THE PROPHECY ² / Percy Jackson !

9

"MY DEAR," CHIRON SAID. "You made it."

Annabeth looked at Percy first. Viviene couldn't tell if she was trying to warn him,
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 Viviene 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 sayexactly, my dear? The wording is important."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I, ah...well, it said, you shall delve in thedarkness 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," Annabeth 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'tthe only child of Athena, right?"

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

No one answered. Viviene thought about the Iris-message Percy had seen of Nico summoning spirits. She had a bad feeling the prophecy was connected to that.

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

Annabeth hesitated, her eyes falling onto Pecry's and Viviene's connected hands. "I don't remember exactly."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. Annabeth was known for her memory. Shenever forgot something she heard.

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

"And?" Chiron asked.

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

They didn't even hesitate. "I'm in." Percy and Viviene spoke in usion.

She smiled for the first time in days, and that made it all worthwhile.

"Grover, you too? The wild god is waiting."

Grover seemed to forget how much he hated the underground. The lineabout the "lost one" had completely energized him. "I'll pack extra recyclables for snacks!"

"And Tyson," Annabeth said. "I'll need you too."

"Yay! Blow-things-up time!" 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. Ahero is allowed only two companions."

"I need them all," she insisted. "Chiron, it's important."

Percy didn't know why she was so certain, but he was happy she'd includedTyson. Percy couldn't imagine leaving him behind. He was huge and strong and great at figuring out mechanical things. Unlike satyrs, Cyclopes had no problem underground.

"Annabeth." Chiron flicked his tail nervously. "Consider well. You would be breaking the ancient laws, and there are always consequences. Last winter,five went on a quest to save Artemis. Only three came back. Think on that. Three is a sacred number. There are three fates, three furies, three Olympiansons of Kronos. It is a good strong number that stands against many dangers.Four...this is risky."

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

Viviene could tell Chiron didn't like it. Quintus was studying them, like he was trying to decide which of them would come back alive.

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

***

Quintus pulled Viviene aside as the council was breaking up.

"I have a bad feeling about this," he told Viviene.

Mrs. O'Leary came over, wagging her tail happily. She dropped her shield at  Viviene's feet, and she threw it for her. Quintus watched her romp after it. Viviene remembered what Juniper had said about him scouting out the maze. She didn't' trust him, but when he looked at her, she saw real concern in his eyes.

"I don't like the idea of you going down there," he said. "Any of you. but if you must, I want you to remember something. The Labyrinth exists to fool you. It will distract you. That's dangerous for half-bloods. We are easily distracted."

"You've been in there?"

"Long ago." His voice was ragged. "I barely escaped with my life. Mostwho enter aren't that lucky."

He gripped my shoulder. "Viviene, keep your mind on what matters most. If you can do that, you might find the way. And here, I wanted to give you something."

He handed Viviene a little silver tube. It was so cold she almost dropped it.

"A whistle?" Viviene asked.

"A dog whistle," Quintus said. "For Mrs. O'Leary."

"Um, thanks, but—"

"How will it work in the maze? I'm not a hundred percent certain it will.But Mrs. O'Leary is a hellhound. She can appear when called, no matterhow far away she is. I'd feel better knowing you had this. If you really need help, use it; but be careful, the whistle is made of Stygian ice."

"What ice?"

"From the River Styx. Very hard to craft. Very delicate. It cannot melt,but it will shatter when you blow it, so you can only use it once."

Viviene thought about Luke, her old enemy. Right before Percy had gone on his first quest, Luke had given him a gift, too—magic shoes that had been designed to drag him to his  death. Quintus seemed nice. So concerned. And Mrs.O'Leary liked him, which had to count for something. She dropped the slimy shield at Viviene's feet and barked excitedly.

She felt ashamed that she could even think about mistrusting Quintus. But then again, she'd trusted The twins once.

"Thanks," Viviene told Quintus. 

She slipped the freezing whistle into her pocket, promising herself that she would never use it, and  dashed off to find Annabeth.