Indigo Eyes

Chapter 77

"My dear," Chiron said. "You made it."

Annabeth walked into the arena. She sat on a stone bench and stared at the floor.

"Well?" Quintus asked.

Annabeth turned her grey eyes on Cressida who offered her a supportive nod before her friend turned on Quintus. "I got the prophecy. I will lead the quest to find Daedalus's workshop," she announced.

No one cheered. It's not that they weren't happy for Annabeth, it's that this quest was insanely more dangerous than any other - quite literally.

Chiron scraped a hoof on the dirt floor. "What did the prophecy say exactly, my dear? The wording is important."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I, ah... well, it said, You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze..."

They waited.

"The dead, the traitor and the lost one raise."

Grover perked up. "The lost one! That must mean Pan! That's great!"

"With the dead and the traitor," Percy added. "Not so great."

"And?" Chiron asked. "What is the rest?"

"You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand," Annabeth said, "the child of Athena's final stand."

Everyone looked around uncomfortably. Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, and a final stand didn't sound good.

"Are there more lines?" Chiron asked. "The prophecy does not sound complete."

Annabeth hesitated. "I don't remember exactly."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. Annabeth was known for her memory. She never forgot something she had heard.

Annabeth shifted on her bench. "Something about... Destroy with a hero's final breath" 

"And?" Chiron asked.

Annabeth's body turned to Cressida, pain etched in her expression. "The purple demigod shall turn the tide, when the fallen come from both sides."

Cressida was the most likely option for the purple demigod, which made sense. But people falling from both sides? That definitely didn't sound good. Turning the tide though was the part that bothered Percy the most. Turn the tide of what? The war? If Cressida were to lose someone she loved, Percy didn't want to imagine what would happen to her.

"Oh," Cressida said simply, nerves clear in her voice.

Annabeth stood. "Look, the point is, I have to go in. I'll find the workshop and stop Luke. And... I need help." She reached a hand out for Cressida who didn't hesitate to take it. "Will you come?"

"Even if I did have a choice, I'd say yes to you," Cressida assured her and Annabeth nodded in relief before she turned to Percy.

"Will you come?"

"I'm in," he said instantly and that earned a smile from the blonde.

"Grover, you too? The wild god is waiting," Annabeth said and that's when Cressida began to get nervous. Grover meant four people. Yes, they'd done four people before, but this was an insanely dangerous quest and three. The number was always three. Bad things happened if it was more than three. Six went last time, four came back.

"I'll pack extra recyclables for snacks," Grover said as he got over his nerves.

"And Tyson," Annabeth said. "I'll need you, too."

"Yay! Blow-things-up time!" Tyson clapped so hard he woke up Mrs O'Leary, who was dozing in the corner.

"Wait, Annabeth," Chiron said. "This goes against the ancient laws. A hero is allowed only two companions."

"I need them all," she insisted. "Chiron, it's important."

"Annabeth." Chiron flicked his tail nervously. "Consider well. You would be breaking the ancient laws, and there are always consequences. Last winter, six went on a quest to save Artemis. Only four came back. Think on that. Three is a sacred number. There are three Fates, three Furies, three Olympian sons of Kronos. It is a good strong number that stands against many dangers. Five... this is risky."

Cressida was jarred by Chiron's bluntness, anxiety seeping into her as Percy gave her a supportive look. They may have fought, but, he was the only one that knew everything that happened last winter.

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I know. But we have to. Please."

Chiron sighed. "Very well. Let us adjourn. The members of the quest must prepare themselves. Tomorrow at dawn, we send you into the Labyrinth."

Cressida left instantly in search of her brothers. She had less than a day left with them and they'd only just arrived. They always had time after though.

But despite how rattled Percy was by the icy dog whistle that Quintus gifted him - reminding the young demigod so much of when his former friend Luke presented him with a cursed gift - it was the conversation he had with Chiron that really scared him.

"I need you to keep a careful eye on Miss Lynn," he said and Percy frowned.

"I always do. Why did you have to ask this time? Is it because of Mr D -"

"Because of the prophecy," Chiron said a little awkwardly. "There is little doubt that Miss Lynn is not the purple demigod spoken of. And I'm sure you are aware of the capabilities of her powers. However, my concern lies with what she might do with those powers should she lose a loved one," Chiron said and that really took a moment to sink in.

"You...you can't possibly think that she'd join Luke?" he asked incredulously.

"If the gods were behind the loss, or were manipulated to be... a person has no idea what they are capable of until they are pushed."

"Then you don't know her," Percy retorted. "She would never do that."

He hated the almost pitying look on Chiron's face. "I hope that is the case."

And Percy wandered off to waste the last few hours he had at camp overthinking about everything that just happened.