The metal door was half-hidden behind a laundry bin full of dirty hotel towels. Isa didn't see anything strange about it, but Rachel showed her where to look, and Isa recognized the faint blue symbol etched in the metal.
"It hasn't been used in a long time," Annabeth said.
"I tried to open it once," Rachel said, "just out of curiosity. It's rusted shut."
"No." Annabeth stepped forward. "It just needs the touch of a half-blood."
Sure enough, as soon as Annabeth put her hand on the mark, it glowed blue. The metal door unsealed and creaked open, revealing a dark staircase leading down.
"Wow." Rachel looked calm, but Isa couldn't tell if she was pretending or not. She'd changed into a ratty Museum of Modern Art T-shirt and her regular marker-colored jeans, her blue plastic hairbrush sticking out of her pocket. Her red hair was tied back, but she still had flecks of gold in it, and traces of the gold glitter on her face. "So... after you?"
"You're the guide," Annabeth said with mock politeness. "Lead on."
The stairs led down to a large brick tunnel. It was so dark Isa couldn't see further than a meter in front of them, but she, Annabeth, and Percy had restocked on flashlights. As soon as they switched them on, Rachel yelped.
A skeleton was grinning at them. It wasn't human. It was huge, for one thing⎼at least two and a half meters tall. It had been strung up, chained by its wrists and ankles so it made a kind of giant X over the tunnel. But what really sent a shiver down Isa's back was the single black eye socket in the center of its skull.
"A Cyclops," Annabeth said. "It's very old. It's not... anybody we know.
It wasn't Tyson, she meant. But that didn't make Isa feel much better. She still felt like it had been put here as a warning. Whatever could kill a grown Cyclops, Isa didn't want to meet.
Rachel swallowed. "You have a friend who's a Cyclops?"
"Tyson," Percy and Isa said. "Our half-brother."
"Your half-brother?"
"Hopefully we'll find him down here," Percy said. "And Grover. He's a satyr."
"Oh." Her voice was small. "Well then, we'd better keep moving."
She stepped under the skeleton's left arm and kept walking. Annabeth, Percy, and Isa exchanged looks. Annabeth shrugged. They followed Rachel deeper into the maze.
After fifteen meters they came to a crossroads. Ahead, the brick tunnel continued. To the right, the walls were made of ancient marble slabs. To the left, the tunnel was earth and tree roots.
Isa pointed left. "That looks like the tunnel Tyson and Grover took."
Annabeth frowned. "Yeah, but the architecture to the right⎼those old stones⎼that's more likely to lead to an ancient part of the maze, towards Daedalus's workshop."
"We need to go straight," Rachel said.
Annabeth, Percy, and Isa all looked at her.
"That's the least likely choice," Annabeth said.
"You don't see it?" Rachel asked. "Look at the floor."
Isa saw nothing except well-worn bricks and mud.
"There's a brightness there," Rachel insisted. "Very faint. But forward is the correct way. To the left, further down the tunnel, those tree roots are moving like feelers. I don't like that. To the right, there's a trap about seven meters down. Holes in the walls, maybe for spikes. I don't think we should risk it."
Isa didn't see anything like what she was describing, but she nodded. "Okay. Forward."
"You believe her?" Annabeth asked not only Isa but also Percy.
"Yeah," Percy said. "Don't you?"
Annabeth looked like she wanted to argue, but she waved at Rachel to lead on. Together they kept walking down the brick corridor. It twisted and turned, but there were no more side tunnels. They seemed to be angling down, heading deeper underground.
"No traps?" Percy asked anxiously.
"Nothing." Rachel knitted her eyebrows. "Should it be this easy?"
"I don't know," Isa said. "It never was before."
"So, Rachel," Annabeth said, "where are you from, exactly?"
She said it like, What planet are you from? But Rachel didn't look offended.
"Brooklyn," she said.
"Aren't your parents going to be worried if you're out late?"
Rachel exhaled. "Not likely. I could be gone a week and they'd never notice."
"Why not?" This time Annabeth didn't sound as sarcastic. Having trouble with parents was something she understood.
Before Rachel could answer, there was a creaking noise in front of them, like huge doors opening.
"What was that?" Annabeth asked.
"I don't know," Rachel said. "Metal hinges."
"Oh, that's very helpful. I mean, what is it?"
Then Isa heard heavy footsteps shaking the corridor⎼coming towards them.
"Run?" Percy asked.
"Run," Rachel agreed.
They turned and fled the way they'd come, but they hadn't made it six meters before they ran straight into some old friends. Two dracaenae⎼snake women in Greek armor⎼leveled their javelins at their chests. Standing between them was Kelli, the empousa cheerleader.
"Well, well," Kelli said.
Isa pulled off Waves, Percy uncapped Riptide, and Annabeth pulled her knife, but before Isa's sword was even out of ring form, Kelli pounced on Rachel. Her hand turned into a claw and she spun Rachel around, holding her tight, with her talons at Rachel's neck.
"Taking your little mortal pet for a walk?" Kelli asked Percy. "They're such fragile things. So easy to break!"
Behind them, the footsteps came closer. A huge form appeared out of the gloom⎼a three-meter-tall Laistrygonian giant with red eyes and fangs.
The giant licked his lips when he saw us. "Can I eat them?"
"No," Kelli said. "Your master will want these. They will provide a great deal of entertainment."
She smiled at Percy and her eyes traveled to Isa and lit up in recognition. "Now march, half-bloods. Or you all die here, starting with the mortal girl."
It was pretty much Isa's worst nightmare. And believe her she's had plenty of nightmares. They were marched down the tunnel flanked by the dracaenae, with Kelli and the giant at the back, just in case they tried to run for it. Nobody seemed to worry about them running forward. That was the direction they wanted them to go.
Up ahead Isa could see bronze doors. They were about three and a half meters tall, emblazoned with a pair of crossed swords. From behind the doors came a muffled roar, like a crowd.
"Oh, yessssss," said the snake woman on Percy's left. "You'll be very popular with our hossssst."
Isa had never got to look at a dracaena up close before, and she wasn't thrilled to have the opportunity. The monster would've had a beautiful face, except her tongue was forked and her eyes were yellow with black slits for pupils. She wore bronze armor that stopped at her waist. Below that, where her legs should've been, were two massive snake trunks, mottled bronze, and green. She moved by a combination of slithering and walking, as if she were on living skis.
"Who's your host?" Isa asked.
She hissed, which might have been a laugh. "Oh, you'll sssssee. You'll get along famousssly. He'ssss your brother, after all."
"My what?"
Percy and Isa looked at each other and immediately thought of Tyson, but that was impossible.
'What was she talking about?' Isa wondered.
The giant pushed past them and opened the doors. He picked up Annabeth by her shirt and said, "You stay here."
"Hey!" she protested, but the guy was twice her size and he'd already confiscated her knife and Percy and Isa's swords.
Kelli laughed. She still had her claws at Rachel's neck. "Go on, Percy, Isa. Entertain us. We'll wait here with your friends to make sure you two behave."
Percy looked at Rachel. "I'm sorry. We'll get you out of this."
She nodded as much as she could with a demon at her throat. "That would be nice."
The dracaenae prodded them towards the doorway at javelin-point, and the siblings walked out onto the floor of an arena.
Isa guessed it wasn't the largest arena she'd ever been in, but it seemed pretty spacious considering the whole place was underground. The dirt floor was circular, just big enough that you could drive a car around the rim if you pulled it really tight. In the center of the arena, a fight was going on between a giant and a centaur. The centaur looked panicked. He was galloping around his enemy, using sword and shield, while the giant swung a javelin the size of a telephone pole and the crowd cheered.
The first tier of seats was four meters above the arena floor. Plain stone benches wrapped all the way around, and every seat was full. There were giants, dracaenae, demigods, telkhines, and stranger things: bat-winged demons and creatures that seemed half-human and half you name it⎼bird, reptile, insect, mammal.
But the creepiest things were the skulls. The arena was full of them. They ringed the edge of the railing. Meter-high piles of them decorated the steps between the benches. They grinned from pikes at the back of the stands and hung on chains from the ceiling like horrible chandeliers. Some of them looked very old⎼nothing but bleached-white bone. Others looked a lot fresher. Isa's not going to describe them. Believe her, you don't want her to.
In the middle of all this, proudly displayed on the side of the spectators' wall, was something that made no sense to Isa and she was sure it made no sense to Percy either⎼a green banner with the trident of Poseidon in the center.
'What was that doing in a horrible place like this?' Isa thought in disgust.
Above the banner, sitting in a seat of honor, was an old friend.
"Luke," Percy and Isa said. They weren't sure he could hear them over the roar of the crowd, but he smiled coldly. He was wearing camouflage combat trousers, a white T-shirt, and a bronze breastplate, just like they'd seen in their dream. But he still wasn't wearing his sword, which the siblings thought was strange. Next to him sat the largest giant Percy and Isa had ever seen, much larger than the one on the floor fighting the centaur. The giant next to Luke must've been five meters tall, easy, and so wide he took up three seats. He wore only a loincloth, like a sumo wrestler. His skin was dark red and tattooed with blue wave designs. They figured he must be Luke's new bodyguard or something.
There was a cry from the arena floor, and Percy and Isa jumped back as the centaur crashed to the ground beside them. He met their eyes pleadingly.
"Help!" Isa reached for her sword, but it had been taken from her and hadn't reappeared in her finger yet. The same thing happened with Percy. Then suddenly, Isa remembered her wand. She still had it with her in her pocket, but the thing was, Isa, didn't know a lot of spells that could help her or anyone really. If only they didn't have a fraud of a teacher.
The centaur struggled to get up as the giant approached, his javelin ready.
A taloned hand gripped the siblings' shoulders. "If you value your friendsss' livesss," their dracaena guard said, "you won't interfere. This isssn't your fight. Wait your turn."
The centaur couldn't get up. One of his legs was broken. The giant put his huge foot on the horseman's chest and raised the javelin. He looked up at Luke. The crowd cheered, "DEATH! DEATH!"
Luke didn't do anything, but the tattooed sumo dude sitting next to him rose. He smiled down at the centaur, who was whimpering, "Please! No!"
Then the sumo dude held out his hand and gave the 'thumbs down' sign.
Isa closed her eyes tight as the gladiator giant thrust his javelin. When she looked again, the centaur was gone, disintegrated to ashes. All that was left was a single hoof, which the giant took up as a trophy and showed to the crowd. They roared their approval.
Isa was greatly disturbed.
A gate opened at the opposite end of the stadium and the giant marched out in triumph. In the stands, the sumo dude raised his hands for silence.
"Good entertainment!" he bellowed. "But nothing I haven't seen before. What else do you have, Luke, son of Hermes?"
Luke's jaw tightened. Isa could tell he didn't like being called son of Hermes. He hated his father. But he rose calmly to his feet. His eyes glittered. In fact, he seemed to be in a pretty good mood.
"Lord Antaeus," Luke said, loud enough for the crowd to hear, "you have been an excellent host! We would be happy to amuse you, to repay the favor of passing through your territory."
"A favor I have not yet granted," Antaeus growled. "I want entertainment!"
Luke bowed. "I believe I have something better than centaurs to fight in your arena now. I have a brother and sister of yours." He pointed at them. "Percy Jackson and Isa Potter, son, and daughter of Poseidon."
The crowd began jeering at them and throwing stones, most of which they dodged, but one caught Percy on the cheek and made a good-sized cut, and one caught on Isa's arm, also making a good-sized cut.
Antaeus's eyes lit up. "A son and daughter of Poseidon? Then they should fight well! Or die well!"
"If their death pleases you," Luke said, "will you let our armies cross your territory?"
"Perhaps!" Antaeus said.
Luke didn't look too pleased about the 'perhaps'. He glared down at the siblings, as if warning them that they'd better die in a really spectacular way or they'd be in big trouble.
Isa couldn't believe what she was hearing or seeing.
'How could Luke do this to me?' Isa wondered.
"Luke!" Annabeth yelled. "Stop this. Let us go!"
Luke seemed to notice her for the first time. He looked stunned for a moment. "Annabeth?"
"Enough time for the females to fight afterward," Antaeus interrupted. "First, Percy Jackson, Isa Potter, what weapons will you choose?"
The dracaenae pushed them into the middle of the arena.
They stared up at Antaeus. "How can you be a son of Poseidon?" Percy asked.
Antaeus laughed, and the rest of the crowd laughed, too.
"I am his favorite son!" Antaeus boomed. "Behold, my temple to the Earthshaker, built from the skulls of all those I've killed in his name! Your skulls shall join them!"
Percy and Isa stared in horror at all the skulls⎼hundreds of them, and the banner of Poseidon.
'How could this be a temple for our dad? Our dad was a nice guy. He'd never asked us for a Father's Day card, much less somebody's skull,' Isa reasoned.
"Percy! Isa!" Annabeth yelled at them. "His mother is Gaia! Gai⎼"
Her Laistrygonian captor clamped his hand over her mouth. His mother is Gaia. The earth goddess. Annabeth was trying to tell them that this was important, but they didn't know why. Maybe just because the guy had two godly parents. That would make him even harder to kill.
"You're crazy, Antaeus," Isa said. "If you think this is a good tribute, you know nothing about Poseidon."
The crowd screamed insults at her, but Antaeus raised his hand for silence.
"Weapons," he insisted. "And then we will see how you die. Will you have axes? Shields? Nets? Flamethrowers?"
"Just our swords," Percy and Isa said together.
Laughter erupted from the monsters, but immediately Riptide and Waves appeared in Percy and Isa's hands, and some of the voices in the crowd turned nervous. The bronze blades glowed with a faint light.
"Round one!' Antaeus announced.
The gates opened, and two dracaenas slithered out. Both of them had a trident in one hand and a weighted net in the other⎼classic gladiator style. They'd trained against those weapons at camp for years.
One jabbed at Isa experimentally. The girl stepped away. She threw her net, hoping to tangle Isa's sword hand, but she sidestepped easily, sliced her spear in half, and stabbed Waves through a chink in her armor. Isa didn't really know what Percy was doing, but knew right away when she heard two painful wails.
The dracaenas vaporized into nothing, and the cheering of the crowd died.
"No!" Antaeus bellowed. "Too fast! You must wait for the kill. Only I give that order!"
Percy and Isa glanced over at Annabeth and Rachel. They had to find a way to get them free, maybe distract their guards.
"Nice job, Percy, Isa." Luke smiled. "You've got better with the sword, Percy. I'll grant you that."
"Round two!" Antaeus yelled. "And slower this time! More entertainment! Wait for my call before killing anybody, OR ELSE!"
The gates opened again, and this time a young warrior came out. He was a little older than Percy, about sixteen. He had glossy black hair, and his left eye was covered with an eye patch. He was thin and wiry so his Greek armor hung on him loosely. He stabbed his sword into the ground, adjusted his shield straps, and pulled on his horsehair helmet.
Isa paled and froze when she saw his face. She hadn't seen him in a long time, but she still recognized him. Isa wasn't sure if he remembered her, but either way, Isa wasn't going to kill him.
"Who are you?" Percy asked.
"Ethan Nakamura," he said. "I have to kill you two."
"Why are you doing this?" Isa asked.
"Hey!" a monster jeered from the stands. "Stop talking and fight already!"
The others took up the call.
"I have to prove myself," Ethan told them. "Only way to join up."
And with that, he charged. Isa didn't move. She wasn't going to fight him. It didn't seem right, but Percy and Ethan's swords met in midair and the crowd roared. Isa could tell Percy didn't want to fight him either just to entertain a bunch of monsters, but Ethan Nakamura wasn't giving him much choice.
He pressed forward. He was good. Isa remembered Ethan left camp a couple of years back, and he was a decent swordfighter. Clearly, over the years he's gotten better.
He parried Percy's strike and almost slammed Percy with his shield, but her brother jumped back. Ethan slashed. Percy rolled to one side. They exchanged thrusts and parries, getting a feel for each other's fighting style.
Maybe it was because Isa trained longer than Percy, but she noticed Ethan's weakness right away.
"Percy, move!" Isa said. Percy rolled out of the way as Ethan's sword went to slash at him, but Isa pressed her sword against his and with strength, pushed it away.
The crowd cheered and Percy didn't dare enter the fight. Sure, the siblings could fight together, but Percy knew that if he interfered, something would happen to his sister.
Apparently, Ethan had been fighting with only one eye for a long time (she remembered that even back at camp his eye was already injured), because he was excellent at guarding his left.
"Blood!" the monsters cried.
Her opponent glanced up at the stands, and that's when Isa realized she was correct. Ethan needed to impress them. Isa didn't.
He yelled an angry battle cry and charged her, but Isa parried his blade and backed away, letting him come after her.
"Booo!" Antaeus said. "Stand and fight!"
Ethan pressed Isa, but she had no trouble defending, even without a shield. He was dressed for defense⎼heavy armor and shield⎼which made it very tiring to play offense. Isa was a softer target, but she was also lighter and faster. The crowd went nuts, yelling complaints, and throwing rocks. They'd been fighting for almost five minutes and there was no blood.
Finally, Ethan made his mistake. He tried to jab at Isa's stomach and she locked his sword hilt in hers and twisted. His sword dropped into the dirt. Before he could recover Isa slammed the butt of her sword into his helmet and pushed him down. His heavy armor helped Isa more than him. He fell on his back, dazed and tired. Isa put the tip of her sword on his chest.
"Get it over with," Ethan groaned.
Isa looked up at Antaeus. His red face was stony with displeasure, but he held up his hand and put it 'thumbs down'.
"I'm not going to kill you," Isa said, and sheathed her sword.
"Don't be a fool," Ethan groaned. He looked at Percy. "Do it."
"Forget it," Percy answered, sheathing his sword as well. "They'll just kill all of us."
Isa offered him her hand. Reluctantly, he took it. Isa helped him up.
"No one dishonors the games!" Antaeus bellowed. "Your heads shall all be tributes to Poseidon!"
Percy and Isa looked at Ethan. "When you see your chance, run." Then they turned back to Antaeus.
"Why don't you fight us yourself?" Percy asked.
"If you've got Dad's favor, come down here and prove it!" Isa said.
The monsters grumbled in the stands. Antaeus looked around, and apparently realized he had no choice. He couldn't say no without looking like a coward.
"I am the greatest wrestler in the world, boy and girl," he warned. "I have been wrestling since the first pankration!"
"Pankration?' Percy and Isa asked.
"He means fighting to the death," Ethan said. "No rules. No holds barred. It used to be an Olympic sport."
"Thanks for the tip," Percy said.
"Don't mention it."
Rachel was watching them with wide eyes. Annabeth shook her head emphatically, the Laistrygonian's hand still clamped over her mouth.
Percy and Isa pointed their swords at Antaeus.
"Winner takes all! Percy and I win, we all go free," Isa said.
"You win, we die. Swear upon the River Styx," Percy told him.
Antaeus laughed. "This shouldn't take long. I swear to your terms!"
He leaped off the railing into the arena.
"Good luck," Ethan told them. "You two will need it."
Then he backed up quickly. Antaeus cracked his knuckles. He grinned, and Isa saw that even his teeth were etched in wave patterns, which must've made brushing after meals a real pain.
"Weapons?" he asked.
"We'll stick with our swords. You?" Isa asked.
He held up his huge hands and wiggled his fingers. "I don't need anything else! Master Luke, you will referee this one"
Luke smiled down at them. "With pleasure."
Antaeus lunged. They rolled under his legs and both stabbed him in the back of his thigh.
"Argggh!" he yelled. But where blood should've come out, there was a spout of sand, like they'd busted the side of an hourglass. It spilled to the ground, and the earth rose up to collect around his leg, almost like a cast. When it fell away, the wound was gone.
He charged again. Fortunately, Percy and Isa had some experience fighting giants. They dodged sideways this time, one on each side, and they stabbed him under the arms. Riptide and Waves's blades were buried to the hilt in his ribs. That was the good news. The bad news was that it wrenched out of their hands when the giant turned, and they were thrown across the arena, weaponless.
Antaeus bellowed in pain. Isa waited for him to disintegrate. No monster had ever withstood a direct hit like that from her sword. The celestial bronze blade had to be destroying his essence. But Antaeus groped for the hilts, pulled out the swords, and tossed it behind him. More sand poured from the wound, but again the earth rose up to cover him. Dirt coated his body all the way to his shoulders. As soon as the dirt spilled away, Antaeus was fine.
"Now you see why I never lose, demigods!" Antaeus gloated. "Come here and let me crush you. I'll make it quick!"
Antaeus stood between them and their sword. Desperately, Isa glanced to either side and she caught Annabeth's eye.
'The earth,' Isa thought. 'What had Annabeth been trying to tell me? Antaeus's mother was Gaia the earth mother, the most ancient goddess of all. Antaeus's father might have been Poseidon, but Gaia was keeping him alive. We couldn't hurt him as long as he was touching the ground.'
Percy and Isa managed to reunite as they were standing side by side. They tried to skirt around him, but Antaeus anticipated their move. He blocked their path, chuckling. He was just toying with them now. He had them cornered.
Isa started thinking of spells, but she doubted any would work against Antaeus. The only one that would probably work was the Killing Curse, but Isa wasn't going to cast that. She couldn't cast the same spell that killed her mom and her stepfather, and the same spell that tried to kill Harry.
Percy and Isa looked up at the chains hanging from the ceiling, dangling the skulls of his enemies on hooks. The siblings locked eyes and suddenly they had an idea.
They feinted to the other side. Antaeus blocked them. The crowd jeered and screamed at Antaeus to finish the siblings off, but he was having too much fun.
"Puny boy and girl," he said. "Not a worthy son and daughter of the sea god!"
Isa felt her ring return to her finger, but Antaeus wouldn't know about that. He would think Waves along with Riptide were still in the dirt behind him. He would think the siblings' goal was to get their swords. It wasn't much of an advantage, but it was all they had.
Percy and Isa charged straight ahead, crouching low so he would think they were going to roll between his legs again. While he was stooping, ready to catch them like a grounder, they jumped for all they were worth⎼kicking off his forearms, scrambling up his shoulders like it was a ladder, placing their shoes on his head. He did the natural thing. He straightened up indignantly and yelled "HEY!" Percy and Isa pushed off, using his force to catapult themselves towards the ceiling. The siblings caught the top of a chain, and the skulls and hooks jangled beneath them. Isa wrapped her legs around the chain, just like she used to do at the ropes course in camp. Isa drew Waves, Percy drew Riptide and they sawed off the chain next to them.
"Come down here, cowards!" Antaeus bellowed. He tried to grab them, but they were just out of reach. Hanging on for dear life, Percy yelled, "Come up and get me! Or are you too slow and fat?"
"You need to fix your diet man!" Isa yelled. "Slack off on whatever the hell your eating!"
He howled and made another grab for them. He caught a chain and tried to pull himself up. While he was struggling, Percy and Isa lowered their sawn-off chain, hook first. It took Percy two tries, Isa one, but finally, they snagged Antaeus's loincloth.
"WAAA!" he yelled. Quickly they slipped the free chain through the fastening link on their own chain, pulled it taut, and secured it the best they could. Antaeus tried to slip back to the ground, but his butt stayed suspended by his loincloth. Luckily for him, he didn't have to hold onto anything to avoid flipping upside down. Unlucky for him, he looked like a baby on a door bouncer.
Isa prayed the loincloth and the chain would hold up for a few more seconds. While Antaeus cursed and flailed, Percy and Isa scrambled around the chains, swinging and cutting like they were some kind of crazed monkeys. They made loops with hooks and metal links. They didn't know how they did it. They were desperate to save their friends.
Anyway, within a couple of minutes the giant was suspended above the ground, hopelessly snarled in chains and hooks. Percy and Isa dropped to the floor, panting and sweaty. Their hands were raw from climbing.
"Get me down!" Antaeus demanded.
"Free him!" Luke ordered. "He is our host!"
Isa pulled off Waves, Percy uncapped Riptide.
Isa said, "We'll free him."
And they stabbed the giant in the stomach. He bellowed, and sand poured out, but he was too far up to touch the earth, and the dirt did not rise to help him. Antaeus just dissolved, pouring out bit by bit, until there was nothing left but empty swinging chains, a really big loincloth on a hook, and a bunch of grinning skulls dancing above the siblings like they finally had something to smile about.
"Jackson! Potter!" Luke yelled. "I should have killed you two long ago!'
"You tried," Percy reminded him. "Let us go, Luke. We had a sworn agreement with Antaeus. We're the winner."
He did just what Percy expected. He said, "Antaeus is dead. His oath dies with him. But since I'm feeling merciful today, I'll have you killed quickly."
He pointed at Annabeth. "Spare the girl." His voice quavered just a little. "I would speak to her before-before our great triumph."
'Nice to know Luke still cares about me,' Isa thought.
Every monster in the audience drew a weapon or extended its claws. They were trapped. Hopelessly outnumbered.
Then Isa felt something in her pocket⎼a freezing sensation, growing colder and colder. 'The dog whistle,' she remembered.
Her fingers closed around it. For days she had avoided using Quintus's gift. It had to be a trap. But now... Isa had no choice. She took it out of her pocket and blew. It made no audible sound as it shattered into shards of ice, melting in her hand.
Luke laughed. "What was that supposed to do?"
From behind Percy and Isa came a surprised yelp. The Laistrygonian giant who'd been guarding Annabeth flew past the siblings and smashed into the wall.
"AROOOOF!"
Kelli the empousa screamed as a two-hundred-kilogram black mastiff picked her up like a chew toy and tossed her through the air, straight into Luke's lap. Mrs. O'Leary snarled, and the two dracaenae guards backed away. For a moment the monsters in the audience were caught completely by surprise.
"Let's go!" Isa yelled at her friends. "Heel, Mrs. O'Leary!"
"The far exit!" Rachel cried. "That's the right way!"
Ethan Nakamura took his cue. Together they raced across the arena and out the far exit, Mrs. O'Leary right behind them. As they ran, Isa could hear the disorganized sounds of an entire army trying to jump out of the stands and follow them.
╔═════ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ══════╗
"This way!" Rachel yelled.
"Why should we follow you?" Annabeth demanded. "You led us straight into that death trap!"
"It was the way you needed to go," Rachel said. "And so is this. Come on!"
Annabeth didn't look happy about it, but she ran along with the rest of them. Rachel seemed to know exactly where she was going. She whipped around corners and didn't even hesitate at crossroads. Once she said, "Duck!" and they all crouched as a huge ax swung over their heads. Then they kept going as if nothing had happened.
Isa lost track of how many turns they made. They didn't stop to rest until they came to a room the size of a gymnasium with old marble columns holding up the roof. Isa stood at the doorway, listening for sounds of pursuit, but she heard nothing. Apparently, they'd lost Luke and his minions in the maze.
Then Isa realized something else: Mrs. O'Leary was gone. Isa didn't know when she'd disappeared. She didn't know if she'd got lost or been overrun by monsters, or what. Isa's heart turned to lead. She had saved their lives, and Isa hadn't even waited to make sure she was following them.
Ethan collapsed on the floor. "You people are crazy." He pulled off his helmet. His face gleamed with sweat.
Annabeth gasped. "I remember you! You were one of the undetermined kids in Hermes cabin, years ago."
He glared at her. "Yeah, and you're Annabeth. I remember."
Isa frowned. "You only noticed now. What-what happened to your eye anyway?"
Ethan looked away, and Isa got the feeling that was one subject he would not discuss.
"You must be the half-blood from my dream," Percy said. "The one Luke's people cornered. It wasn't Nico after all."
Isa kind of doubted that, but it could be a possibility.
"Who's Nico?"
"Never mind," Annabeth said quickly. "Why were you trying to join up with the wrong side?"
Ethan sneered. "There's no right side. The gods never cared about us. Why shouldn't I⎼"
"Sign up with an army that makes you fight to the death for entertainment?" Annabeth said. "Gee, I wonder."
Ethan struggled to his feet. "I'm not going to argue with you. Thanks for the help, but I'm out of here."
"We're going after Daedalus," Isa said. "Come with us. Once we get through, you'd be welcome back at camp."
"You really are crazy if you think Daedalus will help you."
"He has to," Annabeth said. "We'll make him listen."
Ethan snorted. "Yeah, well. Good luck with that."
Isa grabbed his arm. "You're just going to head off alone into the maze? That's suicide."
He looked at her with barely controlled anger. His eye patch was frayed around the edges and the black cloth was faded, like he'd been wearing it a long, long time. "You shouldn't have spared me, Potter. Mercy has no place in this war."
Then he ran off into the darkness, back the way they'd come.
Annabeth, Rachel, Percy, and Isa were so exhausted they made camp right there in the huge room. Percy found some scrap wood and they started a fire. Shadows danced off the columns rising around them like trees.
"Something was wrong with Luke," Annabeth muttered, poking at the fire with her knife. "Did you notice the way he was acting?"
"He looked pretty pleased to me," Percy said. "Like he'd spent a nice day torturing heroes."
"That's not true! There was something wrong with him. He looked"
"Nervous," Isa said.
Annabeth nodded. "He told his monsters to spare me. He wanted to tell me something."
"Probably, Hi, Annabeth! Sit here with me and watch while I tear your friends apart. It'll be fun!" Percy said.
"You're impossible," Annabeth grumbled. She sheathed her dagger and looked at Rachel. "So which way now, Sacagawea?"
Rachel didn't respond right away. She'd become quieter since the arena. Now, whenever Annabeth made a sarcastic comment, Rachel hardly bothered to answer. She'd burned the tip of a stick in the fire and was using it to draw ash figures on the floor, images of the monsters they'd seen. With a few strokes, she caught the likeness of a dracaena perfectly.
"We'll follow the path," she said. "The brightness on the floor."
"The brightness that led us straight into a trap?" Annabeth asked.
"Lay off her, Annabeth," Percy said. "She's doing the best she can."
Annabeth stood, she looked at Isa who just shook her head as a warning. "The fire's getting low. I'll go look for some more scraps while you guys talk strategy." And she marched off into the shadows.
Rachel drew another figure with her stick⎼an ashy Antaeus dangling from his chains.
"Annabeth's usually not like this," Percy told her. "I don't know what her problem is."
Rachel raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure you don't know?"
"What do you mean?"
"Boys," she muttered. "Totally blind."
"Tell me about it," Isa said. "I've been watching those two for gods know how long."
"Hey, don't you get on my case, too! Look, I'm sorry I got you involved in this."
"No, you were right," she said. "I can see the path. I can't explain it, but it's really clear."
She pointed towards the other end of the room, into the darkness. "The workshop is that way. The heart of the maze. We're very close now. I don't know why the path led through that arena. I-I'm sorry about that. I thought you were going to die."
She sounded like she was close to crying.
"Hey, we're usually about to die," Isa promised. "Don't feel bad."
She studied Percy and Isa's face. "So you do this every summer? Fight monsters? Save the world? Don't you ever get to do just, you know, normal stuff?"
"Yeah," Isa said, nodding her head. "Not saving the world I mean, but fighting... I've been doing it for as long as I can remember."
Percy never really thought about it like that. The last time he'd had something like a normal life had been... well, never. "Half-bloods get used to it, I guess. Or maybe not used to it, but..." Percy shifted uncomfortably. "What about you? What do you do normally?"
Rachel shrugged. "I paint. I read a lot."
"What about your family?" Percy asked. Isa kicked him in the shin.
Isa could sense her mental shields going up, like this was not a safe subject. "Oh... they're just, you know, family."
"You said they wouldn't notice if you were gone."
She set down her drawing stick. "Wow, I'm really tired. I may sleep for a while, okay?"
"Oh, sure. Sorry if..."
But Rachel was already curling up, using her backpack as a pillow. She closed her eyes and lay very still, but Isa got the feeling she wasn't really asleep.
A few minutes later, Annabeth came back. She tossed some more sticks on the fire. She looked at Rachel, then at the siblings.
"I'll take first watch," she said. "You should sleep, too."
"You don't have to act like that," Percy said, but Isa was already curling up. She was exhausted.
"Like what?"
"Like... never mind."
Isa was so tired she fell asleep as soon as her eyes closed.
In her dreams, Isa heard laughter. Cold, harsh laughter, like knives being sharpened.
Isa was standing at the edge of a pit in the depths of Tartarus. Below her, the darkness seethed like inky soup.
She felt a rock in her throat. Ever since she first saw the pit of Tartarus in the Underworld during their first quest, she hasn't been able to stop thinking about it. The experience of almost being sucked in and the power it radiated scarred her forever. Aside from flying, Tartarus was her biggest fear.
"So close to your own destruction, little hero," the voice of Kronos chided. "And still you are blind."
The voice was different than it had been before. It seemed almost physical now, as if it were speaking from a real body instead of... whatever he'd been in his chopped-up condition.
"I have much to thank you for," Kronos said. "You have assured my rise."
The shadows in the cavern became deeper and heavier. Isa tried to back away from the edge of the pit, but it was like swimming through oil. Time slowed down. Her breathing almost stopped.
"A favor," Kronos said. "The Titan lord always pays his debts. Perhaps a glimpse of the friends you abandoned..."
The darkness rippled around her, and Isa was in a different cave.
"Hurry!" Tyson said. He came barreling into the room. Grover stumbled along behind him. There was a rumbling in the corridor they'd come from, and the head of an enormous snake burst into the cave. Isa means, this thing was so big its body barely fitted through the tunnel. Its scales were coppery, its head was diamond-shaped like a rattler and its yellow eyes glowed with hatred. When it opened its mouth, its fangs were as tall as Tyson. It was probably even bigger than the basilisk back at Hogwarts!
It lashed at Grover, but Grover scampered out of the way. The snake got a mouthful of dirt. Tyson picked up a boulder and threw it at the monster, smacking it between the eyes, but the snake just recoiled and hissed.
"It's going to eat you!" Grover yelled at Tyson. "How do you know?"
"It just told me! Run!"
Tyson darted to one side, but the snake used its head like a club and knocked him off his feet.
"No!" Grover yelled. But before Tyson could regain his balance the snake wrapped around him and started to squeeze.
Tyson strained, pushing with all his immense strength, but the snake squeezed tighter. Grover frantically hit the snake with his reed pipes, but he might as well have been banging on a stone wall.
The whole room shook as the snake flexed its muscles, shuddering to overcome Tyson's strength. Grover began to play the pipes, and stalactites rained down from the ceiling. The whole cave seemed about to collapse...
Isa woke with Annabeth shaking her shoulder. "Percy, Isa, wake up!"
"Tyson!" Isa said.
"Tyson-Tyson's in trouble!" Percy said. "We have to help him!"
"First things first," Annabeth said. "Earthquake!"
Sure enough, the room was rumbling. "Rachel!" Percy yelled.
Her eyes opened instantly. She grabbed her pack, and the four of them ran. They were almost to the far tunnel when a column next to them groaned and buckled. They kept going as a hundred tons of marble crashed down behind them.
They made it to the corridor and turned just in time to see the other columns toppling. A cloud of white dust billowed over them, and they kept running.
"You know what?" Annabeth said. "I like this way after all."
It wasn't long before they saw light up ahead⎼like regular electric lighting.
"There," Rachel said.
They followed her into a stainless-steel hallway, like Isa imagined they'd have on a space station or something. Fluorescent lights glowed from the ceiling. The floor was a metal grate.
Percy and Isa were so used to being in the darkness that they had to squint. Annabeth and Rachel both looked pale in the harsh illumination.
"This way," Rachel said, beginning to run. "We're close!"
"This is so wrong!" Annabeth said. "The workshop should be in the oldest section of the maze. This can't⎼"
She faltered because they'd arrived at a set of metal double doors. Inscribed in the steel, at eye level, was a large blue Greek Δ.
"We're here," Rachel announced. "Daedalus's workshop."
Annabeth pressed the symbol on the doors and they hissed open.
"So much for ancient architecture," Percy said.
Annabeth scowled. Together they walked inside. The first thing that struck Isa was the daylight⎼blazing sun coming through giant windows. Not the kind of thing you expect in the heart of a dungeon. The workshop was like an artist's studio, with ten-meter ceilings and industrial lighting, polished stone floors, and workbenches. A spiral staircase led up to a second-story loft. Half a dozen easels displayed hand-drawn diagrams for buildings and machines that looked like Leonardo da Vinci sketches. Several laptop computers were scattered around on the tables. Glass jars of green oil⎼Greek fire⎼lined one shelf. There were inventions, too⎼weird metal machines Isa couldn't make sense of. One was a bronze chair with a bunch of electrical wires attached to it, like some kind of torture device. In another corner stood a giant metal egg about the size of a man. There was a grandfather clock that appeared to be made entirely of glass, so you could see all the gears turning. And hanging on the wall were several sets of bronze and silver wings.
"Di immortales," Annabeth muttered. She ran to the nearest easel and looked at the sketch. "He's a genius. Look at the curves on this building!"
"And an artist," Rachel said in amazement. "These wings are amazing!"
The wings looked more advanced than the ones Isa had seen in her dreams. The feathers were more tightly interwoven. Instead of wax seals, self-adhesive strips ran down the sides.
Isa kept her hand on Waves. Apparently, Daedalus was not at home, but the workshop looked like it had been used recently. The laptops were running their screen savers. A half-eaten blueberry muffin and a coffee cup sat on a workbench.
Percy and Isa both walked to the window. The view outside was amazing. Isa recognized the Rocky Mountains in the distance. They were high up in the foothills, at least one hundred and fifty meters, and, down below, a valley spread out, filled with a tumbled collection of red mesas and boulders and spires of stone. It looked like some huge kid had been building a toy city with skyscraper-sized blocks, and then decided to knock it over.
"Where are we?" Percy wondered.
"Colorado Springs," a voice said behind them. "The Garden of the Gods."
Standing on the spiral staircase above them, with his weapon drawn, was their missing swordmaster, Quintus.
"You," Annabeth said. "What have you done with Daedalus?"
Quintus smiled faintly. "Trust me, my dear. You don't want to meet him."
"Look, Mr. Traitor," she growled, "I didn't fight a dragon woman and a three-bodied man and a psychotic Sphinx to see you. Now, where is DAEDALUS?"
Quintus came down the stairs, holding his sword at his side. He was dressed in jeans and boots and his counselor's T-shirt from Camp Half-Blood, which seemed like an insult now that they knew he was a spy. Isa didn't know if she could beat him in a sword fight. He was pretty good, but the girl figured she would have to try.
"You think I'm an agent of Kronos," he said. "That I work for Luke."
"Well, duh," said Annabeth.
"You're an intelligent girl," he said. "But you're wrong. I work only for myself."
"Luke mentioned you," Isa said. "Geryon knew about you, too. You've been to his ranch."
"Of course," he said. "I've been almost everywhere. Even here."
He walked past the siblings like there were no threat at all and stood by the window. "The view changes from day to day," he mused. "It's always someplace high up. Yesterday it was from a skyscraper overlooking Manhattan. The day before that, there was a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. But it keeps coming back to the Garden of the Gods. I think the Labyrinth likes it here. A fitting name, I suppose."
"You've been here before," Percy said.
"Oh, yes."
"That's an illusion out there?" Percy asked. "A projection or something?"
"No," Rachel murmured. "It's real. We're really in Colorado."
Quintus regarded her. "You have clear vision, don't you? You remind me of another mortal girl I once knew. Another princess who came to grief."
"Enough games," Isa said. "What have you done with Daedalus?"
Quintus stared at her. "My girl, you need lessons from your friend on seeing clearly. I am Daedalus."
There were a lot of answers Isa might've given, from 'I knew that' to 'LIAR!' to 'Yeah right, and I'm Zeus.'
The only thing Isa could think to say was, "But you're not an inventor! You're a swordsman!"
"I am both," Quintus said. "And an architect. And a scholar. I also play basketball pretty well for a guy who didn't start until he was two thousand years old. A real artist must be good at many things."
"That's true," Rachel said. "Like I can paint with my feet as well as my hands."
"You see?" Quintus said. "A girl of many talents."
"But you don't even look like Daedalus," Percy protested. "I saw him in a dream, and..."
Suddenly a horrible thought dawned on both him and Isa.
"Yes," Quintus said. "You've finally guessed the truth."
"You're an automaton," Percy said.
Isa continued, "You made yourself a new body."
"Percy, Isa," Annabeth said uneasily, "that's not possible. That-that can't be an automaton."
Quintus chuckled. "Do you know what Quintus means, my dear?"
"The fifth, in Latin. But⎼"
"This is my fifth body." The swordsman held out his forearm. He pressed his elbow and part of his wrist popped open⎼a rectangular hatch in his skin. Underneath, bronze gears whirred. Wires glowed.
"That's amazing!" Rachel said.
"That's weird," Percy and Isa said.
"You found a way to transfer your animus into a machine?" Annabeth said. "That's... not natural."
"Oh, I assure you, my dear, it's still me. I'm still very much Daedalus. Our mother, Athena, makes sure I never forget that." He tugged back the collar of his shirt. At the base of his neck was the mark the siblings has seen before⎼the dark shape of a bird grafted to his skin.
"A murderer's brand," Annabeth said.
"For your nephew, Perdix," Isa guessed. "The boy you pushed off the tower."
Quintus's face darkened. "I did not push him. I simply⎼"
"Made him lose his balance," Percy said. "Let him die."
Quintus gazed out of the windows at the purple mountains. "I regret what I did, Percy, Isa. I was angry and bitter. But I cannot take it back, and Athena never lets me forget. As Perdix died, she turned him into a small bird⎼a partridge. She branded the bird's shape on my neck as a reminder. No matter what body I take, the brand appears on my skin."
Isa looked into his eyes, and she realized he was the same man she'd seen in her dreams. His face might be totally different, but the same soul was in there⎼the same intelligence and all the sadness.
"You really are Daedalus," Isa decided. "But why did you come to the camp? Why spy on us?"
"To see if your camp was worth saving. Luke had given me one story. I preferred to come to my own conclusions."
"So you have talked to Luke," Percy said.
"Oh, yes. Several times. He is quite persuasive."
"But now you've seen the camp!" Annabeth persisted. "So you know we need your help. You can't let Luke through the maze!"
Daedalus set his sword on the workbench. "The maze is no longer mine to control, Annabeth. I created it, yes. In fact, it is tied to my life force. But I have allowed it to live and grow on its own. That is the price I paid for privacy."
"Privacy from what?"
"The gods," he said. "And death. I have been alive for two millennia, my dear, hiding from death."
"But how can you hide from Hades?" Percy asked. "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," Isa said.
Daedalus 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 marveled, "for two thousand years." She sounded kind of impressed, despite the horrible things Daedalus had done.
Just then a loud bark echoed from the corridor. Isa heard the ba-BUMP, ba-BUMP, ba-BUMP of huge paws, and Mrs. O'Leary bounded into the workshop. She licked Percy and Isa's face once, then almost knocked 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 me," Isa said. "That whistle actually worked."
Daedalus nodded. "Of course it did, Isa. You have a good heart. And I knew Mrs. O'Leary liked you. 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."
"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 said.
"With Luke," Daedalus said sadly. "I'm sorry, my dear. But you are several hours too late."
With a chill, Isa realized why Luke had been in such a good mood in the arena. He'd already got the string from Daedalus. His only obstacle had been the arena master, and Percy and Isa had taken care of that for him by killing Antaeus.
"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."
"That's your brilliant idea?" Annabeth yelled. "You're going to let Luke destroy our camp, kill hundreds of demigods, and then attack Olympus? You're going to bring down the entire world so you can get what you want?"
"Your cause is doomed, my dear. I saw that as soon as I began to work at your camp. There is no way you can hold back the might of Kronos."
"That's not true!" she cried.
"I am doing what I must, my dear. The offer was too sweet to refuse. I'm sorry."
Annabeth pushed over an easel. Architectural drawings scattered across the floor. "I used to respect you. You were my hero! You-you built amazing things. You solved problems. Now... I don't know what you are. Children of Athena are supposed to be wise, not just clever. Maybe you are just a machine. You should have died two thousand years ago."
Instead of getting mad, Daedalus hung his head. "You should go warn your camp. Now that Luke has the string⎼"
Suddenly Mrs. O'Leary pricked up her ears.
"Someone's coming!" Rachel warned.
The doors of the workshop burst open, and Nico was pushed inside, his hands in chains. Then Kelli and two Laistrygonians marched in behind him, followed by the ghost of Minos. He looked almost solid now⎼a pale bearded king with cold eyes and tendrils of Mist coiling off his robes.
He fixed his gaze on Daedalus. "There you are, my old friend."
Daedalus's jaw clenched. He looked at Kelli. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Luke sends his compliments," Kelli said. "He thought you might like to see your old employer, Minos."
"This was not part of our agreement," Daedalus said.
"No indeed," Kelli said. "But we already have what we want from you, and we have other agreements to honor. Minos required something else from us, in order to turn over this fine young demigod." She ran a finger under Nico's chin. "He'll be quite useful. And all Minos asked in return was your head, old man."
Daedalus paled. "Treachery."
"Get used to it," Kelli said.
"Nico," Percy and Isa said. "Are you okay?"
He nodded morosely. "I-I'm sorry, Percy, Isa. Minos told me you were in danger. He convinced me to go back into the maze."
"You were trying to help us?" Isa asked.
"I was tricked," he said. "He tricked all of us."
Percy glared at Kelli. "Where's Luke? Why isn't he here?'
The she-demon smiled like they were sharing a private joke. "Luke is... busy. He is preparing for the assault. But don't worry. We have more friends on the way. And in the meantime, I think I'll have a wonderful snack!" Her hands changed to claws. Her hair burst into flame and her legs turned to their true form⎼one donkey leg, one bronze.
"Percy, Isa," Rachel whispered, "the wings. Do you think⎼"
"Get them," they said. "We'll try to buy you some time."
And with that, all Hades broke loose. Annabeth, Percy, and Isa charged at Kelli. The giants came right at Daedalus, but Mrs. O'Leary leaped to his defense. Nico got pushed to the ground and struggled with his chains while the spirit of Minos wailed, "Kill the inventor! Kill him!"
Rachel grabbed the wings off the wall. Nobody paid her any attention. Kelli slashed at Annabeth. Percy and Isa tried to get to her, but the demon was quick and deadly. She turned over tables, smashed inventions, and wouldn't let them get close. Out of the corner of her eye, Isa saw Mrs. O'Leary chomp her fangs into a giant's arm. He wailed in pain and flung her around, trying to shake her off. Daedalus grabbed for his sword, but the second giant smashed the workbench with his fist, and the sword went flying. A clay jar of Greek fire broke on the floor and began to burn, green flames spreading quickly.
"To me!" Minos cried. "Spirits of the dead!" He raised his ghostly hands and the air began to hum.
"No!" Nico cried. He was on his feet now. He'd somehow managed to remove his shackles.
"You do not control me, young fool," Minos sneered. "All this time, I have been controlling you! A soul for a soul, yes. But it is not your sister who will return from the dead. It is I, as soon as I slay the inventor!"
Spirits began to appear around Minos⎼shimmering forms that slowly multiplied, solidifying into Cretan soldiers.
"I am the son of Hades," Nico insisted. "Begone!"
Minos laughed. "You have no power over me. I am the lord of spirits! The ghost king!"
"No." Nico drew his sword. "I am."
He stabbed his black blade into the floor, and it cleaved through the stone like butter.
"Never!" Minos's form rippled. "I will not⎼"
The ground rumbled. The windows cracked and shattered to pieces, letting in a blast of fresh air. A fissure opened in the stone floor of the workshop, and Minos and all his spirits were sucked into the void with a horrible wail.
The bad news: the fight was still going on all around them, and Percy let himself get distracted. Kelli pounced on him so fast he had no time to defend himself. His sword skittered away and Percy hit his head hard on a worktable as he fell. His eyesight went fuzzy.
Kelli laughed. "You will taste wonderful!" She bared her fangs.
Annabeth and Isa saw what was going on and immediately went to help him out. Annabeth stabbed her knife into the empousa's back and Isa slashed her sword in an arc.
Then suddenly the empousa's body went rigid. Her red eyes widened. She gasped, "No... school... spirit..."
And Annabeth took her knife out of the Kellis' back. With an awful screech, Kelli dissolved into yellow vapor. Annabeth helped Percy up. He still felt dizzy, but they had no time to lose. Mrs. O'Leary and Daedalus were still locked in combat with the giants, and Isa could hear shouting in the tunnel. More monsters were coming towards the workshop.
"We have to help Daedalus!" Isa said.
"No time," Rachel said. "Too many coming!"
She'd already fitted herself with wings and was working on Nico, who looked pale and sweaty from his struggle with Minos. The wings grafted instantly to his back and arms.
"Now you!" she told them.
In seconds, Nico, Annabeth, Rachel, Percy, and Isa had fitted themselves with coppery wings. Already Isa could feel herself being lifted by the wind coming through the window. Greek fire was burning the tables and furniture, spreading up the circular stairs.
"Daedalus!" Isa yelled. "Come on!"
He was cut in a hundred places⎼but he was bleeding golden oil instead of blood. He'd found his sword and was using part of a smashed table as a shield against the giants. "I won't leave Mrs. O'Leary!" he said. "Go!"
There was no time to argue. Even if they stayed, Isa wasn't sure they could help.
"None of us know how to fly!" Nico protested.
"I can ride a broomstick if that helps," Isa told them.
"Great time to find out," Percy said. And together the five of them jumped out of the window into the open sky.