The Battle of the Labyrinth

help.” She turned to me. “Will you come?”
    I didn’t even hesitate. “I’m in.”
    She smiled for the first time in days, and that made it all worthwhile. “Grover, you too? The wild god is waiting.”
    Grover seemed to forget how much he hated the underground. The line about the “lost one” had completely energized him. “I’ll pack extra recyclables for snacks!”
    “And Tyson,” Annabeth said. “I’ll need you too.”
    “Yay! Blow-things-up time!” Tyson clapped so hard he woke up Mrs. O’Leary, who was dozing in the corner.
    “Wait, Annabeth,” Chiron said. “This goes against the ancient laws. A hero is allowed only two companions.”
    “I need them all,” she insisted. “Chiron, it’s important.”
    I didn’t know why she was so certain, but I was happy she’d included Tyson. I couldn’t imagine leaving him behind. He was huge and strong and great at figuring out mechanical things. Unlike satyrs, Cyclopes had no problem underground.
    “Annabeth.” Chiron flicked his tail nervously. “Consider well. You would be breaking the ancient laws, and there are always consequences. Last winter, five went on a quest to save Artemis. Only three came back. Think on that. Three is a sacred number. There are three Fates, three Furies, three Olympian sons of Kronos. It is a good strong number that stands against many dangers. Four . . . this is risky.”
    Annabeth took a deep breath. “I know. But we have to. Please.”
    I could tell Chiron didn’t like it. Quintus was studying us, like he was trying to decide which of us would come back alive.
    Chiron sighed. “Very well. Let us adjourn. The members of the quest must prepare themselves. Tomorrow at dawn, we send you into the Labyrinth.”
    * * *
    Quintus pulled me aside as the council was breaking up.
    “I have a bad feeling about this,” he told me.
    Mrs. O’Leary came over, wagging her tail happily. She dropped her shield at my feet, and I threw it for her. Quintus watched her romp after it. I remembered what Juniper had said about him scouting out the maze. I didn’t trust him, but when he looked at me, I saw real concern in his eyes.
    “I don’t like the idea of you going down there,” he said. “Any of you. But if you must, I want you to remember something. The Labyrinth exists to fool you. It will distract you. That’s dangerous for half-bloods. We are easily distracted.”
    “You’ve been in there?”
    “Long ago.” His voice was ragged. “I barely escaped with my life. Most who enter aren’t that lucky.”
    He gripped my shoulder. “Percy, keep your mind on what matters most. If you can do that, you might find the way. And here, I wanted to give you something.”
    He handed me a little silver tube. It was so cold I almost dropped it.
    “A whistle?” I asked.
    “A dog whistle,” Quintus said. “For Mrs. O’Leary.”
    “Um, thanks, but—”
    “How will it work in the maze? I’m not a hundred percent certain it will. But Mrs. O’Leary is a hellhound. She can appear when called, no matter how far away she is. I’d feel better knowing you had this. If you really need help, use it; but be careful, the whistle is made of Stygian ice.”
    “ What ice?”
    “From the River Styx. Very hard to craft. Very delicate. It cannot melt, but it will shatter when you blow it, so you can only use it once.”
    I thought about Luke, my old enemy. Right before I’d gone on my first quest, Luke had given me a gift, too— magic shoes that had been designed to drag me to my death. Quintus seemed so nice. So concerned. And Mrs. O’Leary liked him, which had to count for something. She dropped the slimy shield at my feet and barked excitedly.
    I felt ashamed that I could even think about mistrusting Quintus. But then again, I’d trusted Luke once.
    “Thanks,” I told Quintus. I slipped the freezing whistle into my pocket, promising myself that I would never use it, and I dashed off to find Annabeth.
    As long as I’d been at camp, I’d never been inside the Athena cabin.
    It was a silvery building, nothing fancy, with plain white curtains and a carved stone owl over the doorway. The owl’s onyx eyes seemed to follow me as I walked closer.
    “Hello?” I called inside.
    Nobody answered. I stepped in and caught my breath. The place was a workshop for brainiac kids. The bunks were all pushed against one wall as if sleeping didn’t matter very much. Most of the room was filled with workbenches and tables and sets of tools