Lilia was sure 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 Êta inscribed in the middle.
We 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.
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. Lilia had seen Hephaestus once before, briefly on Olympus, so she thought she was prepared, but his appearance made me gulp.
He'd cleaned up when she saw him on Olympus, or used magic to make his form seem a little less hideous. 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.
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. 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.
"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?"
"Uh," Annabeth said, "no, sir."
"Good," the god grumbled. "Shoddy workmanship."
He studied Annabeth, Lilia and Percy. "Half-bloods," he grunted. "Could be automatons, of course, but probably not."
"We've met, sir," Percy told him.
"Have we?" the god asked absently. Lilia got the feeling he didn't care one way or the other. "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.
"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 I thought I 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. Lilia mentally rolled her eyes, this boy really needed to work on social queues.
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?"
He pulled a feather from the falcon's back, and the whole automaton fell apart.
"Believe me, young Cyclops," Hephaestus said, "you can't trust others. All you can trust is the work of your own hands."
It seemed like a pretty lonely way to live. She also wasn't sure that statement was true considering the faulty Talos statue they'd come across last year.
He focused his eyes on Lilia, "I know you, you're one of my wife's children." He spat the word wife, anger coursing through his words. "You don't seem too keen on me." He mused taking in the look in her eyes
"Yes, well the way you regarded me shows you don't like me too much either." She spat.
He smiled amused. "Am I supposed to like Aphrodite's children from other men?"
Lilia rolled her eyes. "We told you, we need to find Daedalus's workshop. 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, girl. 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.
Hephaestus actually laughed 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, 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?" Percy 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?" Percy 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," Lilia said.
"Aye," Hephaestus said. "Go there. They may not sense you coming. You are not gods."
"Glad you noticed," Lilia 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?" Percy 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. But Lilia thought about her conversation with Grover last night, and she knew what had to be done.
"We'll split up," she 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."
"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. "We'll find each other again. Percy we've still got the empathy link. I just. have to."
Lilia 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," she pulled him into a hug. Then she looked at Tyson. He gulped back a sob and gave her a hug that just about squeezed her eyes out of their sockets.
Percy siad his goodbyes then the two 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," Lilia said, trying to sound confident. "Now come on. The spider is getting away!"
➳
It wasn't long before the tunnel became hot.
The stone walls glowed, and the heat became almost suffocating. The tunnel sloped down and up ahead Lilia could hear a roar, like a river of metal.
The spider skittered along, Annabeth right on its tail. Percy and Lilia struggled to keep up with the girl.
"Annabeth, wait up." Lilia whispered frantically.
The roaring got louder and after about another half a mile, they emerged in a huge cavern. Their spider escort stopped and curled into a ball, they reached the forge of Hephaestus.
There was no floor, just bubbling lava hundreds of feet below them. They stood on a rock ridge that circled the cavern. A network of metal pipes 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. "Wait here."
"Hold it!" Percy said, but before either of them could argue, she put on her Yankees cap and turned invisible.
Lilia went to grab for where she was not daring to call after her. "Shit." Lilia whispered giving Percy a panicked look, his expression was a mirror of her own, neither of them knowing what to do.
Finally Lilia decided she couldn't stay put. She crept along the outer rim of the lava lake, hoping to get a better angle to see what was happening in the middle. Percy grabbed her wrist shaking his head but she didn't stop, so instead he followed.
The heat was horrible. Geryon's ranch had been a winter wonderland compared to this. In no time they were drenched with sweat. Lilia's eyes stung from the smoke. 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 used in mine shafts. Lilia lifted up the tarp and found it was half full of scrap metal. She was about to squeeze my way around it when she heard voices from up ahead, probably from a side tunnel.
"Bring it in?" one asked.
"Yeah," another said. "Movie's just about done."
She panicked. She couldnt bakc up with Percy behind her, There was nowhere to hide except...the cart. She scrambled inside pulling Percy in with her. and pulled the tarp over them, hoping no one had seen them. Her hand rested on her bracelet in case she had to use Whisperer. The cart lurched forward.
"Oi," a gruff voice said. "Thing weighs a ton."
"It's celestial bronze," the other said. "What did you expect?"
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 not about to be dumped into a smelting pot.
If they started to tip over, they'd have to fight their way out quick. Lilia 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 tiny voice narrating.
"Just sit 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 Lilia 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.'
"Gods it's like Sex Ed all over again." She whispered quieter than she ever had before.
Excited snarling filled the room. The teacher, she presumed, told the younglings to be quiet, and the film continued. Lilia didn't understand most of it, and neither dared look. 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!"
"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!"
"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.
Lilia got ready to draw whisperer The tarp was thrown back. They jumped up, Percy's bronze sword springing to life in his hands, and Lilia's bow pointing at 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 I was looking at.
"Demigods!" one snarled.
"Eat them!" yelled another.
But that's as far as they got before Percy slashed a wide arc with Riptide and vaporized the entire front row of monsters.
"Back off!" He 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," Percy 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 Lilia's surprise, it worked. The monsters backed up, but there were at least twenty of them. Percy's fear factor wasn't going to last long.
They jumped out of the cart, Lilia yelled, "CLASS DISMISSED!" and ran for the exit.
The monsters charged after them, barking and growling. Lilia 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 they doubted it would keep them long.
What were they supposed to do? Annabeth was out here somewhere, invisible.
Their chance for a subtle reconnaissance mission had been blown. Lilia ran toward the platform at the center of the lava lake.
➳
"Annabeth!" Lilia yelled.
"Shhh!" an invisible hand clamped over her mouth and wrestled her down behind a big bronze cauldron. "shhh! You're going to get us killed!"
Lilia 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.
"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?" Lilia whispered.
Annabeth shook her head. "They keep talking about fusing metals. I wonder—"
"They were talking about the greatest Titan weapon," Percy said. "And they...they said they made my 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," Percy said. "Lilia hold her hand you'll both be invisible, Get out!"
"What?" Lilia shrieked. "No! I'm not leaving 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!" She cried out.
"I'll be fine. Besides, we've got no choice."
She glared daggers into his eyes, he thought she was about to punch him but instead, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a kiss, shocking all of them.
"Be careful bubble brain." She said hugging him tight. Before he could reply Annabeth grabbed her hand and place the cap on her head, both of them disappearing.
The two girls sprinted away from Percy, Lilia turned back tears in her eyes as she watched him get ready to fight.
They reached the labyrinth entrance and the forge disappeared behind them. They kept running for about half a mile when a huge explosion sounded from behind them, the whole tunnel shook, and a strong gust blew ash in their direction.
They stopped in their tracks staring back in horror. Lilia let out a shriek, as she realised what just happened.
"No!" She screamed trying to run back, but annabeth gripped onto her arm pulling her away.
Lilia collapsed in Annabeth's arms, and the two girls fell to the ground. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed into her friend's shoulder. Annabeth stroked her hair staring down the tunnel tears in her eyes.
"No, no, no..." Lilia muttered over and over until she couldn't hear her voice anymore.
"He might be okay." Annabeth's said trying to comfort her, but they both knew that it would be impossible to get out of that.
➳
AN:
Oh nooo Percy's dead!
I've been waiting for this chapter for sooooo long! They finally kissed, well she kissed him but still!!! I love them so much. And I can't wait to rip them back apart when he gets back and then again when Rachel shows up. Hehehehe, this is so much fun.
I hope you're all enjoying this as much as me, have a good day.
🤍