VIDEO GAMES! (p. jackson) (#1)

- four

THE FRONT PARLOR OF THE BIG HOUSE WAS STRANGELY QUIET.

Rose was used to seeing Dionysus by the fireplace,
playing cards and eating grapes and griping at satyrs, but Mr. D was still away.

She and Percy walked down the hallway, floorboards creaking under their feat. When they got to the base of the stairs, Percy hesitated. Four floors above would be a little trapdoor leading to the attic. Annabeth would be up there somewhere. They stood quietly and listened, but what Rose heard wasn't what she had expected.

Sobbing. And it was coming from below them.

They crept around the back of the stairs. The basement door was open. Rose had forgot that the Big House even had a basement. The two peered inside and saw two figures in the far corner, sitting amid a bunch of stockpiled cases of ambrosia and strawberry preserves. One was Clarisse. the other was a teenage Hispanic guy in tattered camouflage pants and a dirty black t-shirt. His hair was greasy and matted. He was hugging his shoulders and sobbing. It was Chris Rodriguez, the half-blood who'd gone to work for Luke.

"It's okay," Clarisse was telling him. "Try a little more nectar."

"You're an illusion, Mary!" Chris backed farther into the corner. "G-get away!"

"My name's not Mary." Clarisse's voice was gentle but really sad. Rose never thought Clarisse could sound that way. "My name is Clarisse. Remember. Please."

"It's dark!" Chris yelled. "So dark!"

"Come outside," clarisse coaxed. "the sunlight will help you."

"A... a thousand skulls. The Earth keeps healing him."

"Chris," Clarisse pleaded. It sounded like she was close to tears. "You have to get better. Please. Mr. D will be back soon. He's an expert in madness. Just hang on."

Chris's eyes were like a cornered rat's—wild and desperate. "There's no way out, Mary. No way out."

Then he caught a glimpse of Percy and Rose and made a strangled, terrified sound. "The son of Poseidon! He's horrible!"

Rose grabbed Percy by the hand The dragged him away, hoping Clarisse hadn't seen them. the two listened for her to come charging out and yell at them, but instead she just kept talking to Chris in a sad pleading voice, trying to get him to drink the nectar. Maybe she thought it was part of Chris's hallucination, but... son of Poseidon? Chris had been looking at Percy, and yet why did Rose feel like he wasn't talking about Percy at all?

And Clarisse's tenderness—it had never even occurred to Rose that she might like someone; but the way she said Chris's name... she'd known him before he changed sides. She'd known him a lot better than Rose realized. And now he was shivering in a dark basement, afraid to come out, and mumbling about someone named Mary. No wonder Clarisse didn't want anything to do with the Labyrinth. What had happened to Chris in there?

Rose heard a creak from above—like the attic door opening—and Percy practically dragged her out the front door.

"My dear," Chiron said. "You made it."

Annabeth looked at Rose. Rose couldn't tell if she was trying to warn her, or if the look in her eyes was just plain fear. Then she focused on Quintus. "I got the prophecy. I will lead the quest to find Daedalus's workshop."

Nobody cheered. They all liked Annabeth, and they wanted her to have a quest, but this one seemed insanely dangerous. After what Rose had seen of Chris Rodriguez, she didn't even want to think about Annabeth descending into that weird maze again.

Chiron scraped a hoof on the dirt floor. "What did the prophecy say exactly, my dear? The wording is important."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I, ah... well, it said, you shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze..."

They waited.

"The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise."

Grover perked up. "The lost one! That must mean Pan! That's great!"

"With the dead and the traitor," Percy added. "Not so great."

"And?" Chiron asked. "What is the rest?"

"You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,"Aannabeth said, "the child of Athena's final stand."

Everyone looked around uncomfortably. Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, and a final stand didn't sound good.

"Hey... we shouldn't jump to conclusions," Silena said. "Annabeth isn't the only child of athena, right?"

"Isn't Daedalus a child of Athena?" Rose asked, and noticed Quintus shifting uncomfortably.

"But who's this ghost king?" Beckendorf asked.

No one answered.

"Are there more lines?" Chiron asked. "The prophecy does not sound complete."

annabeth hesitated. "I don't remember exactly."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. Annabeth was known for her memory. Rose was always asking her to remind her about things. Annabeth never forgot something she heard.

Annabeth shifted on her bench. "Something about... destroy with a hero's final breath. "

"And?" Chiron asked.

She stood. "Look, the point is, I have to go in. I'll find the workshop and stop Luke. And... I need help." She turned to Rose and Percy. "Will you guys come?"

There was no hesitation.

"I'm in," Rose said. Percy nodded in agreement.

Annabeth smiled for the first time in maybe a week. Rose grinned back.

Annabeth's eyes shifted. "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."

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."

"Annabeth." Chiron flicked his tail nervously. "Consider well. You would be breaking the ancient laws, and there are always consequences. 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. Five... this is risky."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I know. But we have to. Please."

Rose could tell Chiron didn't like it. Quintus was studying them, like he was trying to decide which of them would come back alive. He seemed particularly focused on Rose.

Rose gave him a once-over, and he looked away.

Chiron sighed. "Very well. Let us adjourn. The members of the quest must prepare themselves. Tomorrow at dawn, we send you into the Labyrinth."