CHAPTER XLVI:Faster Than Shadows, But Slower Than Demons

In the time since Penny had woke me up I had grabbed my gear and was standing at the door. I heard monsters banging at it, trying to knock the door down, as everyone else grabbed their gear.

My weapons were ready, and I was good to fight. Everyone got their gear ready quickly thanks to field training from Ares' 'Survival Readiness Courses'.

"Ready?" I asked putting my hand on the door handle.

Adam notched an golden tipped arrow in his bow, while Seth was next to him with his lucky crossbow.

"Ready." Penny answered from behind Seth.

I turned the door handle quickly and swung it open, ducking soon after. A shadow monster moved in, and Adam let an arrow fly. The arrow hit the target and sent off a bright light disintegrating a few other shadows trying to get in.

I got up and ran out the door. To my right I saw a disabled automaton, which was supposed to be our guard. It probably was an error in setting him up, but at least the door held in the guards absence.

I ran down the hall, and opened the large double doors. Adam took a steady position near them, and shot more golden tipped arrows down the hall, as the rest of the team got through the doors. I tapped Adam's shoulder twice and followed the team out the door.

I stepped onto the Chicago sidewalk with Adam close behind. The team and I ran down the sidewalk through small clusters of people. Adam kept looking over his shoulder occasionally seeing Selene's henchmen close at our feet.

"They're gaining on us!" Adam yelled.

"No shit!" Penny yelled back looking around.

"Turn left down that alley!" Seth yelled.

"Why?!" Olivia asked.

"Just do it!" Seth yelled back.

We turned quickly and ran down the alleyway Seth had pointed out.

Penny looked at the walls, and her eyes widened "Hold up here!" She yelled running to a wall.

"You see it too Penny?" Seth asked taking up a defensive position.

"See it and working on it." Penny answered looking at the wall.

The rest of the team were in a defensive stance, but no shadows came. Adam said they were close, but they were nowhere to be seen. Instead, something far worse turned the corner.

Selene, the moon Titan, turned the corner. She had long black hair that reflected no light, it was pure darkness that dropped far past her shoulder. Her eyes were a dull silver which matched her black dress with silver pieces highlighting her features.

"Hello dear children." Selene said, in a chillingly calm voice, walking down the alleyway.

Her bright silver heels crunched the snow as she walked towards us.

"Guys…..I don't wanna alarm you, but only one of us has the weapon that can fight a god." Olivia said looking at me.

"Still think I'm not up to fighting a god?" I asked tightening my grip on my dagger.

"Didn't go to well last time if what Thanatos said was true." Selene smiled coldly stopping about four meters in front of us.

"You moonlit bitch." I said running forward.

Selene pulled out a sword handle, with no blade attached to it. It looked ridiculous, a Titan with a sword handle with no blade, swinging it around like it would hurt me magically.

"Mary! Watch out!" I heard Penny yell.

I looked up, and saw the smallest hint of reflection prompting me to dodge. I ducked under the blade handle, rolled in the freezing cold snow, and got back to my feet quickly.

I looked up to see a large gash in the black concrete wall where Selene had swung the sword handle. It was a weapon I had read about but have never seen, a moonlight blade.

"Impressive, no? I made my time on Olympus worthwhile when I got this weapon from Hephaestus. A neat little blade that won't show up in a new moon, but I guarantee it is still very deadly. It will cut through your disgraceful half-god body like a Roman blade through a Germanic barbarian." Selene said readying her sword.

"Mary! That blade is only eighteen inches! Look at the handle closely!" Penny yelled.

I did as ordered and saw the handle belonged to a Roman gladius. I ran toward Selene, and she swung the blade down. I dodged quickly and stabbed my dagger into Selene's stomach. She yelled out in pain, and brought the sword back up. I moved away and spun around stabbing Selene's back. Selene turned around and I moved away before Selene could swing again. Ichor flowed from her wounds, and caused beautiful flowers to grow wherever the ichor dripped.

"Mary, I'm almost done here. Remember what you told me in Elysium about Achilles. Pretend your dagger is a xiphos." Penny said not taking her focus away from whatever she was doing at the wall.

I nodded and readied my dagger, hoping Selene wouldn't catch on. I ran toward Selene again, I jumped and kicked off the wall going airborne, and plunging my dagger in between Selene's shoulder and neck stabbing the blade into her throat before she had a moment to react.

Selene moved away before I could pull the blade out, and dropped her sword handle. Selene looked stunned and fell to the ground, she ripped the dagger out as more ichor flowed from her wound and she coughed up some as well making a small garden of flowers in the alleyway. Her form began dissolving, and she threw the dagger at me in a last ditch effort to kill me. I caught it quickly before it could hit anyone, and watched as Selene's form completely faded away.

"Woah....did Mary just kill a Titan?" Adam asked shocked.

"No, she destroyed a Titans form. She'll be back soon enough." Olivia answered.

I cleaned the ichor off my dagger and sheathed it as I heard a loud noise from the wall Penny was working on. I turned to see a large blue seal of Athena glowing brightly, as a passageway opened up in the wall.

"Ladies and gentlemen I present the entrance to the Labyrinth, made and improved by Daedalus and Athena." Penny said doing a little bow.

"Great job Owl Eyes." I said smiling.

"Thank Seth, he saw the mark when I didn't." Penny said pointing at my brother who was putting his crossbow on his back.

"Alright, let's move out guys." Olivia said entering the Labyrinth.

"One second." I said taking a reinforcement card from my bag.

I made sure I grabbed the right reinforcement card, and broke the glass against the ground. A skeleton with a xiphos decorated with obsidian and gold rose from where the marker was broken and ghostly flesh covered it's bones. Armor rose up and attached to the skeleton, once I saw the chest plate I knew who it was.

In his new armor with Minotaur decorations and hair, with two large horns on his bracers, the first survivor of the Labyrinth stood before me. The Greek hero from Elysium, Theseus, the Minotaur slayer.