THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH Percy Jackson ... - No one's invited.
THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH Percy Jackson ... - No one's invited.
THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH Percy Jackson ... - No one's invited.
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html<br />
middle of the platform, surprising the four elder sea demons so much they dropped the red-hot blade. It<br />
was about six feet long and curved like a crescent moon. I’d seen a lot of terrifying things, but this<br />
unfinished whatever-it-was scared me worse.<br />
The elder demons got over their surprise quickly. There were four ramps leading off the platform, and<br />
before I could dash in any direction, each of them had covered an exit.<br />
The tallest one snarled. “What do we have here?A son of Poseidon?”<br />
“Yes,” another growled. “I can smell the sea in his blood.”<br />
I raised Riptide. My heart was pounding.<br />
“Strike down one of us, demigod,” the third demon said, “and the rest of us shall tear you to shreds.<br />
Your father betrayed us. He took our gift and said nothing as we were cast into the pit. We will seehim<br />
sliced to pieces.He and all the other Olympians.”<br />
I wished I had a plan. I wished I hadn’t been lying to Annabeth. I’d wanted her to get out safely, and I<br />
hoped she’d been sensible enough to do it. But now it was dawning on me that this might be the place I<br />
would die. <strong>No</strong> prophecies for me. I would get overrun in the heart of a volcano by a pack of dog-faced<br />
sea-lion people. The youngtelekhines were at the platform now, too, snarling and waiting to see how their<br />
four elders would deal with me.<br />
I felt something burning against the side of my leg. The ice whistle in my pocket was getting colder. If I<br />
ever needed help, now was the time. But I hesitated. I didn’t trust Quintus’s gift.<br />
Before I could make up my mind, the tallesttelekhine said, “Let us see how strong he is. Let us see how<br />
long it takes him to burn!”<br />
He scooped some lava out of the nearest furnace. It set his fingers ablaze, but this didn’t seem to bother<br />
him at all. The other eldertelekhines did the same. The first one threw a glop of molten rock at me and set<br />
my pants on fire. Two more splattered across my chest. I dropped my sword in sheer terror and swatted<br />
at my clothes. Fire was engulfing me. Strangely, it felt only warm at first, but it was getting hotter by the<br />
instant.<br />
“Your father’s nature protects you,” one said.“Makes you hard to burn.But not impossible, youngling.<br />
<strong>No</strong>t impossible.”<br />
They threw more lava at me, and I remember screaming. My whole body was on fire. The pain was<br />
worse than anything I’d ever felt. I was being consumed. I crumpled to the metal floor and heard the sea<br />
demon children howling in delight.<br />
Then I remembered the voice of the river naiad at the ranch:The water is within me.<br />
I needed the sea. I felt a tugging sensation in my gut, but I had nothing around to help me. <strong>No</strong>t a faucet<br />
or a river. <strong>No</strong>t even a petrified seashell this time. And besides, the last time I’d unleashed my power at<br />
thestables, there’d been that scary moment when it had almost gotten away from me.<br />
I had no choice. I called to the sea. I reached inside myself and remembered the waves and the currents,<br />
the endless power of the ocean. And I let it loose in one horrible scream.