The Truths Spoken In The Sea Of Lies

Kronos

Kronos's vile desire,

I'm not a war prize!

Get me out of here!

***

Rhea would have loved to say that flying was nice, but she hated heights and preferred the sea at the end of the day thank you very much!

Rhea turned and saw Rachel, Annabeth, and Nico spiralling above her, glinting in the sunlight. Behind them, smoke billowed from the windows of Daedalus's workshop.

"Land!" Annabeth yelled. "These wings won't last forever."

"How long?" Rachel asked.

"I don't want to find out!" Annabeth said.

They swooped down toward the Garden of the Gods. They did a complete circle around one of the rock spires and freaked out a couple of climbers. Then the four of them soared across the valley, over a road, and landed on the terrace of the visitor centre.

It was late afternoon and the place looked pretty empty, but they ripped off their wings as quickly as they could. Looking at them, the three could see Annabeth was right.

The self-adhesive seals that bound the wings to their backs were already melting, and they were shedding bronze feathers. It seemed a shame, but they couldn't fix them, and couldn't leave them around for the mortals, so they stuffed the wings in trash bins outside the cafeteria.

Daedalus's workshop had been had vanished. No more smoke. No broken windows. Just the side of a hill.

"The workshop moved," Annabeth guessed. "There's no telling where." Annabeth gazed at the summit of Pikes Peak in the distance. "And if Daedalus died...he said his life force was tied into the Labyrinth. The whole thing might've been destroyed. Maybe that will stop Luke's invasion."

"No," Nico said. "He isn't dead."

"Good, there are still some things that need to be done there," Rhea said.

"How can you be sure?" Rachel asked.

"I know when people die. It's this feeling I get, like a buzzing in my ears." Nico explained.

"We have to get into town," Annabeth decided. "Our chances will be better of finding an entrance to the Labyrinth. We have to make it back to camp before Luke and his army."

"We could just take a plane," Rachel said.

Rhea shook her head. "I don't fly."

"But you just did."

"That was gliding." Rhea said, "And even that was risky. The sky is Zeus's territory, he will blast me out of it. We don't even have time for a flight. The labyrinth is the quickest way back."

Rhea also wanted to find Grover and Tyson along the way, she was worried.

"So we need a car to take us into the city," Annabeth said.

Rachel looked down into the parking lot. She grimaced as if she were about to do something she regretted. "I'll take care of it."

"How?" Annabeth asked.

"Just trust me."

Annabeth looked uneasy, but she nodded. "Okay, I'm going to buy a prism in the gift shop, try to make a rainbow, and send an Iris message to camp."