𝟎𝟏𝟎.𝟒
Juliet wished she could've put the mechanical spider on a leash. It scuttled along the tunnels so fast, most of time she couldn't even see it. If it hadn't been for Tyson's and Grover's excellent hearing, They never would've known which way it was going.
They ran down a marble tunnel, then dashed to the left and almost fell into an abyss. Tyson grabbed them and hauled them back before they could fall. The tunnel continued in front of them, but there was no floor for about a hundred feet, just gaping darkness and a series of iron rungs in the ceiling. The mechanical spider was about halfway across, swinging from bar to bar by shooting out metal web fiber.
"Monkey bars," Annabeth said. "I'm great at these."
She leaped onto the first rung and started swinging her way across. She was scared of tiny spiders, but not of plummeting to her death from a set of monkey bars. Go figure.
Annabeth got to the opposite side and ran after the spider. Juliet had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the look of sheer awe on Augustus's face. She shook her head, before jumping up and leaping on the bars herself, swiftly completing them without any problem.
Percy and Augustus on the other side had their jaws hanging looking at the two girls.
When the boys got across, they looked back and saw Tyson giving Grover a piggyback ride (or was it a goatyback ride?). the big guy made it across in three swings, which was a good thing since, just as he landed, the last iron bar ripped free under his weight.
They kept moving and passed a skeleton crumpled in the tunnel. It wore the remains of a dress shirt, slacks, and a tie. The spider didn't slow down. Percy nearly slipped on a pile of wood scraps, Juliet caught him, Augutus wasn't so lucky, but when they shined a light on them they realized they were pencils—hundreds of them, all broken in half.
The tunnel opened up onto a large room. A blazing light hit them. Juliet's eyes adjusted immediately, the first thing she noticed were the skeletons. Dozens littered the floor around them. Some were old and bleached white. Others were more recent and a lot grosser. They didn't smell quite as bad as Geryon's stables, but almost.
Then she saw the monster. She stood on a glittery dais on the opposite side of the room. She had the body of a huge lion and the head of a woman. She would've been pretty, but her hair was tied back in a tight bun and she wore too much makeup with her contour all wrong and foundation too shades darker, so she kind of reminded Juliet of a gone wrong makeup influencer. She had a blue ribbon badge pinned to her chest that took her a moment to read: THIS MONSTER HAS BEEN RATED EXEMPLARY!
Tyson whimpered. "Sphinx."
Juliet knew exactly why he was scared, Percy had told her the story before. When Tyson was small, he had been attacked by a Sphinx's paws and disappeared.
Annabeth started forward, but the Sphinx roared, showing fangs in her otherwise human face. Bars came down on both tunnel exits, behind them and in front.
"Feeling Welcomed," Augustus quipped from the side while staring at the bars.
Immediately the monster's snarl turned into a brilliant smile.
"Welcome, lucky contestants!" she announced. "Get ready to play...ANSWER THAT RIDDLE!"
Canned applause blasted from the ceiling, as if there were invisible loudspeakers. Spotlights swept across the room and reflected off the dais, throwing disco glitter over the skeletons on the floor.
"Fabulous prizes!" the Sphinx said. "Pass the test, and you get to advance! Fail, and I get to eat you! Who will be our contestant?"
"I don't think that's how game shows work though?" Juliet spoke, Augustus nodding with her while Percy and Annabeth gave them a 'stop' look.
Annabeth grabbed Augustus arm, Juliet and Percy exchanged glances at that. "I've got this," she whispered. "I know what she's going to ask."
They didn't argue too hard. Juliet didn't want Annabeth getting devoured by a monster, but she figured if the Sphinx was going to ask riddles, Annabeth was the best one of them to try.
She stepped forward to the contestant's podium, which had a skeleton in a school uniform hunched over it. She pushed the skeleton out of the way, and it clattered to the floor.
"Sorry," Annabeth told it.
"Welcome, Annabeth Chase!" the monster cried, though Annabeth hadn't said her name. "Are you ready for your test?"
"Yes," she said. "Ask your riddle."
"Twenty riddles, actually!" the Sphinx said gleefully.
"What? But back in the old days—"
"Oh, we've raised our standards! To pass, you must show proficiency in all twenty. Isn't that great?"
Applause switched on and off like somebody turning a faucet.
Annabeth glanced at them nervously. Juliet gave her an encouraging nod. "Okay," she told the Sphinx. "I'm ready."
A drumroll sounded from above. The Sphinx's eyes glittered with excitement. "What...is the capital of Bulgaria?"
Annabeth frowned and so did Juliet and Augustus, Percy looked at them in confusion, "Sofia," she said, "but—"
"Correct!" More canned applause. The Sphinx smiled so widely her fangs showed. "Please be sure to mark your answer clearly on your test sheet with a number 2 pencil."
"Oh my god," Augustus exclaimed, realisation dawning on his and Juliet's face, "It's the Princeton Review Pop Quiz,"
"What?" Annabeth looked mystified and so did Percy. Then a test booklet appeared on the podium in front of her, along with a sharpened pencil.
"Make sure you bubble each answer clearly and stay inside the circle," the Sphinx said. "If you have to erase, erase completely or the machine will not be able to read your answers."
"What machine?" Annabeth asked.
The Sphinx pointed with her paw. Over by the spotlight was a bronze box with a bunch of gears and levers and a big Greek letter Ȇta on the side, the mark of Hephaestus.
"Now," said the Sphinx, "next question—"
"Wait a second," Annabeth protested. "What about 'What walks on four legs in the morning'?"
"I beg your pardon?" the Sphinx said, clearly annoyed now.
"The riddle about the man. He walks on four legs in the morning, like a baby, two legs in the afternoon, like an adult, and three legs in the evening, as an old man with a cane. That's the riddle you used to ask."
"Exactly why we changed the test!" the Sphinx exclaimed. "You already knew the answer. Now second question, what is the square root of sixteen?"
"Four," Annabeth said, "but—"
"Correct! Which U.S. president signed the Emancipation Proclamation?"
"Abraham Lincoln," Juliet, Augustus and Annabeth all spoke together.
"Oh god, this Mr. Rupert's SAT prep class all over again!" Juliet groaned, Augustus nodding beside her while Percy, Grove rand Tyson were left confused.
"Correct! Riddle number four. How much—"
"Hold up!" Annabeth shouted.
Percy wanted to tell her to stop complaining. She was doing great! She should just answer the questions so they could leave.
"These aren't riddles," Annabeth said.
"What do you mean?" the sphinx snapped. "Of course they are. This test material is specially designed—"
"It's just a bunch of dumb, random facts," Annabeth insisted. "Riddles are supposed to make you think."
"Think?" The Sphinx frowned. "How am I supposed to test whether you can think? That's ridiculous! Now, how much force is required—"
"Stop!" Annabeth insisted. "This is a stupid test."
"Um, Annabeth," Grover cut in nervously. "Maybe you should just, you know, finish first and complain later?"
"I'm a child of Athena," she insisted. "And this is an insult to my intelligence. I won't answer these questions."
"um cool, but not answering makes you look dumber which is even more of an insult," Juliet spoke back matter of factly, Percy whole heartedly agreed (when did he not?).
The spotlights glared. The Sphinx's eyes glittered pure black.
"Why then, my dear," the monster said calmly. "If you won't pass, you fail. And since we can't allow any children to be held back, you'll be EATEN!"
The Sphinx bared her claws, which gleamed like stainless steel. She pounced at the podium.
"No!" Tyson charged. He hates it when people threaten Juliet and Annabeth, but she couldn't believe he was being so brave, especially since he'd had such a bad experience with a Sphinx before.
He tackled the Sphinx in midair and they crashed sideways into a pile of bones. This gave Annabeth just enough time to gather her wits and draw her knife. Tyson got up, his shirt clawed to shreds. The Sphinx growled, looking for an opening.
Percy drew Riptide but Augustus was faster stepping in front of Annabeth with his spear raised.
"Turn invisible," Juliet told her, while raising her crossbow as well.
"I can fight!"
"No!" Percy yelled. "The Sphinx is after you! Let us get it."
As if to prove his point, the Sphinx knocked Tyson aside and tried to charge past them. Grover poked her in the eye with somebody's leg bone. She screeched in pain. Annabeth put on her cap and vanished. The Sphinx pounced right were she'd been standing, but came up with empty paws.
"No fair!" the Sphinx wailed. "Cheater!"
With Annabeth no longer in sight, the Sphinx turned on them. Augustus raised his spear, but before he could strike, Tyson ripped the monster's grading machine out of the floor and threw it at the Sphinx's head, ruining her hair bun. It landed in pieces all around her.
"My grading machine!" she cried. "I can't be exemplary without my test scores!"
The bars lifted from the exits. They all dashed for the far tunnel. Juliet could only hope Annabeth was doing the same.
The Sphinx started to follow, but Grover raised his reed pipes and began to play, while Juliet shot a volley of arrows.. Suddenly the pencils remembered they used to be parts of trees. They collected around the Sphinx's paws, grew roots and branches, and began wrapping around the monster's legs. The Sphinx ripped through them, but then the arrows pierced her in the legs, earning them a scream, it brought them just enough time.
Tyson pulled Grover into the tunnel, and the bars slammed shut behind them.
"Annabeth!" Augustus yelled.
"Here!" she said, right next to him. "Keep moving!"
They ran through the dark tunnels, listening to the roar of the Sphinx behind them as she complained about all the tests she would have to grade by hand.
Juliet thought they'd lost the spider until Tyson heard a faint pinging sound. They made a few turns, backtracked a few times, and eventually found the spider banging its tiny head on a metal door.
The door looked like one of those old-fashioned submarine hatches—oval, with metal rivets around the edges and a wheel for a doorknob. Where the portal should've been was a big brass plaque, green with age, with a Greek Ȇta inscribed in the middle.
They all looked at each other.
"Ready to meet Hephaestus?" Grover said nervously.
"No," Percy admitted.
"Yes!" Tyson said gleefully, and he turned the wheel.
As soon as the door opened, the spider scuttled inside with Tyson right behind it. The rest of them followed, not quite as anxious.
The room was enormous. It looked like a mechanic's garage, with several hydraulic lifts. Some had cars on them, but others had stranger things: a bronze hippalektryon with its horse head off and a bunch of wires hanging out its rooster tail, a metal lion that seemed to be hooked up to a battery charger, and a Greek war chariot made entirely of flames.
Before they could move forward, Juliet yanked on Percy's hand bringing his attention to her as she whispered nervously, "He doesn't quite like my dad,"
"Oh, Hephaestus?" Percy whispered back, realising, Apollo probably would've made fun of him for his looks, considering the god of sun was one of the most handsomest god Percy had ever seen, he could definitely see where Juliet got the good looks from.
"Yeah my dad was besties with Aphrodite so he used to yell fatherless behaviour whenever Hephaestus irritated her," Juliet confessed while Percy just blinked at her, "What?"
"It's the Greeks, Perce what do you expect?" He shook his head, holding his girlfriend's hand and leading them inside.
Smaller projects cluttered a dozen worktables. Tools hung along the walls. Each had its own outline on a Peg-Board, but nothing seemed to be in the right place. The hammer was over the screwdriver place. The staple gun was where the hacksaw was supposed to go.
Under the nearest hydraulic lift, which was holding a '98 Toyota Corolla, a pair of legs stuck out—the lower half of a huge man in grubby gray pants and shoes even bigger than Tyson's. one leg was in a metal brace.
The spider scuttled straight under the car, and the sounds of banging stopped.
"Well, well," a deep voice boomed from under the Corolla. "What have we here?"
The mechanic pushed out on a back trolley and sat up. She'd seen Hephaestus once before, briefly on Olympus, so she thought she was prepared, but his appearance made her gulp.
I get you now, dad.
She guessed he'd cleaned up when they saw him on Olympus, or used magic to make his form seem a little less hideous (no offence, she'd just been used to looking at her dad's model face). Here in his own workshop, he apparently didn't care how he looked. He work a jumpsuit smeared with oil and grime. Hephaestus, was embroidered over the chest pocket. His leg creaked and clicked in its metal brace as he stood, and his left shoulder was lower than his right, so he seemed to be leaning even when he was standing up straight.
Yeah....she could kinda understand why Aphrodite threw a hissy fit at her marriage. He wasn't even trying to look presentable.
His head was misshapen and bulging. He wore a permanent scowl. His black beard smoked and hissed. Every once in a while a small wildfire would erupt in his whiskers then die out. His hands were the size of catcher's mitts, but he handled the spider with amazing skill. He disassembled it in two seconds, then put it back together. Juliet didn't understand how Charlie looked like he could be in GQ while his dad was out here sporting the homeless disfigured depressed spiteful old poor guy look.
"There," he muttered to himself. "Much better."
The spider did a happy flip in his palm, shot a metallic web at the ceiling, and went swinging away.
Hephaestus glowered up at them. "I didn't make you, did I?"
Juliet hoped not.
I'm glad Apollo was involved in making me.
"Uh," Annabeth said, "no, sir."
"Good," the god grumbled. "Shoddy workmanship."
Uh...excuse me? This was coming from him? Because no offence at least Juliet's shoulder were in a straight line despite his.
He studied them. "Half-bloods," he grunted. "Could be automatons, of course, but probably not."
"We are all normal humans, thank you very much." Juliet spoke up, having enough, Percy clutched her palm before taking a gentler approach.
"We've met, sir," he told him.
"Have we?" the god asked absently. Juliet got the feeling he didn't care one way or the other. he was just trying to figure out how their jaw worked, whether it was a hinge or a lever or what. "Well then, if I didn't smash you to a pulp the first time we met, I suppose I won't have to do it now."
He looked at Grover and frowned. "Satyr." Then he looked at Tyson, and his eyes twinkled. "Well, a Cyclops. Good, good. What are you doing traveling with this lot?"
"Uh..." said Tyson, staring in wonder at the god.
"Yes, well said," Hephaestus agreed. "So, there'd better be a good reason you're disturbing me. The suspension on this Corolla is no small matter, you know."
"Sir," Annabeth said hesitantly, "we're looking for Daedalus. We thought—"
"Daedalus?" the god roared. "You want that old scoundrel? You dare to seek him out!"
His beard burst into flames and his black eyes glowed.
"Oh fireworks, yippee!" Augustus said nervously, fear lodging in his eyes at the sight of the flame.
"Uh, yes, sir, please," Annabeth said.
"Humph. You're wasting your time." He frowned at something on his worktable and limped over to it. He picked up a lump of springs and metal plates and tinkered with them. In a few seconds he was holding a bronze and silver falcon. It spread its metal wings, blinked its obsidian eyes, and flew around the room.
Tyson laughed and clapped his hands. The bird landed on Tyson's shoulder and nipped his ear affectionately.
Hephaestus regarded him. The god's scowl didn't change, but Juliet thought she saw a kinder twinkle in his eyes. "I sense you have something to tell me, Cyclops."
Tyson's smile faded. "Y-yes, lord. We met a Hundred-Handed One."
Hephaestus nodded, looking unsurprised. "Briares?"
"Yes. He—he was scared. He would not help us."
"And that bothered you."
"Yes!" Tyson's voice wavered. "Briares should be strong! He is older and greater than Cyclopes. But he ran away."
Hephaestus grunted. "There was a time I admired the Hundred-Handed Ones. Back in the days of the first war. But people, monsters, even gods change, young Cyclops. You can't trust 'em. Look at my loving mother, Hera. You met her, didn't you? She'll smile to your face and talk about how important family is, eh? Didn't stop her from pitching me off Mount Olympus when she saw my ugly face."
"But I thought Zeus did that to you," Percy said.
Hephaestus cleared his throat and spat into a bronze spittoon. He snapped his fingers, and the robotic falcon flew back to the worktable.
"Mother likes telling that version of the story," he grumbled. "Makes her seem more likeable, doesn't it? Blaming it all on my dad. The truth is, my mother likes families, but she likes a certain kind of family. Perfect families. She took one look at me and...well, I don't fit the image, do I?"
"Yeah, I get you," Juliet murmured back, while looking at her feet, she kinda understood what the god meant. Cordelia was just like that, she wanted a family but a certain kind. A rich, loving husband, a capable handsome son, two nice dogs and their white victorian house. The perfect suburban life, Juliet with her fucked godly life didn't fit in. Percy's hand squeezed her's in a soothing gesture.
Hephaestus regarded her for a second before he pulled a feather from the falcon's back, and the whole automaton fell apart.
Then he focused on Percy and narrowed his eyes, as if he were reading his thoughts. "Oh, this one doesn't like me," he mused. "No worries, I'm used to that. What would you ask of me, little demigod?"
"We told you," Percy said. "We need to find Daedalus. There's this guy, Luke, and he's working for Kronos. He's trying to find a way to navigate the Labyrinth so he can invade our camp. If we don't get to Daedalus first—"
"And I told you, boy. Looking for Daedalus is a waste of time. He won't help you."
"Why not?"
Hephaestus shrugged. "Some of us get thrown off mountainsides. Some of us...the way we learn not to trust people is more painful. Ask me for gold. Or a flaming sword. Or a magical steed. These I can grant you easily. But a way to Daedalus? That's an expensive favor."
"You know where he is, then," Annabeth pressed.
"It isn't wise to go looking, girl."
"My mother says looking is the nature of wisdom." Hephaestus narrowed his eyes. "Who's your mother, then?"
"Athena."
"Figures." He sighed. "Fine goddess, Athena. A shame she pledged never to marry. All right, half-blood. I can tell you what you want to know. But there is a price. I need a favor done."
"Name it," Annabeth said.
Ah yes, a fresh wave of stupidity once again from the daughter of the wisdom goddess.
Hephaestus laughed and Juliet couldn't agree more with that reaction—a booming sound like a huge bellows stoking a fire. "You heroes," he said, "always making rash promises. How refreshing!"
He pressed a button on his workbench, and metal shutters opened along the wall. It was either a huge window or a big-screen TV, Juliet couldn't tell which. They were looking at a gray mountain ringed in forests. It must've been a volcano, because smoke rose from its crest.
"One of my forges," Hephaestus said. "I have many, but that used to be my favorite."
"That's Mount St. Helens," Grover said. "Great forests around there."
"You've been there?" she asked.
"Looking for...you know, Pan."
"Wait," Annabeth said, looking at Hephaestus. "You said it used to be your favorite. What happened?"
Hephaestus scratched his smoldering beard. "Well, that's where the monster Typhon is trapped, you know. Used to be under Mount Etna, but when we moved to America, his force got pinned under Mount St. Helens instead. Great source of fire, but a bit dangerous. There's always a chance he will escape. Lots of eruptions these days, smoldering all the time. He's restless with the Titan rebellion."
"What do you want us to do?" Augustus said, "Fight him?"
Hephaestus snorted. "That would be suicide. The gods themselves ran from Typhon when he was free. No, pray you never have to see him, much less fight him. But lately I have sensed intruders in my mountain. Someone or something is using my forges. When I go there, it is empty, but I can tell it is being used. They sense me coming, and they disappear. I send my automatons to investigate, but they do not return. Something...ancient is there. Evil. I want to know who dates invade my territory, and if they mean to loose Typhon."
"You want us to find out who it is," Percy said.
"Aye," Hephaestus said. "Go there. They may not sense you coming. You are not gods."
"Glad you noticed," Juliet muttered.
"Go and find out what you can," Hephaestus said. "Report back to me, and I will tell you what you need to know about Daedalus."
"All right," Annabeth said. "How do we get there?"
Hephaestus clapped his hands. The spider came swinging down from the rafters. Annabeth flinched when it landed at her feet.
"My creation will show you the way," Hephaestus said. "It is not far through the Labyrinth. And try to stay alive, will you? Humans are much more fragile than automatons."
***
They were doing okay until they hit the tree roots. The spider raced along and they were keeping up, but then they spotted a tunnel off to the side that was dug from raw earth, and wrapped in thick roots. Grover stopped dead in his tracks.
"What is it?" Percy said.
He didn't move. He stared openmouthed into the dark tunnel. His curly hair rustled in the breeze.
"Come on!" Annabeth said. "We have to keep moving."
"This is the way," Grover muttered in awe. "This is it."
"What way?" Juliet asked. "You mean...to Pan?"
Grover looked at Tyson. "Don't you smell it?"
"Dirt," Tyson said. "And plants."
"Yes! This is the way. I'm sure of it!"
Up ahead, the spider was getting farther down the stone corridor. A few more seconds and they'd lose it.
"Well come back," Annabeth promised. "On our way back to Hephaestus."
"The tunnel will be gone by then," Grover said. "I have to follow it. A door like this won't stay open!"
"But we can't," Annabeth said. "The forges!"
Grover looked at her sadly. "I have to, Annabeth. Don't you understand?"
She looked desperate, like she didn't understand at all. The spider was almost out of sight.
"We'll split up," Percy said.
"No!" Annabeth said. "That's way too dangerous. How will we ever find each other again? And Grover can't go alone."
Tyson put his hand on Grover's shoulder. "I—I will go with him."
Juliet couldn't believe she was hearing this. "Tyson, are you sure?"
The big guy nodded. "Goat boy needs help. We will find the god person. I am not like Hephaestus. I trust friends."
Grover took a deep breath. "Percy, we'll find each other again. We've still got the empathy link. I just...have to."
Juliet didn't blame him. This was his life's goal. If he didn't find Pan on this journey, the council would never give him another chance.
"I hope you're right," Percy said.
"I know I am." She'd never heard him sound so confident about anything, except maybe that cheese enchiladas were better than chicken enchiladas.
"Be careful," Percy told him. Then he looked at Tyson. He gulped back a sob and gave him a hug that just about squeezed Percy's eyes out of their sockets. Then he and Grover disappeared through the tunnel of tree roots and were lost in the darkness.
"This is bad," Annabeth said. "Splitting up is a really, really bad idea."
"We'll see them again," Augustus said, trying to sound confident. "Now come on. The spider is getting away!"
***
It wasn't long before the tunnel started to get hot.
The stone walls glowed. The air felt as if they were walking through an oven. The tunnel sloped down and she could hear a loud roar, like a river of metal. The spider skittered along, with Annabeth right behind.
"Hey, wait up," Augustus called to her.
She glanced back at him. "Yeah?"
"Something Hephaestus said back there...about Athena."
"Oh gods, he's having that conversation with her." Juliet mumbled to her boyfriend who's face had a grossed look on it, slowing down a little so that they didn't have to hear Annabeth's origin story which they were well aware of.
"She swore never to marry," Annabeth said. "Like Artemis and Hestia. She's one of the maiden goddesses."
Augustus blinked. He'd never heard that about Athena before. "But then—"
"How come she has demigod children?"
"I don't wanna hear this again," Percy's palm came to cover her ears as they walked.
Up front Augustus nodded. Blushing terribly.
"Gus, you know how Athena was born?"
"She sprung from the head of Zeus in full battle armor or something."
"I can't do it, it grosses me out every time," Percy spoke to Juliet while leaning down pressing his ear on her head with a groan.
"Exactly. She wasn't born in the normal way. She was literally born from thoughts. Her children are born the same way. When Athena falls in love with a mortal man, it's purely intellectual, the way she loved Odysseus in the old stories. It's a meeting of minds. She would tell you that's the purest kind of love."
"So your dad and Athena...didn't have sex..." Juliet snorted at Augustus lack of filter, while Percy mumbled about not wanting to hear that sentence ever again.
"I was a brain child," Annabeth said. "Literally. Children of Athena are sprung from the divine thoughts of our mother and the mortal ingenuity of our father. We are supposed to be a gift, a blessing from Athena on the men she favors."
"But—"
"Gus , the spider's getting away and our friends are grossed out. Do you really want me to explain the exact details of how I was born?"
"Um...no. That's okay."
She smirked. "I thought not." And she ran ahead. They followed, Augustus rather awkwardly while Juliet and Percy laughed at him.
The roaring got louder. After another half mile or so, they emerged in a cavern the size of a Super Bowl stadium. Their spider escort stopped and curled into a ball. They had arrived at the forge of Hephaestus.
There was no floor, just bubbling lava hundreds of feet below. They stood on a rock ridge that circled the cavern. A network of metal bridges spanned across it. At the center was a huge platform with all sorts of machines, cauldrons, forges, and the largest anvil she'd ever seen—a block of iron the size of a house. Creatures moved around the platform—several strange, dark shapes, but they were too far away to make out details.
Annabeth picked up the metal spider and slipped it into her pocket. "I can check it out. Wait here."
"Hold it!" Juliet said, but before she could argue, she put on her Yankees cap and turned invisible.
They didn't dare call after her, but she didn't like the idea of her approaching the forge on her own. If those things out there could sense a god coming, would Annabeth be safe?
"You stay here," She turned to Augustus and spoke, while tugging on Percy's sleeve.
"What? why?"
"You want to come with us?" She raised her eyebrows, it wasn't really going to be fun coming with the couple considering the misunderstandings that the trio had, had previously and the last thing Juliet wanted was a third wheel while searching around.
"Bye," Augustus gave them a deadpan look while raising his hand like the hunger games salute.
Juliet rolled her eyes before leaving with Percy. They crept along the outer rim of the lava lake, hoping they could get a better angle to see what was happening in the middle.
The heat was horrible to Percy at least. Geryon's ranch had been a winter wonderland compared to this. In no time he was drenched with sweat and his eyes stung from the smoke, Juliet hastily placed her sunglasses on him, thankful she always had them on her.
They moved along, trying to keep away from the edge, until they found their way blocked by a cart on metal wheels, like the kind they sue in mine shafts. Percy lifted up the tarp and found it was half full of scrap metal. They were about to squeeze their way around it when they heard voices from up ahead, probably from a side tunnel.
"Bring it in?" one asked.
"Yeah," another said. "Movie's just about done."
They panicked. They didn't have time to back up. There was nowhere to hide except...the cart. Percy scrambled inside, hauling Juliet right with him and pulled the tarp over them, hoping no one had seen them. Percy curled his fingers around Riptide while Juliet curled hers around his shoulder.
The cart lurched forward.
"Oi," a gruff voice said. "Thing weighs a ton."
"It's celestial bronze," the other said. "What did you expect?"
Juliet and Percy exchanged a wide eyed look as they got pulled along. They turned a corner, and from the sound of the wheels echoing against the walls she guessed they had passed down a tunnel and into a smaller room. Hopefully they were not about to be dumped into a smelting pot. If they started to tip them over, they'd have to fight their way out quick. They heard lots of talking, chattering voices that didn't sound human—somewhere between a seal's bark and a dog's growl. There were other sounds too—like an old- fashioned film projector and a tinny voice narrating.
"Just set it in the back," a new voice ordered from across the room. "Now, younglings, please attend to the film. There will be time for questions afterward."
The voices quieted down, and they could hear the film.
As a young sea demon matures, the narrator said, changes happen in the monster's body. You may notice your fangs getting longer and you may have a sudden desire to devour human beings. These changes are perfectly normal and happen to all young monsters.
"Oh god, it a sea demon sex ed class," Juliet whispered in panic to Percy, she'd been traumatised enough with her biology teacher going in depth about reproduction, she didn't need to hear a sea demon version of this.
Excited snarling filled the room. The teacher told the younglings to be quiet, and the film continued. Percy didn't understand most of it, and he didn't dare look, too busy protecting Juliet's ear who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. The film kept talking about growth spurts and acne problems caused by working in the forges, and proper flipper hygiene, and finally it was over.
"Now, younglings," the instructor said, "what is the proper name of our kind?"
"Sea demons!" one of them barked.
"No. Anyone else?"
"Telekhines!" another monster growled.
"Very good," the instructor said. "And why are we here?"
"Revenge!" several shouted.
"Yes, yes, but why?"
"Zeus is evil!" one monster said. "He cast us into Tartarus just because we used magic!"
"Indeed," the instructor said. "After we made so many of the gods' finest weapons. The trident of Poseidon, for one. And of course—we made the greatest weapon of the Titans! Nevertheless, Zeus cast us away and relied on those fumbling Cyclopes. That is why we are taking over the forges of the usurper Hephaestus. And soon we will control the undersea furnaces, our ancestral home!"
Percy clutched his pen-sword. These snarling things had created Poseidon's trident? What were they talking about? He'd never even heard of a telekhine.
"And so, younglings," the instructor continued, "who do we serve?"
"Kronos!" they shouted.
"And when you grow to be big telekhines, will you make weapons for the army?"
"Yes!"
"Brainwashing and manipulation, live example." Julia muttered, offended by all the words from the teacher.
"Excellent. Now, we've brought in some scraps for you to practice with. Let's see how ingenious you are."
There was a rush of movement and excited voices coming toward the cart. The tarp was thrown back. They jumped up, their bronze weapons springing to life in their hands, and found themselves facing a bunch of...dogs.
Well, their faces were dogs, anyway, with black snouts, brown eyes, and pointy ears. Their bodies were sleek and black like sea mammals, with stubby legs that were half flipper, half foot, and humanlike hands with sharp claws. If you blended together a kid, a Doberman pinscher, and a sea lion, you'd get something like what they were looking at.
"A demigod!" one snarled.
"Eat it!" yelled another.
But that's as far as they got before Percy slashed a wide arc with Riptide and Juliet sent a volley of arrows vaporizing the entire front row of monsters.
"Back off!" Percy yelled at the rest, trying to sound fierce. Behind them stood their instructor—a six-foot-tall telekhine with Doberman fangs snarling at them. They did their best to stare him down.
"New lesson, class," Juliet announced. "Most monsters will vaporize when sliced with a celestial bronze sword. This change is perfectly normal, and will happen to you right now if you don't BACK OFF!"
To her surprise, it worked. The monsters backed up, but there were at least twenty of them. Their fear factor wasn't going to last long.
They jumped out of the cart, yelled, "CLASS DISMISSED!" and ran for the exit.
The monsters charged after them, barking and growling. Juliet hoped they couldn't run very fast with those stubby little legs and flippers, but they waddled along pretty well. Thank the gods there was a door in the tunnel leading out to the main cavern. Percy slammed it shut and turned the wheel handle to lock it, but she doubted it would keep them long.
They didn't know what to do. Annabeth was out there somewhere, invisible. Their chance for a subtle reconnaissance mission had been blown. They ran toward the platform at the center of the lava lake.
"Annabeth!" Juliet yelled.
"Shhh!" an invisible hand clamped over her mouth and wrestled her and Percy down behind a big bronze cauldron. "You want to get us killed?"
Juliet found her head and took off her Yankees cap. She shimmered into existence in front of them, scowling, her face streaked with ash and grime. "Guys, what is your problem?"
"We're going to have company!" Percy explained quickly about the monster orientation class. Her eyes widened.
"So that's what they are," she said. "Telekhines. I should've known. And they're making...Well, look."
They peeked over the cauldron. In the center of the platform stood four sea demons, but these were fully grown, at least eight feet tall. Their black skin glistened in the firelight as they worked, sparks flying as they took turns hammering on a long piece of glowing hot metal.
"The blade is almost complete," one said. "It needs another cooling in blood to fuse the metals."
"Aye," a second said. "It shall be even sharper than before."
"What is that?" Percy whispered.
Annabeth shook her head. "They keep talking about fusing metals. I wonder—"
"They were talking about the greatest Titan weapon," Juliet said. "And they...they said they made Percy's father's trident."
"The telekhines betrayed the gods," Annabeth said. "They were practicing dark magic. I don't know what, exactly, but Zeus banished them to Tartarus."
"With Kronos."
She nodded. "We have to get out—"
No sooner had she said that than the door to the classroom exploded and young telekhines came pouring out. They stumbled over each other, trying to figure out which way to charge.
"Put your cap back on," Juliet said. "Get out!"
"What?" Annabeth shrieked. "No! I'm not leaving you guys."
"Annabeth do it!" Juliet yelled, Annabeth gave them a worried look before doing so, Juliet got ready to fight when Percy clutched on to her and said the same thing, "Leave, Jules."
"Not without you!"
"I've got a plan. I'll distract them. You can use the metal spider—maybe it'll lead you back to Hephaestus. You have to tell him what's going on."
"But you'll be killed, Perce!"
"I'll be fine. Besides, we've got no choice."
Juliet glared at him like she was going to punch him. And then she did, punch him that is, in his guts before holding the front of his shirt and yanking him back up again and kissing him fiercely, "If you don't come back alive Perseus Achilles Jackson, I will fuck you up even in the underworld."
Percy pulled her close again, pecking her lips softly before replying, "You can't get rid of me that quick, now go."
Juliet gave him one last concerned look, before bounding away. Not too later she would be hoping she hadn't done that and heeded the ringing in her ears as the warning signs.