FIRST DAY IN THE MAZE

Hades and Persephone accompanied us as we walked towards one of the tunnels. Helen hugged my father. "I'll see you before long," Hades smiled. "Know that I will be beside you, no matter where you are. I've given you three my blessing."

Persephone embraced me. "Yes, I will be by your side as well," she announced. "But, remember our promise. Do not ever use Hades again. And don't widdle out excuses. Whether it's Kronos's will or your importance to our cause, it will not exempt you. I'll have Styx punish you especially harshly," she whispered in my ear. She let go and faked a smile. "Honey, we've been keeping them here too long."

Hades nodded. "Yes. They ought to go." And so, we said our goodbyes and ventured off into the labyrinth.

There was less light down underground. I'm not sure how, but the Underworld always had adequate lighting. I could only attribute it to magic because it was hard to see down here. It would have been impossible had Persephone not given us a magical lamp, the one Elena was holding.

With just a little bit of anima, we could see everything a meter away. For traveling in a dangerous maze, that was too tiny. We thought six meters would be better. It cost more anima but Elena assured me she could still keep the lamp lit for hours.

After an hour of walking, Helen shrieked. Elena stepped forward, and we saw what frightened her. Piles of skeletons collecting dust on the ground. There was no way to tell whether these poor souls were recently deceased or from the ancient past. King Minos of Crete had the labyrinth built to contain the Minotaur and sent young men and women into it to sate the beast's hunger. And it wasn't inconceivable if a modern-day human got lost here.

We kept on walking. Thankfully, the scenery returned to its initial dullness, and so none of us received a second shock. Finally, we arrived at three crossroads.

We had no clues to help us except one. A growl could be heard coming from one of the paths, and it was unanimously decided we avoided it. As for the other two, we may have well flipped a coin. Helen chose to play "Diggy Diggy Diamond," and all I could do was hope Persephone hadn't convinced Hades to let us die here.

Helen pointed to the road ahead of her. "That one." I nodded and followed, Elena behind me.

"What was she doing?" Elena asked. "Was that some technique that allowed her to deduce which path was best to take?"

I rolled my eyes. Naturally, Elena wouldn't know what Helen did. Ugh, there was so much I would have to teach her before she went to college. "Sadly, no. She merely picked at random. There is no way to know which way is safest unless you're a god. It's...it's a poem kids say these days when they play games like tag."

"Oh...what's tag?"

I sighed and gave her a basic rundown. I thought I made so much progress in a year, but clearly, I lied. I managed to salvage a high-school-level education(close enough) for her, but there was so much more she needed to learn. When we got back to the surface, I would focus heavily on culture.

If I didn't die, that is.

Even though I couldn't see it, I felt something in the air. It was hurling towards me. Helen and I enclosed the three of us in a shadow bubble. Elena poured more anima into the lamp until we understood our situation. We were in an entire room filled with traps. Some spikes would have impaled us had we walked a bit more. And the thing in the air? There was a giant ax coming towards us.

We get hit, and our barrier shatters. In particular, I get a gruesome cut on my chest. If I wasn't wearing plate mail, it would have been over. Elena froze the ax in place, and Helen shot an arrow, splintering it into thousands of pieces. The two then immediately rushed to help me.

Elena examined the wound. "Helen, hold the lamp. Yiannis, take off your armor. It's useless now anyway." Elena cast a healing spell. As she chanted, I felt an influx of power surge into my chest, alleviating the pain. Elena groaned, and I caught her in my arms.

"Sorry about that. You doing ok?"

"Yes. I'll be fine." I helped her up, and Helen made a bridge for us to cross. It would take more than spikes to kill us.

There were more swinging axes, but this time, we were prepared. Either I slowed time, and we dashed along, or we destroyed the things one after the other. The problem was that Elena was slowing us down. Keeping the lamp on for this long must be draining. Healing my injury was no easy feat, either.

"Elena, give me the lamp." She didn't even argue with me. I never showed anyone at DGH, not even Helen, that I could use magic. Apparently, only children of Hecate could use magic. Either that, or she gave you her blessings, enabling you to cast spells. Aside from that, mortals couldn't use magic.

I kept what Vittoria showed me to myself, as I had to fit in. But there were no eyes here. Helen would be shocked, sure, but I trust her. She's my little sister. Hypsipyle, or rather, Elena, was designated as a child of Hecate for knowing magic. She was on my side, but moreover, she was proficient in magic. I could count on her to help us out of a bind when we needed spells, and she could use them in my place. But I'm not putting her health at risk. If need be, I'll reveal what I can do.

I took the lamp from Elena, and she managed to catch up. We slid past the last ax in our way and continued running.

We stopped to rest. We hadn't even been here long, and we were already sweating. I already had a near-death encounter. And we had no map...

Barks could be heard in the distance. Familiar ones. Crocottas were nearby, but there were more. I sensed other, more powerful auras around them. As they approached, I heard hissing. Dracaena?

I turned the lamp on, and we saw that we were surrounded. Crocotta encircled us, as well as a bunch of slithering snakes. On their heads were ram's horns - cerastes. Their weapon was the poisonous saliva in their mouths. But they weren't what worried me.

Hovering in the air were imp-like creatures. They were as big as me, but that was where the similarities ended. They were faceless save their mouth. Their ears were like a dryad's, long and pointy. They had the wings of a bat, and of course, theirs were larger. Their nails extended several inches, curling inward - and bloodred.

"Demons!" Elena cried. "Vrómika thiría tou Kefthónymou, se diatázo, fýge!" A blinding light radiated from her body, and the demons screamed. I could not comprehend their noises, but when the glare died down, they had vanished. Was light able to kill them? Or did it just scare the demons away?

I would have to ask Elena later since she knew something. Right now, we had an army of monsters to eradicate.

Crocottas lunged at us. With my new sword, they were like paper. I slashed past dozens of them. Helen and Elena had my back. Elena shot fireballs at the cerastes, and Helen shot any crocottas that came our way.

The crocotta reoriented themselves. The cerastes focused their forces on me while the crocotta swelled behind me. I'm guessing they thought Helen and Elena were easier prey and that if they were taken down, I would be wide open.

Big mistake.

Sure, Helen was crippled. But with her new bow, she could shoot a dozen arrows at once - and she never missed. The crocottas were overwhelmed by the volley of arrows that hit them. But there were still too many of them. That's where Elena came in.

Back in DGH, Elena did show a knack for magic, but she was also talented in swordsmanship(womanship?). After two weeks of grueling training, she could keep up with demigods - an impressive feat for someone who was an ordinary mortal. Well, she was the granddaughter of Dionysus and Ariadne. But children of demigods who had mortal parents were no different from mortals. Was a tiny sliver of god blood giving Elena an edge?

Elena charged at the crocottas, slicing through them one by one. But she never strayed far from Helen. A crocotta jumped at my little sister, and Elena kicked it in the jaw. She then cut its head off. Five tried to attack her at once, but Helen had her back. Elena rolled behind three crocottas and then mawed them down. If one tried to pull a nasty surprise, Helen dealt with them.

It was in stark contrast with me. I had the cerastes focus on me as I went solo. Using the lamp and holding it was tiring, but I managed. But then again, my new sword was incredible.

Every time I killed a giant snake, the blade would absorb its essence, and I could substitute that for anima. My body was still heating up from using it, but I retained energy. Very helpful indeed.

Finally, we had slain all the monsters in our way. Elena collapsed, and we ran to her.

Elena struggled to get up - she must have been tired. For most of the time, she held the lamp, and she expended a lot of anima. I wrapped an arm around her waist. "Can you walk?"

"Yes. Thank you, Yiannis."

"Don't mention it. Does it hurt anywhere?"

"My entire body aches. I used spells to enhance my agility because I was too tired to use anything else. But melee combat is no better. I should have rested. Helen didn't need my help."

"Nonsense. I was busy on the cerastes. If it weren't for you, Helen would have likely been overwhelmed. You were amazing." Helen nodded in agreement. "You protected me, and me you. It required both of us to survive."

We stumbled upon a small, damp cave. It was big enough for the three of us to stay in, making it the perfect place to sleep in for the day. Helen erected a wall of shadow to cover the cave's entrance. That way, we could sleep in peace.

I set up the sleeping bags. Helen hit the sheets immediately. Elena leaned on the wall, her body sluggish. She really pushed herself today. I guess keeping the lamp on is more draining than I thought. Or perhaps she exerted a lot more than I did when fighting. I did dump a lot of monsters for her and Helen to deal with. Next time, the three of us will fight together. And from now on, I'll be holding the lamp.

I lifted Elena and tucked her into her sleeping bag. She tugged on my sleeve. "Is there something you need?" I asked, feeling her forehead. "You're sweating like crazy."

"Water," she gasped. I took out a bottle and gave it to her. I also gave her napkins and left our bags near her. "If you need anything, it'll be right next to you." I helped her lie down again. "And in case you need me, I'll sleep beside you. Call me whenever."

Elena nodded. She was squirming, and I wanted to reassure her somehow. That turned out to be a kiss. I was going to leave in embarrassment, but, in fact, she wanted me to stay. She kissed me back as she ruffled my hair.

I pecked her on the eyes and then her forehead. "Good night, Elena."