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

by Rick Riordan

“What, you thought I lived at Hoover Dam?”

“Wrong fight, girlie,” Clarisse muttered. “Wait.”

Then she did something that really surprised me. She blinked back tears and put out her arms.

“At least let me keep the toy,” the ghost said.

“I can’t stand it anymore,” he whispered. “Are we there yet?”

“Only bones,” Tyson said. “Don’t worry, goat boy. The milkman is dead.”

We didn’t stick around to play knock, knock with her, though.

“This pit goes straight to Tartarus,” he murmured. “I should jump in and save you trouble.”

me coded

“even immortality has limits. Sometimes…sometimes monsters get forgotten and they lose their will to stay immortal.”

Something about getting chased by a large dragon lady with poison swords made it real hard to relax.

He embarrassed them to death riding around in the moo-mobile.

Annabeth glared at me like she was going to punch me. And then she did something that surprised me even more. She kissed me.

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.

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

“That sucked,” he said, which I thought summed things up pretty well.

I nodded, looking at Rachel with respect. “You hit the Lord of the Titans in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush.”

I could feel myself growing stronger, like one of those plants in a time-lapse video.

“Percy Jackson,” the god said. “I know what you have seen today. I know your doubts. But I give you this news: when the time comes, you will not be ruled by fear.”

Genius does not excuse evil, Percy.

“I say no,” Dionysus countered. “That is my vote.”

Nico hesitated. “I don’t play that game anymore. It’s for kids.” “It’s got four thousand attack power,” I coaxed. “Five thousand,” Nico corrected. “But only if your opponent attacks first.”

“Hello, Sally,” Poseidon said. “You look as beautiful as ever. May I come in?”

So I did. It was kind of disconcerting, because Poseidon listened so intently. His eyes never left my face. His expression didn’t change the whole time I talked. When I was done, he nodded slowly.

“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.

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.