[eluceat omnibus lux]

Tessa stared up at the dilapidated building before her, fury in her gaze. Dark clouds were moving in on the horizon, and if Tessa listened hard enough she could hear the thunder on its way, a harbinger of what was to come. She tightened her grip on Tempest's hilt, a feeling she'd missed, a feeling she'd always be used to.

The abandoned mental institution before her was supposedly one of the first in the United States and it was apparently very haunted. Overgrown bushes and shrubbery surrounded the large building, and on every floor, the windows were covered in grime if they hadn't shattered. Turrets and stone towers climbed into the air, making Tessa feel like she was about to enter some Gothic mansion from centuries long ago.

"I must say, Aether has a particular flair for this theme of his," Mark chimed, taking a step towards the building. The Japanese boy had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his dark pants, looking as if he were about to take a stroll through a battlefield with the smile on his face countering the straps of countless blades he was wearing. He glanced at Tessa out of the corner of his eyes and grinned.

Imogen made a muffled noise of disgust. "Someone should call HGTV while we're here. The Gods know he could use it."

"We need a way inside," Tessa turned her head to eye her friends. "Walking in through the front door won't do us any good."

Reese frowned, his eyebrows drawn together. "There's something wrong with this building."

"What gave it away?" Kaden teased.

Reese waved a hand at his best friend in dismissal. "No, but just look at it really closely. It's almost hazy."

Tessa arched a suspicious eyebrow, but followed Reese's instruction. She peered at the building through her limited view, given the small wooded area they were hiding in, and looked until her eyes burned. And just her eyes were about to go blurry, she saw it. The building shimmered the way that a mirage did in one-hundred-degree heat.

"It's the Mist," She breathed. "What we're seeing isn't actually what we're getting."

"How do we get through it?" Mark asked.

Dale took a step forward, eyeing her hands like they were coated in some strange substance. She strained her jaw, taking a deep breath. "Stand back."

As one, Tessa, Mark, Kaden, Imogen, and Reese all took one very large step away from Dale. Whatever she was about to do wasn't going to be pretty.

Tessa watched in confusion as Dale centered herself, staring at the building through the wooded window. The daughter of Demeter raised her hands and a green aura surrounded them as she channeled her powers. That's when Tessa's stomach dropped. Dale rarely ever used her powers, not if she could help it. Given the level of destruction she could cause if she wanted to, Dale stuck to fighting with her knife if the situation called for it. So whenever Dale did use them, it was always a sight worth seeing.

A ripple shook the ground that Tessa and her friends were standing on, and the demigods braced themselves as they watched, entranced, as Dale ripped away the mirage on the asylum. Like rocks crumbling from the infrastructure, Tessa saw Aether's real hideout beneath the magic. Dark, grimy stone turned into immaculate marble. Twisting towers and obsidian turrets morphed into Roman-style roofs with golden plating. When Dale's makeshift earthquake was over, the Mist had been torn away to reveal a sparkling mansion made of Greek columns, marble, jewels, and precious metals.

Kaden let out a low whistle. "Must not be a bad thing, being a Mask."

"Now this is more my speed," Imogen pointed to the building.

Tessa bristled, eyes locked on the front door through the columns. "Any ideas as to how to get in?"

Reese scratched his chin. "I've got a hunch." He drew a thick golden arrow from his quiver and tapped at the feathers on the end. In a shimmer of golden light, a grappling hook materialized in place of the arrowhead. "Let's just hope it works."

They followed Reese through the woods, circling the house and keeping an eye on the many balconies and porches surrounding it. Eventually, Reese stopped and fired his arrow at one of the columns on the second floor. The grappling hook caught on the golden balcony, and from there, they all climbed up.

As soon as Tessa's feet landed on the marble floors, a chill ran down her spine. She glanced around, but aside from her friends, there was no one there. The storm was getting closer, casting shadows along the sparkling walls.

"Everyone remember the plan?" Reese asked, his sapphire eyes darting to each person.

Tessa nodded, running through the strategy in her head. She, Kaden, and Imogen were tasked with finding and rescuing Madi and the other hostages. Meanwhile, Reese, Mark, and Dale would be gathering as much intel on the Masks and Aether, particularly who he was.

"Anyone else think it's sort of bogus that we just walked in with hardly any problems?" Mark whispered.

Tessa unsheathed Tempest. "C'mon, Mark, you know how these things go. If a mission's too easy—"

"Then it's almost always a trap." Dale said silently, the click of her lipstick tube turning into her knife piercing the air. "But let's hope for the best, shall we?"

Tessa couldn't meet Dale's eye as they found a window and climbed through it. Something was up with her best friend, but Tessa couldn't decipher what it was. She had a terrible gut feeling that it had something to do with what they were doing. But before Tessa could get a chance, she split up from the others, following Imogen and Kaden through the Masks' mansion.

~~

The Labyrinth was nothing compared to Aether's lair, and that was saying something. The mansion was filled with hallways after hallways, illuminated by sconces of flickering Greek fire. The floors were obsidian with golden runes painted onto them in a language that Tessa couldn't recognize.

Time was flying by, and with each corner that they passed, Tessa grew more wary. There were no Masks around, and even more disgruntling, no hostages. It was like the whole mansion was abandoned, as if they knew they were coming.

"I wonder what the perks of being a Mask are," Imogen mused as they slunk down another hallway. "Because this mansion is most likely one of them."

Thunder rattled the windows and as they fleeted past a wall of them, Tessa watched the storm clouds collect over the mansion. The surrounding woods were waving in the wind, but the plants on the grounds of Aether's lair were still, as if they were the eye of the storm.

"Tessa?" Kaden's voice shook Tessa out of her suspicion, and she turned to see him and Imogen down the hall. "Let's go."

Tessa nodded, casting one last wary glance out the window and hurrying off after her friends. Something about this place wasn't right.

"Where are all of them?" Kaden cursed, his golden sword glittering in the firelight of the halls. "Is it their lunch break or something?"

"Let's hope so," Tessa muttered. "Easier on our end that way. We're already running out of time."

Kaden met Tessa's gaze, an unreadable look in his eyes. Tessa's heart panged after their gaze held just a second too long, and she tore her eyes from Kaden's.

That's when the chanting started.

Tessa, Imogen, and Kaden, all familiar with the strange rituals of the Masks, sprang into fighting stances. They looked around for any Masks preparing to attack them, but found nothing.

"It's coming from down there," Imogen jerked her chin down the hall, where a set of double doors were wide open. Sure enough, upon a further listen, a chant was reverberating from the open doors.

Tessa felt her heart constrict at the sound, wondering what her half-sister must have felt when the Masks surrounded her, chanting their occult words. A flicker of amusement broke through the terror at the thought of Madi most likely cursing them all out, but the moment was soon gone.

Quietly, Tessa, Imogen, and Kaden crept through the doors, crouching low and the base of a balcony. A large ballroom was settled in the heart of the mansion, with balconies on all floors poking out over it. It reminded Tessa of the Principia, nearly shell-shocked at the similarities between the two buildings.

But what disturbed her even more was the large congregation of Masks in the ballroom below. They stood like soldiers in stick-straight lines, their pearly masks glinting under the light of the Greek-fire chandelier above them. A raised platform stood like a stage in the direction they all were facing, with a stone-like throne perched onto it.

"Gods of Olympus," Imogen breathed, jade eyes wide as she peered down at the scene below her. "How many of them are there?"

Tessa swallowed the lump in her throat, running her gaze over the lines and lines of Masks. There had to be about a hundred, if not more. These Masks were mysterious, with odd abilities and skills that no one knew where they'd come from. If there were more...

Kaden made a strangled noise in his throat like some combination of a cry of surprise, victory, and anger all at once. He clenched his jaw when Imogen and Tessa looked at him oddly, then jerked his finger towards the stage. As if out of thin air, two figures had materialized on top of it, and Tessa recognized one of them with fire in her blood.

Matthew Baines stood with his hands clasped before him, a lazy smirk on his face, as he surveyed the army before him. He was silent, smug yet silent, as if being on that platform and not under one of those cloaks was some sort of distinct honor. He looked the same way he had when he'd attacked Tessa, and it took all of the daughter of Poseidon's willpower to not launch herself into the pulpit below her just to strangle the traitor.

"Matthew's here, but where's Vinny?" Imogen asked. "Aren't traitors supposed to stick together or something?"

"I don't want to find out," Tessa responded, eyes locked on the ballroom.

"Who's the other guy?" Kaden nodded at the other person on stage with Matthew, and when Tessa tore her wrathful gaze from the son of Ares, she was almost taken aback.

A young man stood in the center of the stage, radiating power. He had an undercut, and his hair was probably blond, but it was so greasy and tangled that Tessa wasn't sure. His face was ruthless and cold, like a villain from some movie Tessa had seen as a kid. He was watching the Masks carefully, and Tessa had the strangest feeling that she'd seen this all before.

"Welcome, brothers and sisters," The young man stretched out his arms in a motion of greeting. "Thank you for coming on this most eventful of nights. As you all probably know, our number will increase today, and our Master's power will increase. Soon, my friends. Soon, we will be able to see the world burn and recreate it from the ashes."

There was no response. Tessa wasn't sure if the silence was more unsettling, or if she'd rather the Masks had spoken.

"Is that Aether?" Tessa whispered.

Kaden shook his head. "Aether always appears in a cloak like the Masks, with silver eyes and that weird halo-glow thing. This guy's probably just the emcee."

"Guys, we're running out of time," Imogen said, an edge in her voice. "This is Reese, Mark, and Dale's job anyway. We need to find the hostages."

"But where do we even begin to look?" Tessa hissed.

"I can help with that," An airy voice responded, striking Tessa to the brim with shock. She turned and couldn't believe her eyes, because standing in the doorway with a peculiar glint in her violet eyes, was Adhara Wren.

~~

No one spoke as Adhara ushered them out of the room, back down the hallway from which they'd come. For a girl barely breaking five feet, Adhara had sure gained command of the scene.

"What are you doing here, Adhara?" Tessa responded as the Nepalese girl led them down another corridor. "You said you were in...where was it, Nepal?"

"I was," Adhara said lightly, in the same tone that made Tessa think that she was always questioning everything. "But then I came here."

"Why—and pardon my french—the hell would you do that?" Kaden retorted, fire in his emerald eyes. "Do you know what these people do? Who they are?"

Adhara froze in her place, turning around sharply to pin each of them with a stare. "I know exactly what they do and who they are. That's why I'm here. And frankly, I'm trying to help you."

"You're a demigod, why haven't they locked you up like the rest of them?" Imogen interrogated, using a voice that Tessa noted was probably saved for the courtroom.

Adhara only smiled thinly, her violet eyes glinting like stars. "Because unlike everyone else, I came willingly." She turned back on her heel. "I'm doing the same thing that you three are doing. I'm just a lot better at keeping it lowkey."

Tessa scoffed. "And you decided not to tell anyone?"

Adhara bristled as she continued down the hall, clearing dodging the question. "You picked both a good and bad day to invade the lair. I'm not sure which will be more prominent, but the balance is definitely going to shift." She sighed, pushing open a door to reveal another staircase.

"Why is it either?" Tessa asked as they followed Adhara.

"It's good because this is the last chance you'd have to rescue your friends while they still are your friends," Adhara mused. "And because Aether requires more...time to do what he plans to do."

"Which is?" Kaden's voice echoed softly off the hallways.

Adhara glanced at the son of Venus over her shoulder. "You'll see soon enough."

"Yeah, that's not cryptic," Imogen muttered, then cleared her throat. "Why's today bad?"

They'd reached the next floor, and Adhara bit her lip as she peered down the halls. "You're going to have one massive struggle trying to get everyone out in time." She sighed. "I assume Amelie gave you a portal? A time limit?"

Tessa nodded. "We've got about a half hour left to save them. Is that enough time?"

Adhara hesitated, then grinned. "Yeah. Definitely." She turned around swiftly after that.

"Adhara...why didn't you tell anyone you were here?" Kaden asked. "You could be found out any day."

"You underestimate me, Kaden. Besides, I'm essential. The Masks don't strike until I tell them whether or not a hit is in the cards or not."

"What do you mean a hit?"

Adhara didn't speak. Instead, she just avoided looking at them. And Tessa's heart hardened as she realized why.

"You mean the demigods that they kidnap," Tessa's words were clipped. "You help them.:

Adhara pressed her lips together. "Tessa, it's not what it looks like—"

"Then what is it?" Tessa snapped, taking a step towards the daughter of Nemesis. "Because right now, it looks like you're as much of a traitor as Vinny and Matthew are."

Adhara gave Tessa a steely look. "I'm trying to help you. And both camps. And every demigod in the Masks' ranks. I'm protecting you all. My being away helps that, and if you don't like that, maybe you should take a look in the mirror, Tessa, because you did the exact same thing."
Tessa recoiled like she'd been slapped. Her gaze hardened, and Adhara only twirled on her heel and stalked down to a closed door. She waved her hand and a lock clicked, the doors swinging open.

"She's trying to help us, Tessa," Kaden whispered as they followed Adhara down this darker hallway.

"How do we know she isn't trying to betray us?" Tessa retorted, looking up at Kaden. "Clearly, her loyalties are questionable."

Kaden looked at Tessa tiredly. He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it upon his eyes catching on the hall they were in. And when Tessa followed his gaze, he saw why.

Cell block after cell block stared back at Tessa. All of them were empty, until they came to one at the very end and Tessa bit back a sob.

"Madi?"

Inside the cell, Madi McKinley turned and stared at her half-sister through eyes of broken hazel. There was a cut along her forehead and dirt covering her from head to toe, despite being taken only yesterday.

"Tessa?"

The daughters of Poseidon rushed at one another, despite the bars separating them.

"How did you find me?" Madi whispered, tears filling her eyes.

"Don't worry about that, we're here to bring you home," Tessa assured her, her hands shaking. She turned to Imogen, who'd drawn an arrow. "How are we doing on time?"

"We've got twenty minutes, which I think is perfect timing." The daughter of Cupid mused. "Now stand back."

Tessa and Madi both stepped away as Imogen fired an arrow from her bow, Romeo. The arrow struck the lock chaining Madi's cell shut, and the chains fell to the ground. The cell doors swung open, and Madi rushed out.

"Let's go," Kaden nodded, smiling at Madi by way of greeting.

"Oh, I don't think any of you are going anywhere," A familiar voice filled the cell block, one that filled Tessa with dread. She turned slowly, taking a deep breath as if to cool her anger as she glanced at the doorway and found Vinny Maxwell staring right back at her, flanked by four Masks.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," The son of Victoria drawled, grinning like the Cheshire. "I must say, I applaud you for getting into the building at all. Frankly, I thought you were all too dense to decide on a plan."

"Must have been thinking of yourself, then," Imogen snarled, an arrow pulled to her cheek.

Vinny's attention slid over to the blonde girl, a glint filling his eyes. "If it isn't my fellow centurion," He nodded. "How's the legion holding up, Gen?"

"Shut the hell up before I shoot you in the balls, Maxwell," Imogen said brusquely.

"Ooh, feisty as always," Vinny smirked, his attention sliding to Kaden. "How goes it, Invictus?"

Kaden held his stature, a soldier staring down the enemy. He said nothing, but Tessa saw everything he wanted to say flickering like flames in his emerald eyes.

And that's when Vinny saw her. His eyes darkened, his stature changing. "You should be dead."

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you." Tessa smiled sarcastically. "Running with a new crowd?"

"Well spotted."

"Traitors always are."

Vinny held her gaze. "Have you discovered our little present yet, Tessa? The one that Aether and I left you?"

Tessa blinked, but maintained her stance. "That depends. Did you leave it before or after I kicked you out of my mind?"

"What?" Madi croaked from Tessa's side.

"Ooh, the plot thickens," Vinny chuckled. "Well, once you notice it, I do expect a thank-you note."

"How's a restraining order?" Kaden snapped, his words biting.

"Oh, please, Kaden. Like that could keep me away from our dear old camp. And speaking of which," He clapped his hands and the Masks rushed forward in a synchronized march. "I've got more pressing matters to deal with. Welcome to Aether's lair, everyone, because you're never leaving again."

~~

As Tessa and her friends rushed for the Masks blitzing towards them, Tessa was at least grateful that Vinny wasn't something she had to deal with for the time being. He was a pest that she'd exterminate later, but for now, she had more important things to take care of.

Tessa swung Tempest in an arc of bronze, slashing at the Mask that was charging right towards her. It hopped out of the way and swung a gloved fist at her, which Tessa dodged. She brought up her elbow, hitting the Mask right in the mask before twirling, gaining momentum, and striking it down with Tempest's hilt. The Mask crumpled to the ground.

"How's fighting feel, Tessa?" Imogen called as she fired an arrow at a Mask.

Tessa grinned a serpentine smile. "Better than ever."

Imogen matched her smile before swinging her bow at the Mask, spinning out of its grasp, grabbing its shoulders, and bashing her head against its own.

"I swear, you girls are more terrifying than the Masks are," Kaden breathed before going back into fighting his Mask.

Tessa struck down another Mask, having enough time to watch as Madi and Adhara double-teamed the last enemy. It fell to the ground, and both girls high-fived.

"Now can we get out of here?" Madi asked.

Adhara nodded. "I'll show you guys—"

"Adhara, thank you, but no," Tessa began.

"Tessa, what are you—" Imogen breathed, but Tessa interrupted her.

"I'm sorry for what I said, but we can find our way out. I need you to do me a favor to buy us some time." Tessa beseeched, catching her breath. "Can you do that for me?"

Adhara hesitated, but nodded. "What is it?"

"Mark, Reese, and Dale. They're here too. I need you to go get them to safety as well while we get Madi out." Tessa instructed.

Adhara tensed at the mention of Mark's name, but she nodded. "Of course." She said, and hurried out of the hallway.

Tessa, Kaden, Imogen, and Madi followed, splitting towards the opposite hallway from which they'd come. Tessa's heart was pounding, from the fighting or the anxiety she wasn't sure. All she could think about was getting back to camp, wondering why Madi was the only prisoner, wondering so many things—

Her thoughts were cut off as a trio of Masks rushed at them from around a corner, no doubt hearing from Vinny that there were intruders. Tessa muttered a curse as she and Kaden rushed forward, executing a move from long, long ago that ended with two of the three Masks crumpled on the ground.

"You've still got it," Kaden tried to fight his smile.

Tessa made a sarcastic face. "Likewise, old man."

Kaden grinned, then remembered that there was a third Mask to worry about. However, this one had frozen in place. It wasn't moving, until Tessa heard a very soft voice from behind it.

"Kaden?"

The son of Venus froze, his attention snapping to the Mask. He couldn't form words as the Mask suddenly unfroze, removing its pearly mask from its face to reveal—

"Mallory?"

"Oh, thank the Gods, I'm myself again," Mallory's words were rushed. She was hyperventilating, and Tessa realized that despite three years passing since Mallory's disappearance, she still looked eighteen. "I can't talk. I can't tell you everything. Oh, they're going to kill me, he already knows—"

"Who?" Imogen demanded, jade eyes wide.

Mallory shook her head, fidgeting like she was about to start seizing. Her eyes widened as she looked from Tessa to Kaden to Imogen to Madi and back again. "The Garden. Everything is there. That's where I was taken, the Garden!"

"What garden?" Kaden asked incredulously. "Mallory, what's going on?"

Mallory's eyes were filled with tears and she looked strained, like something was keeping her from talking. "He's going to kill me. I don't know why the spell wore off. But everything you need to know is in the Garden."

"Mallory, wait--!"

But before the missing daughter of Fortuna could say another word, she disappeared into thin air.

Rapid footsteps were filling the hallway, and Tessa tore herself from her complete and utter confusion to grab Kaden's hand and sprint down the halls. Imogen and Madi were close behind.

"What the hell is happening in here?" Imogen wondered. "This is something out of American Horror Story."

"Oh, are you caught up?" Madi asked.

"No, I've been pretty busy but—"

"Guys, this is SO not the time!" Tessa called over her shoulder.

"Sorry."

They turned a corner, the Masks hot on their trails.

"We need to find the others," Kaden managed, his eyes wild. "We need to get out of here."

"How much time do we have left?" Tessa called.

"Six minutes!" Imogen responded.

Their footfalls were faster after that. It felt like no matter how far they ran, how fast they ran, they were stuck in the same place. Finally, Tessa sped around a corner only to run right into someone that she assumed was a Mask.

Only it wasn't. A puzzled, young man was looking back at her with deep blue eyes. His blond hair was combed back, yet still somehow disheveled, like Reese's. He was wearing a cloak over his clothes, but looked entirely out of sorts amid the gloom and doom.

"Tessa Brennan?"

Tessa blinked. "Who are you?"

The young man only twitched, then grinned. His eyes flickered, and that's when Tessa felt it. A blur of memories, a slideshow of images, all ripping through her head at the speed of light. A cavern, a sword, a fallen Huntress. An asylum, a man, a stream of madness.

"Tessa, come on!"

Suddenly, Tessa was sprinting down the hallway, the young man had disappeared.

"Who was that?" Madi asked Tessa. "How did he know you?"

Tessa shook her head, unable to answer. Frankly, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Something about those memories, that smile...

They'd reached a large foyer now, where from the opposite hallway, Reese, Mark, and Dale were sprinting towards them. And following them, led by the young man who'd given the speech to the Masks, were the Masks.

"Come on!" Reese shouted as they all sprinted towards the front door. "We've got two minutes!"

Together, the demigods tore out of the door and down the columned steps from Aether's odd lair, sprinting across the grounds. The storm was building, swirling above them, with lightning striking in the distance.

And materializing like an arc of lightning was Amelie's portal. Tessa nearly sobbed in relief when she saw it, still speeding towards it. She and her friends reached and began to jump through, when Tessa heard a scream.

She whirled around and saw, over on the front steps, Dale being apprehended by the Masks. The boy from the platform was presiding nearby, watching with a sickly smile as Tessa and the others ran away.

"DALE!" Tessa shrieked at the top of her lungs. She started forward, but the boy from the platform only smirked and held his hand out. A shockwave of energy send Tessa and her friends flying back, actually sending Madi through the portal with its effect.

"LET GO OF ME!" Dale screamed as she kicked and swung at the Masks capturing her.

"DALE, NO!" Mark roared, and tried to run forward, only to meet that invisible wall. He punched and slashed and stabbed, but he couldn't get past.

"Guys, come on!" Reese shouted. "We can't save her!"

"We have to!" Tessa pounded at the barrier, tears streaming down her face. The Masks were dragging Dale back inside as her power flickered around her in green arcs of energy like vines. "They'll turn her into one of them, that's what they do!"

"And if you miss the portal, they'll do it to you too!" Reese asserted, but his voice was hollow. Dale was one of his best friends after all. "Come on! Dale's strong, she'll be safe!"

Tessa reluctantly stepped away from the barrier as Reese grabbed her hand, reaching for Mark's as he tore and kicked at the barrier. And before Tessa knew it, in a big flash of light, they were back in Camp Half-Blood, as even across miles and miles of distance, a storm was brewing on the horizon.

Only now, it finally broke.