by A P Mobley
Up close, the Labyrinth’s entrance looked a lot larger than it had when they’d been farther away, its jagged edges climbing at least twenty feet above their heads, the inside pitch-black.
“Can we bring the pegasi in with us?” Andy asked, jumping off Ajax. “If we can’t—well, I don’t know what we’re going to do with them.” The rest of the group followed suit, Zoey’s feet sinking into watery sand.
“They have to stay out here,” Prometheus replied. “There aren’t any pegasi in Poseidon’s palace, which will draw even more unnecessary attention to us if we’re seen, and they can’t wait around in the Labyrinth until we get back—it’s too dangerous. I’m afraid it’s time to say goodbye.”
Kali’s face fell. She turned to face the pegasi. “I wish you were wrong, but I know you’re not. Pegasi are creatures of the air—they’re not meant to be trapped in a Labyrinth or at the bottom of the sea.” One at a time Kali stroked the pegasi’s manes and gave them hugs, talking to them all the while, her voice strained as though she was holding back tears. “Guys—you can’t come with us in there. You need to—to fly away. Avoid monsters, and don’t get captured. Maybe, if you can find the nymphs who saved us, I’ll see you again. If not . . .” She sniffled, and tears trickled down her cheeks. “If not, then thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” The pegasi’s eyes were glassy, their heads hung low.
Zoey came forward, then wrapped her arms around Aladdin’s neck and gave him a squeeze. He nickered and nuzzled her. Andy and Darko hugged Ajax and bid him farewell. Afterward, the three pegasi took to the sky. As they disappeared into the night, Kali wiped tears from her eyes.
Zoey turned toward Kali, her chest aching. Ajax and Aladdin belonged to Kali, and she’d ridden Luna everywhere they’d gone. Kali’s heart was probably broken over having to tell them goodbye without knowing if she’d ever be reunited with them.
“We’ll see them again,” Zoey said, enveloping Kali in an embrace. “I’m sure of it.” The chief’s daughter buried her face in Zoey’s shoulder, hugging her back.
For a long while the group stood outside the Labyrinth, until finally Kali pulled away from Zoey. “We need to go,” she said, and the group turned toward the entrance.
“How are we supposed to see in there?” Darko asked. “It’s completely dark.”
“Go in and you’ll find out,” Prometheus replied. The group exchanged curious looks, then tentatively stepped into the Labyrinth, Prometheus close behind.
For a few minutes they walked in complete darkness, the wet sand squelching beneath them. A cool, damp breeze wafted in from the waves, the smell of saltwater permeating the air.
Zoey took another step and blinding light flashed. She gasped, blinking and glancing around, the Labyrinth suddenly illuminated with hues of blue-green.
As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she realized what was emitting the colored light. Rectangular crystals with pointed ends, thousands of them, were encrusted on the walls and ceiling of the Labyrinth. They jutted every which way like hundreds of rows of crooked teeth glowing the color of the ocean. Where the crystal-covered walls met sandy floor, tiny seashells and strips of seaweed littered the ground.
Ahead of them, the Labyrinth curved, twisted, and turned in different directions, like forks in a road. When Zoey looked back, she saw only darkness.
“Where’d the entrance go?” she asked, a rush of panic coming over her. “Did it close in on us? Are we trapped?”
“No,” Prometheus replied. “Darko, the thread.” The satyr nodded and pulled the ball of thread he’d stolen from Aphrodite City out of his bag. Prometheus took it and tied the end around one of the bigger crystals near the group, making sure to quadruple-knot it. “If we went back from where we came this instant, we’d get out of here just as easily as we walked in. It’s only after we go down one of those paths”—he nodded at the forks ahead—“that we’ll lose our way, since all these chambers look the same.”
The Titan’s explanation gave Zoey some relief, although she still felt a bit jittery, and the group pressed forward.
“How can Poseidon use this place to travel back and forth?” Andy asked. “How does he find his way around?”
Darko shrugged. “He’s the one who had it rebuilt. He probably memorized the paths before using it in the first place.”
“Even if he did get lost, he could just materialize at the entrance,” Prometheus added, unraveling the ball of string along the sand as they walked. “The point of the portal was to cut down on the power it took to transport thousands of miles from the palace, but if he had to use some energy to get himself from the center of the Labyrinth to the entrance, that wouldn’t be near as draining.”
They walked for a long time, creeping down paths that twisted and turned, meeting dead ends and traveling through other chambers that seemed to go straight for miles. After so long, Zoey, Andy, Darko, and Kali could hardly keep their eyes open, and Prometheus offered to watch for the Minotaur while the group stopped to rest. The sand was damp, cold, and uncomfortable, but Zoey was too exhausted to care. She’d hardly slept since Andy woke from his unconscious state. She curled into a ball next to Kali, making sure to steer clear of Andy, and they slept.
When they finally woke, Zoey couldn’t be sure how long they’d been in the Labyrinth, but her stomach growled, her muscles weak and wobbly. They ate some roots and berries Prometheus had collected, replenishing their bodies, then continued their journey.
Several hours of walking passed, and Zoey noticed with each passing step the sand beneath their feet grew drier. The seashells and seaweed littering the ground were scarcer now, the smell of saltwater a distant memory.
As they rounded a corner, they stopped dead, spotting something that sent chills charging through Zoey’s body, goose bumps rising on her skin. A yellowed human skeleton, picked completely clean, lay sprawled on the ground here.
“We must be getting close to the center,” Prometheus said. “At least, a lot closer than we were before.”
“What do you think happened to this guy?” Andy asked. “Do you think he died and decomposed here, or—”
“I think the Minotaur got him,” the Titan replied.
The group pressed on, and as they traveled farther, more bones began popping up. What looked like the skeletons of fish, sharks, dolphins, humans, and other creatures Zoey couldn’t identify lay fully intact along the sand, as if in warning to anyone who dared come farther.
“What are those things?” Kali asked, pointing at the animal bones.
“They’re sea creatures,” Andy said. “What I wanna know is how they got in here.”
“Poseidon has to feed the Minotaur, I’m sure,” Prometheus said. “Animals and people most likely don’t wander in here often. He probably brought them for the monster to eat.”
Finally, they stepped into a large chamber, the ceiling and walls curved into the shape of a dome. In the center of the chamber, an orb large enough for a pegasus to step through spun around and around, shimmering with watery blue-green shades.
Prometheus tied the end of the string to one of the bigger crystals in the chamber, then pointed at the orb. “That’s the portal.”
Zoey glanced around nervously. “Where’s the Minotaur?”
“He might be prowling around somewhere else and we could miss him altogether,” the Titan said. “Let’s count ourselves lucky and get through the portal before he comes back.”
The rest of the group agreed and stepped toward the spinning orb.
“How do you plan to get us through?” Zoey asked.
“I’m a trickster god,” Prometheus began. “If I can disguise each of us as Poseidon well enough, the portal will never know the difference. I’ll start with you and Andy, and once you’re through the portal I’ll transform Darko and Kali, then me, and we’ll follow you in. Since these chains have weakened my p
owers quite a bit, the disguises won’t last long without me touching you, so you can’t waste any time hesitating to go through the portal. Is everyone ready?”
“As ready as we’ll ever be for this, I think,” Zoey said, and Andy nodded. The pack holding the Helm was slung over his back. He grasped the handle of the sword at his side with one hand and offered the other to Zoey. She refused it and avoided looking at him.
Prometheus stepped forward and rested his burly hands on Zoey’s and Andy’s shoulders, then closed his eyes. Zoey took a few deep breaths, preparing herself for the task at hand, waiting for the Titan to transform them.
A guttural roar sounded from behind, so loud it shook the cavern. Zoey’s stomach clenched, and she swung around.
A hairy, olive-skinned man dressed in rags who was taller, wider, and more muscular than even Prometheus stood at the cavern’s entrance. He had the head of a black-furred bull, with ivory horns over two feet long branching from his skull. His eyes glowed a menacing green, and his teeth were as sharp and long as a saber-tooth tiger’s, strings of snot hanging from his wide snout.
Zoey’s breath caught in her throat as the Minotaur roared, charging straight for the group.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
PALACE
Darko seized one of the only two arrows from his quiver and loosed it with his bow. The arrow pierced the creature in the shoulder, and he fell back, bellowing. The group rushed forward, Zoey drawing her axe, her heart racing. Andy unsheathed his sword, Kali brandished her dagger, and Prometheus readied his chains.
The monster advanced for Darko. The satyr loosed his second and last arrow. It pierced the Minotaur in his thigh. The creature roared, spit flying from his lips, but the attack wasn’t enough to stop him. He came headfirst at Darko as if to skewer the satyr with his horns. Darko galloped frantically to the side, avoiding the monster by inches. The Minotaur slammed into a wall. Upon impact, the cavern shook. He ripped his head back to face the group and crystals went flying.
Andy ran in front of everyone and waved his sword. “Hey, you ugly freak, come and get me!” The Minotaur huffed and charged. At the last minute, Andy swung his sword, but the creature seemed to have anticipated this. He darted backward before the weapon could slice him, then kicked Andy’s blade to the side.
The Minotaur advanced on Andy, ready to impale the boy, but before he could, Prometheus lassoed his chains around the monster’s neck, then tugged the creature backward. The Minotaur roared, grappling with the links, and to Zoey’s surprise, their metal snapped, the monster free. The Minotaur snarled, bounding for Andy.
“Andy!” Zoey screamed, rushing toward them. As mad as she was, if any harm came to him . . .
Andy somersaulted out of the way and seized his blade. The Minotaur rammed into another wall, cramming his horns between crystals and shaking the cavern so much Zoey stumbled to the side.
Kali dashed ahead of Zoey, and in the few moments the Minotaur struggled to free himself from the wall, she jumped onto his back and plunged her dagger into his neck. She twisted the blade and he roared, throwing his head back. Crystals went flying across the cavern, and so did Kali, who smashed into the sandy floor. Darko rushed to her aid.
Zoey bolted toward the creature, axe held high. She focused every bit of strength she had, and when she reached the Minotaur, she swung the weapon at his chest. The blade cut deep. The monster roared. She tried to wrench the axe from his body, but he backhanded her cheek. Pain racked her body as she hit the ground, her head spinning.
Before she could stand, something climbed onto her and pressed her down, the weight of it so heavy she couldn’t breathe. It’s the Minotaur, she thought, panic flooding her senses. He’s going to crush me.
“Get off her!” Andy shouted.
The sound of a blade gashing through flesh and bone filled Zoey’s ears, and the Minotaur bellowed and released her. She caught her breath and rolled over to see Andy as he ripped his sword from the monster’s back. Blood seeped from the creature’s wounds, but still he stood. For a moment he wavered as though he might collapse, but instead he turned around and slapped Andy’s weapon aside. The Minotaur grabbed Andy by the throat and lifted him up off the ground.
Prometheus came running, slamming his body into the Minotaur’s side. The collision knocked Andy from the creature’s grasp, and Andy tumbled to the ground. Prometheus and the monster hurtled into the sand. Zoey scrambled backward, trying to stay out of their way as they wrestled. Within seconds Prometheus gained the upper hand. He straddled the Minotaur and wrapped what remained of his chains around the creature’s neck.
The Minotaur roared, throwing his head back and then thrusting it upward, piercing his horns through Prometheus’s chest. Prometheus cried out, his muscles bulging, veins popping out of his arms, but even with the creature’s horns stuck straight through him, he didn’t give up. With his massive hands, he tightened the chains around the Minotaur’s neck and tugged hard. With his legs, he kept the monster bound against the floor.
Soon the Minotaur began gasping for air. He writhed under Prometheus, but Prometheus wouldn’t let go. Moments passed, and finally the monster fell limp.
Prometheus pulled himself up and off the horns and collapsed next to the creature. His breaths were shallow, his skin paling. Fluid like molten gold oozed from his injuries and from the corners of his mouth. Zoey rushed to his side, the rest of the group close behind her.
“I’m about . . . to die,” Prometheus said, coughing. “Obviously, I’ll regenerate—so don’t worry about it. But I can’t go into Poseidon’s palace with you. There isn’t enough time.”
“Will you find us later on?” Zoey asked.
Prometheus gave her a slow nod. “I’ll—try.”
“Do you still have enough strength to transform us?” Andy asked. “So we can go through the portal?”
Prometheus reached out. “Take my hands. Zoey and Andy first—then Darko and Kali. I can—get you in. Use the—the submarine to get out.”
Zoey nodded and placed her hand in the Titan’s. Andy did the same. Prometheus closed his eyes, and soon Zoey felt as if she were heating up from the inside. She felt her skin stretch, heard her bones crack, and when she glanced at Andy next, his wings had disappeared, and he didn’t look like himself anymore.
Instead, he was a seven-foot-tall bodybuilder of a man clothed in white robes, with a silver hair and beard, his skin the same blue-green color as the crystals in the Labyrinth. From the shocked expression he gave her, her appearance must have changed too.
Prometheus let them go. “The disguise is complete. Now go—before it fades off. I’ll send the—the other two after you.”
“Thank you for everything, Prometheus,” Andy said.
“Don’t let—my g-granddaughter—down,” Prometheus croaked. “Don’t let—me down.”
A lump formed in Zoey’s throat. “We’ll do our best.”
Andy offered Zoey his hand, and this time she took it. Angry with him or not, she had no idea what awaited them next, and without a guide like they’d had in Hades, they’d be even more vulnerable to the threats coming their way. Right now he needed her, and she needed him.
Together, they stepped toward the orb, and Zoey braced herself. Would the disguise work, or would they die the moment they touched the portal? There was only one way to find out.
She jumped into the portal, pulling Andy with her.
Immediately she felt as if they’d been transported to the bottom of the ocean. They were engulfed by freezing blue-black water, the salty liquid flooding her mouth and nostrils and stinging her eyes. They began whirling around and around and around. She screamed but there was no noise, only bubbles flittering from her lips, her lungs losing oxygen with every passing second. She held tight to Andy’s hand, and he squeezed hers, as if trying to reassure her he was still there.
Suddenly she slammed face-first into
something hard. She rolled over and groaned, stars dancing in her vision, her head spinning. Oddly enough, the air was dry, and she was dry—other than her hand, which still clung to Andy’s and was slippery with sweat. When her vision finally cleared, she let go of Andy, sat up, and looked over at him. He sat up as well. His disguise had already faded away, and she assumed hers had too. Good thing we left when we did, she thought. Or else the portal would have probably killed us.
She glanced around to find they were in a large empty dome-shaped room, its walls and floor made of pure gold. Behind them, a watery blue orb spun and glowed, acting as the room’s only light source. The other side of the portal, Zoey thought. That must be where we came through.
The orb stopped spinning and made a noise like a sigh. Darko and Kali, complete with Prometheus’s disguises, shot from the portal and crashed into the floor. They groaned, glancing up at Zoey and Andy, their appearances already morphing back to normal.
“Are we there yet?” Darko asked, every word spoken echoing off the walls.
Andy climbed to his feet. “Seems like it. Now we just have to steal the Trident and get outta here.”
Kali rubbed the back of her head. “Any ideas for where it could be?”
“It’s most definitely with Poseidon,” Zoey replied. “I don’t think he’d just leave it lying somewhere random.”
“Probably not,” Darko said.
The group gathered their composure and made their way to the room’s only door. Kali opened it, and the group walked into a hallway devoid of anyone else. It sprawled longer than a football field on either side of them and was dimly lit with clusters of glowing crystals similar to the ones in the Labyrinth hanging from the ceiling, its floor made of golden tiles, cold and smooth to the touch. The walls were lined with marble pillars, statues of gods, and dozens more doors—one bigger than all the rest residing on the far-right side of the hall.