Poseidon's Daughter; A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

War Council

Y/n's POV

Chiron called a war council the next morning. We met in the sword arena, which felt off since we usually convened in the rec room of the big house. I scratched under Mrs. O'Leary's chin as a hello before taking a seat at the table that had been set up. Chiron and Quintus stood at the front by the weapon racks. While Clarisse and Annabeth sat next to each other, Tyson and Grover sat as far apart as possible. Usually it would be the opposite. Then there were the others Chiron had chosen to invite: Silena, Travis and Connor, Beckendorf, Lee, Juniper, Argus, Percy, and I.

"Luke must have known about the Labyrinth entrance," Annabeth pointed out. "He knew everything about camp."

"I thought I did too. Until last night," I chime in. "I've been by Zeus' fist, what? Hundreds of times? I never once saw the entrance to the Labyrinth or suspected that one was even there in the first place."

Juniper cleared her throat. "That's what I was trying to tell you last night. The cave entrance has been there a long time. Luke used to use it."

"You knew about the Labyrinth entrance, and you didn't say anything?" Silena questioned.

"I didn't know it was important. Just a cave. I don't like yucky old caves," Juniper commented.

"Interesting," Quintus murmured as he polished his sword. "And you believe this young man, Luke, would dare use the Labyrinth as an invasion route?"

"Definitely," Clarisse confirmed. "If he could get an army of monsters inside Camp Half-Blood, just pop up in the middle of the woods without having to worry about our magical boundaries, we wouldn't stand a chance. He could wipe us out easy. He must've been planning this for months."

"He's been sending scouts into the maze. We know because we found one," Annabeth stated.

"Chris Rodriguez," Chiron clarified.

"Ah. The one in the..." Quintus trailed off. "Yes. I understand."

"The one in the what?" Percy implored.

"Percy!" I hiss at my brother. "Not the time."

"The point is," Clarisse butt in. "Luke has been looking for a way to navigate the maze. He's searching for Daedalus' workshop."

"The guy who created the maze. The greatest architect, the greatest inventor of all time. If the legends are true, his workshop is in the center of the Labyrinth. He's the only one who knew how to navigate the maze perfectly. If Luke managed to find the workshop and convince Daedalus to help him, Luke wouldn't have to fumble around searching for paths, or risk losing his army in the maze's traps. He could navigate anywhere he wanted – quickly and safely. First to Camp Half-Blood to wipe us out. Then to Olympus," Annabeth explained.

"Back up a sec," Beckendorf requested. "Annabeth, you said 'convince Daedalus'. Isn't Daedalus dead?"

Quintus grunted. "I would hope so. He lived, what, three thousand years ago? And, even if he were alive, don't the old stories say he fled from the Labyrinth?"

"That's the problem, my dear Quintus. No one knows. There are rumors. Many disturbing rumors about Daedalus, but one is that he disappeared back into the Labyrinth towards the end of his life. He might still be down there," Chiron claimed.

"We need to go in," Annabeth announced. "We have to find the workshop before Luke does. If Daedalus is alive, we convince him to help us, not Luke. If Ariadne's string still exists, we make sure it never falls into Luke's hands."

I raised my eyebrows. "You're joking right? Do you not remember the conversation we had at breakfast the other day? That place plays tricks on your mind. Changes you into someone else. A few of us saw what happened to Chris. I don't want anyone else going through that. And the Labyrinth is filled with all sorts of monsters. Going down there is a suicide mission."