The next morning there was a lot of excitement at breakfast. Apparently around three in the morning anAethiopiandrakon had been spotted at the borders of camp. Iwas so exhausted I slept right through the noise. The magical boundaries had kept the monster out, but itprowled the hills, looking for weak spots in our defenses, and it didn’t seem anxious to go away until LeeFletcher from Apollo’s cabin led a couple of his siblings in pursuit. After a few dozen arrows lodged inthe chinks of thedrakon’s armor, it got the message and withdrew. “It’s still out there, †Lee warned us during announcements. “Twenty arrows in its hide, and we just madeit mad. The thing was thirty feet long and bright green.
It’s eyes—†he shuddered. “You did well, Lee, †Chiron patted him on the shoulder. “Everyone stay alert, but stay calm. This hashappened before.
†“Aye, †Quintus said from the head table. “And it will happen again. More and more frequently.
†The campers murmured among themselves. Everyone knew the rumors:
Luke and his army of monsters were planning an invasion of the camp. Mostof us expected it to happen this summer, but no one knew how or when. It didn’t help that ourattendance was down. We only had about eighty campers. Three years ago, when I’d started, there hadbeen more than a hundred. Some had died. Some had joined Luke. Some had just disappeared. “This is a good reason for new war games, “Quintus continued, a glint in his eyes. “We’ll see how you alldo with that tonight.
†“Yes…†Chiron said. “Well, enough announcements. Let us bless this meal and eat.
†He raised hisgoblet. “To the gods.
†We all raised our glasses and repeated the blessing. Tyson and I took our plates to the bronze brazier and scraped a portion of our food into the flames. Ihoped the gods liked raisin toast and Froot Loops. “Poseidon, †I said. Then I whispered, “Help me with Nico, and Luke, and Grover’s problem…†There was so much to worry about I could’ve stood there all morning, but I headed back to the table. Once everyone was eating, Chiron and Grover came over to visit. Grover was bleary-eyed. His shirtwas inside out. He slid his plate onto the table and slumped next to me. Tyson shifted uncomfortably. “I will go…um…polish my fish ponies.
†He lumbered off, leaving his breakfast half-eaten. Chiron tried for a smile. He probably wanted to look reassuring, but in centaur form he towered overme, casting a shadow across the table. “Well, Percy, how did you sleep?†“Uh, fine.
†I wondered why he asked that. Was it possible he knew something about the weirdIris-message I’d gotten? “I brought Grover over, †Chiron said, “because I thought you two might want to, ah, discuss matters.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Iris-messages to send. I’ll see you later in the day.
†He gaveGrover a meaningful look, then trotted out of the pavilion.
†“What’s he talking about?†I asked Grover. Grover chewed his eggs. I could tell he was distracted, because he bit the tines of his fork and chewedthose down, too. “He wants you to convince me, †he mumbled. Somebody else slid next to me on the bench:
Annabeth. “I’ll tell you what it’s about, †she said. “The Labyrinth.
†It was hard to concentrate on what she was saying, because everybody in the dining pavilion wasstealing glances at us and whispering. And Annabeth was right next to me. I mean right next to me. “You’re not supposed to be here, †I said. “We need to talk, †she insisted. “But the rules…†She knew as well as I did that campers weren’t allowed to switch tables. Satyrs were different. Theyweren’t really demigods. But the half-bloods had to sit with their cabins. I wasn’t even sure what thepunishment was for switching tables. I’d never seen it happen. If Mr. D had been here, he probablywould’ve strangled Annabeth with magical grapevines or something, but Mr. D wasn’t here. Chiron hadalready left the pavilion. Quintus looked over and raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything. “Look, †Annabeth said, “Grover is in trouble. There’s only one way we can figure to help him. It’s theLabyrinth. That’s what Clarisse and I have been investigating.
†I shifted my weight, trying to think clearly. “You mean the maze where they kept the Minotaur, back inthe old days?†“Exactly, †Annabeth said. “So…it’s not under the king’s palace in Crete anymore, †I guessed. “The Labyrinth is under somebuilding in America.
†See? It only took me a few years to figure things out. I knew that important places moved around withWestern Civilization, like Mount Olympus being over the Empire State building, and the Underworldentrance being in Los Angeles. I was feeling pretty proud of myself. Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Under a building? Please, Percy. The Labyrinth is huge . It wouldn’t fit undera single city, much less a single building.
†I thought about my dream of Nico at the River Styx. “So…is the Labyrinth part of the Underworld?†“No.
†Annabeth frowned. “Well, there may be passages from the Labyrinth down into the Underworld.
I’m not sure. But the Underworld is way, way down. The Labyrinth is right under the surface of themortal world, kind of like a second skin. It’s been growing for thousands of years, lacing its way underWestern cities, connecting everything together underground. You can get anywhere through theLabyrinth.
†“If you don’t get lost, †Grover muttered. “And die a horrible death.
†“Grover, there has to be a way, †Annabeth said. I got the feeling they’d had this conversation before.
“Clarisse lived.
†“Barely!†Grover said. “And the other guy—†“He was driven insane. He didn’t die.
†“Oh, joy.
†Grover’s lower lip quivered. “That makes me feel much better.
†“Whoa, †I said. “Back up. What’s this about Clarisse and a crazy guy?†Annabeth glanced over toward the Ares table. Clarisse was watching us like she knew what we weretalking about, but then she fixed her eyes on her breakfast plate. “Last year, †Annabeth said, lowering her voice, “Clarisse went on a mission for Chiron.
†“I remember, †I said. “It was secret.
†Annabeth nodded. Despite how serious she was acting, I was happy she wasn’t mad at me anymore.
And I kind of liked the fact that she’d broken the rules to come sit next to me. “It was secret, †Annabeth agreed, “because she found Chris Rodriguez.
†“The guy from the Hermes cabin?†I remembered him from two years ago. We’d eavesdropped on ChrisRodriguez aboard Luke’s ship, thePrincess Andromeda . Chris was one of the half-bloods who’dabandoned camp and joined the Titan Army. “Yeah, †Annabeth said. “Last summer he just appeared in Phoenix, Arizona, near Clarisse’s mom’shouse.
†“What do you mean he just appeared?†“He was wandering around the desert, in a hundred and twenty degrees, in full Greek armor, babblingabout string.
†“String, †I said. “He’d been driven completely insane. Clarisse brought him back to her mom’s house so the mortalswouldn’t institutionalize him. She tried to nurse him back to health. Chiron came out and interviewed him, but it wasn’t much good. The only thing they got out of him:
Luke’s men have been exploring theLabyrinth.
†I shivered, though I wasn’t exactly sure why. Poor Chris…he hadn’t been a bad guy. What could’vedriven him mad? I looked at Grover, who was chewing up the rest of his fork. “Okay, †I asked. “Why were they exploring the Labyrinth?†“We weren’t sure, †Annabeth said. “That’s why Clarisse went on a scouting expedition. Chiron keptthings hushed up because he didn’t want anyone panicking. He got me involved because…well, theLabyrinth has always been one of my favorite subjects. The architecture involved—†Her expressionturned a little dreamy. “The builder, Daedalus, was a genius. But the point is , the Labyrinth has entranceseverywhere. If Luke could figure out how to navigate it, he could move his army around with incrediblespeed.
†“Except it’s a maze, right?†“Full of horrible traps, †Grover agreed. “Dead ends. Illusions.
Psychotic goat-killing monsters.
†“But not if you had Ariadne’s string, †Annabeth said. “In the old days, Ariadne’s string guidedTheseus outof the maze. It was a navigation instrument of some kind, invented by Daedalus. And Chris Rodriguezwas mumbling about string.
†“So Luke is trying to find Ariadne’s string, †I said. “Why? What’s he planning?†Annabeth shook her head. “I don’t know. I thought maybe he wanted to invade camp through the maze, but that doesn’t make any sense. The closest entrances Clarisse found were in Manhattan, whichwouldn’t help Luke get past our borders. Clarisse explored a little way into the tunnels, but…it was verydangerous. She had some close calls. I researched everything I could find about Daedalus. I’m afraid itdidn’t help much. I don’t understand exactly what Luke’s planning, but I do know this:
the Labyrinthmight be the key to Grover’s problem.
†I blinked. “You think Pan is underground?†“It would explain why he’s been impossible to find.
†Grover shuddered. “Satyrs hate going underground. No searcher would ever try going in that place. Noflowers. No sunshine. No coffee shops!†“But, †Annabeth said, “theLabyrinth can lead you almost anywhere. It reads your thoughts. It wasdesigned to fool you, trick you and kill you; but if you can make the Labyrinth workfor you—†“It could lead you to the wild god, †I said. “I can’t do it.
†Grover hugged his stomach. “Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up mysilverware.
†“Grover, it may be your last chance, †Annabeth said. “The council is serious. One week or you learn totap dance!†Over at the head table, Quintus cleared his throat. I got the feeling he didn’t want to make a scene, butAnnabeth was really pushing it, sitting at my table so long. “We’ll talk later, †Annabeth squeezed my arm a little too hard. “Convince him, will you?†She returned to the Athena table, ignoring all the people who were staring at her. Grover buried his head in his hands. “I can’t do it, Percy. My searcher’s license.
Pan. I’m going to lose itall. I’ll have to start a puppet theater.
†“Don’t say that! We’ll figure something out.
†He looked at me teary-eyed. “Percy, you’re my best friend. You’ve seen me underground. In thatCyclops’s cave. Do you really think I could… †His voice faltered. I remembered the Sea of Monsters, when he’d been stuck in a Cyclops’s cave. He’dnever liked underground places to begin with, but now Grover really hated them. Cyclopes gave him thecreeps, too. Even Tyson…Grover tried to hide it, but Grover and I could sort of read each other’semotions because of this empathy link between us. I knew how he felt. Grover was terrified of the bigguy. “I have to leave, †Grover said miserably. “Juniper’s waiting for me. It’s a good thing she finds cowardsattractive.
†After he was gone, I looked over at Quintus. He nodded gravely, like we were sharing some darksecret. Then he went back to cutting his sausage with a dagger.
to be continued....
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