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

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“That’s true,” Rachel said.“Like I can paint with my feet as well as my hands.”
“You see?” Quintus said.“A girl of many talents.”
“But you don’t even look like Daedalus,” I protested. “I saw him in a dream, and…” Suddenly a
horrible thought dawned on me.
“Yes,” Quintus said. “You’ve finally guessed the truth.”
“You’re an automaton. You made yourself a new body.”
“Percy,” Annabeth said uneasily, “that’s not possible.That—that can’t be an automaton.”
Quintus chuckled. “Do you know what Quintus means, my dear?”
“The fifth, in Latin.But—”
“This is my fifth body.” The swordsman held out his forearm. He pressed his elbow andpart of his wrist
popped open— a rectangular hatch in his skin. Underneath, bronze gears whirred. Wires glowed.
“That’s amazing!” Rachel said.
“That’s weird,” I said.
“You found a way to transfer youranimus into a machine?” Annabeth said. “That’s…not natural.”
“Oh, I assure you, my dear, it’s still me. I’m still very much Daedalus. Our mother, Athena, makes sure I
never forget that.” He tugged back the collar of his shirt. At the base of his neck was the mark I’d seen
before—the dark shape of a bird grafted to his skin.
“A murderer’s brand,” Annabeth said.
“For your nephew,Perdix ,” I guessed. “The boy you pushed off the tower.”
Quintus’s face darkened. “I did not push him. I simply—”
“Made him lose his balance,” I said. “Let him die.”
Quintus gazed out the windows at the purple mountains. “I regret what I did, Percy. I was angry and
bitter. But I cannot take it back, and Athena never lets me forget. AsPerdix died, she turned him into a
small bird—a partridge. She branded the bird’s shape on my neck as a reminder. No matter what body I
take, the brand appears on my skin.”
I looked into his eyes, and I realized he was the same man I’d seen in my dreams. His face might be
totally different, but the same soul was in there— the same intelligence and all the sadness.
“You really are Daedalus,” I decided. “But why did you come to the camp? Why spy on us?”
“To see if your camp was worth saving. Luke had given me one story. I preferred to come to my own
conclusions.”