Forgotten memories

The Path

Chiron had insisted we talk about it in the morning, which was kind of like saying, "Hey, your life's in mortal danger. Sleep tight!"
I was still feeling shaky the next morning when Chiron called a war council. We gathered in the sword arena, which I thought was a little strange—trying to discuss the fate of the camp while Mrs. O'Leary chewed on a life-size squeaky pink rubber yak.

Chiron and Quintus stood at the front by the weapon racks. Clarisse and Annabeth sat side by side, taking the lead on the briefing. Percy, with Tyson and Grover, sat as far away from Tyson as humanly possible. Also present around the table were: Juniper the tree nymph, Silena Beauregard, Travis and Connor Stoll, Beckendorf, Lee Fletcher, even Argus, our hundred-eyed security chief. That's how I knew this was serious—Argus hardly ever showed up unless something truly major was happening. The whole time Annabeth spoke, he kept his hundred blue eyes trained on her so intensely that his whole body turned bloodshot.

"Luke must have known about the Labyrinth entrance," Annabeth said. "He knew everything about camp."
I thought I caught a hint of pride in her voice, like she still respected him, evil as he was.

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 it before."

Silena Beauregard frowned. "You knew about the Labyrinth entrance and 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 even greener.

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

"Interesting," Quintus said, polishing his sword. "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 worrying about our magical boundaries, we wouldn't stand a chance. He could wipe us out easy. He's 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, giving 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. I stepped up, trying to clarify. "The point is, Luke has been looking for a way to navigate the maze?"

Annabeth nodded at me. "He's searching for Daedalus's workshop."

"The guy who created the maze," Percy said.

"Yes," Annabeth said. "The greatest architect, the greatest inventor of all time. If the legends are true, his workshop is at the center of the Labyrinth. He's the only one who knew how to navigate the maze perfectly. If Luke manages to find it and convince Daedalus to help him, he wouldn't have to fumble around searching for paths or risk losing his army in traps. He could move anywhere—fast, safe, and first to Camp Half-Blood to wipe us out, and then...to Olympus."

The arena went silent except for Mrs. O'Leary's toy yak, which was being thoroughly disemboweled: SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

Finally, Beckendorf slammed his huge hands on the table. "Wait, Annabeth—convince Daedalus? Isn't he dead?"

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

Chiron clopped restlessly on his hooves. "That's the problem, dear Quintus. No one knows. There are rumors...disturbing rumors, actually. One is that he disappeared back into the Labyrinth at the end of his life. He might still be there."