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

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“Athena.”
“Figures.”He sighed. “Fine goddess, Athena. A shame she pledged never to marry.All right, half-blood.
I can tell you what you want to know. But there is a price. I need a favor done.
“Name it,” Annabeth said.
Hephaestus actually laughed—a booming sound like a huge bellows stoking a fire. “You heroes,” he
said, “always making rash promises.How refreshing!”
He pressed a button on his workbench, and metal shutters opened along the wall. It was either a huge
window or a big-screen TV, I couldn’t tell which. We were looking at a gray mountain ringed in forests.
It must’ve been a volcano, because smoke rose from its crest.
“One of my forges,” Hephaestus said. “I have many, but that used to be my favorite.”
“That’s Mount St. Helens,” Grover said.“Great forests around there.”
“You’ve been there?” I asked.
“Looking for…you know, Pan.”
“Wait,” Annabeth said, looking at Hephaestus. “You said itused to be your favorite. What happened?”
Hephaestus scratched his smoldering beard. “Well, that’s where the monsterTyphon is trapped, you
know. Used to be under Mount Etna, but when we moved to America, his force got pinned under Mount
St. Helens instead.Great source of fire, but a bit dangerous. There’s always a chance he will escape.Lots
of eruptions these days, smoldering all the time. He’s restless with the Titan rebellion.”
“What do you want us to do?” I said, “Fight him?”
Hephaestus snorted. “That would be suicide. The gods themselves ran fromTyphon when he was free.
No, pray you never have to see him, much less fight him. But lately I have sensed intruders in my
mountain. Someone or something is using my forges. When I go there, it is empty, but I can tell it is being
used. They sense me coming, and they disappear. I send my automatons to investigate, but they do not
return. Something…ancient is there.Evil. I want to know who dates invade my territory, and if they mean
to looseTyphon .”
“You want us to find out who it is,” I said.
“Aye,” Hephaestus said. “Go there. They may not sense you coming. You are not gods.”
“Glad you noticed,” I muttered.
“Go and find out what you can,” Hephaestus said. “Report back to me, and I will tell you what you need
to know about Daedalus.”
“All right,” Annabeth said. “How do we get there?”
Hephaestus clapped his hands. The spider came swinging down from the rafters. Annabeth flinched
when it landed at her feet.