Quest of the Half Gods

Chapter 3: Απόλλων

Apollo, Will, and Nico followed Galatea into the Whole Foods women's bathroom, ignoring the judgmental looks that followed them in. Galatea led them to the handicapped stall at the end of the row and pushed the door open. Sure enough, above the toilet tank, the Mark of Daedalus sat carved into the concrete wall. 

"Well?" Galatea asked. Apollo realized that they were all looking at him, waiting for him to activate the mark. He extended his shaking hand, hovering for a moment before touching his fingers to the delta. He inhaled sharply as the mark glowed bright blue, ignited by his touch. It shouldn't have surprised him that it worked, but Apollo hadn't really ever been given time to completely let it sink in that he was in fact a demigod, demigod. Not just along for the ride. 

Apollo stepped back as a large section of the wall cracked apart and revealed the entrance to the maze, crushing the toilet in the process and spraying water all over the stall. Apollo hoped there weren't security cameras watching them or they'd have to pay for damages. The group stared into the dark depths before them, lit only by the dull light emanating from barely visible lightbulbs that hung from a high ceiling. 

"So...who wants to go first?" Nico asked, apprehension obvious in his voice. "Ladies?" Will said hopefully. Galatea scoffed and shoved Will toward the hole. "Nice try. I heard a rumor that you glow in the dark." He sighed and took off his shirt, stepping into the darkness. "I should make you glow more often!" Nico chirped, following his boyfriend in. "Shut up," Will grumbled from a few feet ahead.

"Ready?" Galatea asked, turning to Apollo. He looked around one last time before nodding. "As I'll ever be." He said, forcing cheerfulness. Galatea gave a small smile and gestured to the darkness. "I'll bring up the rear." Apollo took a deep breath and stepped into the Labyrinth.

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Apollo had always hated the Labyrinth. Though his experiences with it were limited, he'd had a bad feeling about it since its creation. He'd warned Daedalus not to give it a mind of its own, though he hadn't listened. Typical. Why would you listen to the literal god of prophecy? It's not like he had a way to tell the future or anything...

Apollo strained his eyes to see in the darkness. Will and Nico's playful banter had died soon after they'd delved into the depths of the vast maze. The only sound Apollo could hear now was the breath of his companions. 

When Apollo had gone into the Labyrinth for a three-legged death race with Meg the year before, he had commented on how it didn't seem as threatening anymore. Clearly, he had either been incorrect or the place had decided to regress back to its old ways. Though time was inconsistent inside, Apollo felt that they had been walking for at least an hour at this point. 

"Nico?" Apollo could hear him grunt next to Will. "Do you know where we are?" Nico barked a dry laugh. "Do you seriously think I know where we are? For all I know, this part of the Labyrinth didn't even exist the last time I was in here." Apollo sighed. Great. 

"Hey, can we stop for a sec?" Will panted in front of them. "What's up?" Apollo asked. Will pulled his shirt back over his head and took a swig of water from his canteen. "I can't do the glowing anymore or I'll pass out. The lights should stay bright enough for now and we can use our weapons for extra light." Apollo raised an eyebrow. "You have a weapon?" Will shrugged, "Artemis gave it to me last year for helping you. It's just a hunting knife." "Hmph," Apollo grumbled. Galatea rolled her eyes. "I really don't think we have time for your sibling squabbles Apollon." She drew her own knife and pushed to the front, her glowing Stygian iron blade illuminating the path.

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Apollo watched as Galatea pulled the torch necklace over her head and held it in front of her. "Ικάρος." She said, calling out to the spirit of the boy. He manifested before them and turned around, taking in his surroundings. "Ah," He said, "the Labyrinth." Galatea nodded, "You said you could help us get through. Can you?" His eyes roved around the walls. "We are in a new part of it that I am less familiar with. However, the new and the old are pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle, meaning that we could be very close to your camp, or very far. The circumstances of this path are strange because we aren't trying to get to the center of the maze, we are just trying to get through it." Apollo frowned, "Okay, so...can you get us through or not?" Icarus deflated, "Yes, I think I can." Just as he said that the lights above extinguished and they were plunged into complete darkness.

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Apollo cursed repeatedly as he fumbled around, trying to find something solid to hold on to. He could hear Nico and Will a few feet in front of him and he stumbled toward them. "What happened?" He asked as he reached them. "I don't know," Will said, gripping him on the shoulder. "Isn't it obvious?" Apollo let out a high-pitched scream as Icarus poofed in next to him, Galatea's face appearing in the ghostly light. "Is what obvious?" Apollo gasped, his hand clutching his heart. 

"It seems that another one of the Olympians has died." He said, "Hephaestus." Apollo felt like he'd just been sitting in a hot tub and then someone had chucked him into a freezing cold swimming pool. "How do you know?" He asked, his voice coming out as a whisper. "Because the new amenities in the Labyrinth have been converted to what they would have been before modern technology. Lucky for us, that means that I can probably get us to camp sooner than I would have before. I'm more familiar with this type of stuff." Galatea glared at Icarus, "Lucky? Hephaestus is dead!" Icarus sighed, "Galatea, there's nothing I can do about that. All I can do now is try and get you two to the end of your quest so that this doesn't continue to happen. Okay?" She hesitated before nodding. "Fine."

Galatea in front of Apollo, Will, and Nico, Icarus leading the way. The only light came from the dim glow of their weapons and the faint violet mist that followed their guide wherever he went. 

After what felt like an hour of walking in silence, Nico abruptly stopped in his tracks causing Apollo to run into him and eat a mouthful of his hair. Apollo spat and wiped his tongue, "What is wrong with you?" He mumbled, wiping his hand on his shirt. Nico hesitated, "I don't know if it's the Labyrinth or the fact that I'm tired, or that I'm just losing my mind, but I'm pretty sure that bird has Apollo's head on its body."

Apollo looked up where Nico was looking and let out a strangled gasp as his eyes met his own face which sat on the shoulders of a large bird, eyes identical to his own, staring back at him.