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

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“Don’t do it,” I said.
“I’m afraid she has to,” the right face said cheerfully.
Annabeth moistened her lips. “I—I chose—”
Before she could point to a door, a brilliant light flooded the room.
Janusraised his hands to either side of his head to cover his eyes. When the light died, a woman was
standing at the fountain.
She was tall and graceful with long hair the color of chocolate, braided in plaits with gold ribbons. She
wore a simple white dress, but when she moved, the fabric shimmered with colors like oil on water.
“Janus,” she said, “arewe causing trouble again?”
“N-no, milady!”Janus’sright face stammered.
“Yes!” the left face said.
“Shut up!” the right face said.
“Excuse me?” the woman asked.
“Not you, milady!I was talking to myself.”
“I see,” the lady said. “You know very well your visit is premature. The girl’s time has not yet come. So
I giveyou a choice: leave these heroes to me, or I shall turnyou into a door and break you down.”
“What kind of door?” the left face asked.
“Shut up!” the right face said.
“Because French doors are nice,” the left face mused.“Lots of natural light.”
“Shut up!” the right face wailed.“Not you, milady! Of course I’ll leave. I was just having a bit of fun.
Doing my job.Offering choices.”
“Causing indecision,” the woman corrected. “Now be gone!”
The left face muttered, “Party power,” then he raised his silver key, inserted it into the air, and
disappeared.
The woman turned toward us, and fear closed around my heart. Her eyes shined with power.Leave
these heroes to me . That didn’t sound good. For a second, I almost wished we could’ve taken our
chances withJanus . But then the woman smiled.
“You must be hungry,” she said. “Sit with me and talk.”
She waved her hand, and the old Roman fountain began to flow. Jets of clear water sprayed into the air.
A marble table appeared, laden with platters of sandwiches and pitchers of lemonade.