry."
Nico nodded. "Most souls go that way, but there's a smaller path, harder to find. The Door of
Orpheus."
"The dude with the harp."
"Dude with the lyre," Nico corrected. "But yeah, him. He used his music to charm the earth
and open a new path into the Underworld. He sang his way right into Hades's palace and almost got
away with his wife's soul."