Rick Riordan The Battle of the Labyrinth - 04
“ There ,” he muttered to himself . “ Much better .” The spider did a happy flip in his palm , shot a metallic web at the ceiling , and went swinging away . Hephaestus glowered up at us . “ I didn ’ t make you , did I ?” “ Uh ,” Annabeth said , “ no , sir .” “ Good ,” the god grumbled . “ Shoddy workmanship .” He studied Annabeth and me . “ Half-bloods ,” he grunted . “ Could be automatons , of course , but probably not .” “ We ’ ve met , sir ,” I told him . “ Have we ?” the god asked absently . I got the feeling he didn ’ t care one way or the other . he was just trying to figure out how my jaw worked , whether it was a hinge or a lever or what . “ Well then , if I didn ’ t smash you to a pulp the first time we met , I suppose I won ’ t have to do it now .”
He looked at Grover and frowned . “ Satyr .” Then he looked at Tyson , and his eyes twinkled .
“ Well , a Cyclops . Good , good . What are you doing traveling with this lot ?” “ Uh …” said Tyson , staring in wonder at the god . “ Yes , well said ,” Hephaestus agreed . “ So , there ’ d better be a good reason you ’ re disturbing me . The suspension on this Corolla is no small matter , you know .” “ Sir ,” Annabeth said hesitantly , “ we ’ re looking for Daedalus . We thought —” “ Daedalus ?” the god roared . “ You want that old scoundrel ? You dare to seek him out !” His beard burst into flames and his black eyes glowed . “ Uh , yes , sir , please ,” Annabeth said . “ Humph . You ’ re wasting your time .” He frowned at something on his worktable and limped over to it . He picked up a lump of springs and metal plates and tinkered with them . In a few seconds he was holding a bronze and silver falcon . It spread its metal wings , blinked its obsidian eyes , and flew around the room .
Tyson laughed and clapped his hands . The bird landed on Tyson ’ s shoulder and nipped his ear affectionately .
Hephaestus regarded him . The god ’ s scowl didn ’ t change , but I thought I saw a kinder twinkle in his eyes . “ I sense you have something to tell me , Cyclops .” Tyson ’ s smile faded . “ Y-yes , lord . We met a Hundred-Handed One .” Hephaestus nodded , looking unsurprised . “ Briares ?” “ Yes . He — he was scared . He would not help us .” “ And that bothered you .” “ Yes !” Tyson ’ s voice wavered . “ Briares should be strong ! He is older and greater than
Cyclopes . But he ran away .”
Hephaestus grunted . “ There was a time I admired the Hundred-Handed Ones . Back in the days of the first war . But people , monsters , even gods change , young Cyclops . You can ’ t trust ’ em . Look at my loving mother , Hera . You met her , didn ’ t you ? She ’ ll smile to your face and talk about how important family is , eh ? Didn ’ t stop her from pitching me off Mount Olympus when she saw my ugly face .” “ But I thought Zeus did that to you ,” I said . Hephaestus cleared his throat and spat into a bronze spittoon . He snapped his fingers , and the robotic falcon flew back to the worktable .
“ Mother likes telling that version of the story ,” he grumbled . “ Makes her seem more likeable , doesn ’ t it ? Blaming it all on my dad . The truth is , my mother likes families , but she likes a certain kind of family . Perfect families . She took one look at me and … well , I don ’ t fit the image , do I ?” He pulled a feather from the falcon ’ s back , and the whole automaton fell apart . “ Believe me , young Cyclops ,” Hephaestus said , “ you can ’ t trust others . All you can trust is the work of your own hands .”
It seemed like a pretty lonely way to live . Plus , I didn ’ t exactly trust the work of Hephaestus . One time in Denver , his mechanical spiders had almost killed Annabeth and me . And last year , it had been a defective Talos statue that cost Bianca her life — another one of Hephaestus ’ s little projects .
He focused on me and narrowed his eyes , as if he were reading my thoughts . “ Oh , this one doesn ’ t like me ,” he mused . “ No worries , I ’ m used to that . What would you ask of me , little
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