Chiron said we needed to hurry, so he gave me and Percy a ride on his back. As we galloped past the cabins, I glanced at the dining hall-an open-air Greek pavilion on a hill overlooking the sea. It was the first time I'd seen the place since last winter, and it brought back bad memories. Most in the form of Nico DiAngelo.

Chiron plunged into the woods. Nymphs peeked out of the trees to watch us pass. Large shapes rustled in the shadows-monsters that were stocked in here as a challenge to the campers.

I thought I knew the forest pretty well after playing capture the flag here for seven years, but Chiron took me a way I didn't recognize, through a tunnel of old willow trees, past a little waterfall, and into a glade blanketed with wildflowers.

But then again, I've never been with the Council of Cloven Elders.

A bunch of satyrs were sitting in a circle in the grass. Grover stood in the middle, facing three really old, really fat satyrs who sat on topiary thrones shaped out of rose bushes. I'd never seen the three old satyrs before, but based on what Grover has told me they must be the Council of Cloven Elders.

Grover seemed to be telling them a story. He twisted the bottom of his T- shirt, shifting nervously on his goat hooves.

He hadn't really changed much since last winter because satyrs age half as fast as humans. His acne had flared up. His horns had gotten a little bigger so they just stuck out over his curly hair. I realized with a start that Percy and I were taller than he was now.

Standing off to one side of the circle were Annabeth, Juniper, and Clarisse. Chiron dropped us next to them.

Clarisse's stringy brown hair was tied back with a camouflage bandanna. If possible, she looked even buffer, like she'd been working out. She glared at Percy and me and muttered, "Punk and freak," which must've meant she was in a good mood. Usually she says hello by trying to kill Percy. She just ignores me.

Annabeth had her arm around the other girl, who looked like she'd been crying. She was small-petite, I guess you'd call it-with wispy hair the color of amber and a pretty, elfish face. She wore a green chiton and laced sandals, and she was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. "It's going terribly," she sniffled. Juniper! Oh, I haven't seen her in ages.

"No, no," Annabeth patted her shoulders. "He'll be fine, Juniper." Annabeth looked at Percy and mouthed the words Amanda will explain.

"Who's that?" Percy whispered.

"Grover's girlfriend. Trust me, it confused me too." When Annabeth told me that Grover had a girlfriend, it didn't make any sense. Grover with a girlfriend? Then I actually met Juniper, and I realized her ears were slightly pointed. And now her eyes, instead of being red from crying, were tinged green, the color of chlorophyll.

She was a tree nymph- a dryad.

"Master Underwood!" the council member on the right shouted, cutting off whatever Grover was trying to say. "Do you seriously expect us to believe this?"

"B-but Silenus," Grover stammered. "It's the truth!"

The Council guy, Silenus, turned to his colleagues and muttered something. Chiron cantered up to the front and stood next to them. I remembered he was an honorary member of the council, but I'd never thought about it much. The elders didn't look very impressive.

They always reminded me of the goats in a petting zoo: huge bellies, sleepy expressions, and glazed eyes that couldn't see past the next handful of goat chow. I wasn't sure why Grover seemed so nervous.

Silenus tugged his yellow polo shirt over his belly and adjusted himself on his rosebush throne. "Master Underwood, for six months-six months- we have been hearing these scandalous claims that you heard the wild god Pan speak."

"But I did!"

"Impudence!" said the elder on the left.

"Now, Maron," Chiron said. "Patience."

"Patience, indeed!" Maron said. "I've had it up to my horns with this nonsense. As if the wild god would speak to...to him."

Juniper looked like she wanted to charge the old satyr and beat him up (don't blame her), but Annabeth and Clarisse held her back.

"Wrong fight, girlie," Clarisse muttered. "Wait."

I don't know what surprised me and Percy more: Clarisse holding someone back from a fight, or the fact that she and Annabeth, who despised each other, almost seemed like they were working together.

"For six months," Silenus continued, "we have indulged you, Master Underwood. We let you travel. We allowed you to keep your searcher's license. We waited for you to bring proof of your preposterous claim. And what have you found in six months of travel?"

"I just need more time," Grover pleaded.

"Nothing!" the elder in the middle chimed in. "You have found nothing."

"But, Leneus-"

Silenus raised his hand. Chiron leaned in and said something to the satyrs. The satyrs didn't look happy. They muttered and argued among themselves, but Chiron said something else, and Silenus sighed. He nodded reluctantly.

"Master Underwood," Silenus announced, "we will give you one more chance."

Grover brightened. "Thank you!" I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"One more week." Oh, you stupid goats.

"What? But sir! That's impossible!"

"One more week, Master Underwood. And then, if you cannot prove your claims, it will be time for you to pursue another career. Something to suit your dramatic talents. Puppet theater, perhaps. Or tap dancing." The thought of Grover in tap shoes almost made me happier. Almost.

"But sir, I-I can't lose my searcher's license. My whole life-"

"This meeting of the council is adjourned," Silenus said. "And now let us enjoy our noonday meal!"

The old satyr clapped his hands, and a bunch of nymphs melted out of the trees with platters of vegetables, fruits, tin cans, and other goat delicacies. The circle of satyrs broke and charged the food. Grover walked dejectedly toward us.

His faded blue T-shirt had a picture of a satyr on it. It read GOT HOOVES?

"Hi, Percy. Hi, Amanda," he said, so depressed he didn't even offer to shake Percy's hand. "That went well, huh?"

"Those old goats!" Juniper said. "Oh, Grover, they don't know how hard you've tried!"

"There is another option," Clarisse said darkly.

"No. No." Juniper shook her head. "Grover, I won't let you."

His face was ashen. "I-I'll have to think about it. But we don't even know where to look."

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked.

In the distance, a conch horn sounded.

Annabeth pursed her lips. "I'll fill you in later, Percy. We'd better get back to our cabins. Inspection is starting."

--page break--

"What do you mean you didn't clean up?!" I shrieked.

"I-"

"I told you to clean before we left. I told you, Percy. If we get kitchen duty, I will personally murder you." Percy was supposed to clean our cabin before we left camp in the winter. I always wanted to be the cleanest cabin so I got first shower hour, which meant hot water guaranteed. The worst cabin got kitchen patrol after dinner.

And we were going to be stuck with that.

"Amanda-"

"Five seconds." I say monotonously. "Four, three, two, one." I raced after Percy toward the commons area, where the twelve cabins, one for each Olympian god, made a U around the central green.

The Demeter kids were sweeping out theirs and making fresh flowers grow in their window boxes. Just by snapping their fingers they could make honeysuckle vines bloom over their doorway and daisies cover their roof, which was totally unfair. I don't think they ever got last place in inspection. The guys in the Hermes cabin were scrambling around in a panic, stashing dirty laundry under their beds and accusing each other of taking stuff. How I don't miss that.

Over at the Aphrodite cabin, Silena Beauregard was just coming out, checking items off the inspection scroll. I cursed under my breath. Silena was nice, but she was an absolute neat freak, the worst inspector. She liked things to be pretty. Percy and I didn't usually  do "pretty." I did clean. I could almost feel my arms getting heavy from all the dishes I would have to scrub tonight.

The Poseidon cabin was at the end of the row of "male god" cabins on the right side of the green. It was made of gray shell-encrusted sea rock, long and low like a bunker, but it had windows that faced the sea and it always had a good breeze blowing through it. Gods, how I've missed this.

I dashed inside right after, wondering if maybe we could do a quick under-the-bed cleaning job like I would do in Hermes sometimes, and I found my self slamming into Percy's back. We both fall onto the ground. Right before I punch Percy in the gut for stopping, I hear someone sweeping.

"Percy! Amanda!" Tyson bellowed. He dropped his broom and ran at us. If you've never been charged by an enthusiastic Cyclops wearing a flowered apron and rubber cleaning gloves, I'm telling you, it'll wake you up quick. He bear hugs Percy first.

"Hey, big guy!" he said. "Ow, watch the ribs. The ribs." He managed to survive his bear hug. He put him down, grinning like crazy, his single calf-brown eye full of excitement. His teeth were as yellow and crooked as ever, and his hair was a rat's nest. He wore ragged XXXL jeans and a tattered flannel shirt under his flowered apron, but he was still a sight for sore eyes. I hadn't seen him in almost a year, since he'd gone under the sea to work at the Cyclopes' forges.

"Amanda!!" He picked me up and swung me around, giving me a bone crushing hug. I couldn't help but laugh.

He put me down and I smiled a genuine smile. I didn't realise how much I missed him. "Hi, Tyson."

"You are okay?" he asked. "Not eaten by monsters?"

"Not even a little bit." We showed him that we still had both arms and both legs, and Tyson clapped happily.

Yay!" he said. "Now we can eat peanut butter sandwiches and ride fish ponies! We can fight monsters and see Annabeth and make things go BOOM!"
I hoped he didn't mean all at the same time, but Percy told him absolutely, we'd have a lot of fun this summer. I couldn't help smiling again, he was so enthusiastic about everything.

"But first," I said, "we've gotta worry about inspection. We should..."

Then I looked around and realised Tyson had been busy. The floor was swept. The bunk beds were made. The saltwater fountain in the corner had been freshly scrubbed so the coral gleamed. On the windowsills, Tyson had set out water-filled vases with sea anemones and strange glowing plants from the bottom of the ocean, more beautiful than any flower bouquets the Demeter kids could whip up.

"Tyson, the cabin looks ... amazing!"

He beamed. "See the fish ponies? I put them on the ceiling!"

A herd of miniature bronze hippocampi hung on wires from the ceiling, so
it looked like they were swimming through the air. I couldn't believe Tyson, with his huge hands, could make things so delicate. Then I looked over at Percy and my bunk, and I saw two shields hanging on the wall.

"You fixed it!" Percy smiled.

His shield had been badly damaged in a manticore attack last winter. But now it was perfect again-not a scratch. All the bronze pictures of his adventures with Tyson and Annabeth in the Sea of Monsters were polished and gleaming.

I looked at Tyson. "Sister has one too!" He smiled.

"You-you made me one?" I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to thank him or if I should just hug him or what.

Then somebody behind me said, "Oh, my."

Silena Beauregard was standing in the doorway with her inspection scroll.
She stepped into the cabin, did a quick twirl, then raised her eyebrows at me. "Well, I had my doubts. But you clean up nicely, Percy. I'll remember that."

She winked at me and left the room.

"You know, I'm here too!" I shout at her, making Percy chuckle.

"Here." Tyson said shoving the shield into my hands. It was different from Percy's. It had a girl on it, her hair flowing around her. She sat with her legs criss-crossed and eyes closed. Her arms were on the either side of her in a position that looked like she was meditating if not for her palms facing upwards. Around the edges of the shields, symbols of the gods, all I had gifts from, were circling the circumference of the shield.

"Woah. Tyson... Thank you. It's beautiful." I gasp.

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it!" I squeak. I go to hug him.

"It's like Percy's, but a bracelet." He explained, pressing a red button and the shield began to compact into a small silver bracelet with three small blue topazes in the middle. "Press the middle jewel and out the shield pops!" Tyson said happily.

I took the dainty bracelet from him surprised at how light it was. I quickly snapped it on my wrist.

"Thanks Tyson."

"You're welcome, sister."

--page break--

Tyson, Percy, and I spent the afternoon catching up and just hanging out, which was nice after a morning of getting attacked by demon cheerleaders.

We went down to the forge and helped Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin with his metalworking. Tyson showed us how he'd learned to craft magic weapons. He fashioned a flaming double-bladed war axe so fast even Beckendorf was impressed.

While he worked, Tyson told us about his year under the sea. His eye lit up when he described the Cyclopes' forges and the palace of Poseidon, but he also told us how tense things were. The old gods of the sea, who'd ruled during Titan times, were starting to make war on our father. When Tyson had left, battles had been raging all over the Atlantic.

Hearing that made me feel anxious, like I should be helping out. Percy felt the same way, but Tyson assured me that Dad wanted us all at camp.

"Lots of bad people above the sea, too," Tyson said. "We can make them go boom."

After the forges, we spent some time at the canoe lake with Annabeth. She was really glad to see Tyson, but I could tell she was distracted. She kept looking over at the forest, like she was thinking about Grover's problem with the council. I couldn't blame her.

Grover was nowhere to be seen, and I felt really bad for him. Finding the lost god Pan had been his lifelong goal. His father and his uncle had both disappeared following the same dream. Last winter, Grover had heard a voice in his head: I await you-a voice he was sure belonged to Pan-but apparently his search had led nowhere. If the council took away his searcher's license now, it would crush him.

"What's this 'other way'?" Percy asked Annabeth. "The thing Clarisse mentioned?"

She picked up a stone and skipped it across the lake. "Something Clarisse scouted out. I helped her a little this spring. But it would be dangerous. Especially for Grover."

"Goat boy scares me," Tyson murmured.

I stared at him. Tyson had faced down fire-breathing bulls and sea monsters and cannibal giants. "Why would you be scared of Grover?"

"Hooves and horns," Tyson muttered nervously. "And goat fur makes my nose itchy."
And that pretty much ended our Grover conversation.

Before dinner, Tyson, Percy, and I went down to the sword arena. Quintus was glad to have company. He still wouldn't tell us what was in the wooden crates, but he did teach us a few sword moves.

The guy was good.

He fought the way some people play chess-like he was putting all the moves together and you couldn't see the pattern until he made the last stroke and won with a sword at your throat.

"Good try," he told Percy. "But your guard is too low."

"That's what I keep telling him, but he's too stubborn to listen." I smirk.

"Shut up, Amanda."

"How about... No."

"Let's see you try." Percy said backing off and letting me go against Quintus. I pulled Hurricane out, getting in a fighting stance.

He lunged suddenly and I blocked.

"Have you always been a swordsman?" I asked.

He parried my overhead cut. "I've been many things."

He jabbed and I sidestepped.

His shoulder strap slipped down, and I saw that mark on his neck-the purple blotch. But it wasn't a random mark. It had a definite shape-a bird with folded wings, like a quail or something.

"What's that on your neck?" I asked, which was probably a rude question, but you can blame my ADHD. I tend to just blurt things out. Percy seemed as curious as I was.

Quintus lost his rhythm. I hit his sword hilt and knocked the blade out of his hand.

He rubbed his fingers. Then he shifted his armor to hide the mark. It wasn't a tattoo, I realized. It was an old burn...like he'd been branded.

"A reminder." He picked up his sword and forced a smile. "Now, shall we go again?"

He pressed me hard, not giving me time for any more questions.

While he, Percy, and I fought, Tyson played with Mrs. O'Leary, who he called the "little doggie." They had a great time wrestling for the bronze shield and playing Get the Greek. By sunset, Quintus hadn't even broken a sweat, which seemed kind of strange; but Tyson and I were hot and stick, so we hit the respective showers and got ready for dinner.

I was feeling good. It was almost like a normal day at camp. Then dinner came, and all the campers lined up by cabin and marched into the dining pavilion. Most of them ignored the sealed fissure in the marble floor at the entrance-a ten-foot-long jagged scar that hadn't been there last summer- but Percy and I were careful to step over it.

"Big crack," Tyson said when we were at our table. "Earthquake, maybe?"

"No," I said. "Not an earthquake."

I wasn't sure we should tell him. It was a secret only Annabeth and Grover and Percy and I knew. But looking in Tyson's big eye, I knew we couldn't hide it from him.

"Nico di Angelo," Percy said, lowering my voice. "He's this half-blood kid we brought to camp last winter. He, uh...he asked me to guard his sister on a quest, and I failed. She died. Now he blames me."

Tyson frowned. "So he put a crack in the floor?"

"These skeletons attacked us," I said. "Nico told them to go away, and the ground just opened up and swallowed them. Nico..." I looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Nico is a son of Hades."

Tyson nodded thoughtfully. "The god of dead people."

"And he's also Amanda's responsibility." Percy threw me under the bus.

"Yeah."

"So the Nico boy is gone now?"

"I-I guess. We tried to search for him this spring. So did Annabeth. But we
didn't have any luck. This is secret, Tyson. Okay? If anyone found out he was a son of Hades, he would be in danger. You can't even tell Chiron." Percy tells him.

"The bad prophecy," Tyson said. "Titans might use him if they knew."

I stared at him. Sometimes it was easy to forget that as big and childlike as he was, Tyson was pretty smart. He knew that the next child of the Big Three gods-Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades-who turned sixteen was prophesied to either save or destroy Mount Olympus. Most people assumed that meant me and Percy, but if we died before we turned sixteen, the prophecy could just as easily apply to Nico.

"Exactly," I said. "So-"

"Mouth sealed," Tyson promised. "Like the crack in the ground."

--page break--

The next morning there was a lot of excitement at breakfast.

Apparently around three in the morning an Aethiopian drakon had been spotted at the borders of camp. I was so exhausted I slept right through the noise.
The magical boundaries had kept the monster out, but it prowled the hills, looking for weak spots in our defenses, and it didn't seem anxious to go away until Lee Fletcher from Apollo's cabin led a couple of his siblings in pursuit. After a few dozen arrows lodged in the chinks of the drakon's armor, it got the message and withdrew.

"It's still out there," Lee warned us during announcements. "Twenty arrows in its hide, and we just made it mad. The thing was thirty feet long and bright green. It's eyes-" he shuddered.

"You did well, Lee," Chiron patted him on the shoulder. "Everyone stay alert, but stay calm. This has happened before."

"Aye," Quintus said from the head table. "And it will happen again. More and more frequently."

The campers murmured among themselves.

Everyone knew the rumors: Luke and his army of monsters were planning an invasion of the camp. Most of us expected it to happen this summer, but no one knew how or when. It didn't help that our attendance was down. We only had about eighty campers. Three years ago, when Percy started, there had been more than a hundred. Some had died. Some had joined Luke. Some had just disappeared.

"This is a good reason for new war games, "Quintus continued, a glint in his eyes. "We'll see how you all do with that tonight."

"Yes..." Chiron said. "Well, enough announcements. Let us bless this meal and eat." He raised his goblet. "To the gods."

We all raised our glasses and repeated the blessing.

Tyson, my brother, and I took our plates to the bronze brazier and scraped a portion of our food into the flames. I hoped the gods liked raisin toast and Froot Loops. "Poseidon," I said. Then I whispered, "Help me with Luke and with Grover's problem..."

There was so much to worry about I could've stood there all morning, but I headed back to the table.

Once everyone was eating, Chiron and Grover came over to visit. Grover was bleary-eyed. His shirt was inside out. He slid his plate onto the table and slumped next to me.

Tyson shifted uncomfortably. "I will go...um...polish my fish ponies." He lumbered off, leaving his breakfast half-eaten.

Chiron tried for a smile. He probably wanted to look reassuring, but in centaur form he towered over me, casting a shadow across the table. "Well, Percy, Amanda, how did you sleep?"

"Um, fine." Percy said. Something happened with him, I can tell.

"Great." I wondered why he asked that. I didn't get any weird dreams last night.

"I brought Grover over," Chiron said, "because I thought you three might want to, ah, discuss matters. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some Iris-messages to send. I'll see you two later in the day." He gave Grover a meaningful look, then trotted out of the pavilion.

"What's he talking about?" Percy asked Grover.

Grover chewed his eggs. I could tell he was distracted, because he bit the tines of his fork and chewed those down, too. "He wants you to convince me," he mumbled.

Somebody else slid next to Percy on the bench: Annabeth.

"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 Percy.

"You're not supposed to be here," I said.

"We need to talk," she insisted.

"But the rules..."

She knew as well as I did that campers weren't allowed to switch tables.

Satyrs were different. They weren't really demigods. But the half-bloods had to sit with their cabins. I wasn't even sure what the punishment was for switching tables. I'd never seen it happen. If Mr. D had been here, he probably would've strangled Annabeth with magical grapevines or something, but Mr. D wasn't here. Chiron had already left the pavilion. Quintus looked over and raised an eyebrow, but he didn't say anything.

"Look," Annabeth said, "Grover is in trouble. There's only one way we can figure to help him. It's the Labyrinth. That's what Clarisse and I have been investigating."

"That's- that's genius." I stuttered realising why.

Percy shifted his weight. "You mean the maze where they kept the Minotaur, back in the old days?"

"Exactly," Annabeth said.

"So...it's not under the king's palace in Crete anymore," Percy guessed. "The Labyrinth is under some building in America."

Percy told me he figured things out. We knew that important places moved around with Western Civilization, like Mount Olympus being over the Empire State building, and the Underworld entrance being in Los Angeles. Of course, as always, he's wrong.

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Under a building?" I asked. "Please, Percy. The Labyrinth is huge. It wouldn't fit under a single city, much less a single building."

"So...is the Labyrinth part of the Underworld?" Percy asked.

"No." Annabeth frowned. "Well, there may be passages from the Labyrinth down into the Underworld. I'm not sure. But the Underworld is way, way down. The Labyrinth is right under the surface of the mortal world, kind of like a second skin. It's been growing for thousands of years, lacing its way under Western cities, connecting everything together underground. You can get anywhere through the Labyrinth."

"If you don't get lost," Grover muttered. "And die a horrible death."

"Grover, there has to be a way," Annabeth said. I got the feeling they'd had this conversation before. "Clarisse lived."

"Barely!" Grover said. "And the other guy-"

"He was driven insane. He didn't die."

"Oh, joy." Grover's lower lip quivered. "That makes me feel much better."

"Whoa," I said. "Back up. What's this about Clarisse and a crazy guy?" Annabeth glanced over toward the Ares table. Clarisse was watching us
like she knew what we were talking about, but then she fixed her eyes on her breakfast plate.

"Last year," Annabeth said, lowering her voice, "Clarisse went on a mission for Chiron."

"I remember," Percy said. "It was secret."

Annabeth nodded. "It was secret," Annabeth agreed, "because she found Chris Rodriguez."

_____________________

Well hey!

Felt kinda like I was fishing for compliments but I know what I'm going to do now.

I will be continuing the story. *cheers heard in the distance* But please feel free to comment and vote. Even if it's not book related. I would love to talk with y'all.

On another note...

WHO'S READY FOR MAGNUS CHASE?!

I am... So if you're not deal with it.

Comment, vote, and get ready for the Norse gods...

Ems out!✌🏼️