Book 4 - The Battle of The Labyrinth
Quintus had set up a training exercise for everyone at camp. He had gotten several monsters and attacked boxes to their backs. You defeat the monster, you live. Ayden didn't know whether to be excited or scared, but she's been through worse. It was like everything else she's faced in the last three years. He'd already picked the team and sent them out. Ayden was with Annabeth. Percy was with Berkendorf. Tyson was with Clarisse. She didn't like that option, but she didn't have a say in it. They had spread out in search of the monsters in the woods.
"How do you think Tyson will do with Clarisse?"
"He'll probably get yelled at a lot until he starts crying," Ayden moved out into an open area as she looked around. There was no movement in the woods. "Well she's changed a bit, so maybe they'll actually work together."
"Wait," Annabeth stopped as she looked around. "There is no noise."
"No movement."
"There should be some kind of noise, there are other people out here hunting them." Annabeth stared at Ayden both of them alert. There was a clicking noise coming from behind them. When they both turned a giant scorpion was sitting atop a large rock. Its stinger swung back and forth as its mouth clicked together.
"Why is it always behind," Ayden whispered as she teleported behind it. She swung at one of its legs cutting into it but was thrown back when the tail hit her. She teleported back to Annabeth seeing something else come from the other side.
"You're right!" She yelled looking past Ayden.
"Actually it's your left!" The pair were back to back as two more scorpions appeared.
"Why are they converging on us, right here? There are plenty of other areas in the woods," Annabeth muttered as she cut at one of the stingers.
"We are just truly that lucky," Ayden teleported away from her for a second.
"Ayden!" She teleported right back to her side. "Don't do that. You leave, I'm vulnerable on all sides."
"Sorry, sorry, what's the plan then, cause right now we are outnumbered and if you won't let me teleport I'm gonna have to start cutting." Ayden slashed her sword through the air.
"Um," Annabeth looked at the rock pile. There was a small space and she didn't know how deep it went, but for now, it was their only chance. They dodged as one of the scorpions tried to sting them. "Here." She grabbed Ayden's arm pulling her toward the little bit of darkness. They slid through and a triangle glowed.
"Okay," Ayden pressed herself as far back as she could as one of the scorpions tried to claw their way through.
"Ayden, look," Annabeth reached forward touching the small triangle as it dissolved and the floor dropped. They were stuck in a cave. "That was the mark of Daedalus."
"Annabeth," Ayden looked into the dark emptiness. "Did you drop us into the Labyrinth?"
"Yes, but that's not the point," Annabeth grabbed her hand as they sat in the darkness together. Ayden's eyes were adjusting, but she could still barely see her. "This is what they are looking for."
"They are going to attack camp," Ayden's blood ran cold. She couldn't see Annabeth nodding, but she knew she was. "They want to hit here before they go to the gods."
"We have to get back," Annabeth moved her hands around the wall searching for the mark once more. "Start looking. The longer we are in here the more time could pass."
"Okay," Ayden touched something sharp and pulled her hand back. She moved further down until she saw the glowing mark. "Got it." She grabbed Annabeth's arm pulling her toward the light slowly. It was brighter than the darkness, but the sun was setting. "How long do you think it's been?"
"Hopefully just an hour or so." Annabeth looked around. The scorpions were nowhere to be found.
"Ayden!"
"Annabeth!"
There was people yelling their names in the distance. The two shared a look before they started to run back to camp. Clarrise and Juniper appeared around a tree almost knocking into them.
"Where have you two been!" Clarrise put her hands on her hips.
"We found an entrance to the Labyrinth," Annabeth told her. Clarisse's eyes widened, and her entire demeanour changed.
"What? In camp?" She looked around warily. Ayden touched her arm.
"Yes, we have to get back and tell Chiron. That's what they are looking for." Tyson and Grover appeared over a small ravine seeing the four standing together.
"We got 'em, Percy!" Grover yelled out. "You've both been gone for two hours."
"They found the Labyrinth." Each of them wore a similar expression. A war was coming straight to their home.
"We have to get back," Annabeth was the first to move. They weaved through the trees. Ayden caught a glimpse of Percy speaking with Berkendorf near Ares's cabin. A part of her was hoping he was waiting for her to show up, but she didn't want to assume.
"So how many did you kill?" Clarisse asked. Ayden smiled a little. "I'm just asking."
"None, you?"
"Two," She stood up taller. "Tyson and I make a good team."
"Oh, and you didn't make him cry?" Ayden joked. Clarisse went to hit her head, but Ayden teleported behind her. "It's not nice to hit people." Clarisse turned around with a smile on her face as she threw her arm around her shoulders. She ruffled up Ayden's hair as she was dragged to the Big House. Chiron didn't seem surprised when a group of people walked in, he just gestured for them to move to a more private room.
"They are going to attack camp," Clarisse blurted out. Chiron rubbed his forehead and looked at Annabeth and Auden.
"What happened? Where have you been?" The two girls shared a look and Ayden nodded letting Annabeth tell it.
"We were trapped by three scorpions, so we took cover near Zeus' boulders, there was a mark between one of the crevices. The mark of Daedalus, there is an entrance point from the Labyrinth into camp."
"That's why Luke wants the string, that's why they started searching the Labyrinth in the first place," Ayden added as she leaned on the back of one of the chairs. There were heavy steps as someone came running into the room. Percy looked around at everyone.
"No one looks happy in here," Percy muttered as he moved around the table patting Annabeth's shoulder and taking Ayden's hand in his as he gave her a quick hug.
"We don't have much time to prepare," Chrion rubbed his chin. "This camp, these kids are not ready for an attack. Kronos knows that, either they join or we'll all perish. They can't find that string."
"Ayden and I can start setting up patrol and weapons areas." Clarisse crossed her arms. The two half-siblings nodded to one another.
"We'll have to have a cabin meeting about this. For now, you are all dismissed and try to keep this quiet for now. If others know we don't have a plan of action they might freak out or riot and we don't need that right now." Chiron sank back into his chair. Ayden had this ache in her chest as she looked around the room. Everyone already seemed so defeated and the war hadn't even happened yet. If they were coming for her home she wouldn't let them without going through her. There were too many young demigods here, too many innocent kids.
***
Everyone still slept that night. Clarisse even seemed to be having a peaceful rest. Ayden had packed her bag. She'd decided a few hours ago after seeing everyone's faces in the Big House that she would go into the Labyrinth herself. She saw what it did to Chris and how it affected Clarisse. She was the most capable person at camp for this quest. Ayden had her backpack stocked with flashlights and dry foods. She had her daggers from Aion strapped to her hips. She teleported to the rock and stared at the small sliver. She stepped forward but was licked in the face.
"Oh." She stepped back seeing Mrs. O'Leary. "That's gross."
"Well this is interesting," Quintus laughed as he appeared behind the animal. "What are you doing down here?" He looked at her bag. "With a backpack."
"I go on nightly adventures. What are you doing down here?" Ayden wiped the dog slobber off the side of her face as she rubbed it back into Mrs. O'Leary's fur.
"Chiron wanted us to guard the entrance to the Labyrinth," Quintus scratched behind the hound's ear. One of her hind legs came up itching behind it aggressively.
"Chiron told you to guard it?" She asked again. She knew Chiron didn't want anyone knowing about it, but if he was so worried already why hadn't he sent anyone out on a quest yet? "Why are you coming down here now, it's the middle of the night?" She reached for one of her daggers wrapping her hand around the handle.
"We went for a walk, Chiron didn't want us alerting anyone," Quintus crossed his arms. His eyes fell to her dagger. "You want to go in don't you?"
"Why don't you go for another walk." She gave him a tight smile.
"I'm not going to stop you from going down," Quintus laughed. "I'll just give you this small piece of advice. Don't teleport. You'll only lose yourself faster." Ayden scratched the dog of Mrs. O'Leary's head as she passed slipping through the crack. She saw the mark of Daedalus and turned on her flashlight shining it down the tunnel.
She realized that Quintus shouldn't know too much about the Labyrinth. He should be trying to stop her from doing this if he was supposed to be gearing it. She turned off her flashlight and pressed herself against the wall. Not even a few minutes later she saw Quintus come in. He didn't have a light on him, but she could hear the way he sighed. It was a soothing sigh like he'd come home.
"I don't think you're guarding this entrance, well Quintus." She turned on her flashlight seeing him standing a lot closer to her than she realized. She swiped at him with the knife grazing his shoulder.
"It's too late for you now." Quintus stepped back. "The Labyrinth is searching for you."
"Who are you?" She moved forward, but he went through the wall. Ayden stood there with her flashlight staring at the spot. "What. The. Heck." She turned around looking for the entrance, but it was just another section of tunnel.
"This was a horrible idea," Ayden muttered to herself as she shined the flashlight down the tunnel. She walked forward hoping she would appear near one of the segments that looked older. Older was better. Or newer. She couldn't remember exactly what they had told her. She was searching for Kronos, Ki, or Luke. She wanted to get to them before they could find the string of Arachne.
"Ayden!"
"Ayden!"
It was coming from both sides of the tunnel. She shined her light down both ends, but no one was there. She didn't know what the layout was for the maze so if she kept teleporting she would find herself deeper and deeper into its hallucinations. She'd only just started and already voices were starting.
"Addy?" Ayden continued forward. "Addy, is that you?"
"She's not here," Ayden whispered to herself. "She's gone." She came to an open area. It had four tunnels. None of them gave her a gut feeling that she had to go through.
"Addy, it's me. It's momma."
Ayden forced her eyes shut tightly as she tried to block out her mother's voice. She knew her mother was dead. She just kept repeating it over and over in her head. Ayden peered down the halls with their light.
"Which one feels like the best?" Ayden's light flickered and went out. "Damn it." She hit the flashlight on her hand and then unzipped her backpack. She pulled out the second flashlight turning it on. There was only one tunnel now instead of four. "Great. No options."
"Ayden! Please, I just want to talk with you!"
"That terrifying," Ayden muttered as she hurried down the hall. "So glad I watched those horror movies this summer." She shined the light behind her. "Lots of ideas." The only sound she could hear was her own footsteps echoing off the stone ground.
"Left or right?" Ayden asked herself. "Gods I have to stop talking to myself." She paused. There was a vibration in the floor. Then a low growl started and slowly grew louder. She moved forward and saw something that didn't look like stone anymore. It opened its eye and its scales unflattened themselves.
"Please be Nimbus, please be Nimbus," She muttered. The dragon sniffed the air and then opened its mouth as orange flames lit the tunnel. "Not Nimbus!" Ayden yelled as she took off running. She was fighting every instinct to teleport out of the way. She could feel the heat searing through her clothes.
Since she was burned a few years ago by fire, Ayden has had a slight fear of it. The heat would make her scars ache. She tried her best to stay far from the flames. She'd barely made it behind a wall in time as the fire passed.
"How did a dragon even fit down here?" She looked around the corner and saw its snout moving closer and closer to her. "How do your wings fit?" She teleported once more into a different section. She shined her flashlight down each end of the hall seeing they were empty. She could hear the roar of the dragon from somewhere around her. "Clarisse was right. Clarisse was so right." She checked her backpack to see if there were any burns on the fabric, but it was just hot to the touch. No scorch marks.
***
"Percy!" He turned away from Tyson and saw Annabeth running toward him. Grover was just behind her as he jumped over a log. "Percy!"
"What?" They both stopped heaving for air. Grover put a hand to his chest and held up his pointed finger. "You can't just run over here and then tell me to wait."
"It's Ayden." Annabeth breathed.
"Is she okay? What happened?" Percy looked around for the girl.
"She went into the labyrinth last night," Grover explained. "Quintus is gone as well. Either he took her down there or they both went down together, we don't know." Juniper came from the tree appearing next to them.
"It's true, Ayden was determined to find Malaki or Luke and stop them. She went in alone at first since Quintus let her go, but he went in after her. After that, I don't know."
"What if Quintus was working with them, he'd only worked here until we discovered the entrance then he left. Ayden's in more danger than she may realize." Percy chewed the inside of his lip as he looked at the others.
"Why are you screaming?" Clarisse walked over with an angry expression.
"Ayden went into the labyrinth," Annabeth rubbed her forehead. Clarisse's expression fell as she looked at Percy.
"You have to go after her-."
"Of course, I'm going after her!" Percy ran his hands through his hair as he thought. Clarisse nodded as she pressed her lips into a flat line. She wouldn't go back into the labyrinth, not even for Ayden. She warned her half-sister about what it was like, she even admitted how scared it made her feel yet she still went in.
"She's so stupid."
"She didn't want anyone else getting hurt," Juniper sighed. "She knew she would be able to handle anything she ran into with her abilities."
"That's not the issue. It's navigating the maze without losing your mind or losing yourself in that maze." Clarisses eyes were wide as she stared at the dirt beneath them. Ayden was down there somewhere.
"I wouldn't be surprised if she knew exactly how to navigate the labyrinth, it always seems like she's got something up her sleeve most of the time." Annabeth looked around as the other campers walked around unaware that one of their own was trying to prevent a battle from coming to their home.
"When do we leave?" Tyson asked.
"Tonight," Annabeth nodded. "I have to meet with the Oracle and get permission from Chiron. We can't go into this without a plan."
"She's going to get herself killed," Clarisse shook her head. "She's going for Glory."
"She's the strongest demigod at this camp," Percy shot back. "If anyone can get through the maze it's Ayden, but I don't know if she would be able to get past Ki." Annabeth's face paled at the mention of him.
"Did any of you mention this to Chiron yet?" Clarisse asked. Juniper and Grover turned as they rushed down the hillside.
"She's fine," Tyson nodded. "Ayden's strong."
"She would have better odds by herself," Annabeth reasoned. "Since we are going as a group we have a higher risk of getting lost ourselves. She has a chance."
"No," Percy shook his head. "Ayden's amazing, but I don't like that she went alone," He rubbed his forehead. "She can't do everything alone. It never ends well for anyone."
"She doesn't really like to ask for help," Clarisse added. "You do similar things too. Although she might be suicidal at this point."
"Hey," Tyson touched his shoulder. "She'll be okay."
"I know, I know, but splitting up is a horrible idea."
"Yeah, if you're going to do stupid shit. Why not do it together right?" Clarisse joked as she turned on her heel leaving Percy and Tyson.