Ok, of all the things Cressida thought Percy could've said in response to her deduction, "But you're not an inventor! You're a swordsman!" was not one of them. Why did she like him again?
"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..." his face paled as he cut himself off.
"Yes," Quintus said. "You've finally guessed the truth."
"You're an automaton. You made yourself a new body."
"Percy," Annabeth said uneasily, "that's not possible. That – that can't be an automaton."
"How were we able to walk across the country in a day? How did it feel like we were in the maze a couple days but we were in there a week?" Cressida said. "Your name. It's Latin."
"Correct again," Quintus chuckled.
"What's it mean?" Percy wondered.
"The fifth. 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 said.
"That shouldn't be possible," Cressida 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 dark shape of a bird grafted to his skin.
"A murderer's brand," Annabeth said.
"For your nephew, Perdix," Percy 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 finished. "Let him die."
Quintus gazed out of the windows at the purple mountains. "I regret what I did, Percy. 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."
Percy stared at him, like really stared at him. "You really are Daedalus," he decided after a time. "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."
"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?" 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."
"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 before she 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."
Cressida's hands burst into flames as she glared at the inventor, tears welling in her eyes. "Your animus is inside that metal contraption and that means that if we die, you die too."
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, two empusai 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 honour. 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.
"That's what you get for dealing with Luke," Cressida growled as she faced their new enemies.
"Nico," Percy said. "Are you okay?"
He nodded morosely. "I – I'm sorry, Percy, Cressida. Minos told me you were in danger. He convinced me to go back into the maze."
"You were trying to help us?"
"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," Rachel whispered, "the wings. Do you think –"
"Get them," Percy said. "I'll try to buy you some time."
And all Hades broke loose as Cressida let loose an enraged cry as her fire raced for one of the giants. It roared as if it was burning alive before its eyes changed and it charged at the other giant.
Percy and Annabeth charged at Kelli and one empusai while the other went for Daedalus as Mrs O'Leary leapt to his defence.
Cressida drew her thyrsus as she went for Nico who was knocked onto the ground as he struggled in his chains.
"Kill the inventor! Kill him!" Minos ordered.
"As much as I hate Daedalus, I will make sure he lives till the end of time if you don't get out of my way!" she snarled at the ghost who she walked through as the squabbling giants collapsed onto a workbench, a jar of Greek fire breaking as green flames began to spread.
"To me!" Minos cried. "Spirits of the dead!" He raised his ghostly hands and the air began to hum.
"No!" Nico cried as he rose to his feet, free of his shackles as Cressida stood at his side, her weapon tucked under her arm.
"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.
Once that was taken care of, Cressida watched as Kelli pounced on a distracted Percy and she let her thyrsus change into a spear as she threw it.
The spear lodged itself into the floor next to Percy's head as Kelli gasped, "No... school...spirit," before letting out a horrible screech and she dissolved.
"You almost killed me!" Percy exclaimed, still dizzy as Annabeth helped him up.
"I just saved you! Just like I'm about to do again," she said as her eyes flared purple, and she shot a column of purple fire towards the Greek fire. It was like ink on paper. The purple colour spread until all the fire was responding to Cressida's will as she waved her arms through the air and sent it shooting towards the remaining monsters in the room. "You're dead," she ordered as they all dropped to the ground, giving Annabeth ample time to dispatch them all seeing as Daedalus had headed out to the tunnel where there was shouting - more monsters were coming towards the workshop.
"We have to help Daedalus!" Percy 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.
Cressida was sitting on the floor nearby, looking in worse shape as she mumbled, "They were definitely not young giants."
"Wait! There's not enough!" Annabeth shouted as she pointed to the four sets of wings and five of them.
"I'll take Cress. She can't fly on her own in her condition anyway," Percy said as Rachel helped fasten the wings to him as Annabeth pulled out the canteen Clarisse had given her from a zippered pocket in her jacket, feeding Cress some as her vision became a little less fuzzy.
"Daedalus! Come on!" Percy yelled as they got Cressida up to her feet and put her arms around Percy's neck as Annabeth finding a length of rope that was braided with Celestial Bronze as she began to wrap it around Cressida's torso. "Don't tie her arms and legs," Percy said to Annabeth before turning back to the inventor.
"I know!" she snapped back.
"I won't leave Mrs O'Leary!" he said from where he stood at the double doors, bleeding golden oil instead of blood. "Go!"
"None of us know how to fly!" Nico protested.
"Great time to find out," Percy said.
"We're going to die," Cressida muttered from where her head rested on his shoulder.
"Think positive, Grape Girl. And pray while you're at it. We're going to need it," Percy said as they jumped out of the window and into the open sky.