The Silver Archer 2️⃣ (Percy Jackson)

38. Ethan Nakamura

Adira

"This way!" Rachel yelled.

"Why should we follow you?" Annabeth demanded. "You led us straight into that death trap!"

"It was the way you needed to go," Rachel said. "And so is this. Come on!"

Annabeth didn't look happy about it, but she ran along with the rest of us.

Rachel seemed to know exactly where she was going. She whipped around corners and didn't even hesitate at crossroads. Once she said, "Duck!" and we all crouched as a huge axe swung over our heads. Then we kept going as if nothing had happened.

I lost track of how many turns we made. We didn't stop to rest until we came to a room the size of a gymnasium with old marble columns holding up the roof. I stood at the doorway, listening for sounds of pursuit, but I heard nothing.

Then I realized something else: Mrs. O'Leary was gone. I didn't know when she'd disappeared. I didn't know of she'd gotten lost or been overrun by monsters or what. My heart turned to lead. She'd saved our lives.

Ethan collapsed on the floor. "You people are crazy." He pulled off his helmet. His face gleamed with sweat.

Annabeth gasped. "I remember you! You were one of the undetermined kids in the Hermes cabin, years ago."

He glared at her. "Yeah, and you're Annabeth. I remember. And you're Adia."

"Adira," I corrected, letting out a small wave. "What—what happened to your eye?"

Ethan looked away, and I got the feeling that was one subject he would not discuss. "Sorry," I said, rubbing my elbows.

"You must be the half-blood from my dream," Percy said. "The one Luke's people cornered. It wasn't Nico after all."

"Who's Nico?"

"Never mind," Annabeth said quickly. "Why were you trying to join up with the wrong side?"

Ethan sneered. "There's no right side. The gods never cared about us. Why shouldn't I—"

"Sign up with an army that makes you fight to the death for entertainment?" Annabeth said. "Gee, I wonder."

Ethan struggled to his feet. "I'm not going to argue with you. Thanks for the help, but I'm out of here."

"We're going after Daedalus," I said. "Come with us. Once we get through, you'd be welcome back at camp."

"You really are crazy if you think Daedalus will help you."

"He has to," Annabeht said. "We'll make him listen."

Ethan snorted. "Yeah, well. Good luck with that."

Percy grabbed his arm. "You're just going to head off alone into the maze? That's suicide."

He looked at him with barely controlled anger. His eye patch was frayed around the edges and the black cloth was faded, like he'd been wearing it a long, long time. "You shouldn't have spared me, Jackson. Mercy has no place in this war."

Then he ran off into the darkness, back the way we'd come.

🪨

We were so exhausted we made camp right there in the huge room. I found some scrap wood and we started a fire. Shadows danced off the columns rising around us like trees.

"Something was wrong with Luke," Annabeth muttered, poking at the fire with her knife. "Did you notice the way he was acting?"

I, like a little child, was playing with the fire, but using my gift, moving it around and making small figures with it.

"He looked pretty pleased to me," Percy said. "Like he'd spent a nice day torturing heroes."

"That's not true! There was something wrong with him. He looked...nervous. He told his monsters to spare me. He wanted to tell me something."

"Probably, 'Hi, Annabeth! Sit here with me and watch while I tear your friends apart. It'll be fun!'"

"You're impossible," Annabeth grumbled. She sheathed her dagger and looked at Rachel. "So which way now, Sacagawea?"

Rachel didn't respond right away. She'd become quieter since the arena.

Now, whenever Annabeth made a sarcastic comment, Rachel hardly bothered to answer. She'd burned the tip of a stick in the fire and was using it to draw ash figures on the floor, images of the monsters we'd seen. With a few strokes, she caught the likeness of a dracaena perfectly.

"We'll follow the path," she said. "The brightness on the floor."

"The brightness that led us straight into a trap?" Annabeth asked.

"Lay off her, Annabeth," Percy said. "She's doing the best she can."

I rolled my eyes. Of course he was defending HER. Annabeth stood. "The fire's getting low. I'll go look for some more scraps while you guys talk strategy." And she marched off into the shadows, Brett chasing off after her.

Rachel drew another figure with her stick—an ashy Antaeus dangling from his chains.

"So... Adi, are we just gonna ignore the fact that your father is a teenager instead of a grown man? Do you wanna explain that to the class?" Percy said, and I rolled my eyes.

"Long story," I grumbled, crossing my legs.

"Your father, a supposed grown man, is now a teenager? Did you know about this and not tell us? We gotta know this."

"He's also a son of Hermes. And an asshole. What else is new," I said, standing up.

"Wait, Adi, I didn't mean it like that-"

It was too late. I was already rushing into the darkness, going wherever the wind took me.