Athena the Proud Page 7

  As the minutes ticked by, Athena distracted herself from her concern about how the students inside the labyrinth were faring by chitchatting with her friends. However, when not one of the group who’d gone in first had reappeared in the next half hour, she started to panic in earnest. In her zeal to make the labyrinth more challenging, it seemed possible she’d succeeded far too well.

  “I wonder what’s taking so long,” said Cassandra.

  “Good question,” said Apollo. “I can understand why Artemis isn’t out yet, though. She has no sense of direction. She wouldn’t even be able to find her way out of a papyrus bag!”

  Cassandra giggled. It was true, thought Athena. But Cassandra wouldn’t be laughing if she knew Athena had made the maze mega-hard. Too hard for someone with no sense of direction. Something Athena hadn’t thought about when she’d altered the maze. She hoped Artemis wasn’t lost and alone in there.

  “But Artemis aside, where’s everyone else?” Apollo continued. He was starting to look worried too.

  Athena took note of who was still waiting outside the labyrinth with her—Persephone, Pandora, Theseus, Apollo, Cassandra, Ariadne, and Medusa. Which meant that Heracles, Artemis, Aphrodite, Ares, Hades, and Dionysus were still inside. Also Actaeon. So maybe Artemis was with him. She hoped so.

  After fifteen more minutes went by, everyone grew restless and worried. Theseus was still pacing to and fro in front of the entrances, stopping every now and then to peer inside. Ariadne had taken her knitting from her sparkly pink bag. Her needles clicked together nervously as she added another row of stitches to the scarf she was making. It was a scarf that Ms. Hydra, Zeus’s nine-headed administrative assistant back at MOA, would’ve loved, Athena thought. Because it was long enough to wrap around all nine of her necks!

  Persephone had been chatting with Medusa, but now she came over to Athena. “You’ve been inside the labyrinth,” she said. “Any idea why it could be taking Hades and the others so long to find their way out?”

  Athena wrinkled her brow. “I . . . um . . .”

  Persephone drew her aside. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “I can tell you’re worried about something. Come on. Spill.”

  After several more moments of hesitation, Athena began to confess what she’d done and why. As she described the spells she’d cast to disconnect and move apart the walls, Persephone turned even paler than usual.

  “Parts of the Underworld are labyrinth-like,” she told Athena in a low voice. “And Hades once told me that the areas with ‘complex’ mazes are nearly impossible to get out of. Even he has trouble and gets lost in them sometimes. And he knows every inch of them since he’s been in them dozens of times!”

  “Really?” Athena felt all color drain from her face. She probably looked as pale as Persephone right now! “What do you think I should do, then?” she whispered plaintively. But before Persephone could reply, Hades wandered out of the maze. He was limping.

  Relieved to see him, Persephone and Athena rushed to his side. “Am I the first person out?” he asked, looking around in surprise. Both goddessgirls nodded in reply as all the other waiting students gathered around him.

  Hades slumped against the wall. “Gotta get off my ankle,” he said. He slid down till he was sitting on the floor.

  Persephone dropped to crouch beside him. “What happened? How did you hurt it?” she asked anxiously.

  “Twisted it tripping over a stalagmite,” Hades explained. Then, speaking in a grave voice, he told everyone, “That maze is way too hard. I don’t know what Daedalus could have been thinking designing it that way. I only found my way out by pure dumb luck. The rest of the group must still be wandering around in there.”

  Athena opened her mouth, planning to admit to Hades and the others what she’d already told Persephone in private. Before she could say a word, however, an earsplitting series of roars erupted from somewhere deep within the labyrinth. These were closely followed by terrified screams. The MOA students, Theseus, Cassandra, and Ariadne stared at one another in shock.

  8

  Ariadne’s Scarf

  GRRR! GRRR!

  “Was that the . . . the Minotaur?” Persephone asked, her green eyes wide.

  “It was switched off when Daedalus showed it to me,” said Athena. “But those roars sounded just like the Minotaurs in the Forest of the Beasts, so maybe . . .”

  “We used to hear roars like that while Daedalus was building the labyrinth,” Ariadne interrupted. “Dad wouldn’t allow me near the monster or the labyrinth, though. I always thought he was, like, soo overprotective. Now I’m kind of thinking he was right.”

  Hades winced as he stretched his hurt ankle out in front of him. “The truth is, I never made it to the center of the maze, so I don’t know if the Minotaur is switched on or off. I was maybe halfway in there before I got totally lost. Like I said, I was lucky to find my way out again.”

  Several more deep and ferocious roars split the air, followed by more screams.

  “Do you think those could be the happy screams of kids having fun?” Pandora asked hopefully. When everyone gave her an Are you crazy? look, she sighed. “Well, nothing wrong with asking.”

  “The Minotaur’s mechanical, right? It couldn’t really harm anyone, could it?” asked Medusa. There was an edge of worry to her voice too. And no wonder. Medusa’s crush, Dionysus, was among those inside the labyrinth. Athena knew how she felt. Not only was Heracles in the maze. Her BFFs Aphrodite and Artemis were in there too!

  “We have to do something. Fight back somehow,” said Apollo. He looked ready to race inside the maze.

  “Apollo’s right. We should attack,” agreed Theseus. “Heracles may have battled and defeated tons of monsters,” he added, “but he doesn’t have his trusty club with him this time. And his strength alone might not be enough to fend off a Minotaur gone haywire.”

  Athena’s jaw tensed as she remembered how dangerous the magical beasts in the Forest of the Beasts had become when they had gone haywire once. “We definitely need to get everyone out of there, and the sooner the better, but—”

  “I’ll go after them!” exclaimed Theseus. He’d been kneeling beside Hades, but now he leaped to his feet and dashed toward the center archway.

  “Wait. Stop!” Athena called after him. He drew up short and spun around to look at her.

  “You said ‘the sooner the better,’ ” he said with a frown. “My cousin needs me, and we’re all just standing around talking!”

  “He’s right,” Medusa said. “So while you’re all deciding what to do here, I’ll go find Professor Ladon, King Minos, and that wacky inventor who dreamed up this crazy maze. He probably knows the way in.”

  “Good idea. I’ll go with you to the bumper chariots,” Apollo volunteered. The two of them took off just as the monster let out another mighty ROAARRR.

  Athena shuddered. Earlier she’d been wishing that Daedalus had put even more mechanical monsters inside the labyrinth. Now she was very glad he hadn’t. Because maybe even one was too many!

  “I’m going in there,” Theseus said stubbornly.

  Athena suspected that the boy’s eagerness to be off was due to more than just concern for Heracles. He wanted to prove himself a hero, a desire that was probably every bit as important to him as inventing things was to her. And what better way to prove his heroism than by rescuing the cousin whose courage he so much admired and respected?

  “No way,” squeaked Ariadne. “You’ll only wind up hurt or trapped like those who are in there now.”

  Glancing across the room, Persephone caught Athena’s gaze and said to her, “Don’t you think there’s something you should tell every—”

  With the smallest of movements Athena shook her head. She knew Persephone wanted her to fess up about what she’d done. But right now the important thing was getting everyone out. The news about who’d made the maze more difficult wouldn’t help matters, and she didn’t want to waste time playing the blame game.

 
; And there was another important reason for keeping mum, that her friend didn’t know.

  Athena didn’t want to draw attention to the problem she’d seen in Daedalus’s design—that the maze had been too easy. That could ruin his chances for the fame and glory he truly deserved for having thought it up in the first place.

  However, her third reason for keeping quiet was not so noble. Her pride. She didn’t want everyone to know what a huge mistake she’d made!

  Abruptly the monster roared again, making both girls jump. It was louder than ever. So were the students’ screams that followed. They were making Athena so jittery that her usual dependably bright brain wasn’t cooperating. Think, think, think! she told herself. She had to formulate a plan to fix things—fast.

  “Maybe you could see what’s happening?” Pandora suggested anxiously to Cassandra. “Or see the path we should take?”

  With a confused expression on her face, Ariadne looked from one girl to the other.

  “Cassandra can prophesy,” Persephone quickly explained.

  Cassandra closed her eyes, and everyone fell quiet so she could concentrate. While she was doing that, Persephone jumped up and beckoned to Athena to follow her. When they were far enough away from the others that they couldn’t easily be overheard, Persephone whispered, “You really don’t remember well enough all the changes you made to the maze? You couldn’t find your way in and out of it again?”

  Athena shook her head. “No. I wish I could. And un-spelling the walls to return them to their original positions would be risky. The moving walls might accidentally crush the students inside. Or make the Minotaur even madder.”

  Persephone opened her mouth again, and Athena feared her friend was about to scold her for her part in this. But just then Cassandra’s eyes popped open. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I couldn’t see anything.”

  “Probably too dark in there,” Ariadne said.

  Athena and Persephone turned to stare at her. Did she really not understand the difference between seeing into the future and actual seeing? Athena wondered. From the look on Persephone’s face, she was doubtless wondering the same thing. If Ariadne had ever been inside the labyrinth, she would have known that there were torches to light the passageways. Did she think that her dad and Daedalus would let visitors wander around in the dark? As nice as Ariadne was, she honestly did seem to be a bit of an airhead.

  Not seeming to notice their reactions, Ariadne pulled her pink scarf-in-progress from her bag again. But instead of starting to work on her project, she only stared down at it. With a furrowed brow she slipped the scarf off her needles, which she stuck back into her bag. Using two fingers she pulled on the loose end of the string of yarn, and watched the scarf slowly unravel. Maybe, Athena thought, she’d finally realized that the thing had gotten much too long.

  “I’ll go with Theseus,” Hades said suddenly. He struggled to stand, but then moaned and quickly sank back down.

  Persephone ran back over to him, shaking her head. “No way, Mr. Underworld. You’re not going anywhere with that bum ankle.”

  “I’ll go by myself,” Theseus insisted. With renewed determination he took a step into the center tunnel.

  ROAAAR! ROAAAR! ROAAAR! The Minotaur’s bellows echoed down the passageways.

  “AAAAAAHH!” screamed the students inside.

  Theseus halted. He glanced over his shoulder at Athena. It was almost as if he were hoping she’d try to stop him again, she thought. Was it possible he wasn’t quite as courageous as he pretended to be? Or maybe he just wanted her to go in with him!

  “Okay. If you’re going, I’ll go with you,” she said. Though the chance was high that they’d only get lost, she was out of other ideas.

  “Oh. My. Godz!” Ariadne exclaimed suddenly.

  As everyone turned to look at her, she held up her too-long pink scarf. “I just got the best idea!” she announced. Smiling, she scurried over to Theseus. “Take this with you,” she said, handing him the scarf.

  “A pink scarf? That’s your idea? You want me to put your scarf around my neck so I’ll stay warm—not to mention girly-looking—in the labyrinth?” he asked in appalled confusion.

  “No, silly,” said Ariadne. “Tie it around your waist. I’ll stay out here and hold on to the loose end of the yarn. The scarf will unravel with each step you take away from me, more and more the farther you go into the maze. And that way you won’t get lost because you can always follow the yarn trail back out.”

  Athena stared at the girl in surprise. “That’s a brilliant idea!” she exclaimed. The others nodded enthusiastically.

  “I should have foreseen it,” Cassandra murmured.

  I should have come up with it myself, thought Athena. Ariadne was obviously cleverer than Athena had originally assumed.

  Theseus tied the scarf around his waist, then grinned at the princess as he handed her back the loose end of the pink yarn to hold. “Wish me luck,” he said, glancing around at the group.

  “We do!” they all replied at the same time.

  Athena started to go with him, but he held out a hand to stop her. “No need,” he said, dismissing her help. As he plunged into the tunnel, the scarf began to unravel in a long pink line behind him. For a long moment everyone stared after him, silent.

  Then Persephone turned to Ariadne. “I feel kind of bad about your scarf.”

  “Yeah,” said Athena. “You spent so much time working on it.”

  Ariadne shrugged like it was no big deal. “It was okay for a first effort,” she said, glancing up at them through long dark lashes. “But I’ll need, like, a lot more practice before I can control those needles enough to actually knit something worth keeping.”

  Control? All at once Athena remembered something she’d forgotten until now. Something important that Daedalus had told her. There was a control room somewhere in the palace. She’d probably made a big mistake changing the labyrinth, but if she could find the room that controlled the Minotaur, maybe she could still assist in putting things right. Meanwhile, with the help of Ariadne’s plan, Theseus had at least a chance of rescuing those caught in the maze.

  Pulling Persephone aside, Athena explained what she hoped to accomplish. Then, leaving her friends, she raced upstairs.

  Behind her the Minotaur’s roars sounded again. Like thunder after lightning, screams immediately followed from deep within the labyrinth, sending chills up her spine.

  9

  Sparks F  l  y

  ATHENA BURST OUT THROUGH THE red door. She glanced down the walkway, toward the entrance to the rides and games area of the aMAZEment Park. She was hoping to see Daedalus, King Minos, and Professor Ladon coming toward her, accompanied by Medusa and Apollo. But no such luck. Since the bumper chariot ride was at the far end of the park, it would probably take Medusa and Apollo a while to get there. And even more time for all of them to make it back to the labyrinth.

  Well, she couldn’t wait that long for Daedalus to save the day. Even out here Athena could still hear the roars and screams coming from down in the maze. She dashed around the palace till she reached the main palace doors. There was no time to lose!

  After passing through the banquet hall, she began to weave her way through a series of passageways that opened off into lots of small chambers within the palace. Though she’d never been in the control room, she knew it was located above the Minotaur in the maze, which meant that the room had to be somewhere near the center of the palace.

  Athena turned down another passageway. The palace was huge! Luckily, she had a better sense of direction than her friend Artemis. Apollo hadn’t been exaggerating too much when he’d said that his sister couldn’t find her way out of a papyrus bag!

  As she ran, the monstrous roars of the Minotaur got even louder, reverberating up through the mosaic-tiled floor beneath her feet. She must be getting closer!

  She’d been opening doors as she went along. Most of the rooms in this wing of the palace were storerooms that hous
ed large clay containers called pithoi. She didn’t need to peek inside the pithoi to know that they held foods such as oil, grains, dried fish, beans, and, of course, olives, the fruit of her best-known, best-loved invention.

  Athena passed servants now and then, but when she tried to question a group of them, she realized they spoke a dialect of Greek that she didn’t understand. She tried acting out what she was looking for, making gestures to pretend she was moving imaginary controls. Then she held up one finger on each side of her head as if they were horns, stamping her feet and snorting, hoping they’d get the idea that she was looking for the room where Daedalus controlled the Minotaur. But when the servants only laughed at her antics, she gave up on them and continued searching for the control room on her own.

  The Minotaur’s roars had grown deafening now. But the screams that had followed them had stopped. What did it mean? Had Theseus rescued them already? Or had something dire happened to her friends instead? Had they been munched, mangled, or Minotaured into oblivion? Gulp!

  Trying not to think the worst, Athena threw open yet another door . . . and stepped into a room that hummed with machinery. Yes! This had to be Daedalus’s workshop. And that meant she was directly over the center of the labyrinth!

  She made her way past a workbench crowded with nuts, bolts, tools, and pieces of metal and wood. Soon she was standing before a desk-size machine of shifting gears, switches, knobs, buttons, handles, pulleys, and levers in the very center of the room. This must be the control board!

  Hearing a noise, she glanced across the room toward a door. She saw a flash of gold, and then it was gone. Had that door just opened and closed? she wondered. But she had no time to investigate.

  Right away she saw that the floor beneath the control board was made of thick, clear glass. Dropping to her hands and knees, she peered down through it. About twenty feet below her the Minotaur bellowed and raged alone in its room. It stamped its hooves and snorted, and thrust its head with its wickedly sharp horns this way and that.