The Last Arrow - The Great Holiday Mystery

11. Burning Lake

~Another Tunnel~

The tunnel wasn’t a sewer, but it sure did smell like it. Frank and Percy walked side by side, reluctant to go single file for fear of what happens to the others.

Identical thoughts ran through their minds, though they did not know it. Percy thought about Annabeth. He wondered what had taken her, and he was determined to get her back. Frank thought about Hazel. He cursed the person who’d taken the bow, and prayed to all the gods that she wasn’t dead.

They finally reached what they believed to be their destination. The chamber was long and not very wide, just big enough to drive a small car through without touching the sides. Circular drains ran along the sides of the walls, spreading out in a complex of more tunnels. The walls were engraved with words in a language the two demigods didn’t know.

The two jumped a few feet down to the ground and began the long walk down the chamber, with no idea what they would find.

‘Can you hear that?’ Percy asked quietly, voice coming out louder than he would’ve liked.

Frank nodded and gulped, ‘Sounds like … metal?’

‘Chains,’ Percy agreed.

‘Holding what?’ Frank whimpered nervously.

Percy shrugged. He bit his lip uneasily, trying to stop beads of sweat trickling down the side of his face.

The ADHD part of him noted that this was a really sucky Valentine’s Day. The dyslexia part of him wondered what the writings said. The rational part of him knew that whatever was at the end of this room, he wouldn’t like it.

As they got closer, they could hear voices. Glancing at each other, they sped up, recognizing them. The kept going until they were literally running down the hall, but not seeming to get any closer.

‘Hello?’ Frank couldn’t resist calling out.

‘Who’s there?’ Percy yelled.

‘Frank?’ a voice shouted back. ‘Percy? Please, help!’

The familiar voice motivated them even further and they soon reached the end, freezing to the spot in shock and apprehension.

Two figures were held suspended in chains above a bubbling, gooey substance that neither of them thought was hot sauce. The two in chains were eagle spread, manacles stretching out their hands and feet.

‘Oh my gods!’ Frank exclaimed. ‘What happened to you guys?’

From at least 10 feet away, Jason winced, ‘Dunno; woke up here. Last thing I remember was going back to the Zeus cabin.’

‘What about you?’ Percy asked Grover.

The satyr tried to shrug but the heavy chains prevented him from doing so, ‘The monster caught me. I think I passed out. Same as Jason, I woke up here.’

‘Did you see who it was?’ Frank directed the question at Jason who shook his head sadly.

‘No,’ the son of Jupiter admitted. ‘Best we can figure, we’ve been under a sleeping spell. Grover and I woke up at the same time.’

‘Uh, hate to be a party pooper,’ Grover interrupted. ‘But can someone please get us out of here!’

‘Oh,’ Percy blushed. ‘Right. Sorry.’

‘We’re still missing the key thing,’ Frank pointed out. ‘How?’

‘You can shape shift!’ Jason reminded him. ‘Fly over and undo the chains, then I can fly us over.’

‘Oh, um,’ Frank cleared his throat. ‘I’ll be, uh, shifting then,’

His skin rippled, and moments later, there was a majestic bold eagle where Frank stood seconds before. The bird took off over the burning lake and landed on the chains that hooked Jason’s arms to the stone ceiling.

‘Why is he first?’ Grover whined as Frank scratched and pecked at Jason’s chains.

‘Because he can control the winds,’ Percy said. ‘He probably has a better chance of not dropping you if he’s over here.’

‘Oh dears gods save me,’ Grover prayed.

Frank gave a screech of triumph as one of Jason’s hands came free. Jason pulled his legs up as far as he could in a strange parody of a chin up. He reached down with his free hand and pulled at the chains, trying to free them. Frank worked on his other arm. Percy only hoped Jason was working the winds.

The first manacle around Jason’s ankle came free with a snap. Frank stopped working on the one around his wrist until Jason freed the second chain. Nodding at the eagle, Jason cast the winds underfoot-literally-and floated. Frank pecked at the last chain and Jason came free.

‘Oh thank the gods!’ Jason cried.

He flew straight for Percy, back on the ledge. But exhaustion and relief made him clumsy, misjudging his position and crashing straight into the son of Poseidon, sending them both flying across the floor.

‘Ow!’

‘Sorry,’ Jason mumbled.

‘Doesn’t matter,’ Percy squeaked. ‘Didn’t need that arm anyway.’

Jason smiled sheepishly then turned to shift the winds under Grover to keep the satyr aloft while Frank did his best with the chains.

Grover came free faster, only having to wriggle his hooves out with a little effort. Jason steered the satyr to safety where he collapsed to the ground in relief, Frank landing and shifting beside him.

‘I will never insult ground again,’ Grover promised.

‘Does it seem too easy?’ Percy commented.

‘What do you mean?’ Jason frowned.

Percy shook his head, ‘I don’t know. Surely there would be better traps then this. It’s almost like they want us to succeed.’

Frank bit his lip anxiously, ‘Like what that guy said. He mentioned “playtime.” Do you get the feeling he’s toying with us?’

‘Wait, what guy?’ Grover scratched his head. ‘I’m lost.’

‘There was a guy, well, I don’t know if they were a guy or a girl,’ Frank admitted. ‘But when I came out of that fear thing, they put me straight back in. They said I would help, and they didn’t want that.’

‘Strange,’ Jason muttered.

‘Hold up,’ Percy froze in panic. ‘Where are the girls?’

‘What?’ The others looked around as the realized the conclusion Percy had come to.

‘The girls,’ Percy repeated. ‘Piper never came out of those fear rooms, Juniper disappeared, Hazel went the wrong way, and Annabeth was taken by a monster.’

‘I missed all this!’ Jason yelped.

This way.

Frank jumped.

‘That voice,’ he muttered. ‘It’s the person who spoke to me earlier.’

‘You can’t even tell if it’s a boy or girl,’ Grover whimpered.

A cloaked figure appeared at the entrance to one of the tunnels. They were there for a second as the beckoned, then vanished as quickly and as abruptly as they had appeared.

The four boys glanced at one another.

‘I guess that way’s the way to go,’ Frank said.