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

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“Mortal, perhaps, but there is something different about Luke, my boy.I don’t know how he was
prepared to host the Titan’s soul, but he will not be easily killed. And yet, I fear he must be killed if we
are to send Kronos back to the pit. I will have to think on this. Unfortunately, I have other problems of
my own.”
I remembered what Tyson had told me at the beginning of the summer.“The old sea gods?”
“Indeed. The battle came first to me, Percy. In fact, I cannot stay long. Even now the ocean is at war
with itself. It is all I can do to keep hurricanes and typhoons from destroying your surface world, the
fighting is so intense.”
“Let me come down there,” I said. “Let me help.”
Poseidon’s eyes crinkled as he smiled.“Not yet, my boy. I sense you will be needed here.Which reminds
me… ” He brought out a sand dollar and pressed it into my hand.“Your birthday present. Spend it
wisely.”
“Uh, spend a sand dollar?”
“Oh, yes. In my day, you could buy quite a lot with a sand dollar. I think you will find it still buys a lot, if
used in the right situation.”
“What situation?”
“When the time comes,” Poseidon said, “I think you’ll know.”
I closed my hand around the sand dollar, but something was really bothering me.
“Dad,” I said, “when I was in the maze, I met Antaeus. He said…well, he said he was your favorite son.
He decorated his arena with skulls and—”
“He dedicated them to me,” Poseidon supplied. “And you are wondering how someone could do
something so horrible in my name.”
I nodded uncomfortably.
Poseidon put his weathered hand on my shoulder. “Percy, lesser beings do many horrible things in the
name of the gods. That does not mean we gods approve. The way our sons and daughters act in our
names…well, it usually says more aboutthem than it does about us. Andyou , Percy, are my favorite
son.”
He smiled, and at that moment, just being in the kitchen with him was the best birthday present I ever
got. Then my mom called from the living room. “Percy? The candles are melting!”
“You’d better go,” Poseidon said. “But, Percy, one last thing you should know. That incident at Mount
St. Helens…”
For a second I thought he was talking about Annabeth kissing me, and I blushed, but then I realized he
was talking about something a lot bigger.
“The eruptions are continuing,” he said. “Typhonis stirring. It is very likely that soon, in a few months,