Chapter Nineteen: Wings of Wind

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Chapter Nineteen: Wings of Wind

The Labyrinth, sometime in the past

The empousai came through first, one lighting herself on fire and launching herself at Rachel. Percy stepped between them, and Beth and Seb launched themselves at one of the Cyclops.

They worked as a team, circling the beast before Beth jumped onto its back and slit its throat. Seb stabbed it in the stomach, and it crumbled to dust. Seb caught Beth as she fell. 

"Thanks," she said, brushing her hair out of her face.

Annabeth and Nico were fiddling with the rows of wings on the wall. "There's not enough for everyone!" she shouted.

Daedalus's hellhound had taken down the other Cyclops and had now turned to the snake-women. "Go!" he shouted.

"We'll stay, too," Seb said, glancing at Beth, who nodded. "We'll catch up to you."

Annabeth tossed the watch to Beth, who caught it in one hand. As fast as they could, they strapped the velcro wings onto their backs and launched themselves out the window.

Seb had only a moment to watch them go before turning back to the fray, his partner at his side.

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They landed in a parking lot, scaring off some tourists and pigeons. They threw the wings into a trash can. 

"I can't believe we left them!" Carmen exclaimed. 

"Hopefully Daedalus will lead them back," Annabeth said.

"It's the least he could do," Byron muttered.

"Ok, back up," Percy waved his hands in the air. "You're from the future? And Annabeth, you knew?"

Annabeth put her hand on Percy's arm. "Seaweed Brain, if we know about the future, we'll change it. After they leave, we'll have to try and forget this ever happened."

Percy scrunched his nose, but he seemed satisfied.

"We have to get back into the Labyrinth," Evan said. 

"I can spot an entrance if we pass it," Rachel said. "But we need to actually pass it."

"We could hotwire a car," Evan suggested.

"Hold on," Rachel said with a sigh.

They watched as she marched over to a guy loitering by a limousine and started talking to him. "So what's the plan?" Waverly finally asked.

Annabeth rubbed her temples. "We enter the Labyrinth," she said, "we get back to camp, and we fight Luke."

"What about Beth and Seb?" Byron asked.

"They'll join us at camp," Carmen said. "Hopefully," she muttered.

Rachel marched back over to them. "He can take us," she said.

Fifteen minutes and one cramped car ride later, the group arrived at an old mine entrance. Annabeth touched the Labyrinth symbol, and then they were back inside.

As they tromped through the dark earth, Percy suddenly stopped. "Look," he said, pointing. One of the paths ahead was interspersed with dark marble and smelled strongly of cough drops. "Mount Othrys," he said.

Annabeth glanced at the demigods. "We have to go," she said.

"Why?" Maverick asked. "We need to get back to camp."

"They're trying to resurrect Kronos," Percy said. "We have to stop them."

"We'll stay back to watch," Carmen said, grabbing Maverick's elbow. As soon as they were out of sight, she pushed him against the wall and pressed her mouth against his.

Maverick threaded his fingers through her hair and kissed her back, now caring about the roughness of the wall and the direness of the situation. Finally she pulled back, she cheeks flushed, and Maverick took the opportunity to grab her hips and press her against the opposite wall, trailing kisses down her neck.

Carmen pulled back, laughing. "Ok, ok. We should actually try and keep lookout."

"You're the one who kissed me," Maverick said with a mischevious grin, but he pulled away.

"Maverick," Carmen said a moment later, her tone serious. "I just thought of something."

"What is it?" Maverick asked.

"If other people time travelled," Carmen said, "What about the prophecy?"

"What about it?" 

"Well, depending on when they went... Adrian could be older than his parents."

Maverick swore. "You're right," he said.

Suddenly the other demigods burst out of the cave. "Run!" Waverly yelled. Nico thrust his hand out, and the cavern started to collapse.

"I think we delayed Kronos from attacking camp," Annabeth said when they finally stopped running. She glanced at Rachel. "Nice throw, by the way."

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An hour later, when the other demigods went into the final resting place of Pan, Maverick and Carmen gathered their fellow time travelers. They explained their theory, and Maverick recited the prophecy:

If wings and swords should collide,

The tears of gods will rain down upon us,

And if a parent is younger than their child,

They will turn back the hands of Kronos.

The river of life will then diverge,

To make the world crumble and burn,

The only path to set it right,

Is when the lives of twins divide.

"What does that mean?" Waverly asked, frowning.

"Well, swords and wings is probably angel and Grigori," Evan said. "But the rest... I mean, parent younger than child has probably already come to pass. But we've already turned back the hands of Kronos- so does that mean we've damaged time? And twins..." he glanced at Maverick and Waverly.

"There's no reason to think it's about them," Byron countered. "Besides, what are the tears of the gods?"

Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Rachel, Grover, and Tyson emerged from the cavern. The multicolored room was starting to crumble; the tunnel was shrinking around them. "Time to go," Annabeth said. Grover brushed tears away from his eyes. 

They tromped back through the tunnels, finally stopping at the one Maverick knew led back to camp. One-by-one they climbed back out.

They found the camp armed for war, archers at the ready and demigods in armor roving the forest. The dryads and satyrs were armed and ready, and Grover immediately trotted over to his girlfriend Juniper. 

Chiron came over, wearing armor from the horse up. He nodded at the new arrivals.

Suddenly the tunnel began to shake. Annabeth ran to the Athena tent; Carmen followed her. Waverly, Evan, Maverick, and Byron waited beside Percy.

When the first wave of the army came through, Chiron held up a hand. They would be needed at the weakest point. 

Finally when a group of hellhounds began terrorizing the satyrs, Chiron pointed for them to charge.

"For Camp," Waverly said. 

"For Camp," Maverick agreed. "And, hopefully, the future."

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