A BLACK HEART Chapter 8
A/N:- So… I skipped the Olympus scenes and I am here at the start of BOTL! I hope you like it!
Percy was sitting in Cabin 3, lying wide awake in bed, next to the already asleep and snoring Hector. He couldn't sleep, as he kept thinking of what happened over the past few days.
He remembered when he sent Nico and Bianca back to Hades, which was the whole reason why Percy had come out of the Underworld, to save his siblings and bring them back to their father, but then… he had to go on a full quest just to save Artemis, Annabeth and ensure that Bianca and Nico both remained alive.
Then he had met up with Tyson, Hector's brother, indirectly his brother as well… and well, when Hector told the one-eyed Cyclops that Percy was his brother, Tyson immediately crushed him in a bear hug, yelling, "Yay! Brother!" Percy could only smile fondly at this. Then he went on a tour of Manhattan with Hector and Grover. Annabeth had left for San Francisco, so the boys were free to do anything they wanted.
Percy first met Hector's mom, Charlotte Babington and his dad Thomas Babington, whom Charlotte had married after Hector had left for camp, and Thomas was a pretty good person.
Hector's mother could see through the mist, which was pretty cool, just like Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and she also had a sister, Sally Jackson, who was also their neighbor, who also knew a lot about the Greek world from her sister.
Earlier, Charlotte was Charlotte Jackson, and she lived with her sister, then Hector's mom married and decided to shift, but didn't want to go away from Sally, so they bought the house or flat right next to her sister.
Percy loved the whole environment, blue cookies, blue cokes, and even blue walls. Hector must have really liked the color blue.
Then they went shopping, buying clothes, tricking mortals with the mist, and letting them take things for free.
Percy bought a black hoodie with blue stripes, black ripped pants, fingerless gloves, black combat boots, and a black bag.
Hector bought a blue hoodie with black stripes, and black jeans. Grover bought new red Converse shoes, a red Rasta cap, and nothing else.
Only Grover paid for his items, while the two siblings just manipulated the mist and brought the clothes home, smiling and laughing.
Then they went to Quality Meats to eat the dinner, where Percy and Hector ate the tomahawk ribeye along with the spicy Brussels sprouts and Parmesan waffle fries and accompanied that with a lovely Duckhorn Cabernet.
While Grover just sat there, eating his Yorkshire Creamed Spinach. After that, they picked up some cakes and cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery, and ate them on the ride back home.
Finally they reached Camp, and here they were now, one sleeping, one sleeping and one wide awake.
Percy lay in bed, one hand on his head, and the other on his stomach. He got up to drink water, and then came back.
The cabin itself was really cool and calming, the walls were completely blue in color, and the windows and roofs decorated with several bronze Hippocampi and aquatic plants and flowers, courtesy of Tyson. Poseidon had also gifted Percy a water fountain with an endless supply of drachmas to iris message.
Percy sat down, musing on everything, when suddenly a cheerful voice said from behind him.
"Hey there Perce!" Apollo said, making the whole cabin glow up.
"Hey Apollo, what brings you here?"
"Nothing, just wanted to make sure you are healthy, now tell me why aren't you asleep."
Apollo was wearing a yellow shirt over a white turtle neck, with blue baggy pants and yellow shoes, he looked good, thinking that Percy blushed a little but said, "Nothing, Hector's snoring is too much, so just decided to stay awake."
"I see, but there is something else on your mind too, right?"
Percy sighed, "Yeah, the prophecy is there, and there are several other things as well."
The sun god made a go-on gesture.
The demigod took a deep breath and said, "Kronos."
-TIME-SKIP-
In the morning, when Hector woke up, he saw that Percy was gone from the lower bunk.
He got shocked and frantically started to look for Percy, but couldn't find him anywhere, when he finally came back, he found a piece of paper on Percy's bed.
'Hey Hector, don't worry, I will be gone for a few days, I'm with Apollo to sought some things out, so yeah, I'm not captured by the Titans, you got to your school and wait for me to come back. Bye!'
Reading that, Hector simply let out a heavy sigh of relief, he had to go to the new school, Goode High School.
Sitting in his mom's car, the son of Poseidon was in front of Goode, on East 81st, a big brownstone building overlooking the East River. A bunch of BMWs and Lincoln Town Cars were parked out front.
"Just relax. "It's only an orientation tour. And remember, dear, this is Thomas's school. So try not to...you know."
"Destroy it?"
"Yes."
Thomas was standing out front, greeting future ninth graders as they came up the steps. He had frizzly brown hair, and he wore denim clothes and a leather jacket.
He was an English teacher and had managed to convince Goode High School to accept Hector for ninth grade, despite the fact that he'd gotten kicked out of every school he'd ever attended. He'd tried to warn him it wasn't a good idea, but Thomas wouldn't listen.
On the other hand, Percy was on his way to Hector's apartment, Sally Jackson's flat, more precisely.
Apollo had told him that, there is a monster that lurks around that Apartment, disguising itself as harmless people. It hadn't yet caused any damage, so it would be easy to destroy, just the main problem would be to identify it.
TING-TONG!
"Wait, I am coming!" A distorted voice came.
The door opened, and out came Sally Jackson, wearing an apron, with blue paint splattered on it, gloves covered her hands, and her pants had splotches of color on them.
"Hello Ms. Jackson! How are you?" Percy started with a cheerful tone, his black hair sparkling in the sunlight, and his blue and green eyes glinted with happiness.
"Hey, Percy! What brings you here?"
The Son of Hades stepped in with a look that just said, 'I'll explain.' He looked around as Sally went into the kitchen, removing her gloves and apron.
The house seemed like it was being renovated, and the renovation was almost done, the only thing left was the painting, and that's what Sally had been doing before Percy stepped in.
At least six different colors were used for every part of the flat, Five rooms were already painted Red, Green, Yellow, Purple, and Black, and only the Main hall was left which was to be painted blue. The paint was in streaks, and the roller was lying on the floor.
Percy sat on the red sofa that was in the living room, photo frames lying on the showcase.
One of them was a picture of Sally and Charlotte, the other was Sally and Hector, and the other was Sally and some other man, and the other was a picture of two children with two big adults. He picked that one up and studied it.
"That's me and Charlotte, with our parents, the last photo of us together," Sally said, bringing a plate of freshly baked chocolate cookies to the table. "They died in a plane crash."
"Oh, that's— Mmmmm, these cookies are so good! Also, that's really sad."
"Yeah…" Sally said herself sitting on a couch.
"Who is the man with you in this one?"
"That's Paul, my boyfriend, he works as a science teacher in Goode, the same high school Hector's attending."
"Oh, good, good," Percy said, munching another cookie.
"Now tell me, why are you here?"
"Uhm… Apollo told me there was a monster living in this whole apartment, right above your flat."
"But only Mr Lee, a charming old man, Ms Lee, a charming old woman, and their dog, a charming young Chihuahua lives there, how can you think that they have a monster?" Sally asked bewildered.
"Who knows, all I know is that Apollo told me that, and I have to check, to ensure that you and Charlotte remain safe," Percy responded with a mouth full of cookies.
"Sure, come on then," Sally said as she entered the kitchen again, completely nonchalant, as if she had been expecting this.
"Now?" Percy asked, getting up from his seat.
"Well, yeah, if you want."
Percy just shrugged. "Sure, let's go."
"Great."
Soon, they were in the corridor, as Percy stepped up the stairs, silently followed by Sally. Finally, they reached the door of the above floor, and Percy peeped through the keyhole. Inside he could see two people, One a really fat, and old woman, and the other a chihuahua. Percy had always hated those little rascals, trying to bite you every moment here and there, barking loudly.
They knocked on the door and waited.
"There is a doorbell, you know, no need to break my door."
Ms. Lee said from inside. "Come in now."
Sally stepped in cautiously, followed by Percy.
"Now, who are you people?" She asked wearing a full denim jacket over a blue turtle neck, that fully covered her legs. She was also wearing blue denim jeans with nine-inch heels, which made the floor go Clop, Clop when she walked.
"I am Sally, and this is my…. Uh… son, Percy! Nice to meet you."
Percy just shot a raised eyebrow at her but didn't say anything.
"Oh, you are the woman that lives below us! Good to meet you too." Ms. Lee said smiling, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth. "Come and sit!"
Before they could even lower themselves on the sofa, her Chihuahua jumped down from his couch and started yapping at them, more specifically Percy.
"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here. "
The Chihuahua bared his teeth at him, foam dripping from his black lips.
"Woah, can you please tell him to calm down?" Sally said, as Percy kept his hand on the pendant that Apollo had given him so that he could bring out Justice in a few seconds.
"Well, dear, my dog doesn't calm down until and unless it has tasted blood." the fat lady sighed.
Both Sally and Percy froze, "The Chihuahua wants blood?"
"Chimera, dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make. "
She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green and smiled, showing off her pointy fangs. The pupils of her eyes were sideways slits, like a reptile's.
The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. Then the bark became a roar.
Sally stepped back, gaping at the monster.
"Not so fast, hunny!" Ms Lee said, closing the door with a snake like limb, looking back, the fat lady's legs had transformed into a snake's tail and was now slithering.
The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof. It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate-sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA—RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS—IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS—EXT. 954.
Percy's hands were numb, he was ten feet away from the Chimeras bloody maw.
The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "Be honored, Perseus! Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my broods. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"
The Chimera charged at them, its lion teeth gnashing.
Percy quickly pushed Sally to the right, and then leaped upward himself to dodge the bite.
The Chimera made contact with the wooden door and bit right through it.
Dazed, it got up shook its head, and then turned to Sally.
Percy thought quickly and pulled his pendant and brought out Justice, "Hey, Chihuahua!" He yelled.
The Chimera turned around, and suddenly the whole small and compressed flat turned into a big park, right next to a big pond of water.
"What?" Sally questioned as she tried to get up, looking around at the sudden shift of surroundings.
Before Percy could swing his sword, the Chimera opened its mouth and shot a column of flame straight at him.
Percy dived to the side, as the grass burst into flames. Justice in hand, he slashed at its neck.
The blade sparked harmlessly off the dog collar, shattering to pieces.
Percy swore as he regained his balance and then tried to punch the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail of the big monster slapped him back, sending him flying through rows of trees.
"No!" Sally yelled, holding up her hands, both armed with stones, as the Chimera turned towards her.
She threw the rocks at the monster, which did nothing except for making him even more angry. It roared and the snake tail grew in size, wrapping around her, crushing Sally and her bones.
"NO!" Percy yelled, and jumped from the pond, his hands full of water, encasing them like boxing gloves, and he landed on the Chimera's back, the water expanding and crushing the beast.
But Percy didn't give it the time to react, and used the water to pick up the Bad Chihuahua and threw it to the side. He followed, lunging forward as he picked the monster and slammed him to the ground.
The Chimera stayed there, groaning as Percy stabbed its exposed belly with the broken shards of imperial gold, killing it.
The monster roared loudly and dissolved to golden dust, with only the dog collar left behind.
Percy was exhausted, but walked over to Sally, as he did, the whole landscape again changed back from the garden to the flat.
"Fuck," Sally exclaimed as she got up, groaning. "I'm gonna need a tall glass of brandy after this."
Percy just laughed as they descended. "This is what we guys face everyday!"
"Actually, I wanted to ask you something," Percy said after a pause, as Sally nodded. "Are you by any chance related to Michael Jackson?"
Sally laughed heartily as they reached the gate where she escorted Percy out.
"Who knows!" Sally said and moonwalked away, closing the door behind her.
Percy laughed and turned around to leave.
-TIME-SKIP-
Kids screamed and ran down the hall. The fire alarm wailed. Ceiling sprinklers hissed to life.
In the chaos, Rachel tugged on Hector's sleeve. "You have to get out of here!"
She was right. The school was in flames and Hector would be held responsible. Mortals couldn't see through the Mist properly. To them it would look like he'd just murdered a helpless cheerleader in front of a group of witnesses.
"Hector, what have you done?" Thomas asked.
The son of Poseidon just looked at him with a startled expression and turned and sprinted for the broken band room window.
He burst out of the alley onto East 81st and ran straight into Annabeth and Percy.
"Hey Annabeth, weren't you in San Francisco?" Percy asked her.
"Oh, I was, but I had to watch a movie with Hector today, so yeah."
Percy smiled slyly, "Like a date?"
"Shut up!" Just then Hector tumbled into them.
"Woah, woah, seaweed brain, watch where you are going." Annabeth said, grabbing his shoulders.
She was wearing jeans and an orange camp T-shirt with a blue denim hoodie matching her jeans over it, and her clay bead necklace. Her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her gray eyes sparkled.
Then Hector looked at Percy, and he looked really worn out, his black hair looked like a bird's nest. He had some nasty scratches here and there, and his black hoodie had been torn through, though his mismatched eyes glinted with happiness, and his lips were curled up in a smile. Hector couldn't tell if it was sweat or water dripping from his hair down to his jawline.
Then Rachel Elizabeth Dare, still covered in monster dust, came charging out of the alley, yelling, "Hector wait up!"
Annabeth's smile melted. She stared at Rachel, then at the school. Percy saw Goode too, and his eyes widened.
"How in hell did you manage to do that?" He said pointing at the burning school, with teachers and students running around.
Annabeth looked at Hector and pointed to Rachel, "And who is this?"
"Oh, Rachel-Annabeth-Percy. Percy-Annabeth-Rachel. Um, she's a friend, I guess."
"Hi," Rachel said. Then she turned to Percy, her tone changing suitably as she saw the hot brother of Hector. "Oh, hello!"
Police sirens wailed on FDR Drive.
"Hector," Annabeth said coldly. "We should go."
"I want to know more about half-bloods," Rachel insisted, startled by the sudden explosion of words from the daughter of Athena. "And monsters. And this stuff about the gods."
She grabbed Hector's arm, whipped out a permanent marker, and wrote a phone number on his hand. "You're going to call me and explain, okay? You owe me that. Now get going."
"But-"
"I'll make up some story," Rachel said. "I'll tell them it wasn't your fault. Just go!"
She ran back toward the school, leaving Annabeth, Percy, and Hector in the street.
Annabeth walked off, and Percy followed her.
"Hey!" Hector jogged after them. "There were these two empousai," Hector tried to explain. "They were cheerleaders, see, and they said camp was going to burn, and-"
"You told a mortal girl about half-bloods?" Percy asked him.
"She can see through the Mist. She saw the monsters before I did."
"So you told her the truth?" Annabeth questioned without once looking back.
"She recognized me from Hoover Dam-
"You've met her before?" Annabeth turned around, as Percy smiled seeing the jealousy.
"Um, last winter. But seriously, I barely know her."
"She's kind of cute." Percy supplied in.
"I-I never thought about it."
Annabeth kept walking toward York Avenue.
"I'll deal with the school," Hector promised, anxious to change the subject. "Honest, it'll be fine."
"Well, fine I guess our afternoon is off. We should get you out of here, now that the police will be searching for you. Come on Percy, bring your brother with you."
Behind them, smoke billowed up from Goode High School, as Hector and Percy looked back.
In the dark column of ashes, there was a face, a she-demon with red eyes, laughing at them.
Percy gasped, and Hector turned to him knowing that he had seen it too.
"Come on Hector, we have to get to Camp Half-Blood. Now."
Percy called the taxi and they all sat down.
Hector tried to talk to Annabeth, but she was acting like he'd just punched her grandmother, which wasn't possible, because Metis was a titan.
"Any word on Luke?" Percy asked.
She shook her head. They knew that Annabeth had always admired Luke, the former head counselor for Hermes who had betrayed them and joined the evil Titan lord Kronos.
"Mount Tam is still overrun with monsters," Annabeth said. "I didn't dare go close, but I don't think Luke is up there. I think I would know if he was."
As they headed through Brooklyn, Hector used Annabeth's phone to call his mom. He left a message on the home voice mail, trying to explain what had happened at Goode and that she shouldn't worry, because he was going to stay at camp until things cooled down. Then he asked her to tell Thomas that he was sorry.
They rode in silence after that as the city melted away until they were rolling through the countryside of northern Long Island, past orchards and wineries and fresh produce stands.
The taxi exited on Route 25A and headed through the woods along the North Shore until a low ridge of hills appeared on our left.
Annabeth told the driver to pull over on Farm Road 3.141, at the base of Half-Blood Hill.
The driver frowned. "There ain't nothing here, miss. You sure you want out?"
"Yes, please," Percy handed him a roll of mortal cash, and the driver decided not to argue.
They hiked to the crest of the hill. The young guardian dragon was dozing, coiled around the pine tree, but he lifted his coppery head as we approached and let Annabeth scratch under his chin. Steam hissed out his nostrils like from a teakettle, and he went cross-eyed with pleasure.
"Hey, Peleus," Annabeth said. "Keeping everything safe?"
Above his head, on the lowest branch of the pine tree, the Golden Fleece shimmered, its magic protecting the camp's borders from invasion. The dragon seemed relaxed, like everything was okay.
Camp Half-Blood looked peaceful- green fields, forest, shiny white Greek buildings. The four-story farmhouse called the Big House sat proudly in the midst of the strawberry fields. To the north, past the beach, the Long Island Sound glittered in the sunlight.
But, there was tension in the air, as if the hill itself were holding its breath, waiting for something bad to happen.
The satyrs were playing their pipes in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow with woodland magic. Campers were having flying horseback lessons, swooping over the woods on their pegasi. Smoke rose from the forges, and hammers rang as kids made their own weapons for Arts & Crafts.
The Athena and Demeter teams were having a chariot race around the track, and over at the canoe lake some kids in a Greek trireme were fighting a large orange sea serpent.
"I need to talk to Clarisse," Annabeth said.
Hector asked. "What for?"
"We've been working on something," Annabeth said. "I'll see you later."
"Working on what?"
Annabeth glanced toward the forest. "I'll tell Chiron you both are here, he'll want to talk to you before the hearing."
"What hearing?"
But she jogged down the path toward the archery field without looking back. "Come on, let's go." Percy said, running forward, as Hector followed.
Silena Beauregard, the head counselor for Aphrodite, waved at them from her Pegasus as she flew past and Percy cheerfully replied.
Finally, they wandered into the sword arena.
In the middle of the arena floor, was the biggest hellhound, bigger than a tank.
It was a big white dog, lying on its belly, growling contentedly as it chewed the head off a combat dummy. It hadn't noticed them.
"Yaaaaah!" Hector charged and brought down the blade of riptide on the monster's enormous backside when out of nowhere two swords blocked his strike.
CLANG!
The hellhound pricked up its ears. "WOOF!"
Hector jumped back to see a person blocking it. He was a swordsman, a gray-haired man in Greek armor.
"Whoa there!" he said. "Truce!"
"WOOF!" The hellhound's bark shook the arena.
"What are you doing Hector!? Attacking an innocent dog like that?" Percy asked, bewildered.
"That's a hellhound!" Hector shouted.
"She's harmless," the man said. "That's Helena."
Hector blinked. "Helena?"
At the sound of her name, the hellhound barked again.
"I have a hellhound pet as well!" Percy said.
"Really? Can I see it?" The man asked.
"She," Percy corrected, and blew a loud taxi cab whistle.
Out of the shadows of the Arena, came out a big black hellhound, the same size as Helena, but black with red glowing eyes, and a big red collar around her neck.
"Mrs. O' Leary! Come here girl, who's a good girl, who's a good girl?" Percy said, patting his pet's head.
"Oh My God! That's your hellhound?!"
Percy nodded, as Mrs. O' Leary licked him up, with her long tongue.
"Where did you get her?"
"My dad gifted her to me on my 5th birthday, so she is 9 years old right now."
"Nice, I got mine with many close calls with death, and quite a few large chew-toys."
Percy nodded, laughing, as the two hellhounds started to bounce up and down, shaking the whole arena. They were excited. They nudged each other pounced on each other.
"Good girl," the man said.
The swordsman smiled dryly. He was in his fifties, with short gray hair and a clipped gray beard. He was in good shape for an older guy. He wore black mountain-climbing pants and a bronze breastplate strapped over an orange camp T-shirt. At the base of his neck was a strange mark, a purplish blotch like a birthmark or a tattoo.
"Don't worry, she's an angel," Percy said to Hector, as the man nodded.
"So was Lucifer!" Hector said.
Percy rolled his eyes and then turned to the man. "Who are you?"
The man held out his hand. "Quintus. I'm the new sword instructor, by the way. Helping out Chiron while Mr. D is away."
"Wait, Mr. D is away?"
"Yes, well...busy times. Even Dionysus must help out. He's gone to visit some old friends. Make sure they're on the right side. I probably shouldn't say more than that."
Off to the left, there was a loud BUMP. Six wooden crates the size of picnic tables were stacked nearby, and they were rattling. Mrs. O'Leary and Helena bounded toward them.
"Whoa, girls!" Quintus said. "Those aren't for you." He distracted them with a bronze shield Frisbee.
The crates thumped and shook. There were words printed on the sides 'TRIPLE G RANCH FRAGILE THIS END UP'
Along the bottom, in smaller letters: OPEN WITH CARE. TRIPLE G RANCH IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE, MAIMING, OR EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL DEATHS.
"What's in the boxes?" Percy asked.
"A little surprise," Quintus said. "Training activity for tomorrow night. You'll love it."
"Uh, okay," Hector said.
Quintus threw the bronze shield, and Mrs. O'Leary lumbered after it. "You young ones need more challenges. They didn't have camps like this when I was a boy."
Just then, Chiron clip-clopped into the arena. "What is happening here?!" He said looking at the two hellhounds, both tugging on the same shield, Hector with riptide out, just standing there, and Percy and Quintus covered in dog saliva.
Chiron had a quiver and bow slung over his #1 CENTAUR T-shirt. He'd trimmed his curly brown hair and beard for the summer, and his lower half, which was a white stallion, was flecked with mud and grass.
"What is Mrs. O'Leary doing here Percy?"
"Uh, nothing Chiron, just brought her to play with Helena."
"Oh, Fine… I see you two have already met our new instructor." Chiron's tone was light, but there was an uneasy look in his eyes. "Quintus, do you mind if I borrow Hector?"
"Not at all, Master Chiron."
"No need to call me 'Master'," Chiron said, though he sounded sort of pleased. "Come, Hector. We have much to discuss."
"I guess, bye Quintus, I might come back in a few," Percy said.
"Ok, sure Percy."
Percy smiled, and Mrs. O' Leary disappeared into the shadows, as Helena just landed on the ground, looking around for her playmate.
Percy had a lot of gifts, but he never learnt how to use them, like for example, he could create flames, courtesy of a child of Hephaestus when he was training. He had taught him how you could create fire, without a lighter, by just focusing on everything that angers you, and manifesting it in the form of a flame. Percy had tried that, but it had never worked.
Then another thing was a thingie called as the death flash, where, when he punched an enemy, he could create enough energy to hit the same enemy with the force of death or something like that… though to be honest, he never understood that.
Anyway, as Percy was walking through the camp, occasionally waving at people here and there, he fell down, tumbling into a pit that hadn't been there a moment before, in complete darkness.
"What?" Percy whispered, but his voice echoed throughout the whole cavern.
It was wet and cold and was sitting on a bumpy floor that seemed to be made of bricks.
"A long corridor, like a tunnel," Percy muttered to himself.
There was a warm breeze, like in subway tunnels, only it felt older, more dangerous.
He looked up and realized that he couldn't see where he'd fallen in. The ceiling was solid stone.
While the dark didn't affect Percy, the unknown did, the feeling of something existing, but you don't know about it, that feeling was what Percy was getting right now, he was scared because he didn't know what to do, or where he was.
Percy saw a piece of paper crumpled up in the corner, he picked it up and uncrumpled the paper, read it, and put it in his pocket.
He decided that he had had enough of this place, and melted into the shadows.
-TIME-SKIP-
The next morning when Chiron called a war council.
They met in the sword arena, trying to discuss the fate of the camp while Mrs. O'Leary chewed on a life-size squeaky pink rubber yak.
Chiron and Quintus stood at the front by the weapon racks. Clarisse and Annabeth sat next to each other and led the briefing. Tyson and Grover sat as far away from each other as possible. Also present around the table: Juniper the tree nymph, Silena Beauregard, Travis and Connor Stoll, Beckendorf, Lee Fletcher, even Argus, the hundred-eyed security chief. The whole time Annabeth spoke, he kept his hundred blue eyes trained on her so hard his whole body turned bloodshot.
"Luke must have known about the Labyrinth entrance," Annabeth said. "He knew everything about camp."
"Interesting," Quintus polished his sword as he spoke. "You believe this young man, Luke, would dare use the Labyrinth as an invasion route?"
"Definitely," Clarisse said. "If he could get an army of monsters inside Camp Half-Blood, just pop up in the middle of the woods without having to worry about our magical boundaries, we wouldn't stand a chance. He could wipe us out easy. He must've been planning this for months."
"He's been sending scouts into the maze," Annabeth said.
"We know because...because we found one."
"Chris Rodriguez," Chiron said. He gave Quintus a meaningful look.
"Ah," Quintus said.
"The point is, Luke has been looking for a way to navigate the maze. He's searching for Daedalus's workshop. Only problem is we don't know where the entrance is."
Hector said. "The guy who created the maze."
"Yes," Annabeth said. "The greatest architect, the greatest inventor of all time. If the legends are true, his workshop is in the center of the Labyrinth. He's the only one who knew how to navigate the maze perfectly. If Luke managed to find the workshop and convince Daedalus to help him, Luke wouldn't have to fumble around searching for paths, or risk losing his army in the maze's traps. He could navigate anywhere he wanted-quickly and safely. First to Camp Half-Blood to wipe us out. Then...to Olympus."
Finally Beckendorf put his huge hands on the table. "Back up a sec, Annabeth, you said 'convince Daedalus'? Isn't Daedalus dead?"
Quintus grunted acting suspiciously. "I would hope so. He lived, what, three thousand years ago? And even if he were alive, don't the old stories say he fled from the Labyrinth?"
Chiron clopped restlessly on his hooves. "That's the problem, my dear Quintus. No one knows. There are rumors...well, there are many disturbing rumors about Daedalus, but one is that he disappeared back into the Labyrinth toward the end of his life. He might still be there."
"We need to go in," Annabeth announced. "We have to find the workshop before Luke does. If Daedalus is alive, we convince him to help us, not Luke. If Ariadne's string still exists, we make sure it never falls into Luke's hands."
"Wait a second," Hector said. "If we're worried about an attack, why not just blow up the entrance? Seal the tunnel?"
"Great idea brother!" Tyson said. "I'll get the dynamite!"
"It's not so easy, stupid," Clarisse growled. "We tried that at the entrance we found in Phoenix. It didn't go well."
Annabeth nodded. "The Labyrinth is magical architecture, It would take huge power to seal even one of its entrances. In Phoenix, Clarisse demolished a whole building with a wrecking ball, and the maze entrance just shifted a few feet. The best we can do is prevent Luke from learning to navigate the Labyrinth."
Nobody looked really happy about that news.
"We have to get to Daedalus's workshop first," Annabeth insisted. "Find Ariadne's string and prevent Luke from using it."
"But if nobody can navigate in there," Hector said, "what chance do we have?"
"I've been studying architecture for years," she said. "I know Daedalus's Labyrinth better than anybody."
"From reading about it."
"Well, yes."
"That's not enough."
"It has to be!"
"It isn't!"
"Are you going to help me or not?"
Chiron cleared his throat. "First things first. We need a quest. Someone must enter the Labyrinth, find the workshop of Daedalus, and prevent Luke from using the maze to invade this camp."
"We all know who should lead this," Clarisse said. "Annabeth."
"You've done as much as I have, Clarisse," she said. "You should go, too."
Clarisse shook her head. "I'm not going back in there."
Chiron said, "Now, do we have agreement that Annabeth should lead the quest?"
"Very well," Chiron turned to Annabeth. "My dear, it's your time to visit the Oracle. Assuming you return to us in one piece, we shall discuss what to do next."
Finally after almost 4 long hours of waiting, Annabeth came out, shaking and deathly pale.
"My dear," Chiron said. "You made it."
"I got the prophecy. I will lead the quest to find Daedalus's workshop."
Nobody cheered.
Chiron scraped a hoof on the dirt floor, his tail swishing. "What did the prophecy say exactly, my dear? The wording is important."
Annabeth took a deep breath. "I, ah...well, it said, 'You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze'..."
"The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise."
Grover perked up. "The lost one! That must mean Pan! That's great!"
"With the dead and the traitor," Hector added. "Not so great."
"And?" Chiron asked. "What is the rest?"
"You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand," Annabeth said, "the child of Athena's final stand."
Everyone looked around uncomfortably.
"Hey...we shouldn't jump to conclusions," Silena said. "Annabeth isn't the only child of Athena, right?"
"But who's this ghost king?" Beckendorf asked.
"Are there more lines?" Chiron asked. "The prophecy does not sound complete."
Annabeth hesitated. "I don't remember exactly."
Chiron raised an eyebrow. Annabeth was known for her memory. She never forgot something she heard.
"Destroy with a hero's final breath
and lose a love to worse than death." A voice came from behind them, as Percy came out of the shadows.
"Percy!" Hector said. "Where have you been?"
"Uh, nothing just roaming around in the Labyrinth."
"You found the entrance!?" Chiron said, alert.
"Yeah… I was walking, then I fell, then I thought I spent only five minutes in there, turns out I spent a whole day in there."
"My, my… that's troubling."
"What does 'Destroy with a hero's final breath' mean?" Clarisse asked.
"And what about 'lose a love to worse than death.'" Silena asked.
Suddenly the whole camp started to mutter around.
"SHUT UP! Look, the point is, I have to go in. I'll find the workshop and stop Luke. And...I need help." She turned to Percy. "Will you come?"
"I'm in."
She smiled for the first time in days. "Grover, you too? The wild god is waiting."
Grover seemed to forget how much he hated the underground. The line about the "lost one" had completely energized him. "I'll pack extra recyclables for snacks!"
"Hector you too."
"Count me in."
"And Tyson," Annabeth said. "I'll need you too."
"Yay! Blow-things-up time!" Tyson clapped so hard he woke up Mrs. O'Leary, who was dozing in the corner.
"Wait, Annabeth," Chiron said. "This goes against the ancient laws. A hero is allowed only two companions."
"I need them all," she insisted. "Chiron, it's important."
"Annabeth." Chiron flicked his tail nervously. "Consider well. You would be breaking the ancient laws, and there are always consequences. Three is a sacred number. There are three fates, three furies, three Olympian sons of Kronos, three domains, and three heads of Cerberus. It is a good strong number that stands against many dangers. Five...this is risky."
Annabeth took a deep breath. "I know. But we have to. Please."
Chiron sighed. "Very well. Let us adjourn. The members of the quest must prepare themselves. Tomorrow at dawn, we send you into the Labyrinth."
A/N:- So… here's the eighth chapter! Hope you liked it! Yeah! Percy finally meets Sally! I hope you guys like it! Have a nice day, bye!