The Dragon's Daughter

xii. leaving camp

Just after dawn, the quest group met at Zeus’s Fist. She'd packed her backpack — thermos with nectar, water, bag of ambrosia, bedroll, rope, clothes, and her gift from Hephaestus. Sometimes she wondered if the gods knew what would happen.

It was a clear morning. The fog had burned off and the sky was blue. 

Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi and practicing archery and scaling the lava wall.

Meanwhile, they would be heading underground. 

Juniper and Grover stood apart from the group. Juniper had been crying again, but she was trying to keep it together for Grover’s sake. She kept fussing with his clothes, straightening his rasta cap and brushing goat fur off his shirt. Since they had no idea what we would encounter, he was dressed as a human, with the cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide his goat legs. 

Chiron, Quintus, and Mrs. O’Leary stood with the other campers who’d come to wish us well, but there was too much activity for it to feel like a happy send-off. A couple of tents had been set up by the rocks for guard duty. Beckendorf and his siblings were working on a line of defensive spikes and trenches. Chiron had decided we needed to guard the Labyrinth exit at all times, just in case. 

Elora and Annabeth were doing one last check on their supply pack. When Tyson and Percy came over, Annabeth frowned. “Percy, you look terrible.”

“He killed the water fountain last night,” Tyson confided. 

“What?” she asked. 

Before Percy could explain, Chiron trotted over. “Well, it appears you are ready!” 

He tried to sound upbeat, but she could tell he was anxious. 

“Hey, uh, Chiron, can I ask you a favor while I’m gone?” 

“Of course, my boy.” 

"Be right back, guys. Oh, and uh, E, come with me.” He nodded toward the woods. Chiron raised an eyebrow, but followed him out of earshot. So did she. 

"Last night,” Percy said, “I dreamed about Luke and Kronos. And you, E, you're in it too. I think. Shadow girl?”

"That's me."

"Great." Percy told them the details. "Did Luke say anything to you?" 
 
"He told me an outline of his plan but then again, we all know it." 

“I feared this,” Chiron said. “Against my father, Kronos, we would stand no chance in a fight.” 

“Do you know what he meant about a bargain?” Percy asked. 

“I am not sure, but I fear they seek to make a deal with Daedalus. If the old inventor is truly alive, if he has not been driven insane by millennia in the Labyrinth…well, Kronos can find ways to twist anyone to his will.” 

“Not anyone,” Percy promised. "Not us for sure."

Chiron managed a smile. “No. Perhaps not anyone. But, you must beware. I have worried for some time that Kronos may be looking for Daedalus for a different reason, not just passage through the maze.” 

“What else would he want?” 

“Something Annabeth and I were discussing. Do you remember what you told me about your first trip to the Princess Andromeda, the first time you saw the golden coffin?” 

Percy nodded. “Luke was talking about raising Kronos, little pieces of him appearing in the coffin every time someone new joined his cause.” 

“And what did Luke say they would do when Kronos had risen completely?”