Mr. D lounged against the stone pile that was Zeus Fist as if he'd been waiting hours. One leg crossed over the other, goblet in hand, lazily swirling the dark liquid inside. Elizabeth stood stiff beside him, shoulders drawn tight, a dented can of cola clenched in both hands.
Lucas stepped out of the trees first. Cold air prickled under his collar. The ground here was scattered with old pine needles, brittle frost crunching under boots he'd worn through half the country by now.
Mr. D's mouth curled, the laziest of grins. "Sneaking into camp under the nose of a god, my boy? How quaint. Almost adorable."
Lucas stopped a few strides short, his eyes flicking from Elizabeth's forced stillness to the rim of Mr. D's goblet, before locking eyes with Mr. D. At least he thought so; with sunglasses still on, he couldn't tell where Mr. D was looking. "I was under the impression Kratos would be first to greet me when I was found. Didn't think you'd bother doing his job."
Mr. D lifted his gaze, lazy but sharp beneath the droop of his eyelids. "Kratos? His business is none of mine. I have no need to tell him anything, nor do I need to play his little games."
"So you're not going to capture me?"
Mr. D let out a little laugh, taking a sip of his cola, before tilting the goblet to Elizabeth, silently ordering her to refill it. "You have a misunderstanding of your importance, child. This is a camp for demigods; you, a demigod, can come and go as you wish. However, bringing in unauthorized monsters? That is concerning."
Lucas looked towards Elizabeth, her eyes wide in fear. Lucas gave her a small smile, silently telling her everything will be alright. He returned to looking at Mr. D, who acted like he hadn't noticed the emotions of the other two, still enjoying his drink.
"If you wanted to kill her, I doubt you would let her live till now. I also doubt you would be cruel enough to kill her in front of me."
Mr. D raised an eyebrow, amused. "What made you come to that idea?"
Lucas smirked, "If you were that cruel, Hestia wouldn't have believed in you."
It seemed there was no outward reaction, but Lucas saw it, the swirling of the goblet paused, almost uncatchable. But Lucas did notice.
Behind Lucas, the faint hush of pine needles gave him warning. A soft scrape of boots broke the silence. Thalia stepped out first, jaw set, storm-grey eyes locked on the god reclining in relaxation. Luke was at her shoulder, a half-step ahead, a subtle shield. Annabeth flanked them both, her hand ghosting along Thalia's arm, grounding her, as she worried about being caught by a god and about Thalia's reaction.
Mr. D's grin widened. "A family camping trip, is it? How rustic. Bring enough marshmallows for the fire?"
No one laughed. Tension rose, especially for the three who had just arrived, caught off guard.
Thalia stepped forward. Hesitation and fear were pushed aside by anger.
"I'm not staying. I'm not sitting around this place waiting for Olympus to finally decide it will be easier for them to have me dead. I'm not going to just wait around, if you want to stop me...then you can kill me now."
For once, Mr. D's eyes were revealed as he removed his glasses - ancient, flat, wine-dark. The god's voice lost its lazy curl as he turned his sharp gaze onto Thalia.
"It seems you don't understand. Being confined to camp wasn't a decision to imprison you; it was a decision to keep you from dying. Should you leave this camp, that protection, granted by the few rational gods on Olympus, will be void. The only option left would be to kill you, for by leaving here, you have demonstrated that you are willing to disobey Olympus' orders. You will be seen as the child of prophecy."
Thalia's mouth trembled. Luke's hand found hers, their fingers knotting tight enough to blanch the knuckles. She looked at Lucas, then at Annabeth, and finally back at Mr. D. Her chin lifted. "I understand the consequences, but I cannot accept being confined here."
Silence folded around them. The god's gaze stayed piercing into Thalia's, causing her to take a step back, while Luke took a step forward to shield her.
Then Mr. D snorted, a huff like a bored king dismissing a fool. The grin crept back, smug, soft. "Well. Let it be known I did my due diligence. Chiron cannot say I didn't try. Off you trot. And do not come back here again, any of you. I don't want Father to have the opportunity to make my confinement here any more annoying."
Elizabeth slipped away from his side like a leaf drifting free, the cola can abandoned at the base of the stone. She moved to Lucas's side without a word, her relief hidden behind a glare that promised retribution if he ever left her behind again.
They shuffled around the god, making their way into the Labyrinth, before Lucas paused, encouraging the others to go on as he turned back to Mr. D.
Mr. D was watching him, or maybe not. His eyes were again covered by the glasses. His goblet swirled in slow circles in his palm.
Lucas's voice was quiet but clear. "I met Pan. In the Labyrinth."
"Ah, so that's where the old goat was hiding."
"He's dead."
Mr. D stopped swirling his drink before silently muttering in a gentle tone.
"Of course he is."
He tipped the goblet, pouring the remaining cola onto the ground before disappearing in a blink, leaving behind a ball of twine yarn and the lingering scent of grapes.