Daedalus watched us with an expression I couldn't decipher. "We should get going," he said, walking down the hall. "We still have to survive the Labyrinth."

Charlie's smile faded a bit.

"Hey, at least we don't have to drink the lava anymore," I offered in attempt to cheer him up.

Just when he was begin it to get excited, Daedalus countered with, "But now you have no food or anything to keep you alive."

"Would you quit it!" I snapped. He shrugged and stepped confidentially down the hall. I ran my hand along the stone as we walked. For some reason, I had the sudden urge to cry. The cobblestone felt so unfamiliar and strange. It shouldn't. It was just rock. It was cool to the touch, nothing like in Tartarus. I smiled at the thought, confident that I would never step foot in that place again.

Confidence is key to a good illusion.

"I can't believe we're not there anymore," I wondered aloud. Charlie nodded in agreement. My hand was holding him at the waist and he had an arm around my shoulder to keep the pressure off his broken ankle.

"Eight months is a long time," Daedalus agreed. I nodded, yawning. It felt like so much longer than just eight months. How long ago had Charlie been poisoned? Time was so different here, it was hard to tell what had happened when.

Charlie was frowning, his gaze fixed on our guide. "Eight months? How'd you know that?" he asked.

The old man's shoulders went stiff and he missed a step. "I don't know, you must have mentioned it." He wasn't a terrible liar, but his surprise gave it away. I stopped walking and pulled out my sword. Hey, I was still angry at the guy. You can't blame me for being wary. I hit his sword out of his hands before he had even turned around. It clattered forward, and I pulled it towards me with my foot. Daedalus raised his hands in terms of innocence and surrender.

"I do not know-,"

He knew.

"Cut the crap. I don't need to be an Athena kid to know you're lying. Jase is still mad at you, and if you don't start talking I'll let him loose," Charlie threatened. I bared my teeth to prove his point. Daedalus stared at me warily, debating his options. He was unarmed, and he was no longer a young (auto)man. He knew he wouldn't be able to take me in a fight. And despite his sick condition, Charlie was still a major threat.

"I am deeply sorry," he began. "But it is hard to explain-,"

"Take your time," I hissed.

He nodded. "Right. Well, when I opened the Labyrinth, I did not know of its location. I had no way of tracking it, and Tartarus is a very large place to look. Even if you have thirty-five years to do so. The monsters did not find it for about twenty years, so I could not follow them as you did." He stopped talking and frowned, almost as if he actually hadn't thought of the idea. For a child of Athena, he was getting pretty dumb. He'd been alive (technically alive) for over two thousand years; I guess his mind was just fading with age.

"And?" Charlie managed to look threatening, which must have been hard in his situation. He was still hanging off of me in support and was in obvious pain but the hardened expression on his face told Daedalus he'd still be willing to fight him. With his sunken in eyes and pale composition, he kind of reminded me of Nico.

He'll die if he fights again.

"A few years after I was stuck here, a man arrived. He looked human, he seemed human. At first, he seemed to accept his fate. Then he found out who I was and what I had done. He told me that in order to find the Labyrinth and survive, I must find two demigods, and follow them there. He said you would lead me to safety."

"Wait," I interrupted. "So you've been waiting for us for nearly forty years?"

He nodded. "Yes, he told me to follow the two demigods that would fall. After getting to the Labyrinth, I had to bring them to my workshop, alive. He was very specific about that part."

"Who's he? And how did he know this would happen" I asked, only growing more and more confused the more he spoke.

"I cannot say his name! I promised on the Styx I would not. And he said no harm would come to you, he swore it on the Styx!" Daedalus promised. Charlie, obviously, did not know what this meant. I did.

I lifted my sword until it was just under his chin. "Do you?" I asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you promise on the Styx that what you say is true?"

He swooped nervously and nodded. "Yes, I swear on the River Styx that what I told you is true."

I lowered my sword. "You never changed," I spat. The old man didn't disagree. He lifted his hand and pressed it against the wall, identifying another light blue triangle. Before I could protest, the floor gave out from under us, turning into a steep ramp. I lost my footing, and my grip on Charlie, and began to slide into the darkness.

You'll lose him again.