I love you all so much! Thank you everyone who has favorite/followed/reviewed!
Guest: It's still going to be a tad longer until Rina sees some romantic love because she still is young and needs to grow up some more. I want you guys to see her mature and grow into the person she will be before the romance. But don't worry, it will happen soon ;)
I push the dirty laundry bin out of the way. Sure enough there is a faint mark of Daedalus on the metal door. Rachel looks at it warily. I sigh, knowing that I will have to go into the Labyrinth for what seems like the millionth time. "It hasn't been used for a long time." I comment. I run my hand on the rusty door. It looks like the door hasn't been open in years.
The red-headed girl shrugs. "I tried to open it earlier but it's rusted shut, so I don't know how we'll open it. Maybe there's a crowbar somewhere that we can use."
Annabeth shakes her head. "We don't need a crowbar and it's not rusted shut. It just needs the touch of a demigod." She touches the mark with her pointer finger. It glows a faint blue and the door opens to a dark hallway.
Rachel's eyes grow wide, but other than that, she doesn't look scared. "So... after you guys?" She gestures towards the entrance.
Annabeth smirks. "You're the guide."
Rachel cautiously steps into the dark hallway. I turn on the flashlight that Apollo gave me, immediately lighting up the hallway. Rachel yelps and jumps behind us. A skeleton hangs in front of us on chains. It blocks the entire corridor with its large bones. The oddest part of it is that there is only one eye socket. My mind flashes to Tyson and I get a sick feeling in my stomach. But then the rational part of my brain comes through and tells me that the bones are much too old to belong to Tyson. Percy looks like he's thinking the same things because his face turns a concerning shade of green.
"It's a cyclops." Annabeth says slowly. Her face turns slightly paler. "It's really old. Maybe hundreds of years old. It's... nobody that we know."
Rachel swallows nervously. She purposefully turns away from the skeleton. "You have a friend who's a cyclops?"
"Tyson. He's my half-brother." Percy answers casually.
Her mouth falls open in shock. "Your half-brother? How does that work?"
"Well," I start, "he's Percy's half-brother on his father's side. When Poseidon and a..." I stop when I see that Percy and Annabeth are staring at me. Percy looks more startled that I'm explaining how his brother was made and Annabeth is irritated that I'm explaining demigod things to Rachel. I turn to the girl. "Nevermind. It's not important."
"I really hope we find him down here." Percy says as he pushes past the skeleton. I move as close to the wall as possible so that I don't accidentally touch it.
Annabeth nods. "We will. And Grover too?"
Rachel squeals when she is nearly hit with the leg bone. "Who's Grover?" She regains her brave face.
"He's our friend, and a Satyr."
She nods. "That's... great. Let's get going then." Rachel quickly takes the lead. She walks with such confidence it's like she owns the maze. It's odd how at ease she is considering where we are.
We come to a split in the maze. One tunnel goes into a hallway of dirt and roots. It looks exactly like the one Grover and Tyson went down. The other choice is to go right where it looks like it was taken right out of ancient Greece. The last choice is to go straight, deeper into the dark abyss. Or, I guess we can turn around, but that just seems like a bad idea.
Percy points towards the hallway with the roots. "That looks like the one that Grover and Tyson took. Do you think it's the same one?"
Annabeth purses her lips. "Maybe. I can't be sure. But to the right, the architecture is older. That way is most likely to lead us to Daedalus's workshop."
I look between the two hallways. "Which one should we take?"
"Neither." Rachel says quickly. "We need to go straight."
Annabeth frowns and her eyebrows come together. "That's the most likely of the choice. That makes no sense."
"You don't see it?" Rachel asks. Her bright green eyes sparkle curiously at the thought that she can see something we can't. "Look at the floor. There's brightness there that is sort of like a path. It's very faint but straight is the right way. I know it is. To the left the roots are moving like feelers. I don't like that one bit. To the right there is a trap twenty feet down. Not sure what it is, but I think there are spikes. Probably shouldn't risk that."
I squint my eyes and try to focus on what she is saying, but I can't see anything. Even with the flashlight it is a blob of darkness to me. There is a small moment of doubt in my mind if Rachel actually sees this or she's just making it up as she goes along. Annabeth must be thinking the same thing because her eyes narrow in on the back of Rachel's head.
Percy nods. "Okay. Forward then."
Annabeth glares at him. "You believe her?"
"Yeah. Do you?" Percy asks innocently.
She looks conflicted but she hastily waves her hand to signal Rachel to lead the way. We walk down a hallway covered in dirty bricks. It looks like nobody has been this way for years. It twists wildly like a snake. One minute we're heading one direction, then it curves the other way. It's very disorienting and I doubt that I am able to find my way back again.
A feeling of dread quickly washes over me. We haven't seen a trap in a long. My body tenses and I look around the corridor warily. Percy and Annabeth both seem to be on edge like I am. It's too easy. I flinch at every noise, expecting an axe or something to fly at my head.
"So... don't see any traps up there?" Percy asks anxiously.
Rachel shakes her head. "Absolutely nothing. The whole hallway is clear." Her eyebrows come together in confusion. "Should it be this easy?"
"I'm not sure. It wasn't before." Percy replies.
I bite my bottom lip nervously. "This time we have someone who knows where they're going, so maybe it should be this easy." I say, not believing my words at all.
Rachel frowns. "I really hope so, because it's freaking me out."
Annabeth shuffles alongside me. She is staring daggers into Rachel. It is clear to everyone but Rachel that Annabeth does not like the red-head. Or maybe she knows but doesn't care enough to discuss it. Either way, I feel sorry that she has to suffer Annabeth's unjustified wrath. "So," Annabeth starts with a rude tone, "where exactly are you from?"
"Brooklyn." Rachel answers quickly. She turns the corner and we quickly race after her.
Annabeth nods. "Aren't your parents going to be worried that you're going to be out for a while?"
Rachel slowly shakes her head. I can't see her face, but I bet it's a sad and thoughtful one based on the tone of her voice. "No. They probably wouldn't even notice that I'm gone."
The rude expression on Annabeth's face washes to an understanding one. If anyone understands what that feels like, it's Annabeth. "They won't? Why?"
Rachel opens her mouth to answer but snaps it shut when there is a creak of a huge, metal door opening. Shortly after there is a thump.
"What was that noise?" Annabeth hisses. Several sets of large footsteps come our way. I extend my knife so that it is a long sword. Percy prepares to uncap his sword and Annabeth has her hand on our knife. Rachel hides behinds us, holding out her blue comb as a weapon. If she expects to take down any monster with that, then she is in for a rude awakening.
"Run?" Percy suggests.
Rachel nods, her red hair flying everything. "Running sounds good."
We turn around immediately and run the way that we came. The hallway seems to have shifted but it doesn't really matter, as long as we were running away from the footsteps. Despite how fast we run the footsteps come closer and closer. It feels like we're in the middle of a terrible horror movie. I expect one of us to randomly trip and be swallowed by the shadows at any moment. We turn the corner and see two dracaenae jab their spears at our chests. They have full Greek armor that looks odd on their snake-like bodies. The spears are extra sharp, and something tells me that the two monsters are very skilled with the weapon.
An empousa steps out from behind the monsters. She waddles on her bad leg and her eyes shine bright red. Her hair is a mix of dark brown curls and flames. Her eyes sparkle deviously when she sees Percy. "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" The two dracaenae mutter in agreement. Suddenly she pounces on Rachel. It is so fast that I don't have a chance to swing my sword. The empousa holds her long, black claws against Rachel's neck. "Mortals are such fragile things, don't you think? Drop your swords or she's taking a one-way ticket to the Underworld!" She snarls.
Annabeth, Percy, and I set down our swords. One of the dracaenae gathers up our blades eagerly. The loud footsteps are right behind us. I turn around and see an eight-foot Laistrygonian giant behind us. He stares at me with his red eyes and his mouth drips with drool.
"Can I eat them?" He asks with a booming voice.
"No." The empousa snaps.
"Can I eat her?"
"No! You can't eat any of them!" The empousa snarls. "Your master would want them alive. They will be such a good form of entertainment. Now march, or you all die. Starting with the mortal girl."
Rachel whimpers silently but she doesn't struggle much against the monster.
The dracaenae behind me jabs me with the butt of the spear. I glare at it. "Watch it." I growl. The dracaenae smirks and jab me again because there isn't much that I can do about it without someone getting hurt. So, instead of attacking the monster like I really want to, I grit my teeth and walk forward.
The empousa licks her lips. "Hmm... I don't think I have had the pleasure of knowing you two ladies." She muses. Her eyes lock on Annabeth and I. "Let me guess, Daughter of Athena and Aphrodite?" She sniffs the air then stares at me. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. What's wrong with you?" I reply coldly.
"Percy Jackson killed my trainee, that's what's wrong. I'm still very bitter about that and I'm having a terribly hard time finding a replacement. It's causing me quite a bit of stress." She says with anger. She sends me a sickly sweet smile with her full row of teeth. Even for me it is terrifying. "Thank you for your concern."
At the end of the hallway there are a set of bronze doors about ten feet tall. In the middle was an engraving of two swords. The light reflects off the door so that it seems like it's glowing. I can hear the roar of a crowd from behind it. My hands clench in a fist, preparing to fight my way out of here. There has to be some way that we can escape without anyone getting hurt.
The dracaenae was practically bouncing with excitement. "Oh yesssssss, you will be very popular with our hossssssst. It will be a grand ssssssssshow indeed!"
The word show feels weird to me. I feel like this isn't a fun type of show where we can sit back and laugh. The cheers behind the doors remind me of the gladiator battles in the Coliseum that Athena told me about. Like anyone related to Ares, I like a good fight, but something about this makes me sick to my stomach.
"Who's your host?" Percy bravely asks.
The other dracaenae laughs but it instead sounds like a really long hiss. "You'll sssssseeeeee sssssssoon enough. You both will get along furiousssssly. You're brotherssssss, after all."
The giant picks Percy and Annabeth up by their shirts. They both cry out in protest. The dracaenae smirks at me. "Have fun." It pushes me to the door, but the empousa stomps her metal foot and it stops.
She glares at the dracaenae. "No! I want to see Percy in the arena first. What better way than to start it off with another Son of Poseidon. We can end with her, but I will see the Son of Poseidon die first!" She almost squeals with delight. The giant puts Percy down and picks me up by the back of my shirt. Luckily the strong camp t-shirt holds. The empousa tightens her hold on Rachel. "Go on, Percy Jackson. Entertain us. We'll wait here with your friends so that you don't try anything."
Percy gives Rachel a lop-sided smile. "Sorry, I'll... I'll get you out of this."
The red-head nods slightly, cautious to keep the claws as far away from her neck as possible. "That would be nice. Please do that." She says with more confidence than I thought possible for someone with several sharp claws threatening to rip her throat out.
Percy turns around and reluctantly walks into the arena. My heart pounds. Hopefully this isn't the last time that I ever see him again. But if anyone can survive something dangerous, it's Percy. He flew out of a volcano and survived, whatever is about to happen next should be a piece of cake.
We follow him into the arena several moments after him. When I enter, it's like something out of a nightmare. It would've been very impressive if it wasn't for the skulls that line the railings around the arena which gave the arena a very creepy vibe. All the stands have rows upon rows of monsters. Some of them I can't name, which is odd considering I used to spend hours reading on the different type of monsters. In the center there are a centaur and a giant in a fight. The poor centaur looks so scared. Immediately I can tell that he has no chance against the large giant. I look away so I don't have to see the fight.
Hanging from the spectator stand there is a banner with the trident of Poseidon in the center. In the stands there is a man who looks like he is several years older than Percy. He has a long scar running down his face but it doesn't distract from his attractiveness. His blonde hair is dirty, which tells me that he must've been down her for a while. Next to him is a giant with red skin and weird blue markings. Something about him makes me shiver and very uncomfortable.
The centaur falls to the ground with a sickening crunch. I close my eyes but I can still hear his whimpers of pain. The crowd chants 'DEATH! DEATH!' over and over again. Several seconds later the centaur falls silent and the crowd is louder than ever. I open my eyes to see the giant holding up a hoof - a spoil of combat. The monsters in the stand are so excited that they are jumping on the benches in the stands. A gate opens and the giant exits the arena. But even when the winner is gone, the spectators still cheer wildly.
The giant with the blue markings raises his hand. Everyone falls silent. "Good entertainment! But I've seen better." He adds bitterly. "What else do you have Luke, Son of Hermes?"
My mouth falls open in shock. That is Luke? Now that I know, I can see the resemblance between the young man and the god, Hermes. He looks much less evil than I imagined him. I expected someone who looked angrier and more beaten up. But when I get a better look at him, I see the bitterness in his eyes and the sharp clench of his jaw at the mention of the god.
Luke smoothly rises to his feet. "You have been a very excellent host, Lord Antaeus. We would be happy to entertain you in return for letting us safely pass through your territory." He says loudly enough for the spectators to hear.
Antaeus slams his fist on the stands. "A favor that I have not yet granted, demigod! I want entertainment, and entertainment I shall get!"
He bows and keeps a calm face despite the giant's outburst. "I believe that I have something much more entertaining than a few centaurs. I have a brother of yours. Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon." He gestures towards Percy with one hand.
The crowd roars in distaste. They throw stones at Percy, but luckily for him monsters are bad at throwing so each one misses. It also helps that he has great reflexes, so Percy dodges the few that get close to him.
Antaeus's eyes light up dramatically. A cruel grin climbs on his face. "A Son of Poseidon, hmm. Then he shall fight well! Or die well! Either way, we will be entertained!" The crowd screams with delight. Antaeus soaks up their anticipation like a sponge soaks up water. He feeds off of their enjoyment.
"If his death pleases you," Luke says smoothly, "will you let us pass through your territory?"
The giant shrugs. "Perhaps."
Luke looks very displeased with the noncommittal perhaps, but he stays silent.
Annabeth tugs herself forward, despite being held by a guard. "Luke! Stop this now and let us go!"
The Son of Hermes looks down at her in shock. As I look at Luke, I feel a small glimmer of warmth in my stomach, but I recognize it as someone else's feelings. Annabeth still likes him and maybe... just maybe he likes her too. "Annabeth?" He gasps.
"There is plenty of time for the females to fight afterwards." Antaeus interrupts. He looks at Percy with anticipation. "Percy Jackson, what weapon do you choose?"
The dracaenae pushes Percy into the middle of the arena. He looks around himself with disgust. His green eyes stare at the skulls surrounding the arena. "How in Zeus's name can you be Poseidon's son?" He exclaims.
"I'm his favorite son!" Antaeus growls. "This is my temple to the earthshaker! I've built it from the skulls of all that I killed in his name! You skull will soon join them. Be honored that your death will be used to worship the great god Poseidon!"
Annabeth and I share a look of horror. Something clicks in both of our heads as we remember the many Greek mythologies that we are familiar with. Annabeth tries to pull forward but the giant has a strong hold on her. "Percy! His mother is Gaea-" The giant covers her mouth with a large, dirty hand.
"Gaea is the earth goddess! She-" I'm interrupted by the giant's other hand covering my mouth. As an instinct I bit into his palm. The only thing I succeed in doing is gagging on the disgusting taste. It tastes like mud and sweat. Both Annabeth and I hope that our message got across to Percy of who his godly parents are. And if he didn't get it, we hope that he quickly figures it out because we won't leave here alive unless Antaeus is dead. That I am very sure of.
Percy shakes his head at the giant. "You're crazy if you think that this is a good tribute. Poseidon doesn't want this."
Apparently the crowd didn't like what he said because they hiss insults his way that are so vile that I feel dirty just listening to them.
Antaeus holds up his hand for silence. He glares at Percy. "Your insults towards my temple only make me more eager for your death, Percy Jackson. Now, weapons. What would you like? Nets? Flame throwers? Axes?" He gestures towards a table with the weapons sitting there. The Ares part of me is excited and I really want to try out at least one of the cool looking blades. I really hope Percy picks the flame thrower. How cool would it be to take down a bunch of monsters with nothing but flames?
"Just my sword." Percy answers. A small sliver of me is disappointed that he didn't choose the flamethrower. It would've been cool... but at least he made a smart decision to stick to a weapon we is familiar with.
The crowd erupts into laughter at his choice. His sword appears in his hand and Percy looks confident.
"Round one!" Antaeus announces.
A gate opens and a dracaenae slithers out. Its moves are slow and Percy is able to dodge them easily. He is prepared when it throw its net at him. Dodging a net is one of the first things campers learn in Camp Halfblood. Percy slices his sword through the monster. It cries out then disappears into the air. The dracaenae is no more.
The crowd falls silent and Antaeus's face is shriveled up in anger. "No!" He bellows. He shakes his fists wildly in the air. "Too fast! You must wait for my order before the kill!"
Luke smirks at the Son of Poseidon. "You're better with a sword than the last time I saw you, I'll give you that."
"Round two! This time, wait for my order, OR ELSE!" The giant yells.
The gate opens but this time a boy about Percy's age walks out. His hair is pure black, like the night sky. The boy's mouth seems to be forever stuck in a frown and there is a black eye patch over one of his eyes. The Greek armor hangs so loosely around him that it looks like he hasn't eaten in days. Percy and the boy talk for several moments before a monster yells at them to continue that fight. That's when he charges Percy. The boy was relentless but I can see Percy's hesitation. I understand why he doesn't want to fight the boy. He's most likely a halfblood like him. It just doesn't seem right. But if I were in Percy's place, I would've given my all during the fight and not hold back like Percy is.
After five minutes of fighting, the crowd was restless. Neither Percy nor the mystery boy has shed any blood and Antaeus is not amused. The crowd throws rocks and leftover food into the arena. Suddenly, the sword flies out of the boy's hand. Percy instantly has his sword to his chest.
Percy looks up at Antaeus. The giant ponders to himself for several moments, and then puts his thumb down. Next, Percy does something that could very well get him killed. He sheaths his sword. The Son of Poseidon offers the boy his hand. He reluctantly takes it and Percy helps him to his feet.
"No one dishonors the games! No one!" Antaeus bellows. His voice shakes the arena like an earthquake. "Both of your heads will be used as tributes to Poseidon. And I can promise you that death will not be quick!"
Percy mumbles something to the boy then steps towards the giant in the stands. "Why don't you fight me yourself? If you have dad's favor, then come down and prove it!"
"Percy, don't!" I yell but he doesn't seem to hear me. And if he does, then he ignores me. Percy is so incredibly stupid. So, so, so stupid. And based on Annabeth's violent head shakes, she thinks so too. He is going to get himself killed. He is going to get all of us killed, and I really don't want to die again.
The monsters in the stands whisper to each other. Antaeus looks around and realizes that he has no choice but to accept the challenge, otherwise he will look weak in front of all the monsters in the crowd.
"I am the greatest wrestler in the world." He warns. Antaeus pauses dramatically. "I have been wrestling since the first pankration!"
"He's going to get himself killed, isn't he?" Rachel says quietly.
Annabeth and I nod our heads while the empousa shivers with delight. She must really want to see Percy dead.
Percy points his sword towards the giant. "Winner takes all! I win, we all go free. You win, we die. Swear on the River Styx." At least he's smart enough to make Antaeus swear on it. Maybe there's hope for us living after all.
The giant laughs. "I swear to your terms! This shouldn't take too long, and it will be very entertaining to tear you limb from limb!"
The giant plops down into the arena. The boy rushes out of the way while Percy holds his ground. Antaeus cracks his knuckles. "Weapons?"
Percy gestures to his sword. "I'll stick to the one I have. You?"
The giant laughs again, along with the spectators. "I don't need any weapon! Master Luke, you will referee this one."
Luke smirks from his seat. "Gladly."
Antaeus charges Percy, but he dodges and slices his leg. The giant cries out in pain, but in a matter of seconds the wound heals from the dirt of the arena. It quickly becomes clear to Percy that killing Antaeus is going to be much harder than we originally thought, and we all thought that it was going to be very difficult. He charges again and Percy dodges, but gets his sword stuck in Antaeus's ribs this time. He is weaponless in a fight to the death.
"Now you see why I never lose, foolish demigod!" Antaeus jests. "Come here and let me crush you! It will be a death with honor, I can assure you that."
Percy looks at us desperately. I can see the gears grinding behind his head. Then it dawns on him what he needs to do. To defeat the son of the earth, he needed to take the earth out of the equation. My confidence in Percy nearly doubles when I realize that he knows what to do, not that I didn't believe that he would win before the fight.
Percy charges towards Antaeus. He pretends to go under his legs, but at the last second he uses the giant to grab one of the chains. Antaeus roars in agitation.
"Come down here and fight, you coward!" He growls.
Percy holds on to the chain tightly. I can't see what he's doing, but I hope it's something more than hanging out of the giant's reach.
"Why don't you come up and get me? Or are you too slow and fat?" Percy taunts.
Antaeus grits his teeth and grabs a low hanging chain. He climbs slowly to reach Percy on a higher chain. Then, Percy hooks a chain on Antaeus's loin cloth. He slips and the giant falls so that he is hanging several feet from the ground. He flings his arms and legs but he can't free himself.
"Get me down and fight properly!" Antaeus shrieks.
Luke stands up. "Cut him down! He is our host!" He commands, like Percy would actually listen to him.
Percy uncaps his pen to have it become a sword. "I'll free him." He stabs his sword in the giant's stomach. This time, the earth doesn't heal Antaeus. He is forever silent.
"Jackson!" Luke growls. "I should've killed you a long time ago when I had the chance."
"You did try." Percy reminds him sarcastically. "Now, let us go. We had a sworn agreement with Antaeus. I am the winner."
Luke scowls. "Antaeus is dead and the oath dies with him." He shrugs. "But since I'm feeling rather merciful today, I will make your death fast." He points towards Annabeth. "Spare the girl! I would like to speak to her before our great triumph."
The monsters in the stands pull out their weapons and ready the claws. Each one is ready to attack Percy. There is no way that he can fight each one.
The giant loosens its hold on me. I take the opportunity to squeeze out of its grip and grab my sword from a dracaenae. Percy blows into something that looks like a dog whistle and it bursts in his hands. Luke says something to Percy, but I don't hear what it is because I'm too busy dodging the dracaenae's attack.
I hear a loud bark then the giant that was guarding Annabeth flies towards the wall. The dracaenae is distracted and I take the opportunity to stab it. Annabeth grabs her dagger and we prepare to fight the empousa for Rachel.
She giggles and holds her claws up to Rachel's neck. "Did you really think it would be-" The empousa shrieks when Mrs. O'Leary flings her to the wall like the giant was just moments ago.
Annabeth and I grab the shaken-up Rachel. Together we run towards Percy.
"Let's go!" Percy yells. He, the boy Percy fought, Rachel, Annabeth, and I rush out of the arena as fast as we can. All we can hope is that the chaos was too much and the monsters can't follow us into the maze.