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

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something on a big rock—something long and thin and wrapped in a black cloth. Ethan was helping them
open it.
“Careful, fool,” thetelekhine scolded. “Onetouch, and the blade will sever your soul from your body.”
Ethan swallowed nervously. “Maybe I’ll let you unwrap it, then.”
I glanced up at the mountain’s peak, where a black marble fortress loomed, just like I’d seen in my
dreams. It reminded me of an oversized mausoleum, with walls fifty feet high. I had no idea how mortals
could miss the fact that it was here. But then again, everything below the summit seemed fuzzy to me, as if
there were a thick veil between me and the lower half of the mountain. There was magic going on
here—really powerful Mist. Above me, the sky swirled into a huge funnel cloud. I couldn’t see Atlas, but
I could hear him groaning in the distance, still laboring under the weight of the sky, just beyond the
fortress.
“There!” thetelekhine said. Reverently, he lifted the weapon, and my blood turned to ice.
It was a scythe—a six foot-long blade curved like a crescent moon, with a wooden handle wrapped in
leather. The bladeglinted two different colors— steel and bronze. It was the weapon of Kronos, the one
he’d used to slice up his father,Ouranos , before the gods had taken it away from him and cutKronos to
pieces, casting him intoTartarus . Now the weapon was re-forged.
“We must sanctify it in blood,” thetelekhine said. “Then you, half-blood, shall help present it when the
lord awakes.”
I ran toward the fortress, my pulse pounding in my ears. I didn’t want to get anywhere close to that
horrible black mausoleum, but I knew what I had to do. I had to stop Kronos from rising. This might be
my only chance.
I dashed through a dark foyer and into the main hall. The floor shined like a mahogany piano—pure
black and yet full of light. Black marble statues lined the walls. I didn’t recognize the faces, but I knew I
was looking at images of the Titans who’d ruled before the gods. At the end of the room, between two
bronze braziers, was a dais.And on the dais, the golden sarcophagus.
The room was silent except for the crackle of the fires. Luke wasn’t here. No guards.Nothing.
It was too easy, but I approached the dais.
The sarcophagus was just like I remembered—about ten feet long, much too big for a human. It was
carved with elaborate scenes of death and destruction, pictures of the gods being trodden under chariots,
temples and famous world landmarks being smashed and burned. The whole coffin gave off an aura of
extreme cold, like I was walking into a freezer. My breath began to steam.
I drew Riptide and too a little comfort from the familiar weight of the sword in my hand.
Whenever I’d approached Kronos before, his evil voice had spoken in my mind. Why was he silent
now? He’d been shred into a thousand pieces, cut with his own scythe. What would I find if I opened
that lid? How could they make a new body for him?
I had no answers. I just knew that if he was about to rise, I had to strike him down before he got his
scythe. I had to figure out a way to stop him.