Rick Riordan The Battle of the Labyrinth - 04
“ Triple G Ranch ,” I said , suddenly remembering . “ Your mark was on the crates at camp .
Quintus got his scorpions from you .” “ Quintus …” Geryon mused . “ Short gray hair , muscular , swordsman ?” “ Yeah .” “ Never heard of him ,” Geryon said . “ Now , over here are my prize stables ! You must see them .”
I didn ’ t need to see them , because as soon as we got within three hundred yards I started to smell them . Near the banks of a green river was a horse corral the size of a football field . Stables lined one side of it . About a hundred horses were milling around in the muck — and when I say muck , I mean horse poop . It 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 . “ What is that ?” “ My stables !” Geryon said . “ Well , actually they belong to Aegas , 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 .” “ Mmm .” Geryon examined a cactus . His left arm reached over and scratched his middlechest . “ Yes , you ’ ll get a deal , all right .” “ My ghost told me you could help . He said you could guide us to the soul we need .” “ Wait a second ,” I said . “ I thought I was the soul you wanted .” Nico looked at me like I was crazy . “ You ? Why would I want you ? Bianca ’ s soul is worth a thousand of yours ! Now , can you help me , Geryon , or not ?” “ Oh , I imagine I could ,” the rancher said . “ Your ghost friend , by the way , where is he ?” Nico looked uneasy . “ He can ’ t form in broad daylight . It ’ s hard for him . But he ’ s around somewhere .” Geryon smiled . “ I ’ m sure . Minos likes to disappear when things get … difficult .” “ Minos ?” I remembered the man I ’ d seen in my dreams , with the golden crown , the pointed
52