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

by Rick Riordan

“The workshop is that way. The heart of the maze. We’re very close now. I don’t know why the path led through that arena. I—I’m sorry about that. I thought you were going to die.” She sounded like she was close to crying. “Hey, I’m usually about to die,” I promised. “Don’t feel bad.”

“Enough games,” I said. “What have you done with Daedalus?” Quintus stared at me. “My boy, you need lessons from your friend on seeing clearly. I am Daedalus.”

“Kronos promised me freedom,” Quintus said. “Once Hades is overthrown, he will set me over the Underworld. I will reclaim my son Icarus. I will make things right with poor young Perdix. I will see Minos’s soul cast into Tartarus, where it cannot bother me again. And I will no longer have to run from death.”

“No,” I said. “It’s too dangerous. If they got hold of Nico, or Rachel for that matter, Kronos could use them. You stay here and guard them.” What I didn’t say: I was also worried about Annabeth. I didn’t trust what she would do if she saw Luke again. He had fooled her and manipulated her too many times before.

Annabeth took her Yankees cap out of her pocket. “At least take this. And be careful.” “Thanks.” I remembered the last time Annabeth and I had parted ways, when she’d given me a kiss for luck in Mount St. Helens. This time, all I got was the hat.

I looked inside, I didn’t comprehend what I was seeing. Mortal legs, dressed in gray pants. A white T-shirt, hands folded over his stomach. One piece of his chest was missing—a clean black hole about the size of a bullet wound, right where his heart should’ve been. His eyes were closed. His skin was pale. Blond hair…and a scar running along the left side of his face. The body in the coffin was Luke’s.

But I was too stunned. I didn’t understand. As much as I hated Luke, as much as he had betrayed me, I just didn’t get why he was in the coffin, and why he looked so very, very dead.

Ethan turned toward me, his eye patch blending in with the shadows on his face. His expression was something like pity. “I told you not to spare me, Percy. ‘An eye for an eye.’ You ever hear that saying? I learned what it means the hard way—when I discovered my godly parent. I’m the child of Nemesis, Goddess of Revenge. And this is what I was made to do.”

“You saved our lives,” I said. Nico wiped the dust off his face. “Blame the girls for dragging me along. That’s the only thing they could agree on. We needed to help you or you’d mess things up.” “Nice that they trust me so much.”

“Nico…you, uh, kind of gave yourself away.” “What do you mean?” “That wall of black stone? That was pretty impressive. If Kronos didn’t know who you were before, he does now— a child of the Underworld.” Nico frowned. “Big deal.”

“No,” Annabeth said. “That’s can’t be true. He couldn’t—” “He gave himself over to Kronos,” I said. “I’m sorry, Annabeth. But Luke is gone.” “No!” she insisted.

“So maybe Kronos wasn’t completely settled in the body, or whatever,” I said. “It doesn’t mean Luke was in control.” “You want him to be evil, is that it?” Annabeth yelled. “You didn’t know him before, Percy. I did!” “What is it with you?” I snapped. “Why do you keep defending him?”

I knelt next to Annabeth. “Hey, I’m sorry. We need to move.” “I know,” she said. “I’m…I’m all right.” She was clearly not all right. But she got to her feet, and we started straggling through the Labyrinth again.

I made quick introductions, since Tyson and Grover had never met Rachel. Tyson told Rachel she was pretty, which made Annabeth’s nostrils flare like she was going to blow fire.

I’d been in the presence of gods before, but this was different. My skin tingled with living energy. My weariness fell away, as if I’d just gotten a good night’s sleep. I could feel myself growing stronger, like one of those plants in a time-lapse video.

“We should go now,” he said, “and tell them. The great god Pan is dead.”

“No,” I said. “It’s cool. Look, Rachel, you did awesome. You led us through the maze. You were so brave. That’s the only thing I’m going to judge you on. I don’t care what your dad does.”

Rachel looked at me gratefully. “Well…if you ever feel like hanging out with a mortal again…you could call me or something.” “Uh, yeah. Sure.” She knit her eyebrows. I guess I sounded unenthusiastic or something, but that’s not how I meant it. I just wasn’t sure what to say with all my friends standing around. And I guess my feelings had gotten pretty mixed up the last couple of days. “I mean…I’d like that,” I said. “My number’s not in the book,” she said. “I’ve got it.” “Still on your hand? No way.” “No. I kinda…memorized it.” Her smile came back slowly, but a lot happier. “See you later, Percy Jackson. Go save the world for me, okay?”

“Nico,” I said, “we need your help.” He folded his arms and scowled. Then Annabeth put her hand on his shoulder. “Nico,” she said. “Please.” Slowly, his expression softened. “All right,” he said reluctantly. “For you. But I’m not staying.” I raised an eyebrow at Annabeth, like, How come all of the sudden Nico listens to you? She stuck her tongue out at me.

“Nico!” I yelled. He looked where I was pointing, saw the serpent women, and immediately understood. He took a deep breath and held out his black sword. “Serve me,” he called. The earth trembled. A fissure opened in front of the dracaenae, and a dozen undead warriors crawled from the earth—horrible corpses in military uniforms from all different time periods—U.S. Revolutionaries, Roman centurions, Napoleonic cavalry on skeletal horses. As one, they drew their swords and engaged the dracaenea.

I ran after her and found Annabeth at my side, keeping pace, her sword in her hand. “This might be it,” she said. “Could be.” “Nice fighting with you, Seaweed Brain.” “Ditto.”

“You were right, Annabeth, about children of Athena. We should be wise, and I was not. Someday you will be a greater architect than I ever was. Take my ideas and improve them. It is the least I can do before I pass on.” “Whoa,” I said. “Pass on? But you can’t just kill yourself. That’s wrong!”

“One last favor, Percy Jackson. I cannot leave Mrs. O’Leary alone. And she has no desire to return to the Underworld. Will you care for her?” I looked at the massive black hound, who whimpered pitifully, still licking Daedalus’s hair. I was thinking that my mom’s apartment wouldn’t allow dogs, especially dogs bigger than the apartment, but I said, “Yeah. Of course I will.”

“I bear bad news, my friends. Evil news. The minor gods are changing sides. Morpheus has gone over to the enemy. Hecate, Janus, and Nemesis, as well. Zeus knows how many more.”

Now, I want to hear Grover’s story. Again, from the top.” “But, my lord,” Silenus protested. “It’s just nonsense!” Dionysus’s eyes flared with purple fire. “I have just learned that my son Castor is dead, Silenus. I am not in a good mood. You would do well to humor me.”

“Perhaps I felt grieved by my son’s death. Perhaps I thought this Chris boy deserved a second chance. At any rate, it seems to have improved Clarisse’s mood.” “Why are you telling me this?” The wine god sighed. “Oh, Hades if I know. But remember, boy, that a kind act can sometimes be as powerful as a sword. As a mortal, I was never a great fighter or athlete or poet. I only made wine. The people in my village laughed at me. They said I would never amount to anything. Look at me now. Sometimes small things can become very large indeed.” He left me alone to think about that. And as I watched Clarisse and Chris singing a stupid campfire song together, holding hands in the darkness, where they thought nobody could see them, I had to smile.

Annabeth and I pretty much skirted around each other. I was glad to be with her, but it also kind of hurt, and it hurt when I wasn’t with her, too.

“There’s a private school out there that I’ll be going to,” she said. “I’ll probably hate it, but…” She shrugged. “Yeah, well, call me, okay?” “Sure,” she said half-heartedly.

“And lose a love to worse than death.” Annabeth had tears in her eyes. “That was the last line, Percy. Are you happy now?” The sun seemed colder than it had a moment ago. “Oh,” I said. “So Luke—” “Percy, I didn’t know who the prophecy was talking about. I—I didn’t know if…” She faltered helplessly. “Luke and I—for years, he was the only one who really cared about me. I thought…”

“Hephaestus was right,” I growled. “You only care about your perfect family, not real people.” Her eyes turned dangerously bright. “Watch yourself, son of Poseidon. I guided you more than you know in the maze. I was at your side when you faced Geryon. I let your arrow fly straight. I sent you to Calypso’s island. I opened the way to the Titan’s mountain. Annabeth, my dear, surely you see how I’ve helped. I would welcome a sacrifice for my efforts.”

Annabeth stood still as a statue. She could’ve said thank you. She could’ve promised to throw some barbecue on the brazier for Hera and forget the whole thing. But she clenched her jaw stubbornly. She looked just the way she had when she’d faced the Sphinx—like she wasn’t going to accept an easy answer, even if it got her in serious trouble. I realized that was one of the things I liked best about Annabeth.

“I’m sorry,” Annabeth told me. “I—I should get back. I’ll keep in touch.” “Listen, Annabeth—” I thought about Mount St. Helens, Calypso’s Island, Luke and Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and how suddenly everything had gotten so complicated. I wanted to tell Annabeth that I didn’t really want to be so distant from her.

“I hear your mom signed you up for driver’s ed this fall.” “Yeah. It’s cool. I can’t wait.” Seriously, I’d been excited about getting my license forever, but I guess my heart wasn’t in it anymore, and Paul could tell. In a weird way he reminded me of Chiron sometimes, how he could look at you and actually see your thoughts. I guess it was that teacher aura.

“Percy, I kind of feel bad giving you one more thing to think about,” Paul said. “But I wanted to ask you something.” “Yeah?” “Girl stuff.” I frowned. “What do you mean?” “Your mom,” Paul said. “I’m thinking about proposing to her.” I almost dropped my cup. “You mean…marrying her? You and her?” “Well, that was the general idea. Would that be okay with you?” “You’re asking my permission?” Paul scratched his beard. “I don’t know if it’s permission, so much, but she’s your mother. And I know you’re going through a lot. I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t talk to you about it first, man to man.” “Man to man,” I repeated. It sounded strange, saying that. I thought about Paul and my mom, how she smiled and laughed more whenever he was around, and how Paul had gone out of his way to get me into high school. I found myself saying, “I think that’s a great idea, Paul. Go for it.”

It was my dad. He was wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt and Birkenstocks, like he usually does. His black beard was neatly trimmed and his sea-green eyes twinkled. He wore a battered cap decorated with fishing lures. It said NEPTUNE’S LUCKY FISHING HAT. “Pos—” My mother stopped herself. She was blushing right to the roots of her hair. “Um, hello.” “Hello, Sally,” Poseidon said. “You look as beautiful as ever. May I come in?”

“Hi, I’m Paul Blofis.” Poseidon raised his eyebrows as they shook hands. “Blowfish, did you say?” “Ah, no. Blofis, actually.” “Oh, I see,” Poseidon said. “A shame. I quite like blow-fish. I am Poseidon.” “Poseidon? That’s an interesting name.” “Yes, I like it. I’ve gone by other names, but I do prefer Poseidon.” “Like the god of the sea.” “Very much like that, yes.” “Well!” my mom interrupted. “Um, we’re so glad you could drop by. Paul, this is Percy’s father.” “Ah.” Paul nodded, though he didn’t look real pleased. “I see.” Poseidon smiled at me. “There you are, my boy. And Tyson, hello, son!” “Daddy!” Tyson bounded across the room and gave Poseidon a big hug, which almost knocked off his fishing hat. Paul’s jaw dropped. He stared at my mom. “Tyson is…” “Not mine,” she promised. “It’s a long story.” “I couldn’t miss Percy’s fifteenth birthday,” Poseidon said. “Why, if this were Sparta, Percy would be a man today!” “That’s true,” Paul said. “I used to teach ancient history.” Poseidon’s eyes twinkled. “That’s me. Ancient history. Sally, Paul, Tyson…would you mind if I borrowed Percy for just a moment?” He put his arm around me and steered me into the kitchen. Once we were alone, his smile faded. “Are you all right, my boy?” “Yeah. I’m fine. I guess.”

I will have to think on this. Unfortunately, I have other problems of my own.” I remembered what Tyson had told me at the beginning of the summer. “The old sea gods?” “Indeed. The battle came first to me, Percy. In fact, I cannot stay long. Even now the ocean is at war with itself. It is all I can do to keep hurricanes and typhoons from destroying your surface world, the fighting is so intense.” “Let me come down there,” I said. “Let me help.” Poseidon’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Not yet, my boy. I sense you will be needed here. Which reminds me…” He brought out a sand dollar and pressed it into my hand. “Your birthday present. Spend it wisely.” “Uh, spend a sand dollar?” “Oh, yes. In my day, you could buy quite a lot with a sand dollar. I think you will find it still buys a lot, if used in the right situation.” “What situation?” “When the time comes,” Poseidon said, “I think you’ll know.”

“Dad,” I said, “when I was in the maze, I met Antaeus. He said…well, he said he was your favorite son. He decorated his arena with skulls and—” “He dedicated them to me,” Poseidon supplied. “And you are wondering how someone could do something so horrible in my name.” I nodded uncomfortably. Poseidon put his weathered hand on my shoulder. “Percy, lesser beings do many horrible things in the name of the gods. That does not mean we gods approve. The way our sons and daughters act in our names…well, it usually says more about them than it does about us. And you, Percy, are my favorite son.” He smiled, and at that moment, just being in the kitchen with him was the best birthday present I ever got.

“But, Percy, one last thing you should know. That incident at Mount St. Helens…” For a second I thought he was talking about Annabeth kissing me, and I blushed, but then I realized he was talking about something a lot bigger.

“The way to beat Luke,” he said. “If I’m right, it’s the only way you’ll stand a chance.” I took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m listening.” Nico glanced inside my room. His eyebrows furrowed. “Is that…is that blue birthday cake?” He sounded hungry, maybe a little wistful. I wondered if the poor kid had ever had a birthday party, or if he’d ever even been invited to one. “Come inside for cake and ice cream,” I said. “It sounds like we’ve got a lot to talk about.”