ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

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IT was an unspoken rule amongst Camp that Aza wasn't to handle explosives; there was also an unspoken understanding that the daughter of Phobos didn't need to lob explosives. She caused massive damage – "a catapult in a human body," as Annabeth often said – but of course, she'd always desired to throw a jar of Greek fire. She would be a pitiful daughter of Phobos if her hands hadn't so much as itched for firecrackers.

"Good thing Annabeth isn't here," Aza grinned, as Leo finally handed her two of his gadgets – she didn't understand what they were, but he helpfully labeled each one – and told Frank how to avoid being decapitated by his.

It was with a deep, steady breath that Aza brushed away all her aches and pushed her weariness to the back of her mind; she couldn't let herself show any weakness, and so she straightened her spine (and rose several inches) and relaxed her shoulders.

Trumpets blasted across the stadium, and Nike's chariot appeared on the field; the Nikai stood in front of her with their spears and laurels raised, posed like life-size trophies. The goddess' bellow blew through the arena louder than the trumpets, "Begin!"

Aza sprinted through the archway, with Leo at her heels. As she passed through, the field shimmered for an instant: dark-russet bricks wove together and the arena became a labyrinth of walls and trenches. She ducked behind the nearest wall and waved an arm for Leo to follow her as she crouched and ran left.

Somewhere behind her, Frank yelled, "Uh, die, Graecus scum!" A poorly aimed arrow sailed over Leo's head.

"More vicious!" Nike yelled. "Kill like you mean it!"

Leo nudged Aza's side, and with a lopsided smile he asked, "Ready?"

Aza hefted the bronze grenade and grinned, "Ready," she tossed the bronze sphere over the wall and shouted, "Eat my popcorn, Roman-trash!"

It landed with a thunderous boom, and she couldn't see the explosion, but the scent of buttery popcorn overwhelmed her nostrils, and she heard Hazel wail, "Oh, no! Popcorn! Our fatal weakness!"

Another half-hearted arrow flew over their head, and Aza grabbed Leo's hand to pull him deeper into the maze, twisting through the walls. She forced herself not to think about the Labyrinth, or the feeling like she'd never see the sunlight again, or the exhausting weariness – it was difficult to shake her thoughts from her head, and beside her Leo began to pant heavily.

Somewhere behind them, Nike's outraged cry echoed, "Try harder! That popcorn was not fatal!"

Another grenade exploded over their heads, and Aza yanked Leo into a trench just in time; the lapping tongue of green fire only just singed Leo's hair, and she was happy enough with a minor inconvenience. Frank's aim was perfect – low enough to look impressively close, but high enough to give them space.

The goddess called, "Better! But where is your aim? Don't you want this circlet of leaves?"

"I want to bash her over the head," Aza rolled her eyes, "How long do we have to do this?"

"Be patient, my hasty little friend."

"If you ever call me your 'little friend' again, I'll kill you."

"Hasty fits you like a latex glove," Leo rolled his eyes and dodged her half-hearted slap to his bicep; he caught her wrist with one hand, pushing her arm down, and pointed with his other.

The brick walls shifted across the field, revealing one of the Nikai, with her back to them, thirty yards away. Aza's spine locked up when she thought of Hazel, manipulating the maze. It wasn't the Labyrinth, but ever since she hadn't liked feeling enclosed. Even in her classrooms and buildings in Camp, she needed to be able to see out the window – to reassure herself the rest of the world was still there, moving in time with her.