Indigo Eyes

Chapter 80

Did it say something about the future of their quest when they managed to tunnel into a jail cell? Probably.

But the five friends had found their way into a six-metre square cement room with one wall made of metal bars.

"What in Hades?" Annabeth exclaimed as she tugged on the bard that didn't budge, their cell one of many in the ring around the dark courtyard.

"A prison," Percy said.

"Not shit, Barnacle Brain," Cressida snapped and he just gave her annoyed look.

"Maybe Tyson can break -"

"Shh," said Grover. "Listen."

It sounded like...sobbing. It was a raspy voice muttering about something, the words strange and definitely not any language Percy knew.

"What's that language?" he whispered.

Tyson's eye widened. "Can't be."

"I think it's -" but Cressida was cut off as Tyson bent two of the bars on the cell door, creating an opening wide enough for him to fit through.

"Wait!" Grover called.

"Tyson!" Cressida bellowed but he wasn't waiting as they ran after him.

The prison was dark, only a few dim fluorescent lights flickering above.

"I know this place," Annabeth told them. "This is Alcatraz."

"You mean that island near San Francisco?" Percy clarified.

She nodded. "My school took a field trip here. It's like a museum."

Cressida would've stopped to make some comment about how he shouldn't have been surprised seeing as it was a magic maze that screwed up time, of course it would screw up location.

"Freeze," Grover warned, but Tyson didn't stop, causing Grover and Cressida to pull him back. "Stop, Tyson!" he whispered. "Can't you see it?!"

And they followed to where he was pointing. On the second-floor balcony, across the courtyard, was a monster more horrible than anything they'd ever seen before.

It was a hybrid sort of creature. The top half was a woman's body but the bottom was that of a dragon, at least seven metres long, black and scaly with enormous claws and a barbed tail. Her legs looked like they were tangled in vines, but they were sprouting snakes, hundreds of vipers darting around, constantly looking for something to bite. The woman's hair was also made of snakes, like Medusa's. Weirdest of all, around her waist, where the woman part met the dragon part, her skin bubbled and morphed, occasionally producing the heads of animals – a vicious wolf, a bear, a lion, as if she were wearing a belt of ever-changing creatures.

"It's her," Tyson whimpered.

"Tyson, it's going to be ok," Cressida promised even though it was probably a lie and Percy wondered how she knew who it was.

"Get down!" Grover said.

They crouched into the shadows but the monster wasn't even paying attention to them, it seemed to be talking to someone inside a cell on the second floor - where the sobbing was coming from.

"What's she saying?" Percy muttered. "What's that language?"

"The tongue of the old times." Tyson shivered. "What Mother Earth spoke to Titans and... her other children. Before the gods."

"You understand it?" Percy asked. "Can you translate?"

Tyson closed his eyes and began to speak in a horrible, raspy woman's voice. "You will work for the master or suffer."