"We have to go inside the gates first," he said.

 

"But the river's right here."

 

"I have to get something," he said. "It's the only way."

 

He marched off without waiting.

 

I frowned. Nico hadn't mentioned anything about going inside the gates. But now

that we were here, I didn't know what else to do. Reluctantly, I followed him

down the beach toward the big black gates.

 

Lines of the dead stood outside waiting to get in. It must've been a heavy day

for funerals, because even the EZ-DEATH line was backed up.

 

"Woof!" Mrs. O'Leary said. Before I could stop her she bounded toward the

security checkpoint.

 

Cerberus, the guard dog of Hades, appeared out of the gloom — a three-headed

rottweiler so big he made Mrs. O'Leary look like a toy poodle. Cerberus was half

transparent, so he's really hard to see until he's close enough to kill you, but

he acted like he didn't care about us. He was too busy saying hello to Mrs.

 

O'Leary.