The Forbidden Daughter | PJO Book One

three

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 out to help him. It's the Labyrinth. That's what Clarisse and I have been investigating."

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

"Exactly." Ariana said.

"So ... it's not under the king's palace in Crete any more." 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."

"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.
"Clarisse lived."

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

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

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

"Whoa." Percy said. "Back up. What's this about Clarisse and a crazy guy?"

Annabeth glanced over towards the Ares table. Clarisse was watching them 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."

"The guy from the Hermes cabin?"

They had eavesdropped on Chris Rodriguez aboard Luke's ship, the Princess Andromeda. Chris was one of the half-bloods who'd abandoned camp and joined the Titan army.

"Yeah." Ariana said. "Last summer he just appeared in Phoenix, Arizona, near Clarisse's mom's house."

"What do you mean, he just appeared?"

"He was wandering around the desert, in fifty degrees, in full Greek armour, babbling about string."

"String." Percy said.

"He had been driven completely insane. Clarisse brought him back to her mom's house so the mortals wouldn't institutionalize 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."

Percy shivered, though Ariana wasnt sure exactly why. She looked at Grover, who was chewing up the rest of his fork.

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

"We weren't sure." Ariana said.

"That's why Clarisse went on a scouting expedition. Chiron kept things hushed up because he didn't want anyone panicking. He got me involved because .. well, the Labyrinth has always been one of my favourite subjects. The architecture involved -" Annabeths expression turned a little 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 around with incredible speed."