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chapter eighteen.
( battle of labyrinth )
❝ nature's justice! ❞

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introducing mark ruffalo
as quintus.

I didn't speak to Percy the entire drive back to camp. Look, trust me, there were a lot of things I wanted to tell him. Like how I have had the biggest lead on Nico's whereabouts in a whole year and that I missed him and stuff, but Rachel just ruined all of that. I like Percy, I ain't going to deny it to myself any longer. I'll deny it to other people, but not to me. And I wasn't planning on denying it to him, either. I thought there was something there. We held the sky up together, and then spent a year with hardly seeing each other. I thought that maybe ... maybe the hope of that sad slow dance actually meant something. But Percy liked someone else. I don't know why that hurt so much but it did. Like, I was acting like we were together and he had cheated on me or something. It was stupid, I was missing someone I never even had.

Who was I to think that Percy would actually like me anyway? All I ever am is mean to him. All I ever do is make fun of him, call him names and threaten to push him off every surface we stand on that's above ground. Gods, why am I just so stupid?

So, I told him I had to go talk to Clarisse and Annabeth, and that he had to talk to Chiron, and just left him.

You're most likely wondering: whoa, Claire, why the hell are you chatting with Clarisse? Look, I don't want to. It's not exactly my most favourite activity to do. But Clarisse had been researching with Annabeth about the Labyrinth. She found an entrance in her scouting mission, and there in the caverns and hallways underground, she found Chris Rodriguez. Remember him? Yeah. The maze turned him insane, and—surprisingly—Clarisse was putting forward her time to nurse him back to health. I wonder whether it was for answers about Luke's army. Luke had scouts within the labyrinth looking for an entrance into Camp Half-Blood, I think she and Annabeth will want to know that there definitely is an entrance here. Where? I don't know, but that's definitely what the little stupid monkey's meant. Luke wanted to attack Camp Half-Blood, and that was where he was going to enter from.

Luke had his scouts in there, and Nico was in there with them. That was dangerous—very dangerous.

I told her the news, and Clarisse didn't look happy. We sat away from the main hub, on the wooden benches behind the archery field. No one really sat here anymore, mainly because people have kind of claimed it to be the designated 'making out' area. No one came here unless they wanted to eat each other's faces off. Luckily, for us, no one was around, so we could chat with Annabeth about what the Cercopes had told Will, Cain and I.

"That's not good," Annabeth muttered. "Luke has scouts, if they found ..."

I nodded, "Yeah, that's what I thought." I glanced at Clarisse. "You haven't gotten anything more of out Chris, have you? Maybe he could know whether Luke knows of the entrance yet?"

Clarisse looked glum as she shook her head. "No. I asked Mom but ... he's still not saying much."

I felt sad for Clarisse. I don't know why, but she was really putting all her effort in for Chris. She seemed genuinely worried for him. "How's the research going?" I then asked. "We have to find this entrance before Luke does."

"We haven't been able to map much," Annabeth said truthfully. "I know bits and pieces of documented rooms from other half-bloods who've gone in there and survived, but it keeps changing and changing. What we've put down yesterday most definitely has changed today."

"Well, that's a good thing," I said. "That means Luke and his army are probably having just as much trouble as we are. At least, we hope."

"Yeah," they muttered.

I met up with Cain after that. He told me about his and Will's chat with Chiron. Sitting in the pavilion, Cain shrugged, "We didn't tell him about the Labyrinth or Nico, like you said. We mentioned the Gorgon attack, he didn't seem too happy about that. He had that brooding look on his face, the on where—"

"—You think someone's died?" I finished. "Yeah, I know that too well. What did he say about—?"

"—About the meeting with Harmonia? Not much," Cain pursed his lips. "I told him what she said about peace and tragedy and stuff and like—you know—how misfortune breeds peace. He just like nodded."

"That usually means he remembers it, and will dwell on it later on."

"And with what Artemis said that night at New Jersey? About how we were right and the prophecy does mean you'll get your powers back. He just nodded again."

I nodded, "Classic Chiron."

"How was the date with Percy?"

I narrowed my eyes, "It's not a date," I said before sighing. I sat my head in my hands and stared at the wood of the table glumly. "Doesn't matter anyway, we didn't go."

"What?" Cain frowned. "Why?"

"Percy decided to blow up his school before he even started."

"Oh."

"And he met this girl—"

"Oh?"

I frowned. "No. Just ... he told her about our world. Like, I know she can see through the mist and she helped him at Hoover Dam, but she gave him her number and everything. And she's good-looking, which only just makes it worse—"

"So, you're jealous of her?" Cain mocked my position, and I gave him a look.

Since the first time he arrived here, Cain has gotten a lot more confident around those he knew. While he was still quiet, still scared and still unsure, he opened up to Will and I, and Beckendorf, who was one of his very good friends. It was a surprising friendship, but they were very close. However, Cain still was unsure of himself and others. There'd still be times where people would refuse to work with him or partner with him because for some reason, they were scared of him, and he'd go back into his small shell. Cain picked up fighting with a longsword. Beckendorf had made it for him, and it was a beast of a sword that wasn't exactly a traditional Greek weapon, but it surprisingly suited him. Cain always told me his goal was to be less scary, but having a longsword as a weapon didn't really help that.

I never understand why people were scared of him. Cain looked like a lost puppy half of the time. His brown hair fell over his eyes and curled at the nape of his neck. He wasn't that tall; he was shorter than Beckendorf, at least. He had big doe-like brown eyes, a frown-tipped lip which usually would make most boys look as if they were brooding, but it just made Cain seem like he was a toddler who hadn't gotten his own way. In compared to looks, Cain was awkward. He hadn't grown into his looks yet. His arms were too long for his body, and his feet were rather big and wide. One day, it'll suit Cain, but for now, he just looked like that nerdy background character in chick flics.

"I'm not jealous."

Yes, I am.

He rolled his eyes, "Sure. You keep telling yourself that."

Eager to change the subject, I sat up and said, "Are you going to Grover's hearing?"

Cain shrugged, "If he's okay with me being there."

I gave him a look, "Grover's used to you now. He doesn't run away at the sight of you anymore."

"He still squeaks and can't stand to look at me."

I pursed my lips, "Give him time. He got used to Tyson—kind of."

"That's really helpful."

I rolled my eyes, "You're coming. Grover needs all the support he can get. Bring Will and Beckendorf too. It'll be good for Will to see this stuff."

"What are we going to do?"

"Mmm?"

"About Nico and the labyrinth," Cain asked. "What are we going to do? Are we going after him? Or...?"

I hadn't thought about that, not yet. "I ... I dunno."

° ° °

Percy was late to his best friends hearing.

He arrived on Chiron's back into the small grove that it took place. He frowned at the sight of the satyrs that sat in a circle on the grass. Grover stood in the middle, facing three really old satyrs; the Council of Cloven Elders. He was in the middle of telling them his story when Percy arrived. Chiron dropped him next to Juniper, Grover's girlfriend (and the sweetest wood nymph you'll ever meet), Annabeth, Cain, Will and Clarisse. I watched him shift awkwardly next to the daughter of Ares from across the grove where I stood in the middle of Hannah and Cory. Cory has been taken under the camp's wing. Literally. Everyone just loved him. It was weird. He took on the role in camp for homeschooling campers who couldn't leave during the winter (he was a maths teacher anyway), which—strangely enough—has made him super popular amongst all the half-bloods. When they walked past him, they'd call out, "What's up, Sir?" or "How's it going, Normo?" It had become everyone's nickname for him. His last name was Normand, and he was a mortal so everyone came up with: Normo, like normal, but more modern and teenager-like.

Him and Hannah got married in the spring just gone. They got married here—which was weird and yet actually pretty cool. They had another service in a church back at Cory's home sate of Wisconsin, where Hannah's Scottish cousins had come down. I was a bridesmaid. It was really cool.

Cain seemed very uncomfortable to be next to Annabeth, giving anxious glances beside him. I don't get why he's scared of Annabeth—but then again, I've never really been intimidated by her, since we've known each other since we were seven. I haven't experienced the outsider view of Annabeth Chase, and now that I think about it, she probably would be scary. She doesn't seem so scared of Cain, however. It was hilarious for me because it was as if the roles had switched. However, I don't think Annabeth was even paying him that much attention, for she had a crying Juniper beside her that she was trying to comfort.

"Master Underwood!" the council member on the right shouted, cutting off what Grover had been saying. "Do you seriously expect us to believe this?"

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

Silenus turned to his colleagues and muttered something. Chiron cantered up to the front ad stood next to him, for he was an honorary member of the council. The elders themselves don't look very impressed. They were a funny sight to see: huge bellies, sleepy expressions, but they decided Grover's future as a Searcher.

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

"But I did!"

"Impudence!" the elder on the left said.

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

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

Juniper was ready to charge to old star and beat him up, but Annabeth and Clarisse held him back. If I wasn't stuck in between Hannah and Cory, I would go ahead and try to beat him up too.

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

"I just need more time," Grover pleaded.

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

"But, Leneus—"

Silenus held his hand up. Grover fell silent. Chiron leaned in and had a small chat with the satyrs, they didn't look too happy. They muttered and argued amongst themselves, but Chiron said something else and Silenus sighed. But he nodded--albeit reluctantly.

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

Grover's face brightened. "Thank you!"

"One more week."

He gaped. "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 theatre, perhaps. Or tap dancing."

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

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

As the council circle broke, separating and charging towards the food given by nymphs, I made my way towards the others. Grover looked defeated, his curly hair drooping over his sullen face.

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

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

"They deserve to be sent to the slaughter farm," I muttered under my breath, and Annabeth smacked my arm.

"There is another option," Clarisse suggested to Grover, and I knew exactly what she was talking about. I frowned.

Juniper shook her head, looking tearful. "No. No. 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."

Percy frowned. "What are you talking about."

In the distance, the conch horn for cabin inspection sounded.

"I'll fill you in later," I told him. "We better start heading back though, inspection's starting soon, and the Apollo cabin are horrendous when it comes to this."

"We stuff everything under the beds and in the bathroom cupboards," muttered Will to Percy, as if it was a huge secret.

"Well," I narrowed my eyes, "If you and guys follow what Lee and I tell you guys every time, then maybe we wouldn't have to."

"It's worse now," Will continued. "We have so many new campers now. There's another that I didn't know about when I came back only today! He's stupid. He thinks he's better than everyone else just because Apollo screwed his dad."

Cain frowned. He glanced at me, "How...?"

I shook my head. "It's best not to question the gods. You don't want to know half of the stuff."

Cain remained confused the entire trip back to his cabin.

The inspection for the Apollo cabin was absolutely terrible. I came back in and the place was a mess. I was gone again for a month and it all goes crazy! Everyone was running around, rushing things inside chests and/or cupboards. The bathroom tactic was being used, and I wasn't surprised that Silena gave us a fat three (for effort).

Next morning, we were woken up early. Clarisse came banging on the door shouting, "Archers needed! Border action!"

Usually, border action trouble wasn't common. The only time it was really brought up again was when Luke poisoned Thalia's tree. But since Luke was trying to invade camp, monsters at the borders became more frequent. We rushed to get dressed into armour and hurry out to the woods with the Ares and Athena cabins. A large Aethiopian drakon had been spotted at the borders—we were protected because of Thalia's Tree, but he was skulling around looking for weaknesses in our defences.

"It's not heading away," Clarisse said through gritted teeth. "I'm not putting campers in danger--that's a drakon."

"Yeah," I nodded. "Archers are your best shot."

I glanced at Lee, and he nodded.

The drakon was huge, with poisonous green scales and equally as sickly eyes. It hissed at us, acid on the tip of its fangs. Lee turned to the Apollo cabin archers: he, Michael, Seamus Derry, that new guy Dean Morrow that Will had been talking about, Jenna and Holly Curtis (another new camper) all notched their bows.

"Hold!" I shouted, narrowing my eyes at the drakon. It hissed right back at me, stalking the perimeter. It pawed at the ground, as if trying to dig away the border, and so I shouted, "Fire!"

The good thing about the gifted archers of the Apollo cabin is that we could shoot multiple arrows at once. Lee and Michael sent three arrows at once--each--at the drakon amongst the others, and it writhed at the amount of arrows coming towards it.

"Draw!" I shouted again at Clarisse's signal. "Hold!" The drakon leaned back on his hind legs, "Fire!"

A few arrows hit clinks in its armour this time, and the drakon screeched. Other campers were starting to wake up and make their way over. Cain arrived with the Hermes cabin, his eyes wide at the monster.

"Holy," he said, and unsheathed his sword. Annabeth shook her head at him.

"Don't," she told him. "That's a drakon—get close to it, it'll douse you in acid. Best fought at distance."

Cain went red and sheathed his sword.

We sent another round of arrows at the monster. It wasn't sending it away, it only just made the beast angrier. It banged against the borders, and the whole ground underneath us shook from the weight.

Cain came up to me, "Why don't you use—like—your arrows. Think of like some sort of arrow that'll send it away. A stink one or something—"

"No," I said harshly. He frowned. I hated the sound of my voice, but I haven't used my bow in ages. I thought I had moved on from that, but it seemed so unnatural for me to hold a bow called Sun-Bearer. It felt as if I wasn't allowed to. I used the key for travel, but never have I taken it from my neck to use as a weapon since that one time in the natural museum. I am no longer the Sun-Bearer, and so I shouldn't have the Sun-Bearer's weapon. When I had to fight, I used the knife my father gave me, or a greek kapos I picked up not long ago at the camp shed. It didn't feel right, but being under Hades's domain has affected me more than I would like to admit.

Another three rounds of arrows, and we managed to get the beast to retreat. Everyone talked about it at breakfast, but I wasn't sharing the same excitement. Lee and I both were very sullen on the matter. It was still out there, and it wouldn't be the only monster that lurked at our borders.

Chiron applauded us, but he shared our worry. Quintus nodded at us, and we sat back down.

Quintus was new. I first met him last month when he first came. With him, was a huge hell-hound he called Mrs O'Leary. She was friendly, it was okay, but she was huge and slightly terrifying. Quintus was a half-blood that used to train here—no denying that. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the same—even better—ability at sword fighting and teaching as an activities director. His brown hair was streaked with grey, and so were his eyes; startling grey.

"This is a good reason for new war games," he said, 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!"

"To the gods!" we raised our glasses and repeated.

I took my plate to the bronze brazier with the rest of my siblings. I didn't pray to Apollo, however. I prayed to Hades for forgiveness. I always did. I didn't expect forgiveness from the Lord of the Underworld, but I hoped for it. He voted for me and my friends to live, and that was what made me feel like I could get it. That he would help me again. I don't know why I was so upset that he no longer visited me often just to annoy me, but ... some part of me enjoyed it. He was cynic, and horrid, and a terrible god, yet there was a sort of warmth about Hades and a fatherly kindness that confused me.

The conversation on the Apollo table was all about the drakon. Lee and I shared annoyed looks. The factor that everyone was treating this like some sort of excitement frustrated me. Didn't they realise that Luke was trying to destroy our home? Didn't they understand how serious this was?

I noticed Chiron and Grover come up to Percy's table. Tyson was back, and was happily sitting beside him and eating. When I saw him by the lagoon, I had ran over to give him a hug. It was good to see him again, and when he saw that I was alive, he started to sob and Percy had to stop him from crushing me in his hug.

See, there was this rule. No campers cross tables. You sat and ate with your cabin, your family, and you didn't sit with anyone else. But I promised Percy an explanation about Grover, and now that Grover sat there by himself and Chiron had left, there was an impulse for me to just sit there. And so I did.

Everyone went kind of quiet when I walked over. I didn't give them a second glance and sat right beside Percy as he asked, "What's he talking about?"

Grover chewed his eggs, distracted. "He wants you to convince me."

"He's talking about the Labyrinth," I said and Percy jumped.

He just stared dumbly at me, his mouth slightly open. A glance at the other campers made him swallow hard. They were whispering, giggling. He went red. "You're not supposed to be here," he just said.

I rolled my eyes. "What are they going to do? Kill me? I'm technically already dead."

"That's dramatic." Next to Grover, Annabeth came and sat down as well. Percy paled. He gave a nervous glance over at Quintus, expecting him to say something about us switching tables, but he just raised a brow.

"Look," I turned to Percy, and I ignored how close I had sat beside him. Trust me, it was an accident... "We need to talk."

"But the rules..."

I deadpanned. "Percy, do we look like we care?"

He pursed his lips.

Finally, one more person joined us. Surprisingly, Cain had plucked up the courage to awkwardly walk over to me and say, "Um, whatcha doing?"

Percy let out an exasperated sigh, "What? So it's a party at my table now, huh?"

Cain blushed.

"Look," Annabeth said, and Cain decided to sit down on the other side of Percy, realising that he had thrown himself into something important. "Grover is in trouble. There's only one way we can figure out to help him. It's the Labyrinth. That's what Clarisse and I have been investigating."

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

"Exactly."

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

"It wouldn't be under one building, right?" Cain spoke, giving an anxious glance at Annabeth. "It's huge. It—like—wouldn't fit under a single city ..."

Annabeth looked satisfied with his answer. I had a feeling that was what she had told him when he had asked her. Cain blushed. I frowned at him, and he just went redder. I still don't get it—why is he so scared of her? She literally hasn't done anything.

She is rather intimidating though ... I think I went through this.

Percy pressed his lips together, "So ... is the Labyrinth part of the Underworld."

I shook my head, "Nope. But ... I mean ... I guess there could be a passage from the Labyrinth down into the Underworld. But like—that's way, way down. The Labyrinth sits just under the surface, like the veins of the earth. Growing and growing for thousands of years, twisting 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," Annabeth turned to him, "there has to be a way. Clarisse lived."

"Barely! And the other guy—"

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

"Oh, joy. That makes me feel much better."

"Whoa," Percy held a hand up. "Back up—what's this about Clarisse and a crazy guy?"

We glanced over towards 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," I began, lowering my voice, "Clarisse went on a mission for Chiron."

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

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

Percy's brows shot up high. "The guy from the Hermes cabin? The guy that was on the ship—"

"Yeah," I said. "Last summer, he just, like, appeared out of nowhere in Phoenix, near Clarisse's mom's house."

"What do you mean, he appeared out of nowhere?"

"Like, I mean, literally," I said. "He was just wandering around the desert, in fifty degrees, in full Greek armour, babbling about string."

"String...?" Percy arched a brow.

I frowned at him, "This is serious."

He threw his hands up in surrender.

Annabeth jumped in before there'd be an argument. "He'd been driven completely insane. Clarisse brought him back to her mom's house so the mortals wound't institutionalise him. She tried to nurse him back to health. Chiron came out and interviewed him, but it wasn't much good. The only thing they got out of him: Luke's men have been exploring the Labyrinth."

"Okay ..." Percy frowned. "Why were they exploring the Labyrinth?"

"Cue Clarisse's quest," I said. "Chiron kept things hushed because he didn't want anyone panicking—which makes sense."

"He got me involved because ... well, the Labyrinth has always been one of my favourite subjects," Annabeth continued. "The architecture involved ..." her expression turned dreamy. "The builder, Daedalus, was a genius. But the point is, the Labyrinth has entrances everywhere. If Luke could figure out how to navigate it, he could move his army with incredible speed."

"Bigger problems," Cain added, not after sharing a glance with me. "Is that there's an entrance here in Camp."

Percy's eyes bulged, "What?"

"Shh!" I snapped at him. "No one's supposed to know!"

"How do you know?"

"On our quest," I gestured at Cain. "Right before we came back yesterday, Hermes sent us towards these Cercopes that would give us answers. They told us there was an entrance here at Camp. Where?" I asked before he could. I shrugged. "I don't know. Yet."

"Think about it," Annabeth said. "This is exactly what Luke wants."

"Except it's a maze, right?"

"Full of horrible traps," Grover agreed. "Dead ends. Illusions. Psychotic goat-killing monsters."

"But not if you had Ariadne's string," Annabeth said. "In the old days, Ariadne's string guided Theseus out of the maze. It was a navigation instrument of some kind, invented by Daedalus. And Chris Rodriguez was mumbling about string."

"So, Luke is trying to find Ariadne's string," Percy said. "And he's planning to attack camp."

"I'm not too sure whether he even knows about the entrance," I said truthfully. "For all we know, his motives could be something else entirely. The closest entrances he possibly could know about are Manhattan, and those are outside the borders. Clarisse explored a little way into the tunnels, but ... it was very dangerous. She had some close calls."

"There is something we do know, however," said Annabeth. "The Labyrinth might be the key to Grover's problem."

"You think Pan is underground?"

"It would explain why he's impossible to find."

Grover shuddered. "Satyrs hate going underground. No searcher would ever try going in that place. No flowers. No sunshine. No coffee shops!"

"But," Annabeth said, "the Labyrinth can lead you almost anywhere. It reads your thoughts. It was designed to fool you, to trick you and kill you; but if you can make the Labyrinth work for you—"

"It could lead you to the wild god," Percy realised.

"I can't do it," Grover hugged his stomach. "Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up my silverware."

"Please don't," muttered Cain.

"Grover, it may be your last chance," I said. "The council is serious. One week or you become a Broadway tap dancer!"

"Broadway doesn't sound so bad," Grover muttered.

I gave Annabeth an exasperated look. Over at the head table, Quintus cleared his throat, and I got the feeling he didn't want to make a scene. However, I knew what he meant, we were pushing our limits, sitting at Percy's table for so long.

I gave an annoyed sigh and turned to Percy. "I gotta go," I squeezed his arm. "We'll talk later, yeah? Convince him, will you?"

And so we separated, heading to our separate tables and not giving a damn about the stares (well, Cain did. He blushed and hid his face, but those are minor details).

I just hoped Percy convinced Grover. Not only will this help Grover, but it'll help Cain and I find Nico, and stop him from being taken under Luke's manipulation.