The Hidden Oracle

Apollo reacts to Meg’s parentage warily, as Apollo once dated a daughter of Demeter, enraging the harvest goddess. Demeter and Apollo battled over her daughter, eventually settling into an uneasy truce. Ever since then, Apollo has sworn to stay away from Demeter’s children. Apollo notes that Demeter is overprotective of her children because Hades kidnapped and forcibly married her daughter Persephone. Demeter herself rarely dates mortals, making Meg an unusual demigod. Apollo is surprised by the extent of Meg’s powers.

The morning of the three-legged death race, Apollo has another vision of the crowned woman. She asks him to find the gates. In the dream, Apollo senses the presence of very ancient, sacred trees. When Meg breaks his reverie, Apollo questions her about her swords. Meg’s swords are Roman, whereas Demeter is a Greek goddess, suggesting the swords are not a blessing from Demeter. Meg reveals that she has never met her mother and the rings that change into swords are a gift from her stepfather. Meg shuts off Apollo’s further inquiries with the claim that her stepfather is a “good man.” Meanwhile, Sherman Yang, the son of Ares, the god of war, calls the campers for a boot camp before the race.

Apollo wishes he had a doctor’s note to skip Sherman’s arduous training before the three-legged death race. Apollo fares better at the morning’s second session, which is music class with a satyr named Woodrow. Apollo’s act of tuning a guitar itself is so melodious his classmates are reduced to tears. The god is delighted to learn that he is still skilled at music. However, Apollo’s fingers begin to spasm after he has played the guitar for a while, reminding him of his mortal limitations. The third lesson of archery reinforces Apollo’s sense of failure. He only manages to shoot one bull’s eye, mortifying himself. Holly and Laurel Victor, the twin daughters of Nike, goddess of victory, mock Apollo’s rusty archery skills. Kayla, the class instructor, tries to cheer up a crestfallen Apollo. However, Apollo is so frustrated by his shortcomings that he swears an oath on the River Styx never to use a bow or a musical instrument in his mortal form. Apollo asks the reader to chide him for the oath, since breaking an oath on the River Styx can have terrible consequences.

Meanwhile, Kayla notices Sherman walking toward the woods in a dream-like state. Apollo and Kayla race toward Sherman, managing to reach him at the tree line. Apollo feels the trees are talking to him and struggles to shake off their voices. In a catatonic state, Sherman mutters that he has to find the missing demigods Ellis and Miranda. Apollo helps Sherman snap out of his trance as the trio retreat from the woods and reach the archery range. Apollo learns that Sherman had been wondering about the whereabouts of Miranda and Ellis before he blanked out. Apollo concludes Sherman had been seeking information and tells Kayla he understands now why the campers went missing. The trees were answering Sherman’s question, luring him into the woods.

Though Apollo tries to tell Chiron that the woods may be luring campers inside, Chiron is too distracted with preparations for the three-legged death race to listen. Meanwhile, Harley, the brother of missing Leo Valdez, tinkers with a mechanical device, a beacon, that can guide his brother back. Awestruck with Harley’s love for his brother, Apollo wonders if anyone at Olympus would be working as hard to bring him back.

Apollo approaches Meg with his misgivings about the woods to find her eating a cheeseburger. Apollo notes the irony that like Persephone, Meg, a daughter of the grain goddess Demeter, is an “unrepentant carnivore.” Apollo tells Meg that the talking woods remind him of an ancient oracle older than Delphi, “an entire grove of talking trees” (153). According to Apollo, the sacred trees of the grove are speaking prophecies, answering people’s questions, and luring them into the woods. Meg is skeptical of Apollo’s theory and his fears about the race, reminding him that the three-legged death race does not go through the woods. Apollo wants Meg to summon Peaches for extra protection, but Peaches cannot be called at will; the karpos only materializes when he senses Meg is in actual danger. Chiron blows a hunting horn and calls for the teams of demigods to tie one leg each together and get to the starting position for the race. Will is tied to Nico and Kayla to Austin. Harley is not a participant as he has set up the race. Each team’s task is to find three golden apples and return to the meadow alive. All successful teams will be counted as winners. Chiron requests the campers to have a clean race and, unlike the test group in the morning, not to end up in Peru. On Harley’s command, the meadow begins to shake, and dark lines emerge on the grass, forming a checkerboard. The ground yawns open, and the racers fall into the Labyrinth.