Percy Jackson: Daughter of Shadows

20. We Raise the Dead

We kept running through the Labyrinth. Viktor was yelling curses back to Kronos. I didn't understand all of it, but I caught the words lousy, good for nothing, gas lighter, manipulating son of a... gutless coward, and quite a few places where he could stuff Backbiter. We stopped in a tunnel of wet white rock, like part of a natural cave. "Really liked that last one, Viktor" I groaned, sliding down against the wall. "What, when I told him he could shove Backbiter up his ass or down his throat?" "Second one. Gorey way to die? Yes. Pleasant for me to watch? No. Would I one hundred percent be pissed if I had to drag my ass to the Underworld to bring Luke's sorry butt back to the land of the living? Yes. Would I still do it? Also yes" Viktor laughed. "Yeah, that would suck" He sat next to me, rubbing his leg. "What's wrong?" It's fine, just still sore from getting jarred in Time Square. I'll be fine" I looked around. Rachel was sitting on the floor, hugging her chest. Annabeth was silently sobbing into her legs. Percy and Nico sat next to each other, their swords on the floor. Percy looked at me. "Are you good?" I looked down. Other than a few scratches, I was completely fine. "Physically, fine. Mentally? Hell no" Annabeth lifted her head, her eyes red from crying. "What... what was wrong with Luke? What did they do to him?" Percy told her what had happened while I sat silently. "No," Annabeth said. "That can't be true He couldn't-" "He gave himself over to Kronos," Percy said. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. But Luke is gone" "No!" she insisted. "You saw when Rachel hit him" Percy nodded, looking at Rachel with respect. "You hit the Lord of the Titans in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush" Rachel looked embarrassed. "It was the only thing I had" "But you saw," Annabeth insisted. "When it hit him, just for a second, he was dazed. He came back to his senses" "So maybe Kronos wasn't completely settled in the body, or whatever. It doesn't mean Luke was in control" "You want him to be evil, is that it?" Annabeth yelled. "You didn't know him before, Percy. I did!" "What is it with you?" Percy snapped. "Why do you keep defending him?" "Whoa, you two" Rachel said. "Knock it off" Annabeth turned on her. "Stay out of it, mortal girl! If it wasn't for you..." She went back to crying. 

  I stood up. "We need to keep going" Nico nodded in agreement. "He'll send monsters after us" he said, standing. I watched as Percy helped both Rachel and Annabeth up. Viktor stood, his cane in sword form. He squeezed my hand. Sweat was falling down his face. "Are you okay, Vik?" I whispered. "Moderately. I just saw Kronos in a nineteen-year-old's body. Typhon is stirring, and I already know what you plan on doing about that" I gulped. "How did you-" "Lilly, I've known you for nearly fourteen years. I know when you have a crazy plan in your head" He squeezed my hand again. "Don't do it, please. You can't seriously think about fighting Typhon" "If I take him on for even a week, I can buy the gods some time to save their strength. The farther he stays away from New York, the better" "Then let someone else do it!" "Who else can or would fight Typhon, make it out alive, and then be ready to fight in a war against the literal King of the Titans?" "You shouldn't even be willing to do it!" "I'm doing it, and you can't stop me, Vik!" Viktor sighed. "Then at least promise me that you'll know when to quit, Lilly" I squeezed his hand back. "I promise, Vik. I'll come back to you" Viktor blushed. "Whatever" I noticed Percy had frozen in place. "Percy?" I said, walking over. "What's wrong-" My heart dropped when I saw what was in his hand. It was Grover's red Rasta cap. 

   I took the cap and took off running. "Lilly!" Percy called, chasing after me. The ground was too wet to run on. I turned the ground to ice and slid down it, occasionally melting it back to take off running again. Percy caught up with me with ease. "Lilly, wait up!" I held my hand in front of him when we got to the bottom of the slope. We were in a large cave with huge stalagmite columns. Through the center of the room ran an underground river, and Tyson was sitting by the banks, cradling Grover in his lap. Grover's eyes were closed. He wasn't moving. "Tyson!" Percy yelled. "Percy! Come quick!" We ran over to him. Grover wasn't dead, thank Chaos, but his whole body trembled like he was freezing to death. "What happened?" Percy asked. "So many things" Tyson murmured. "Large snake. Large dogs. Men with swords. But then... we got close to here. Grover was excited. He ran. Then we reached this room and he fell. Like this" "Did he say anything?" Percy asked. "He said, 'We're close'. Then he hit his head on rocks" Percy knelt next to him. I made a tiny light in my hand and floated it towards an entrance to another cave, flanked with giant columns of crystal that looked like diamonds. And beyond that entrance... "He did it" I muttered as Viktor popped up next to me. "What did he do?" I jumped fifty feet in the air. "Gods, Vik! Don't sneak up on me like that!" "Apologies. But what did- wait. Did he...." I nodded, a huge smile on my face. "He found Pan."