XXXVI

Annabeth hobbles through a web-choked tunnel, testing each step with a crutch as whispers and the sickly-sweet stench of spiders intensify. Spiders mass behind her, forcing her to ignite a barricade and corridor webs with a torch, buying brief time but not safety. She reaches a chamber split by a wide chasm with two narrow, hooked beams and realizes the setup is a loom rather than a bridge.

Channeling Athena’s craft, Annabeth throws her torch across, then rapidly weaves her string between eye hooks into a net that supports her weight. As the fire behind her dies and spiders advance, she finishes the crossing, retrieves the torch, and burns the net and beams, which collapse into the pit. The spiders halt at the edge, then retreat, as if a test has been passed.

Proceeding without her crutch, Annabeth enters a cathedral-sized cavern lit by divine braziers. The floor is fissured, the ceiling lost in layered webs, and titanic silk strands brace the space. At the center stands the forty-foot Athena Parthenos, serene and lifelike, web-shrouded and seemingly preserved from falling through the weakened floor.

Gorgeous tapestries ring the chamber, depicting mythic battles, realms, modern Rome, and even Annabeth and Percy kissing underwater—proof the weaver has watched her life. A voice from above addresses Annabeth as the long-expected challenger. Arachne descends: a monstrous black widow with a distorted human face, boasting of her superior art and condemning Athena’s version of their contest.

Annabeth declares her intent to reclaim the statue, but Arachne laughs, asserting Annabeth must defeat her first—an impossible task. The chapter ends with Arachne poised to attack, confirming that Annabeth has reached the quest’s heart: rescuing the Athena Parthenos from its ancient guardian.