shiiki
in
shiikifics
FIC: The Impossible Maze, Chpt 4
Title: The Impossible Maze (Daughter of Wisdom 4)
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan, Tyson, Grover Underwood, Rachel Dare, Nico di Angelo, various others, Gen with developing Percy/Annabeth
Fandom: Percy Jackson
Summary: Annabeth Chase has finally gotten her chance to lead a quest, but the stakes have never been so high. With war on the horizon, she and her friends must navigate the Labyrinth to find its creator and convince him to help Camp Half-Blood. But the Labyrinth is more than just a physical maze-in its twist and turns, Annabeth must not only confront the Titan army’s monsters, but her own fears, hopes, and scariest of all, her developing feelings for her best friend. An alternate PoV retelling of The Battle of the Labyrinth.
In this chapter
Chapter Title: An Oversized Puppy Soils The Rug
Rating: PG
Characters: Annabeth Chase, Chiron, Grover Underwood, Clarisse La Rue, Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Quintus, other cameos
Word Count: 3,149
Chapter Summary: Chiron introduces a new instructor and his pet.
Back to Fic Content Page
I let Woodrow take Mitchell and Lacy to get settled in the Hermes cabin while I went to find Chiron. The door to his office in the Big House was slightly ajar, with voices wafting out into the hallway. I stopped outside it, my hand poised to knock, when I realised the voice coming from inside wasn't Chiron's.
'… a week late, but my mom's boyfriend got me into his high school, and there's this orientation thing on Friday.'
My heart did a happy somersault. I hadn't expected to find Percy here already.
Then Chiron replied, 'I understand. That's fine. We'll expect you next Saturday. Will your mother be driving you, or will you need help getting here?'
The context of their words sank in. It was an Iris-message. And not only was Percy still at home, he was also going to arrive at camp late. Because of school.
Disappointment pooled in the pit of my stomach, followed by a seething pinch of annoyance. Percy didn't even like school. Yet here he was, letting it get in the way. Didn't he understand how important it was for him to be here?
Tell your hero Percy Jackson: Kronos is coming for him.
I twisted the beads of my necklace in my fingers. Had Percy finally realised how dangerous this summer would be? He'd always wished he could be a normal kid. It was why he wouldn't stay year-round at camp the way Chiron wanted him to. But Percy was as un-normal as a demigod could get. His dad was Poseidon, one of the Big Three gods who had broken a sacred, Styx-sworn oath when he sired Percy. Percy's parentage placed him directly in the path of a seventy-year-old prophecy, one that gave me the shivers every time I thought of it.
I wouldn't blame him for trying to avoid the prophecy, even if he still didn't know its full, gory details. But that wasn't like Percy. He'd told me last winter he wanted to claim the prophecy. If a Big Three kid had to shoulder the responsibility of saving or destroying Olympus, Percy would step up. He wouldn't let Nico di Angelo draw the wrath of Kronos and risk being killed. He wouldn't let anyone else take the fall.
It made me both burst with pride and sick with fear. Percy had that way about him. Being his friend was like walking a perpetual tightrope between conflicting emotions. (Most of the time, the positive ones won.)
He'd never run away. He was just coming a bit late. Percy wouldn't abandon me-abandon camp.
The door opened.
'Annabeth?' Chiron rolled back slightly. He was a centaur, but he often disguised himself as a wheelchair-user in order to pass among mortals-or fit in smaller spaces. 'How long have you been here?'
'Um, hi Chiron. Sorry, I should have knocked.'
'No matter. Come in, child. Have you just arrived?'
I nodded. 'Athena sent a message. And Woodrow just brought in two new campers.' I told him everything, from my mother's warnings to the lion-headed giants' parting threat.
Chiron tidied the pens and papers on his desk, although they were already quite neat to begin with. 'It will be a hard summer,' he said at last. He stared into the prism sitting at the centre of his desk.
'Were you-was that Percy you were talking to?' I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
Chiron's lips quirked, like he knew exactly why I was asking. 'Yes. He called to inform me he would be delayed. He is attending orientation at his new high school. It must not have been easy for his mother to find him a place for next year; Percy has had much trouble with schools in the past.'
I felt a twinge of guilt, thinking of the trouble Janet had gone to on behalf of my schooling-which I'd rejected. This was different, though. Percy was missing a week of camp. I'd have had to miss the entire summer if I'd agreed to the pre-sessional programme at design school.
'Perhaps you'd like to fetch him next week?' There was a twinkle in Chiron's eye.
'Me? You're … letting me leave camp?' There was a long-standing rule that campers could not leave without permission once the summer session began. Traditionally, that permission was only ever granted if a quest was issued.
'I believe I still have the power to do that, yes.' Chiron was definitely grinning now.
'But … why? I mean, yeah, I'd like that, but …'
'You can head into the city, have a nice afternoon … do some normal things. It will be good for you to take some time off.'
'Time off?'
Chiron patted my shoulder. 'I believe you will need it, my dear. This summer-well, your news confirms what I have feared for some time. Before this camp session ends, we will face a difficult battle. We must be ready. Burnt out soldiers make bad armies. And we will have much work to do this week.' He wheeled to the door and rose out of his chair, his equine hindquarters emerging from the hidden compartment in a series of clicks and snaps. 'On that note, we should assemble our first war council.'
+++
We gathered in the sword-fighting arena: all the head counsellors, a few senior satyrs, Chiron, and a bearded man with grey hair whom I didn't know. It was just like any other start-of-session meeting, when Chiron usually gave out cabin duties and training assignments. I suspected this year's duties were going to be a lot more serious.
In light of the severity of our situation, I expected Mr D to be here. But the only adults were Chiron and the newcomer, who leant casually against a stack of bear-sized crates, polishing one of the training swords. The crates were all labelled with large red letters that looked like they'd been painted in blood: TRIPLE G RANCH. One of them rattled like whatever was inside wanted out. The newcomer rapped on the top with his knuckles and the creature inside settled down.
I took a seat next to Grover on one of the burlap sacks we used for lifting practice. He'd earned his searcher's license and the right to be at council meetings two summers ago. Right now, he wasn't looking too pleased. He barely looked at me, instead picking dejectedly at a can of tin shavings (typically his favourite snack, only he seemed too depressed to eat).
'What's wrong?' I asked him. 'Still no luck with Pan?'
Anyone else would have given up after two years of fruitless searching for the lost god of the wild-a god who hadn't been seen in two thousand years-but Grover firmly believed he was out there. If he could just find Pan, he'd be able to preserve nature and stop climate change and deforestation and all that.
Grover dropped his tin can in his lap. 'I keep hitting a dead end,' he moaned. 'And the Council of Cloven Elders are getting impatient. They're holding a hearing in a week to review my license!'
'But you're the first satyr who hasn't died or disappeared on the search! That's got to count for something.'
'They don't believe what I said about hearing him last winter,' Grover said. 'They-'
Chiron banged his hoof against the floor, calling us to attention. The chatter in the arena died down. One of the training dummies fell to the ground, covered with shaving cream and silly string. Travis and Connor Stoll, the counsellors for Hermes cabin, grinned sheepishly.
'Yes, it's good to see everyone,' Chiron said.
The other counsellors murmured in assent: Clarisse for Ares, her beefy arms crossed under a perpetual scowl; Beckendorf for Hephaestus, his large hands fiddling with some contraption that had a lot of gears and wires; Silena of Aphrodite, twisting a long, dark curl around her left pinky finger … we were all here, representing the nine occupied cabins. Well, all except one.
'Where's Prissy?' Clarisse asked, flexing her right forearm like she was dying to punch him.
'Percy has been delayed,' Chiron said. 'He will join us next week. We will fill him in later. At any rate, the other member of cabin three will only arrive then as well.'
'The other member-' My head shot up. 'Do you mean Tyson?'
There was a ripple of interest among the other counsellors. Percy's half-brother Tyson might be a Cyclops, but he'd won everyone over last summer when he'd helped us to retrieve the Golden Fleece and save the camp. Even Clarisse grudgingly acknowledged that he was 'kinda cool.' Beckendorf grinned with unconcealed delight; he and Tyson had bonded over a shared love of metalwork. As for me, I owed Tyson my life several times over. Cyclops or not, I now considered him one of my best friends.
The only person who didn't seem too thrilled by Tyson's upcoming return to camp was Grover. I guess I couldn't blame him. Last year, he'd almost ended up first as the bride and then the dinner of one of Tyson's brethren (long story). And he'd never had the chance to spend much time with Tyson after that, so he probably hadn't realised what I had come to: monsters weren't all designed with the same blueprint. The big guy was really a huge softy … and an incredibly loyal friend.
'To business,' Chiron continued, after the hubbub about Tyson had died down. 'May I first introduce our new sword-fighting instructor, Quintus?'
The grey-haired man put down the rag he'd been using to clean the training sword and stepped forward. 'Hello,' he said. His voice was low and pleasant, like his throat had been lubricated with oil. The sword dangled casually from his left hand.
'Quintus will be assisting me with activities in Mr D's absence.'
Absence? I mouthed at Grover.
He winced. His expression said, I'll tell you later.
'Our plan for this year will be a little different. As you all know-'
Before Chiron could finish, a deafening WOOF shook the arena. The world's biggest puppy burst through the door, only it wasn't a puppy-it was a massive hellhound with pitch black fur and glistening teeth framing its slavering grey tongue.
Silena Beauregard screamed. Clarisse cursed and jumped to her feet, pulling her electric spear from behind her back. Beckendorf leapt up and thrust Silena behind him protectively.
'Whoa, there!' said Quintus. Without any of us noticing, he had stepped into a battle stance by the hellhound's side, holding his sword in a defensive position. The hellhound's tail thumped enthusiastically. It caught the Stoll brothers' dress-up dummy, which flew across the room and hit the wall in a mini fireworks explosion. Evidently, they'd planted firecrackers inside for a prank.
'What in Hades's name is that doing inside the boundaries?' Clarisse fumed, pointing her spear at the hellhound.
'I gave permission for Quintus to bring his pet,' Chiron said. He frowned at Quintus. 'Perhaps this wasn't the best way to introduce Mrs O'Leary.'
Quintus scratched under the hellhound's enormous jaws. A line of drool trickled from her slobbery mouth. 'Nonsense,' he said. 'They need to meet her-see that she's harmless.'
The hellhound-Mrs O'Leary-barked in agreement. Katie Gardner of Demeter covered her ears.
Quintus pointed to Travis and Connor's exploded dummy. 'Mrs O'Leary, fetch!' he said.
Mrs O'Leary covered the distance in a single bound. She sank her sharp teeth into the dummy and returned to Quintus's feet, where she sat on her haunches and began gnawing the dummy into sawdust.
'A pet hellhound,' Clarisse grumbled. She still hadn't put away her spear. 'You've got to be kidding me.'
Mrs O'Leary turned towards her. Lee Fletcher from Apollo and Dionysus's twin sons scooted their seats back. Despite Chiron and Quintus's assurances, Mrs O'Leary looked well capable of ripping any of us to shreds.
But she also reminded me of the three-headed Rottweiler that guarded the Underworld. Cerberus had been ready to kill us when we'd faced him … until I'd brought out a ball for him to play with.
I guess even demon dogs from the Fields of Punishment just need some love.
Mrs O'Leary took a few tentative steps towards Clarisse. Her tongue darted out to lick Clarisse's hand.
'Oh no you don't,' Clarisse warned, brandishing her spear. 'I ain't no dog person.'
Mrs O'Leary backed away from the spear point and whined. A trickle of yellow liquid ran down her back legs.
'Gross!' Silena wrinkled her nose.
'Ahem,' Chiron said, looking pained. 'Now that we've all had a chance to become acquainted with our new member of staff, Quintus, perhaps you could take Mrs O'Leary outside to do her business? In the woods, preferably.'
Quintus nodded and snapped his fingers. Mrs O'Leary followed him out. She left a wet splotch on the floor that smelt like, well, dog pee.
'Oh, Juniper's going to love that,' Grover muttered. His girlfriend was one of the wood nymphs. They got pretty touchy about people messing up their trees.
Chiron sighed at the mess. 'Perhaps we should continue this discussion at the Big House.'
We adjourned to the rec room to finish the meeting. Travis and Connor took over the ping-pong table immediately, filling the room with the sound of bouncing balls. Chiron had to bang his hoof a few times to get everyone's attention. The carpeted floor muffled the sound.
I guess this was why Chiron hadn't just held the war council here in the first place. There were too many distractions for a bunch of ADHD demigods.
'As I was saying,' Chiron said, 'we will be facing a great danger this summer. The Titan lord has promised an attack and we must be prepared. Already this spring some of his advance guard have attempted to infiltrate our borders, though they were fortunately unsuccessful. However, Kronos is not one to admit defeat. I believe he will break through eventually.'
'But the Fleece,' Katie said. 'If they can't get through the magical barriers-'
'There might be another way,' Clarisse said darkly. Our eyes locked. Between us passed the memory of a dark tunnel, a glowing triangle, and a blown-up building in Phoenix, Arizona.
'Are you talking about that thing you mentioned last winter?' Beckendorf asked. 'The secret underground tunnel?'
'The Labyrinth,' I corrected. 'But we haven't found an entrance here. Or any sign that Luke has learned to navigate it.'
Silena nudged Beckendorf and shook her head. 'Let's not talk about it, then.'
She'd been pretty spooked by the possibility when Clarisse had reported about the Labyrinth. I guess that hadn't changed.
'At any rate,' Chiron said, 'we must review our emergency protocols. In lieu of head counsellors, I would like to appoint Annabeth as head strategist.'
'Me?'
'Athena cabin will need to take point organising our defences,' Chiron said. 'Deploying each of the cabins in battle. Each of you has your strengths. Beckendorf, Hephaestus cabin must oversee the stocking of the armoury at once.'
Beckendorf grunted in assent. He gripped the wrench in his hand like he was ready to start hammering at the camp forge.
'Lee, we will need the infirmary stocked and ready, and all combat medics properly trained.'
Lee nodded grimly.
'Clarisse, you are our best battlefield commander. When the time comes, we will rely on you to lead the charge.'
Clarisse's grip tightened on her spear.
Chiron continued to assign roles to each cabin leader-the Stolls as battle scouts, Katie and Dionysus's twins in charge of camp welfare. Silena took point on the daily administrative duties that were usually shared out among all the counsellors. Chiron didn't mention Percy. I wondered what role he had in mind for him. Percy's special power was controlling water, which didn't make for a real strategy. But he had an even bigger strength: he was a whiz at improvisation. It drove me crazy, the way he always jumped into things without a plan, but he was also good at fixing things on the fly when plans went wrong. Maybe Chiron was keeping him in reserve, as back-up. It was what I'd do, if I were strategising.
Then I realised … this was exactly what I was doing. What I was supposed to do.
'The first capture the flag will be next Tuesday,' Chiron announced. 'Quintus and I have some … surprises planned. It should be interesting. In the meantime, train your campers, but do not alarm them. We may be preparing for an attack, but we are still a summer camp. Our campers are here to learn and have fun.'
The meeting ended. I went over to Clarisse, intending to ask if she had any updates about the Labyrinth. She had started up a conversation with Silena, of all people. Their voices were hushed. I only caught the words, 'basement … no change … worried,' before they looked up and saw me.
Silena chewed on her lower lip. 'Um, hi Annabeth.'
'It's fine,' Clarisse said curtly. 'Annabeth already knows.'
I raised my eyebrows. 'Knows what?'
'About Chris.'
My eyebrows shot up even further. Chris Rodriguez had been one of Luke's scouts in the Labyrinth. He'd turned up in Phoenix last fall, raving mad, our first clue that the Titans had been trying to navigate the ancient structure. I couldn't think why Clarisse would have consulted Silena about him.
Silena must have registered my surprise, because she said, 'I stumbled across him in the basement. I just wanted to help.'
'The basement?'
'Well, where else were we going to put him?' Clarisse said impatiently. 'It's not like he can go back to Hermes cabin-or anywhere else, not unless we want to announce it to the entire camp.'
'Do you think we should?' I asked. 'I know we said we'd keep it among the counsellors, but with Kronos preparing his next move on the camp … Did Chris tell you anything about that?'
'Chris can't tell us anything.' Silena shook her head sadly. 'He's mad.'
'What-still? I thought you brought him back so Mr D could heal him?' A shiver ran through me. Was it possible that whatever Chris had experienced in the Labyrinth had messed with his head so badly that even a god couldn't fix him?
My mind flashed to dark tunnels and forked paths. The million crossroads that haunted my dreams. Could choices really drive you crazy?
'I did,' Clarisse said. 'Only Mr D hasn't seen him.'
'Why not?'
Clarisse and Silena exchanged a troubled look.
'Because he's off tracking down the minor gods, trying to keep them in line,' Clarisse said. 'He's been gone for nearly two months.'
Chapter 5
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan, Tyson, Grover Underwood, Rachel Dare, Nico di Angelo, various others, Gen with developing Percy/Annabeth
Fandom: Percy Jackson
Summary: Annabeth Chase has finally gotten her chance to lead a quest, but the stakes have never been so high. With war on the horizon, she and her friends must navigate the Labyrinth to find its creator and convince him to help Camp Half-Blood. But the Labyrinth is more than just a physical maze-in its twist and turns, Annabeth must not only confront the Titan army’s monsters, but her own fears, hopes, and scariest of all, her developing feelings for her best friend. An alternate PoV retelling of The Battle of the Labyrinth.
In this chapter
Chapter Title: An Oversized Puppy Soils The Rug
Rating: PG
Characters: Annabeth Chase, Chiron, Grover Underwood, Clarisse La Rue, Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Quintus, other cameos
Word Count: 3,149
Chapter Summary: Chiron introduces a new instructor and his pet.
Back to Fic Content Page
I let Woodrow take Mitchell and Lacy to get settled in the Hermes cabin while I went to find Chiron. The door to his office in the Big House was slightly ajar, with voices wafting out into the hallway. I stopped outside it, my hand poised to knock, when I realised the voice coming from inside wasn't Chiron's.
'… a week late, but my mom's boyfriend got me into his high school, and there's this orientation thing on Friday.'
My heart did a happy somersault. I hadn't expected to find Percy here already.
Then Chiron replied, 'I understand. That's fine. We'll expect you next Saturday. Will your mother be driving you, or will you need help getting here?'
The context of their words sank in. It was an Iris-message. And not only was Percy still at home, he was also going to arrive at camp late. Because of school.
Disappointment pooled in the pit of my stomach, followed by a seething pinch of annoyance. Percy didn't even like school. Yet here he was, letting it get in the way. Didn't he understand how important it was for him to be here?
Tell your hero Percy Jackson: Kronos is coming for him.
I twisted the beads of my necklace in my fingers. Had Percy finally realised how dangerous this summer would be? He'd always wished he could be a normal kid. It was why he wouldn't stay year-round at camp the way Chiron wanted him to. But Percy was as un-normal as a demigod could get. His dad was Poseidon, one of the Big Three gods who had broken a sacred, Styx-sworn oath when he sired Percy. Percy's parentage placed him directly in the path of a seventy-year-old prophecy, one that gave me the shivers every time I thought of it.
I wouldn't blame him for trying to avoid the prophecy, even if he still didn't know its full, gory details. But that wasn't like Percy. He'd told me last winter he wanted to claim the prophecy. If a Big Three kid had to shoulder the responsibility of saving or destroying Olympus, Percy would step up. He wouldn't let Nico di Angelo draw the wrath of Kronos and risk being killed. He wouldn't let anyone else take the fall.
It made me both burst with pride and sick with fear. Percy had that way about him. Being his friend was like walking a perpetual tightrope between conflicting emotions. (Most of the time, the positive ones won.)
He'd never run away. He was just coming a bit late. Percy wouldn't abandon me-abandon camp.
The door opened.
'Annabeth?' Chiron rolled back slightly. He was a centaur, but he often disguised himself as a wheelchair-user in order to pass among mortals-or fit in smaller spaces. 'How long have you been here?'
'Um, hi Chiron. Sorry, I should have knocked.'
'No matter. Come in, child. Have you just arrived?'
I nodded. 'Athena sent a message. And Woodrow just brought in two new campers.' I told him everything, from my mother's warnings to the lion-headed giants' parting threat.
Chiron tidied the pens and papers on his desk, although they were already quite neat to begin with. 'It will be a hard summer,' he said at last. He stared into the prism sitting at the centre of his desk.
'Were you-was that Percy you were talking to?' I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
Chiron's lips quirked, like he knew exactly why I was asking. 'Yes. He called to inform me he would be delayed. He is attending orientation at his new high school. It must not have been easy for his mother to find him a place for next year; Percy has had much trouble with schools in the past.'
I felt a twinge of guilt, thinking of the trouble Janet had gone to on behalf of my schooling-which I'd rejected. This was different, though. Percy was missing a week of camp. I'd have had to miss the entire summer if I'd agreed to the pre-sessional programme at design school.
'Perhaps you'd like to fetch him next week?' There was a twinkle in Chiron's eye.
'Me? You're … letting me leave camp?' There was a long-standing rule that campers could not leave without permission once the summer session began. Traditionally, that permission was only ever granted if a quest was issued.
'I believe I still have the power to do that, yes.' Chiron was definitely grinning now.
'But … why? I mean, yeah, I'd like that, but …'
'You can head into the city, have a nice afternoon … do some normal things. It will be good for you to take some time off.'
'Time off?'
Chiron patted my shoulder. 'I believe you will need it, my dear. This summer-well, your news confirms what I have feared for some time. Before this camp session ends, we will face a difficult battle. We must be ready. Burnt out soldiers make bad armies. And we will have much work to do this week.' He wheeled to the door and rose out of his chair, his equine hindquarters emerging from the hidden compartment in a series of clicks and snaps. 'On that note, we should assemble our first war council.'
+++
We gathered in the sword-fighting arena: all the head counsellors, a few senior satyrs, Chiron, and a bearded man with grey hair whom I didn't know. It was just like any other start-of-session meeting, when Chiron usually gave out cabin duties and training assignments. I suspected this year's duties were going to be a lot more serious.
In light of the severity of our situation, I expected Mr D to be here. But the only adults were Chiron and the newcomer, who leant casually against a stack of bear-sized crates, polishing one of the training swords. The crates were all labelled with large red letters that looked like they'd been painted in blood: TRIPLE G RANCH. One of them rattled like whatever was inside wanted out. The newcomer rapped on the top with his knuckles and the creature inside settled down.
I took a seat next to Grover on one of the burlap sacks we used for lifting practice. He'd earned his searcher's license and the right to be at council meetings two summers ago. Right now, he wasn't looking too pleased. He barely looked at me, instead picking dejectedly at a can of tin shavings (typically his favourite snack, only he seemed too depressed to eat).
'What's wrong?' I asked him. 'Still no luck with Pan?'
Anyone else would have given up after two years of fruitless searching for the lost god of the wild-a god who hadn't been seen in two thousand years-but Grover firmly believed he was out there. If he could just find Pan, he'd be able to preserve nature and stop climate change and deforestation and all that.
Grover dropped his tin can in his lap. 'I keep hitting a dead end,' he moaned. 'And the Council of Cloven Elders are getting impatient. They're holding a hearing in a week to review my license!'
'But you're the first satyr who hasn't died or disappeared on the search! That's got to count for something.'
'They don't believe what I said about hearing him last winter,' Grover said. 'They-'
Chiron banged his hoof against the floor, calling us to attention. The chatter in the arena died down. One of the training dummies fell to the ground, covered with shaving cream and silly string. Travis and Connor Stoll, the counsellors for Hermes cabin, grinned sheepishly.
'Yes, it's good to see everyone,' Chiron said.
The other counsellors murmured in assent: Clarisse for Ares, her beefy arms crossed under a perpetual scowl; Beckendorf for Hephaestus, his large hands fiddling with some contraption that had a lot of gears and wires; Silena of Aphrodite, twisting a long, dark curl around her left pinky finger … we were all here, representing the nine occupied cabins. Well, all except one.
'Where's Prissy?' Clarisse asked, flexing her right forearm like she was dying to punch him.
'Percy has been delayed,' Chiron said. 'He will join us next week. We will fill him in later. At any rate, the other member of cabin three will only arrive then as well.'
'The other member-' My head shot up. 'Do you mean Tyson?'
There was a ripple of interest among the other counsellors. Percy's half-brother Tyson might be a Cyclops, but he'd won everyone over last summer when he'd helped us to retrieve the Golden Fleece and save the camp. Even Clarisse grudgingly acknowledged that he was 'kinda cool.' Beckendorf grinned with unconcealed delight; he and Tyson had bonded over a shared love of metalwork. As for me, I owed Tyson my life several times over. Cyclops or not, I now considered him one of my best friends.
The only person who didn't seem too thrilled by Tyson's upcoming return to camp was Grover. I guess I couldn't blame him. Last year, he'd almost ended up first as the bride and then the dinner of one of Tyson's brethren (long story). And he'd never had the chance to spend much time with Tyson after that, so he probably hadn't realised what I had come to: monsters weren't all designed with the same blueprint. The big guy was really a huge softy … and an incredibly loyal friend.
'To business,' Chiron continued, after the hubbub about Tyson had died down. 'May I first introduce our new sword-fighting instructor, Quintus?'
The grey-haired man put down the rag he'd been using to clean the training sword and stepped forward. 'Hello,' he said. His voice was low and pleasant, like his throat had been lubricated with oil. The sword dangled casually from his left hand.
'Quintus will be assisting me with activities in Mr D's absence.'
Absence? I mouthed at Grover.
He winced. His expression said, I'll tell you later.
'Our plan for this year will be a little different. As you all know-'
Before Chiron could finish, a deafening WOOF shook the arena. The world's biggest puppy burst through the door, only it wasn't a puppy-it was a massive hellhound with pitch black fur and glistening teeth framing its slavering grey tongue.
Silena Beauregard screamed. Clarisse cursed and jumped to her feet, pulling her electric spear from behind her back. Beckendorf leapt up and thrust Silena behind him protectively.
'Whoa, there!' said Quintus. Without any of us noticing, he had stepped into a battle stance by the hellhound's side, holding his sword in a defensive position. The hellhound's tail thumped enthusiastically. It caught the Stoll brothers' dress-up dummy, which flew across the room and hit the wall in a mini fireworks explosion. Evidently, they'd planted firecrackers inside for a prank.
'What in Hades's name is that doing inside the boundaries?' Clarisse fumed, pointing her spear at the hellhound.
'I gave permission for Quintus to bring his pet,' Chiron said. He frowned at Quintus. 'Perhaps this wasn't the best way to introduce Mrs O'Leary.'
Quintus scratched under the hellhound's enormous jaws. A line of drool trickled from her slobbery mouth. 'Nonsense,' he said. 'They need to meet her-see that she's harmless.'
The hellhound-Mrs O'Leary-barked in agreement. Katie Gardner of Demeter covered her ears.
Quintus pointed to Travis and Connor's exploded dummy. 'Mrs O'Leary, fetch!' he said.
Mrs O'Leary covered the distance in a single bound. She sank her sharp teeth into the dummy and returned to Quintus's feet, where she sat on her haunches and began gnawing the dummy into sawdust.
'A pet hellhound,' Clarisse grumbled. She still hadn't put away her spear. 'You've got to be kidding me.'
Mrs O'Leary turned towards her. Lee Fletcher from Apollo and Dionysus's twin sons scooted their seats back. Despite Chiron and Quintus's assurances, Mrs O'Leary looked well capable of ripping any of us to shreds.
But she also reminded me of the three-headed Rottweiler that guarded the Underworld. Cerberus had been ready to kill us when we'd faced him … until I'd brought out a ball for him to play with.
I guess even demon dogs from the Fields of Punishment just need some love.
Mrs O'Leary took a few tentative steps towards Clarisse. Her tongue darted out to lick Clarisse's hand.
'Oh no you don't,' Clarisse warned, brandishing her spear. 'I ain't no dog person.'
Mrs O'Leary backed away from the spear point and whined. A trickle of yellow liquid ran down her back legs.
'Gross!' Silena wrinkled her nose.
'Ahem,' Chiron said, looking pained. 'Now that we've all had a chance to become acquainted with our new member of staff, Quintus, perhaps you could take Mrs O'Leary outside to do her business? In the woods, preferably.'
Quintus nodded and snapped his fingers. Mrs O'Leary followed him out. She left a wet splotch on the floor that smelt like, well, dog pee.
'Oh, Juniper's going to love that,' Grover muttered. His girlfriend was one of the wood nymphs. They got pretty touchy about people messing up their trees.
Chiron sighed at the mess. 'Perhaps we should continue this discussion at the Big House.'
We adjourned to the rec room to finish the meeting. Travis and Connor took over the ping-pong table immediately, filling the room with the sound of bouncing balls. Chiron had to bang his hoof a few times to get everyone's attention. The carpeted floor muffled the sound.
I guess this was why Chiron hadn't just held the war council here in the first place. There were too many distractions for a bunch of ADHD demigods.
'As I was saying,' Chiron said, 'we will be facing a great danger this summer. The Titan lord has promised an attack and we must be prepared. Already this spring some of his advance guard have attempted to infiltrate our borders, though they were fortunately unsuccessful. However, Kronos is not one to admit defeat. I believe he will break through eventually.'
'But the Fleece,' Katie said. 'If they can't get through the magical barriers-'
'There might be another way,' Clarisse said darkly. Our eyes locked. Between us passed the memory of a dark tunnel, a glowing triangle, and a blown-up building in Phoenix, Arizona.
'Are you talking about that thing you mentioned last winter?' Beckendorf asked. 'The secret underground tunnel?'
'The Labyrinth,' I corrected. 'But we haven't found an entrance here. Or any sign that Luke has learned to navigate it.'
Silena nudged Beckendorf and shook her head. 'Let's not talk about it, then.'
She'd been pretty spooked by the possibility when Clarisse had reported about the Labyrinth. I guess that hadn't changed.
'At any rate,' Chiron said, 'we must review our emergency protocols. In lieu of head counsellors, I would like to appoint Annabeth as head strategist.'
'Me?'
'Athena cabin will need to take point organising our defences,' Chiron said. 'Deploying each of the cabins in battle. Each of you has your strengths. Beckendorf, Hephaestus cabin must oversee the stocking of the armoury at once.'
Beckendorf grunted in assent. He gripped the wrench in his hand like he was ready to start hammering at the camp forge.
'Lee, we will need the infirmary stocked and ready, and all combat medics properly trained.'
Lee nodded grimly.
'Clarisse, you are our best battlefield commander. When the time comes, we will rely on you to lead the charge.'
Clarisse's grip tightened on her spear.
Chiron continued to assign roles to each cabin leader-the Stolls as battle scouts, Katie and Dionysus's twins in charge of camp welfare. Silena took point on the daily administrative duties that were usually shared out among all the counsellors. Chiron didn't mention Percy. I wondered what role he had in mind for him. Percy's special power was controlling water, which didn't make for a real strategy. But he had an even bigger strength: he was a whiz at improvisation. It drove me crazy, the way he always jumped into things without a plan, but he was also good at fixing things on the fly when plans went wrong. Maybe Chiron was keeping him in reserve, as back-up. It was what I'd do, if I were strategising.
Then I realised … this was exactly what I was doing. What I was supposed to do.
'The first capture the flag will be next Tuesday,' Chiron announced. 'Quintus and I have some … surprises planned. It should be interesting. In the meantime, train your campers, but do not alarm them. We may be preparing for an attack, but we are still a summer camp. Our campers are here to learn and have fun.'
The meeting ended. I went over to Clarisse, intending to ask if she had any updates about the Labyrinth. She had started up a conversation with Silena, of all people. Their voices were hushed. I only caught the words, 'basement … no change … worried,' before they looked up and saw me.
Silena chewed on her lower lip. 'Um, hi Annabeth.'
'It's fine,' Clarisse said curtly. 'Annabeth already knows.'
I raised my eyebrows. 'Knows what?'
'About Chris.'
My eyebrows shot up even further. Chris Rodriguez had been one of Luke's scouts in the Labyrinth. He'd turned up in Phoenix last fall, raving mad, our first clue that the Titans had been trying to navigate the ancient structure. I couldn't think why Clarisse would have consulted Silena about him.
Silena must have registered my surprise, because she said, 'I stumbled across him in the basement. I just wanted to help.'
'The basement?'
'Well, where else were we going to put him?' Clarisse said impatiently. 'It's not like he can go back to Hermes cabin-or anywhere else, not unless we want to announce it to the entire camp.'
'Do you think we should?' I asked. 'I know we said we'd keep it among the counsellors, but with Kronos preparing his next move on the camp … Did Chris tell you anything about that?'
'Chris can't tell us anything.' Silena shook her head sadly. 'He's mad.'
'What-still? I thought you brought him back so Mr D could heal him?' A shiver ran through me. Was it possible that whatever Chris had experienced in the Labyrinth had messed with his head so badly that even a god couldn't fix him?
My mind flashed to dark tunnels and forked paths. The million crossroads that haunted my dreams. Could choices really drive you crazy?
'I did,' Clarisse said. 'Only Mr D hasn't seen him.'
'Why not?'
Clarisse and Silena exchanged a troubled look.
'Because he's off tracking down the minor gods, trying to keep them in line,' Clarisse said. 'He's been gone for nearly two months.'
Chapter 5