~Nico's POV~

Jumping out a window five hundred feet aboveground is not usually my idea of an escape plan. Especially when it involved doing something I was not meant to do.

I plummeted toward the valley and the red rocks below. I was pretty sure I was going to see my dad sooner than he thought, as Lia yelled from somewhere, "Spread your arms! Keep them extended!"

The small part of my brain that wasn't engulfed in panic heard her, and my arms responded. As soon as I spread them out, the wings stiffened, caught the wind, and my decent slowed. I soared downward, but at a controlled angle, like a kite in a dive.

Experimentally, I flapped my arms once. I arced into the sky, the wind whistling in my ears.

From below I could hear Percy yell, "Yeah!"

He voiced what I had in mind. The feeling was unbelievable. After getting the hang of it, I felt like the wings were part of my body. I could soar and swoop and dive anywhere I wanted to. I wondered if that was how Lia felt whenever she flew.

I turned and saw everyone else- Rachel, Annabeth, and Lia spiraled beside me with Percy flying below us. Behind me, smoke billowed from the windows of Daedalus's workshop.

"Land!" Annabeth yelled. "These wings won't last forever."

"How long?" Rachel cried.

"I don't want to find out!" Annabeth said.

We swooped down toward a beautiful garden. Percy did a complete circle around one of the rock spires and freaked out a couple climbers.

"Spread your arms back as far as you can to land!" Lia called out.

Everyone listened to her. Then the five of us soared across the valley over a road, and landed on the terrace of the visitor center. Surprisingly, none of us with the synthetic wings crashed. It was late afternoon and the place looked pretty empty, but everyone- except for Lia- ripped off our wings as quickly as we could. Lia looked crestfallen about putting her wings away, but she did so anyway. Looking at my own, I could see Annabeth was right. The self-adhesive seals that bound the wings to our backs were already melting, and we were shedding bronze feathers. It seemed a shame, but we couldn't fix them, and couldn't leave them around for the mortals, so we stuffed the wings in the trash bin outside the cafeteria.

Percy used the tourist binocular camera to look up at the hill where Daedalus's workshop had been, but it had vanished. No more smoke. No broken windows. Just the side of a hill.

"The workshop must have moved," Annabeth guessed. "There's no telling where."

"So what do we do now?" Percy asked. "How do we get back in the maze?"

Annabeth gazed at the summit of the mountain in the distance. "Maybe we can't. If Daedalus died...he said his life force was tied to the Labyrinth. The whole thing might've been destroyed. Maybe that will stop Luke's invasion."

Once again, I had no idea what Annabeth was talking about but an invasion didn't sound good.

"No," I said. "He isn't dead."

"Yeah, he's still alive somehow," Lia added.

"How do can you guys be sure?" Percy said.

"We know when people die. I don't know if it's the same for Lia, but it's this feeling I get, like a buzzing in my ears," I said.

"Daughter of death here," Lia reminded. "And it's more or less the same way as Nico. I get a ringing in my ears and I get this certain feeling in my stomach."

"What about Tyson and Grover, then?"

I shook my head. "That's harder. They're not humans or half-bloods. They don't have mortal souls."

"Yeah...Sorry. I wish I could tell you," Lia said. She gave Percy an apologetic look.

"We have to get into town," Annabeth decided. "Our chances will be better of finding an entrance to the Labyrinth. We have to make it back to camp before Luke and his army."

Lia started to shake at the mention of the army. I brushed the back of my hand against hers, and she flinched. Once she was sure it was me, she loosely put her hand into mine. It made me smile a little.

"We could take a plane," Rachel said.

Percy shuddered. "I don't fly."

"But you just did."

"That was low flying," Percy said, "and even that's risky. Flying up really high- that's Zeus's territory. I can't do it. Besides, we don't even have time for a flight. The Labyrinth is the quickest way back."

"So we need a car to take us into the city," Annabeth said.

Rachel looked down into the parking lot. She grimaced, as if she were about to do something she regretted. "I"ll take care of it.

"How?" Annabeth asked.

"Just trust me."

Annabeth looked uneasy, but she nodded. "Okay, I'm going to buy a prism in the gift shop, try to make a rainbow and send an Iris-message to camp."

"I'll go with you," I said. "I'm hungry."

"Same," Lia said.

"I'll stick with Rachel then," Percy said. "Meet you guys in the parking lot."

We went our own ways. Annabeth went ahead into the gift shop and bought her prism. There weren't many people in the shop, so Lia and I casually took some snacks off the shelves and ate them outside while Annabeth sent her message. Percy was watching Rachel talk to a man near an expensive looking car, but Lia and I didn't pay attention to them very much.

"If I haven't said it yet, I missed you, di Angelo," Lia said as she opened her soda.

"I missed you too, Callahan," I said sincerely. It wasn't just because I missed her support, I just missed her.

Lia stared at me with a serious look. "You never did tell me where you went really. When I came back to the ranch you were gone. I told you I would be back. "

I bowed my head. "Like I said, Minos told me you were in danger. I had to go find you. I was at the ranch, but then I had to go back into the maze. I'm so sorry I listened to him again, but he said you were trapped in the Labyrinth by monsters."

Lia sucked in a breath. "Something like that," she muttered.

Before I could ask her what she meant, Annabeth came out of the gift shop. The three of us went over to Rachel and Percy.

"I talked to Chiron," Annabeth said. "They're doing their best to prepare for battle, but he still wants us back. They're going to need every hero they can get. Did we find a ride?"

"The driver's ready when we are," Rachel said.

The driver I had seen talking to Rachel earlier was now talking to another guy in khakis and a polo shirt, probably his client who'd rented the car. The client was complaining, but I could hear the driver saying, "I'm sorry, sir. Emergency. I've ordered another car for you."

"Come on," Rachel said. She led us to the car and got in without even looking at the flustered guy who'd rented it. A minute later we were cruising down the road. The seats were leather. There was plenty of legroom. The backseat had flat-panel TVs built into the headrests and a mini-fridge stocked with bottled water, sodas, and snacks. We started pigging out. I pretended not to notice Lia slip a few of the items into her bag.

"Where to, Miss Dare?" the drive asked.

"I'm not sure yet, Robert," she said. "We just need to drive through town and, uh, look around."

"Whatever you say, miss."

Percy looked at Rachel. "Do you know this guy?"

"No."

"But he dropped everything to help you. Why?"

"Just keep your eyes peeled," she said. "Help me look."

We drove through what Lia told me was Colorado Springs for about half an hour and saw nothing that Rachel considered a possible Labyrinth entrance. Apparently she could see through the Mist despite being a mortal.

After about an hour we decided to head north toward Denver, thinking maybe a bigger city would be more likely to have a Labyrinth entrance, but we were all getting nervous. We were losing time.

Then, right as we were leaving Colorado Springs, Rachel sat bolt upright. "Get off the highway!"

The driver glanced back. "Miss?"

"I saw something I think. Get off here."

The driver swerved across traffic and took the exit.

"What did you see?" Percy asked. We were pretty out of the city now. There wasn't anything around except hills, grassland, and some scattered farm buildings. Rachel had the driver turn down this unpromising dirt road. We drove by a sigh too fast for me to read it, but Rachel said, "Western Museum of Mining & Industry."

For a museum, it didn't look like much- a little house like an old-fashioned railroad station, some drills and pumps and old steam shovels on display outside.

"There." Rachel pointed to a hole in the side of a nearby hill- a tunnel that was boarded up and chained. "An old mine entrance."

"A door to the Labyrinth?" Annabeth asked. "How can you be sure?"

"Well, look at it!" Rachel said. "I mean...I can see it, okay?"

She thanked the driver and we all got out. He didn't ask for money or anything. "Are you sure you'll be all right, Miss Dare? I'd be happy to call your-"

"No!" Rachel said. "No, really. Thanks, Robert, but we're fine."

The museum seemed to be closed, so nobody bothered us as we climbed the hill to the mine shaft. When we got to the entrance, I saw the mark of Daedalus engraved on the padlock, though how Rachel had seen something so tiny all the way from the highway I had no idea. Percy touched the padlock and the chains fell away. We kicked down a few boards and walked inside. For better or for worse, we were back in the Labyrinth.

The dirt tunnels to stone. The wound around and split off and basically tried to confuse us, but Rachel had no trouble guiding us. We told her we needed to get back to New York, and she hardly even paused when the tunnels offered a choice.

To my surprise, Rachel, Annabeth, and Lia started up a conversation as we walked. I was glad to see Lia was becoming more comfortable around new people. Annabeth asked Rachel and Lia more about their backgrounds, but they were both evasive, so they started to talking about Camp Half-Blood. Apparently, Lia had stayed there for a bit when she went with Annabeth, and Rachel was curious to learn about place. Annabeth was more than happy to fill the two in on facts about the camp while Percy and I hung back in uncomfortable silence.

"Thanks for coming after us," Percy said to me at last.

My eyes narrowed. "I didn't come for you guys. I came because I was told Lia was in trouble. Plus...I wanted to see Daedalus for myself. Minos was right, in a way. Daedalus should die. Nobody should be able to avoid death that long. It's not natural." My eyes flickered to Lia. Nobody should live as long as Daedalus had, but no one should die as soon as Lia is destined to.

"That's what you were after all along," Percy said. "Trading Daedalus's soul for your sister's."

I walked another fifty yards before answering. "It hasn't been easy, you know. Having only the dead for company. Knowing that I'll never be accepted by the living. Only the dead respect me, and they only do that out of fear. It seems like the only living person who doesn't care is Lia, and that's because we both have the dead in common."

"I don't think that's the only reason she's with you, Nico," Percy said. "It looks like it's because she sees you as a friend. Maybe even more."

I scowled at him. I didn't want to take girl advice from Percy, but I secretly hoped he was right.

"You could be accepted," Percy continued. "You could have friends at camp."

I stared at him. "Do you really believe that, Percy?"

From the look on his face, I didn't think he did. I couldn't see myself becoming friends with anyone at the camp. Lia possibly because of her friendly personality, but as two children relating to the dead, I didn't see us being able to stay at camp.

Before Percy could respond to me, he ran into Rachel who'd stopped in front of him. We'd come to a crossroads. The tunnel continued straight ahead, but a side tunnel T'd off to the right- a circular shaft carved from black volcanic rock.

"What is it?" Percy said.

Rachel stared down the dark tunnel. In the dim flashlight bean, her face looked like one of my specters.

"Is it this way?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Rachel said nervously. "Not at all."

"Why are we stopping then?" Percy asked.

"Listen," Lia said.

I heard wind coming down the tunnel, as if the exit were close. And a scent that smelled like mint mixed with pine. I couldn't identify it.

"Eucalyptus trees," Percy said. "Like in California."

"There's something evil down that tunnel," Rachel said. "Something powerful."

"And the smell of death," I added.

Lia nodded in agreement. "So, we don't really want to go down that way."

Annabeth and Percy exchanged glances.

"Luke's entrance," Annabeth guessed. "The one to Mount Othrys- the Titans' palace."

"I have to check it out," Percy said.

Lia threw up her hands. "What did I just say?"

"Percy, no. Lia's right," Annabeth said.

"Luke could be right there," Percy said. "Or...or Kronos. I have to find out what's going on."

Annabeth hesitated. "Then we'll all go."

"No," Percy said. "It's too dangerous. If they get hold of Nico or Lia or Rachel for that matter, Kronos could use them. You stay here and guard them."

Lia looked like she wanted to protest, but I gave her a pleading look. As tough as Lia was, I didn't think she could go up against an all powerful Titan. I didn't want to lose her after seeing her again so soon.

"Percy, don't," Rachel said. "Don't go up there alone."

"I'll be quick," Percy promised. "I won't do anything stupid."

"Like blowing up a mountain again?" Lia muttered.

Annabeth took a Yankees cap out of her pocket. It was the one I saw Percy use when I saw him go after Bianca last winter. "At least take this. And be careful."

"Thanks." Percy looked like he was expecting something else, but he put on the hat and he became invisible. "Here goes nothing." And then he was gone.

The four of us sat in silence for most of time Percy was gone. Rachel and Annabeth chatted quietly to each other, leaving Lia and me sitting next to each other in the tunnel.

Lia absentmindedly leaned her head on my shoulder as she picked at the dirt on her boots. Her eyes were clouded over, and she was unusually quiet. Normally, she didn't stay quiet for very long. In fact, she seemed to hate the silence. The only time she was ever quiet was if she was stuck in her own thoughts, or if she was tired.

"Hey, what's on you're mind?" I asked. I moved my shoulder Lia's head was resting on slightly upward.

Lia's eyes flicked up to meet mine for a moment, and then they went back to her boots. "Nothing, I just...I don't think Minos meant to, but when he told you I was trapped in the Labyrinth by monsters, he wasn't completely wrong."

I sat up straighter. "What do you mean?"

Lia flicked a dirt clod off of the side of her shoe. "After I found out you left the ranch, I went back into the Labyrinth and ran into some monsters. I killed them, but that drew the attention of some half-bloods who were also in the maze. I tried to fight them off, but I, uh..."

Lia twisted her rings. She looked genuinely scared to tell me any more of her story. Whatever happened to her must have really shaken her up.

Lia let out a breath. "I killed one of them with my powers."

My eyes widened. In the situation she was in, it made sense to me for her to use her powers. But I knew Lia still wasn't comfortable with them. She must have been feeling so guilty about it still.

Lia continued. "I got captured by the demigods. It turns out, they were part of Kronos's army. They wanted me to join them. Obviously, I didn't but...I saw someone there...I saw Cameron again."

My breath hitched. I remember her telling me her past with the guy. Was he part of Kronos's army after all this time? Was that why he left her? Or did he get captured by the army as well? Why was I so nervous all of the sudden?

Several other questions swirled in my mind, and I decided to ask, "What happened?"

Before she could answer, we heard a commotion from where Percy had ran off to. Lia and I stood as Rachel and Annabeth's attention diverted to the dark tunnel. We could just hear footsteps heading toward us. It was Percy.

"Come on, we need to help him," Annabeth said.

Neither Rachel or Lia protested so I was dragged along farther into the tunnel. We stopped short when we saw the state Percy was in. Halfway to us, his movements slowed down to almost comically sluggish. Behind him was a guy who looked a couple years older than Percy. A jagged scar ran along the left side of his face. He had blond hair and golden eyes. He carried a scythe made up of two different metals- steel and bronze. Kronos.

Rachel acted first. "PERCY!"

Without hesitation, she threw a blue plastic hairbrush at the Titan and hitting him right in the eye.

"Ow!" Kronos yelled.

Percy was freed from his spell, and he ran straight into the rest of us at the entry hall.

"Luke?" Annabeth called. "What-"

Percy grabbed her shirt and hauled her after him. Rachel, Lia, and I ran with them out of the fortress. We were almost back to the Labyrinth entrance when I heard the loudest bellow in the world- the voice of a human with the cold voice of the Titan. "AFTER THEM!"

"No!" I yelled. I wasn't about to let any of us get captured, especially not Lia. I clapped my hands together, and a jagged spire of rock the size of an eighteen-wheeler erupted from the ground right in front of the fortress. The tremor it caused was so powerful the front columns of the building came crashing down. I heard muffled screams from monsters inside. Dust billowed everywhere.

We plunged into the Labyrinth and kept running, the howl of the Titan lord shaking the entire world behind us.

~Lia's POV~

We ran until we were exhausted. Rachel steered us away from traps, but we had no destination in mind- only away from that dark mountain and the roar of Kronos.

We stopped in a tunnel of wet white rock, like part of a natural cave. I couldn't hear anything behind us, but I didn't feel any safer. I could still remember those unnatural golden eyes of the Titan. With a single glance at him, his stare shook me to my core.

"I can't go any farther," Rachel gasped, hugging her chest.

"Me either," I panted. I didn't think I ran that fast ever in my life.

Annabeth had been crying the entire time we'd been running. Now she collapsed and put her head between her knees. Her sobs echoed in the tunnel. I didn't know anything about her and the Luke guy, but I could guess she knew him before he got possessed by a Titan.

I sat next to Rachel to rest while Nico and Percy sat next to each other. I ignored the boys' conversation and spoke to Rachel.

"Nice aim you have there," I said.

Rachel huffed with fatigue. "Thanks. It was the first thing I thought of."

I let out a chuckle. "I don't think he expected that at all." I went quiet for a moment. "Thanks by the way for getting us a ride and sticking by us. I know you can see through the Mist and all, but if I was a mortal and I saw all of this, I would have run away the moment we entered Daedalus's workshop."

Rachel shrugged. "Yeah, well, I kinda said I would help them out in the Labyrinth. It makes my mortal life just a little more exciting."

"What I would do to be an oblivious mortal," I murmured.

Annabeth lifted her head. Her eyes were red from crying. "What...what was wrong with Luke? What did they do to him?"

Percy told her what he'd seen. A coffin in the fortress, and the way the last piece of Kronos's spirit had entered Luke's body when a guy named Ethan Nakamura pledged his service. I shivered, thinking how that could have been me if Cameron didn't let me get away.

"No," Annabeth said. "That can't be true. He couldn't-"

"He gave himself over to Kronos," Percy said. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. But Luke is gone."

"No!" she insisted. "You saw when Rachel hit him."

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

Rachel looked embarrassed. "It was the only thing I had."

"But you saw," Annabeth insisted. "When it hit him, just for a second, he was dazed. He came back to his senses."

"So maybe Kronos wasn't completely settled in the body, or whatever," Percy 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 with you?" Percy snapped. "Why do you keep defending him?"

Watching the two of them fight was like watching an intense tennis match. Both were very adamant about their words. Luke obviously meant a lot to Annabeth, but if he was now a Titan I didn't think there was a way he was going back to his old self.

"Whoa, you two," Rachel said. "Knock it off."

Annabeth turned to Rachel. "Stay out of it, mortal girl. If it wasn't for you..."

Whatever she was going to say, her voice broke. She put her head down again and sobbed miserably. Percy looked conflicted on wanting to comfort her. I felt bad for her. Seeing Luke as a power hungry Titan couldn't be easy for her.

"We have to keep moving," Nico said. "He'll send monsters after us."

"Let's go before we have to run again," I said as I got up. I was already exhausted enough. I did not need to suddenly sprint for my life for the third time today.

Percy hauled himself up and helped Rachel to her feet.

"You did good back there," he told her.

Rachel managed a weak smile. "Yeah, well. I didn't want you to die." She blushed. "I mean...just because, you know. You owe me too many favors. How am I going to collect if you die?"

Percy 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.

"Back to New York," Percy said. "Rachel, can you-"

He froze. A few feet in front of us, his flashlight beam fixed on a trampled clump of red fabric lying on the ground. It was a Rasta cap: the one Grover had worn at the ranch.

Percy's hands shook as he picked up the cap. It looked like it had been stepped on by a large muddy boot.

Then I noticed something else. The cave floor was mushy and wet from the water dripping off the stalactites. There were large footprints like Tyson's, and smaller ones- goat hooves -leading off to the left. I should have figured out Grover was a satyr way earlier.

"We have to follow them," Percy said. "They went that way. It must have been recently."

"What about Camp Half-Blood?" Nico said. "There's no time."

There was a pang in my chest at the mention of the camp. I had only been there for a day, and I did not want the place the be destroyed. It was a safe haven.

"We have to find them," Annabeth insisted. "They're our friends."

She picked up Grover's smashed cap and forged ahead.

The rest of us followed. The tunnel was treacherous. It sloped at weird angles and was slimy with moisture. Half the time we were slipping and sliding rather than walking.

Finally we got to the bottom of a slope and found ourselves in a large cave with huge stalagmite columns. Through the center of the room ran an underground river, and Tyson was sitting by the banks, cradling Grover in his lap. Grover's eyes were closed. He wasn't moving, but now that I could see him, I knew he wasn't dead.

"Tyson!" Percy yelled.

"Percy! Come quick!"

We ran over to him. Grover wasn't dead, but his whole body trembled like he was freezing to death.

"What happened?" Percy asked.

"So many things," Tyson murmured. "Large snake. Large dogs. Men with swords. But then...we got close to here. Grover was excited. He ran. Then we reached this room, and he fell. Like this."

"Did he say anything?" Percy asked.

"He said, 'We're close.' Then he hit his head on rocks."

Percy knelt next to him. He shined his flashlight across the cavern. The rocks glittered. At the far end was the entrance to another cave, flanked by gigantic columns of crystal that looked like diamonds. And beyond the entrance...

"Grover," Percy said. "Wake up."

"Uhhhhhhhh."

Annabeth knelt next to him and splashed icy cold river water in his face.

"Splurg!" His eyes fluttered. "Percy? Annabeth? Where..."

"It's okay," Percy said. "You passed out. The presence was too much for you."

"I-I remember Pan."

"Yeah," Percy said. "Something powerful is just beyond that doorway."

Percy 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. It was kind of funny seeing how jealous she got.

"Anyway," Percy said. "Come on, Grover. Lean on me."

Annabeth and Percy helped him up, and together they waded across the underground river. As the others walked across the river, I brought out my wings to fly to the other side of it. I hated the water. It was so unpredictable and I was so sluggish in it as I was never the best swimmer. I could tell current was strong. The water came up to the other's waists.

"I think we're in Carlsbad Caverns," Annabeth said, her teeth chattering. "Maybe an unexplored section."

"How do you know?" Percy asked.

"Carlsbad is in New Mexico," she said. "That would explain last winter."

I had no idea what she was talking about, but Percy seemed to understand.

We got out of the water and kept walking. As the crystal pillars loomed larger, I started to feel the power emanating from the next room. 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. And the scent coming from the cave was nothing like the dank wet underground. It smelled of trees and flowers and a warm summer day.

At the same time, I felt like I shouldn't be there, like my body and the cave were positive ends of magnets, and I was being repelled from going inside. It wasn't a bad feeling, it just was uncomfortable. I twisted my rings and pushed past the notion to forge on.

Grover whimpered in excitement. I was too stunned to talk. Even Nico seemed speechless. We stepped into the cave, and Rachel said, "Oh, wow."

The walls glittered with crystals- red, green, and blue. In the strange light, beautiful plants grew- giant orchids, star-shaped flowers, vines bursting with orange and purple berries that crept among the crystals. The cave floor was covered with soft green moss. Overhead, the ceiling was higher than a cathedral, sparking like a galaxy of stars. In the center of the cave stood a Roman-style bed, gilded wood shaped like a curly U, with velvet cushions. Animals lounged around it- but they were animals that shouldn't have been alive. There was a dodo bird, something that looked like a cross between a wolf and a tiger, a huge rodent like the mother of all guinea pigs, and roaming behind the bed, picking berries with its trunk, was a wooly mammoth.

On the bed lay an old satyr. He watched us as we approached, his eyes as blue as the sky. His curly hair was white and so was his pointed beard. Even the goat fur on his legs was frosted with grey. His horns were enormous- glossy brown and curved. There was no way he could've hidden those under a hat the way Grover did. Around his neck hung a set of reed pipes.

Grover fell to his knees in front of the bed. "Lord Pan!"

Nico, Rachel, Annabeth, and I followed his lead.

The god smiled kindly, but there was sadness in his eyes. "Grover, my dear, brave satyr. I have waited a very long time for you."

"I...got lost," Grover apologized.

Pan laughed. It was a wonderful sound, like the first breeze of springtime, filling the whole cavern with hope. The tiger-wolf sighed and rested his head on the god's knee. The dodo bird pecked affectionately at the god's hooves, making a strange sound in the back of its bill. I could swear it was humming "It's a Small World."

Still, Pan looked tired. His whole form shimmered as if he were made of Mist. My stomach twisted. I wasn't sure if that was because of power in the room, or because of my other senses.

Percy noticed the rest of us were kneeling. We all had awed looks on our faces. Being in the presence of such an old deity was a surreal experience. Percy got to his knees.

"You have a humming dodo bird," Percy said stupidly.

I wanted to facepalm so hard right then.

The god's eyes twinkled. "Yes, that's Dede. My little actress."

Dede the dodo looked offended. She pecked at Pan's knee and hummed something that sounded like a funeral dirge.

"This is the most beautiful place!" Annabeth said. "It's better than any building ever designed."

"I'm glad you like it, dear," Pan said. "It is one of the last wild places. My realm above is gone, I'm afraid. Only pockets remain. Tiny pieces of life. This one shall stay undisturbed...for a little longer."

"My lord," Grover said, "please, you must come back with me! The Elders will never believe it! They'll be overjoyed! You can save the wild!"

Pan placed his hand on Grover's head and ruffled his only hair. "You are so young, Grover. So good and true. I think I chose well."

"Chose?" Grover said. "I-I don't understand."

Pan's image flickered, momentarily turning to smoke. The giant guinea pig scuttled under the bed with a terrified squeal. The wooly mammoth grunted nervously. Dede stuck her head under her wing. Then Pan re-formed. I realized why my stomach was twisting.

Pan was dying.

"I have slept many eons," the god said forlornly. "My dreams have been dark. I wake fitfully, and each time my waking is shorter. Now we are near the end."

"What?" Grover cried. "But no! You're right here!"

"My dear satyr," Pan said. "I tried to tell the world, two thousand years ago. I announced it to Lysas, a satyr very much like you. He lived in Ephesos, and he tried to spread the word."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "The old story. A sailor passing by the coast of Ephesos heard a voice crying from the shore, 'Tell them the great god Pan is dead.'"

"But that wasn't true!" Grover said.

"Your kind never believed it," Pan said. "You sweet, stubborn satyrs refused to accept my passing. And I love you for that, but you only delayed the inevitable. You only prolonged my long, painful passing, my dark twilight sleep. It must end."

"No!" Grover's voice trembled.

"Dear Grover," Pan said. "You must accept the truth. Your companions, Nico, Lia, they understand."

"Yes," I said, still in awe of the god. "I can feel it. Gradually, but he is close to his end."

Nico nodded slowly. "He's dying. He should have died long ago. This...this is more like a memory."

"But gods can't die," Grover said.

"They can fade," Pan said, "when everything they stood for is gone. When they cease to have power, and their sacred places disappear. The wild, my dear Grover, is so small now, so shattered, that no god can save it. My realm is gone. That is why I need you to carry a message. You must go back to the council. You must tell the satyrs, and the dryads, and the other spirits of nature, that the great god Pan is dead. Tell them of my passing. Because they must stop waiting for me to save them. I cannot. The only salvation you must make yourself. Each of you-"

He stopped and frowned at the dodo bird, who had started humming again.

"Dede, what are you doing?" Pan demanded. "Are you singing Kumbaya again?"

Dede looked up innocently and blinked her yellow eyes.

Pan sighed. "Everybody's a cynic. But as I was saying, my dear Grover, each of you must take up my calling."

"But...no!" Grover whimpered.

"Be strong," Pan said. "You have found me. And now you must release me. You must carry on my spirit. It can no longer be carried by a god. It must be taken up by all of you."

Pan looked straight at Percy. "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."

He turned to Annabeth. "Daughter of Athena, your time is coming. You will play a great role, though it may not be the role you imagined."

Then he looked at Tyson. "Master Cyclops, do not despair. Heroes rarely live up to our expectations. But you, Tyson- your name shall live among the Cyclopes for generations."

To my surprise, he looked at me. "Daughter of Thanatos." I couldn't help but flinch when he mentioned my dad, but Pan smiled warmly to soothe my nerves. "You are a special bridge between life and death. Know that your powers do not control you. Live your life to the fullest."

My hand covered my watch. I never took advice very well. Having a short life made me not want to listen to what others told me what I should do with my life. Every adult or peer who told me what I should do for my future, I ignored. Exactly what future did I have? But Pan was speaking to the half-blood side of me. He said what I had wanted to hear for so long. He wasn't condescending. He was understanding.

Pan looked at Nico. "Nico di Angelo, you must understand you are not forbidden from having any kind of relations. Your father does not decide that for you. And Miss Rachel Dare..."

Rachel flinched when he said her name. She backed up like she was guilty of something, but Pan only smiled. He raised his hand in a blessing.

"I know you believe you cannot make amends," he said. "But you are just as important as your father."

"I-" Rachel faltered. A tear traced her cheek.

"I know you don't believe this now," Pan said. "But look for opportunities. They will come."

Finally he turned back toward Grover. "My dear satyr," Pan said kindly, "will you carry my message?"

"I-I can't."

"You can," Pan said. "You are the strongest and bravest. Your heart is true. You have believed in me more than anyone ever has, which is why you must bring the message, and why you must be the first to release me."

"I don't want to."

"I know," the god said. "But my name, Pan...originally it meant rustic. Did you know that? But over the years it has come to mean all. The spirit of the wild must pass to all of you now. You must tell each one you meet: if you would find Pan, take up Pan's spirit. Remake the wild, a little at a time, each in your own corner of the world. You cannot wait for anyone else, even a god, to do that for you."

Grover wiped his eyes. Then slowly he stood. "I've spent my whole life looking for you. Now...I release you."

Pan smiled. "Thank you, dear satyr. My final blessing."

He closed his eyes, and the god dissolved. I didn't feel the usual churn in my stomach, and my ears didn't ring when Pan disappeared. Instead, I felt like a soft warm breeze whirled throughout my head. It felt like a nice homemade meal settled at the bottom of my stomach. White mist divided into wisps of energy. It filled the room. A curl of smoke went straight into my mouth, and into the others' mouths. But I think a little more of it went into Grover. The crystals dimmed. The animals gave us a sad look. Dede the dodo sighed. Then they all turned grey and crumbled to dust. The vines withered. And we were alone in a dark cave with an empty bed.

Percy switched on his flashlight.

Grover took a deep breath.

"Are...are you okay" Percy asked him.

Grover looked older and sadder. He took his cap from Annabeth, brushed off the mud, and stuck it firmly on his curly head.

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