The Omnitrix holder and the lighting theif

I Played fetch with Cerberus

Don't be a Silent Reader

Amara Pov

We stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS. Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING. It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece.

I turned to my friends. "Okay. You remember the plan."

"The plan," Grover gulped. "Yeah. I love the plan."

Percy said, "What happens if the plan doesn't work?"

"Don't think negative."

"Right," Luke said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negatively." Percy took the pearls out of his pocket, the Four milky spheres the Nereid had given him in Santa Monica, and the seashell necklace around my neck. They didn't seem like much of a backup in case something went wrong. Luke put her hand on my shoulder. " we'll make it. It'll be fine."

He gave Grover a nudge.

"Oh, right!" he chimed in. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save Percy's mom. No problem."

I looked at them both and felt grateful. Only a few minutes before, I'd almost gotten them stretched to death on deluxe water beds, and now they were trying to be brave for my and Percy's sake, trying to make me feel better. Cause I am one of the rare mortals entering the underworld

Percy slipped the pearls back into his pocket. "Let's whup some Underworld butt." he held my hand and we walked inside the DOA lobby.

Muzak played softly on hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were steel grey. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. People were sitting on couches, standing up, staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator. Nobody moved or talked, or did much of anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see them all just fine, but if I focused on any one of them in particular, they started looking . . . transparent.

I could see right through their bodies.

The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so we had to look up at him.

He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag.

I read the name tag, then looked at him in bewilderment. "Your name is Mr.Charon?"

He leaned across the desk. I couldn't see anything in his glasses except my reflection, but his smile was sweet and cold, like a python's, right before it eats you.

"What a precious young lady." He had a strange accent - British, maybe, but also as if he had learned English as a second language. "Tell me, how may I help you little dead ones?"

"We wish to go the Underworld," I said as the boys saw I am taking a nice lead to speak with the ferryman. Charon's mouth twitched. "Well, that's refreshing."

"It is?" I asked.

"Straightforward and honest. No screaming. No There must be a mistake, Mr. Charon.'" He looked us over. "How did you die, then?"

"Oh," he said. "Car Crash...My Older brother was taking me and my friends to a new movie but a truck ran a red light and we all died in the crash" I said referring to Luke as my older brother. He hid his pride in my smooth lie