Percy Jackson 04 - The Battle of the Labyrinth

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He lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry I was a brat. I should’ve listened to you about Bianca.”
“By the way…” I fished something out of my pocket. “Tyson found this while we were cleaning the
cabin.Thought you might want it.” I held out a lead figurine of Hades—the littleMythomagic statue Nico
had abandoned when he fled camp last winter.
Nico hesitated. “I don’t play that game anymore. It’s for kids.”
“It’s got four thousand attackpower ,” I coaxed.
“Five thousand,” Nico corrected. “But only if your opponent attacks first.”
I smiled. “Maybe it’s okay to still be a kid once in a while.” I tossed him the statue.
Nico studied it in his palm for a few seconds,then slipped it into his pocket. “Thanks.”
I put out my hand. He shook reluctantly. His hand was as cold as ice.
“I’ve got a lot of things to investigate,” he said. “Some of them…Well, if I learn anything useful, I’ll let
you know.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I nodded. “Keep in touch, Nico.”
He turned and trudged off into the woods. The shadows seemed to bend toward him as he walked, like
they were reaching out for his attention.
A voice right behind me said, “There goes a very troubled young man.”
I turned and found Dionysus standing there, still in his black suit.
“Walk with me,” he said.
“Where to?”I asked suspiciously.
“Just to the campfire,” he said. “I was beginning to feel better, so I thought I would talk with you a bit.
You always manage to annoy me.”
“Uh, thanks.”
We walked through the woods in silence. I noticed that Dionysus was treading on air, his polished black
shoes hovering an inch off the ground. I guess he didn’t want to get dirty.
“We have had many betrayals,” he said. “Things are not looking good for Olympus. Yet you and
Annabeth saved this camp. I’m not sure I should thank you for that.”
“It was a group effort.”
He shrugged. “Regardless, I suppose it was mildly competent, what you two did. I thought you should
know—it wasn’t a total loss.”

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We reached the amphitheater, and Dionysus pointed toward the campfire. Clarisse was sitting shoulder
to shoulder with a big Hispanic kid who was telling her a joke. It was Chris Rodriguez, the half-blood
who’d gone insane in the Labyrinth.

I turned to Dionysus. “You cured him?”

“Madness is my specialty. It was quite simple.”

“But…you did something nice. Why?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I am nice! I simply ooze niceness, Perry Johansson. Haven’t you noticed?”

“Uh—”

“Perhaps I felt grieved by my son’s death. Perhaps I thought this Chris boy deserved a second chance.
At any rate, it seems to have improved Clarisse’s mood.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

The wine god sighed. “Oh, Hades if I know. But remember, boy, that a kind act can sometimes be as
powerful as a sword. As a mortal, I was never a great fighter or athlete or poet. I only made wine. The
people in my village laughed at me. They said I would never amount to anything. Look at me now.
Sometimes small things can become very large indeed.”

He left me alone to think about that. And as I watched Clarisse and Chris singing a stupid campfire song
together, holding hands in the darkness, where they thought nobody could see them, I had to smile.

TWENTY

MY BIRTHDAY PARTY TAKES A DARK TURN

The rest of the summer seemed strange because it was so normal. The daily activities continued: archery,
rock climbing, Pegasus riding. We played capture the flag (though we all avoided Zeus’s Fist). We sang
at the campfire and raced chariots and played practical jokes on the other cabins. I spent a lot of time
with Tyson, playing with Mrs. O’Leary, but she would still howl at night when she got lonely for her old
master. Annabeth and I pretty much skirted around each other. I was glad to be with her, but it also kind
of hurt, and it hurt when I wasn’t with her, too.

I wanted to talk to her about Kronos, but I couldn’t do that anymore without bringing up Luke. And that
was one subject I couldn’t raise. She would shut me out every time I tried.

July passed, with fireworks on the beach on the Fourth. August turned so hot the strawberries started
baking in the fields. Finally, the last day of camp arrived. The standard form letter appeared on my bed
after breakfast, warning me that the cleaning harpies would devour me if I stayed past noon.

At ten o’clock I stood on the top of Half-Blood Hill, waiting for the camp van that would take me into
the city. I’d made arrangements to leave Mrs. O’Leary at camp, where Chiron promised she’d be