ｔｈｅ ｂａｔｔｌｅ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｌａｂｙｒｉｎｔｈ

THAT NIGHT IN LUCIA'S DREAM, Nico appeared, but he was no longer in the same place as before. He was standing in a graveyard under a starry sky. Giant willow trees loomed all around him.

He was watching some gravediggers at work. Lucia heard shovels and saw dirt flying out of a hole. Nico was dressed in a black cloak. The night was foggy. It was warm and humid, and frogs were croaking. A large Wal-Mart bag sat next to Nico's feet.

"Is it deep enough yet?" Nico asked. He sounded irritated.

"Nearly, my lord." It was the same ghost Lucia had seen Nico with before, the faint shimmering image of a man. "But, my lord, I tell you, this is unnecessary. You already have me for advice."

"I want a second opinion!" Nico snapped his fingers, and the digging stopped. Two figures climbed out of the hole. They weren't people. They were skeletons in ragged clothes.

"You are dismissed," Nico said. "Thank you."

The skeletons collapsed into piles of bones.

"You might as well thank the shovels," the ghost complained. "They have as much sense."

Nico ignored him. He reached into his Wal-Mart bag and pulled out a twelve-pack of Coke. He popped open a can. Instead of drinking it, he poured it into the grave.

"Let the dead taste again," he murmured. "Let them rise and take this offering. Let them remember."

He dropped the rest of the Cokes into the grave and pulled out a white paper bag decorated with cartoons. Lucia hadn't seen one in years, but she recognized it—a McDonald's Happy Meal.

He turned it upside down and shook the fries and hamburger into the grave.

"In my day, we used animal blood," the ghost mumbled. "It's perfectly good enough. They can't taste the difference."

"I will treat them with respect," Nico said.

"At least let me keep the toy," the ghost said.

"Be quiet!" Nico ordered. He emptied another twelve-pack of soda and three more Happy Meals into the grave, then began chanting in Ancient Greek. Lucia caught only some of the words—a lot about the dead and memories and returning from the grave.

The grave started to bubble. Frothy brown liquid rose to the top like the whole thing was filling with soda. The fog thickened. The frogs stopped croaking. Dozens of figures began to appear among the gravestones: bluish, vaguely human shapes. Nico had summoned the dead with Coke and cheeseburgers.

"There are too many," the ghost said nervously. "You don't know your own powers."

"I've got it under control," Nico said, though his voice sounded fragile. He drew his sword—a short blade made of solid black metal. I'd never seen anything like it. It wasn't celestial bronze or steel. Iron, maybe? The crowd of shades retreated at the sight of it.

"One at a time," Nico commanded.

A single figure floated forward and knelt at the pool. It made slurping sounds as it drank. Its ghostly hands scooped French fries out of the pool.

When it stood again, Lucia could see it much more clearly—a teenage guy in Greek armor. He had curly hair and green eyes, a clasp shaped like a seashell on his cloak.

"Who are you?" Nico said. "Speak."

The young man frowned as if trying to remember. Then he spoke in a voice like dry, crumpling paper: "I am Theseus."

No way, Lucia thought. This couldn't be the Theseus. He was just a kid. She'd grown up hearing stories about him fighting the Minotaur and stuff, but she'd always pictured him as this huge, buff guy. The ghost she was looking at wasn't strong or tall. And he wasn't any older than she was.

"How can I retrieve my sister?" Nico asked.

Theseus's eyes were lifeless as glass. "Do not try. It is madness."

"Just tell me!"

"My stepfather died," Theseus remembered. "He threw himself into the sea because he thought I was dead in the Labyrinth. I wanted to bring him back, but I could not."

Nico's ghost hissed.

"My lord, the soul exchange! Ask him about that!"

Theseus scowled. "That voice. I know that voice."

"No you don't, fool!" the ghost said. "Answer the lord's questions and nothing more!"

"I know you," Theseus insisted as if struggling to recall.

"I want to hear about my sister," Nico said. "Will this quest into the Labyrinth help me win her back?"

Theseus was looking for the ghost, but apparently couldn't see him.

Slowly he turned his eyes back on Nico. "The Labyrinth is treacherous. There is only one thing that saw me through: the love of a mortal girl. The string was only part of the answer. It was the princess who guided me."

"We don't need any of that," the ghost said. "I will guide you, my lord. Ask him if it is true about an exchange of souls. He will tell you."

"A soul for a soul," Nico asked. "Is it true?"

"I—I must say yes. But the specter—"

"Just answer the questions, knave!" the ghost said.

Suddenly, around the edges of the pool, the other ghosts became restless.

They stirred, whispering in nervous tones.

"I want to see my sister!" Nico demanded. "Where is she?"

"He is coming," Theseus said fearfully. "He has sensed your summons. He comes."

"Who?" Nico demanded.

"He comes to find the source of this power," Theseus said. "You must release us."

The image began to tremble, humming with power. The noise grew louder. The image of Nico in the graveyard started to glow until it was painful to watch.

"Stop," Lucia said out loud. "Stop it!"

Lucia flew up from her bed, panting as her body struggled to gain composure.

Lee was right beside her, patting her back "Hey. it's okay."

Lucia wiped away at her wet face

"Go back to bed sis." He whispered, "You'll be alright."

Lucia sank back into the bed, shivering from what she'd seen. Lee watched in worry.

☼

JUST AFTER DAWN, the quest group met at Zeus's Fist. Lee had helped Lucia pack her Backpack—thermos with nectar, baggie of ambrosia, bedroll, rope, clothes, iPod, headphones, flashlights (even though she was one herself), and lots of extra batteries. Her quiver was slung behind her back and her bow dangled on her wrist like it was merely pretty jewelry. In her thigh sheath, she had decided to bring her spartan daggers, she needed anything she could get if she was going down into her own personal hell.

It was a clear morning. The fog had burned off and the sky was blue. Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi and practicing archery, and scaling the lava wall. Meanwhile, they would be heading underground.

Juniper and Grover stood apart from the group. Juniper had been crying again, but she was trying to keep it together for Grover's sake. She kept fussing with his clothes, straightening his rasta cap and brushing goat fur off his shirt. Since they had no idea what they would encounter, he was dressed like a human, with the cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide his goat legs.

Chiron, Quintus, and Mrs. O'Leary stood with the other campers who'd come to wish them well, but there was too much activity for it to feel like a happy send-off.

A couple of tents had been set up by the rocks for guard duty. Beckendorf and his siblings were working on a line of defensive spikes and trenches. Chiron had decided they needed to guard the Labyrinth exit at all times, just in case.

Lucia kept looking around for any sign of Ethan, but ever since the scorpion attack, she hasn't heard anything from him. I hope he's okay she thought but something about not seeing him around made her uneasy.

Annabeth was with Lucia doing one last check on her supply pack. When Tyson and Percy, came over, she frowned. "Percy, you look terrible."

"He killed the water fountain last night," Tyson confided.

"What?" Lucia asked.

Before he could explain, Chiron trotted over. "Well, it appears you are ready!"

He tried to sound upbeat, but Anyone could tell he was anxious.

Percy then said, "Hey, uh, Chiron, can I ask you a favor while I'm gone?"

"Of course, my boy."

"Be right back, guys." He nodded toward the woods. Chiron asked an eyebrow, but he followed him out of earshot.

"What was that about?" Lucia asked

"No idea," Annabeth said

Lucia wasn't one to eavesdrop, but something was clawing at her, telling her to listen in. She didn't know if she was capable of it but she focused her ears, waiting she thought of where Percy and Chiron were...

"Last night," Percy said, "I dreamed about Luke and Kronos." He told him the details. How he was getting stronger, How there was a spy at camp, How they were building an army and succeeding.

The news seemed to weigh on Lucia's shoulders. When Annabeth looked at her curiously Lucia just gave her a tiny smile.

"I feared this," Chiron said. "Against my father, Kronos, we would stand no chance in a fight."

Chiron rarely called Kronos his father. They all knew it was true. Everybody in the Greek world—god, monster, or Titan—was related to one another somehow (sometimes disturbingly so). But it wasn't exactly something Chiron liked to brag about.

"Do you know what he meant about a bargain?" Percy asked.

"I am not sure, but I fear they seek to make a deal with Daedalus. If the old inventor is truly alive, if he has not been driven insane by millennia in the Labyrinth...well, Kronos can find ways to twist anyone to his will."

"Not anyone," He promised.

"No. Perhaps not anyone. But, Percy, you must beware. I have worried for some time that Kronos may be looking for Daedalus for a different reason, not just passage through the maze."

"What else would he want?"

"Something Annabeth and I were discussing. Do you remember what you told me about your first trip to the Princess Andromeda, the first time you saw the golden coffin?"

Percy made an affirming noise "Luke was talking about raising Kronos, little pieces of him appearing in the coffin every time someone new joined his cause."

"And what did Luke say they would do when Kronos had risen completely?"

"He said they would make Kronos a new body, worthy of the forges of Hephaestus."

A chill went down Lucia's spine.

"Lucy?"

"Indeed," Chiron said. "Daedalus was the world's greatest inventor. He created the Labyrinth, but much more. Automatons, thinking machines...What if Kronos wishes Daedalus to make him a new form?"

That was a real terrifying thought.

"We've got to get to Daedalus first," Percy said, "and convince him not to."

"One other thing I do not understand...this talk of a last soul joining their cause. That does not bode well."

Lucia began to overthink. Percy made the decision not to tell Chiron about Nico being a son of Hades. The mention of souls, though— What if Kronos knew about Nico? What if he managed to turn him evil? It was almost enough to make her want him to tell Chiron, but Percy didn't. Lucia was relieved, She wasn't sure Chiron could do anything about it. She had to find Nico herself. She had to explain things to him, make him listen.

"I don't know," Percy said at last. "But, uh, something you should hear," Percy told him what Juniper had seen around the rocks.

Chiron's jaw tightened. "That does not surprise me."

"It doesn't sur—you mean you know?"

"Percy, when Quintus showed up at camp offering Juniper said, maybe seen Quintus poking his services...well, I would have to be a fool not to be suspicious."

"Then why did you let him in?"

"Because sometimes it is better to have someone you mistrust close to you, so that you can keep an eye on him. He may be just what he says: a half-blood in search of a home. Certainly, he has done nothing openly that would make me question his loyalty. But believe me. I will keep an eye—"

Annabeth grabbed Lucia's bicep making her lose her focus, She could no longer hear them as Annabeth trudged them over to where Percy and Chiron were talking, curious as to why they were taking so long. "Percy, you ready?"

He nodded. His hand slipped into his pocket, Lucia raised an eyebrow

Percy looked over to Quintus watching him carefully. He raised his hand in farewell. Percy then found Lucia's eyes, she tried to look oblivious but it didn't seem to work.

Our spies report success, Luke had said. The same day they decided to send a quest, Luke had known about it. was the spy Quintus?

"Take care," Chiron told us. "And good hunting."

"You too," Percy said.

They walked over to the rocks, where Tyson and Grover were waiting. Lucia stared at the crack between the boulders—the entrance that was about to swallow them.

"Well," Grover said nervously, "goodbye sunshine."

Lucia frowned "You're so motivational Grover."

"Hello rocks," Tyson agreed.

And together, the five of them descended into darkness.