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THERE WAS NO MORNING IN THE MAZE. atleast, they couldn't tell if there was. once everyone woke up and had granola bars and juice boxes for breakfast, they kept traveling. the old stone tunnels changed to dirt with cedar beams.

"this isn't right," annabeth frowned. "it should still be stone."

they came to a cave where stalactites hung low from the ceiling. in the center of the dirt floor was a rectangular pit, like a grave.

grover shivered. "it smells like the underworld in here."

"it feels like it too," andromeda frowned.

ofcourse, she was purely assuming. she had never been to the underworld. grover, percy and annabeth had. so grover probably knew what he was talking about.

percy flashed a light at th edge of the pit — and she saw a foil wrapper of a half-chewed cheeseburger floating in brown carbonated muck.

"nico," percy said.

andromeda nodded. "he was summoning the dead again."

percy stared at her. "you know, too?"

"dreams," she waved off. she realized she hadn't told him about how nico visited her in the summer, and she had a feeling she shouldn't right now, so she didn't.

tyson whimpered. "ghosts were here. i don't like ghosts."

"we've got to find him." percy insisted.

andromeda could feel him close. his traces of fresh magic lingered in the air. "he's not far. let's go."

and she ducked into the tunnel, percy right behind her. she saw light up ahead.

the other four caught up with them as they stared at daylight streaming through a set of bars above their head, under a steel grate made out of metal pipes. the trees harmonized and the blue sky cleared the background.

"where are we?" percy wondered aloud.

then a shadow fell across the grate and a cow stared down at them. very normal cow except the bright red cherry color. it cow mooed, put one hoof tentatively on the bars, then backed away.

"does it have fever or something?" evander made a face.

"it's a cattle guard," grover said.

"a what?" andromeda asked.

"they put them at the gates of ranches so cows can't get out. they can't walk on them."

"how do you know that?" evander squinted.

grover huffed indignantly. "believe me, if you had hooves, you'd know about cattle guards. they're annoying!"

"didn't hera say something about a ranch?" percy asked.

andromeda nodded. "we need to check it out. nico might be there."

"but —" annabeth frowned. then she sighed. "all right. but how do we get out?"

tyson solved that problem by hitting the cattle guard with both hands. it popped off and went flying out of sight. they heard a clang! and a startled moo! tyson blushed.

"sorry, cow!"

then he boosted them out of the tunnel.

indeed, they were on a ranch. rolling hills stretched to the horizon, dotted with oak trees and cactuses and boulders. a barbed wire fence ran from the gate in either direction. cherry-colored cows roamed around, grazing on clumps of grass.

"red cattle," annabeth said. "the cattle of the sun."

"so they're sunburnt?" evander corrected.

"they're sacred to apollo."

"holy cows?" andromeda prompted.

"exactly. but what are they doing—"

"wait," grover said. "listen."

at first everything seemed quiet. . .but then the sound came: the distant baying of dogs. it got louder. then the underbrush rustled, and two dogs broke through. except it wasn't two dogs. it was one dog with two heads. it looked like a greyhound, long and snaky and sleek brown, but its neck splitted into two heads, both of them snapping and snarling.

"bad janus dog!" tyson cried.

andromeda pulled out strýchnos.

"arf!" grover told it, and raised a hand in greeting.

the two-headed dog bared its teeth.

"maybe one of you guys should try," andromeda urged, pointing the two parts of her spear at percy and evander each.

the two boys' eyes widened, but annabeth smiled. "they do say dogs are a man's best friend."

just then, its master lumbered out of the woods. a huge man with stark white hair, a straw cowboy hat, and a braided white beard, he was wearing jeans, a don't mess with texas t-shirt, and a denim jacket with the sleeves ripped off so you could see his muscles. on his right bicep was a crossed-swords tattoo. he held a wooden club about the size of a nuclear warhead, with six-inch spikes bristling at the business end.

"heel, orthus," he told the dog.

the dog growled at them once more, then circled back to his master's feet. the man surveyed them, keeping his club ready.

"what've we got here?" he asked. "cattle rustlers?"

"just travelers," annabeth said. "we're on a quest."

the man's eye twitched. "half-bloods, eh?"

"how did you know —"

annabeth cut evander off, putting a hand on his arm. "i'm annabeth, daughter of athena. this is evander, son of demeter. then andromeda, daughter of hecate. percy, son of poseidon. grover the satyr. tyson the —"

"cyclops," the man finished. "yes, i can see that." he glowered at evander. "and i know half-bloods because i am one, sonny. i'm eurytion, the cowherd for this here ranch. son of ares. you came through the labyrinth like the other one, i reckon."

"the other one?" andromeda asked. "you mean nico di angelo?"

"we get a load of visitors from the labyrinth," eurytion said darkly. "not many ever leave."

"wow," percy huffed. "i feel welcome."

the cowherd glanced behind him like someone was watching. then he lowered his voice. "i'm only going to say this once, demigods. get back in the maze now. before it's too late."

"we're not leaving," andromeda insisted. "we need to see this other demigod,"

"please." annabeth added.

eurytion grunted. "then you leave me no choice, missy. i've got to take you to the boss."

the four shared looks between each other, and followed with caution as eurytion walked alongside them with his club across his shoulder. orthus the two-headed dog growled a lot and sniffed at grover's legs then shot into the bushes once in a while to chase animals, but eurytion kept him more or less under control.

they walked down a dirt path that seemed to go on forever. heat shimmered off the ground. insects buzzed in the trees. before they'd gone very far, there were already beads of sweat trickling down her skin, flies swarmed them. every so often evander would point out a pen full of red cows or even stranger animals. once when they passed a corral where the fence was coated in asbestos, evander gestured to a herd of fire-breathing horses that milled around inside.

"their hay is on fire." he observed.

"yes, evan." annabeth sighed.

"they're stepping on sizzling ground."

"yes, evan." annabeth glared.

"they seemed tame enough, though." percy mused.

one big stallion looked at them and whinnied, columns of red flame billowing out his nostrils. percy bent back.

"what are they for?" andromeda asked.

eurytion scowled. "we raise animals for lots of clients. apollo, diomedes, and. . .others."

"like who?"

"no more questions."

finally they came out of the woods. perched on a hill above us was a big ranch house — all white stone and wood and big windows.

"it looks like a rrank lloyd wright!" annabeth gushed.

"except the colour," evander pointed out. "wright had mostly pastel/nude coloured buildings. this a very simple design by his standards,"

annabeth smiled, her eyes practically in the shape of hearts.

"you guys are gross," andromeda said with a smile.

"you guys are jealous." evander swung an arm around annabeth, kissing her temple.

"to me it just looks like the kind of place where a few demigods could get into serious trouble." percy murmured.

"then let's beat it's ass." andromeda started up the hill, and out of her periphery, she could've sworn she saw percy smile.

"don't break the rules," eurytion warned as they walked up the steps to the front porch. "no fighting. no drawing weapons. and don't make any comments about the boss's appearance."

"why?" percy asked. "what does he look like?"

"let's hope no trouble comes up," andromeda pocketed strýchnos. "cause if so, i will have to go against all of those rules."

before eurytion could reply, a new voice said, "welcome to the triple g ranch."

the man on the porch had weathered face, brown from years in the sun. he had slick black hair and a black pencil moustache like villains in old movies that wear monocles and smoke pipes. he smiled at them, but the smile wasn't friendly. ofcourse it wasn't. they were demigods.

andromeda's eyes widened as she took his physique. . .or, the plural form of that, because he had three of them. and weird body autonomy was tolerable, with janus, braires and kampê, but this guy was three complete people. his neck connected to the middle chest like normal, but he had two more chests, one to either side, connected at the shoulders, with a few inches between. his left arm grew out of his left chest, and the same on the right. the chests all connected into one enormous torso, with two regular but very beefy legs, and he wore the most oversized pair of levis ever seen. his chests each wore a different color western shirt — green, yellow, red.

the cowherd eurytion spoke up. "say hello to mr. geryon."

"hi," percy said. "nice chests —"

andromeda elbowed him.

"uh, ranch!" he corrected himself. "nice ranch you have."

before the three-bodied man could respond, nico di angelo came out of the glass doors onto the porch. "geryon, i won't wait for —"

he froze when he saw then. then he drew his sword. the blade was just like she'd seen in my dream; short, sharp, and dark as midnight.

geryon snarled when he saw it. "put that away, mr. di angelo. i ain't gonna have my guests killin’ each other."

"but that's —"

"percy jackson," eryon supplied. "andromeda derensse, evander whitlock, annabeth chase. and a couple of their monster friends. yes, i know."

"monster friends?" grover said indignantly.

"that man is wearing three shirts," tyson said, like he was just realizing this.

"they let my sister die!" nico's voice trembled with rage. "they're here to kill me!"

"nico," andromeda advanced, her arms open and empty. "we're not here to kill you."

"you're with them, too?" nico's eyes widened. he scoffed. "i should've known. you were setting me up to fail." he glared.

"nico," andromeda spoke, feeling a little hurt. "i didn't. i told you all that i knew and all that i figured out. i didn't keep anything from —"

"i managed it, you know." nico interrupted. "i managed it the second i stopped listening to you. is that just a coincidence?"

andromeda gulped. "look i don't —"

"what is talking about?" percy asked, eyes set on her. "what did you tell him?"

"'rome," annabeth spoke cautiously. "have you known where he was this whole time? and you just didn't tell us?"

"no!" andromeda defended. "no i swear i didn't —"

"you didn't tell them?" nico interrupted. "never even once?"

she felt her throat constrict.

"what is he talking about?" percy demanded. "what haven't you told us?"

andromeda collected herself. she took a deep breath. she needed to balance the situation. she could only deal with one thing right now. she turned to nico. "look, nico, what happened to bianca was —"

"don't speak her name! you're not worthy to even talk about her!"

"wait a minute," annabeth pointed at geryon. "how do you know our names?"

the three-bodied man winked. "i make it my business to keep informed, darlin'. everybody pops into the ranch from time to time. everyone needs something from ole geryon. now, mr. di angelo, put that ugly sword away before i have eurytion take it form you."

eurytion sighed, but he hefted his spiked club. at his feet, orthus growled.

nico hesitated. he looked thinner and paler than he had in the dream. andromeda wondered if he'd eaten in the last week. his black clothes were dusty from traveling in the labyrinth, and his dark eyes were full of hate like never before. andromeda felt her heart crack a little when she saw that it was directed at her.

reluctantly, he sheathed his sword, looked at andromeda and percy. "if either of you come near me, i'll summon help. you don't want to meet my helpers, i promise."

"nico," andromeda started. "please just listen —"

"i won't!" nico snapped. "i listened to you all year. where did that get me? nowhere! good for you, you know. fooling me twice,"

andromeda inhaled shakily. she was on the verge of tears. she could feel it.

"we won't come near you." percy spoke up. and his hand slipped into hers. the sendstion comforted her slightly.

geryon patted nico's shoulder. "there, we've all made nice. now come along, folks. i want to give you a tour of the ranch."

andromeda sighed. "thanks," she muttered to percy.

"you owe me an explanation."

she nodded.

geryon had a trolley thing, painted black and white in a cowhide pattern. the driver's car had a set of longhorns stuck to the hood, and the horn sounded like a cowbell.

nico sat in the very back, eurytion crawled in next to him with his spiked club and pulled his cowboy hat over his eyes like he was going to take a nap. orthus jumped in the front seat next to geryon and began barking happily in two-part harmony. the remaining six took the middle two cars.

"we have a huge operation!" geryon boasted as the vehicle lurched forward. "horses and cattle mostly, but all sorts of exotic varieties, too."

they came over a hill, and annabeth gasped. "hippalektryons? i thought they were extinct!"

at the bottom of the hill was a fenced-in pasture with a dozen of the weirdest animals. each had the front half of a horse and the back half of a rooster. their rear feet were huge yellow claws. they had feathery tails and red wings. two of them got in a fight over a pile of seed. they reared up on their wings at each other until the smaller one galloped away, its rear bird legs putting a little hop in its step.

"rooster ponies," tyson said in amazement. "do they lay eggs?"

"once a year!" geryon grinned in the rearview mirror. "very much in demand for omelettes!"

"that's horrible!" evander said. "they must be an endangered species!"

geryon waved his hand. "gold is gold, sonny. and you haven't tasted the omelettes."

"that's not right," grover murmured, but geryon just kept narrating the tour.

"now, over here," he said, "we have our fire-breathing horses, which you may have seen on your way in. they're bred for war, naturally."

"what war?" percy asked.

geryon grinned slyly. "oh, whichever one comes along. and over yonder, of course, are our prize red cows."

sure enough, hundreds of the cherry-colored cattle were grazing the side of the hill.

"so many," grover said.

"yes, well, apollo is too busy to see them," geryon explained, "so he subcontracts to us. we breed them vigorously because there's such a demand."

"for what?" evander asked.

geryon raised an eyebrow. "meat, of course! armies have to eat."

"you kill the sacred cows of the sun god for hamburger meat?" grover said. "that's the against ancient laws!"

"oh, don't get so worked up, satyr. they're just animals."

"just animals!"

"yes, and if apollo cared, i'm sure he would tell us."

"if he knew," percy muttered.

nico sat forward. "i don't care about any of this, geryon. we had business to discuss, and this wasn't it!"

"all in good time, mr. di angelo. look over here; some of my exotic game."

the next field was ringed in barbed wire. the whole area was crawling with giant scorpions. scorpians like ones in the war games they played this summer in camp.

"triple g ranch," percy spoke suddenly. "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, now, over here are my prize stables! you must see them."

but they started to smell them before they saw them. near the banks of a green river was a horse corral about ninety meters. stables lined one side of it. roughly a hundred horses were milling around in their own excrete. it was the most disgusting thing ever. the horses were really gross from wading through it, and the stables were just as bad. it reeked.

andromeda gagged, as did nico. "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 gettin' 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?" percy 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," andromeda said nonchalantly.

geryon stopped the vehicle and turned to look at her. "what gave it away? was it the three bodies?"

"you have to let these animals go," evander ordered. "it's not right!"

"and the clients you keep talking about," annabeth began. "you work for kronos, don't you? you're supplying his army with horses, food, whatever they need."

geryon shrugged, which looked weird since he had six shoulders. "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 vehicle and strolled toward the stables as if enjoying the fresh air. the river and the trees and hills made a nice view, but the stench of manure made it less appealing.

nico got out of the back car and stormed over to geryon. the cowherd eurytion 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 middle-chest. "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," percy intervened. "i thought i was the soul you wanted."

nico looked at him like he 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?" percy asked. "you mean that evil king? that's the ghost who's advice you've been taking over andromeda's?"

"the way he talks to you, nico," andromeda told him. "he's not looking to help you."

"it's none of your business!" nico turned back to geryon. "and what do you mean about things getting difficult?"

the three-bodied man sighed. "well, you see, nico — can i call you nico?"

"no."

"you see, nico, luke castellan is offering very good money for half-bloods. especially powerful half-bloods. and i'm sure when he learns your little secret, who you really are, he'll pay very, very well indeed."

nico drew his sword, but eurytion knocked it out of his hand.

orthus made a moved to jump on percy, but andromeda shot her spear against the dog, she created a protective dome around them, their weapons were locked out but atleast they were safe inside.

geryon laughed. "keep it up darlin', all i gotta do is wait for you to tire out."

"he's right," andromeda told the others. she was keeping the forcefield for now, but she had no guarantee of when it would fade. "not much i can do with this. we need a plan!"

the dog scratched at the shield, barking from the outside.

"let me go," nico insisted. "i don't need your protection."

"nico," she told him. "you haven't eaten in days, you've overworked yourself, you're traumatized from the labyrinth, and you're taking advice from a ghost who ditched you. let me help you just this once."

"no!" nico shook his head, his eyes glistened. "i don't —"

"i'll take him," percy volunteered. he pulled out riptide. "you guys go to the entrance, i'll keep them busy and come back for you."

"i will stay with brother," tyson nodded.

"the land here is pretty fertile," evander informed. "i could manage something. annabeth, grover, andy, you guys take nico and bolt for the labyrinth."

annabeth frowned, but she nodded.

"on three?" andromeda asked, pulling her fists together keep the shield together for just a few moments more.

"on three." percy nodded.

". . .three!"

percy bolted as the shield fell, but orthus pounced on his chest and growled inches from his face.

nobody made a move.

"i would stay in the car, all of you," geryon warned. "or orthus will tear mr. jackson's throat out. now, eurytion, if you would be so kind, secure nico."

the cowherd spit into the grass. "do i have to?"

"yes, you fool!"

eurytion looked bored, but he wrapped one huge arm around nico and lifted him up.

"pick up the weapons, too," geryon said with distaste. "there's nothing i hate worse than stygian iron."

eurytion picked up the weapons, careful not to touch the blade, and andromeda wondered if her blade had a stygian iron tip.

"now," geryon said cheerfully, "we've had the tour. let's go back to the lodge, have some lunch, and send an iris-message to our friends in the titan army."

"you son of a bitch," andromeda glared at him.

geryon smiled at her. "don't worry, my dear. once i've delivered mr. di angelo, you and your party can go. i don't interfere with quests. besides, i've been paid well to give you safe passage, which does not, i'm afraid, include mr. di angelo."

"paid by whom?" annabeth demanded. "what do you mean?"

"never you mind, darlin'. let's be off, shall we?"

"wait!" percy called, and orthus growled. "geryon, you said you're a businessman. make me a deal."

geryon narrowed his eyes. "what sort of deal? do you have gold?"

"i've got something better. barter."

"but mr. jackson, you've got nothing."

"you could have him clean the stables," eurytion suggested innocently.

"i'll do it!" percy said desperately. "if i fail, you get all of us. trade us all to luke for gold."

"assuming the horses don't eat you," geryon observed.

"either way, you get my friends," he said. "but if i succeed, you've got to let all of us go, including nico."

"no!" nico screamed. "don't do me any favors. i don't want your help!"

geryon chuckled. "percy jackson, those stables haven't been cleaned in a thousand years. . .though it's true i might be able to sell more stable space if all that poop was cleared away."

"so what have you got to lose?"

he hesitated. "all right, i'll accept your offer, but you have to get it done by sunset. if you fail, your friends get sold, and i get rich."

"deal."

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i was so frustrated with nico when i read this book, but re-reading after the hoo series, it's so obvious nico had a crush on percy but tried to deny it.

also this quest is just tyson and grover fifth-wheeling jevans and evanbeth.