The Silver Archer 2️⃣ (Percy Jackson)

30. I Pass Out

Adira

We were doing okay until we hit the tree roots. The spider raced along and we were keeping up, but then we spotted a tunnel off to the side that was dug from raw earth, and wrapped in thick roots. Grover stopped dead in his tracks.

"What is it?" I said.

He didn't move. He stared open mouthed into the dark tunnel. His curly hair rustled in the breeze.

"Come on!" Annabeth said. "We have to keep moving."

"This is the way," Grover muttered in awe. "This is it."

"What way?" Percy asked. "You mean...to Pan?"

Grover looked at Tyson. "Don't you smell it?"

"Dirt," Tyson said. "And plants."

"Yes! This is the way. I'm sure of it!"

Up ahead, the spider was getting farther down the stone corridor. A few more seconds and we'd lose it.

"We'll come back," Annabeth promised. "On our way back to Hephaestus."

"The tunnel will be gone by then," Grover said. "I have to follow it. A door like this won't stay open!"

"But we can't," Annabeth said. "The forges!"

Grover looked at her sadly. "I have to, Annabeth. Don't you understand?"

She looked desperate, like she didn't understand at all. The spider was almost out of sight. But I thought about my conversation with Grover last night, and I knew what we had to do.

"We'll split up," I said, meanwhile, the pit in my stomach growing deeper and more painful.

"No, Adiraleise!" Annabeth said. "That's way too dangerous. How will we ever find each other again? And Grover can't go alone."

Tyson put his hand on Grover's shoulder. "I—I will go with him."

"Tyson, are you sure?" Percy asked.

The big guy nodded. "Goat boy needs help. We will find the god person. I am not like Hephaestus. I trust friends."

Grover took a deep breath. "Percy, we'll find each other again. We've still got the empathy link. I just... have to."

I didn't blame him. This was his life's goal. If he didn't find Pan on this journey, the council would never give him another chance.

"I hope you're right," Percy said.

"I know I am." I'd never heard him sound so confident about anything, except maybe that cheese enchiladas were better than chicken enchiladas.

"Be careful," I told him, jumping to him and hugging him. "I will, Ads."

Then I looked at Tyson. He gulped back a sob and gave me a hug that just about squeezed my eyes out of their sockets and cracked a few ribs. For the first time, I didn't mind.

"Bye, sister," he said. He gave Percy a hug, and he patted Brett on the back.

Then he and Grover disappeared through the tunnel of tree roots and were lost in the darkness.

"This is bad," Annabeth said. "Splitting up is a really, really bad idea."

"We'll see them again," Brett said, trying to sound confident.

"Now, come on. The spider is getting away!"

🪨

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