A BLACK HEART

THE JOURNEY INTO THE LABYRINTH

A BLACK HEART Chapter 9
A/N:- Here's the ninth chapter! Hope you like it!

Quintus pulled Percy aside as the council was breaking up, Hector and Annabeth walking together somewhere else.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Quintus told him.

Helena bounded over to them, wagging her tail happily as she saw them. She dropped her shield at Percy's feet, and he threw it for her and she romped after it.

"I don't like the idea of you going down there," Quintus 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."

"I know that I felt that too... but you've been in there?"

"Long ago." His voice was ragged. "I barely escaped with my life. Most who enter aren't that lucky. Plus, that's where I found Helena, the big white Hellhound, she was just a puppy and was scared. I took her with me," He said, looking fondly at Helena chewing out a dummy head.

He gripped the demigod's shoulders. "Percy, 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 Percy a little silver tube.

"A whistle?"

"A dog whistle," Quintus said. "For Helena."

"Thanks, but-"

"How will it work in the maze? I'm not a hundred percent certain it will. But she 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."

"So it's not going to melt?"

"Yes, but it will shatter when you blow it, so you can only use it once."

"Thanks," He told Quintus, and walked off, waving, in search of Hector.

Percy was wandering here and there when he heard sounds coming from the Athena cabin. It was a silvery building, nothing fancy, with plain white curtains and a carved stone owl over the doorway.

Percy went closer and peeped through the crack in the door to see Hector and Annabeth hugging each other tightly.

The son of Hades just smiled fondly and went in search of his cabin, where Percy lay on his bed and fell asleep.

------------------------TIME-SKIP--------------------------------

Just after dawn, the quest group met at Zeus's Fist.

Percy had packed his thermos with nectar, a baggie of ambrosia, some rope, extra clothes, and flashlights.

It was a clear morning. Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi, practicing archery, and scaling the lava wall. Percy could've also done that, but now he had to go underground.

Juniper and Grover stood apart from the group. She had been crying again, but she was trying to keep it together for Grover's sake. She kept fussing with his clothes, straightening his rasta cap and brushing goat fur off his shirt.

Grover was dressed as a human, with the cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide his goat legs.

Chiron, Quintus, and Helena stood with the other campers who'd come to wish them best of luck, but there was too much activity for it to feel like a happy send-off. A couple of tents had been set up by the rocks for guard duty. Beckendorf and his siblings were working on a line of defensive spikes and trenches. Chiron had decided to guard the Labyrinth exit at all times, just in case.

Annabeth was doing one last check on her supply pack, along with Hector as Tyson and Percy were talking with each other, about how Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were the best.

Chiron trotted over. "Well, it appears you are ready!"

"Hey, uh, Chiron, can I ask you a favor while I'm gone?" Hector asked.

"Of course, my boy."

"Be right back, guys." Hector followed Chiron out of earshot.

"So, what were you guys doing yesterday?" Percy asked Annabeth.

"Oh, nothing... just talking about how we can navigate the Labyrinth and all that," Annabeth said frantically. "You know, Hector and Chiron are taking too much time, I think we should go check on them, right?" She said, anxious to change the subject. Percy nodded weirdly but followed Annabeth with Tyson to check what Hector was doing.