mastermind - percy jackson

iii. war games

"screw camp division"

The next morning there was a lot of excitement at breakfast.

Apparently at about three in the morning an Aethiopian drakon had been spotted at the borders of camp. The magical boundaries had kept the monster out, but it prowled the hills, looking for weak spots in their defenses. It didn't seem to go away until Lee Fletcher, from the Apollo cabin led a couple of his sibling in pursuit. After a few dozen arrows lodged in the chinks of the drakon's armor, it got the message and withdrew.

"It's still out there" Lee warned them during announcements. "Twenty arrows in its hide, and we just made it mad. The thing was thirty feet long and bright green. It's eyes—" He shuddered.

"You did well, Lee" Chiron patted him on the shoulder. "Everyone stay alert, but stay calm. This has happened before."

"Aye" Quintus, the new swords master who had a hellhound of all things for a pet, said from the head table. "And it will happen again. More and more frequently."

The campers murmured among themselves.

Everyone knew the rumors that Luke and his army of monsters were planning an attack on the camp. Most likely that summer. And it didn't help that attendance was down. They only had around eighty campers. Before this all started they had more than a hundred.

"This is a good reason for new war games" Quintus continued with a glint in his eyes. "We'll see how you all do with that tonight."

"Yes..." Chiron said. "Well, enough announcements. Let us bless this meal and eat" He raised his goblet. "To the Gods."

They all raised their glasses and repeated the blessing. After the sacrifices and when everyone was eating, Cassandra stood up, waving Annabeth over, and the two blondes went to join Percy and Grover.

"He wants you to convince me" Grover mumbled to Percy as Annabeth and Cassandra sat down on opposite sides of Percy.

"I'll tell you what it's about" Annabeth stated, "The Labyrinth."

"You're not supposed to be here" Percy whispered to them.

"We need to talk" Annabeth insisted.

"But the rules..."

Cassandra knew that campers weren't allowed to switch tables. Satyrs were different since they weren't really demigods. But half-bloods had to sit with their cabins. But no one said anything to them. Mr. D wasn't there, Chiron had already left the pavilion, and Quintus had just raised an eyebrow at them.

"Who cares about the rules? They wonder why demigods are leaving or despise other cabins. It's because we're so divided" Cassandra answered.

"Look" Annabeth sighed, "Grover is in trouble. There's only one way we can figure to help him. It's the Labyrinth. That's what Clarisse, Cassie, and I have been investigating."

Percy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "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" Percy guessed. "The Labyrinth is under some building in America."

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

"So... is the Labyrinth part of the Underworld?" He asked.

"No." Annabeth frowned and thought about it for a moment. "Well, there may be passages from the Labyrinth down into the Underworld. I'm not sure. Anyways, 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."