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"This way!" Rachel yelled.
"Why should we follow you?" Annabeth demanded. "You led us straight into that death trap!"
"It was the way you needed to go," Rachel said. "And so is this. Come on!"
Annabeth didn't look happy about it, but she ran along with the others. Rachel seemed to know exactly where she was going. She whipped around corners and didn't even hesitate at crossroads. Once she said, "Duck!" and everyone crouched as a huge axe swung over their heads. Then they kept going as if nothing had happened.
Rory lost track of how many turns they made. They didn't stop to rest until they came to a room the size of a gymnasium with old marble columns holding up the roof. Percy stood at the doorway, listening for sounds of pursuit, but he heard nothing. Apparently they had lost Luke and his minions in the maze.
Mrs. O'Leary was gone, too. Rory didn't know when she had disappeared. Rory hoped that she shadow traveled away and didn't get lost or overrun by monsters.
Ethan collapsed on the floor. "You people are crazy." He pulled off his helmet. His face gleamed with sweat.
Annabeth gasped. "I remember you! You were one of the undetermined kids in the Hermes cabin, years ago."
He glared at her. "Yeah, and you're Annabeth. I remember."
Rory squatted beside him. "Ethan, is this where you've been all this time?"
Ethan looked away, and Rory felt her stomach drop. He, like many other half-bloods, had gone missing in the past year. After about a dozen campers disappeared, eventually Chiron stopped sending search parties. Everyone knew where they had gone — over to the dark side.
"You must be the half-blood from my dream," Percy said bluntly. "The one Luke's people cornered. It wasn't Nico after all."
"Who's Nico?"
"No one," Rory said quickly. "What happened, Ethan?"
"Why were you trying to join up with the wrong side?" Annabeth asked.
Ethan sneered. "There's no right side." He looked at Rory. "What happened, Rory? What happened is that the gods never cared about us. Why shouldn't I—"
"Sign up with an army that makes you fight to the death for entertainment?" Annabeth said. "Gee, I wonder."
Ethan struggled to his feet. "I'm not going to argue with you. Thanks for the help, but I'm out of here."
"We're going after Daedalus," Percy said. "Come with us. Once we get through, you'd be welcome back at camp."
"You really are crazy if you think Daedalus will help you."
