THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH Percy Jackson ... - No one's invited.

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Nico’schanting faltered. I lowered my sword. The other spirits started to crowd forward, but Bianca
raised her arms and they retreated into the woods.
“Hello, Percy,” she said.
She looked the same as she had in life: a green cap set sideways on her thick black hair, dark eyes and
olive skin like her brother. She wore jeans and a silvery jacket, the outfit of a Hunter of Artemis. A bow
was slung over her shoulder. She smiled faintly, and her whole form flickered.
“Bianca,” I said. My voice was thick. I’d felt guilty about her death for a long time, but seeing her in
front of me was five times as bad, like her death was fresh and new. I remembered searching through the
wreckage of the giant bronze warrior she’d sacrificed her life to defeat, and not finding any sign of her.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Percy. I made my own choice. I don’t regret it.”
“Bianca!” Nico stumbled forward like he was just coming out of a daze.
She turned toward her brother. Her expression was sad, as if she’d been dreading this moment. “Hello,
Nico. You’ve gotten so tall.”
“Why didn’t you answer me sooner?” he cried. “I’ve been trying for months!”
“I was hoping you would give up.”
“Give up?” He sounded heartbroken. “How can you say that? I’m trying to save you!”
“You can’t, Nico. Don’t do this. Percy is right.”
“No! He let you die! He’s not your friend.”
Bianca stretched out a hand as if to touch her brother’s face, but she was made of mist. Her hand
evaporated as it got close to living skin.
“You must listen to me,” she said. “Holding a grudge is dangerous for a child of Hades. It is our fatal
flaw. You have to forgive. You have to promise me this.”
“I can’t.Never.”
“Percy has been worried about you, Nico. He can help. I let him see what you were up to, hoping he
would find you.”
“So itwas you,” I said. “You sent those Iris-messages.”
Bianca nodded.
“Why are you helping him and not me?” Nico screamed. “It’s not fair!”
“You are close to the truth now,” Bianca told him. “It’s not Percy you’re mad at, Nico. It’s me.”