The Battle of the Labyrinth: Apollo's Daughter

Angry Seadogs

Percy's POV

It wasn't long before the tunnel started to get hot.

The stone walls glowed. The air felt as if we were walking through an oven. The tunnel sloped down and I could hear a loud roar, like a river of metal. The spider skittered along, with Annabeth and Skyler right behind.

The roaring got louder. After another half mile or so, we emerged in a cavern the size of a Super Bowl stadium. Our spider escort stopped and was once again impatiently tapping it's metal leg. We had arrived at the forge of Hephaestus.

There was no floor, just bubbling lava hundreds of feet below. We stood on a rock ridge that circled the cavern. A network of metal bridges spanned across it. At the center was a huge platform with all sorts of machines, cauldrons, forges, and the largest anvil I'd ever seen, a block of iron the size of a house. Creatures moved around the platform. Several strange, dark shapes, but they were too far away to make out details.

"How are we gonna get past them?" Skye asked, bending down and picking up the small metal spider before gesturing towards the creatures. The spider folded its legs up and she slid it into the pocket of her jeans.

Annabeth thought for a moment before piping up. "You don't need to, I can. Wait here."

"Hold it!" I said, but before we could argue, she put on her Yankees cap and turned invisible.

We didn't dare call after her, but anyone could tell both Skyler and I didn't like the idea of her approaching the forge on her own. If those things out there could sense a god coming, would Annabeth be safe?

I looked back at the Labyrinth tunnel. I missed Grover and Tyson already. Finally, I decided I couldn't stay put in the one spot. I crept along the outer rim of the lava lake, Skye following close behind me, I was hoping we could get a better angle to see what was happening in the middle.

The heat was horrible. Geryon's ranch had been a winter wonderland compared to this. In no time we were drenched with sweat. My eyes stung from the smoke. We moved along, trying to keep away from the edge, until I found our way blocked by a cart with metal wheels, like the kind they use in mine shafts. I lifted up the tarp and found it was half full of scrap metal. I was about to squeeze my way around it when I heard voices from up ahead, probably from a side tunnel.

"Bring it in?" one asked.

"Yeah," another said. "Movie's just about done."

I panicked. We didn't have time to turn and run... I back up and bumped into Skye who grabbed my shoulders to keep us both from slipping off the edge of the cliff. There was nowhere to hide except in the cart. I scrambled inside, Skyler quickly climbing in, her knees pulled to her chest as she had to practically sit on me. I reached up and pulled the tarp over us, hoping they hadn't seen me or the blonde in the cart with me... I curled my fingers around Riptide, Skye had her hand ready to pull on the charm for Ilios on her bracelet, both prepared, just in case we had to fight.

The cart lurched forward, sending the daughter of Apollo crashing closer against me. Even in the darkness of the cart, I could make out the blush and desperate attempt to busy her eyes on absolutely anything else in the cart.

"Oi," a gruff voice said. "Thing weighs a ton."

"It's celestial bronze," the other said. "What did you expect?"

We got pulled along. We turned a corner, and from the sound of the wheels echoing against the walls, I guessed we had passed down a tunnel and into a smaller room. Hopefully, we weren't about to be dumped into a smelting pot. If they started to tip me over, I'd have to fight my way out quick. I heard lots of talking, chattering voices that didn't sound human, somewhere between a seal's bark and a dog's growl. There were other sounds too, like an old-fashioned film projector and a tinny voice narrating.