Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the Olympians
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69 demigod ?”
“ We told you ,” I said . “ We need to find Daedalus . There ’ s this guy , Luke , and he ’ s working for Kronos . He ’ s trying to find a way to navigate the Labyrinth so he can invade our camp . If we don ’ t get to Daedalus first —” “ And I told you , boy . Looking for Daedalus is a waste of time . He won ’ t help you .” “ Why not ?” Hephaestus shrugged . “ Some of us get thrown off mountainsides . Some of us … the way we learn not to trust people is more painful . Ask me for gold . Or a flaming sword . Or a magical steed . These I can grant you easily . But a way to Daedalus ? That ’ s an expensive favor .” “ You know where he is , then ,” Annabeth pressed . “ It isn ’ t wise to go looking , girl .” “ My mother says looking is the nature of wisdom .” Hephaestus narrowed his eyes . “ Who ’ s your mother , then ?” “ Athena .” “ Figures .” He sighed . “ Fine goddess , Athena . A shame she pledged never to marry . All right , half-blood . I can tell you what you want to know . But there is a price . I need a favor done . “ Name it ,” Annabeth said . Hephaestus actually laughed — a booming sound like a huge bellows stoking a fire . “ You heroes ,” he said , “ always making rash promises . How refreshing !”
He pressed a button on his workbench , and metal shutters opened along the wall . It was either a huge window or a big-screen TV , I couldn ’ t tell which . We were looking at a gray mountain ringed in forests . It must ’ ve been a volcano , because smoke rose from its crest . “ One of my forges ,” Hephaestus said . “ I have many , but that used to be my favorite .” “ That ’ s Mount St . Helens ,” Grover said . “ Great forests around there .” “ You ’ ve been there ?” I asked . “ Looking for … you know , Pan .” “ Wait ,” Annabeth said , looking at Hephaestus . “ You said it used to be your favorite . What happened ?”
Hephaestus scratched his smoldering beard . “ Well , that ’ s where the monster Typhon is trapped , you know . Used to be under Mount Etna , but when we moved to America , his force got pinned under Mount St . Helens instead . Great source of fire , but a bit dangerous . There ’ s always a chance he will escape . Lots of eruptions these days , smoldering all the time . He ’ s restless with the Titan rebellion .” “ What do you want us to do ?” I said , “ Fight him ?” Hephaestus snorted . “ That would be suicide . The gods themselves ran from Typhon when he was free . No , pray you never have to see him , much less fight him . But lately I have sensed intruders in my mountain . Someone or something is using my forges . When I go there , it is empty , but I can tell it is being used . They sense me coming , and they disappear . I send my automatons to investigate , but they do not return . Something … ancient is there . Evil . I want to know who dates invade my territory , and if they mean to loose Typhon .” “ You want us to find out who it is ,” I said . “ Aye ,” Hephaestus said . “ Go there . They may not sense you coming . You are not gods .” “ Glad you noticed ,” I muttered . “ Go and find out what you can ,” Hephaestus said . “ Report back to me , and I will tell you what you need to know about Daedalus .” “ All right ,” Annabeth said . “ How do we get there ?” Hephaestus clapped his hands . The spider came swinging down from the rafters . Annabeth flinched when it landed at her feet . “ My creation will show you the way ,” Hephaestus said . “ It is not far through the Labyrinth .
And try to stay alive , will you ? Humans are much more fragile than automatons .” *** We were doing okay until we hit the tree roots . The spider raced along and we were keeping up , but then we spotted a tunnel off to the side that was dug from raw earth , and wrapped in thick roots . Grover stopped dead in his tracks .