CHAPTER XXXII:The Drawing Of Battle Lines In The Underworld.

I stared at the hourglass on my table. After explaining to Penny how I got it, and it's significance. She suggested getting rid of it, but I had no success. I tried moving it, breaking it, getting rid of it, and even melting it. It always came back though.

"You still haven't gotten rid of that thing, Mary?" Penny asked walking in.

I nodded picking it up. For the most part it was a normal hourglass. Thin glass, an hours worth of sand, and a nice wooden frame. Besides the magical enchantment to not leave the room or me, and not break, it looked like it could fit in the mortal world. I broke it on the table and it fixed almost immediately.

"No, I tried though. I think I found my new stress reliever though, Owl Eyes." I joked.

"Yeah yeah. C'mon. I got two places at the dining room table ready for us. If we can get past breakfast without your step mother smiting me, then we'll be good to go to the lake later." Penny said.

I sighed and got up following her out of the room. On the way out I saw myself in a mirror. I looked weird with my new clothes. Blue jeans, my typical black converses, and a white denim jacket instead of my black hoodie.

"I look like a kid of Athena with all the white." I said still following Penny.

"Tell that to your skin tone Dead Hair." She called back smiling.

I laughed at the remark a bit. I was glad she could match insult to insult, and wasn't sensitive about it. At least with some topics, but everybody's like that.

Today's breakfast consisted of the same thing it had for the past two years. Fresh eggs, oatmeal, and a side of pomegranate (which I couldn't bring myself to eat after the Thanatos incident).

Breakfast went by quickly and quietly. My step mother was there, so no one really talked much. Persephone was already in a bad mood because of Penny being there, so we didn't want to push it further.

After breakfast Penny and me walked through Elysium. Patrols were doubled, and increased in size. They were expecting war, and with good reason.

"Gods..the patrol went from three a group to seven." Penny said looking around.

"The guards are pulling heroes and drafting citizens of Elysium. This war is no joke. Hades is certainly shaken up that one of Morpheus' elites is in his backyard." I answered walking along a wildflower trail.

The scent on the air was powerful. It smelled like my mothers garden. A powerful flowery smell with that vanilla smell that lurked in the background.

"Rosas are near. As well as Aloysia Virgata." Penny said looking around.

"Goddamn, you can tell that?" I asked looking back at her.

Penny nodded "Kid of Athena thing. I can hear, see, smell, and taste better than most demigods. It's a blessing and a curse." Penny confirmed.

"That second one. Is that the cause of the vanilla smell?" I asked looking around.

"Possibly." Penny answered back quickly.

"So when can I go back to school? Did Apollo ever say?" I pushed, wanting to go back to school.

I felt helpless being stuck here, and I wanted to look for the next set of Artifacts.

"Monday. Just a few days now, ok? Hey Mary, do you have any pets?" Penny said.

"Technically yes. I have a sort of….familiar…..it follows me through my dreams and visions. A black and white snake that guards and guides me." I answered.

"I think I saw it in the Underworld. When you were fighting us it showed up and vanished." Penny said.

I nodded and asked "you?".

" I have an owl named Hedwig. I named him after Harry Potter's owl." She answered smiling.

I smiled and stopped by a lake "Here we are. Silver lake." I said sitting in the grass.

The lake was a nice light blue, and was shrouded in shade.

"Now what?" Penny asked sitting next to me.

"We wait for nightfall, and just talk." I answered.

The lake was as still as death himself, only moving a bit when the occasional leaf fell in from the trees above. The water reflected whatever sunlight hit it beautifully, lighting the area around it with a nice yellow light. Penny and me got lost in conversation for hours and hours waiting for nightfall to come.