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

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was the most disgusting thing I’d ever seen, like a poop blizzard had come through and dumped four feet
of the stuff overnight. The horses were really gross from wading through it, and the stables were just as
bad. It reeked like you would not believe—worse than the garbage boats on the East River.
Even Nico gagged. “Whatis that?”
“My stables!”Geryon said. “Well, actually they belong toAegas , but we watch over them for a small
monthly fee. Aren’t they lovely?”
“They’re disgusting!” Annabeth said.
“Lots of poop,” Tyson observed.
“How can you keep animals like that?” Grover cried.
“Y’all getting’ on my nerves,” Geryon said. “These are flesh-eating horses, see? They like these
conditions.”
“Plus, you’re too cheap to have them cleaned,” Eurytion mumbled from under his hat.
“Quiet!” Geryon snapped. “All right, perhaps the stables are a bit challenging to clean. Perhaps they do
make me nauseous when the wind blows the wrong way. But so what? My clients still pay me well.”
“What clients?” I demanded.
“Oh, you’d be surprised how many people will pay for a flesh-eating horse. They make great garbage
disposals.Wonderful way to terrify your enemies. Great at birthday parties! We rent them out all the
time.”
“You’re a monster,” Annabeth decided.
Geryon stopped the moo-mobile and turned to look at her. “What gave it away? Was it the three
bodies?”
“You have to let these animals go,” Grover said. “It’s not right!”
“And the clients you keep talking about,” Annabeth said. “You work for Kronos, don’t you? You’re
supplying his army with horses, food, whatever they need.”
Geryon shrugged, which was very weird since he had three sets of shoulders. It looked like he was
doing the wave all by himself. “I work for anyone with gold, young lady. I’m a businessman. And I sell
them anything I have to offer.”
He climbed out of the moo-mobile and strolled toward the stables as if enjoying the fresh air. It
would’ve been a nice view, with the river and the trees and hills and all, except for the quagmire of horse
muck.
Nico got out of the back car and stormed over to Geryon. The cowherd Eurytion wasn’t as sleepy as he
looked. He hefted his club and walked after Nico.
“I came here for business, Geryon,” Nico said. “And you haven’t answered me.”