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chapter twenty-nine
( battle of the labyrinth )
❝ falling into the deep end! ❞

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    Quintus was a traitor. 

    As if things couldn't get any worse.

    He was a traitor, a spy, and now he was gone back down into the Maze, running with his tail in between his legs back to Luke, and he had left his dog here behind. It made me hate him more. We had all trusted him. Liked him. I liked him━I thought he was cool. But he had deceived us. Every time, someone just likes to betray us. Luke, Jay, Quintus ... I knew if Percy was here, he would want to run his sword right through him ...

    Percy ...

    The shrine drifted a breath of fresh ocean air up into the air, and it only made everything worse. Watching the flames flicker up and burn away Percy's shroud, I tried to keep in the tears, but I couldn't. I found myself, but I lost him. Was this was Hades meant about letting go? Did I have to let go of him? But he grounded me. He inspired me. He made me want to do better, to be braver, he made me warm ... he ...

    It was my fault. I knew it was my fault. I left him there. I let my guard fall down from his lips on mine, and then I just let him risk his life━to trade his life for mine. I rubbed the tears out of my eyes, but they just kept coming. I always thought Percy would never die, which was stupid, wasn't it? We're demigods, tragedy is embroidered into our destiny. The Greeks invented tragedy; none of us were meant to have happy endings.

    I felt like I had died all over again, and this moment, staring into the flickers of the flames it was like I was back in the Transition. I wasn't alive, nor was I dead. The person that made me feel truly alive again was now gone forever, and now ... now I'm just like the Transition. Dark, blank and nothing.

    But I managed to take a deep breath. Percy would want me to be brave, and so I shall be brave. Turning to face the audience, I stifled my sobs and pushed through the lump in my throat, forcing out words. "He was ... Percy━he was one of the bravest people I ever know━knew ... I don't ... He ..." my voice fell away. I hadn't been looking at all the sombre faces to keep myself composed (well, as composed as I could be), and as I looked over their heads, my heart stopped.

    It was him. He was there. Percy Jackson had the audacity to frown at the ceremony as if wondering, wait, who died?

    The absolute━the━stupid━I was so angry I couldn't form words. But he was there. Looking not at all as if he had survived a volcanic eruption. His tanned skin seemed to glow in the firelight, and his hair was messy (as always), side-swept and looking like he just took a walk on the beach. And his eyes ... sea-green ... a deep end I was scared to step into, but at the same time, relaxed in seeing. And his clothes━oh, what was the idiot wearing? Are those linen?

    Annabeth saw him too, and she gasped. "He's right there!"

    Heads turned, and people gasped.

    "Percy!" Beckendorf grinned. A bunch of other kids crowded around him and clapped him on the back. Annabeth rushed forward and gave him a tight hug. But I couldn't move. I don't know whether it was out of shock or anger, but my legs were rooted to the ground. Chiron cantered over, and everyone made way for him.

    "Well," he sighed with obvious relief. "I don't believe I've ever been happier to see a camper return. But you must tell me━"

    But Percy just stepped passed him. He stepped up onto the amphitheatre, gaze fixed on me. He walked right up to me, shrouded in the light of the flames that were burning his shroud━his shroud.

    There was a breathless silence as people watched us. And then, Percy gave me a nervous grin, "Hi."

    I stared at him. Did he just━?

    Oh, I'm going to murder him!

    "You ..." my voice quivered in fury. "You absolute━" I grabbed some loose small rocks from the amphitheatre floor to throw them right at him, "━I hate you, Perseus Jackson!" he covered his face, letting out an ow! "Two weeks!" I shoved his chest. "Two weeks! And you━you just show up here━" another few shoves, "━and you say 'hi'?!"

    Percy frowned, not expecting this reaction. "I'm sorry," he told me. "I got lost."

    This only fuelled my anger. "LOST?!" I yelled, shoving him again. "I thought you died! You━I can't━where in the world━?"

    "Claire," Chiron interrupted. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private, shall we? The rest of you, back to your normal activities!"

    Without waiting for us to portest, he picked up Annabeth, Percy and me as easily as if we were kittens, slung us all onto his back and galloped off towards the Big House.

    Percy told us his story, and I knew he was hiding something and it only made me angrier. He kept glancing at me, going red and looking away and I wanted to hurl something at him. I know stories. I know that sometimes when heroes die, the don't die, and they show up on an island where a pretty girl awaits and helps them and falls in love with them only for them to leave━

    "You've been gone two weeks," Annabeth was a lot more calmer than I was, but she still looked pretty shaken up. "When I heard the explosion, I thought━"

    "I know," said Percy. "I'm sorry. But I figured out how to get through the Labyrinth. I talked to Hephaestus."

    "He told you the answer?"

    "Well, he sort of told me that I laready knew. And I do. I understand now."

    And then he had the audacity to tell us the plan that included a certain red-haired annoyance. And I snapped again, "Percy, are you crazy?!"

    He frowned at me, "Uh ... no?"

    Annabeth quickly grasped my wrist to keep me from punching him across the face. Of course, he'd ask the help of Rachel. Pretty mortal Rachel with pretty red curls, who can see through the mist and got him out of sticky situations more than once (and did I say she has stupid pretty red hair?).

    Chiron sat back in his wheelchair and stroked his beared. "There is a prededent, however. Theseus had the help of Ariadne. Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her Underground Railroad for just this reason."

    "But this is Annabeth's quest!" I said. "She needs to lead it."

    "It is my quest," said Annabeth carefully. "But ..." she clenched her jaw, as if the next words were really hard to say. "But ... I need help."

    "And this is supposed to be help? Please! We can't spend the whole time looking after some mortal who doesn't know how to fight━"

    "Claire," Hannah gave me a pointed look━as if knowing exactly why I was against the idea. "I know it's hard to admit whenever we need a mortal's help. But this is bigger than our feelings."

    Cory glanced at her, a little offended. "Um, excuse me? Mortal husband here."

    "Cory."

    "She's right, Claire," Percy said, and I glared at him. Oh, of course he'd defend Rachel━

    "You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!" and like that, I stormed out of the room.

° ° °

    I still can't really swim. The water still makes me seasick. But I still sat on the edge of the canoe docks, letting my feet hang over the edge and the tips of my toes dip into the cool water. It was shallow here. I was too scared to sit near the deep end (I can't swim, remember?). I caught glimpses of the naiads swimming on by and sending me sad glances as if they knew exactly what I was going through. Usually, I would talk to Cain about this, or Annabeth, but one was still in the Labyrinth with Grover and Tyson unbeknowest that Grover has lost his searchers liscence, and the other is busy getting ready to look for our new guide back underground.

    It was getting darker, and so I conjured a ball of light to keep me company. It's warmth gave me reassurance. Of what? I don't know. Maybe that I had achieved to get it back. I stared at it, twisting and turning and hovering. Now, I suddenly wasn't so excited about it. Instead, I just felt dread. Percy exploded the volcano, just like my father and Hades had shown me. Which meant, I had to be ready to fight whatever came next━and I think I knew exactly who I'd have to fight, and it was terrifying.

    Someone let out a breath of awe, "You did it..."

    I froze. The light flickered away. Glancing back, I saw Percy standing there and watching me with a mix of amazement that he tried to shove away with his annoyance. "Yeah ..." I looked back out into the water, shoulders tensed. "Apparently I could do it all long, I just had to let go ..."

    Carefully, Percy sat down beside me, legs crossed. "I thought you hated water."

    "Not every body of water..." I fiddled with my fingers. There was a tense air between us, and I knew exactly why. He had kissed me, and then sacrificed himself. And now he was back. What happens now? It seemed like an impossible situation that's never in the romance books and movies.

    "I'm sorry I died and came back," Percy said, before giving me a small nudge. "But, hey, now we have that in common, yeah?"

    Despite the tense air, he managed to make me scoff a smile and shake my head. "You're an idiot."

    "The bravest idiot of them all?"

    I went bright red. I couldn't meet his gaze. I watched the water again, pursing my lips. "Um ... you━uh━you heard that?"

    "Possibly the nicest thing you've ever said about me."

    I finally pushed through everything to meet his gaze, and I felt flutters. He was giving me that sarcastic trouble-maker smile. I used to hate it so much, and sometimes, I still do. But now, it was more of a hatred of how I don't hate it. It had become endearing, something that made me feel warm inside. "Yeah ... well ... I'm glad you're back. You━um━scared me there for a while. I'm sorry I got angry ... I just ... I thought you died."

    "Yeah ..." Percy's gaze had flickered down to my lips. "I know what that's like ... mourning someone only for them to come back. Blaming yourself, over and over, thinking you could have done something different ..."

    My gaze was sheepish. I was suddenly very nervous, back to fiddling with my fingers. "Um ... sorry?"

    He just gave me another grin. My stomach was weak with butterflies. We sat there for a few seconds, breaths tickling each other's lips. We both wanted to kiss each other again, but we were scared that at the same time, the other didn't. "Um ..." I broke the silence, my throat dry with nerves. "So ... you kissed me, and um ... what does that mean?"

    Percy furrowed his brows, thinking about it. "Um ... what do you want it to mean?"

    "Well, what do you want it to mean?" I retorted. "Because if your mortal friend Rachel knew..."

    "It's not like that," he promised, shaking his head. "She's ... I mean, she's okay. But ..." Percy took a deep breath. "She's not you."

    "And Calypso?"

    His shoulders slumped. "How did you know about that?"

    I stared at him in disbelief. "Percy, I know most of the stories. And a lot of them talk about brave heroes dying and then going to the island to meet the pretty girl Calypso and fall in love━"

    Percy rolled his eyes. "Are you seriously jealous of every girl I meet that's not you?"

    I pursed my lips, going bright red. "Maybe ... no ... not really, just ..." when I couldn't find an answer, I decided to just go for it. Pushing back all my nerves, I quickly leaned forward and pecked him swiftly on the lips. Pulling away, I saw his cheeks were red. "Is that how you're meant to kiss?"

    "I think so ..." murmured Percy before closing the gap between us. His lips were salty like the sea, and my shoulders slumped towards them. If someone saw us, I wonder whether they could see my heart thumping out of my chest like a cartoon character; because it honestly felt like it was. Hands on his cheeks, I couldn't help but smile. I'm kissing Percy, I'm kissing Percy, I'm kissing Percy━cue giddy giggles.

    When we pulled away, we couldn't help but chuckle at each other. I don't think my twelve-year-old self could ever imagine herself here, kissing the boy she declared she hated with every fibre of her being, but deep down actually had such a huge crush on, she just didn't know how to show it. That whole time, side-by-side, and here we were ...

    "You're such a Kelp Face," I told him, but the insult was weak from the giddy grin on my face.

    "Sure thing, Sunshine."

    I liked kissing him, so I just kissed him again.

° ° °

    The next morning, Percy met Annabeth, Argus and I on the road down from Half-Blood Hill. Seeing him, I went bright red and turned away. What was I supposed to do now? We kissed, more than once. We like each other. We spoke out it ... but what's next? Do I say something? Do I say hello? Do I hold his hand ...? I don't know what to do!

    We sat in the van, and Percy and I didn't talk much inside. Argus never spoke, probably because he had eyes all over his body, including━so the rumours are━at the tip of his tongue, and he didn't like to show that off.

    Percy and I kept risking glances at each other, before either of us would go bright red and have to look the other way. Annabeth looked queasy, and I was glad for a distraction to then ask her, "Bad dreams?"

    She shook her head. "An Iris-message from Eurytion."

    Percy frowned. "Eurytion? Is something wrong with Nico?"

    "He left the ranch last night, heading back into the maze."

    "What? Didn't Eurytion try to stop him?"

    "Nico was gone before he woke up. Orthus tracked his scent as far as the cattle grid. Eurytion said he'd been hearing Nico talk to himself the last few nights. Only now he tinks Nico was talking with the ghost again, Minos."

    My stomach twisted with dread. "That's not good."

    Percy gritted his teeth. "He's in danger."

    "No kidding," said Annabeth. "Minos is one of the judges of the dead, but he's got a vicious streak a mile wide. I don't know what he wants with Nico, but━"

    "That's not what I meant," said Percy and I frowned. "I had this dream last night ..." he told us about Luke, how he'd mention Quintus, and how his men had found a half-blood alone in the maze.

    My jaw clenched, "That's very bad."

    "So, what do we do?"

   I pursed my lips and looked away. Crossing my arms, I gazed out of the window, "Well ... it's a good thing you have a plan to guide us, huh?"

    He gave me a blank look, and I went red again. Annabeth arched a brow at us, as if trying to figure us out like a blueprint. "Are you guys arguing again? What happened now?"

    I think I went even brighter and I tried to hide my face in my hair, sitting lower in my seat. I don't know what happened, honestly. And I have absolutely no idea what happens now. At all. "Nothing," I murmured while Percy quickly shrugged, red as well.

    Annabeth looked done with us, shaking her head and focusing on the road in front of us. It was Saturday, and traffic was heavy going into the city. We arrived at Percy's mother's apartment around noon. When she answered the door, she gave Percy a tearful hug.

    "I told them you were all right," Sally Jackson said, but she sounded like the weight of the sky had been lifted off her shoulders (and believe me, I know exactly how that feels).

    She sat us down at the kitchen table and insisted on feeding us her special blue chocolate-chip cookies while we filled her in on the quest. (And let me just say, her special blue chocolate-chip cookies? They were amazing!) I was embarrassed to have more than one, but Sally just chuckled at me and handed me three instead.

    I love Percy's Mom.

    When Percy got to the part about Geryon and the stables, his mom pretended like she was going to strangle him. "I can't get him to clean his room, but he'll clean a hundred tons of horse manue out of some monster's stables!"

    Annabeth and I laughed. Of course, I can imagine that━Percy was hopeless for a demigod whose survived so long.

    "So," his mother said once he was done with the story, "you wrecked Alcatraz Island, made Mount St Helens explode and displaced half a million people, but at least you're safe."

    "Yep," Percy agreed. "That pretty much covers it."

    "I wish Paul were here," she said, half to herself. "He wanted to talk to you."

    "Oh, right. The school."

    I munched on my cookie, careful not to get any crumbs on Ms. Jackson's couch. I saw Percy rub the back of his neck nervously. "What did you tell him?" he asked.

    Ms. Jackson shook her head. "What could I say? He knows something is different about you, Percy. He's a smart man. He believes that you're not a bad person. He doesn't know what's going on, but the school is pressuring him. After all, he got you admitted there. He needs to convince them the fire wasn't your fault, and, since you ran away, that looks bad."

    Percy pursed his lips. He glanced at Annabeth and Me. "I'll talk to him," he then promised. "After we're done with the quest. I'll even tell him the truth if you want."

    His mother put her hand on his shoulder, "You would do that?"

    "Well, yeah. I mean, he'll think we're crazy."

    "He already thinks that."

    "Then there's nothing to lose."

    "Thank you, Percy. I'll tell him you'll be home ..." she frowned. "When? What happens now?"

    That bubble was in the pit of my stomach again. I picked at a chocolate chip. "Percy has a plan."

    He frowned at the bitter tone to the plan. He told his mom.

    She nodded slowly. "It sounds very dangerous. But it might work."

    "You have the same abilities, don't you?" Percy asked. "You can see through the Mist."

    His mother sighed, "Not so much now. When I was younger it was easier. But, yes, I've always been able to see more than was good for me. It's one of the things that caught your father's attention, when we first met. Just be careful. Promise me you'll be safe."

    "We'll try, Ms Jackson," I said. "Keeping your son safe is a big job, though," I gave him a pointed look. But it was useless because when he met my gaze, a little annoyed I went bright red and looked out of the kitchen window. Stupid cute Kelp Face, let me be angry at you! I don't care if I liked kissing you!

    His mother frowned. "What's going on with you two? Have you been fighting?"

    Neither of us said anything, and Annabeth sighed, annoyed herself.

    "I see," his mother said, and I frowned, wondering if she saw right through us. "Well, remember. Grover, Cain and Tyson are counting on you three."

    "We know," Percy and I said at the same time, which just made me go red even more.

    Annabeth looked like she wanted to chuck one of us out of the kitchen window. "We know," she repeated calmly, sending Ms Jackson a smile.  

    She smiled back. "Percy, you'd better use the phone in the hall. Good luck."

° ° °

a/n: claire is such a jealous insecure smol bean, lol. anyway, she'll get better. she's just doesn't trust other people easily. she trusts percy. she just doesn't trust rachel, or calypso, or any other girl she doesn't know to not make a move on him. cos she's like i would, so obviously someone else will.

also ... the kISSSSSSSss.

oh and guess who FINALLY got her money together and bought the sword of summer and the hammer of thor? thIS GAl. they only had the two at the shop, and I only ever got to read the first magnus chase book cos i borrowed it off a friend. nOW, i can reread the first one and ALSO the second one. im FINALLY tryna catch up. (i am very excited to meet alex━no spoilers pls! I already had jason's ... well, you know, spoiled for me so i don't want anything else spoiled thank you very much!)

(if there are any mistakes i is sorry)