The Battle of the Labyrinth

should lead this,” Clarisse said. “Annabeth.”
    There was a murmur of agreement. I knew Annabeth had been waiting for her own quest since she was a little kid, but she looked uncomfortable.
    “You’ve done as much as I have, Clarisse,” she said. “You should go, too.”
    Clarisse shook her head. “I’m not going back in there.”
    Travis Stoll laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re scared. Clarisse, chicken?”
    Clarisse got to her feet. I thought she was going to pulverize Travis, but she said in a shaky voice: “You don’t understand anything, punk. I’m never going in there again.
    Never!”
    She stormed out of the arena.
    Travis looked around sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to—”
    Chiron raised his hand. “The poor girl has had a difficult year. Now, do we have agreement that Annabeth should lead the quest?”
    We all nodded except Quintus. He folded his arms and stared at the table, but I wasn’t sure anyone else noticed.
    “Very well.” Chiron turned to Annabeth. “My dear, it’s your time to visit the Oracle. Assuming you return to us in one piece, we shall discuss what to do next.”
    Waiting for Annabeth was harder than visiting the Oracle myself.
    I’d heard it speak prophecies twice before. The first time had been in the dusty attic of the Big House, where the spirit of Delphi slept inside the body of a mummified hippie lady. The second time, the Oracle had come out for a little stroll in the woods. I still had nightmares about that.
    I’d never felt threatened by the Oracle’s presence, but I’d heard stories: campers who’d gone insane, or who’d seen visions so real they died of fear.
    I paced the arena, waiting. Mrs. O’Leary ate her lunch, which consisted of a hundred pounds of ground beef and several dog biscuits the size of trash-can lids. I wondered where Quintus got dog biscuits that size. I didn’t figure you could just walk into Pet Zone and put those in your shopping cart.
    Chiron was deep in conversation with Quintus and Argus. It looked to me like they were disagreeing about something. Quintus kept shaking his head.
    On the other side of the arena, Tyson and the Stoll brothers were racing miniature bronze chariots that Tyson had made out of armor scraps.
    I gave up on pacing and left the arena. I stared across the fields at the Big House’s attic window, dark and still. What was taking Annabeth so long? I was pretty sure it hadn’t taken me this long to get my quest.
    “Percy,” a girl whispered.
    Juniper was standing in the bushes. It was weird how she almost turned invisible when she was surrounded by plants.
    She gestured me over urgently. “You need to know: Luke wasn’t the only one I saw around that cave.”
    “What do you mean?”
    She glanced back at the arena. “I was trying to say something, but he was right there.”
    “Who?”
    “The sword master,” she said. “He was poking around the rocks.”
    My stomach clenched. “Quintus? When?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t pay attention to time. Maybe a week ago, when he first showed up.”
    “What was he doing? Did he go in?”
    “I—I’m not sure. He’s creepy, Percy. I didn’t even see him come into the glade. Suddenly he was just there . You have to tell Grover it’s too dangerous—”
    “Juniper?” Grover called from inside the arena. “Where’d you go?”
    Juniper sighed. “I’d better go in. Just remember what I said. Don’t trust that man!”
    She ran into the arena.
    I stared at the Big House, feeling more uneasy than ever. If Quintus was up to something . . . I needed Annabeth’s advice. She might know what to make of Juniper’s news. But where the heck was she? Whatever was happening with the Oracle, it shouldn’t be taking this long.
    Finally I couldn’t stand it anymore.
    It was against the rules, but then again, nobody was watching. I ran down the hill and headed across the fields.
    The front parlor of the Big House was strangely quiet. I was used to seeing Dionysus by the fireplace, playing cards and eating grapes and griping at satyrs, but Mr. D was still away.
    I walked down the hallway, floorboards creaking under my feet. When I got to the base of the stairs, I hesitated. Four floors above would be a little trapdoor leading to the attic. Annabeth would be up there somewhere. I stood quietly and listened. But what I heard wasn’t what I had expected.
    Sobbing. And it was coming from below me.
    I crept around the back of the stairs. The basement door was open.