The Battle of the Labyrinth

hands. But worse things await you in the maze. Do you really believe Daedalus will help you?”
    The other spirits stirred in agitation. Annabeth drew her knife and helped me keep them away from the pit. Grover got so nervous he clung to Tyson’s shoulder.
    “Daedalus cares nothing for you, half-bloods,” Minos warned. “You can’t trust him. He is old beyond counting, and crafty. He is bitter from the guilt of murder and is cursed by the gods.”
    “The guilt of murder?” I asked. “Who did he kill?”
    “Do not change the subject!” the ghost growled. “You are hindering Nico. You try to persuade him to give up his goal. I would make him a lord!”
    “Enough, Minos,” Nico commanded.
    The ghost sneered. “Master, these are your enemies. You must not listen to them! Let me protect you. I will turn their minds to madness, as I did the others.”
    “The others?” Annabeth gasped. “You mean Chris Rodriguez? That was you ?”
    “The maze is my property,” the ghost said, “not Daedalus’s! Those who intrude deserve madness.”
    “Be gone, Minos!” Nico demanded. “I want to see my sister!”
    The ghost bit back his rage. “As you wish, master. But I warn you. You cannot trust these heroes.”
    With that, he faded into mist.
    Other spirits rushed forward, but Annabeth and I kept them back.
    “Bianca, appear!” Nico intoned. He started chanting faster, and the spirits shifted restlessly.
    “Any time now,” Grover muttered.
    Then a silvery light flickered in the trees—a spirit that seemed brighter and stronger than the others. It came closer, and something told me to let it pass. It knelt to drink at the pit. When it arose, it was the ghostly form of Bianca di Angelo.
    Nico’s chanting faltered. I lowered my sword. The other spirits started to crowd forward, but Bianca raised her arms and they retreated into the woods.
    “Hello, Percy,” she said.
    She looked the same as she had in life: a green cap set sideways on her thick black hair, dark eyes and olive skin like her brother. She wore jeans and a silvery jacket, the outfit of a Hunter of Artemis. A bow was slung over her shoulder. She smiled faintly, and her whole form flickered.
    “Bianca,” I said. My voice was thick. I’d felt guilty about her death for a long time, but seeing her in front of me was five times as bad, like her death was fresh and new. I remembered searching through the wreckage of the giant bronze warrior she’d sacrificed her life to defeat, and not finding any sign of her.
    “I’m so sorry,” I said.
    “You have nothing to apologize for, Percy. I made my own choice. I don’t regret it.”
    “Bianca!” Nico stumbled forward like he was just coming out of a daze.
    She turned toward her brother. Her expression was sad, as if she’d been dreading this moment. “Hello, Nico. You’ve gotten so tall.”
    “Why didn’t you answer me sooner?” he cried. “I’ve been trying for months!”
    “I was hoping you would give up.”
    “Give up?” He sounded heartbroken. “How can you say that? I’m trying to save you!”
    “You can’t, Nico. Don’t do this. Percy is right.”
    “No! He let you die! He’s not your friend.”
    Bianca stretched out a hand as if to touch her brother’s face, but she was made of mist. Her hand evaporated as it got close to living skin.
    “You must listen to me,” she said. “Holding grudges is dangerous for a child of Hades. It is our fatal flaw. You have to forgive. You have to promise me this.”
    “I can’t. Never.”
    “Percy has been worried about you, Nico. He can help. I let him see what you were up to, hoping he would find you.”
    “So it was you,” I said. “You sent those Iris-messages.”
    Bianca nodded.
    “Why are you helping him and not me?” Nico screamed. “It’s not fair!”
    “You are close to the truth now,” Bianca told him. “It’s not Percy you’re mad at, Nico. It’s me.”
    “No.”
    “You’re mad because I left you to become a Hunter of Artemis. You’re mad because I died and left you alone. I’m sorry for that, Nico. I truly am. But you must overcome the anger. And stop blaming Percy for my choices. It will be your doom.”
    “She’s right,” Annabeth broke in. “Kronos is rising, Nico. He’ll twist anyone he can to his cause.”
    “I don’t care about Kronos,” Nico said. “I just want my sister back.”
    “You can’t have that, Nico,” Bianca told him gently.
    “I’m the son of Hades! I can .”
    “Don’t