Well there's a happy thought right before we delve into the darkness. Kronos was using souls to reform, Like wanted to bring camp to the ground and now he wanted a sacrifice of unwilling blood. Great. Oh also, I might just be evil and betray everyone here.

"What's taking them so long?" Annabeth huffed.

"He's having a heartfelt teary goodbye." I rolled my eyes.

Annabeth glared at me, readjusted her backpack and walked over.

"Percy, you ready?"

"Ya."

I watched as they came back over. I saw Quintus watching me and Percy carefully. He raised his hand in farewell. And nodded. I felt a shiver run down my spine. There was something not quite right about that guy. But I had nothing to base it on. So I shook my head and turned to see our questing part. Everyone looked grim, except Tyson.

"Take care," Chiron told us. "And good hunting."

"You too," I said.

Raph, Will, Percy and Annabeth walked over to the rocks, where Tyson, Grover and I stood waiting. I stared at the crack between the boulders; the entrance that was about to swallow us.

"Well," Grover said nervously, "good-bye sunshine."

"We will see the sun again Grover. Don't you worry!" Will said with an encouraging smile. He said it so firmly and so surely Grover smiled.

"Hello rocks," Tyson agreed.

And together, the seven of us descended into darkness.

🔆

We made it a hundred feet before we were all hopelessly lost.

The tunnel looked nothing like the one we had stumbled into before. Now it was round like a sewer, constructed of red brick with iron-barred portholes ever ten feet. I shined a light through one of the portholes out of curiosity, but I couldn’t see anything. It opened into infinite darkness. I thought I heard voices on the other side, but it may have been just the cold wind.

Annabeth tried her best to guide us. She had this idea that we should stick to the left wall. I rolled my eyes, but let her lead. Raph was content to say nothing and he stayed at the back of the group beside Tyson.

"If we keep one hand on the left wall and follow it," she said, "we should be able to find our way out again by reversing course."

Unfortunately, as soon as she said that, the left wall disappeared. We found ourselves in the middle of a circular chamber with eight tunnels leading out, and no idea how we’d gotten there.

"I think that only works in none magic mazes. But that's just my thinking." I said. I heard a deep quiet snigger behind me.

"Um, which way did we come in?" Grover said nervously.

"Just turn around," Annabeth said.

We each turned toward a different tunnel. It was ridiculous. None of us could decide which way led back to camp. Five demigods and syter and a cyclops stood in seven different directions, insisting this was the way back.

"Left walls are mean," Tyson said.

"Which way now?" Will asked hesitantly, shining his flashlight around.

Annabeth swept her flashlight beam over the archways of the seven tunnels. As far as I could tell, they were identical. "That way," she said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Deductive reasoning."

"So…you’re guessing." Percy concluded, glancing at Annabeth.

She rolled her eyes, "Just come on," she said.

The tunnel she'd chosen narrowed quickly. The walls turned to gray cement, and the ceiling got so low that pretty soon we were hunching over. Raph being so tall and broad was bent significantly and Tyson was forced to crawl.

Grover’s hyperventilating was the loudest noise in the maze. "I can’t stand it anymore,” he whispered. “Are we there yet?"

"We’ve been down here maybe five minutes," Annabeth told him.

"It’s been longer than that," Grover insisted. "And why would Pan be down here? This is the opposite of the wild!"

"Here. Breath into this." Will said pulling a paper bag out of his backpack, and handing it to Grover. It helped a little.

We kept shuffling forward. Just when I was sure the tunnel would get so narrow it would squish us, it opened into a huge room. All the flashlights shined around the walls.

"Whoa."

The whole room was covered in mosaic tiles. The pictures were grimy and faded, but I could still make out the colors—red, blue, green, gold. The frieze showed the Olympian gods at a feast. There was Percy's dad, Poseidon, with his trident, holding out grapes for Dionysus to turn into wine. Zeus was partying with satyrs, and Hermes was flying through the air on his winged sandals. Areas was holding a sword into the air, his head thrown back in a battle cry. Apollo and what I guessed was Aphrodite lounging on some gold chairs, and a beautiful girl and young man, half clothes, fed them grapes.

The pictures were beautiful, but they didn’t seem very accurate. I’d seen Apollo and Aphrodite, so maybe those two were accurate, but from Percy's description of Camp director Mr D, Dionysus was not that handsome, and Zeus wouldn't be a party guy- sure he liked his woman...hense why most of Greek mythology was so messed up- because Zeus couldn't keep his pants on... But he didn't seem like the type to dance with Satyrs.

In the middle of the room was a three-tiered fountain. It looked like it hadn’t held water in a long time.

"What is this place?" I muttered.

Percy was staring at the tiled mosaic of his father. "It looks-"

"Roman," Raph finished.

"Will..." I called quietly. He came over and stood beside me.

"Look..." I shoved a light to the picture of Apollo. Now that I was closer, there was like a second aura around him. Apollo with his yellow glow, but then there was almost a second head or person behind him with a brighter glow, despite the fading of the gold and red paint.

"Helios!"

"It's Roman, so it would be Sol." Annabeth corrected.

"I thought it was the Greeks who downsized?" I said.

"Apollo said last year when he gave us a lift, when the Romans started to take over they downsized, so the Greeks followed their led." Percy explained.

"So...is that like essence of Helios..or Sol with Apollo?"

"It would appear so. Apollo didn't change much going Greek to Roman." Annabeth agreed, "just taking more responsibility as Helios or Sol was forced to retire."

"Weird." I muttered.

"These mosaics are about two thousand years old." Annabeth muttered and so dered to a different section.

"But how can they be Roman?" I wasn’t that great on ancient history, but I was pretty sure the Roman Empire never made it as far as Long Island.

"The Labyrinth is a patchwork," Raph said. His voice was quiet, but still so deep it rumbled and echoed across the room.

Annabeth said, shining her flashlight over the tiled pictures. "I told you, it’s always expanding, adding pieces. It’s the only work of architecture that grows by itself."

"You make it sound like it’s alive." Will said, almost horrified.

A groaning noise echoed from the tunnel in front of us.

"Let’s not talk about it being alive," Grover whimpered. "Please?"

"I'm with you on that, BFC!" I agreed.

Tyson reached out his hand held open. I greatly held onto his hand. His hand was so big he engulfed my hand, I ended up holding onto his middle two fingers, like a small child would a parent.

"All right," Annabeth said. "Forward."

"Down the hall with the bad sounds?" Tyson said. Even he looked nervous.

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "The architecture is getting older. That’s a good sign. Daedalus’s workshop would be in the oldest part."

That made sense. But soon the maze was toying with us—we went fifty feet and the tunnel turned back to cement, with brass pipes running down the sides. The walls were spray-painted with graffiti. A neon tagger sign read MOZ RULZ.

"I’m thinking this is not Roman," Percy said helpfully. I snorted in amusement.

Annabeth took a deep breath, then forged ahead.

Every few feet the tunnels twisted and turned and branched off. The floor beneath us changed from cement to mud to bricks and back again. There was no sense to any of it. We stumbled into a wine cellar- a bunch of dusty bottles in wooden racks- like we were walking through somebody’s basement, only there was no exit above us, just more tunnels leading on.

Later the ceiling turned to wooden planks, and I could hear voices above us and the creaking of footsteps, as if we were walking under some kind of bar. It was reassuring to hear people, but then again, we couldn’t get to them. We were stuck down here with no way out. Then we found our first skeleton.

He was dressed in white clothes, like some kind of uniform. A wooden crate of glass bottles sat next to him.

"A milkman," Annabeth said.

"What?" I asked.

"They used to deliver milk."

"Yeah, I know what they are?" I snapped.

"But…that was when my mom was little, like a million years ago. What’s he doing here?" Percy cut in before we started arguing.

"Some people wander in by mistake," Annabeth answered. "Some come exploring on purpose and never make it back."

"A long time ago, the Cretans sent people in here as human sacrifices." Raph said as he squatted down beside the bones.

Grover gulped. "He’s been down here a long time." He pointed to the skeleton’s bottles, which were coated with white dust. The skeleton’s fingers were clawing at the brick wall, like he had died trying to get out.

"He died in 1932." Will said with certain as he also knelt down beside Raph and examined the bones.

"How do you know that?"

"It's...it's a thing I have." He shrugged. "He died in June."

Grover bleeded nervously.

"Only bones," Tyson said. "Don’t worry, goat boy. The milkman is dead."

"The milkman doesn’t bother me," Grover said. "It’s the smell. Monsters. Can’t you smell it?"

Tyson nodded. "Lots of monsters. But underground smells like that. Monsters and dead milk people."

"Oh, good," Grover whimpered. "I thought maybe I was wrong."

"We have to get deeper into the maze," Annabeth said. "There has to be a way to the center." She led us to the right, then the left, through a corridor of stainless steel like some kind of air shaft, and we arrived back in the Roman tile room with the fountain.

This time, we weren’t alone.

What I noticed first were his faces. Both of them. They jutted out from either side of his head, staring over his shoulders, so his head was much wider than it should’ve been, kind of like a hammerhead shark’s looking straight at him, all I saw were two overlapping ears and mirror-image sideburns. He was dressed like a New York City doorman: a long black overcoat, shiny shoes, and a black top-hat that somehow managed to stay on his double-wide head.

"Well, Annabeth?" said his left face. "Hurry up!"

"Don’t mind him," said the right face. "He’s terribly rude. Right this way, miss."

"No no. Not her, Eleanora first! Front and centre."

"I appolagize. Please, infront of Annabeth. Come come. We don't have all day."

Annabeth’s jaw dropped. "Uh…I don’t…"

Tyson frowned. "That funny man has two faces."

"The funny man has ears, you know!" the left face scolded. "Now come along, both Misses."

"No, no," the right face said. "This way, miss. Talk to me, please."

"What is happening?" I whispered to no one in general, but stepped up beside Annabeth. The guys closed in behind us.

The two-faced man regarded me and Annabeth as best he could out of the corners of his eyes. It was impossible to look at him straight on without focusing on one side or the other. And suddenly I realized that’s what he was asking- he wanted Annabeth and me to choose.

Behind him were two exits, blocked by wooden doors with huge iron locks. They hadn’t been there our first time through the room. The two-faced doorman held a silver key, which he kept passing from his left hand to his right hand. I wondered if this was a different room completely, but the frieze of the gods looked exactly the same.

Behind us, the doorway we’d come through had disappeared, replaced by more mosaics. We wouldn’t be going back the way we came.

"The exits are closed," Annabeth said.

"Duh!" the man’s left face said.

"Where do they lead?" she asked.

"One probably leads the way you wish to go," the right face said encouragingly. "The other leads to certain death."

"For both is us? Or just Annabeth and her quest?" I asked.

"Maybe both through one door-." The one side said.

"But probably not." The other contradicted.

"Stay together?"

"Or split up?"

"Which door?"

"I- I know who you are," Annabeth said.

"That makes one of us...I have no idea."

"Oh, you’re a smart one!"  The left face sneered. "But do you know which way to choose? I don’t have all day."

"Why are you trying to confuse me?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm already confused!" I said bewildered. I couldn't focus on the man infront of us, or the two doors. It all kept shifting.

The right face smiled. "You’re in charge now, my dear. All the decisions are on your shoulders. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?"

"I-" Annabeth stammered.

"No! This stupid quest was thrust phone me! I had no choice!"

"Ahhh. Eleanora. We ALWAYS have a choice." The right face said.

"Indeed. Always. The choice." The left side said in a mocking manner.

"Even not choosing is still a choice." I frowned.

"We know you, Annabeth," the left face said. "We know what you wrestle with every day. We know your indecision. You will have to make your choice sooner or later. And the choice may kill you."

The face shifted again to me. It was unnerving that the two faced man was having a full fluid conversation with both of us at the same time.

"Eleanora...we know your thoughts. To join or not. Your struggle may yet be your downfall. You must choose. As you say, not choosing is still a choice."

I didn’t know what they were talking about, not fully, I had a sort of idea ... but it sounded like it was about more than a choice between doors.

The color drained out of Annabeth’s face. I'm sure mine didn't look much better.

"No…I don’t-" she stammered. Before I could think, I reached out and grabbed her hand. She was so deep in her distraught thoughts she gripped my hand tightly.

"Leave her alone," Percy said.

"Which one?" The Right one said.

"They both must choose!" The left one snapped.

"Who are you, anyway?" He asked.

"I’m your best friend," the right face said.

"I’m your worst enemy," the left face said.

"I’m Janus," both faces said in harmony. "God of Doorways. Beginnings. Endings. Choices."

My stomach clenched. This was a minor god. The god of choice.

"I’ll see you soon enough, Perseus Jackson," said the right face. "But for now it’s Annabeth’s turn." He laughed giddily. “Such fun!"

"No! Shut up! It's Eleanora's turn! She must choose first!" his left face said. "This is serious. One bad choice can ruin your whole life. It can kill you and all of your friends and your home. Right Eleanora? But no pressure, Annabeth. Choose!"

With a sudden chill, I remembered the words of the prophecy: the child of Athena’s final stand. And both prophecies about me.

"Don’t do it," Raph said quietly. I felt his hand on my arm.

"I agree." Percy said.

"I’m afraid she has to," the right face said cheerfully.

Annabeth moistened her lips. "I- I choose..."

Before she could point to a door, a brilliant light flooded the room. Janus raised his hands to either side of his head to cover his eyes. When the light died, a woman was standing at the fountain.

She was tall and graceful with long hair the color of chocolate, braided in plaits with gold ribbons. She wore a simple white dress, but when she moved, the fabric shimmered with colors like oil on water.

"Janus," she said, "are we causing trouble again?"

"N-no, milady!" Janus’s right face stammered.

"Yes!" the left face said.

"Shut up!" the right face said.

"Excuse me?" the woman asked.

"Not you, milady! I was talking to myself."

I couldn't help it, and I snorted in amusement. This was a powerful goddess, and this minor god had just insulted her. I thought it was kind of funny. Her eyes flicked to me and I bit my lower lip to keep the smirk suppressed.

"I see,"  the lady said, turning back to the two face Janus. "You know very well your visit is premature. The girls time has not yet come. So I give you a choice: leave these heroes to me, or I shall turn you into a door and break you down."

"What kind of door?" the left face asked.

"Shut up!" the right face said.

"Because French doors are nice," the left face mused. "Lots of natural light."

"Shut up!" the right face wailed. "Not you, milady! Of course I’ll leave. I was just having a bit of fun. Doing my job. Offering choices."

"Causing indecision," the woman corrected. "Now be gone!"

The left face muttered, "Party pooper." then he raised his silver key, inserted it into the air, and disappeared.

The woman turned toward us, and fear closed around my heart. Her eyes shined with power. Leave these heroes to me. That didn’t sound good. For a second, I almost wished we could’ve taken our chances with Janus. But then the woman smiled.

"You must be hungry," she said. "Sit with me and talk."

She waved her hand, and the old Roman fountain began to flow. Jets of clear water sprayed into the air. A marble table appeared, laden with platters of sandwiches and pitchers of lemonade.

"Who…who are you?" Percy asked.

"I am Hera." The woman smiled. "Queen of Heaven."

🔆