Three unknown men run the powerful company, and Apollo is convinced that the Beast is one of them. Rachel Elizabeth Dare arrives with news about a company called Triumvirate Holdings. Meg and Apollo escape undetected and return to camp to discover that two more campers have disappeared. The Beast wants to control all the Oracles, and his next step is to burn down the grove of Dodona. They hide and listen as Python and his master, a man called the Beast, discuss their plans. They must find three golden apples and return to camp to win the race.ĭuring the race, the Labyrinth takes Apollo and Meg to Delphi, where Python has taken residence. Meg and Apollo are paired up for the race and are released into the Labyrinth, a deadly living maze. The incident gives Apollo an idea about what happened to the campers that disappeared earlier, but he doesn’t have a chance to tell Chiron before the three-legged death race begins. Apollo and another camper manage to get to Sherman and lead him to safety before he disappears, too. Before the race begins, Apollo sees a camper named Sherman wandering off toward the enchanted forest, appearing to be in a trance. This includes participating in a three-legged death race. They decide that the only way to return life to normal is for Apollo to take back Delphi from the snake monster, Python, a creature Apollo defeated in an earlier quest.Īs they try to come up with a plan, Meg and Apollo join in with the daily training and activities of the campers.

Apollo learns that a number of campers have gone missing, and communication to the camp has stopped working, cutting the campers off from the outside world. They make it to the camp just before Apollo passes out.Īpollo wakes up, and his wounds are treated. Apollo hears loud voices and feels faint. Meg and Apollo continue through an enchanted forest. A group of plague spirits follows the trio, but they manage to defeat the spirits. Percy agrees to take them to Camp Half-Blood, where Meg can train with other demigods and Apollo can seek the help of his friends Chiron, the centaur camp activities director, and Rachel Dare, the current Oracle of Delphi. The two set off to find Percy Jackson and seek his help. The girl introduces herself as Meg and claims Apollo’s service. She uses her power to pelt the thugs with garbage and chase them off. The thugs are coming at Apollo with a knife and a bike chain when a young girl appears. The last two times he was punished with mortality, Apollo had to work for a demigod until he’d completed a set of trials and Zeus allowed him to return to Olympus.īefore Apollo can decide what to do, two thugs appear in the alley and attack him on the orders of an unknown boss. Apollo knows that his father, Zeus, is punishing him, but his mortal mind can’t remember any details. The Greek god Apollo crash-lands in a pile of garbage in a New York City alley.

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan