¹On This Spring Day, percy jackson & the olympians

012.

ON THIS SPRING DAY
━━━━━ chapter twelve

━━━━━ IT WAS A bit embarrassing how they got inside the Land of the Dead.

Without too many options, Violet and Nico descended back into the Labyrinth from the entrance in Zeus's Fist. They couldn't go to L.A., where there was one entrance to the Underworld, that would be impossible to try and get there—shadow travel, flying, or going across land. And Nico had heard whispers about an entrance in New York City, but that required music ( he was pretty sure ), and so that was a hard no. Apollo would keel over and curse Violet if she ever tried to create music.

And so, they had to brave the Labyrinth. But Violet wasn't feeling all too brave anymore ( see in: not ever ).

"I've never been down here without Minos," Nico admitted nervously.

Violet shot him a dirty look. "Instilling me with so much confidence, Death Boy."

"Don't call me that." He scowled at the nickname. "I'd rather you call me Neeks."

Violet raised her eyebrows. "Fine. Neek-Neeks it is."

"That's even worse."

"Well." The daughter of Eros sighed and placed her hands on her hips. Elain's sword hung at her side, hanging at an angle. She gestured between a fork in their path in front of them. "Which way?"

"I dunno ..." Nico chewed on his bottom lip.

Down in the maze for five minutes, and they were already lost. Violet didn't expect anything less.

She gave Nico time to think before asking, "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe it?"

He looked at her slowly. "What the fuck did you just say?"

"You don't know what eeny, meeny, miny, moe is?" She gawked at him, suddenly feeling very silly.

"Are you having a stroke?!"

"Forget it! Forget I said anything." Violet waved her hands impatiently. "Nico—which way?"

"Um ..." He stalled for a moment, then pointed right. "That way. That feels ..."

"More deadly?" Violet offered.

"Yeah."

"Sounds legit." And she started to the right, a dark path she couldn't see more than five feet down.

They stumbled their way through, cursing and complaining to one another. ( "This is you're fault," Violet hissed.

"My fault?" Nico's voice cracked. "This was all you're idea!"

"You're the one who picked this path!"

"You're the one who made us go back down here!" )

They weren't having a good time, to say the least. And it only seemed to get worse. The route sloped and turned, and Violet felt like she was trying to climb her way back down a mountain more than she was trying to navigate a maze. The ground turned earthy, packed with dark dirt and high-grown grass. It reminded her of the path from earlier, only ... less flowery and more I don't take care of my lawn. She missed the flowers; they were pretty to look at.