The Hidden Oracle

Apollo has never been as terrified as he is in this moment. Though Apollo has participated in cataclysmic battles, such as when Typhon raged across the earth or Gaia unleashed her giants to bring down Olympus, he was a god in all those instances. Now he is a “tiny mortal cowering in the darkness” (165). Apollo cannot comprehend why the Labyrinth has brought him to such a dangerous place. Oblivious to the danger Apollo senses, Meg points to a golden apple sitting on a ledge on the opposite wall. Apollo resists Meg’s suggestion to jump across the cavern but is forced to do so when Meg makes the leap. They make it to the other side, where Meg picks up the apple. Overhead, Apollo can hear Python rumble, “Who approaches?” He thinks Python has heard them, but another, more human voice answers Python.

Python refers to his guest as “Monsieur Beast.” Apollo can dimly recall the term Beast being used to describe someone in history, but the identity of that someone evades Apollo. The Beast tells Python that they must soon act to seize all the remaining Oracles since controlling the sources of prophecy means controlling the world. The Oracles are ripe for the taking, since Apollo, the god of prophecy, is now powerless. (Apart from Delphi, there are three other Oracles inspired by Apollo.) Python requests the Beast’s patience, reminding him that they have managed to come so far only by staying in the shadows and biding their time. Ensuring they could keep working under the radar, the Beast also did not reveal his role in the titans storming New York (a cataclysmic battle that occurs in The Last Olympian, the finale of the Percy Jackson series), nor did Python himself march to war with Gaia’s giants. Python asks the Beast to keep his end of the bargain, too, by first destroying Apollo. The Beast reassures Python that he has “well-placed help” in the camp steering Apollo to him. Once the god has served his purpose, the Beast will kill him.

With a shock, Apollo realizes that the Beast’s voice is the same as that of the bearded man of his dreams. Python and the Beast agree that before finding and controlling Apollo’s Oracles, the Beast must set fire to the fifth Oracle, the sacred grove. Apollo suddenly remembers the name of the grove and says “Dodona” out loud. Python and the man are alerted by Apollo’s voice. Before they can discover Meg and Apollo, the two youngsters slip on a pebble and fall off the ledge into a pile of garbage. As they shake off the trash covering them, Apollo notes how fearful Meg looks. He asks her if she recognized the man’s voice, but Meg is evasive. Apollo surveys his surroundings and concludes the Labyrinth, which intersects with all of the world’s basements, has brought them to a garbage room. Meg finds a second apple in the garbage. Apollo leads her to the door of the garbage room.

Apollo and Meg burst into a crowded vegan bakery, and from there to back into the Labyrinth. Meg spots the third golden apple in a corridor. As she scoops the fruit, the ceiling lowers into a ramp. Apollo and Meg climb up to find themselves in the woods. As Apollo feels voices whisper around him again, the bands around their feet spring free, and the two race out of the forest into the camp. Chiron welcomes them but gives Apollo the grim news that his children Kayla and Austin have vanished in the woods.

Apollo is sure the Beast has kidnapped his children to lure him into the woods and find the gates to the hidden Oracle of Dodona. Apollo is about to run into the forest to look for Kayla and Austin when Will asks for his help with the demigods wounded in the race. Apollo helps him nurse the injured as best as he can, his mortal healing skills being “passable.” A tearful Harley apologizes to Apollo for Kayla and Austin’s disappearance, since he had not meant for the racecourse to lead into the woods, but he somehow made a mistake. Apollo comforts the child and helps tune his beacon. On Meg’s command, an enraged Apollo is forced to wait out the night before going off to find Kayla and Austin. As he keeps a vigil for Kayla and Austin at the edge of the woods, Apollo is surprised when Meg joins him. Though Apollo wants to stay angry at Meg, he is unable to do so. Apollo observes that he has rarely been so troubled about his many children over the millennia. However, he feels more accountable now because he has a mortal conscience and a sense of guilt.

Meg finally tells Apollo that she does recognize the Beast, who lives in New York and takes in demigods like her, training them as his soldiers or servants. When Meg refused to work for him, the Beast killed Meg’s father. Meg was then adopted by her stepfather, who gave her the crescent rings to protect herself from the Beast. Meg’s story leaves Apollo with many questions, but he senses she does not want to divulge more details. Privately, Apollo wonders about the identity of the Beast’s “well-placed help” in the camp. Knowing that demigods often turn against the gods, he wonders if Meg herself could be the Beast’s spy. Apollo notes that Meg is too stubborn and impulsive to be a good spy. He mulls over the other campers but admits that he has no idea about the Beast’s helper. As dawn approaches, Apollo hears an incoming helicopter. Apollo feels a tiny ray of hope as he sees that the helicopter belongs to his priestess, Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

Apollo is shocked at the change in Rachel’s appearance: She looks thinner, older, and more tired. Rachel is equally dismayed to see Apollo’s mortal form. Apollo sends Meg to bring Chiron to Rachel’s cave so the three can talk undisturbed. Rachel notes that Apollo will not like her changed cave. Inside the cave, the furniture is disordered and broken. Most disturbing to Apollo is the state of the walls. Apollo used to love the way Rachel painted her visions of past and future on the cave walls, like cave paintings. Now the beautiful images have been blotted out with sloppy white paint. Rachel tells Apollo she painted over the art in the hope that a blank canvas would help her think better, but to no avail.

Rachel shows Apollo and Chiron a photo of a building in Manhattan that has been recently bought by an extremely wealthy corporation called Triumvirate Holdings, triumvirate being the Roman name for a very powerful ruling group of three men. In another photo, Rachel points out three men, the owners of Triumvirate Holdings. It becomes apparent that the corporation may be run by ancient Romans. From the Beast’s account, it is also obvious that there is a group of people who have been plotting against the Greek demigods for a long time. Connecting the dots, Apollo and Rachel conclude that the Beast is part of Triumvirate Holdings and may be the root cause of many past crises faced by the demigods. Chiron is surprised that three men can wield as much power, but Apollo reminds him that history shows enormous power is often wielded by a few or an oligarchy. Triumvirate Holdings must be stopped from gaining control of all the Oracles, including the fifth and most ancient Oracle, the Grove of Dodona, which has regrown in Camp Half-Blood. Unlike Delphi and the three other Oracles, Dodona can still prophesize because its powers are not inspired by Apollo.