The New Demigods

Chapter 27: Haku

My eyes fluttered open to the sound of hushed talking. I felt the weight of Horace's are draped over my chest as he snoozed next to me. I was thankful to feel his warmth against me in the damp cave. Remembering where I was, I turned my head to see only an outline in the sand where Piper had slept. I carefully moved Horace's arm away and stood up, rubbing my eyes to focus in the darkness.

The sunlight of morning reflected off the water and faintly lit the cave, as the oars had burned out during the night. Spotting Piper and Akira by the water, I quietly walked over to them, careful not to disturb the rest of the sleeping demigods.

"We don't have another option." Akira's voice was hushed, but she spoke with intensity; her words clearly frustrated Piper.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

They both feel silent, surprised by my presence.

"Nothing good." Piper forced a smile.

"Did something happen?"

They exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"You two are freaking me out," I said. "What is it?"

"Well Akira and I decided to do a bit of scouting this morning, to see what was deeper in the cave..." Piper trailed off.

"And? What was it?"

"The maze."

"What?"

"The cave connects back to the maze."

"No." I felt lightheaded. We couldn't have gone through all of that just to end up back in the Minotaur's maze. I needed to sit down. We were completely cut off from the resources in the forest, no food source. I needed a drink of water. We'd have to face off against the Minotaur again, after barely escaping it the first two times. After seeing it tear apart the skeleton warriors... Horace. How was Horace going to react when he found out the skeleton warriors were sacrificed to the Cetus for no reason? I balled my hands into fistfuls of sand. How was Scarlet supposed to outrun the Minotaur?

"I know." Piper touched my forearm gently.

Akira shifted uncomfortably at the display of affection and headed back to the group.

"I knew a test from the gods wasn't going to be easy, but how did we fuck this up so badly?" I sighed, hiding my face in my hands.

"What do you mean?" Piper pulled my hands away from my face and held them in hers. "We're all alive. We know the relic is somewhere in that maze and now we have five more demigods to help us get through it."

"How's Scarlet supposed to outrun the Minotaur on her broken ankle?"

"We won't alert the Minotaur this time."

"And if we run into it anyway?"

"Then we carry her."

"Even without the Minotaur, we'd starve in there before finding the relic. We don't have access to the forest anymore and crops won't grow in a cave with no dirt or sunlight."

"So we leave today and we find our way to the relic, or we find another exit."

"Another exit guarded by a monster that we might not be so lucky to escape."

"Gemini." I could tell she was holding back frustration. "If you are looking for a reason not to succeed, then you are always going to find it." She let go of my hands and I felt guilty for being so negative.

"I'm sorry."

"It's going to be okay." Her smile made me believe it.

I nodded.