The smell of smoke got stronger as they headed further into the forest, until the stench of it had Scott wrinkling his nose. At least there was no doubt they were heading in the right direction.
"What were your friends doing carrying around all these jewels?" Isaac asked, glancing at a particularly huge, yellow gem glittering on the path ahead. "Are you part of a burglary ring or something?"
Percy barked out a laugh. "No, they're not stolen."
"So, if we were to, say, take them and sell them, morally we wouldn't be doing anything wrong..." Stiles led, wiggling an eyebrow.
"Don't," Annabeth snapped. "They're cursed."
"Cursed?" Allison asked. She still had her bow out and armed, arrow at the ready should anything attack. Scott's breath caught in his throat as he looked at her, lithe and agile and so fierce. He didn't know what was happening with her, with them, now, but he did know that his feelings for her were just as intense as ever.
"Bad things happen to people who take them," Annabeth elaborated, drawing Scott's attention away from his ex girlfriend. There was something similar about the way the two girls carried themselves that made Scott like Annabeth, even if she did intimidate him.
"Yes, that is generally the definition of a curse," Stiles said. Lydia shot him a look and he shrugged his shoulders. "What?"
"If you want to be cursed, you're more than welcome to pick one up and take it home," Annabeth muttered, obviously completely out of patience.
"Eh, I think our bad luck quota is just about full, but thanks anyway," Stiles snarked back.
"Guys." Derek turned his head and sniffed. "We're close."
Lydia cocked her head to the side, frowning. "Something feels wrong."
Scott was surprised to see both Percy and Annabeth regarding Lydia seriously. He'd expected them to be skeptical of her abilities, or at least behaving a bit rashly considering how close they were to getting their friends. But they seemed to be heeding her warning, judging by the way they'd stopped walking and had their weapons drawn.
They still hadn't explained where their weapons had even come from, or how Percy's pen-sword and Annabeth's cap of invisibility functioned, or how they'd known how to defeat the monster that had attacked them. But they hadn't asked about the werewolves, either, so Scott was accepting the uneasy truce for now.
"Lyds," Allison said with concern. "What is it? A trap?"
"I don't know, it just feels... off," Lydia said, shaking her head.
Everyone was quiet, the tension in the air so thick that Percy probably could have cut through it with his sword.
Stiles suddenly broke the silence. "We're near the Nemeton."
Everyone tensed. Scott extended his claws and Allison shifted her grip on her bow and arrow.
"Near the what?" Percy asked, throwing a confused glance back at Stiles.
"It's a... tree stump. A really big, bad tree stump that attracts other big, bad things," Stiles said, his words picking up speed as he spoke. "A tree stump that is a beacon for things that would like to hurt us. Maybe sentient? Not really sure, still looking into it. Definitely bad news though."
Percy and Annabeth shared a look. "Ring any bells?"
Annabeth shook her head, causing her ponytail to swish across her back. If possible, she looked even more annoyed than she had before. "Nope."
"If we're near the Nemeton then we can't waste any time," Scott said, pushing forward and following the scent of smoke again.
Everyone followed after him, abandoning stealth in favour of speed, until he stopped at a trapdoor nestled between the roots of two towering trees. If he had been using purely sight and not smell, Scott doubted he would have found it. There was a symbol on the door, a clear carving in the shape of a triangle.
"It's coming from down there," he said.
Annabeth swore, pushing past Scott to stand right in front of the door. She grabbed Percy's hand and pulled him up to stand beside her, gesturing violently with her other hand to the symbol. "What do we do now?"
Percy frowned. "It's not as bad now, apparently. Will said they're using it in Capture the Flag, so it can't be -"
"That's at Camp," Annabeth interrupted. "Judging by the rest of this town, I don't think the labyrinth is going to be as friendly to us here."
"Technically, when they're in the labyrinth, they're not actually at Camp anymore..."
"A labyrinth? You think a maze is down there?" Allison asked.
"Oh, hell no," Stiles said, stepping back. "I've seen that movie, I am not getting involved with any goblin kings -"
"What's that symbol?" Isaac asked, peering over Scott's shoulder.
"A delta," Derek answered.
Annabeth scowled and Percy looked surprised. "Yeah."
Lydia hummed thoughtfully but didn't say anything.
"So what do we do now?" Scott asked Percy. "The smoke's definitely coming from down there."
"Did it seem like they were underground when you saw them, Lydia?" Isaac asked.
Lydia looked up, alarmed. "I - I don't know, I couldn't tell."
"We don't have any other choice. We need to go in," Percy said decisively.
"Any plans for navigating?" Annabeth asked.
Percy shrugged. "Eh. We've made it out every other time, I'm sure we'll find an exit this time too."
"That's reassuring," Stiles muttered.
"If you don't want to come, you don't have to," Percy said, turning around to face all of them. "Thanks for helping us get this far, but we can take it from here."
"No," Scott said before anyone else could speak. "We're not going to leave you here. Whatever's taken your friends, it's done it in our town, and that makes it our problem."
"Noble, but I don't think you know what you're up against," Annabeth said, already half turned back to the door.
Isaac huffed. "We'd know if you'd tell us."
"They're not sure either," Lydia said. When Annabeth glared at her she pushed her shoulders back and met it head on. Scott was, once again, impressed by Lydia's bravery.
"There could be anything in there, that's the point. If you want to follow us down there then hurry up and do it." Annabeth wrenched the door open and, after taking a brief moment to analyse the entrance, dropped down into the darkness without a glance back.
"Annabeth!" Percy called, dropping to his hands and knees and peering over the edge.
"All clear!" Annabeth's voice floated back out, not too far down. "It's an easy drop, decent sized tunnel. Smoke's definitely stronger down here."
Percy quickly looked over his shoulder before dropping down after her.
Scott looked to Derek. "Do you think we should...?"
Derek nodded.
Steeling himself, Scott led the group into the labyrinth.
The tunnel was cold and dark. Scott and the other werewolves didn't have it too bad, being able to use their heightened senses to see through it, but Stiles and Allison were struggling, constantly bumping into the rest of the group.
"Dude!" Scott exclaimed as Stiles slammed right into his back.
"Sorry!" Stiles fumbled through his pockets for his phone, turning on the flashlight and then immediately dropping it as the beam swept over the two people standing right in front of them. "Shit!"
"I hope this isn't you trying to be stealthy," Percy said, swiping the phone out of mid air as it fell. He held it out, raising an eyebrow as Stiles snatched it back.
"Sorry," Scott said, "They can't see."
Annabeth rolled her eyes.
From the back of the group, Lydia said quietly, "I can see fine."
Everyone turned to stare at her.
"Lydia, you can see down here?" Stiles asked, swinging the flashlight around to illuminate her.
She nodded.
Annabeth stepped forward and grabbed her wrist, yanking her to the front. In the light of the phone's torch, her smile looked eerily predatory. "You're clear sighted."
Lydia raised her eyebrows and snatched her hand free. Scott got the feeling that, if she'd wanted to, Annabeth could have kept holding her, but she let her go without a fight.
"What's 'clear sighted' mean?" Allison asked.
"It means you can see where we have to go," Annabeth said. "Lydia, which tunnel is lit up?"
Scott looked past Percy, to where the corridor they were standing in branched off to three new ones. He couldn't see any difference between them, but Lydia looked at them with wide eyes and said plainly, "The middle one."
Percy gestured for Lydia to step up and walk beside him. "After you."
Stiles cut in front of Scott and reached for Lydia's hand. Scott smelt her fear ease slightly as she curled her fingers through Stiles's, and smiled.
They took off into the labyrinth, with Lydia leading the way.
After three turns, Stiles turned the light off on his phone, convinced by Annabeth and Derek that it would be better to save battery and make their entrance as stealthy as possible.
Lydia continued on undeterred, deciding which direction to go in with apparent ease. Scott didn't understand how she was doing it, but he trusted her.
"I'm getting deja vu, being led through the labyrinth by a clear sighted redhead," Percy mumbled after a few minutes of tense silence. Annabeth audibly growled, and Percy chuckled. "Sorry."
"Shut up, Seaweed Brain."
Percy brushed his pinky finger against Annabeth's, and she grabbed his hand without looking down.
Scott was just about to comment on how the scent of the smoke was definitely getting way stronger when Lydia stopped suddenly, reaching out to touch the wall. "Here," she said, sounding far away.
Percy put his hand right beside hers and pushed. The wall shifted slightly, but not enough. Lydia stepped back and Scott, Annabeth, Derek and Isaac lined up around Percy and helped him push. With their combined strength, the wall shifted relatively easily, moving in and then sliding to the side.
They stood in the newly exposed doorway, blinking in the face of a bright orange light. When his eyes adjusted, Scott could make out a sizeable room, much more solid in structure than the tunnel they'd just been walking down. It had stone walls, one of which was taken up entirely by a fireplace, in which a large fire was roaring. Solid wooden beams crossed the ceiling and framed the secret doorway they stood in, as well as standing tall in each corner.
In the middle of the room, a boy and girl were hanging by their wrists from steel chains. The boy had electrical cables clamped to his shackles and appeared to be unconscious, but the girl lifted her head when the door opened.
"Percy, Annabeth!" she exclaimed, her entire face lighting up with joy. "You followed the trail!"
"Hazel!" Percy exclaimed, running into the room and reaching straight for her wrists. "Are you okay? The trail was a stroke of genius, of course we followed it, I'm just sorry we didn't get here sooner! What have they been doing to you? Who did this to you?"
As he struggled to undo her shackles, Annabeth was on her tip toes trying to do the same with the boy, who must have been Frank. Scott could see that she didn't stand a chance of getting them undone on her own, so he quickly slashed at them with his claws. They fell apart around Frank's wrists and he slumped forward. Both Annabeth and Scott went to catch him, and each ended up supporting his weight.
"Thanks," Annabeth said over Frank's shoulders, and Scott could tell how genuine she was.
"No problem," he replied as Derek did the same for Hazel's chains.
She winced when she lowered her arms, rubbing tenderly at the red, raw skin of her wrists and gingerly rotating her shoulders.
Percy looked positively murderous. "Hazel, who did this to you?"
"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but from what I was able to overhear I think it was L-"
A huge crashing sound came from the corridor, and everyone turned just in time to see another huge beast barrelling into the room. It looked similar to the last one - like a huge, black dog on monstrous steroids - but Scott didn't really get a chance to have a proper look at it before it was swiping at them with extended claws and he had to jump back just to avoid being disemboweled.
"Can you cover Frank?" Annabeth asked.
"Wha - Yeah, I can, but -"
"Good." She shrugged Frank off her shoulder, hoisting all of his weight over to Scott, and charged at the monster with her dagger drawn.
The room was too small and the beast too big for them to use the same strategy as last time; both Annabeth and Percy were now visible and attacking from front on, backed up by Derek and Isaac. Allison stood as far back as she could get and fired arrows into the beasts mouth every time it roared or tried to take a bite of any of them.
Scott shifted so that Frank was positioned close to the corner and he could stand in front and protect him. Stiles seemed to have had the same idea with Lydia across the room, although Scott was worried about how he was going to fare against this thing with no claws or healing powers.
He was so focused on trying to keep track of everyone in the fight that Scott almost jumped when Hazel appeared beside him.
"Go," she said, "I'll cover Frank."
Scott hesitated. "But -"
"Go!" Hazel repeated, and Scott didn't stick around to argue.
He ran up beside Percy and started slashing at the monster, sliding under its arm and clawing at its soft underside as he went. It howled in pain and lashed out with its paw, but they didn't relent. When it snapped at Annabeth, it was clear that this dog wasn't playing, so they couldn't afford the luxury of going easy on it.
In the end, it was impossible to tell who landed the killing blow - one moment they were all slashing at the monster, and the next it had disintegrated, nothing but a pile of golden dust.
They didn't get a chance to celebrate, though, as thunderous footsteps sounded down the hall.
"Close the door!" Annabeth screamed, and the werewolves listened without hesitation, leaning against it to hold it closed.
His back against the door, Scott caught side of Stiles and Lydia across the room. They looked unharmed, thank god, standing still in one piece and with their arms around each other. But they were staring at something in the corner with horrified expressions, and Scott's stomach dropped as he followed their gaze.
"Uh, we might have to open the door," he said.
Annabeth looked up from where she was checking on a deep gash across Percy's collarbone. When she saw what they were talking about, all of the colour drained from her face.
Several of the wooden beams that had crisscrossed the ceiling had been knocked loose by the monster in the frenzied attack and were now sitting in a pile on the ground - their ends hanging over into the fireplace. One of the corner pillars was on a precarious lean, about to join them.
Fire licked up the side of the beam on the bottom of the pile, and the whole stack quickly caught alight.
Annabeth whipped her head around from the fire to her boyfriend. "Is there any moisture in the air?"
Percy shook his head, looking panicked. "The fire's taken it all."
Outside the door, the stampede of footsteps came closer. All Scott was smell was smoke and fear. Annabeth let go of Percy and spun in a circle, searching for a way out. The beam in the corner cracked and leaned even closer to the fire.
"Percy," Hazel said, looking straight down. She was on her hands and knees beside the still unconscious Frank, bleeding from a fresh gash on her cheek, but her voice was level and calm. "Do you feel that?"
Percy crouched down, splaying his palm on the ground. When he stood, he was almost smiling. "Hazel, I know I've already told you this tonight, but you're a genius."
"I know," she said, smiling back at him. "Now hurry up!"
"Hurry up with what, what's the plan?" Lydia asked, voice high pitched and strained.
Percy frowned. "Can you all swim?"
"What?" Stiles gaped at him.
Scott blinked. "We're trapped in a cave, why are you asking about -"
"It doesn't matter if they can swim or not, it's our best bet," Annabeth snapped, eyes locked on Percy. "Will you have the energy to support them all once it's done?"
He quickly glanced at each of them, as if doing a headcount. "Yeah, I'll be fine."
For the briefest of moments, Annabeth's expression wavered, as if she was worried about him. But then her steely determination returned and she nodded. "Okay. Everyone hold hands."
"Hold hands? How is a prayer circle going to help us now?" Stiles said, even as they all stepped into the middle of the room and he reached for Lydia with one hand and Scott with the other.
Scott took his hand and looked to Annabeth for guidance.
"Someone needs to help me support Frank," she said, trying to lift him up with just Hazel's help.
Derek lifted him easily and carried him over to the group, holding his weight up.
Annabeth said a quick thanks as she joined the circle, holding hands with Percy on one side and Hazel on the other. When Hazel held a hand out to Scott he took it with only the slightest hesitation.
The heat from the flames was quickly becoming unbearable, and the smoke was starting to make Scott's eyes sting. The beam in the corner split clean in half and fell into the fire, immediately catching alight and making Stiles jump.
"Seriously, why are we holding hands?" he exclaimed. "Is this a comforting thing, like, 'Hey, you might be about to die, but at least you're holding hands with people you love!'?"
Lydia's breath caught slightly at his words, but she didn't say anything and Stiles didn't give any indication that he registered what he'd just said.
Annabeth frowned at Stiles and said, "Save your breath, you're going to need it."
"Need it for what?" Isaac asked from Allison's other side, sounding genuinely concerned for the first time all night.
Scott caught Allison's eye. She looked determined, but she couldn't quite hide the fear in her eyes.
"We're going to be okay," Scott said, pouring every bit of conviction he had into the words.
Allison smiled, and even though it was small and fleeting, Scott thought it was worth it.
Scott's focus shifted to Percy as he began to move. While he held onto Annabeth with one hand, Percy was slowly raising the other through the air, palm up, like he was... summoning something?
The ground beneath them began to shake.
"What's happening?" Allison asked, eyes wide. She squeezed Isaac and Lydia's hands and looked right at Scott. "Is this good or bad?"
"Stop talking!" Annabeth ordered. "Hold your breath!"
Somehow sensing what was coming, Scott did as she said. The rest of the group listened, too, and thank god they did. Seconds later, the ground cracked open and a torrent of water came flooding in and filled the room.