This Cold Year ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase²

―vi. a kiss at the end of the world

"OH, THAT'S BEAUTIFUL."

The day after Leo unveiled his horrible tearjerker of a plan, the Argo II hovered over the ancient temple complex of the healing god Asclepius, where the crew would—hopefully—get the physician's cure.

Percy peered over the railing, looking pretty unimpressed. "Looks like more rubble."

Annabeth pointed to the disc-shaped structure about fifty yards off their port side. "There."

Leo smiled. "Exactly. See, the architect knows her stuff."

The rest of the crew gathered around.

"What are we looking at?" Frank asked.

"Ah, Señor Zhang," Leo said, "you know how you're always saying, 'Leo, you are the only true genius among demigods'?"

"I'm pretty sure I've never said that."

"Well, turns out there are other true geniuses! Because one of them must have made that work of art down there."

"It's a stone circle," Frank said. "Probably the foundation of an old shrine."

Piper shook her head. "No, it's more than that. Look at the ridges and grooves carved around the rim."

"Like the teeth of a gear," Jason offered.

"And those concentric rings." Hazel pointed to the center of the structure, where curved stones formed a sort of bullseye. "The pattern reminds me of Pasiphae's pendant: the symbol of the Labyrinth."

"Huh." Leo scowled. "Well, I hadn't thought of that. But think mechanical. Frank, Hazel, Naomi... where did we see concentric circles like that before?"

"The laboratory under Rome," Frank said.

"The Archimedes lock on the door," Hazel recalled. "It had rings within rings."

Percy snorted. "You're telling me that's a massive stone lock? It's, like, fifty feet in diameter."

"Leo might be right," Annabeth said. "In ancient times, the temple of Asclepius was like the General Hospital of Greece. Everybody came here for the best healing. Aboveground, it was the size of a major city, but supposedly the real action happened belowground. That's where the high priests had their intensive-care super-magical-type compound, accessed by a secret passage."

Percy scratched his ear. "So, if that big round thing is the lock, how do we get the key?"

"Way ahead of you, Aquaman," Leo said.

"Okay, do not call me Aquaman. That's even worse than water boy."

Leo turned to Jason and Piper. "You guys remember the giant Archimedes grabber arm I told you I was building?"

Jason raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were kidding."

"Oh, my friend, I never kid about giant grabber arms!" Leo rubbed his hands in anticipation. "It's time to go fishing for prizes!"

❈

Leo opened the ship hull's forward access vent and extended his fancy-schmancy grabber arm, guided by the console monitor and Jason, who flew outside, yelling directions.

"Left!" Jason called. "A couple of inches—yeah! Okay, down. Keep it coming. You're good."

"Reason nineteen of why Jason needs a helmet glued to his head," Naomi muttered, making Piper snort.

"Okay, little buddy." Leo patted the Archimedes sphere embedded in the helm. "This is all you."

The grabber arm began to turn like a corkscrew. It rotated the outer ring of stone, which ground and rumbled but thankfully didn't shatter. Then the claw detached, fixed itself around the second stone ring and turned it in the opposite direction.