LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . pjo

VII.

THEY FINALLY STOPPED in a room full of waterfalls. The floor was one big pit, ringed by a slippery stone walkway. Around them, on all four walls, water tumbled from huge pipes. The water spilled down into the pit, and even when Percy shined a light, Mia couldn't see the bottom.

Briares slumped against the wall. He scooped up water in a dozen hands and washed his face. "This pit goes straight to Tartarus," he murmured. "I should jump in and save you trouble."

"Don't talk that way," Annabeth told him. "You can come back to camp with us. You can help us prepare. You know more about fighting Titans than anybody."

"I have nothing to offer," Briares said. "I have lost everything."

"What about your brothers?" Tyson asked. "The other two must stand tall as mountains! We can take you to them."

Briares's expression morphed to something even sadder: his grieving face. "They are no more. They faded."

The waterfalls thundered. Tyson stared into the pit and blinked tears out of his eye.

"What exactly do you mean, they faded?" Percy asked. "I thought monsters were immortal, like the gods."

"Percy," Grover said weakly, "even immortality has limits. Sometimes . . . sometimes monsters get forgotten and they lose their will to stay immortal."

"I must go," Briares said.

"Kronos's army will invade camp," Tyson said. "We need help."

Briares hung his head. "I cannot, Cyclops."

"You are strong."

"Not anymore." Briares rose.

"Hey," Percy grabbed one of his arms and pulled him aside, where the roar of the water hid their words.

Mia felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped, looking sideways to see Annabeth.

"Sorry," Annabeth gave her a small smile.

"It's fine," Mia sighed. "The Labyrinth has me on edge. What's up?"

"You haven't done that in a while," Annabeth mused. "The plant coming out from the ground. The giant plant. With very pointy teeth."

Mia shrugged. "I haven't really had an excuse to use them," she said. "Or the strength. But I guess being outside helped a lot."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "How has Demeter not claimed you yet? You're obviously her daughter."

Mia was about to let out a sigh of relief when she heard a sob and turned to see Tyson staring at a corridor sadly. Briares wasn't talking to Percy anymore.

"It's okay," Grover hesitantly patted his shoulder, which must've taken all his courage.

Tyson sneezed. "It's not okay, goat boy. He was my hero."

Mia wanted to make him feel better, but she wasn't sure what to say.

Finally Annabeth shouldered her backpack. "Come on, guys. This pit is making me nervous. Let's find a better place to camp for the night."

They settled in a corridor made of huge marble blocks. It looked like it could've been part of a Greek tomb, with bronze torch holders fastened to the walls. It had to be an older part of the maze, and Annabeth decided this was a good sign.

"We must be close to Daedalus's workshop," she said. "Get some rest, everybody. We'll keep going in the morning."

"How do we know when it's morning?" Grover asked.

"Just rest," she insisted.

Grover didn't need to be told twice. He pulled a heap of straw out of his pack, ate some of it, made a pillow out of the rest, and was snoring in no time. Tyson took longer getting to sleep. He tinkered with some metal scraps from his building kit for a while, but whatever he was making, he wasn't happy with it. He kept disassembling the pieces. Percy talked to Tyson, so Mia put her bedroll next to Annabeth and curled up, immediately falling asleep, probably due to using her powers like that for the first time in forever.