Poseidon's Daughter; A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

The Path to Hephaestus' Workshop

Y/n's POV

The spider was fast. It scuttled along the tunnels so fast that most of time I couldn't even see it. Thankfully, both Tyson and Grover had excellent hearing. We took a sharp left, and stretched out in front of us was a large abyss. The only way across was a set of iron bars in the ceiling. The spider used its own webbing to get across, and before I knew it, it had made it across the gap.

"Monkey bars?! I'm great at these," Annabeth cheered and leaped onto the first rung.

"Oh Hades no," I mutter and stare at the bottomless abyss. "You uh, you think that goes anywhere? The Underworld is sounding pretty tempting right about now. I'd honestly rather just jump in that pit than fall into it from slipping off the monkey bars."

"You'll be fine," Percy assured me and followed after Annabeth.

I didn't want to cross the monkey bars of death, but I knew I didn't have a choice. I kept my gaze focused straight ahead, and in not time, I had made it across the pit. Tyson was the last to cross, and he did so with Grover on his back. Up ahead, the tunnel opened up into a large room where a blazing light hit us. As soon as my eyes adjusted, I noticed that dozens of skeletons littered the floor around us. And then I saw the monster. She stood on a glittery dais on the opposite side of the room. She had the body of a huge lion and the head of a woman.

Tyson whimpered. "Sphinx."

"Welcome, lucky contestants!" the Sphinx announced as metal bars came down to block both the way we came from and the path ahead. "Get ready to play 'Answer That Riddle'! Pass the test, and you get to advance! Fail, and I get to eat you! Who will be our contestant?"

"This is good. This is great," Percy chirped. "We've got the two smartest people I know in here. So, Y/n, Annabeth, who feels lucky enough to take on the Sphinx?"

"I'll do it," Annabeth offered. "I know what she's going to ask."

"Welcome, Annabeth Chase!" the Sphinx greeted. "Are you ready for your test?"

"Yes," Annabeth replied. "Ask your riddle."

"Twenty riddles, actually!" the Sphinx corrected. "We've raised our standards! To pass, you must show proficiency in all twenty. Isn't that great?"

"Um, sure," Annabeth mumbled. "I'm ready."

"Great! What is the capital of Bulgaria?" the Sphinx asked.

"Sofia," Annabeth answered. "But-"

"Correct!" the Sphinx confirmed. "Please be sure to mark your answer clearly on your test sheet with a 2Bpencil. Make sure you bubble each answer clearly and stay inside the circle. If you have to erase, erase completely or the machine will not be able to read your answers."

"Wait a second," Annabeth interrupted. "What about 'What walks on four legs in the morning?'"

The Sphinx frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

"The riddle about man. He walks on four legs in morning, like a baby, two legs in the afternoon, like an adult, and three legs in the evening, as an old man with a cane. That's the riddle you used to ask," Annabeth pointed out.

"Exactly why we changed the test!" the Sphinx exclaimed. "You already knew the answer. Now, second question, what is the square root of sixteen?"

"Four. But-"

"Correct! Which US president signed the Emancipation Proclamation?"

"Abraham Lincoln, but-"

"Correct! Riddle number four. How much-"