Chapter 109

[Third Person's PoV] 

When Lucian saw the Phoenix in the air, he grabbed Annabeth's hand. "Come, let's go," he said, running away and dragging her with him.

"Why are we running? Can't we just shadow travel or something?" Annabeth asked, running behind him.

"We can't. Phoenixes can use a similar move with their flames; it would be pointless," he said, maneuvering between people.

"Then just kill it or something. Even though they won't die since they're immortal, it should give us enough time," Annabeth said as they ran.

"Can't do that either. It's complicated. They are known to be immortal because they can be reborn from their ashes, right? That means they truly do die for a few minutes or longer. Killing a Phoenix brings great misfortune," Lucian explained.

Lucian put his thumb and index finger in his mouth and blew, creating a sharp whistling sound. His shadow stirred, and two shadow hellhounds appeared. Lucian jumped on one, while Annabeth jumped on the other.

"Killing a Phoenix brings misfortune?" Annabeth asked as the hellhounds started to run, trying to lose the Phoenix.

"They are sacred birds. Killing anything with 'sacred' in its name will unleash a misfortune curse upon you. A curse so strong, not even I could undo it. It could lead the person to an early grave," Lucian informed her.

To mortal eyes, it looked like two kids riding bicycles being chased by an angry goose. The Phoenix let out another squawk and opened its mouth, unleashing a torrent of flames.

The hellhounds sprinted side to side, dodging the flames, while people around them fainted due to the heat. Lucian turned a corner, put a hand on Annabeth's shoulder, and closed his eyes. He lowered their presence to the point they became invisible.

When the Phoenix turned the corner, it saw it had lost them. "Curse that bastard child of Hades!"

Lucian and Annabeth's eyes widened as they looked at each other. 'It talks!?' she mouthed.

'I'm just as surprised as you are,' he mouthed back.

"Next time I see him, I'll pluck all his little hairs to see how he likes it!" The Phoenix surrounded itself in flames before flapping its wings and disappearing from view.

Lucian mentally commanded the hellhounds in case the Phoenix was hiding nearby. 'Take us back to camp.'

Lucian and Annabeth sank into the shadows and felt the hellhounds running through the endless darkness. Before they knew it, the hellhounds jumped up, and they appeared back within the camp property line.

As they appeared, Annabeth started rubbing her face. "It always feels like my face is going to be pulled off when we do that."

Lucian chuckled as they started walking back toward camp. As they walked by the entrance, they saw two kids from the Ares Cabin standing guard.

Their eyes widened upon seeing Annabeth and Lucian. "They have returned," one mumbled. "Call for Chiron," the other said, causing him to run toward the camp.

"What's going on?" Annabeth asked.

"We should be asking you guys that. Where the hell were you?" 

Annabeth looked confused. "What do you mean? We were gone for a day."

"Uh oh," Lucian said, remembering something. "Tell me, what day is it?" he asked with a serious expression.

"A day? You two went missing for two whole months. It's the middle of June already."

"Son of a b—damn it, I forgot time works differently in there," Lucian cursed.

"WHAT? TWO WHOLE MONTHS!" Annabeth yelled.

They heard the sound of hooves galloping towards them and saw Chiron approaching with an unpleasant expression on his face.

Lucian gave him an awkward smile. "We really need to stop meeting like this."

"In my office, now," Chiron said.

They sighed and heard the sound of lightning as a bolt shot down from the sky. Thalia's figure quickly materialized.

"Where the hell were you guys? I was worried sick," she said, hugging both of them.

"It seems we lost track of time," Lucian said awkwardly before getting off their hellhounds and following Chiron.

In his office, Chiron sat with his hands intertwined. "You know leaving the camp like that can lead to serious consequences. It could even get you expelled, more so for Annabeth than Lucian."

"Expelled!?" Annabeth yelled. "I can't have that on my record!"

"It's not our fault, old man," Lucian said, leaning back, not looking bothered.

"How is it not?" Chiron asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We went exploring Daedalus's Labyrinth. To us, we were only gone a single day. We didn't do this intentionally."

"Are you both crazy?" Chiron asked. "Why would you subject yourselves to such danger? Once someone goes inside that Labyrinth, no one ever comes out."

Lucian motioned toward Annabeth and himself exaggeratedly. "Well, we did."

Chiron sighed. "You both are very lucky."

"Nah, man, it's pure skill. You should have known that by now," Lucian said smugly.

"That's not what I'm talking about," Chiron said with a straight face. "I'm talking about how the summer camp hasn't begun, so you two won't be receiving any penalties for your actions. Since technically, you two are just staying here."

"Oh right," Lucian said, a bit embarrassed.

"Wait, did you two really explore the Labyrinth? How did you even navigate it? I thought it was impossible," Thalia asked as she leaned against the wall.

Lucian nodded. "Impossible for other people, but look who you're talking to. I'm the son of my father. Dark underground places are like my second home."

"Please warn me next time you two decide to disappear," Chiron said with a sigh.

"Yeah, dude, because we will totally be able to know," Lucian said sarcastically.

"You know what I was trying to say, Mr. Blackheart."

Lucian let out a sigh. "Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I got it. Can we go now?"

Chiron nodded, and all three soon left his office. As they walked out, Thalia started to separate from them.

"Where are you going?" Lucian asked.

"To collect my winnings," Thalia said proudly.

Annabeth and Lucian looked at her in confusion.

"The entire camp made a large bet to see if you guys would return alive or be found dead somewhere. Since you guys are alive, that clearly means I won."

Lucian and Annabeth just looked at Thalia with straight expressions, but she didn't care and happily walked away, swinging her arms.

Lucian then let out a sigh and turned to Annabeth. "Come on, we need to find the last item."

"Where are we supposed to find those ant monsters anyway?" Annabeth asked.

"Believe it or not, they're closer than you think," Lucian said.

"No way. They're in the camp?" Annabeth asked with an amused look.

Lucian just gave her a smile that confirmed her words.

As they walked toward the forest, Lucian let out a sigh. "Two whole months wasted."

Annabeth nodded in agreement, but before she could say anything else, Lucian continued.

"I had plans and stuff. Now I have to start them later than planned. This really messed up my whole schedule."

"Plans? What plans?" Annabeth asked curiously.

"I can't really say them out here, but just know it starts with me writing and publishing a book."

"You serious?" Annabeth asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lucian nodded. "I'm going to need your help too."

"You want me to be your co-author?" Annabeth asked in amusement.

Lucian smiled and nodded. "Since it would be beneficial to you too."

Annabeth nodded, and before they knew it, they were in the middle of the forest behind some trees, looking at the giant ant hill in front of them.

"Do we just go in guns blazing?" Annabeth asked.

"If that's what you want to do, sure, but we only need one for its spoil of war."

Annabeth nodded, reached into her pouch, and pulled out a card that said "Invisible" in ancient Greek writing. As she stuck it to her chest, she started turning invisible while she pulled out her two daggers.

"BRB," she said before she went silent.