The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)

by Rick Riordan

The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was blow up another school. But there I was Monday morning, the first week of June, sitting in my mom’s car in front of Goode High School on East 81st.

“Think positive. Tomorrow you’re off to camp! After orientation, you’ve got your date—” “It’s not a date!” I protested. “It’s just Annabeth, Mom. Jeez!” “She’s coming all the way from camp to meet you.” “Well, yeah.” “You’re going to the movies.” “Yeah.” “Just the two of you.” “Mom!”

“What, you thought I lived at Hoover Dam?” It had never occurred to me. Whenever I thought about her (and I’m not saying I thought about her; she just like crossed my mind from time to time, okay?),

“A vampire, you say?” Kelli laughed. “That silly legend was based on us, you fool. We are empousai, servants of Hecate.”

“I am senior empousa,” she growled. “No hero has bested me in a thousand years.” “Yeah?” I said. “Then you’re overdue!”

I burst out of the alley onto East 81st and ran straight into Annabeth. “Hey, you’re out early!” She laughed, grabbing my shoulders to keep me from tumbling into the street. “Watch where you’re going, Seaweed Brain.” For a split second she was in a good mood and everything was fine. She was wearing jeans and an orange camp T-shirt and her clay bead necklace. Her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her gray eyes sparkled. She looked like she was ready to catch a movie, have a cool afternoon hanging out together.

Then Rachel Elizabeth Dare, still covered in monster dust, came charging out of the alley, yelling, “Percy, wait up!” Annabeth’s smile melted. She stared at Rachel, then at the school. For the first time, she seemed to notice the black smoke and the ringing fire alarms. She frowned at me. “What did you do this time? And who is this?” “Oh, Rachel—Annabeth. Annabeth—Rachel. Um, she’s a friend. I guess.”

“Percy,” Annabeth said coldly. “We should go.” “I want to know more about half-bloods,” Rachel insisted. “And monsters. And this stuff about the gods.” She grabbed my arm, whipped out a permanent marker, and wrote a phone number on my hand. “You’re going to call me and explain, okay? You owe me that. Now get going.” “But—”

Annabeth stared at me for a second. Then she turned and took off. “Hey!” I jogged after her. “There were these two empousai,” I tried to explain. “They were cheerleaders, see, and they said camp was going to burn, and—” “You told a mortal girl about half-bloods?” “She can see through the Mist. She saw the monsters before I did.” “So you told her the truth.” “She recognized me from Hoover Dam, so—” “You’ve met her before?” “Um, last winter. But seriously, I barely know her.” “She’s kind of cute.” “I—I never thought about it.” Annabeth kept walking toward York Avenue.

Nothing caps off the perfect morning like a long taxi ride with an angry girl. I tried to talk to Annabeth, but she was acting like I’d just punched her grandmother.

she’d come back to camp twice since Christmas but wouldn’t tell me why (which kind of ticked me off, because she hadn’t even told me she was in New York);

Now, as far as I knew, he was still sailing around on his demon-infested cruise ship while his chopped-up Lord Kronos re-formed, bit by bit, in a golden sarcophagus, biding his time until he had enough power to challenge the Olympian gods. In demigod-speak, we call this a “problem.”

Annabeth fingered her bead necklace, the way she does when she’s worried.

Nico was alive. He was trying to bring his sister back from the dead. And I had a feeling I knew what soul he wanted to exchange—someone who had cheated death. Vengeance. Nico di Angelo would come looking for me.

How about luke

“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 was stealing 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…”

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.

“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.

Quintus kept rattling off the names until he said, “Percy Jackson with Annabeth Chase.” “Nice.” I grinned at Annabeth. “Your armor is crooked” was her only comment, and she redid my straps for me.

“In here,” I said. Annabeth sliced at a scorpion then looked at me like I was crazy. “In there? It’s too narrow.” “I’ll cover you. Go!” She ducked behind me and started squeezing between the two boulders. Then she yelped and grabbed my armor straps, and suddenly I was tumbling into a pit that hadn’t been there a moment before.

I started forward, but Annabeth stopped me. “Don’t take another step,” she warned. “We need to find the exit.” She sounded really scared now. “It’s okay,” I promised.

Annabeth’s hand slipped into mine. Under different circumstances I would’ve been embarrassed, but here in the dark I was glad to know where she was. It was about the only thing I was sure of.

She stood. “Look, the point is, I have to go in. I’ll find the workshop and stop Luke. And…I need help.” She turned to me. “Will you come?” I didn’t even hesitate. “I’m in.” She smiled for the first time in days, and that made it all worthwhile.

“What is it?” I asked. “The prophecy?” “I’m sure it’s fine,” she said in a small voice. “What was the last line?” Then she did something that really surprised me. She blinked back tears and put out her arms. I stepped forward and hugged her. Butterflies started turning my stomach into a mosh pit. “Hey, it’s…it’s okay.” I patted her back. I was aware of everything in the room. I felt like I could read the tiniest print on any book on the shelves. Annabeth’s hair smelled like lemon soap. She was shivering.

“Chiron might be right,” she muttered. “I’m breaking the rules. But I don’t know what else to do. I need you three. It just feels right.” “Then don’t worry about it,” I managed. “We’ve had plenty of problems before, and we solved them.” “This is different. I don’t want anything happening to…any of you.”

I didn’t know what they were talking about, but it sounded like it was about more than a choice between doors. The color drained out of Annabeth’s face. “No…I don’t—” “Leave her alone,” I said. “Who are you, anyway?”

“Who…who are you?” I asked. “I am Hera.” The woman smiled. “Queen of Heaven.”

“I didn’t think—” Annabeth faltered. “Well, I didn’t think you liked heroes.” Hera smiled indulgently. “Because of that little spat I had with Hercules? Honestly, I got so much bad press because of one disagreement.” “Didn’t you try to kill him, like, a lot of times?” Annabeth asked. Hera waved her hand dismissively. “Water under the bridge, my dear. Besides, he was one of my loving husband’s children by another woman. My patience wore thin, I’ll admit it. But Zeus and I have had some excellent marriage counseling sessions since then. We’ve aired our feelings and come to an understanding—especially after that last little incident.”

“We must watch the minor gods,” Hera said. “Janus. Hecate. Morpheus. They give lip service to Olympus, and yet—”

“One game of rock, paper, scissors,” I blurted out. “If I win, you come with us. If I lose, we’ll leave you in jail.” Annabeth looked at me like I was crazy. Briares’s face morphed to doubtful. “I always win rock, paper, scissors.” “Then let’s do it!” I pounded my fist in my palm three times. Briares did the same with all one hundred hands, which sounded like an army marching three steps forward. He came up with a whole avalanche of rocks, a classroom set of scissors, and enough paper to make a fleet of airplanes. “I told you,” he said sadly. “I always—” His face morphed to confusion. “What is that you made?” “A gun,” I told him, showing him my finger gun. It was a trick Paul Blofis had pulled on me, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “A gun beats anything.”

The old man smiled. “Tell me something I don’t know, Icarus. Now hurry. It will take at least an hour to attach them. Come.” “You first,” Icarus said.

Eurytion gave me a funny look. It might have been sympathy. He whistled, and the dog jumped off me and onto Annabeth’s lap. She yelped. I knew Tyson and Grover would never try anything as long as Annabeth was a hostage. I got out of the car and locked eyes with her. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” she said quietly. “I hope so, too.”

“Monkey bars,” Annabeth said. “I’m great at these.” She leaped onto the first rung and started swinging her way across. She was scared of tiny spiders, but not of plummeting to her death from a set of monkey bars. Go figure.

“I’m a child of Athena,” she insisted. “And this is an insult to my intelligence. I won’t answer these questions.” Part of me was impressed with her for standing up like that. But part of me thought her pride was going to get us all killed.

“No!” Tyson charged. He hates it when people threaten Annabeth, but I couldn’t believe he was being so brave, especially since he’d had such a bad experience with a Sphinx before.

I drew Riptide and stepped in front of Annabeth. “Turn invisible,” I told her. “I can fight!” “No!” I yelled. “The Sphinx is after you! Let us get it.”

“We’ll never be able to sneak up on them,” I said. Annabeth picked up the metal spider and slipped it into her pocket. “I can. Wait here.” “Hold it!” I said, but before I could argue, she put on her Yankees cap and turned invisible. I didn’t dare call after her, but I didn’t like the idea of her approaching the forge on her own. If those things out there could sense a god coming, would Annabeth be safe?

As a young sea demon matures, the narrator said, changes happen in the monster’s body. You may notice your fangs getting longer and you may have a sudden desire to devour human beings. These changes are perfectly normal and happen to all young monsters.

“New lesson, class,” I announced. “Most monsters will vaporize when sliced with a celestial bronze sword. This change is perfectly normal, and will happen to you right now if you don’t BACK OFF!”

“Put your cap back on,” I said. “Get out!” “What?” Annabeth shrieked. “No! I’m not leaving you.” “I’ve got a plan. I’ll distract them. You can use the metal spider—maybe it’ll lead you back to Hephaestus. You have to tell him what’s going on.” “But you’ll be killed!” “I’ll be fine. Besides, we’ve got no choice.” Annabeth glared at me like she was going to punch me. And then she did something that surprised me even more. She kissed me. “Be careful, Seaweed Brain.” She put on her hat and vanished.

I wished I had a plan. I wished I hadn’t been lying to Annabeth. I’d wanted her to get out safely, and I hoped she’d been sensible enough to do it. But now it was dawning on me that this might be the place I would die.

As I sailed into the lake I realized the Fates really were cruel. They sent Calypso someone she couldn’t help but love. But it worked both ways. For the rest of my life I would be thinking about her. She would always be my biggest what if.

Hell nah

Chiron sat back in his wheelchair and stroked his beard. “There is precedent, however. Theseus had the help of Ariadne. Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her Underground Railroad for just this reason.”

it’s true.” Annabeth glared at me. “You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!” And she stormed out of the room. I stared at the doorway. I felt like hitting something. “So much for being the bravest friend she’s ever had.”

“She will calm down,” Chiron promised. “She’s jealous, my boy.” “That’s stupid. She’s not…it’s not like…” Chiron chuckled. “It hardly matters. Annabeth is very territorial about her friends, in case you haven’t noticed. She was quite worried about you. And now that you’re back, I think she suspects where you were marooned.”

“He is a bad man, princess. My own daughter fell under his spell. Do not listen to him.” “He is a genius,” Aelia said. “And he believes a woman is just as smart as a man. He was the first to ever teach us as if we had minds of our own. Perhaps your daughter felt the same way.” Minos tried to sit up, but Aelia’s sisters pushed him back into the water.

“We’ll try, Ms. Jackson,” Annabeth said. “Keeping your son safe is a big job, though.” She folded her arms and glared out the kitchen window. I picked at my napkin and tried not to say anything. My mom frowned. “What’s going on with you two? Have you been fighting?” Neither of us said anything.

I mean her face, her hair, her clothes—everything. She looked like she’d been touched by King Midas.

I stared in horror at all the skulls—hundreds of them—and the banner of Poseidon. How could this be a temple for my dad? My dad was a nice guy. He’d never asked me for a Father’s Day card, much less somebody’s skull. “Percy!” Annabeth yelled at me. “His mother is Gaea! Gae—” Her Laistrygonian captor clamped his hand over her mouth. His mother is Gaea. The earth goddess. Annabeth was trying to tell me that this was important, but I didn’t know why. Maybe just because the guy had two godly parents. That would make him even harder to kill.

“Nice job, Percy.” Luke smiled. “You’ve gotten better with the sword. I’ll grant you that.”

“Come down here, coward!” Antaeus bellowed. He tried to grab me, but I was just out of reach. Hanging on for dear life, I yelled, “Come up and get me! Or are you too slow and fat?”