27

x

I stared at the gold spear in my hand, holding it up against the torchlight to see its metallic sheen.

Imperial gold.

So, the Romans really do exist, I realized in a daze. The gold shine on the metal was very distracting. I was so used to the darker, earthy color of Celestial bronze that a solid piece of gold weaponry was interesting to hold and see. There were barely any weapons made of Imperial gold back in camp, so I've never held one before.

"Can you believe that the gods hid another entire world of demigods just like us?" Alabaster said behind me.

I laughed lightly. "The gods don't have a good track record for transparency, so it's not surprising."

We were both in the weapons room of the Titan palace. Alabaster was giving me a rundown of the current state of affairs of the Titan Army and the logistics for skilled fighters, weapons, and plans of invading Camp Half-Blood. In the weapons room, I noticed the gold gleaming in a separate pile and that's when Alabaster broke the news of Romans existing in this world as well.

"But there's so little of the Roman recruits," Alabaster remarked. "They must really like their own world. It must be nice to live a sheltered life."

Among the collected demigods locked up in the palace, there were a few of Roman descent and others that had abandoned their legion. Luke kept them separated from the Greek ones in another cell on the opposite end of the palace because too many questions tended to arise when the two groups met. There was enough drama to fill the palace already, so Luke wanted to limit the amount of gossip going around. However, as Alabaster mentioned: compared to the Greeks, there were very, very few Roman recruits.

I don't recall specific details, but I'm pretty sure the reason for few deserters is because the Romans don't rely on cabins based on godly parentage.

They didn't care about your godly origins; one simply needed to pass that wolf training initiation and have proof of godly ties through inherited blood or a recommendation letter from an alumni supporter or something. Then, you'd be assigned to a legion that would become your future family. There was nothing about staying in a cabin based on godly parentage with the risk of having no cabin to belong to. In the Roman camp, they took in all who passed their tests. There weren't as many opportunities to breed neglect, bitter feelings of abandonment, and hate like in Camp Half-Blood where minor gods were consistently ignored.

However, they rejected the weak and looked down on those who struggled to keep up. Prestige and legacy dominated the Roman domain if you wished for success. So, it wasn't exactly sunshine and daisies, either. They had their own share of struggles.

Well, what do I know of Roman life, I mused emptily. That side of the world doesn't involve me.

"A sheltered life sounds nice," I said, twirling the gold spear around as I inspected the rest of the weapons room.

Alabaster snorted. "Sure, if you're into being coddled and having a cushy lifestyle."

The remark was so on-brand of Alabaster's cynical view of the world that I couldn't help but let out a short chuckle.

Alabaster was one of the most life-hardened demigods I had ever met, which was saying a lot. Even though he was only sixteen, Al towered over the other demigods his age and had an alert air about him; he was always ready to run, to fight, to confront. His green eyes were like cut glass, sharp and dangerous. He grew up the majority of his life fending for himself ever since he was a child. As a child of Hecate, Al had an interesting experience in discovering his identity as a demigod because his magical powers weren't a clear sign of his godly Greek heritage. He simply thought that he lived a supernatural life until he searched for answers himself, discovering an entire world of Greek gods and monsters. Al was used to going solo, never relying on help because he'd learned the hard way that trust was difficult to find, all resulting in an intensely independent streak that refused pampering. Therefore, when Alabaster found out that there was a camp that was supposed to take in demigods and protect them, he wasn't entirely happy.

He was never invited to camp because his godly mother wasn't recognized. He had to struggle in the harsh world all alone, but there was a camp full of kids who got everything taken care of for them? It was unfair treatment that Al intensely hated and scorned. To him, camp represented the worst of favoritism and elitism, abandoning everyone else who didn't have the luck of being born to the Twelve Olympians.

"What're you guys up to?"

The son of Hecate tensed when Kelli slinked into the room with her bubbly voice. It was widely known that Alabaster hated the senior empousa the most out of all the monsters in the Titan Army. Apparently, she had attempted to eat him several times because he contained a lot of magical energy that she wanted to absorb for herself. Luke had given up all attempts to create a civil working relationship between his leader of demigods and leader of monsters, so the two simply avoided each other. Or actually, it's more like Alabaster fending off Kelli's advances around one or two times a week and Kelli barely getting reprimanded for it. Typical toxic work environment.

I didn't stop swinging the spear. "Just looking at the weaponry," I replied conversationally.

The empousa pouted. "Oh, that's boring, aren't you doing anything fun? I'm on my lunch break, come hang out with me! Company is welcome, of course."

The last part was tacked on with a flirty wink towards Alabaster. Without breaking eye contact, the son of Hecate grabbed a random sword off the racks and scraped a clear line on the floor, separating him from Kelli. Sparks flew from the friction, dancing across the marble floor. I disguised my laugh as coughing. The pure look of displeasure on Kelli's face at Alabaster's open gesture of hostility was too funny. He was one of the few demigods who weren't affected by empousa glamour since his magical ability allowed him to ward off Mist manipulations. It both irritated and amused Kelli that a young male demigod could resist her charmspeak and alluring appearance.

"Fine," she grouched. "Just Jade then."

I shook my head apologetically. "Sorry, I have to finish talking to Al."

Kelli stepped closer to me with a pout and I resisted the urge to close my eyes. The empousa had quickly learned how I hadn't lied when I said that I have a weak spot for pretty people, and she wasn't afraid to dial up the charm in front of me. Her sparkly eyes were extra wide and soft with the cute little frown of eyebrows.

Her lips hid a slight smirk that just taunted...

I shook my head aggressively. Oh my God, Jade, get a grip. She's a freaking cyborg, donkey-legged vampire, I scolded myself. Plus, you saw her drain the blood from that one mortal man in Denver.

I sighed and covered my eyes. "I'm really sorry, Kelli, let's hang out another time."

The empousa let out a frustrated groan. "Ugh, fine, you two can be boring together. I'm going to find Luke."

Peeking through my fingers, I saw Kelli stalk out of the room. She paused one last time, giving me a chance to reconsider.

"If I leave, I'm not coming back," the empousa said in a sing-song tone.

Alabaster hissed, "Well, there's an idea."

I pathetically waved goodbye to the vampire with my other hand, leaving me with Alabaster who was staring at me with heavy judgement.

"Wow," he said sarcastically. "Just because she's 'pretty', you-"

I grimaced. "I know, I know, it's my weak spot."

Al crossed his arms. "Well, fix it," he growled. "Don't expect me to save you when she decides you're her next meal."

"I think we both know that she'd much rather eat you first," I ribbed him. Al slapped my elbow away and flipped the bird.

Seeing the coast clear of charmspeak, I returned the spear to where it came from.

"So, you were saying about Luke?"

Now it was Alabaster's turn to grimace.

"He's been….off," the hardened teenager admitted grudgingly.

I found out that during my absence, Luke broke under the pressure. Kronos convinced him of bathing in the River Styx by exposing his insecurities. In addition to listening to Luke's rambling excuses, I pieced together that the Titan momentarily broke Luke's faith in me, that not even a friend could get him out of this commitment. It was a cruel, deceitful emotional abuse that was just sad to see.

Of course, Alabaster didn't exactly tell me any of this; he only mentioned how Luke was more fearful of Kronos and how our dearest leader's demeanor became more erratic after gaining the Curse of Achilles. The son of Hecate didn't know the undercurrent drama and deep details between Luke and me, however the puzzle came together just by surmising Luke's true feelings based on his actions.

It seemed that to cope with the guilt of not listening to me, Luke tried to think of something else to fix his mistake. So, he turned to the idea of the Ophiotaurus and obsessed over it by himself. Since he couldn't exactly share this plan with anyone else in the Titan Army, Luke talked himself into believing that it was a good idea.

Luke's initial show of confidence in his plans masked how his self-esteem was actually at an all time low. Feeling abandoned by Annabeth and constantly compared to Percy, Luke was on the verge of cracking any moment. His mood swung like a heavy pendulum between overt arrogance with the power of the Achilles' curse to sudden panic attacks wracked with guilt and insecurities. I listened to his constant ramblings since there was no one else who he'd show this side of himself. He really believed that sacrificing the monster cow was our best chance for getting out of all of this. No matter how much I dissuaded Luke of the stupid idea, that it was risky, that it didn't solve anything, he didn't budge. It was also worrisome what Luke would get himself into without me around in the near future. In his current state of mind, I didn't trust that he wouldn't further ruin my plans. I couldn't help someone who wouldn't follow directions.

I was so irritated with the fact that Luke had strayed from my orders that I had some nasty thoughts. I had no use for someone who wasn't going to listen to me. Maybe this could've been prevented if I stayed with him in the Army instead of going back to camp, but it was too late to regret that. There was no use crying over spilled milk. I had to do something proactive to prevent Kronos from possessing Luke's body.

It's about time that I talk to Kronos directly.

Only a few days after arriving in the Titan palace, I approached the shrine that held Kronos' sarcophagus. I told the monster guards at the front to not let anyone enter until I came out. Like before, the room thrummed with heavy magic and the eerie sensation raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I sat down in front of the podium, crossing my legs, and closed my eyes.

With my breath evening out, I began meditating to contact the Time Lord. It was much easier to attempt communication with the Titan because the sarcophagus literally held Kronos' essence which tethered him to a physical point. Contacting the gods was much harder since they could go anywhere and chose to refrain direct correspondence with the human world, especially demigods. In contrast, Titans thirsted for human and demigod contact because it helped them re-establish the weight of their power in the world of deities. The more people worshipped a deity, the more recognition and status they gained.

Kronos was no different. So, it wouldn't be too hard for him to be drawn to someone fervently praying to him.

I wasn't sure how long it took, maybe ten or thirty minutes, but his voice echoed throughout the room as a quiet whisper before solidifying into a full sound. I knew it was the Titan Lord because the sarcophagus flared into a brighter glow at the same time the room got noticeably colder.

"Who approaches?" Kronos' voice was a smooth baritone. I fought down the urge to shiver.

Standing up and trying my best not to trip out of sheer anxiety, I did a short bow. "My name is Jade, I serve as your spy on Camp Half-Blood."

"Ah yes, but what business do you have to dare intrude my presence?"

Even though I wore a warm sweater, my skin broke out in cold sweat when quiet anger seeped into the titan's voice. The magic in the room started twisting and turning, growing turbulent to reflect his mood. In a way, I appreciated how Kronos cut straight to the chase rather than toying with the conversation.

I did a hard swallow before saying, "I can give you a body."

The dim lamps on the walls flickered and the voice chuckled in a belittling manner.

"I already have the son of Hermes devoted to me, little demigod, one that will do my bidding and is fit for my form. Yours does not measure up to it."

"I've bathed in the River Styx as well, and I have reasons to believe that I'd be a better suited host than Luke. If you'd allow me, I can explain."

The magic in the air stopped shifting restlessly, interested in what I had to offer.

"I'm a daughter of Hypnos, your Protogenoi second cousin," I added slowly. "My godly blood is a closer match than Luke's."

I could tell the Titan was slowly warming up to the idea.

"And even more, I-"

I held my breath for a millisecond.

"Tartarus has been opening itself to me. It haunts me in my sleep. If you fuse with me, your essence should return to you even faster. I won't resist your possession. Luke, on the other hand, still has lingering attachments."

Everything in the room stilled. I didn't dare move and I just held my breath, silently praying that the Titan would accept.

"How… amusing," Kronos mused. "It seems that you are even aware of the eventual death once I take hold of a demigod body. For what reason do you offer yourself to me? Do you harbor feelings for the son of Hermes? Is that why you attempt to take his place?"

The Titan's questions caught me off-guard. Was that how this looked like? Would saying 'yes' help my case?

"I simply wish to serve," I said carefully.

"... I shall give the idea some thought. As you know, Luke shall first sacrifice the Ophiotaurus to gain power for my sake, therefore the need for a host has extended into the later future. I will rise upon the fall of the Olympians, as is fitting for the beginnings of my return. Your body may be a viable option, little one. You may go."

I did another bow before walking out. I barely glanced at the monster guards and headed straight for my private room located in another hallway. It had the bare necessities for living: a bed, desk and chair, a wash basin, and a small wardrobe for clothes at the corner. There wasn't much of my own personal belongings, just the bag that I had when I left Annabeth and Percy at Mount St. Helens.

The mattress creaked when I sat down on one edge. I covered my face with my hands and let loose a haggard sigh.

Kronos didn't accept my offer right away.

It sort of made sense. The Titan would obviously prefer Luke. Luke had the face of a minor god and his physique matched the image too. If the gods were proud, then I could only imagine how much of a bigger ego the titans had. Their ego included caring about appearances, their entrance, the grandness of their presence. If Luke gained the power to defeat the gods from burning the entrails of the Ophiotaurus, then Kronos would truly be unstoppable.

I gripped the roots of my hair.

What if the Titan goes with Luke in the end? What do I have to do to make Kronos choose me? Do I have to do something to Luke? How do I prevent them from killing the cow?

"You have a bit of time," I told myself. "Figure out something before the pledge."

The upside of the new turn of events was that Kronos would no longer host Luke's body right away. The Titan was willing to wait for Luke to sacrifice the Ophiotaurus, however there was a definite downside to this development: Kronos' resurrection would be exponentially faster if he possessed the body that was granted deadly powers by the Ophiotaurus. The Time Lord would be able to harness that power and transform into the full form of a TItan immediately, killing Luke in the process.

...If worse comes to worse, I'll have to find a way to cripple Luke somehow so that Kronos wouldn't even be tempted to come near his body.

Surely, that should be better than being a disintegrating stepping stone for an evil Titan's resurrection.

The dark voice laughed at me. "You foolish little thing, how could you hope to contain me-"

I flinched, covering my ears. Tartarus was harassing me in my sleep again, I needed to wake up, but the nightmare didn't budge.

Tartarus continued taunting. "Did you believe that the Void was yours to access? It was gifted to you by the Fates, you stupid girl, it was never your own ability."

Black hands reached out in the corner of my eyes, pulling me under the swirling mass of darkness. I shook them off, but hundreds of straggling hands replaced them. Actual panic started building up inside me.

"Get off!" I yelled, jerking away from the grasping fingers. "Don't touch me!"

"The Fates gifted you a curse disguised as a blessing. You simply thought of it as storage space, but it consumes you and it allows me a way to torment you like this," Tartarus cackled. "Struggle, little girl, let's see how much you'll bear for the sake of this world in which you don't belong-"

I screamed.

"JADE-"

My eyes flew up and I surged upwards. The brightness of the real world blinded me, but I felt a sturdy hand holding my shoulder.

Luke's voice kept me grounded. "Hey, Jade, do you hear me? Breathe slowly, you're hyperventilating. Listen to me and breathe in, one...two...three...four, and breathe out, one...two...three..-"

I did as he spoke until my thrumming heart slowed down. When I finished, Luke was holding my hands tightly and sitting in front of me. We were inside a hotel room in Seattle, the city where we were to meet Daedalus. Natural light showed through the curtains, telling me that it was morning. We were supposed to get ready by early afternoon.

Luke felt really warm, distracting me from the fact that my hands were cold and shaking.

His pale blue eyes searched mine, not falling prey to the influence of sleep.

"What did you dream about?" Luke asked. "It was bad, you were crying."

I dabbed at my face, feeling the wetness on the tips of my fingers.

A choked sob caught in my throat. The weight of the world seemed to slam into me at that moment.

Oh God, what am I supposed to do? I'm just so tired. I wanted to curl up and cry.

I shook my head. I was scared I'd just start bawling if I spoke aloud, so I kept quiet. Seeing my silence, Luke sighed, but he drew me into a hug. My face pressed against his shoulder and Luke leaned his head against mine.

"Whatever it was, it must've been terrible," he said quietly. "You don't get shaken up like this often."

I squeezed my eyes closed, trying to relax, but I couldn't stop the trembling. The feeling of Tartarus was cold and vast, too overwhelming and terrifying. The repeated attacks in my sleep was driving me crazy. At this point, even Clovis' support wasn't mitigating the overall damages from the nightmares.

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here," Luke said. "You're here for me, so I'm here for you."

A ragged sigh escaped me.

"Thanks," I managed to say and pushed him away, putting some distance between us. Luke's hand slid to hold my hand again.

"You'll talk to me right?" he pressed for an answer.

His genuine concern was sincerely heartwarming that a small smile grew on my face. I patted our intertwined hands.

"Of course," I lied. "What time is it? Let's go meet Daedalus."

The only, tiniest, enjoyable part in being Luke's 'spy' was seeing certain people's reactions when they discovered it. Ethan was one of those people, and now it was Quintus. Or rather, Daedalus, but my presence didn't elicit an exaggerated response from the centuries-old automan-human. He probably saw a lot in his thousands of years of life and suspected something from me in the beginning.

"How interesting," the legendary inventory said when he saw me in Luke's entourage. "Very interesting."

Luke was able to find Daedalus in the Labyrinth by trial and error, sacrificing the sanity of monsters and demigods like Chris Rodriguez. Once there was contact with Daedalus, he gave us coordinates to where we could meet him in the real world and allowed us to enter his workshop. Luke brought just me and Alabaster for easy travel. It was supposed to be a quick meet up: drop in the city to enter Daedalus' place, get the string, maybe chit-chat a little, and then get out.

I met Daedalus' prodding gaze before looking away, distracted by the grandeur of his workshop. Just by a quick glance of his place, I knew that I would never see anything close to his inventions in the regular world until the next generation. The workshop was clean, yet cluttered in an organized chaos sort of way, a stark contrast to Hephaestus' workplace. Daedalus clearly preferred a traditional Greek aesthetic, but he had a way of making the place appear organic and modern at the same time. Smooth white walls, rounded windows that showed the city line of Seattle outside, and the moulding along the ceiling depicted clean Greek patterns. Each area of the workshop had a different theme of creation; one corner was clearly for painting, the adjacent table for clay sculpture, another section for robotics, and one table was overrun with half a dozen of monitors all hooked up to the biggest computer processor I'd ever seen in my life. The white and gold computer box was easily as tall as I was and twice as large, quietly humming and pulsing a blue light.

Al and I broke away from Luke's side, wanting to view all of Daedalus' stuff like a museum exhibit. I walked over to the nearest canvas easel and admired the painting. It looked like the open plains in Texas where huge clouds billowed over an orange-red grassy flatland. The heavy smell of turpentine indicated that the painting was done with oils, but the colors on the canvas appeared almost luminous as if the clouds were illuminated by the solid blue sky behind. It was a very eye-catching painting with lively colors depicting the burnt sienna grassy plains lit up by the bright sky.

Luke ignored Daedalus' curious eyes on me and held out his hand. "Ariadne's string, as we agreed."

Daedalus' flinty hazel eyes examined Luke carefully before pulling out a small red ball of thin string that glowed faintly.

"I told you before, a clear-sighted mortal is the best navigator of the Labyrinth," Daedalus said. "Are you sure you want to rely on this?"

"Yes," Luke said hastily as he pocketed the magical item. "And in return, you will be rejoined with your son and nephew when the time comes for Lord Kronos to return to power."

"Give me your word. A binding promise."

"What are you, a lawyer?" Alabaster muttered impatiently.

Daedalus heard Al's quiet snark and said, "No, but I did recently retake the bar in New York to pass time."

"You didn't pass the bar on your first try?" I asked in false innocence. Next to me, Al sniggered at my condescending question.

"I promise that as long as I live, you will get to see your son and nephew," Luke quickly said. Since we were on a tight schedule, Luke motioned for us to leave through the workshop entrance to the Labyrinth.

Before exiting, I called out to Daedalus. "Just curious, but if I'm understanding your motives correctly, you're helping Kronos rule the world so that you can be free of King Minos' ghost and see your son and nephew, right?"

The old inventor gave me a hard smile. "I've seen the strength of Kronos' Army compared to Camp Half-Blood. It is not difficult to foresee the winning side and take advantage of it."

I wasn't in a position to judge, but his answer was so full of self-preservation that it disappointed me. Even though Daedalus might have been a genius at everything he tried his hand in, it seemed that he hadn't attempted to reflect on compassion and moral soundness. Or maybe the concept of the greater good escaped him after centuries of loneliness and isolation, cut off from the common man. He wasn't fully human anymore if he had no human stakes in this struggle between Titans and the Olympian gods.

Annabeth will be upset to realize her childhood hero is like this, I noted.

"Did the two millenia years' worth of time not even grant you wisdom?"

Daedalus' stiff smile turned icy. "What about you? Where's your wisdom in betraying your beloved camp?"

I cracked a weak grin. "Oh, I've got plenty of wisdom, Socrates. You're supposed to be the smartest one in the room, aren't you? Why do you think I'm doing this?"

I left without waiting for Daedalus' response, uncaring whether or not if my question intrigued him. Daedalus wasn't a key figure in my plans, so it didn't matter what he did, as long as he didn't get further involved with Kronos as he did now. Nico wasn't in the Labyrinth and wouldn't get lured into Kronos' Army by King Minos, so there would be no leverage for Daedalus to get sold out for Minos' gain. It was enough to simply make him suspect that there was a deeper layer to the situation than how it appears.

Percy and Annabeth would be the ones to actually make his gears turn with their passionate words later. There was no need for me to make a lasting impression.

Percy POV

During their first rest stop with Rachel in the Labyrinth, Percy dreamed of Nico.

As Annabeth had suspected, the young son of Hades was inside the Labyrinth searching for Jade as well. Percy at first was worried that Nico would get overwhelmed by the dangers of the underground tunnels, but the kid seemed to handle it a lot better than expected. Then Percy remembered that Jade had taken Nico into the Labyrinth earlier in the year, and felt a strange mix of emotions well up. Jade was close to Nico and took him under her wing while Percy felt guilty for sort of overlooking the kid. And now, Jade was gone which left Nico alone in the world for the second time.

In his dream, Nico was able to skillfully navigate the maze, crumble walls when necessary, and block tunnels to avoid monsters or traps. Percy thought that maybe he didn't have to be too worried, but he was concerned about the shadow of King Minos trailing after Nico.

"I'm looking for my friend, Jade."

The ghost spread its smoky arms in a subservient manner. "I know exactly how I can help you, my lord."

Then King Minos told Nico how they should find a soul for the sake of finding Jade. Percy was relieved to see that Nico didn't believe in the idea, however King Minos was persistent. The old angry ghost followed the kid and continued to converse with Nico at times, trying to give pointers and advice. Luckily, Nico seldom listened, only paying attention when the ghost showed him the extent of his demigod powers. Percy hoped that the kid would keep ignoring the ghost because he personally didn't like the scheming look in its eyes. Percy doubted that King Minos actually had Nico's best interests at mind.

Upon waking up, Percy relayed the dream to Annabeth who only seemed to grow more stressed from the news. The number of friends they had to find in the Labyrinth increased by one.

"Was she really a good friend?" A trail of curiosity and doubt laced Rachel's voice in the question.

Percy's eye twitched. He was glad that Annabeth hadn't overheard.

The three of them had trekked in the dark Labyrinth for some time now. During that period, Percy satisfied most of Rachel's curious questions about demigod life, gods, and monsters, the typical life of a camper, etc. It was an open distraction from the tense knot of nerves walking on his other side, Annabeth, who barely spoke a word since they entered the tunnels.

Percy knew that Rachel didn't know Jade like how he and Annabeth knew her, but the question rubbed him the wrong way.

Rachel said 'was', as in the past tense. Percy didn't like that. Plus, Rachel didn't have a good first impression of Jade when the two initially met in New York City, which he didn't understand. Her wariness towards Jade didn't make much sense, even when she explained her 'gut feeling'.

"Be careful of her. She's not on the same side as you," Rachel had said with such certainty back in the city.

"She...is," Percy emphasized the verb. "We've known her longer than you have. I told you, she sacrificed herself to save us in the Labyrinth."

Rachel pursed her lips, restraining the impulse to challenge his passive jab. It was obvious that she had something to share, but Percy didn't bother asking for an in-depth explanation on why Rachel felt that way because it didn't matter what Rachel said. Jade was a good friend in the end. Despite her tendency of secrecy, lack of tact, and occasional demonstration of coldness, Jade was a good person. If anything, Percy sort of liked the reticent and mysterious nature of Jade's thoughts. She was so direct and forthright with her words, but her mind remained an enigma. Percy liked to think that even though he wasn't always the brightest one in the room, he at least had a good instinct when it came to people.

They had to find her. They weren't done talking after their conversation at St. Helens, and Percy wasn't going to give up on Jade.

Rachel led them to a brick corridor that twisted and turned, but it had no side tunnels. They seemed to angle down as they walked, heading deeper underground.

"No traps?" Percy inquired.

"None," Rachel frowned. "It's a little unnerving."

Suddenly, there was a creaking noise in front of them, like huge doors opening. Right after the creaking sound, heavy footsteps shook the corridor, coming straight towards them.

"Run," Annabeth sharply said.

"Agreed," Rachel said fearfully, following suit with Percy.

The three of them turned and fled the opposite direction, but they didn't even make twenty feet before running into unpleasant company. Two dracaenae leveled javelins at their chest, stopping them in their tracks. Standing between them was Kelli, the empousa cheerleader.

She brightened at the sight of them. "Well, well," Kelli said happily before pouncing.

Percy braced himself, uncapping Riptide, while Annabeth pulled her knife, but the empousa deviously changed targets midway. Her hand turned into a claw as she grabbed Rachel with the other hand, easily spinning the girl around with talons precariously poised at the neck. Behind them, a huge eight foot tall Laistrygonian giant with red eyes and yellow fangs blocked the other side of the corridor. In less than a couple of seconds, they were ambushed. Annabeth glared daggers at Kelli as the monsters stripped them of everything they had in their pockets and their bags, including their weapons.

"Our master will be delighted to see you both," the empousa purred. "And I'm so looking forward to seeing your reactions."

Annabeth and Percy exchanged quick glances of confusion and alarm. They had expected to encounter Luke at some point of the quest, but the mention of a surprise didn't sound appealing at all.

The monsters marched them down the tunnel. They were flanked by the dracaenae, with Kelli and the giant behind them, forcing them to go forward.

The bad luck in this situation was unbelievable. It was literally one of Percy's nightmares: surrounded by dangerous monsters, outnumbered, and trapped in a confined, dark space with no sure way of escaping. On top of all that, Percy had involved an innocent mortal in this mess. He felt terrible that Rachel had to experience all of this, that he brought her here despite the risks, that there was this chance that she might die. Yet, Rachel was doing an admirable job of keeping her cool even with a razor sharp claw hovering next to her neck.

Up ahead were tall bronze doors emblazoned with a pair of crossed swords. A muffled roar, like a cheering crowd at a football stadium, thrummed behind the doors.

"Oh, yesssss," the dracaenae on Percy's left hissed. "You'll be very popular with the hosssssst, you are brothersssss after all."

"My what?" Percy immediately thought of Tyson, but that was impossible. What was the snake woman talking about?

The giant roughly pushed past them and opened the doors. The muffled sound hit their eardrums before Percy could register what he was seeing.

It wasn't the largest arena he'd ever seen, but it was fairly spacious considering the whole place was underground. The circular dirt floor was tight with a fight going on between a giant and a centaur. The centaur looked panicked, galloping around his enemy with a sword and shield. The giant swung a javelin the size of a telephone pole as the crowd cheered everytime they clashed weapons. Monsters littered the first tier of seats that stood twelve feet above the arena floor. Percy had never seen so many monsters congregated in one place before; there were giants, dracaenae, telekhines, and strange looking monsters like bat-winged demons or half-human and half-animal creatures of every combination possible. The second tier had demigods, to which Percy gritted his teeth.

The creepiest sight were the bone dry skulls. The arena was full of them. The white, gaping bones ringed the edge of the railing, decorating the steps, benches, and walls like morbid ornaments. They grinned from pikes at the back of the stands and hung on chains from the ceiling like horrible chandeliers. Some looked old, bleached-white bone, but the others were recent and covered in….Percy had to turn away from staring too much.

But in the middle of all this, proudly displayed on the side of the spectator's wall, was something that made absolutely no sense - a green banner with Poseidon's trident in the center. What was that doing here in this terrible place?

Percy watched in horror as the centaur fighting the giant in the ring lost. The centaur cried for help as it struggled to get away from its opponent. He couldn't get up, one of his legs was broken, and it was such a pitiful sight, but the spectators only laughed in sadistic amusement.

Soon, the crowd was chanting for the kill. The unified cry for death sent chills over Percy's body.

"DEATH! DEATH! DEATH-"

The bloodthirsty audience turned in their seats to the booth above the green banner. There were three figures, two of which sitting in the seats of honor. Percy recognized Luke immediately and something hot burned in his gut when the son of Hermes smiled coldly at Percy. He was wearing camouflage pants, a white T-shirt, and a bronze breastplate, but there was no sword. Next to Luke was the largest giant Percy had ever seen, standing at maybe fifteen feet tall. The giant's skin was dark red and tattooed with blue wave designs.

The giant was the one who held out his hand and gave the thumbs down sign.

Everyone yelled in excitement. Their attention whipped back to the arena to see the finishing blow, but Percy wasn't looking at the dirt arena.

His eyes were fixed on the third person in the booth.

Up above the rows of monsters, in the booth for VIPs, was a person who stood right behind Luke's right, appearing at complete ease. The girl wore a high-necked, black long sleeve shirt and tan camo pants with light armor. There was no cap to hide her face and the shadow of an upper balcony frame shrouded her, but Percy recognized the relaxed slope of confident shoulders and hooded eyes.

Next to the traitorous son of Hermes was Jade.

It was like time slowed down.

In the corner of Percy's eye, the gladiator killed the centaur. The crowd went wild in the seats, their clamor thundering throughout the underground space.

But the raucous noise didn't reach Percy's ears.

She was supposed to be… she was-

"What's wrong, Percy? You look like you saw a ghost," Kelli asked with a wide grin.

Feeling doused with ice water, Percy's eyes went to Annabeth whose eyes also widened at the sight of their lost friend. He'd never seen confusion, shock, and hurt wrestle with each other in someone's expression, but Annabeth's grey stormy eyes reflected all of it.

"That's… why is she…," Annabeth choked on her shaky question. She couldn't finish it out of dread.

Numbly, Percy went back to staring at Jade standing in the booth next to Luke.

Jade's gaze turned. He felt her eyes seeing him and then trailing over to Annabeth. Percy prayed for something, anything, on her face to show that she cared, that she was relieved to see them. She was probably being held captive against her will, or Luke threatened her. There had to be a logical, understandable reason as to why she was standing there. He wanted to see the recognition light up in Jade's eyes.

Jade's dark eyes remained flat. She gave them a cursory look and then bent over, murmuring something to Luke. The older demigod smirked and said something in return.

A heavy stone dropped in Percy's stomach.

Rachel had told him.

Be careful of her.

Kelli followed Percy's line of sight.

"That's right, you thought you lost Jade in the Labyrinth!" The empousa cruelly giggled. "Don't worry, she was safe with us the entire time. She's been a very loyal spy."

A spy.

Jade was the spy.

She's not on the same side as you.

Percy's heart twisted painfully.

Jade was a good person.

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