chapter sixty-nine

─── bro zone is the way to go to annoy your boyfriend

          𝕮hiron decided that I hadn't had a existential life crisis in a while so made the decision that I was well over due for one. Well, not exactly in those words. He told me we'd talk in the morning which was just as good.

When I finally did fall asleep, after a lot of convincing from Luke, I dreamed of a prison.

I saw a guy in a Greek tunic and sandals crouching alone in a massive stone room. The ceiling was open to the night sky, but the walls were twenty feet high and polished marble, completely smooth. Scattered around the room were wooden crates. Bronze tools spilled out of one—a compass, a saw, and more.

The boy huddled in the corner, shivering from cold, or maybe fear. He was spattered in mud. His legs, arms, and face, were scraped up as if he'd been dragged here along with the boxes. 

Then the double oak doors moaned open. Two guards in bronze armour marched in, holding an old man between them. They flung him to the floor in a battered heap.

"Father!" The boy ran to him. The man's robes were in tatters. His hair was streaked with grey, and his beard was long and curly.

The boy took the old man's head in his arms. "What did they do to you?" then he yelled at the guards. "I'll kill you!"

"There will be no killing today," a voice said.

The guards moved aside. Behind them stood a tall man in white robes. He wore a thin circlet of gold on his head, eyes glittering cruelly. "You helped the Athenian kill my Minotaur, Daedalus. You turned my own daughter against me."

"You did that yourself, Your Majesty," the old man croaked.

A guard planted a kick in the old man's ribs. The young boy cried, "Stop!"

"You love your maze so much," the king said, "I have decided to let you stay here. This will be  our workshop. Make me new wonders. Amuse me. Every maze needs a monster. You will be mine!"

"I don't fear you," the old man groaned.

The king smiled coldly. He locked his eyes on the boy. "But a man cares about his son, eh? Displease me, old man, and the next time my guards inflict a punishment, it will be on him!"

The king swept out of the room with his guards, and the doors slammed shut, leaving the boy and his father alone in the darkness.

"What shall we do?" the boy moaned. "Father, they will kill you!"

The old man swallowed with difficulty. He tried to smile, but it was a gruesome sight with his bloody mouth.

"Take heart, my son." He gazed up at the stars. "I—I will find a way."

A bar lowered across the door, and I woke in a cold sweat.

∘☽༓☾∘

The next morning, Luke came and found and pulled me from the cocoon of my bed.

"C'mon Andi," He pulled the covers off, batting his hands away as he tried to force me to wake up. I groaned in annoyance.

"Bro..." He stopped at my whining. I opened an eye blearily, checking to make sure he'd gone away. Luke had not. He was standing, shell shocked at the end of my bed.

"Did you just call me bro?"

"Get with the program, bro." I huffed, rolling back over and burying my head in the pillow. I wasn't there very long, before a hand grabbed the back of my shirt and my legs, hauling me upright. "Why are you so freakishly strong?"

"We have a war council meeting." Luke pointed out, shaking his head in exasperation. "Changed and then go."

"Sir yes sir." I saluted lazily as he put me down. Luke rolled his eyes, waiting for me as I pulled on a hoodie and shorts, finding flip flops and Riptide simultaneously.

"Is that my hoodie? I've been looking for it!"

"It's mine." I mumbled, wandering over to him and clambering onto his back. He barely moved at the feeling, walking me to the training arena as he huffed.

Chiron and Quintus stood at the front by the weapon racks. Clarisse and Annabeth sat next to each other and led the briefing whilst Tyson and Grover sat as far away from each other as possible. Also present around the table: Juniper the tree nymph, Silena, Beckendorf, Lee Fletcher, even Argus. That's how I knew it was serious. Argus hardly ever shows up unless something really major is going on. The whole time Annabeth spoke, he kept his hundred blue eyes trained on her so hard his whole body turned bloodshot.

Luke and I sat together, both of us dropping our playful attitude and becoming serious as we listened.

"Puck must have known about the Labyrinth entrance," Annabeth said. "It would make sense."

Juniper cleared her throat. "That's what I was trying to tell Andi and Luke last night. The cave entrance has been there a long time. Puck used to use it."

Silena frowned. "You knew about the Labyrinth entrance, and you didn't say anything?"

Juniper's face turned green. "I didn't know it was important. Just a cave. I don't like yucky old caves."

"She has good taste," Grover said.

"I wouldn't have paid any attention except...I thought it was something to do with his godly parent." Juniper shrugged. "I assumed you knew."

"Interesting," Quintus polished his sword as he spoke. "And you believe this young man, Puck, would dare use the Labyrinth as an invasion route?"

"Definitely," Clarisse said. "If he could get an army of monsters inside Camp Half-Blood, just pop up in the middle of the woods without having to worry about our magical boundaries, we wouldn't stand a chance. He could wipe us out easy. He must've been planning this for months."

"He's been sending scouts into the maze," Annabeth said. "We know because...because we found one."

"Chris Rodriguez," Chiron said. He gave Quintus a meaningful look.

"Ah," Quintus said. "The one in the...Yes, I understand."

"The one in the what?" I asked. I was ignored, causing me to scowl.

Clarisse continued to speak. "The point is, Puck has been looking for a way to navigate the maze. He's searching for Daedalus's workshop."

I remembered my dream the night before—the bloody old man in tattered robes. "The guy who created the maze."

"Yes," Annabeth said. "The greatest architect, the greatest inventor of all time. If the legends are true, his workshop is in the centre of the Labyrinth. He's the only one who knew how to navigate the maze perfectly. If Puck managed to find the workshop and convince Daedalus to help him, Puck wouldn't have to fumble around searching for paths, or risk losing his army in the maze's traps. He could navigate anywhere he wanted—quickly and safely. First to Camp Half-Blood to wipe us out. Then...to Olympus."

The arena was silent except for Mrs. O'Leary's toy yak getting disemboweled.

Finally Beckendorf put his hands on the table. "Back up a sec, Annabeth, you said 'convince Daedalus'? Isn't Daedalus dead?"

Quintus grunted. "I would hope so. He lived, what, three thousand years ago? And even if he were alive, don't the old stories say he fled from the Labyrinth?"

Chiron clopped restlessly on his hooves. "That's the problem, my dear Quintus. No one knows. There are rumours...well, there are many disturbing rumours about Daedalus, but one is that he disappeared back into the Labyrinth toward the end of his life. He might still be there."

I thought about the old man I'd seen in my dreams. He'd looked so frail, it was hard to believe he'd lasted another week, much less three thousand years.

Luke had been suspiciously quiet throughout the entire thing, cracking his knuckles and shifting occasionally but otherwise saying nothing.

"We need to go in," Annabeth announced. "We have to find the workshop before Puck does. If Daedalus is alive, we convince him to help us, not Puck. If Ariadne's string still exists, we make sure it never falls into Puck's hands."

"Wait a second," I said. "If we're worried about an attack, why not just blow up the entrance? Seal the tunnel?"

"Great idea!" Grover said. "I'll get the dynamite!"

"It's not so easy," Clarisse growled. "We tried that at the entrance we found in Phoenix. It didn't go well."

Annabeth nodded. "The Labyrinth is magical architecture, Romy. It would take huge power to seal even one of its entrances. In Phoenix, Clarisse demolished a whole building with a wrecking ball, and the maze entrance just shifted a few feet. The best we can do is prevent Puck from learning to navigate the Labyrinth."

"We could fight," Lee said. "We know where the entrance is now. We can set up a defensive line and wait for them. If an army tries to come through, they'll find us waiting with our bows."

"We will certainly set up defences," Chiron agreed. "But I fear Clarisse is right. The magical borders have kept this camp safe for hundreds of years. If Puck manages to get a large army of monsters into the centre of camp, bypassing our boundaries...we may not have the strength to defeat them. We don't have enough trained soldiers."

Nobody looked real happy about that news. Chiron usually tried to be upbeat and optimistic. If he was predicting we couldn't hold off an attack, that wasn't good.

"We have to get to Daedalus's workshop first," Annabeth insisted. "Find Ariadne's string and prevent Puck from using it."

"But if nobody can navigate in there," I said, "what chance do we have?"

"Little." Luke muttered, but only to me. I sighed, rubbing my head.

"Thanks bro." He glared, but couldn't say anything as Annabeth continued to speak.

"I've been studying architecture for years," she said. "I know Daedalus's Labyrinth better than anybody."

"From reading about it."

"Well, yes."

"That's not enough."

"It has to be!"

"It isn't!"

"Are you going to help me or not?"

I realized everyone was watching Annabeth and me like a tennis match. Mrs. O'Leary's squeaky yak went EEK! As she ripped off its pink rubber head.

Chiron cleared his throat. "First things first. We need a quest. Someone must enter the Labyrinth, find the workshop of Daedalus, and prevent Puck from using the maze to invade this camp."

"We all know who should lead this," Clarisse said. "Annabeth."

There was a murmur of agreement. I knew Annabeth had been waiting for her own quest since she was a little kid, but she looked uncomfortable. She was glancing back at Luke, who had his arms folded, and an unhappy look on his face, but I knew he'd relent.

"You've done as much as I have, Clarisse," she said. "You should go, too."

Clarisse shook her head. "I'm not going back in there."

Chiron raised his hand. "Now, do we have agreement that Annabeth should lead the quest?"

We all nodded except Quintus. He folded his arms and stared at the table, but I wasn't sure anyone else noticed.

"Very well," Chiron turned to Annabeth. "My dear, it's your time to visit the Oracle. Assuming you return to us in one piece, we shall discuss what to do next."

"He's always so cheery." I muttered, before leaning back onto Luke as Annabeth walked back up to the Big House. Luke huffed, wrapping an arm around me.

∘☽༓☾∘

Waiting for Annabeth was harder than visiting the Oracle myself.

I'd heard it speak prophecies once before. It had been in the dusty attic of the Big House, where the spirit of Delphi slept inside the body of a mummified hippie lady.

I'd never felt threatened by the Oracle's presence, but I'd heard stories: campers who'd gone insane, or who'd seen visions so real they died of fear. I also knew about Luke's mother, who had gone completely insane when she had visited the Oracle when Luke was a baby. It had been what caused him to run away.

Mrs. O'Leary ate her lunch, which consisted of a hundred pounds of ground beef and several dog biscuits the size of trash-can lids. I wondered where Quintus got dog biscuits that size. I didn't figure you could just walk into Pet Zone and put those in your shopping cart.

Chiron was deep in conversation with Quintus and Argus. It looked to me like they were disagreeing about something. Quintus kept shaking his head.

"What's up with you?" I finally turned to my boyfriend, who'd been drumming his fingers on my thigh as we waited.

"What?"

"You're quiet. Normally, you'd be the first out of everyone to be complaining. Why aren't you?" He huffed, before leaning closer to me.

"I don't trust Quintus."

"You don't trust anyone, babe." I pointed out, grabbing his hand to stop him from drumming. He hummed in agreement. Clarisse walked past us to the Big House, and I grabbed her quickly. "Can you check on Annabeth whilst you're on it?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." I turned back to Luke, kissing his jaw as he relaxed. "If Chiron trusts him, we don't have a choice. We also have to. We'll keep an eye on him."

∘☽༓☾∘

"My dear," Chiron said. "You made it."

Annabeth looked at me first. I couldn't tell if she was trying to warn me, or if the look in her eyes was just plain fear. Then she focused on Quintus. "I got the prophecy. I will lead the quest to find Daedalus' workshop."

Chiron scraped a hoof on the dirt floor. "What did the prophecy say exactly? The wording is important."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I, ah...well, it said, you shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze..."

We waited.

"The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise."

Grover perked up. "The lost one! That must mean Pan! That's great!"

"With the dead and the traitor," I added, pulling a face. "Not so great."

"And?" Chiron asked. "What is the rest?"

"You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand," Annabeth said, "the child of Athena's final stand."

Everyone looked around uncomfortably. Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, and a final stand didn't sound good. Luke's grip on my hand tightened and I think he was starting to regret not speaking up.

"Hey...we shouldn't jump to conclusions," Silena said. "Annabeth isn't the only child of Athena, right?"

"But who's this ghost king?" Beckendorf asked.

No one answered. I thought about the Iris-message I'd seen of Nico summoning spirits. I had a bad feeling the prophecy was connected to that.

"Are there more lines?" Chiron asked. "The prophecy does not sound complete."

Annabeth hesitated. "I don't remember exactly."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. Annabeth was known for her memory. She never forgot something she heard.

Annabeth shifted on her bench. "Something about...Destroy with a hero's final breath. "

"And?" Chiron asked.

She stood. "Look, the point is, I have to go in. I'll find the workshop and stop Puck. And...I need help." She turned to me, raising an eyebrow. "Will you come?"

I didn't even hesitate. "Of course."

She smiled for the first time in days, and that made it all worthwhile. "Grover, you too? The wild god is waiting."

Grover seemed to forget how much he hated the underground, practically bouncing in his seat. "I'll pack extra recyclables for snacks!"

"And Tyson," Annabeth said. "I'll need you too."

"Yay! Blow-things-up time!" Tyson clapped so hard he woke up Mrs. O'Leary, who was dozing in the corner. My eyebrows furrowed, turning to glance at my boyfriend. I was worried, leaving him here.

I was worried about leaving Luke.

Chiron sighed. "Very well. Let us adjourn. The members of the quest must prepare themselves. Tomorrow at dawn, we send you into the Labyrinth."

"Go and speak to Annabeth." I gave Luke a shove in the girl's direction as I noticed Quintus walking toward us.

"I have a bad feeling about this," he told me.

Mrs. O'Leary came over, wagging her tail happily. She dropped her shield at my feet, and I threw it for her. Quintus watched her romp after it. 

My mind was a fickle thing. As soon as one thing had distracted me, then I was distracted. With a large puppy beside me, I was very distracted. It reminded me that I missed Cerberus, and that the whistle was at home. I'd been waiting for some time, and space, to call Cerberus to me so that we could play fetch. Soon, I would.

"I don't like the idea of you going down there," he said. "Any of you, but if you must, I want you to remember something. The Labyrinth exists to fool you. It will distract you. That's dangerous for half-bloods. We are easily distracted."

"You've been in there?"

"Long ago." His voice was ragged. "I barely escaped with my life. Most who enter aren't that lucky." He gripped my shoulder. "Andromeda, keep your mind on what matters most. If you can do that, you might find the way. And here, I wanted to give you something."

He handed me a little silver tube. It was so cold I almost dropped it.

"A whistle?" I asked.

"A dog whistle," Quintus said. "For Mrs. O'Leary."

If I counted the times I'd been given a dog whistle, I would find it happened twice, which was a little odd.

"Mrs. O'Leary is a hellhound. She can appear when called, no matter how far away she is. I'd feel better knowing you had this. If you really need help, use it; but be careful, the whistle is made of Stygian ice."

"What ice?" If this man expected me to have paid attention in science or geography, he was mistaken.

"From the River Styx. Very hard to craft. Very delicate. It cannot melt, but it will shatter when you blow it, so you can only use it once."

I thought about Puck. Right before I'd gone on my first quest, Puck had given me a gift, too—magic shoes that had been designed to drag me to my death. Quintus seemed nice. So concerned. And Mrs. O'Leary liked him, which had to count for something. Dogs were normally pretty intuitive. She dropped the slimy shield at my feet and barked excitedly. 

"Thanks," I told Quintus. I slipped the freezing whistle into my pocket, promising myself that I would never use it, and I dashed off to find Annabeth.

∘☽༓☾∘

For some reason, Luke and Annabeth were in Six.

It was a silvery building, nothing fancy, with plain white curtains and a carved stone owl over the doorway. The owl's onyx eyes seemed to follow me as I walked closer.

"Hello?" I called inside.

Nobody answered. I stepped in and caught my breath. Annabeth and Luke were in the back of cabin, having a discussion.

"Knock, knock?" I said.

They both turned around, looking at me in surprise. "Oh...hi. Didn't hear you."

"You okay?" Luke's eyebrows furrowed, reaching for me on instinct.

"Fine. What are you up to?" I asked, pressing a kiss to Luke's cheek.

Annabeth frowned at the scroll in her hands. "Just trying to do some research. Daedalus' Labyrinth is so huge. None of the stories agree about anything. The maps just lead from nowhere to nowhere."

I thought about what Quintus had said, how the maze tries to distract you. I wondered if Annabeth knew that already.

"We'll figure it out," I promised, before turning to look at Luke. "Why are you here?"

"Offering words of advice."

"She has me on the quest."

"Precisely why she needs advice." He teased as I rolled my eyes. "But Annie, you're gonna do great."

"I've wanted to lead a quest since I was seven," she said.

"You're going to do awesome." I winked.

She looked at me gratefully, but then stared down at all the books and scrolls she'd pulled from the shelves. "I'm worried. Maybe I shouldn't have asked you to do this. Or Tyson or Grover."

"Hey, we're your friends. We wouldn't miss it."

"But..." She stopped herself.

"What is it?" I asked. "The prophecy?"

"I'm sure it's fine," she said in a small voice.

"What was the last line?"

Then she did something that really surprised me. She blinked back tears and put out her arms. I stuck my tongue out at Luke, who seemed offended that Annabeth had gone to me for comfort, before wrapping my arms around my favourite younger sister and pressing a kiss to her head.

"I don't know what else to do. I need you three. It just feels right."

"Then don't worry about it," I managed. "We've had plenty of problems before, and we solved them."

"This is different. I don't want anything happening to any of you." 

"It won't. Don't you worry." Luke sent her a small smile, his hand on her back. "Andi's got the survival ability of a cockroach and you're incredibly intelligent. Between the two of you, you'll get out fine."

"Annabeth?" I said, ignoring my boyfriend's provoking words. "About your prophecy. The line about a hero's last breath—"

"You're wondering which hero? I don't know."

"No. Something else. I was thinking the last line usually rhymes with the one before it. Was it something about—did it end in the word death ?"

Annabeth stared down at her scrolls. "You'd better go. Get ready for the quest. I'll—I'll see you in the morning." 

She walked out the cabin, leaving me and Luke to watch her go with narrowed eyes.

"She's definitely hiding something."

"Oh completely." Luke nodded. I couldn't shake the feeling that one of us wasn't going to come back from this quest alive.

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

Andi and Luke just bully each other in serious situations, and I do the exact same thing so can't complain. Also, can confirm that Annabeth prefers Andi's hugs over Luke's and he's offended by it. Also, I've taken out the whole thing about there being a perfect number, because of Heroes of Olympus, so yeah.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx