𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗𝗜𝗘! 𝙥. 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙤𝙣 ¹

Hey, Soul Sister

CHAPTER FIVE: LYDIA

Chiron had insisted they talk about it in the morning, no matter how hard they protested.

It was hard to fall asleep. Lydia was scared to, but there was a chance she could see what Nico was up to and that mattered to her a lot. When she finally did, she didn't dream of anything and she didn't know whether to be thankful or frustrated.

She didn't sleep well at all. Lydia spent the whole night tossing and turning and waking up every half hour. She felt drained and exhausted the next morning when Chiron called a war council.

They met in the sword arena, which was pretty strange—trying to discuss the fate of the camp while Mrs. O'Leary chewed on a life-size squeaky pink rubber yak. Usually, they'd meet at the Big House.

Chiron and Quintus stood at the front by the weapon racks. Clarisse and Annabeth sat next to each other and led the briefing. Tyson and Grover sat as far away from each other as possible, and Lydia took her seat by Percy.

Also present around the table: Juniper, Silena, Travis and Connor, Beckendorf, Lee, and even Argus. That's how she knew it was serious. Argus hardly ever shows up unless something really major is going on.

The whole time Annabeth spoke, he kept his hundred blue eyes trained on her so hard his whole body turned bloodshot.

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

Lydia thought she heard a little pride in her voice, but she brushed that off...no way.

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

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

Juniper's face turned green. "I didn't know it was important. Just a cave. I don't like yucky old caves."

"She has good taste," Grover said.

"I wouldn't have paid any attention except . . . well, it was Luke." She blushed a little greener.

Grover huffed. "Forget what I said about good taste."

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

"Definitely," Clarisse said. "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," Annabeth said. "We know because . . . because we found one."

"Chris Rodriguez," Chiron said. He gave Quintus a meaningful look.

"Ah," Quintus said. "The one in the . . . Yes. I understand."

"The one in the what?" Percy asked.

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

"The guy who created the maze."

"Yes," Annabeth said. "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."