I wish I had some coffee. I feel like any turn we take is taking us farther away from Pan. Why did he have to be in the Labyrinth? Especially Pan, the god of the Wild! He should know better than to be underground!
But here we are, wandering the endless halls of the great maze, running out of whatever luck is keeping monsters from appearing and trying to eat us… or fight us… or imprison us. I'm leading the way, but my footsteps have started to slow, my hooves have started to drag, and I can actually smell Tyson's breath right behind me.
"Goat-boy is lost…" he mutters, halfway between a question and an accusation.
"No," I say defensively.
"Where is god person?"
"Somewhere down here," I answer, a little frustrated.
"You do not know."
I turn around. "Maybe not, but I can still feel him! Just… give me a second…"
Tyson blinks.
I slide my hands under my cap and rub at the base of my horns. My empathy link with Percy is flickering, making me worry. Is the labyrinth affecting it? Could it help me find him again? But the sense of Pan is still lingering, tugging me with it, trying to show me the way through the maze. My own self-preservation and common sense, however, is pulling me a different direction. The tug of war for which direction to go is making my head hurt. I squeeze my eyes shut.
"Horns!" Tyson yells.
"Yes… I have horns…"
Then I'm being slammed into the wall—and with my luck, this particular part of the labyrinth is concrete.
"OW! What in the Wild?" I open my eyes and see the backside of a monster I had been wishing I wouldn't see again.
Tyson, a bit on top of me after pushing me out of the way, points. "Horns!" he repeats.
I give a squeak and pull out my reed pipes. I wish Percy was still here. Or maybe I don't. I doubt he wants to see this beast again either.
It was the Minotaur. The same one that had attacked Ms. Jackson summers ago, the same beast that opened the world of demigods to the oblivious, happy Percy. I suppose I have a bone to pick with him.
Tyson picks up a giant rock as I screech out a sharp tune on my instrument. The Minotaur stiffens and snorts. Then he glares at me. "Now would be the time to throw that!" I yelp at Tyson as I find myself backing against the concrete wall.
Tyson hurls the stone at the monster, who swats it like a fly.
I gulp. Tyson has a small tantrum. We're doomed.
We came all this way. I got so close to Pan. And now, the monster of my nightmares, the beast that almost killed Percy and his mother, the giant creature that exposed this world to him and would always be a sore memory of mine, is now going to be my last one.
.
She supposed she should have been relieved like all the others, but every frustration she was feeling was lashed out with her words against Percy. "How could you stay there so long?! What were you thinking?! We thought you were dead! What are we supposed to do now?! The Titan army is growing!" were only some of the exclamations that left her lips.
Percy tried to tell her what he found out, about a clear-sighted mortal needing to lead them through the Labyrinth, about who that mortal would have to be. After that, she was off in a huff. He sighed, and Chiron wheeled up next to him in his wheelchair. "She'll calm down in time, Percy," he said, patting the camper on the back. "She's just a little jealous."
Percy blushed. He thought he had finished the blushing at Calypso's island. Clearly, he was wrong. "Th-That's stupid!" he spluttered.
"The important thing is that you came back. You made that choice."
Percy began to wonder whether it really was his choice… or Calypso's curse. Somehow, he felt guiltier now.
"You should visit your mother on your way to finding that girl, Percy. She's very distraught."
Percy smacked his head. He hadn't even thought about how his mother would feel. What was he thinking?! And what about Grover and Tyson? He was relieved to see that Annabeth had made it out, but he was worried about his best friend and his brother. "Any word from Grover or Tyson?"
Chiron shook his head. "I'm afraid the only word I received was from the Council of Cloven Elders. They have revoked Grover's searcher's license inabsentia. And if he comes back alive, he will be forced into shameful exile."
"That's stupid. Grover's been brave and resourceful during all of this! He sensed Pan. Pan is calling to him! Shame? Exile? He doesn't deserve any of that!"
"I know."
Percy frowned. He really hoped Grover found Pan by now, but without a way through the Labyrinth, could he? He shook his head. He had to keep the hope. He had to believe in his best friend. Grover was never more confident and stronger than when he was chasing Pan. That's how Percy knew that he would find him. That's how Percy knew that the satyr had heard and felt him. The Wild god shined through him.
.
So we've tried running. It didn't work. The Minotaur is still on our tail. Tyson finds another rock for take two. I try to think of other songs to play on my instrument. My hooves are beating nervously against the—now clay—floors. We take a few more steps back. Tyson is now holding a rock in each hand.
"Ready?" I ask him.
"You ready?" he asks back.
I guess that was a fair response.
We hear the snort, then the hooves, as the Minotaur charges us. I put the reeds to my lips and play a new song. A quick one this time, which confuses the monster and makes him stumble. I give a small cheer, then Tyson jumps on its back and slams his rocks into its head, shattering the stones with the force.
"Good job, Tyson!" I bleat.
Then the Minotaur stands, and he doesn't seem very fond of giving Tyson a piggy-back ride.
"Tyson! Look out!"
The Minotaur slams Tyson against the wall…then the other wall… then the first wall again. Tyson is pretty hardy, but I doubt he can take much more. I try my music again, but the Minotaur only stiffens and locks eyes with me.
Never look a Minotaur in the eyes.
He lifts the young cyclops off his back and tosses him at me. I yelp, pinned down under him, who's beaten and bruised more than I'd ever seen him. He rolls off me with a moan. I stand over him, as if a little satyr like me can protect a cyclops from a giant Minotaur in an underground maze.
I close my eyes and bring up what's left of my courage and will, and what I get is more than that. I get… power. I get strength that definitely didn't come from me. Pan is close. I can feel him more than ever now. I feel him more strongly than when I chugged coffee in New Mexico. I feel him more present than when I first set out years ago and found the Fleece. He's here. And this Minotaur is not going to stop me from getting to my god!
.
Percy still had the ink stain from when Rachel Elizabeth Dare wrote her number on his wrist. After a groan from Annabeth, they called her at Percy's home. Mrs. Jackson had been thrilled to see them, stuffing them full of blue chocolate-chip cookies and listening to their adventures so far. They were even laughing by the end of the story. Percy looked over at Annabeth as she took another bite of a cookie with a big smile on her face. He was glad she was smiling. It had been awhile.
"I wish Paul was here," his mother was saying.
Percy groaned. "Oh, gods… the school! What… did you tell him…?"
"He knows you're different Percy, and he knows you're good."
"What's that mean?"
"It means he's standing up for you. Trying to convince the school that everything that happened wasn't your fault. He needs to talk to you… but… I don't know what you could say…"
"I could tell him the truth."
She looked at him, pride in her eyes. "You would?"
"Well, sure. He'll think we're crazy, though."
She laughed. "He may already." She handed Annabeth another cookie. "So… when will you be home again?"
"Um…"
Annabeth was the one to tell her about the plan. Apparently, Sally Jackson had been clear-sighted in her younger years. Annabeth would have asked that she come along instead, but—between how hard it was for her to see through the Mist now and the fact that she was Percy's mom and he wouldn't want her in the Labyrinth—they had to go with Rachel Elizabeth Dare after all.
So when they got ahold of Rachel and explained the situation, she was able to identify an entrance to the Labyrinth outside of Camp Half Blood. She further showed her value when she pointed to the floor in front of a stretch of three tunnels, "There's a path. We should follow that."
Percy had been about to point ahead to the tunnel that looked like it went through dirt and tree roots… to where he hoped Grover and Tyson would be. Annabeth actually spoke against Rachel's instruction, saying, "The 'path' to the right looks more like a path to a workshop…"
"I mean there's a path of light showing which way to go." She looked at them. "You guys don't see that?"
That was the power of a clear-sighted mortal. So they followed Rachel through the underground chambers and tunnels. The Labyrinth seemed calmer somehow with Rachel guiding them. It was as if the living maze did not make its changes around a mortal as much as it did when it was just the demigods and monsters walking through.
"So where are you taking us? Is it leading to Grover and Tyson?" Annabeth asked. She still felt a little guilty about the state Juniper was in when she got back to camp. Before they headed back out, she had found the tree and promised to bring Grover back safely or die trying. Juniper seemed satisfied with that.
"Um… I don't know. It's just leading… forward."
Percy noted, "I bet it's leading us straight to Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth."
"Thank the gods we can at least finish the quest," Annabeth sighed.
.
I feel a little dizzy after bringing up that power, but we have to keep moving. Pan has got to be close, right? To give me that surge?
Tyson is looking at me like I'm some sort of wizard. At least, I think that's the expression of 'impressed and confused.' I'm pretty sure he's not looking hungrily at me, at least. Still, it gives me a chill. "Would you stop it?" I finally say.
"Goat-boy makes plants dance! What else can you do?"
"That's… about it…" We had gotten this far because the roots and vines from a natural part of the cave has the Minotaur in their grasp. I was okay not turning it to dust. If it's dust, it'll come back. If it's trapped, maybe it will stay trapped for longer… and maybe get lost in the maze.
Speaking of lost, that run-in with the Minotaur got us turned around. Not to mention that surge of Wild energy has completely left. In fact, we're walking across metallic floors now. We'll probably end up finding Daedalus before Pan at this point.
"Goat-boy will find god person."
I turn around. Tyson is smiling at me. Then, he puts his big hand across my shoulders. "I know he will. And I will help!"
I can't help but smile. "Yeah, Tyson. You are helping." He is still a little worse for wear from the Minotaur. If not for him, I'd be dead. I am really starting to like the big guy.
Soon, I feel dirt under my hooves. We're in a large cave, complete with stalactites and stalagmites and about four different tunnels. I groan. I'd love some coffee right now. Or some of Ariadne's string. I wonder if Percy and Annabeth are faring any better. Maybe they've finished their quest. Maybe it's been a year down here by now. Maybe the Great Prophecy was just fulfilled.
"Goat-boy is lost again."
"Yeah…" I mutter. I sit down against the cave wall. I didn't realize how much my legs hurt until now.
Tyson sits next to me, legs crossed.
"A short rest… then we keep going."
"Okay," is all Tyson says before he is sound asleep beside me. I look at him. He really does look awful. There's not a limb that isn't bleeding, and he's bruised all over.
I pull out my pipes again. Maybe… with all this wild energy… with how close I am to Pan… Maybe I can help him… heal him.
I close my eyes and concentrate, blowing a soft, gentle tune into the reeds. I can immediately smell dewy earth… then a breeze comes through and I could swear I hear the shifting sound of leaves during the fall. When I open my eyes, it's just the cave, just Tyson and me. But Tyson is smiling, breathing easier, and I can tell he's feeling better. I smile.
I stand up beside him and pace the entrances to the tunnels ahead.
Then I smell danger.
"Oh no…" I stare into the darkness of one of the tunnels, and two yellow-green eyes the size of my head stare back at me.
.
If the skulls that lined the walls weren't enough to send a chill down the heroes' spines, the appearance of Luke up above the ring put them on edge. Luke took notice of them and turned to a giant, tattooed man standing beside him. "Shall we set another match, Antaeus? This is your brother, a son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson."
The giant man beside him smiled. "I bet he would make a great fighter!" He was way too eager for Percy's taste. He gestured to some other spectators. "Bring out the dracanae!"
An enemy came from a cage to the side. "Maybe if we beat up all the monsters he throws at us, we can get through," Annabeth noted, keeping her eyes locked on Luke, in almost a trance of hope.
"On it," said Percy, and he ran at the creature, cutting it clean through with Riptide in a quick, fluid motion.
"Alright Percy!" Rachel cheered.
Antaeus, on the other hand, growled. "That wasn't exciting at all! What a let-down!" He gestured to his assistant again. "Bring out the demigod!"
"Demigod?" Percy asked.
Sure enough, a boy about his age, one he recognized from camp, stepped into the arena. He was heavily armored and had a patch over one eye. It was Ethan Nakumura. There was no way Percy would finish the match as quickly or as finitely for a fellow hero. But Ethan charged him with ferocity, and Percy barely dodged out of the way.
"There's got to be a better way than to fight at the command of these bloodthirsty bosses!" he said as Ethan tried another attack.
He was slow moving, Percy noticed, and his armor was weighing him down. He could easily survive this fight, but he wondered what to do about Ethan. For now, he ran around him, not placing his own blows.
"Come on!" Antaeus yelled from the stands.
Rachel watched with curiosity. Annabeth kept her eyes on Luke. Luke was smiling down at the fight, the wicked grin accenting his scar.
Ethan was slowing, eventually opening himself to a push from Percy, bringing him facedown on the ground. "Well, get on with it, then," he whispered to Percy. But Percy refused to kill him.
Antaeus was enraged and jumped down to the arena floor. "My audience wants to see a real fight, brother!"
"Then we'll give them a fight, Antaeus," Percy responded as Ethan cleared the way. "Swear by the River Styx that you'll let us go, including Ethan, if I defeat you."
"I swear," Antaeus responded. "Because I can't lose."
That's when the real fight began. The audience certainly got what they wanted. Percy stabbed at Antaeus, making contact several times. But any time he was wounded, the earth itself came up and healed his cuts.
"Antaeus is a child of Gaea!" Annabeth told him from the sidelines. "There's no defeating him if she keeps healing him!"
"Gaea…" Percy mumbled, dodging an attack from his half-brother. Goddess of the earth… But what if he isn't on the earth…?
Percy looked up above him at the chains hanging down from the ceiling. He jumped up and grabbed one of the longer ones, climbing quickly. Antaeus followed close behind. Percy smiled and swung from another chain down to Antaeus, wrapping him in the links. He fought back, of course, but Percy dodged quickly out of the way. As Antaeus struggled to free himself, Percy swung on another chain toward him, then ran him through with Riptide. The earth was unable to reach him, and Gaea could not save him.
Percy slid down his chain, back to the arena floor. "We're out of here, guys. Come on."
"Not so fast!" Luke shouted down. "I didn't promise the same as Antaeus, and Antaeus is dead. You won't be leaving this arena. Get them!" Luke's forces started packing the ring.
Percy stepped back with the others.
"It was a good plan," Annabeth said. That was high praise, but it did no good now.
"Is it always so dog-eat-dog with you half-gods?" Rachel Elizabeth Dare tried to wield her blue plastic hairbrush as a weapon.
Percy felt something in his pocket, getting colder and colder. "Dog-eat-dog…" he mused. He had to use it, as concerned as he was about Quintus betraying them, as afraid as he was that he was a spy for Kronos, now was a 'time of need.' Percy grasped the icy whistle, brought it to his lips, and blew.
