𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔－ 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

𝑻𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝑬𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

Tyson sniffled and wiped his nose with his large hand. He gave her a small smile. "Thank you, pretty girl," he told her quietly.

She smiled and stared at at Percy and Briares, the former's face turning frustrated as Briares's turned to shame.

Briares turned and trudged off down the corridor until he was lost in the shadows.

Tyson sobbed.

"It's okay," Grover hesitantly patted his shoulder, which must've taken all of his courage.

Tyson sneezed. "It's not a okay, goat boy. He was my hero."

Ariadne sighed. Finally Annabeth stood and shouldered her backpack. "Come on, guys. This pit is making me nervous. Let's find a better place to camp for the night."

***

THEY SETTLED IN A CORRIDOR MADE OF HUGE MARBLE BLOCKS. It looked like it could've been part of a Greek tomb, with bronze torch holders fastened to the walls. It had to be an older part of the Maze, and Annabeth decided this was a good sign.

"We must be close to Daedalus's workshop," she said. "Get some rest, everybody. We'll keep going in the morning."

"How do we know when it's morning?" Grover asked.

"Just rest," she insisted.

Grover didn't need to be told twice. He pulled a heap of straw out of his pack, ate some of it, and made a pillow out of the rest, and was snoring in no time.

Tyson took longer getting to sleep. He tinkered with some metal scraps from his building kit for a while, but whatever he was making, he wasn't happy about it. He kept disassembling the pieces.

"I'm sorry I lost the shield," Percy told him. "You worked so hard to repair it."

Tyson looked up. His eye was bloodshot from crying. "Do not worry, brother. You and pretty girl saved me. You wouldn't have had to if Briares had helped.

"He was just scared," Ariadne said. "I'm sure he'll get over it."

"He is not strong," Tyson said. "He is not important anymore."

He heaved a big sad sigh, then closed his eye. The metal pieces fell out of his hand, still I assembled, and Tyson began to snore.

Percy tried to fall asleep himself, but with being chased by Kampê and the fact that Ariadne wasn't even trying to sleep made it hard to relax.

Ariadne picked up her bedroll with Percy and dragged it over to where Annabeth was sitting, keeping watch.

They sat down next to her.

"You should sleep," she said.

"Can't. You doing all right?" Percy asked.

"Sure. First day leading a quest. Just great."

"We'll get there," Ariadne said. "We'll find the workshop before Luke does."

Annabeth brushed her hair out of her face. She had a smudge of dirt on her chin, and Ariadne imagined what she must've looked like when she was little, wandering around the country with Thalia and Luke. Once she'd saved them from the mansion of the evil Cyclops when she was only seven. Even when she looked scared, like now, Ariadne knew she had a lot of guts.

"I just wish the quest was logical," she complained. "I mean, we're traveling but we have no idea where we'll end up. How can you walk from New York to California in a day?"

"Space isn't the same in the maze," Percy said.

"I know, I know. It's just..." She looked at them hesitantly. "Ari, Percy, I was kidding myself. All that planning and reading, I don't have a clue where we're going."