Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.

Chapter Ten

Summoning the Dead 101

We did our summons after dark, at a twenty-foot-long pit in front of the septic tank. The tank was bright yellow, with a smiley face and red words painted on the side: HAPPY FLUSH DISPOSAL CO. It didn't quite go with the mood of summoning the dead.

The moon was full. Silver clouds drifted across the sky. I shifted uncomfortably, conscious of how fights were always worse after sunset. Monsters were stronger, for some reason, and harder to see, along with the terrain. The brighter the day the better, in my humble opinion.

"Minos should be here by now," Nico said, frowning. "It's full dark."

"Maybe he got lost," I suggested hopefully. The dead king was evil, I was sure of it. I didn't want him around, pouring poison in Nico's ears.

Nico poured root beer and tossed barbecue into the pit, then began chanting in Ancient Greek. Immediately the bugs in the woods stopped chirping. In my pocket, the Stygian ice dog whistle started to grow colder, freezing against the side of my leg.

"Make him stop," Tyson whispered to me.

Part of me agreed. This was unnatural. The night air felt cold and menacing. My instincts were screeching worse than when I'd been on Mt. Othrys, right before Annabeth had coerced me into taking the sky from her.

But before I could say anything, the first spirits appeared. Sulphurous mist seeped out of the ground. Shadows thickened into human forms. One blue shade drifted to the edge of the pit and knelt to drink.

"Stop him!" Nico cried, momentarily breaking his chant. "Only Bianca may drink!"

I drew Riptide. The ghosts retreated with a collective hiss at the sight of my celestial bronze blade. But it was too late to stop the first spirit. He had already solidified into the shape of a bearded man in white robes. A circlet of gold wreathed his head, and even in death his eyes were lit with malice. My ever-present dread went up another dozen notches.

"Minos!" Nico exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"My apologies, master," the ghost apologised, though he didn't sound very sorry. "The sacrifice smelled so good, I couldn't resist." He examined his own hands and smiled. "It is good to see myself again. Almost in solid form—"

"You are disrupting the ritual!" Nico protested. "Get—"

The spirits of the dead began shimmering dangerously bright, and Nico had to take up the chant again to keep them at bay.

"Yes, quite right, master," Minos said with amusement. "You keep chanting. I've only come to protect you from these liars who would deceive you."

He turned to me as if I were some kind of cockroach. "Anaea Jackson…my, my, my. The children of Poseidon haven't improved over the centuries, have they?"

I wanted to punch him, but I figured my fist would go right through his face. "We're looking for Bianca di Angelo," I bit out. "Get lost."

The ghost chuckled. "I understand you once killed my Minotaur with your bare hands. But worse things await you in the maze. Do you really believe Daedalus will help you?"

The other spirits stirred in agitation. Luke drew Halcyon and helped me keep them away from the pit. Grover got so nervous he clung to Tyson's shoulder.

"Daedalus cares nothing for you, half-bloods," Minos warned. "You can't trust him. He is old beyond counting, and crafty. He is bitter from the guilt of murder and is cursed by the gods."

"The guilt of murder?" I asked, momentarily distracted. "Who did he kill?"

"Do not changed the subject!" the ghost growled. "You are hindering Nico. You try to persuade him to give up on his goal. I would make him a lord!"

"Enough, Minos," Nico commanded.

The ghost sneered. "Master, these are your enemies. You must not listen to them! Let me protect you. I will turn their minds to madness, as I did the others."

I felt as if I'd been slapped, speechless in my fury at his confession. Luke didn't have that problem, raising his sword with utter fury crossing his expression.

"The others?" he snarled. "You mean Chris Rodriguez? My brother? That was you? You μπάσταρδος!"

"The maze is my property," the ghost retorted angrily, "not Daedalus'! Those who intrude deserve madness." If he weren't already dead, I'd've killed him right then and there. Unless Luke beat me to it, of course.

"Be gone, Minos!" Nico demanded. "I want to see my sister!"

The ghost bit back his rage. "As you wish, master. But I warn you. You cannot trust these heroes."

With that, he faded into mist.

Other spirits rushed forward, but Luke and I kept them back with our swords.

"Bianca, appear!" Nico intoned. He started chanting faster, and the spirits shifted restlessly.

"Any time now," Grover muttered.

Then a silvery light flickered in the trees—a spirit that seemed brighter and stronger than the others. It came closer, and something told me to let it pass. It knelt to drink at the pit. When it arose, it was the ghostly form of Bianca di'Angelo. I had only seen her in person once, for a few moments where I had been mostly focused on fighting the manticore, but I still recognised her.

Nico's chanting faltered. I lowered my sword. The other spirits started to crowd forward, but Bianca raised her arms and they retreated into the woods.

"Hello, Ana," she greeted me with a sad smile. Her gaze shifted to Luke. "Hey Luke."

She looked the same as she had in life: a green cap set sideways on her thick black hair, dark eyes and olive skin like her brother. She wore jeans and a silvery jacket, the outfit of a Hunter of Artemis. A bow was slung over her shoulder. She smiled faintly, and her whole form flickered.

"Bianca," Luke said. His voice was thick with guilt, and I reached out to clasp his hand, running a calloused thumb over his scarred knuckles in an attempt to comfort him. "I'm so sorry," he told her, looking pained.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Luke. I made my own choice. I don't regret it."

"Bianca!" Nico stumbled forward like he was just coming out of a daze.

She turned toward her brother. Her expression was sad, as if she'd been dreading this moment. Maybe she had been. "Hello, Nico. You've gotten so tall."

"Why didn't you answer me sooner?" he cried. "I've been trying for months!"

"I was hoping that you would give up."

"Give up?" He sounded heartbroken, and the sound tugged at my own heartstrings. I hated how much I understood both of the di'Angelos' perspectives on this whole mess. "How can you say that? I'm trying to save you!"

"You can't, Nico. Don't do this. Ana and Luke are right."

"No! Luke let you die! They're not your friends."

Bianca stretched out a hand as if to touch her brother's face, but she was made of mist. Her hand evaporated as it got close to living skin.

"You must listen to me," she urged. "Holding a grudge is dangerous for a child of Hades. It is our fatal flaw. You have to forgive. You have to promise me this."

"I can't. Never."

"Ana and Luke have been worried about you, Nico. They can help. I let her see what you were up to, hoping that she would find you. She understands more than anybody else what you're going through."

"So it was you," I stated. "You sent those Iris-messages."

Bianca nodded.

"Why are you helping her and not me?" Nico screamed. "It's not fair!"

Welcome to life, kid, I thought darkly. It's not fair to anyone, especially not half-bloods.

"You are close to the truth now," Bianca told him. "It's not Ana or Luke that you're mad at, Nico. It's me."

"No."

"You're mad because I left you to become a Hunter of Artemis. You're mad because I died and left you alone. I'm sorry for that, Nico. I truly am. But you must overcome the anger. And stop blaming others for my choices. It will be your doom."

"She's right," Grover broke in, somehow finding the courage to speak despite his fear of the dead. "Kronos is rising, Nico. He'll twist anyone he can to his cause."

"I don't care about Kronos," Nico declared. "I just want my sister back."

"You can't have that, Nico," Bianca told him gently.

"I'm the son of Hades! I can."

"Don't try," she pleaded. "If you love me, don't…"

Her voice trailed off. Spirits had started to gather around us again, and they seemed agitated. Their shadows shifted.

Danger! Their voices whispered in warning.

"Tartarus stirs," Bianca announced. "Your power draws the attention of Kronos. The dead must return to the Underworld. It is not safe for us to remain."

"Wait," Nico exclaimed, eyes going wide with panic as he reached for her. "Please—"

"Good-bye, Nico," Bianca said. "I love you. Remember what I said."

Her form shivered and the ghosts disappeared, leaving us alone with a pit, a Happy Flush septic tank, and a cold full moon.

***
None of us were anxious to travel that night, so we decided to wait until morning. Grover and I crashed on the leather couches in Geryon's living room, which was a lot more comfortable than a bedroll in the maze; but it didn't make my nightmares any better.

I dreamed I was with Ethan, walking through the dark palace on top of Mount Tam. Annabeth was nowhere to be seen.

The Titans' stronghold was a real building now—not some half-finished illusion like I'd been trapped in last winter. Strangely, it almost made it easier to deal with, despite the chilling power that made me long to flee and impacted my ability to breathe. Green fires burned in braziers along the walls. The floor was polished black marble. A cold wind blew down the hallway, and above us through the open ceiling, the sky swirled with grey storm clouds.

Nakamura was dressed for battle. He wore camouflage pants, a white T-shirt, and a bronze breastplate, but his sword, Backbiter, wasn't at his side—only and empty scabbard. We walked into a large courtyard where dozens of warriors and dracaenae were preparing for war. When they saw him, the demigods rose to attention. They beat their swords against their shields.

"Issss it time, my lord?" a dracaena asked.

"Soon," Ethan promised. "Continue your work."

"My lord," a voice said behind him. Kelli the empousa was smiling at him. She wore a blue dress tonight, and looked wickedly beautiful. Her eyes flickered—sometimes dark brown, sometimes pure red. Her hair was braided down her back and seemed to catch the light of the torches, as if it were anxious to turn back into pure flame.

My heart was pounding from the stress of being back in my personal hell. I waited for Kelli to see me, to chase me out of the dream as she did before, but this time she didn't seem to notice me.

Small mercies.

"You have a visitor," Kelli informed Ethan. She stepped aside, and even Ethan seemed stunned by what he saw.

The monster Kampê towered above him. Her snakes hissed around her legs. Animal heads growled at her waist. Her swords were drawn, shimmering with poison, and with her bat wings extended, she took up the entire corridor. I recoiled, my hand going automatically to my hairpin, despite knowing the futility of my actions.

"You." Ethan's voice sounded a little shaky. "You were told to stay on Alcatraz."

Kampê's eyelids blinked sideways like a reptile's and she spoke in that weird rumbling language. This time, however, I understood, somewhere in the back of my mind: I come to serve. Give me revenge.

"You're a jailor," Ethan stated. "Your job—"

I will have them dead. No one escapes me.

I swallowed nervously, my stomach twisting uncomfortably.

Ethan hesitated. A line of sweat trickled down the side of his face. "Very well," he said. "You will go with us. You may carry Ariadne's string. It is a position of great honour."

They had the string already? Fates preserve us.

Kampê hissed at the stars. She sheathed her swords and turned, pounding down the hallway on her enormous dragon legs.

"We should have left that one in Tartarus," Ethan mumbled. "She is too chaotic. Too powerful."

Kelli laughed softly. "You should not fear power, Ethan. Use it!"

"The sooner we leave, the better," Nakamura said. "I want this over with."

"Aww," Kelli sympathized, running a finger down his arm. "You find it unpleasant to destroy your old camp?"

"I didn't say that."

"You're not having second thoughts about your own, ah, special part?"

Ethan's face turned stony. "I know my duty."

"That is good," the demon purred. "Is our strike force sufficient, do you think? Or will I need to call Mother Hecate for help?"

"We have more than enough," Nakamura replied grimly. "The deal is almost complete. All I need now is to negotiate safe passage through the arena."

My heart jumped into my throat at the news, and I clenched my fists tight enough to make them bleed, if I weren't dreaming.

"Mmm," Kelli said. "That should be interesting. I would hate to see your handsome head on a spike if you fail."

"I will not fail. And you, demon, don't you have other matters to attend to?"

"Oh, yes." Kelli smiled. "I am bringing despair to your eavesdropping enemies. I am doing that right now."

She turned her eyes directly on me, exposed her talons, and ripped through my dream. Suddenly I was in a different place.

I stood at the top of a stone tower, overlooking rocky cliffs and the ocean below. The old man Daedalus was hunched over a worktable, wrestling with some kind of navigational instrument, like a huge compass. He looked years older than when I'd last seen him. He was stooped and his hands were gnarled. His face was aged by bitterness, time, and grief. His son's death had not done him any good, obviously, despite his freedom. He cursed in Ancient Greek and squinted as if he couldn't see his work, even though it was a sunny day.

"Uncle!" a voice called.

A smiling boy about Nico's age came bounding up the steps, carrying a wooden box.

"Hello, Perdix," the old man greeted him, though his tone sounded cold. "Done with your projects already?"

"Yes, Uncle. They were easy!"

Daedalus scowled. "Easy? The problem of moving water uphill without a pump was easy?"

"Oh, yes! Look!"

The boy dumped his box and rummaged through the junk. He came up with a strip of papyrus and showed the old inventor some diagrams and notes. They didn't make any sense to me, but Daedalus nodded grudgingly. "I see. Not bad."

"The king loved it!" Perdix declared, a bright smile on his face. "He said I might be even smarter than you!"

"Did he now?"

"But I don't believe that. I'm so glad Mother sent me to study with you! I want to know everything you do."

"Yes," Daedalus muttered. "So when I die, you can take my place, eh?"

The boy's eyes widened. "Oh no, Uncle! But I've been thinking…why does a man have to die, anyway?"

The inventor scowled. "It is the way of things, lad. Everything dies but the gods."

"But why?" the boy insisted. "If you could capture the animus, the soul in another form…well, you've told me about your automatons, Uncle. Bulls, eagles, dragons, horses of bronze. Why not a bronze form for a man?"

The hair on the back of my neck stood up, warning me that something terrible was going to happen. I wanted to close my eyes and cover my ears, but I knew from past experience with demigod dreams just how utterly useless those actions were. What was with people and living forever anyway? I couldn't think of anything worse.

"No, my boy," Daedalus said sharply. "You are naïve. Such a thing is impossible."

"I don't think so," Perdix insisted. "With the use of a little magic—"

"Magic? Bah!"

"Yes, Uncle! Magic and mechanics together—with a little work, one could make a body that would look exactly human, only better. I've made some notes."

He handed the old man a thick scroll. Daedalus unfurled it. He read for a long time. His eyes narrowed. He glanced at the boy, then closed the scroll and cleared his throat. "It would never work, my boy. When you're older, you'll see."

"Can I fix that astrolabe, then, Uncle? Are your joints swelling up again?"

The old man's jaw clenched. "No. Thank you. Now why don't you run along?"

Perdix didn't seem to notice the old man's anger. He snatched a bronze beetle from his mound of stuff and ran to the edge of the tower. A low sill ringed the rim, coming just up to the boy's knees. The wind was strong.

Move back, I wanted to tell him. But my voice didn't work.

Perdix wound up the beetle and tossed it into the sky. It spread its' wings and hummed away. Perdix laughed with delight.

"Smarter than me," Daedalus mumbled, too soft for the boy to hear.

"Is it true that your son died flying, Uncle? I heard you made him enormous wings, but they failed."

Perdix was a child. He had no idea what he was risking. No idea of the danger he had placed himself in by accidentally provoking Daedalus. After all, demigods had killing in our blood.

It broke my heart to watch, but I forced myself to keep looking.

Daedalus' hands clenched. "Take my place," he muttered.

The wind whipped around the boy, tugging at his clothes, making his hair ripple.

"I would like to fly," Perdix mused, making me flinch. "I'd make my own wings that wouldn't fail. Do you think I could?"

Maybe it was a dream within my dream, but suddenly I could see the two-headed god Janus shimmering in the air next to Daedalus, smiling as he tossed a silver key from hand to hand. Choose, he whispered to the old inventor. Choose.

Daedalus picked up another one of the boy's metal bags. The inventor's old eyes were red with anger.

"Perdix," he called. "Catch."

He tossed the bronze beetle toward the boy. Delighted, Perdix tried to catch it, but the throw was too long. The beetle sailed into the sky, and Perdix reached a little too far. The wind caught him.

Somehow he managed to grab the rim of the tower with his fingers as he fell. "Uncle!" he screamed. "Help me!"

The old man's face was a mask. He did not move from his spot.

"Go on, Perdix," Daedalus said softly. "May your own wings. Be quick about it."

"Uncle!" the boy cried as he lost his grip. He tumbled toward the sea.

There was a moment of deadly silence. The god Janus flickered and disappeared. Then thunder shook the sky. A woman's stern voice spoke from above: You will pay the price for that, Daedalus.

I'd heard that voice before. It was Athena, goddess of wisdom.

Daedalus scowled up at the heavens. "I have always honoured you, Mother. I have sacrificed everything to follow your way."

Yet the boy had my blessing as well. And you have killed him. For that, you must pay.

Well, I could agree with her on that, at least. Murder should never go unpunished. I hoped Perdix found peace in the Underworld, despite his youth.

'I have paid and paid!" Daedalus growled. "I've lost everything. I'll suffer in the Underworld, no doubt. But in the meantime…"

He picked up the boy's scroll, studied it for a moment, and slipped it into his sleeve.

I scowled, realizing how Daedalus could still be alive after so long.

You do not understand, Athena said coldly. You will pay now and forever.

Suddenly Daedalus collapsed in agony. I felt what he felt. A searing pain closed around my neck like a molten-hot collar—cutting off my breath, making everything go black.

I woke in the dark, my hands clutching my throat.

"Ana?" Grover called from the other sofa. "Are you okay?"

I steadied my breathing. I wasn't sure how to answer. I'd just watched the guy we were looking for, Daedalus, murder his own nephew. Not to mention my trip to Mount Othrys, the place that had been haunting my nightmares for months. How could I be okay? The television was going. Blue light flickered through the room. My heart was beating so fast, I thought it might burst out of my chest.

"What—what time is it?" I croaked.

"Two in the morning," Grover replied. "I couldn't sleep. I was watching the Nature Channel." He sniffled. "I miss Juniper."

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "Yeah, well…you'll see her again soon."

Grover shook his head sadly. "Do you know what day it is, Ana? I just saw it on TV. It's June thirteenth. Seven days since we left camp."

"What?" I gasped, jolting upright and going wide-eyed. "That can't be right!"

"Time is faster in the Labyrinth," Grover reminded me. "The first time you and Luke went down there, you thought you were only gone a few minutes, right? But it was an hour."

"Oh," I said. "Right." Then it dawned on me what he was saying, and my throat felt searing hot again. "Your deadline with the Council of Cloven Elders."

Grover put the TV remote in his mouth and crunched off the end of it. "I'm out of time," he said with a mouthful of plastic. "As soon as I go back, they'll take away my searcher's license. I'll never be allowed to go out again."

"We'll talk to them," I promised. "Make them give you more time."

Grover swallowed. "They'll never go for it. The world is dying, Ana. What you did today—saving the ranch animals from Geryon—that was amazing. I—I wish I could be more like you."

"Hey," I said. "Don't say that. You're just as much a hero—"

"No I'm not. I keep trying, but…" He sighed. "Ana, I can't go back to camp without finding Pan. I just can't. You understand that, don't you? I can't face Juniper if I fail. I can't even face myself."

His voice was so unhappy it hurt to hear. We'd been through a lot together, but I'd never heard him sound this down.

"We'll figure out something," I said. "You haven't failed. You're the champion goat boy, all right? Juniper knows that. So do I."

Grover closed his eyes. "Champion goat boy," he muttered dejectedly.

A long time after he dozed off, I was still awake, watching the blue light of the Nature Channel wash over the stuffed trophy heads on Geryon's walls. I tried to pretend that my blurred vision was the result of tiredness, not unshed tears.

***
The next morning we walked down to the cattle guard and said our good-byes.

"Nico, you could come with us," I blurted out. I guess I was thinking about my dream, and how much the young boy Perdix reminded me of Nico.

He shook his head. I don't think any of us had slept well in the demon ranch house, but Nico looked worse than anybody else. His eyes were red and his face chalky. He was wrapped in a black robe that must've belonged to Geryon, because it was three sizes too big even for a grown man.

"I need time to think." His eyes wouldn't meet mine, but I could tell from his tone he was still angry. The fact that his sister had come out of the Underworld for me and not for him didn't seem to sit well with him. I could hardly blame him for that. In his position, I'd've been bitter too.

"Nico," Luke said carefully. "Bianca just wants you to be okay."

He reached out to put his hand on Nico's shoulder, but he pulled away and trudged up the road toward the ranch house. Maybe it was my imagination, but the morning mist seemed to cling to him as he walked.

"I'm worried about him," Luke muttered to me. "If he starts talking to Minos' ghost again—"

"He'll be alright," Eurytion promised. The cowherd had cleaned up nicely. He was wearing new jeans and a clean Western shirt and he'd even trimmed his beard. He'd put on Geryon's boots. "The boy can stay here and gather his thoughts as long as he wants. He'll be safe, I promise."

"What about you?" I asked.

Eurytion scratched Orthus behind one chin, then the other. "Things are going to be run a little different on this ranch from now on. No more sacred cattle meat. I'm thinking about soybean patties. And I'm going to befriend those flesh-eating horses. Might just sign up for the next rodeo."

The idea made me shudder. "Well, good luck."

"Yep." Eurytion spit into the grass. "I reckon you'll be looking for Daedalus' workshop now?"

"Can you help us?" Luke asked, in a wary tone. Help rarely came free, after all.

Eurytion studied the cattle guard, and I got the feeling the subject of Daedalus' workshop made him uncomfortable. It made me uncomfortable too, despite being in charge of the quest to find the damn place.

"Don't know where it is. But Hephaestus probably would."

"That's what Hera said," I agreed. "But how do we find Hephaestus?"

Eurytion pulled something from under the collar of his shirt. It was a necklace—a smooth silver disk on a silver chain. The disk had a depression on the middle, like a thumbprint. He handed it to me.

"Hephaestus comes here from time to time," Eurytion said. "Studies the animals and such so he can make bronze automaton copies. Last time, I— uh—did him a favour. A little trick he wanted to play on my dad, Ares, and Aphrodite. He gave me that chain in gratitude. Said if I ever needed to find him, the disk would lead me to his forges. But only once."

"And you're giving it to me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Eurytion blushed. "I don't need to see the forges, miss. Got enough to do here. Just press the button and you'll be on your way."

I pressed the button and the disk sprang to life. It grew eight metallic legs. I hissed in surprise and dropped it. Immediately, the spider scrambled to the cattle guard and disappeared between the bars.

"Hurry," I ordered, silently thanking Hephaestus that it wasn't a snake. "That thing's not going to wait for us."

We said our good-byes to Eurytion, Tyson pulled the cattle guard off the hole, and we dropped back into the maze.

***
I wish I could've put the mechanical spider on a leash. It scuttled along the tunnels so fast, most of time I couldn't even see it. If it hadn't been for Tyson's and Grover's excellent hearing, we never would've known which way it was going.

We ran down a marble tunnel, then dashed to the left and almost fell into an abyss. Tyson grabbed me and hauled me back before I could fall. The tunnel continued in front of us, but there was no floor for about a hundred feet, just gaping darkness and a series of iron rungs in the ceiling. The mechanical spider was about halfway across, swinging from bar to bar by shooting out metal web fibre.

"Maia!" Luke called, the wings of his shoes springing out. Before I could protest, he'd grabbed me around the waist and flown me over. He set me down, then went over to repeat the process with Grover. Tyson, obviously, had to make his own way across.

The big guy made it across in three swings, which was a good thing since, just as he landed, the last iron bar ripped free under his weight.

We kept moving and passed a skeleton crumpled in the tunnel. It wore the remains of a dress shirt, slacks, and a tie. The spider didn't slow down. I slipped on a pile of wood scraps, but when I shined a light on them I realized they were pencils—hundreds of them, all broken in half.

The tunnel opened up onto a large room. A blazing light hit us. Once my eyes adjusted, the first thing I noticed were the skeletons. Dozens littered the floor around us. Some were old and bleached white. Others were more recent and a lot grosser. They didn't smell quite as bad as Geryon's stables, but almost.

Then I saw the monster. She stood on a glittery dais on the opposite side of the room. She had the body of a huge lion and the head of a woman. She would've been pretty, but her hair was tied back in a tight bun and she wore too much makeup, so she kind of reminded me of my third foster mother. She had a blue-ribbon badge pinned to her chest that took me a moment to read: THIS MONSTER HAS BEEN RATED EXEMPLARY!

Tyson whimpered. "Sphinx."

I knew exactly why he was scared. When he was small, Tyson had been ruthlessly attacked by a Sphinx. He still had the scars. I quickly patted his arm before stepping forward.

The second I moved, however, the Sphinx roared, showing fangs in her otherwise human face. Bars came down on both tunnel exits, behind us and in front. We were trapped.

Immediately the monster's snarl turned into a brilliant smile. It was exceptionally disturbing to look at.

"Welcome, lucky contestants!" she announced. "Get ready to play…ANSWER THAT RIDDLE!"

Fake applause blasted from the ceiling, as if there were invisible loudspeakers. Spotlights swept across the room and reflected off the dais, throwing disco glitter over the skeletons on the floor.

"Fabulous prizes!" the Sphinx announced. "Pass the test, and you get to advance! Fail, and I get to eat you! Who will be our contestant?"

Luke grabbed my arm. "I've got this," he whispered to me. "I know what she's going to ask."

I didn't argue too hard. I didn't want Luke getting devoured by a monster, but I figured if the Sphinx was going to ask riddles, Luke was probably the best one of us to try.

He stepped forward to the contestant's podium, which had a skeleton in a school uniform hunched over it. She pushed the skeleton out of the way, and it clattered to the floor.

"Sorry," Luke told it.

"Welcome, Luke Castellan!" the monster cried, though Luke hadn't said his name. It seemed like every monster in existence knew who we were on sight, unfortunately. "Are you ready for your test?"

"Yes," Luke nodded confidently. "Ask your riddle."

"Twenty riddles, actually!" the Sphinx said gleefully.

"What? But back in the old days—"

"Oh, we've raised our standards! To pass, you must show proficiency in all twenty. Isn't that great?"

Applause switched on and off like somebody turning a faucet.

Luke glanced at me, a glint of worry in his sky-blue eyes. I gave him an encouraging nod, mentally preparing to fight. Twenty riddles right or death? This was so going to end in a battle.

"Okay," he said to the Sphinx, squaring his shoulders. "I'm ready."

A drumroll sounded from above. The Sphinx's eyes glittered with excitement. "What…is the capital of Bulgaria?"

Luke frowned. For a terrible moment, I thought he was stumped.

"Sofia," he said, "but—"

"Correct!" More canned applause. The Sphinx smiled so widely her fangs showed. "Please be sure to mark your answer clearly on your test sheet with a number 2 pencil."

"The fuck?" Luke looked as lost as I felt. Then a test booklet appeared on the podium in front of him, along with a sharpened pencil.

"Make sure you bubble each answer clearly and stay inside the circle," the Sphinx said. "If you have to erase, erase completely or the machine will not be able to read your answers."

"What machine?" Luke asked. My heart sank as I spotted the tell-tale crinkle in his brow that alerted me to the fact that he was getting frustrated.

'Don't do anything stupid,' I mouthed to him. He grimaced back at me, not answering.

The Sphinx pointed with her paw. Over by the spotlight was a bronze box with a bunch of gears and levers and a big Greek letter Ȇta on the side, the mark of Hephaestus.

"Now," said the Sphinx, "next question—"

"But what about the old riddle?" Luke cut in. "About the man. You know, baby in the morning, child in the afternoon and an old man at night. That's the one you used to ask."

"Exactly why we changed the test!" the Sphinx exclaimed. "You already knew the answer. Now second question, what is the square root of sixteen?"

"Four," Luke huffed, though I could tell it was taking everything in him not to complain. He wasn't arrogant enough to jeopardize our survival over this, thank the gods.

"Correct! Which U.S. president signed the Emancipation Proclamation?"

"Abraham Lincoln."

And so it went for three more questions, until the seventh one.

"List the elements of the first group in the periodic table," the Sphinx ordered. I knew instantly from Luke's rigid spine that he couldn't answer. He cast me a quick look, and I set my jaw and nodded grimly.

He looked back at her, stone-faced. "I don't know."

A smirk grew on its' face. "Why then, my dear," the monster said calmly. "If you won't pass, you fail. And since we can't allow any children to be held back, you'll be EATEN!"

The Sphinx bared her claws, which gleamed like stainless steel. She pounced at the podium.

"No!" Tyson charged. He hates it when people threaten his friends, but I was still surprised that he was being so brave, especially since he'd had such a bad experience with a Sphinx before.

He tackled the Sphinx in mid-air and they crashed sideways into a pile of bones. This gave Luke just enough to draw Halcyon. Tyson got up, his shirt clawed to shreds. The Sphinx growled, looking for an opening.

I drew Riptide and stepped in front of Luke.

"Go!" I called to him.

"I can fight!"

"No!" I yelled. "The Sphinx is after you! Let us get it."

As if to prove my point, the Sphinx knocked Tyson aside and tried to charge past me. Grover poked her in the eye with somebody's leg bone. She screeched in pain. Luke ran, moving so quickly he disappeared from sight. The Sphinx pounced right where he'd been standing, but came up with empty paws.

"No fair!" the Sphinx wailed. "Cheater!"

With Luke no longer available, the Sphinx turned on me. I raised my sword, but before I could strike, Tyson ripped the monster's grading machine out of the floor and threw it at the Sphinx's head, ruining her hair bun. It landed in pieces all around her.

"My grading machine!" she cried. "I can't be exemplary without my test scores!"

The bars lifted from the exits. We all dashed for the far tunnel. I could only hope that Luke was doing the same.

The Sphinx started to follow, but Grover raised his reed pipes and began to play. Suddenly the pencils remembered they used to be parts of trees. They collected around the Sphinx's paws, grew roots and branches, and began wrapping around the monster's legs. The Sphinx ripped through them, but it brought us just enough time.

Tyson pulled Grover into the tunnel, and the bars slammed shut behind us.

I nearly panicked for a minute before I registered Luke, floating down from the ceiling.

"Keep moving!" he urged me, grabbing my hand and tugging me along, though I didn't need any help.

We ran through the dark tunnels, listening to the roar of the Sphinx behind us as she complained about all the tests she would have to grade by hand.