ROYAL CRIES
━━ chapter ten

━━ THE METAL DOOR was half hidden behind a laundry bin full of dirty hotel towels. Elisa didn't see anything strange until Rachel pointed out the faint blue symbol etched on the wall.

"It hasn't been used in a long time," Annabeth pointed out, narrowing her eyes to see the symbol better.

"I tried to open it once," Rachel said, "just out of curiosity. It's rusted shut."

"No." The daughter of Athena stepped forward. "It just needs the touch of a half-blood."

Sure enough, as soon as the blonde put her hand on the mark, it glowed blue. The metal door unsealed and creaked open, revealing a dark staircase leading down.

"Wow." Rachel looked calm enough but Elisa knew it was all a façade. The tension in the redhead's shoulders gave it away. She looked at the three demigods. "So ... after you?"

"You're the guide," Annabeth said, her tone laced with false politeness. "Lead on."

The stairs led down to a large brick tunnel. It was so dark Elisa couldn't see further than two feet in front of them, but she, Annabeth, and Percy had restocked on flashlights. As soon as they switched them on, Rachel yelped.

A skeleton was grinning at the four. It wasn't human. It was huge, for one thing—at least ten feet tall. It had been strung up, chained by its wrists and ankles so it made a kind of giant 'X' over the tunnel. It had a single black eye socket in the center of its skull.

"A Cyclops," Annabeth said. "It's very old. It's not ... anybody we know."

By her last statement, Annabeth meant it wasn't Tyson. That didn't exactly make Elisa feel better. The Cyclops felt like a warning to the daughter of Dionysus; whatever could kill a grown Cyclops, she didn't want to meet.

Despite her better judgment and wanting to avoid the boy at all costs, Elisa looked back at Percy. The boy was pale, watching the Cyclops as if it could come alive at any moment.

Rachel swallowed. "You have a friend who's a Cyclops?"

"Tyson," said Percy. "My half-brother."

"Your half-brother?"

"Hopefully we'll find him down here," Percy said, catching Elisa looking at him; the daughter of madness looked away quickly. "... And Grover. He's a satyr."

"Oh." Rachel's voice was small. "Well then, we'd better keep moving."

She stepped under the skeleton's left arm and kept walking. Annabeth and Percy exchanged looks as Elisa trailed after the redhead. Annabeth raised her eyebrows silently, giving the son of Poseidon an I-told-you-so look. The two followed Rachel and Elisa deeper into the maze.

After fifty feet they came to a crossroads. Ahead, the brick tunnel continued. To the right, the walls were made of ancient marble slabs. To the left, the tunnel was earth and tree roots.

Percy pointed left. "That looks like the tunnel Tyson and Grover took."

Annabeth frowned. "Yeah, but the architecture to the right—those old stones—that's more likely to lead to an ancient part of the maze, towards Daedalus's workshop."

Elisa looked between the three options. She racked her mind for everything she had stuffed it with about the Labyrinth: It was made to trick, kill, and drive insane. It wanted to confuse and muddy the mind ...

"We need to go straight," Rachel cut in.

Annabeth and Percy both looked at the mortal. Elisa turned to stare down the brick path.

"That's the least likely choice," Annabeth argued.

"You don't see it?" asked Rachel. "Look at the floor."

Elisa saw nothing except well-worn bricks and mud. Nevertheless, it made sense in her mind: Do the opposite of what seemed logical.

"There's a brightness there," Rachel insisted. "Very faint. But forward is the correct way. To the left, further down the tunnel, those tree roots are moving like feelers. I don't like that. To the right, there's a trap about twenty feet down. Holes in the walls, maybe for spikes. I don't think we should risk it."

"It also just makes sense," Elisa mumbled, but everyone could still hear her.

Annabeth crossed her arms. "How, Elisa? Again—that's the least likely choice."

The brunette pointed at each of the paths while she spoke, "The maze wants to confuse you, right? You said there's no logic to the paths, so do the opposite of what seems logical. It makes sense to me."

Annabeth's right eye seemed to twitch. "Your dad's the God of Madness."

"So what?" Elisa snapped quickly. "Just because your mom's the Goddess of Wisdom doesn't mean you know everything."

Percy looked between Rachel and Elisa. He nodded, saying, "Okay. Forward."

"Hold on," Annabeth put a hand out. "You believe this?"

"Yeah," said the son of Poseidon. "Don't you?"

Annabeth looked like she wanted to argue, but she waved her hand at Rachel, motioning for her to lead on. Together, they kept walking down the brick corridor. It twisted and turned, but there were no more side tunnels. The group seemed to be angling down, heading deeper underground.

"No traps?" Percy asked, sounding anxious.

"Nothing." Rachel knitted her eyebrows together. "Should it be this easy?"

"I don't know," Percy admitted. "It never was before."

"So, Rachel," said Annabeth, "where are you from, exactly?"

The way she said it, it sounded more like: "What planet are you from?"

"Brooklyn," Rachel said.

"Aren't your parents going to be worried if you're out late?"

The redhead exhaled. "Not likely. I could be gone a week and they'd never notice."

"Why not?" Annabeth asked. This time, she didn't sound so sarcastic and harsh. Having trouble with parents was something she understood.

Before Rachel could answer, there was a creaking noise in front of them, like huge doors swinging open.

"What was that?" Elisa asked, stopping dead in her tracks.

"I don't know," said Rachel. "Metal hinges?"

"Oh—real fucking helpful, Goldie," snapped Elisa, throwing the girl a scorching look.

Heavy footsteps were heard in front of them, shaking the corridor—coming toward them.

"Run?" Percy suggested.

"Run," Rachel agreed.

They turned and fled the way they'd come, but they didn't make it twenty feet before they ran straight into some monsters. Three dracaena—snake women in Greek armor—leveled their javelins at their chests. Standing between them was an empousa, looking like the one Percy had described and had named Kelli.

"Well, well," said Kelli.

Elisa pulled out Acantha, the dory spear growing rapidly in her hand. Percy pulled out Riptide while Annabeth unsheathed her knife. Before the three could react, Kelli pounced for Rachel. The empousa's hands turned into claws and she spun Rachel around, holding her tight with her talons at Rachel's neck.

Elisa felt a sharp tug in her gut—adrenaline or something of the sort. It was the same feeling she had when her control over vines wanted to take control. Although she had been training with the Demeter kids and her brothers at camp, she wasn't sure what good it would do with the lack of foliage around.

"Taking your little moral pet for a walk?" Kelli asked Percy. "They're such fragile things. So easy to break!"

Behind them, the footsteps came closer. A huge form appeared out of the gloom—an eight-foot-tall Laistrygonian giant with red eyes and fangs.

The giant licked his lips when he saw the demigods. "Can I eat them?"

"No," said Kelli. "Your master will want these. They will provide a great deal of entertainment." She gave Percy a sharp-toothed grin. "Now march, half-bloods. Or you all die here, starting with the mortal girl."

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They were marched down the tunnel flanked by dracaena, with Kelli and the giant at the back, just in case anyone tried anything. None of the monsters seemed to worry about them running forward, however, that was the direction they wanted them to go.

Up ahead Elisa could see bronze doors. They were about ten feet tall, and emblazoned with a pair of crossed swords. From behind the doors came a muffled roar, like a crowd.

"Oh, yesss," said the snake woman to Elisa's left; the monster was talking to Percy. "You'll be very popular with our hossst."

Elisa had never gotten to look at the dracaena up close before, but that didn't mean she was exactly excited for the opportunity. The monster would've been beautiful if it wasn't for her formed tongue and yellow eyes. She wore bronze armor that stopped at her waist, and below that, where her legs should've been, were two massive snake trunks, mottled bronze and green. She moved by a combination of slithering and walking, as if she were walking on skis.

"Who's your host?" asked Percy.

The monster hissed, but that might've been her version of a laugh. "Oh, you'll sssee. You'll get along famousssly. He'ssss your brother, after all."

"My what?" the son of Poseidon immediately asked.

Promptly, Elisa thought of Tyson. It wasn't exactly impossible to find Tyson down in the Labyrinth, and she certainly wanted to, but it seemed impossible to find him sided with Kronos. Then ... what, or who, could the monster be talking about?

The giant pushed past them and opened the doors. He picked up Annabeth and Elisa by the back of their shirts and said, "You stay here."

"Hey, asshole! Watch it!" Elisa protested loudly, swinging a fist in his direction, but the guy was twice her size and he'd already confiscated any of their weapons. He grabbed the brunette's fist, and Elisa's face contorted with pain as he squeezed her fist.

Kelli laughed. She still had her claws at Rachel's neck. "Go on, Percy. Entertain us. We'll wait here with your friends to make sure you behave."

Percy looked at Rachel, Elisa's face slowly contorted with anger instead. "I'm sorry," the boy told the redhead. "I'll get you out of this."

Rachel nodded as much as she could with a demon at her throat. "That would be nice."

Elisa swallowed the bitter and jealous taste in her mouth, hardening her eyes to glare at the giant in front of her. The dracaena prodded Percy towards the doorway at javelin-point.

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From what Elisa could see, the arena was pretty spacious considering the whole place was underground. The dirt floor was circular, and in the center of the arena, a fight was going on between a giant and a centaur. The centaur looked panicked: He was galloping around his opponent, using a sword and shield. The giant, however, was swinging a javelin the size of a telephone pole. The crowd was cheering the fight on.

The first tier of seats was twelve feet above the arena floor. Plain stone benches wrapped all the way around, and every seat was full. There were giants, dracaena, demigods, telkhines, and stranger things: Bat-winged demons and creatures that seemed half human and half whatever else—bird, reptile, insect, mammal.

But the creepiest things were the skulls. The arena was full of them. They ringed the edge of the railing. Three-foot-high piles of them decorated the steps between the benches. They grinned from pikes at the back of the stands and hung on chains from the ceiling like horrible chandeliers. Some of them looked very old—nothing but bleached-white bone. Others looked a lot fresher; red, fleshy, and decaying. Elisa grimaced as one decaying skull with clumps of long blond hair rattled from the audience stomping their feet.

In the middle, proudly displayed on the side of the spectators' wall, was something that made Elisa's brain whir—a green banner with the trident of Poseidon in the center. Maybe Poseidon wasn't the nicest and most humane god, but certainly, he wouldn't support a place with decaying skulls for decoration.

Above the banner, sitting in a seat of honor, was an old enemy.

"Luke," Elisa heard Annabeth mumble under her breath.

The daughter of madness glanced in the blonde's direction; Annabeth looked almost relieved to see the son of Hermes. If Elisa wasn't worried for her safety and life, she would've snapped at the blonde to get rid of the expression.

Luke smiled coldly among the crowd. He was wearing camouflage combat trousers, a white T-shirt, and a bronze breastplate. However, unlike what would've been sensible as a demigod, he wasn't wearing his sword, but then again, the monsters surrounding him were his allies, not his enemies.

Next to the son of Hermes sat the largest giant Elisa had ever seen, the giant was much larger than the one on the floor fighting the centaur. The giant next to Luke must've been fifteen feet tall and so wide he took up three seats. He wore only a loincloth, and his skin was dark red and tattooed with blue wave designs.

Antaeus, Elisa thought, taking a glance at Annabeth, to see if the girl beside her realized the same thing. That's why he has a banner for Poseidon, that's his father. His mother ...? She came up blank for an answer, the hours she spent studying of Greek mythology failing her.

There was a cry from the arena floor, and Percy had to jump back as the centaur crashed to the ground beside him.

The centaur looked at Percy pleadingly. "Help!" he begged.

The demigod reached for his sword, but his hand faltered at his right pocket. He glanced back, his eyes wide with shock. Riptide hadn't appeared back in his pocket yet.

The centaur struggled to get up as the giant approached, his javelin ready.

A taloned hand gripped Percy's shoulder. "If you value your friendsss' livesss," his dracaena guard said, "you won't interfere. This isssn't your fight. Wait your turn."

The centaur couldn't get up. One of his legs was broken. The giant put his huge foot on the horseman's chest and raised the javelin. He looked up at Luke. The crowd cheered and chanted, "Death! Death!"

Luke didn't do anything, but the tattooed Antaeus sitting next to him rose. The giant smiled down at the centaur, who was whimpering, "Please! No!"

Then Antaeus held out his hand and gave the 'thumbs down' sign. Elisa clenched her jaw and looked away as the gladiator giant thrust his javelin downward. Rachel gasped loudly, seemingly unable to look away. Kelli let out a chilling laugh. When Elisa looked again, the centaur was gone, disintegrated to ashes. All that was left was a single hoof, which the giant took up as a trophy and showed to the crowd. They roared their approval.

A gate opened at the opposite end of the stadium and the giant marched out in triumph.

In the stands, Antaeus raised his hands for silence.

"Good entertainment!" he bellowed. "But nothing I haven't seen before. What else do you have, Luke, son of Hermes?"

Luke's jaw tightened. Elisa could tell he didn't like being called "son of Hermes". Instead of lashing out, he rose calmly to his feet. His eyes glittered, he looked to be in a good mood, even.

"Lord Antaeus," Luke said, loud enough for the crowd to hear, "you have been an excellent host! We would be happy to amuse you, to repay the favor of passing through your territory."

"A favor I have not yet granted," Antaeus growled. "I want entertainment!"

Elisa and Annabeth exchanged nervous looks. Antaeus was a giant who would challenge anyone to a wrestling match; all of which he won, except for one. The only person Antaeus lost against was Hercules, who managed to get him off the ground and then crushed him to death. A horrible way to go, but Antaeus was an especially horrible giant.

Elias's eyes widened as her head whipped back over to Annabeth. Gaea? she mouthed.

Annabeth gave the faintest nod.

"Hey!" Kelli barked, pointing a taloned finger at them. "No talking!"

Elisa sneered at the monster.

Luke bowed. "I believe I have something better than centaurs to fight in your arena now. I have a brother of yours." He pointed at the demigod in the arena. "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

The crowd began jeering at the demigod and throwing stones, most of which Percy was able to dodge, but one caught him on the cheek and made a good-sized cut.

Antaeus's eyes lit up. "A son of Poseidon? Then he should fight well! Or die well!"

"If his death pleases you," Luke said, "will you let our armies cross your territory?"

"Perhaps!" Antaeus said.

Luke didn't look too pleased about being given 'perhaps' as an answer. He glared down at Percy, as if warning the boy that he better die in a really spectacular way or he'd be in big trouble.

"Luke!" Annabeth yelled. "Stop this. Let us go!"

Luke seemed to notice her for the first time. He looked stunned for a moment. "Annabeth?"

"Enough time for the females to fight afterwards," Antaeus interrupted. "First, Percy Jackson, what weapons will you choose?"

The dracaena pushed Percy into the middle of the arena.

The boy stared up at Antaeus. "How can you be a son of Poseidon?"

Percy's giant brother laughed, and the rest of the crowd laughed, too.

"I am his favorite son!" Antaeus boomed. "Behold, my temple to the Earthshaker, built from the skulls of all those I've killed in his name! Your skull shall join them!"

"We have to warn him," Annabeth whispered to Elisa, eyeing a skull with a greenish face.

"Percy!" she yelled to Percy. "'His mother is Gaea! Gaea—"

The Laistrygonian captor clamped his hand over Annabeth's mouth, dropping Elisa in the process.

The brunette landed on her butt, yelling out a string of cuss words. Instead of directing any more anger at the monsters around her, she yelled out, "Get him off the ground! Gaea pro—"

The daughter of Dionysus grunted loudly as she was pulled off the ground by the back of her shirt. The orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt dug into the base of her neck as a dracaena hissed insults at her. Elisa dug her fingers in between the fabric of her shirt and the base of her neck, straining her eyes to glare at the monster.

Percy looked between Elisa and the monster holding her by the collar of her shirt. He looked back at his half-brother, saying, "You're crazy, Antaeus, if you think this is a good tribute, you know nothing about Poseidon." His lips were curled with disdain as he looked around the arena that was supposedly a tribute to his father.

The crowd screamed insults at him, but Antaeus raised his hand for silence.

"Weapons," he insisted. "And then we will see how you die. Will you have axes? Shields? Nets? Flamethrowers?"

"Just my sword," Percy said.

Elisa squeezed her eyes closed, as if the son of Poseidon's answer had pained her. He'd take a sword over a flamethrower? She'd often forget he was a relatively lucky half-blood who hadn't had to scrounge for weapons; he had a loving, non-dead, mother to still take care of him.

Laughter erupted from the monsters, but immediately Riptide appeared in Percy's hands, and some of the voices in the crowd turned nervous. The bronze blade glowed with a faint light.

"Round one!" Antaeus announced. The gates opened, and a dracaena slithered out. She had a trident in one hand and a weighted net in the other—classic gladiator style. That was a common training exercise at camp; in other words, if Percy fucked this round up, they were doomed.

The monster jabbed at Percy experimentally; he stepped away. She threw her net, hoping to tangle his sword hand, but Percy sidestepped easily, sliced her spear in half, and stabbed Riptide through a chink in her armor. With a painful wail, she vaporized into nothing, and the cheering of the crowd died.

"No!" Antaeus bellowed. "Too fast! You must wait for the kill. Only I give that order!"

Percy glanced over at Elisa, Annabeth, and Rachel again. The daughter of madness had to wonder if he expected them to risk their lives to yell out more answers.

"Nice job, Percy." Luke smiled. "You've got better with the sword. I'll grant you that."

"Round two!" Antaeus yelled. "And slower this time! More entertainment! Wait for my call before killing anybody, Or else!"

The gates opened again, and this time a young warrior came out. He was a little older than Elisa, about sixteen. He had glossy black hair, and his left eye was covered with an eye patch. He was thin and wiry so his Greek armor hung on him loosely. He stabbed his sword into the ground, adjusted his shield straps, and pulled on his horsehair helmet.

"Who are you?" Percy asked him.

"Ethan Nakamura," the boy said. Elisa's eyes widened as it felt like her heart leaped into her throat; she knew the boy. "I have to kill you."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Hey!" a monster jeered from the stands. "Stop talking and fight already!" The others took up the call.

"I have to prove myself," Ethan told Percy. "Only way to join up."

And with that, he charged. Their swords met in midair and the crowd roared. Ethan pressed forward as Percy seemed to be trying to back away. Just as Elisa remembered, Ethan was good at fighting. She wasn't sure if the boy had ever made it to Camp Half-Blood, but he was certainly trained: He parried Percy's strike and almost slammed the boy with his shield, but Percy jumped back. Ethan slashed; Percy rolled to one side. The two exchanged attacks, neither one getting the upper hand. Percy tried to keep to Ethan's blind side, but it didn't help much. He'd apparently been fighting with only one eye for a long time because he was excellent at guarding his left.

"Blood!" the monsters cried.

Ethan glanced up at the stands. That was his weakness, Elisa realized. He needed to impress them, and Percy didn't.

Ethan yelled an angry battle cry and charged Percy, but the black-haired boy parried his blade and backed away, letting Ethan come after him.

"Boo!" Antaeus said. "Stand and fight!"

Ethan pressed Percy, but the boy had no trouble defending himself, even without a shield. Ethan was dressed for defense—heavy armor and shield—which made it very tiring to play offense. Percy may have been a softer target, but he was also lighter on his feet—he was quicker. The crowd went nuts, yelling complaints and throwing rocks. Percy and Ethan had been fighting for almost five minutes and there was no blood.

Finally, Ethan made his mistake. He tried to jab at Percy's stomach and Percy locked his sword hilt in mine and twisted. Ethan's sword dropped into the dirt. Before he could recover, the son of Poseidon slammed the butt of Riptide into Ethan's helmet and pushed him down. Ethan's heavy armor helped Percy more than him. He fell on his back, dazed and tired. Percy put the tip of his sword on Ethan's chest.

"Get it over with," Ethan groaned.

Percy looked up at Antaeus. The giant's red face was stony with displeasure, but he held up his hand and put it in a thumbs down.

"Forget it." Percy sheathed Riptide with a distinct frown.

"Don't be a fool," Ethan griped. "They'll just kill us both."

Percy offered Ethan his hand. Reluctantly, the ally of Kronos took it.

"No one dishonors the games!" Antaeus bellowed. "Your heads shall both be tributes to Poseidon!"

Percy looked at Ethan. "When you see your chance, run." Then Percy turned back to Antaeus: "Why don't you fight me yourself? If you've got Dad's favor, come down here and prove it!"

The monsters grumbled in the stands. Antaeus looked around, and apparently realized he had no choice. He couldn't say no without looking like a coward.

"I am the greatest wrestler in the world, boy," he warned. "I have been wrestling since the first pankration!"

"Pankration?" Percy asked, suddenly sounding nervous. Elisa figured he should be.

"He means fighting to the death," Ethan said. "No rules. No holds barred. It used to be an Olympic sport."

"Thanks for the tip," Percy grumbled.

"Don't mention it."

Rachel was watching Percy with wide eyes. Annabeth shook her head emphatically, the Laistrygonian's hand still clamped over her mouth. Elisa's face was grim, a dracaena right behind her, talons close to her throat.

Percy pointed Riptide at Antaeus. "Winner takes all! I win, we all go free. You win, we die. Swear upon the River Styx."

He had learned from the last time, if there was any bright side to the situation. This time, there was a less likely chance of them getting screwed over.

Antaeus laughed. "This shouldn't take long. I swear to your terms!"

He leaped off the railing into the arena.

"Good luck," Ethan told Percy. "You'll need it." Then he backed up quickly.

Antaeus cracked his knuckles. He grinned, and Elisa saw that even his teeth were etched in wave patterns, she felt sorry for the poor soul who was forced to make those designs.

"Weapons?" the giant asked.

"I'll stick with my sword. You?"

Antaeus held up his huge hands and wiggled his fingers. "I don't need anything else! Master Luke, you will referee this one."

Luke smiled down at Percy. "With pleasure."

Antaeus lunged. Percy rolled under his legs and stabbed him in the back of his thigh.

The giant roared in pain, but where blood should've come out, there was a spout of sand, like Percy had busted the side of an hourglass. It spilled to the ground, and the earth rose up to collect around his leg, almost like a cast. When it fell away, the wound was gone.

He charged again. Fortunately, Percy had some experience fighting giants; the easiest one to recall was Atlas, even if he and Elisa had gotten their asses handed to them, there was still experience in that fight. Percy dodged sideways this time and stabbed him under the arm. Riptide's blade was buried to the hilt in his ribs. That was the good news. The bad news was that it wrenched out of his hand when the giant turned, and Percy was thrown across the arena, completely weaponless.

Antaeus bellowed in pain. He groped for the hilt, pulled out the sword and tossed it behind him. More sand poured from the wound, but again the earth rose up to cover him. Dirt coated his body all the way to his shoulders. As soon as the dirt spilled away, the giant was fine.

"Now you see why I never lose, demigod!" he gloated. "Come here and let me crush you. I'll make it quick!"

Antaeus stood between Percy and Riptide. Looking desperate, Percy glanced to either side, catching Elisa's eye; the brunette made an obvious show of nodding down at the earth.

Percy straightened his spine, taking a deep breath. He tried to sidestep Antaeus, but the giant anticipated Percy's move. He blocked the demigod's path, chuckling. He was just toying with Percy now. He had Percy cornered.

Percy glanced up. He feinted to the other side, and Antaeus blocked him. The crowd jeered and screamed at the giant to kill Percy, but the giant was having too much fun to listen to his allies.

"Puny boy," he said. "Not a worthy son of the Sea God!"

Elisa saw Riptide shimmer, disappearing into thin air, no doubt placing itself in Percy's right pocket. One advantage the boy had over his giant half-brother—the only advantage Percy had, really.

Percy charged straight ahead, crouching low so he could roll between Antaeus's legs again. While he was stooping, ready to catch Percy like a grounder, the demigod jumped—kicking off the giant's forearm, scrambling up his shoulder like it was a ladder, and placing his shoe on Antaeus's head.

Antaeus straightened up and yelled, "Hey!"

Percy pushed off, using his force to catapult himself toward the ceiling. He caught the top of a chain, and the skulls and hooks jangled beneath him. He wrapped his legs around the chain, drawing Riptide out, and started sawing off the chain next to him.

"Come down here, coward!" Antaeus bellowed. He tried to grab Percy, but he was just out of reach.

Percy yelled, "Come up and get me! Or are you too slow and fat?"

The giant howled and made another grab for his brother. He caught a chain and tried to pull himself up. While he was struggling, Percy lowered his sawn-off chain, hook first. It took two tries, but finally, Percy snagged Antaeus's loincloth.

The giant wailed—with anger or embarrassment, Elisa wasn't sure. Quickly, Percy slipped the free chain through the fastening link on his own chain, pulled it taut, and secured it. Antaeus tried to slip back to the ground, but he stayed suspended by his loincloth. He had to hold on to the other chains with both hands to avoid getting flipped upside down. Elisa watched with horror and slight awe, praying that the loincloth and the chain wouldn't break.

While Antaeus cursed and flailed, Percy scrambled around the chains, swinging and cutting like he was some kind of crazed monkey. He made loops with hooks and metal links. Elisa doesn't know how he did it.

Within a couple of minutes, the giant was suspended above the ground, hopelessly snarled in chains and hooks.

Percy dropped to the floor, panting and sweaty. He was rubbing the palms of his hands, looking up at his work.

"Get me down!" Antaeus demanded.

"Free him!" Luke ordered. "He is our host!"

Percy uncapped Riptide. "I'll free him," he said with a glint in his eyes.

He stabbed the giant in the stomach. Antaeus bellowed, and sand poured out, but he was too far up to touch the earth, and the dirt did not rise to help him. Antaeus just dissolved, pouring out bit by bit like a cut beanbag, until there was nothing left but empty swinging chains, a really big loincloth on a hook, and a bunch of grinning skulls dancing above the crowd as if they finally had something to smile about.

"Jackson!" Luke yelled. "I should have killed you long ago!"

"You tried," Percy reminded him. "Let us go, Luke. We had a sworn agreement with Antaeus. I'm the winner."

That's when Elisa realized one major flaw in the plan; Luke never played by the rules, but even the rules didn't apply after Antaeus was dead.

The son of Hermes said, "Antaeus is dead. His oath dies with him. But since I'm feeling merciful today, I'll have you killed quickly."

He pointed at Annabeth. "Spare her." His voice quavered just a little. "I would speak to her before—before our great triumph."

Every monster in the audience drew a weapon or extended its claws. They were trapped: Hopelessly outnumbered. Percy took an ice-blue dog whistle out of his pocket and blew on it. The dog whistle made no audible sound as it shattered into shards of ice, melting in his hand.

Luke laughed. "What was that supposed to do?"

The Laistrygonian giant guarding Annabeth let out a roar, flew past Elisa, and smashed into the wall. The dracaena holding onto Elisa let out, and the girl scrambled backward as a five-hundred-pound black mastiff charged past her and for the monster. Kelli screamed as Mrs. O'Leary picked her up like a chew toy and tossed her through the air, straight into Luke's lap.

The hellhound snarled, and the two dracaena guards backed away. For a moment, the monsters in the audience were caught completely by surprise. Elisa lunged for the golden thyrsus laying on the floor, clutching it tightly in her hand.

"Let's go!" Percy yelled. "Heel, Mrs. O'Leary!"

"The far exit!" Rachel cried. "That's the right way!"

Ethan Nakamura didn't waste a second before sprinting for the exit. They raced across the arena and out the far exit, Mrs. O'Leary right behind them. As five ran, Elisa could hear the disorganized sounds of an entire army trying to jump out of the stands and follow the demigods.

👑  NOV. 18TH, 2022  /  honestly, i don't have much to say about this chapter except for that ethan deserves more :)

and that he's hot

anyways, thoughts?? opinions??