Daughter Of Light- Book 1: PJO

Chapter 23: So Far, I have NOT Enjoyed My Visit

"What?" Raph cried, his anger clear on his face.

"You heard me." I grabbed my backpack, and tossed it over my shoulders. "Now follow the little spider thing before we're lost again!"

Will was already up and his first aid kit was being shoved into his bag, and he was hot in my heels.

"Nora!" Raph cried.

"Come on Hot Stuff! Move it!" I called over my shoulder.

He was on my heels a split second later, his backpack on, but his sword gripped tight. The little scuttling machine bug glowed slightly, its red lamp like eyes casting an erry glow around the concrete walls.

"Okay, explain why we're running after a machine bug? And what happened to you? You yelled a few times, and you started to literally smoke. And you were muttering the whole time, your eyes were blank and glossy...it was weird."

"I told you. I saw Helios somewhere in the Labyrinth, I saw Camp Half-Blood- Lee and Clarisse and Mrs. O'Leary were all standing guard, it was night. I saw Percy and Annabeth, Grover and Tyson and some other weird looking creature, all in some kind of waterfall cave in the Labyrinth. Looked like they just escaped something. And then I somehow had a full conversation with Hephaestus-"

"The actual god Hephaestus?" Will cut in.

"No my animatronic red lizard named Hephy... Of course the god Hephaestus! He was in his workshop...he said some weird stuff...but said because of who I was, he said he'd help get us to the beginning."

"So...his help is us following the machine spider?"

"Hephaestus is the tinker god, ya?"

"Yes." Raph sighed, like he resigned himself to our fate.

We had to run to keep up with the machine. For being so tiny it was incredibly quick. We took a turn after turn, the walls and floor changed from concrete to bricks to Coble stone to wood planks to earth and then there was a glow up ahead.

"Either we're dead and that's the pearly gates of heaven or that's actual real sunlight!"

"If we're dead, it really sucks." Will said.

We had to speed up and ran after the machine down the hall. The concrete hall slowly transitioned into a gold bricked path. Warm sunshine filled the hall. We all three our hands over our eyes after being in the dark for so long it burnt. I knew it was real sun because I could feel myself healing, I was feeling less dizzy and my strength was coming back.

Big fancy hedges and trees grew on each side of the road. All kinds of bright coloured flowers grew in big fancy pots along the path.

"Did we just find the yellow brick road?"

"Uhhh...where in Hades are we?" Raph asked, slowing down and coming to a halt. Will and I both slowed to a stop and looked around.

"Well we definitely ain't in Kansas anymore!" I replied, gazing with wide eyes at a few hedges in the shape of a chubby baby. One was holding a harp, the other held a little bow and arrow, another one a big cluster of grapes.

"What in Hera's underpants is going on?" I muttered.

The walls were still there, but they seemed far away. If I concentrated I could see the Labyrinth walls, they were old and ancient, but if I stopped trying to focus on the wall I could see green rolling hills. A large wrought iron fence went all around the green grassy front lawn.

"It's like an optical illusion." Will said, he looked almost cross eyes trying to focus.

"Come on, were loosing the thing." I cried. And hurried after the machine. It scuttled up to the big fancy iron gate. There was a big giant metal plaque on the gate, in big gold swirly letters that took me a while to figure out: