Rick Riordan
The Battle of the Labyrinth - 04
“Are…are you okay?” I asked him.
He looked older and sadder. He took his cap from Annabeth, brushed off the mud, and stuck
it firmly on his curly head.
“We should go now,” he said, “and tell them. The great god Pan is dead.”
Chapter Eighteen
114
Grover Causes A Stampede
Distance was shorter in the Labyrinth. Still, by the time Rachel got us back to Times Square,
I felt like we’d pretty much run all the way from New Mexico. We climbed out of the Marriott
basement and stood on the sidewalk in the bright summer daylight, squinting at the traffic and
crowds.
I couldn’t decide which seemed less real—New York or the crystal cave where I’d watched a
god die.
I led the way into an alley, where I could get a nice echo. Then I whistled as loud as I could,
five times.
A minute later, Rachel gasped. “They’re beautiful!”
A flock of pegasi descended from the sky, swooping between the skyscrapers. Blackjack was
in the lead, followed by four of his white friends.
Yo, boss! He spoke in my mind. You lived!
“Yeah,” I told him. “I’m lucky that way. Listen, we need a ride to camp quick.”
That’s my specialty! Oh man, you got that Cyclops with you? Yo, Guido! How’s your back
holding up?
The Pegasus Guido groaned and complained, but eventually he agreed to carry Tyson.
Everybody started saddling up—except Rachel.
“Well,” she told me, “I guess this is it.”
I nodded uncomfortably. We both knew she couldn’t go to camp. I glanced at Annabeth, who
was pretending to be very busy with her Pegasus.
“Thanks, Rachel,” I said. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it. I mean,