Indigo Eyes

Chapter 98

"Privacy from what?" Percy said.

"Thanatos," Cressida filled and Quintus bit his lips.

"Three for three, Miss Lynn. I have been alive for two millennia, my dear, hiding from death."

"But how can you hide from Hades?" Percy asked, not knowing that Thanatos was the god of death and Hades was god of the dead, there was a difference. "I mean... Hades has the Furies."

"They do not know everything," he said. "Or see everything. You have encountered them, Percy. You know this is true. A clever man can hide quite a long time, and I have buried myself very deep. Only my greatest enemy has kept after me, and even him I have thwarted."

"You mean Minos," Percy said and the architect nodded.

"He hunts for me relentlessly. Now that he is a judge of the dead, he would like nothing better than for me to come before him so he can punish me for my crimes. After the daughters of Cocalus killed him, Minos's ghost began torturing me in my dreams. He promised that he would hunt me down. I did the only thing I could. I retreated from the world completely. I descended into my Labyrinth. I decided this would be my ultimate accomplishment: I would cheat death."

"And you did," Annabeth marvelled, "for two thousand years." Like with Luke, she sounded kind of impressed despite the horrible things he'd done.

"But you can't escape death forever," Cressida pointed out.

"I've lasted this long," Quintus said before a loud bark echoed from the corridor. Mrs O'Leary bounded into the workshop, licking both Cressida and Percy's faces before almost knocking Daedalus over with an enthusiastic leap.

"There is my old friend!" Daedalus said, scratching Mrs O'Leary behind the ears. "My only companion all these long lonely years."

"You let her save us," Percy said. "That whistle actually worked."

Daedalus nodded. "Of course, it did, Percy. You have a good heart. And I knew Mrs O'Leary liked you and especially Miss Lynn who she probably likes better than me now," Daedalus remarked and Cressida gave a bashful smile. "I wanted to help you. Perhaps I – I felt guilty, as well."

"Guilty about what?"

"That your quest would be in vain."

"What?" Annabeth said. "But you can still help us. You have to! Give us Ariadne's string so Luke can't get it."

"You didn't," Cressida gaped as she took a step away from Daedalus, putting her hand on Percy's arm, panic coursing through her. "You didn't. Tell me you didn't."

"What's up?" Percy asked her but she didn't answer as Daedalus spoke again.

"Yes... the string. I told Luke that the eyes of a clear-sighted mortal are the best guide, but he did not trust me. He was so focused on the idea of a magic item. And the string works. It's not as accurate as your mortal friend here, perhaps. But good enough. Good enough."

"Where is it?" Annabeth asked, her voice trembling with the same panic as Cressida's.

"With Luke," Daedalus said sadly. "I'm sorry, my dear. But you are several hours too late."

"No. No!"

That's why Luke had been in such a good mood at the arena, he already had the damn string and they'd killed his last obstacle.

He was going to keep his promise. He was going to kill her brothers and destroy camp.

"Kronos promised me freedom," Quintus said. "Once Hades is overthrown, he will set me over the Underworld. I will reclaim my son Icarus. I will make things right with poor young Perdix. I will see Minos's soul cast into Tartarus, where it cannot bother me again. And I will no longer have to run from death."