Chiron had shown all the campers images of Mount Othrys and had forbidden us from ever going near it. Every demigod at Camp Half-Blood knew that the West Coast was bad news and that it was best to avoid it.
I turned to leave through the doorway back to the Labyrinth but then realized that I was in the perfect place to find answers. Aglaia wasn't entirely wrong. This was where I needed to be.
I snuck down the hallways of the Titan base, one hand on my sword hilt but the place was deserted. Finally, I heard voices coming from a corner room. The door wasn't open so the voices were muddled. I crept closer to hear more clearly.
"Your spy has been keeping us well informed." The voice was male but I didn't belong to anyone I knew. "The Jackson boy is continuing to attend school, living with his mother. The Chase girl just arrived back in California from her extended stay at Camp Half-Blood."
Spy? I idly wondered how much Annabeth would still love her friend when I told her that he had spies stalking her.
"Keep an eye on Annabeth," That voice I did recognize. It was impossible to forget even after 2 years of not hearing it. Luke. "She's close enough to our base that she might try to keep an eye on us."
I smirked. He didn't expect it to be me, watching him. His next words wiped the smile off of my face.
"What about Chris? How did Camp Half-Blood have any luck treating his insanity?" Luke's tone seemed to be carefully controlled.
"So far, they've been unsuccessful. Why?"
Luke didn't respond for a moment. When he finally spoke again, his voice was a soft whisper.
"I pushed him in-."
I saw red. Luke was still talking but I couldn't hear him with the blood rushing through my head. Chris hadn't wanted to go into the Labyrinth but that vlacas forced him and now he had the nerve to act guilty about it. A low, feral snarl escaped me and the conversation in the other room stopped. I heard steps and the door swung open. There was no time to hide.
"You have an unexpected visitor, Luke." The other voice announced drily. "It seems to be an old friend. Shall I leave you two to be reacquainted? Or just kill her?" I got my first good look at Luke's companion. My first thought was that he was tall. He had brown hair and vibrant green eyes. His face was freckled and his body had a lanky build. Something about him unnerved me. He was looking at me boredly like I was some lesser creature who just happened to wander into his home. Luke simply stared at me in surprise. I tackled him.
My attack caught him off guard. The two of us fell and rolled across the ground, struggling. Luke shoved me off of him and stood up.
"Clarisse, what-!" I kneed him and swung at his face but my fist froze an inch from Luke's nose. It was surrounded by a green haze. The green light grew to surround my entire body, completely immobilizing me. I cursed.
Luke stared at me blankly for a moment.
"Thank you, Alabaster but I could have handled her." This punk was named Alabaster?
Alabaster scoffed.
"Spare me your ego. Kill her or imprison her, Luke? I must get back to my siblings and my magic will not hold her forever."
"Send her to the cells. We can interrogate her later." He responded.
The cells were made of the same cold dark stone as the rest of the palace. It seemed as if shadows were seeping out of the walls, encasing me within a cloud of darkness. I could barely see my own two fingers in front of me. Alabaster had ordered his cronies, beautiful women with donkey legs, to disarm and throw me in here.
I had exhausted myself from yelling and pushing at the bars. The brats didn't even give me a bed to lie down on. I wasn't sure how much time had passed.
The she-demons came by every once in a while to give me food. The first few times, I threw the meals back into their faces but eventually hunger made me swallow my pride.
Finally, the traitor came to visit me.
"Hello, Clarisse." He smiled charmingly, sitting down across from me on the floor. I glowered back at him. Even though he hated his father, the bastard still retained Hermes' stealth and sneakiness. I hadn't even noticed him entering the room. "Long time no see. How have you been? How'd you even get here?" I sneered at him.
"Save it, punk. I want nothing to do with you."
Luke frowned slightly.
"Clarisse, I know civility and human decency aren't your strong suit -"
"Traitor amathés don't get decency, Luke, and you have some nerve to ask for it!" I yelled at him. Luke's eyes hardened.
"I'm trying to be nice for old times' sake. We were friends."
"You and I remember the old times very differently, punk. We were not friends." Luke ignored me.
"There are other ways that I can get information from you, Clarisse, and they are much less pleasant than a simple conversation." Luke rose from the floor and headed in the direction of the cell doors, faster than I could track. "Your choice."
Rage flowed through my veins at Luke's words. I was going to kill him but first, I needed to get out of this stupid cell. Blindly, I felt my way towards the bars of the cell. The bars were made of iron. They didn't move as I yanked at them even with my Ares' empowered strength. I needed my sword. Celestial Bronze could cut through the metal easily.
I closed my eyes and conjured an image of my knife, sword, and Maimer, and then focused on them. Wishing that they were with me. I felt a tugging pain in my gut as if a mental rope was dragging the weapons that I wanted. As a daughter of Ares I could conjure most weapons, especially the ones with a close connection to me but I hardly ever used the power. It was painful and I was rarely disarmed.
I was out of practice. I squeezed my eyes shut as the pull became sharper. My head was beginning to pound until a clattering sound made me open my eyes again. My weapons were lying on the ground at my feet.
The glow of the Celestial Bronze dagger dispelled some of the shadows lingering in the room. I swung my sword at the bars and the blade slashed through them like butter, leaving a gaping hole wide enough for me to walk through. I smirked. Time to get out of here.
I raced down the halls of Kronos' palace, trying to find the entrance to the labyrinth but every passageway was identical. I could hear monsters growling in the distance, picking up my scent. That wasn't a problem. I could take them easily. Luke's new witch boyfriend was more of a threat. He caught me off guard. The next time we faced off, I would sock him in the jaw.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of black fur and fangs. Spinning around, I thrust my spear downward, stabbing the hellhound through the head. It let out an inhumane howl before disintegrating.
The monsters were closing in on me. Picking up my speed, I almost didn't notice certain passageways glittering just like they did in the Labyrinth when Aglaia was 'helping' me. Maybe the goddess brat was trying to make it up to me. I chose to follow the light.
The snarling of the monsters was becoming deafening. I picked up the pace to avoid becoming a demonic creature's snack. Even a warrior of my skill level couldn't handle the swarm of monsters heading my way.
Finally, I found the black marble door again with an army of monsters on my heels. I yanked the door open and re-entered the maze. I turned around to pull the door close only to be blown back three feet, even deeper within the Labyrinth. As I fell, I hit my head on the Labyrinth's hard floors, disorienting me.
The monsters forced their way through the entrance of the Labyrinth and prowled nearer to me. I tightened my grip on my sword and spear, ready and willing to fight until my last breath. As the monsters descended on me, I tensed, ready to stab my way out of another mess, only to have the monster beaten away by multiple winged people, all of them looking like Chris. But with wings.
Annabeth had warned me that the Labyrinth would try and trick me with illusions but this was ridiculous. One Chris was even beating back the monsters with a golden club. I escaped from Luke's captivity only to have to deal with this.
No matter where I went, the sons of Hermes seemed to haunt me.
