Death and Shadows

Ch.6 Ghosts and Conversations

A/N. So if it wasn't apparent enough from the last two chapters, the upcoming ones are pretty much the same length, if not longer. I wrote a whole lot in the upcoming chapters so buckle up. Once I get to where I stopped writing this story before, the chapters will probably come out slower cuz then I'll have to come up with the rest. I'm also realizing how little chapters this story will probably have, but there's a lootttt of pages. Anyway, I'm super excited to start getting into Battle of the Labyrinth. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! -Anna

~Nico's POV~

The two of us ventured into the Labyrinth. We walked on for a while and soon rested in a big empty room made of stone with a dirt floor. It reminded me of an empty tomb. Lia put down her backpack and pulled out a few granola bars, handing one to me.

"So, this is the infamous Labyrinth," she said, looking around at the empty room.

I just nodded, sat down next to her, and put my Wal-Mart bag down.

"How is a Happy Meal going to help exactly?" Lia asked.

Quickly, I ate my bar, and took a cheeseburger out of one of the Happy Meals. "Like this," I said. As I dug a medium sized rectangular pit, Lia looked at me curiously. I dropped the cheeseburger in the pit and reached into the Wal-Mart bag for a six pack of Coke. I opened one of the cans and poured it into the pit. Once I finished, I began to chant in Ancient Greek. The pit bubbled and frothy brown liquid filled to the top. A figure appeared by the hole and drank.

Once he stood up, he was solidified a bit into the shape of a bearded man in white robes. A circle of gold wreathed his head, and even in death, his eyes were wide awake.

"Minos," I greeted.

"Master," Minos said and then looked at Lia with a slight glare. "Master, who is this girl you have brought into the Labyrinth with you?"

"She's-"

"I'm Lia Callahan," Lia interrupted. "Daughter of Thanatos. Don't try anything, ghost." She glared at Minos, as if daring him to do something in particular.

Minos turned to me. "This is Lia, the girl you were talking about? You never mentioned she was a Thanatos spawn." Lia stared intensely at the back of Mino's head. He suddenly grinned. "If you had, we could have let her join us sooner." Minos looked at Lia with some kind of a hungry look. His eyes...I didn't know what was going on, but I knew didn't like the way he was looking at Lia.

"Minos, I need another way to bring my sister back. Is there?" I asked the ghost.

Minos focused on me. "Master, I have told you, I will help you. A soul for a soul."

"I want another opinion. I need to know it will work," I snapped.

Minos opened his mouth and then closed it into a thin line. "As you wish, my lord. To get the answers you need, you must seek the knowledge of the one who has brought a dead one back o life before."

"Theseus," Lia said suddenly. Minos and I looked at her. "You want to speak to Theseus. He tried to bring his father back from the dead. Maybe he knows how to, even after death."

"Yes," Minos mused. "He might know something. You are very smart, my dear."

Lia looked like she didn't appreciate the compliment coming from him.

"So we need to speak to his ghost," I said.

"You're going to need more than one cheeseburger," Lia said.