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

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Who will be our contestant?”
Annabeth grabbed my arm. “I’ve got this,” she whispered. “I know what she’s going to ask.”
I didn’t argue too hard. I didn’t want Annabeth getting devoured by a monster, but I figured if the
Sphinx was going to ask riddles, Annabeth was the best one of us to try.
She stepped forward to the contestant’s podium, which had a skeleton in a school uniform hunched over
it. She pushed the skeleton out of the way, and it clattered to the floor.
“Sorry,” Annabeth told it.
“Welcome, Annabeth Chase!” the monster cried, though Annabeth hadn’t said her name. “Are you
ready for your test?”
“Yes,” she said. “Ask your riddle.”
“Twenty riddles, actually!” the Sphinx said gleefully.
“What? But back in the old days—”
“Oh, we’ve raised our standards! To pass, you must show proficiency in all twenty. Isn’t that great?”
Applause switched on and offlike somebody turning a faucet.
Annabeth glanced at me nervously. I gave her an encouraging nod.
“Okay,” she told the Sphinx. “I’m ready.”
Adrumroll sounded from above. The Sphinx’s eyes glittered with excitement. “What…is the capital of
Bulgaria?”
Annabeth frowned. For a terrible moment, I thought she was stumped.
“Sofia,” she said, “but—”
“Correct!” More canned applause. The Sphinx smiled so widely her fangs showed. “Please be sure to
mark your answer clearly on your test sheet with a number 2 pencil.”
“What?” Annabeth looked mystified. Then a test booklet appeared on the podium in front of her, along
with a sharpened pencil.
“Make sure you bubble each answer clearly and stay inside the circle,” the Sphinx said. “If you have to
erase, erase completely or the machine will not be able to read your answers.”
“What machine?” Annabeth asked.
The Sphinx pointed with her paw. Over by the spotlight was a bronze box with a bunch of gears and
levers and a big Greek letter?ta on the side, the mark of Hephaestus.
“Now,” said the Sphinx, “next question—”