章 915: 23
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Staring at the backpack in front me, I thought about how much I secretly despised the Olympian gods. It was something I never said aloud, but it's easy to say that a lot of things about them grated on my nerves.
I disliked their outdated hierarchy that hadn't changed for more than a thousand years.
Their stupid rules that didn't allow them to 'meddle' with their children's lives, yet they used demigods like pawns when the need arose.
Their useless pride that only made things worse.
Their messed up priorities that always costed sacrifice.
Their demands for tribute and respect when they do nothing for demigods like me.
I could go on and on, but I had never really voiced any of these to anyone. Other than Luke, no one fully knew my opinions of the Olympians. It was at times like this that I was reminded of how well I blended into Kronos' Army. As much as I loved Camp Half-Blood, my love only extended to the place itself and the people in it. I cared about the demigods who depended on this piece of land every year and Chiron for teaching us everything we needed to know for protection. That was it. If it were possible, I'd be okay if Olympus burned to the ground as long as camp remained intact.
But, as it turns out, I have a role in this world. I'm a patch in their system.
A piece of paper, a list of things to pack, crinkled in my fist. I had everything I needed in the bag: thermos, stash of ambrosia, roll of dollar bills, wet wipes, a change of clothes, flashlight with extra batteries, and a couple day's worth of food. I wore a long sleeve shirt under a dark grey jacket that didn't make rustling sounds when I moved. Tightening my shoelaces, I mentally checked the Void for my swords and the Madness of Hera curse. The vial of River Lethe was still there, but I wasn't sure if I'd have use for it soon.
It was just a matter of meeting up with the other four to begin the quest. Travis and Connor stood at the cabin door, waiting for me to finish up. They had helped me gather the stuff, but I could tell that they were really reluctant to do so. After all, they didn't know if I'd return from the Labyrinth.
In a way, they were right. I wasn't coming back to camp.
Putting a hand over the scythe charm, I conveyed, I'm about to leave.
Luke's voice entered my mind. Alright, be careful. Keep me updated so if we cross paths-
Keep Annabeth safe and bring her to you, I know, I nearly snapped. It was a bit difficult to keep my tone light and pleasant instead of sounding angry. I dropped the charm down my shirt, making sure to tuck under my sports bra so it wouldn't slip out by accident. The conversation from the day before replayed in my mind like a recording and it irritated the hell out of me.
"Go on the quest", Luke had ordered me. "It'll be useful to us to have you spy on Percy since we're also searching for Daedalus. If you find the architect before we do and get back to camp, take Ariadne's string and leave. And if we cross paths, we'll take Annabeth."
The second he mentioned Annabeth, I could just feel Luke's voice turning soft and his entire demeanor expressing wistfulness and hope through the mental communication. The mere thought of her, the chance of seeing her again comforted Luke. I wrinkled my nose at his sappy tone, it sounded like he was in lo-
I sharply shook my head as I zipped the backpack close. It's better not to think about it.
I had to throw a couple of rocks by the lake to let off steam yesterday. Even though I didn't have much room to claim a higher moral ground since I was lying to Luke, making him think that I was helping him, it still annoyed me to hear him so enamored with someone who was out of his reach. I was the one who was trying to give him a chance, who knew his fear and regret. He shouldn't be so obsessed with someone else like this and mess up my plans for saving his ass when we had other issues to focus on.
Something ugly twisted inside me. I shoved the feeling away, repeating to myself, It's better not to think about it.
Things weren't going the way I'd anticipated, but hell, if I wasn't going to make things work.
I'll make it work, I told myself stubbornly. Luke threw a wrench, but I'll steamroll him over if I have to.
Travis clapped a hand on my shoulder, breaking me out of my internal thoughts.
"You ready?" His smile was stiff, mirroring Connor's own uneasy grin.
I shouldered the backpack and pulled on my blue LA Dodgers cap. "Ready."
Nico blocked my path at the door. His head lowered, the kid was having a hard time speaking his mind and wrung his shaking hands.
"Please don't go," he whispered. A teardrop fell from his face, catching the morning light before it hit his hand.
Regret and guilt pricked me. I wasn't fond of hugs, but I pulled Nico into my arms and squeezed him tight. His arms automatically wrapped around my waist, his grip stronger than mine. After a quick minute, I let go, took off my cap and fitted it onto Nico's head.
"Take care, Nico," I said. Connor and Travis gave Nico looks of pity as they followed me out the door, accompanying me to the forest.
"Is it alright to give him that hat?" Connor asked quietly. I knew what he meant; it was the one Yuri gave me a long time ago.
"I have a spare," I said as I pulled out a black cap from my backpack.
We got to Zeus' Fist where there were already a group of people milling around in the crisp morning. Juniper and Grover stood apart from the rest, doing their couples' version of a goodbye. The satyr was dressed as a human, with a red cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide the goat legs. Grover and I locked eyes for a moment, giving each other short nods of acknowledgement before he broke eye contact first, looking uncomfortable. I didn't have much of a friendship with the satyr as we didn't speak much, so I didn't know what he thought of me.
A number of Hephaestus kids were working on a line of defensive spikes and trenches while Quintus watched at a distance with a critical eye. One trench in particular was larger than the rest, almost three meters wide and deep. The Stoll brothers and I peered into the dark trench.
Beckendorf caught me observing. "You think it's big enough?" he asked.
Travis huffed, "It's big enough to bury a body, for sure."
"No clue," I answered Beckendorf. "We've never done something like this."
The Stoll brothers gave me hard slaps on the back before they left to begin leading Cabin Eleven's schedule for the day. As they walked away, a stab of pain pierced in my chest. They didn't know what I was up to and they knew I hadn't been myself lately, but they still trusted me to come back.
I'm sorry, Travis, Connor, I mentally apologized dejectedly.
Annabeth and Chiron arrived together and Percy and his Cyclops half-brother Tyson came last. When Percy saw me, his green eyes shook.
"Morning," I greeted them both and then faced Tyson. "We haven't really talked, but I hope we get along."
The one eye threw me off, but Tyson's innocent toothy smile was infectious. It was cute how it didn't match his bulky build that rivalled professional muscled wrestlers.
"You are Jade! Percy said your name in his sleep," Tyson said without reserve. Behind him, Percy sputtered profusely, denying it.
"I did not," he insisted, sounding both exposed and scared. "I mean, it's not like that, it was a dream-"
Percy stopped defending himself when he had to talk to Chiron, so I took the opportunity to ask Tyson about it.
"He sounded sad," the Cyclops confided in me. "Percy did not sleep well last night."
Tyson's bottom lip quivered like he was deeply worried about his half-brother. I patted his arm, reassuring him that Percy wouldn't be too bothered by whatever it was, but I half-worried about whatever it was that Percy dreamed of me. It couldn't be too good since dreams usually revealed details of the past at the most opportune moments. In the meantime while waiting for Percy and Chiron, Quintus strode closer and approached me against my wishes.
"You must be fairly experienced with the Labyrinth if Annabeth is willing to break the rule of three in a quest," he said conversationally. "Do you have an idea of navigating it?"
I tried not to tense at the question. Curious of how well I know your creation?
Seeing him trying to blatantly sniff me out, I let out a huff of ill-mannered amusement. "The point of this quest is to figure that out, isn't it?"
Quintus didn't react to my little snub. "Well yes, I'm just concerned that five youngsters are diving in a maze with little direction. Speaking from personal experience, the Labyrinth is not kind."
"It was built to cage in the Minotaur and human sacrifices. If Daedalus created it, it shouldn't be kind or easy to 'solve'."
"You are quite right," Quintus dryly agreed. "Creations reflect their purposes as well as their creator in some ways."
I gave him a knowing look. "Like you said, speaking from experience?"
To his credit, Quintus didn't bat an eyelash, but his eyes bore me down at my layered remark.
"It seems," he said slowly. "You know the nature of the Labyrinth well enough. I understand why Annabeth chose you."
Percy POV
Percy wondered as he watched Jade and Quintus chat briefly in the corner of his eye. He thought about last night's dream of Luke and Kronos, how they knew about the quest the same day the war council decided to send one. Quintus was a possible suspect, but something about Jade yesterday troubled Percy.
Percy had wanted to talk to Jade about the upcoming quest after the war council, finding her at her habitual spot at the tree by the lake. He'd been a little excited, looking forward to the prospect of going on a quest with Jade for the first time despite the grave dangers involved. However, before he could let her know that he was there, she did something both suspicious and disconcerting.
Jade was clutching something in her hand that was attached to a silver necklace chain hanging around her neck. She looked deep in thought, as if listening intently, when a flash of anger contorted her face. Wide-eyed, Percy stared as she removed the necklace, throwing it to the ground and then began pacing restlessly at the lakeshore.
Then she picked up a piece of rock off the ground and promptly chucked it into the lake.
"-so stupid," he heard her seethe. "After everything I'm doing 一-一一-一-一, he's still 一-一ridiculous."
Jade took off her blue cap and ran a hand through her bangs in frustration, showing her face. Whenever there was a chance to see Jade's face without getting drowsy, Percy often spent the rare opportunity admiring her. There was just something hypnotic about being able to see a face that normally deterred people's attention. While Annabeth had the look of a princess with her golden curls and intense gaze, Jade's relaxed expressions and half-open eyes gave her a subdued demeanor, making it easier to approach her. Yet, the brown eyes that were normally so steady were now incensed and blazing. Her face twisted into a terrible scowl, Percy had never seen Jade so mad, it alarmed him to see her like this.
She kept ranting unbeknownst to her surroundings and Percy couldn't catch every word, but he strained his ears.
"-a minor, you piece of shit," she spat out as she hurled a second stone. "一-一- ruin everything."
Hearing the profanity and venting, Percy hid behind the kayak shack and couldn't bring himself to approach her.
What in the world had that been? He speculated that it was related to Jade not being able to sleep lately, but witnessing that scene shook his entire impression of her. That wasn't the cool, calm, collected person he was accustomed to. This was an ugly side, one that she didn't show anyone. Percy had the feeling that not even the Stoll brothers she was so close with or Annabeth had seen Jade angry like this before.
When he had first met Jade, introduced by Luke, Percy had initially pegged her as a mellow person.
She seemed like someone who never wanted to deal with troublesome stuff and content with enjoying mischief with the Stoll brothers. Jade tended to edge sarcasm too often and it'd get on Percy's nerves at times, but she never intended harm. Annabeth trusted her completely to a point that even Percy would get a little jealous. Annabeth never doubted Jade's words and took her opinions very seriously. It was a little immature, but Percy felt a bit better when he had learned that Grover was slightly wary of Jade. Apparently, she 'trailed a smell of death', but so did Nico so Percy thought that it might have to do with their godly parents. After all, Jade's dad, Hypnos, was the god of sleep and wasn't there a saying that sleep was the closest to death a human could be?
But, Percy personally sometimes didn't know what to feel about Jade. He didn't doubt her fighting abilities or thinking skills and sure, she was pretty laid back to hang with, appreciated puns and lame jokes, but sometimes there'd be an edge around her. It was like there was a hidden part of Jade that she tucked away. Something razor sharp, caustic and bitter, and a little dark. It'd come out whenever she abruptly ended conversations, acted distant at times, and Percy was reminded of the previous winter when Jade came to camp in a foul mood. To be completely honest, it bothered Percy because it reminded him of Luke right before he betrayed camp. He couldn't afford to lose trust in Jade now since they were about to enter the Labyrinth together.
"Be careful of her," Rachel had said. "She's not on the same side as you."
And that other dream last night… Percy's brows wrinkled a bit, lost in thought, while watching Jade and Quintus.
Following Percy's line of sight, Chiron vouched, "Despite my strong reservations of there being five of you, Annabeth chose well, including Jade."
"I know what you mean. Jade's been in the Labyrinth," Percy acknowledged. "And survived."
Chiron did a double take. "My boy, repeat that for me."
Percy blinked in confusion. "Jade's been in Labyrinth. You know, for the secret mission you had her do?"
After an awkward pause, Chiron made a small sound of understanding, but it sounded forced.
"Ah… I see, yes, I do know." The centaur's tail twitched, belying the short confirmation. "As we discussed, I will keep my eye on Quintus. Take care, and good hunting, Percy."
Percy frowned. "Right… you too."
They walked over to the rocks, where Annabeth, Tyson, Grover and Jade waited.
After everyone gave their goodbyes, the five of them descended into the darkness.
Percy knew that they shouldn't have expected to be able to keep track of their steps, but in less than a hundred feet, they were hopelessly lost. Right now, the tunnel was round like a sewer, made of red brick and iron-barred portholes over ten feet. Annabeth was the leader, doing her best to guide them, giving out all sorts of suggestions as to mentally keeping track of their progress. Everytime they seemed to come to the end of a passageway, they'd enter a new set of rooms and openings that confused them further. It didn't help that the layout, the materials of the walls, and directions changed constantly.
When they came to the middle of a circular chamber with eight tunnels leading out, Annabeth swept her flashlight beam over the identical archways of each one.
"That way," she said with her light settling over to the second most left exit.
"How do you know?" Percy asked.
"Deductive reasoning."
"So… you're guessing."
"She said deductive reasoning, Percy-boy, don't be rude," Jade drawled from the very back.
Percy turned to her. "So you agree with Annabeth's choice?"
"Of course," she supplied easily.
Annabeth perked up at that. "Really?"
"Oh definitely, the archway on it appeals to me."
Percy's shoulders slumped at her answer. She sounded serious, which meant she was being sarcastic and messing with them. He'd hoped that Jade was actually being helpful.
"Put a wet sock in it, Jade," Annabeth grumbled. "Just come on."
The tunnel she'd chosen narrowed quickly. The walls turned gray cement, the ceiling getting so low that they had to hunch over and Tyson was forced to crawl.
"Why would Pan be down here?" This is the opposite of the wild!" Grover began hyperventilating.
"Might want to leave some air for all of us," Jade muttered unhelpfully.
But they didn't have to worry about getting squished or running out of oxygen because the tunnel ended, opening into a huge room. Percy shined his light around the walls and gaped.
"Woah."
The whole room was covered in mosaic tiles. The pictures were grimy and faded, but he could still make out shapes and figures depicted with simple black, gold, red colors. The frieze showed a maze, incredibly intricate and sprawling in all directions of the wall, with a monster at the center. Percy had flashbacks of a large, hulking monster from two summers ago, when he first entered Camp Half-Blood. It was the Minotaur, surrounded by what looked like human skulls, and at the left, a young guy with a sword. He was led by the hand by a girl who looked like royalty with her braided hair and crown.
"What is this place?" Percy muttered. "It looks-"
"Roman," Annabeth said. "Those mosaics are about two thousand years old and it's telling the story of the Minotaur."
"But how can they be Roman?" Percy knew he wasn't great on ancient history, but he was sure that leftovers of the Roman Empire shouldn't be near Long Island.
"The Labyrinth is a patchwork," Annabeth reminded him. "I told you, it's always expanding, adding pieces. It's the only work of architecture that grows by itself."
"You make it sound like it's alive."
A groaning noise echoed from the tunnel in front of us.
"Let's not talk about it being alive," Grover whimpered. "Please?"
"All right, we go forward," Annabeth said. "Jade?"
Everyone's head turned to Jade who was still sweeping the frieze, inspecting every wall as if she was searching for something.
"I saw this in a dream," she said in a dazed tone. "It was a painting, not a mosaic, but it's the exact same picture."
Annabeth immediately zeroed in on that information. "What was the dream? What did it show you?"
Instead of the vague, half-hearted answers Jade usually divulged, she answered in full detail. Jade recounted the dream and how it was chillingly similar to what they were seeing right now in that room, how she also saw King Minos chasing down Daedalus. Most disturbingly, she described how Daedalus 'shedded' five times, having a new body each time, all while thwarting King Minos' wrath. By the time Jade finished her dream, Percy could see everyone wracking their heads over the coincidence of it and the room. Annabeth looked like she was mentally chugging out steam from cranking the gears in her brain.
"What do you think this means?" It was the first time Percy saw Annabeth ask another person for an opinion before proposing her own.
"I think we should stay." Jade's calm voice carried in the antiquated chamber.
Grover bleated nervously. "What do you mean?"
The groaning noise from before echoed again but it grew louder and seemed close, causing the party to freeze.
Facing the direction of the sound, Jade said, "We're about to meet someone in here. Or something."
Grover nearly squeaked out of pure fear. "Are you crazy?!" he half-whispered, half-hissed.
Flashlight disappearing, Jade pulled her adamantine swords out of nowhere, the diamond-white metals gleaming in the dark.
"Probably," was her monotone reply. Annabeth followed suit, switching the flashlight to the other grip while her signature knife appeared in her dominant hand. Seeing the unspoken agreement, Percy gritted his teeth and uncapped Riptide, slapping his watch to spring the shield. Grover simply gripped his sturdy flashlight like a bat while Tyson stood in a protective stance. They all faced the tunnel in front of them, preparing to attack whatever came through the black entrance, when smoke tendrils started unfurling across the floor.
"Uh oh," Percy muttered.
"'Uh oh' does not look good," Tyson anxiously agreed, eyeing the grey fumes.
They continued watching the mounting smoke piles, tightening their grips on their weapons as a sudden chill spread through their bodies. The coldness didn't feel right, like it wasn't a physical sense of coolness but one that iced your inner organs and left an uncomfortable ache in your gut. Grover and Tyson started shivering next to him.
Percy mustered up a brave facade, hoping his voice wouldn't crack. "Who's there?"
One figure formed among the smoky stacks, stepping forward. It looked like a real ghost with its grey complexion and see through body.
The hazy ghost answered with a wheezing rasp. "Welcome to the Labyrinth, young heroes. I am King Minos and I offer you an irresistible deal in your search for the inventor."
Annabeth stepped back. "King Minos?"
"King Minos from the story of the Minotaur?" Percy asked in disbelief. "From thousands of years ago?"
The ghost did a small bow. "At your service-"
"Don't listen to him," Jade suddenly cut him off. "We can't trust this guy."
"It is you who should not be trusted," King Minos spat to everyone's confusion and then he turned to Annabeth. "You should beware of this one, child of Athena. She harbors secrets-"
Secrets? What secrets? Percy saw a mounting panic creep on Jade's face as the ghost talked, but the dead man didn't get to finish his sentence. Some of the curling smoke shifted, turning into puffy butterflies. They swarmed the ghost, covering his mouth and smothering his incorporeal form. King Minos began flailing, unable to hold the shape of his ghost body against the storm of butterflies, until he finally succumbed to the onslaught and disappeared into the ground.
"Pardon me for intruding, but King Minos always enjoyed dramatics."
They all whirled and pointed their blades at the new voice. Percy stared at the new presence because he'd never quite seen a being like this one.
He'd met gods before whose appearances changed as they spoke, like Aphrodite for instance. Her looks morphed constantly to whatever the person perceived to be beautiful, but the man standing in front of them wasn't like that. He had an abstract face, so indistinguishable and incredibly average, and a loosely tied hair that fell past shoulder length. He looked like a normal mortal, but he had large white wings folded behind his back and a crown of gold wings resting on his head.
"You." Jade lowered her blades in surprise. Percy noted the sheer relief that covered her agitation from the ghost.
Behind Percy, Tyson asked, "Who is the angel-man?"
"I am Hypnos," the 'angel-man' answered pleasantly. "Jade's father. It's very nice to meet you all."
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