JAWBREAKER

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧

"Good morning Miss Walker." He gave no indication that she or Percy were in deep trouble. But still, she didn't trust it.

She leaned against the table, propping her hand on her hip. "Did you do something new with your hooves? Because they look fantastic."

"Well as a matter of fact, yes," Chiron puffed out his chest. "Amphitrite's turtle wax has been...." He narrowed his eyes. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing," Warren said innocently. Percy was sweating bullets.

"Mhm, quite," Chiron hummed skeptically. "Regardless, Percy, I brought Grover because I thought you two might want to, ah, discuss matters. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some Iris messages to send. I'll see you all later in the day."

He gave Grover a meaningful look, spared a suspicious glance at Warren, then trotted out of the pavilion. She let out a heavy exhale. Percy's shoulders sagged in relief. They weren't caught, thank the gods.

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

Grover chewed his eggs. It was clear he was distracted, because he bit the tines of his fork and chewed those down too.

"He wants you to convince me," he mumbled.

Suddenly Annabeth slid into the spot next to Grover. "I'll tell you what it's about," she said. "The Labyrinth."

"You're serious? Like the Labyrinth?" Warren asked, plopping down on the bench next to Percy.

Percy was sure that was a significant statement, but he was finding it hard to concentrate on what the girls were saying, because everybody in the dining pavilion was suddenly stealing glances at them and whispering.

Everyone knew 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. If Mr. D had been there, he probably would've strangled Warren and Annabeth with magical grapevines or something. But Mr. D wasn't there. And Chiron had already left the pavilion. Quintus looked over and raised an eyebrow, but he didn't say anything.

"Yes, the Labyrinth," Annabeth said. "Grover is in trouble. This is the only way we can think to help him."

"We?" Suddenly the pieces clicked together in Warren's brain. "Wait a minute. That's what you and Clarisse have been scouting, isn't it?"

Annabeth nodded.

Percy shook his head, trying to come up to speed. "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," he guessed. "The Labyrinth is under some building in America."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Under a building? Please, Percy. The Labyrinth is huge. It wouldn't fit under a single city, much less a single building."

He thought about the vision of Nico at the River Styx. "So...is the Labyrinth part of the Underworld?"

"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. Warren got the feeling they'd had this conversation before. "Clarisse lived."