JASON DREAMED HE WAS WRAPPED in chains, hanging upside down like a hunk of meat. Everything hurt—his arms, his legs, his chest, his head. Especially his head. It felt like an overinflated water balloon.
―If I‘m dead,‖ he murmured, ―why does it hurt so much?‖
―You‘re not dead, my hero,‖ said a woman‘s voice. ―It is not your time. Come, speak with me.‖
Jason‘s thoughts floated away from his body. He heard monsters yelling, his friends screaming, fiery explosions, but it all seemed to be happening on another plane of existence —getting farther and farther away.
He found himself standing in an earthen cage. Tendrils of tree roots and stone whirled together, confining him. Outside the bars, he could see the floor of a dry reflecting pool, another earthen spire growing at the far end, and above them, the ruined red stones of a burned-out house.
Next to him in the cage, a woman sat cross-legged in black robes, her head covered by a shroud. She pushed aside her veil, revealing a face that was proud and beautiful—but also hardened with suffering.
―Hera,‖ Jason said.
―Welcome to my prison,‖ said the goddess. ―You will not die today, Jason. Your friends will see you through—for now.‖
―For now?‖ he asked.
Hera gestured at the tendrils of her cage. ―There are worse trials to come. The very earth stirs against us.‖
―You‘re a goddess,‖ Jason said. ―Why can‘t you just escape?‖
Hera smiled sadly. Her form began to glow, until her brilliance filled the cage with painful light. The air hummed with power, molecules splitting apart like a nuclear explosion. Jason suspected if he were actually there in the flesh, he would‘ve been vaporized.
The cage should‘ve been blasted to rubble. The ground should‘ve split and the ruined house should‘ve been leveled. But when the glow died, the cage hadn‘t budged. Nothing outside the bars had changed. Only Hera looked different—a little more stooped and tired.
―Some powers are even greater than the gods,‖ she said. ―I am not easily contained. I can be in many places at once. But when the greater part of my essence is caught, it is like a foot in a bear trap, you might say. I can‘t escape, and I am concealed from the eyes of the other gods. Only you can find me, and I grow weaker by the day.‖
―Then why did you come here?‖ Jason asked. ―How were you caught?‖
The goddess sighed. ―I could not stay idle. Your father Jupiter believes he can withdraw from the world, and thus lull our enemies back to sleep. He believes we Olympians have become too involved in the affairs of mortals, in the fates of our demigod children, especially since we agreed to claim them all after the war. He believes this is what has caused our enemies to stir. That is why he closed Olympus.‖
―But you don‘t agree.‖
―No,‖ she said. ―Often I do not understand my husband‘s moods or his decisions, but even for Zeus, this seemed paranoid. I cannot fathom why he was so insistent and so convinced. It was … unlike him. As Hera, I might have been content to follow my lord‘s wishes. But I am also Juno.‖ Her image flickered, and Jason saw armor under her simple black robes, a goatskin cloak—the symbol of a Roman warrior—across her bronze mantle. ―Juno Moneta they once called me—Juno, the One Who Warns. I was guardian of the state, patron of Eternal Rome. I could not sit by while the descendants of my people were attacked. I sensed danger at this sacred spot. A voice—‖ She hesitated. ―A voice told me I should come here. Gods do not have what you might call a conscience, nor do we have dreams; but the voice was like that—soft and persistent, warning me to come here. And so the same day Zeus closed Olympus, I slipped away without telling him my plans, so he could not stop me. And I came here to investigate.‖
―It was a trap,‖ Jason guessed.
The goddess nodded. ―Only too late did I realize how quickly the earth was stirring. I was even more foolish than Jupiter—a slave to my own impulses. This is exactly how it happened the first time. I was taken captive by the giants, and my imprisonment started a war. Now our enemies rise again. The gods can only defeat them with the help of the greatest living heroes. And the one whom the giants serve …she cannot be defeated at all—only kept asleep.‖
―I don‘t understand.‖
―You will soon,‖ Hera said.
The cage began to constrict, the tendrils spiraling tighter. Hera‘s form shivered like a candle flame in the breeze. Outside the cage, Jason could see shapes gathering at the edge of the pool—lumbering humanoids with hunched backs and bald heads. Unless Jason‘s eyes were tricking him—they had more than one set of arms. He heard wolves too, but not the wolves he‘d seen with Lupa. He could tell from their howls this was a different pack—hungrier, more aggressive, out for blood.
―Hurry, Jason,‖ Hera said. ―My keepers approach, and you begin to wake. I will not be strong enough to appear to you again, even in dreams.‖
―Wait,‖ he said. ―Boreas told us you‘d made a dangerous gamble. What did he mean?‖
Hera‘s eyes looked wild, and Jason wondered if she really had done something crazy.
―An exchange,‖ she said. ―The only way to bring peace. The enemy counts on our divisions, and if we are divided, we will be destroyed. You are my peace offering, Jason—a bridge to overcome millennia of hatred.‖
―What? I don‘t—‖
―I cannot tell you more,‖ Hera said. ―You have only lived this long because I have taken your memory. Find this place.
Return to your starting point. Your sister will help.‖
―Thalia?‖
The scene began to dissolve. ―Good-bye, Jason. Beware Chicago. Your most dangerous mortal enemy waits there. If you are to die, it will be by her hand.‖
―Who?‖ he demanded.
But Hera‘s image faded, and Jason awoke.
His eyes snapped open. ―Cyclops!‖
―Whoa, sleepyhead.‖ Piper sat behind him on the bronze dragon, holding his waist to keep him balanced. Leo sat in front, driving. They flew peacefully through the winter sky as if nothing had happened.
―D-Detroit,‖ Jason stammered. ―Didn‘t we crash-land? I thought—‖
―It‘s okay,‖ Leo said. ―We got away, but you got a nasty concussion. How you feeling?‖
Jason‘s head throbbed. He remembered the factory, then walking down the catwalk, then a creature looming over him—a face with one eye, a massive fist—and everything went black.
―How did you—the Cyclops—‖
―Leo ripped them apart,‖ Piper said. ―He was amazing. He can summon fire—‖
―It was nothing,‖ Leo said quickly.
Piper laughed. ―Shut up, Valdez. I‘m going to tell him. Get over it.‖
And she did—how Leo single-handedly defeated the Cyclopes family; how they freed Jason, then noticed the Cyclopes starting to re-form; how Leo had replaced the dragon‘s wiring and gotten them back in the air just as they‘d started to hear the Cyclopes roaring for vengeance inside the factory.
Jason was impressed. Taking out three Cyclopes with nothing but a tool kit? Not bad. It didn‘t exactly scare him to hear how close he‘d come to death, but it did make him feel horrible. He‘d stepped right into an ambush and spent the whole fight knocked out while his friends fended for themselves. What kind of quest leader was he?
When Piper told him about the other kid the Cyclopes claimed to have eaten, the one in the purple shirt who spoke Latin, Jason felt like his head was going to explode. A son of Mercury … Jason felt like he should know that kid, but the name was missing from his mind.
―I‘m not alone, then,‖ he said. ―There are others like me.‖
―Jason,‖ Piper said, ―you were never alone. You‘ve got us.‖
―I—I know … but something Hera said. I was having a dream…‖
He told them what he‘d seen, and what the goddess had said inside her cage.
―An exchange?‖ Piper asked. ―What does that mean?‖
Jason shook his head. ―But Hera‘s gamble is me. Just by sending me to Camp Half-Blood, I have a feeling she broke some kind of rule, something that could blow up in a big way—‖
―Or save us,‖ Piper said hopefully. ―That bit about the sleeping enemy—that sounds like the lady Leo told us about.‖
Leo cleared his throat. ―About that … she kind of appeared to me back in Detroit, in a pool of Porta-Potty sludge.‖
Jason wasn‘t sure he‘d heard that right. ―Did you say … Porta-Potty?‖
Leo told them about the big face in the factory yard. ―I don‘t know if she‘s completely unkillable,‖ he said, ―but she cannot be defeated by toilet seats. I can vouch for that. She wanted me to betray you guys, and I was like, ‗Pfft, right, I‘m gonna listen to a face in the potty sludge.‘‖
―She‘s trying to divide us.‖ Piper slipped her arms from around Jason‘s waist. He could sense her tension without even looking at her.
―What‘s wrong?‖ he asked.
―I just … Why are they toying with us? Who is this lady, and how is she connected to Enceladus?‖
―Enceladus?‖ Jason didn‘t think he‘d heard that name before.
―I mean …‖ Piper‘s voice quavered. ―That‘s one of the giants. Just one of the names I could remember.‖
Jason got the feeling there was a lot more bothering her, but he decided he not to press her. She‘d had a rough morning.
Leo scratched his head. ―Well, I dunno about Enchiladas—‖
―Enceladus,‖ Piper corrected.
―Whatever. But Old Potty Face mentioned another name. Porpoise Fear, or something?‖
―Porphyrion?‖ Piper asked. ―He was the giant king, I think.‖
Jason envisioned that dark spire in the old reflecting pool—growing larger as Hera got weaker. ―I‘m going to take wild guess,‖ he said. ―In the old stories, Porphyrion kidnapped Hera. That was the first shot in the war between the giants and the gods.‖
―I think so,‖ Piper agreed. ―But those myths are really garbled and conflicted. It‘s almost like nobody wanted that story to survive. I just remember there was a war, and the giants were almost impossible to kill.‖
―Heroes and gods had to work together,‖ Jason said. ―That‘s what Hera told me.‖
―Kind of hard to do,‖ Leo grumbled, ―if the gods won‘t even talk to us.‖
They flew west, and Jason became lost in his thoughts—all of them bad. He wasn‘t sure how much time passed before the dragon dove through a break in the clouds, and below them, glittering in the winter sun, was a city at the edge of a massive lake. A crescent of skyscrapers lined the shore. Behind them, stretching out to the western horizon, was a vast grid of snow-covered neighborhoods and roads.
―Chicago,‖ Jason said.
He thought about what Hera had said in his dream. His worst mortal enemy would be waiting here. If he was going to die, it would be by her hand.
―One problem down,‖ Leo said. ―We got here alive. Now, how do we find the storm spirits?‖
Jason saw a flash of movement below them. At first he thought it was a small plane, but it was too small, too dark and fast. The thing spiraled toward the skyscrapers, weaving and changing shape—and, just for a moment it became the smoky figure of a horse.
―How about we follow that one,‖ Jason suggested, ―and see where it goes?‖
JASON WAS AFRAID THEY’D LOSE THEIR TARGET. The ventus moved like … well, like the wind.
―Speed up!‖ he urged.
―Bro,‖ Leo said, ―if I get any closer, he‘ll spot us. Bronze dragon ain‘t exactly a stealth plane.‖
―Slow down!‖ Piper yelped.
The storm spirit dove into the grid of downtown streets. Festus tried to follow, but his wingspan was way too wide. His left wing clipped the edge of a building, slicing off a stone gargoyle before Leo pulled up.
―Get above the buildings,‖ Jason suggested. ―We‘ll track him from there.‖
―You want to drive this thing?‖ Leo grumbled, but he did what Jason asked.
After a few minutes, Jason spotted the storm spirit again, zipping through the streets with no apparent purpose—blowing over pedestrians, ruffling flags, making cars swerve.
―Oh great,‖ Piper said. ―There‘re two.‖
She was right. A second ventus blasted around the corner of the Renaissance Hotel and linked up with the first. They wove together in a chaotic dance, shooting to the top of a skyscraper, bending a radio tower, and diving back down toward the street.
―Those guys do not need any more caffeine,‖ Leo said.
―I guess Chicago‘s a good place to hang out,‖ Piper said. ―Nobody‘s going to question a couple more evil winds.‖
―More than a couple,‖ Jason said. ―Look.‖
The dragon circled over a wide avenue next to a lake-side park. Storm spirits were converging—at least a dozen of them, whirling around a big public art installation.
―Which one do you think is Dylan?‖ Leo asked. ―I wanna throw something at him.‖
But Jason focused on the art installation. The closer they got to it, the faster his heart beat. It was just a public fountain, but it was unpleasantly familiar. Two five-story monoliths rose from either end of a long granite reflecting pool. The monoliths seemed to be built of video screens, flashing the combined image of a giant face that spewed water into the pool.
Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it looked like a high-tech, super-size version of that ruined reflecting pool he‘d seen in his dreams, with those two dark masses jutting from either end. As Jason watched, the image on the screens changed to a woman‘s face with her eyes closed.
―Leo …‖ he said nervously.
―I see her,‖ Leo said. ―I don‘t like her, but I see her.‖
Then the screens went dark. The venti swirled together into a single funnel cloud and skittered across the fountain, kicking up a waterspout almost as high as the monoliths. They got to its center, popped off a drain cover, and disappeared underground.
―Did they just go down a drain?‖ Piper asked. ―How are we supposed to follow them?‖
―Maybe we shouldn‘t,‖ Leo said. ―That fountain thing is giving me seriously bad vibes. And aren‘t we supposed to, like, beware the earth?‖
Jason felt the same way, but they had to follow. It was their only way forward. They had to find Hera, and they now had only two days until the solstice.
―Put us down in that park,‖ he suggested. ―We‘ll check it out on foot.‖
Festus landed in an open area between the lake and the skyline. The signs said Grant Park, and Jason imagined it would‘ve been a nice place in the summer; but now it was a field of ice, snow, and salted walkways. The dragon‘s hot metal feet hissed as they touched down. Festus flapped his wings unhappily and shot fire into the sky, but there was no one around to notice. The wind coming off the lake was bitter cold. Anyone with sense would be inside. Jason‘s eyes stung so badly, he could barely see.
They dismounted, and Festus the dragon stomped his feet. One of his ruby eyes flickered, so it looked like he was blinking.
―Is that normal?‖ Jason asked.
Leo pulled a rubber mallet from his tool bag. He whacked the dragon‘s bad eye, and the light went back to normal. ―Yes,‖ Leo said. ―Festus can‘t hang around here, though, in the middle of the park. They‘ll arrest him for loitering. Maybe if I had a dog whistle …‖
He rummaged in his tool belt, but came up with nothing.
―Too specialized?‖ he guessed. ―Okay, give me a safety whistle. They got that in lots of machine shops.‖
This time, Leo pulled out a big plastic orange whistle. ―Coach Hedge would be jealous! Okay, Festus, listen.‖ Leo blew the whistle. The shrill sound probably rolled all the way across Lake Michigan. ―You hear that, come find me, okay? Until then, you fly wherever you want. Just try not to barbecue any pedestrians.‖
The dragon snorted—hopefully in agreement. Then he spread his wings and launched into the air.
Piper took one step and winced. ―Ah!‖
―Your ankle?‖ Jason felt bad he‘d forgotten about her injury back in the Cyclops factory. ―That nectar we gave you might be wearing off.‖
―It‘s fine.‖ She shivered, and Jason remembered his promise to get her a new snowboarding coat. He hoped he lived long enough to find her one. She took a few more steps with only a slight limp, but Jason could tell she was trying not to grimace.
―Let‘s get out of the wind,‖ he suggested.
―Down a drain?‖ Piper shuddered. ―Sounds cozy.‖
They wrapped themselves up as best they could and headed toward the fountain.
* * *
According to the plaque, it was called Crown Fountain. All the water had emptied out except for a few patches that were starting to freeze. It didn‘t seem right to Jason that the fountain would have water in it in the winter anyway. Then again, those big monitors had flashed the face of their mysterious enemy Dirt Woman. Nothing about this place was right.
They stepped to the center of the pool. No spirits tried to stop them. The giant monitor walls stayed dark. The drain hole was easily big enough for a person, and a maintenance ladder led down into the gloom.
Jason went first. As he climbed, he braced himself for horrible sewer smells, but it wasn‘t that bad. The ladder dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry, with only a trickle of water on the floor.
Piper and Leo climbed down after him.
―Are all sewers this nice?‖ Piper wondered.
―No,‖ Leo said. ―Trust me.‖
Jason frowned. ―How do you know—‖
―Hey, man, I ran away six times. I‘ve slept in some weird places, okay? Now, which way do we go?‖
Jason tilted his head, listening, then pointed south. ―That way.‖
―How can you be sure?‖ Piper asked.
―There‘s a draft blowing south,‖ Jason said. ―Maybe the venti went with the flow.‖
It wasn‘t much of a lead, but nobody offered anything better.
Unfortunately, as soon as they started walking, Piper stumbled. Jason had to catch her.
―Stupid ankle,‖ she cursed.
―Let‘s rest,‖ Jason decided. ―We could all use it. We‘ve been going nonstop for over a day. Leo, can you pull any food from that tool belt besides breath mints?‖
―Thought you‘d never ask. Chef Leo is on it!‖
Piper and Jason sat on a brick ledge while Leo shuffled through his pack.
Jason was glad to rest. He was still tired and dizzy, and hungry, too. But mostly, he wasn‘t eager to face whatever lay ahead. He turned his gold coin in his fingers.
If you are to die, Hera had warned, it will be by her hand.
Whoever ―her‖ was. After Khione, the Cyclops mother, and the weird sleeping lady, the last thing Jason needed was another psycho villainess in his life.
―It wasn‘t your fault,‖ Piper said.
He looked at her blankly. ―What?‖
―Getting jumped by the Cyclopes,‖ she said. ―It wasn‘t your fault.‖
He looked down at the coin in his palm. ―I was stupid. I left you alone and walked into a trap. I should‘ve known…‖
He didn‘t finish. There were too many things he should have known—who he was, how to fight monsters, how Cyclopes lured their victims by mimicking voices and hiding in shadows and a hundred other tricks. All that information was supposed to be in his head. He could feel the places it should be—like empty pockets. If Hera wanted him to succeed, why had she stolen the memories that could help him? She claimed his amnesia had kept him alive, but that made no sense. He was starting to understand why Annabeth had wanted to leave the goddess in her cage.
―Hey.‖ Piper nudged his arm. ―Cut yourself some slack. Just because you‘re the son of Zeus doesn‘t mean you‘re a one-man army.‖
A few feet away, Leo lit a small cooking fire. He hummed as he pulled supplies out of his pack and his tool belt.
In the firelight, Piper‘s eyes seemed to dance. Jason had been studying them for days now, and he still couldn‘t decide what color they were.
―I know this must suck for you,‖ he said. ―Not just the quest, I mean. The way I appeared on the bus, the Mist messing with your mind, and making you think I was …you know.‖
She dropped her gaze. ―Yeah, well. None of us asked for this. It‘s not your fault.‖
She tugged at the little braids on each side of her head. Again, Jason thought how glad he was that she‘d lost the Aphrodite blessing. With the makeup and the dress and the perfect hair, she‘d looked about twenty-five, glamorous, and completely out of his league. He‘d never thought of beauty as a form of power, but that‘s the way Piper had seemed—powerful.
He liked regular Piper better—someone he could hang out with. But the weird thing was, he couldn‘t quite get that other image out of his head. It hadn‘t been an illusion. That side of Piper was there too. She just did her best to hide it.
―Back in the factory,‖ Jason said, ―you were you going to say something about your dad.‖
She traced her finger over the bricks, almost like she was writing out a scream she didn‘t want to vocalize. ―Was I?‖
―Piper,‖ he said, ―he‘s in some kind of trouble, isn‘t it?‖
Over at the fire, Leo stirred some sizzling bell peppers and meat in a pan. ―Yeah, baby! Almost there.‖
Piper looked on the verge of tears. ―Jason … I can‘t talk about it.‖
―We‘re your friends. Let us help.‖
That seemed to make her feel worse. She took a shaky breath. ―I wish I could, but—‖
―And bingo!‖ Leo announced.
He came over with three plates stacked on his arms like a waiter. Jason had no idea where he‘d gotten all the food, or how he‘d put it together so fast, but it looked amazing: pepper and beef tacos with chips and salsa.
―Leo,‖ Piper said in amazement. ―How did you—?‖
―Chef Leo‘s Taco Garage is fixing you up!‖ he said proudly. ―And by the way, it‘s tofu, not beef, beauty queen, so don‘t freak. Just dig in!‖
Jason wasn‘t sure about tofu, but the tacos tasted as good as they smelled. While they ate, Leo tried to lighten the mood and joke around. Jason was grateful Leo was with them. It made being with Piper a little less intense and uncomfortable. At the same time, he kind of wished he was alone with her; but he chided himself for feeling that way.
After Piper ate, Jason encouraged her to get some sleep. Without another word, she curled up and put her head in his lap. In two seconds she was snoring.
Jason looked up at Leo, who was obviously trying not to laugh.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking lemonade Leo had made from canteen water and powdered mix.
―Good, huh?‖ Leo grinned.
―You should start a stand,‖ Jason said. ―Make some serious coin.‖
But as he stared at the embers of the fire, something began to bother him. ―Leo … about this fire stuff you can do … is it true?‖
Leo‘s smile faltered. ―Yeah, well …‖ He opened his hand. A small ball of flame burst to life, dancing across his palm.
―That is so cool,‖ Jason said. ―Why didn‘t you say anything?‖
Leo closed his hand and the fire went out. ―Didn‘t want to look like a freak.‖
―I have lightning and wind powers,‖ Jason reminded him. ―Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMWs. You‘re no more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too. Like jump off a building and yell, ‗Flame on!‘‖
Leo snorted. ―If I did that, you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than ‗Flame on!‘ Trust me, Hephaestus cabin doesn‘t see fire powers as cool. Nyssa told me they‘re super rare. When a demigod like me comes around, bad things happen. Really bad.‖
―Maybe it‘s the other way around,‖ Jason suggested. ―Maybe people with special gifts show up when bad things are happening because that‘s when they‘re needed most.‖
Leo cleared away the plates. ―Maybe. But I‘m telling you … it‘s not always a gift.‖
Jason fell silent. ―You‘re talking about your mom, aren‘t you? The night she died.‖
Leo didn‘t answer. He didn‘t have to. The fact that he was quiet, not joking around—that told Jason enough.
―Leo, her death wasn‘t your fault. Whatever happened that night—it wasn‘t because you could summon fire. This Dirt Woman, whoever she is, has been trying to ruin you for years, mess up your confidence, take away everything you care about. She‘s trying to make you feel like a failure. You‘re not. You‘re important.‖
―That‘s what she said.‖ Leo looked up, his eyes full of pain. ―She said I was meant to do something important—something that would make or break that big prophecy about the seven demigods. That‘s what scares me. I don‘t know if I‘m up to it.‖
Jason wanted to tell him everything would be all right, but it would‘ve sounded fake. Jason didn‘t know what would happen. They were demigods, which meant sometimes things didn‘t end okay. Sometimes you got eaten by the Cyclops.
If you asked most kids, ―Hey, you want to summon fire or lightning or magical makeup?‖ they‘d think it sounded pretty cool. But those powers went along with hard stuff, like sitting in a sewer in the middle of winter, running from monsters, losing your memory, watching your friends almost get cooked, and having dreams that warned you of your own death.
Leo poked at the remnants of his fire, turning over red-hot coals with his bare hand. ―You ever wonder about the other four demigods? I mean … if we‘re three of the ones from the Great Prophecy, who are the others? Where are they?‖
Jason had thought about it, all right, but he tried to push it out of his mind. He had a horrible suspicion that he would be expected to lead those other demigods, and he was afraid he would fail.
You‟ll tear each other apart, Boreas had promised.
Jason had been trained never to show fear. He was sure of that from his dream with the wolves. He was supposed to act confident, even if he didn‘t feel it. But Leo and Piper were depending on him, and he was terrified of failing them. If he had to lead a group of six—six who might not get along—that would be even worse.
―I don‘t know,‖ he said at last. ―I guess the other four will show up when the time is right. Who knows? Maybe they‘re on some other quest right now.‖
Leo grunted. ―I bet their sewer is nicer than ours.‖
The draft picked up, blowing toward the south end of the tunnel.
―Get some rest, Leo,‖ Jason said. ―I‘ll take first watch.‖
It was hard to measure time, but Jason figured his friends slept about four hours. Jason didn‘t mind. Now that he was resting, he didn‘t really feel the need for more sleep. He‘d been conked out long enough on the dragon. Plus, he needed time to think about the quest, his sister Thalia, and Hera‘s warnings. He also didn‘t mind Piper‘s using him for a pillow. She had a cute way of breathing when she slept—inhaling through the nose, exhaling with a little puff through the mouth. He was almost disappointed when she woke up.
Finally they broke camp and started down the tunnel.
It twisted and turned and seemed to go on forever. Jason wasn‘t sure what to expect at the end—a dungeon, a mad scientist‘s lab, or maybe a sewer reservoir where all Porta-Potty sludge ends up, forming an evil toilet face large enough to swallow the world.
Instead, they found polished steel elevator doors, each one engraved with a cursive letter M. Next to the elevator was a directory, like for a department store.
―M for Macy‘s?‖ Piper guessed. ―I think they have one in downtown Chicago.‖
―Or Monocle Motors still?‖ Leo said. ―Guys, read the directory. It‘s messed up.‖
Parking, Kennels, Main Entrance: Sewer Level
Furnishings and Café M: 1
Women‘s Fashion and Magical Appliances: 2
Men‘s Wear and Weaponry: 3
Cosmetics, Potions, Poisons & Sundries: 4
―Kennels for what?‖ Piper said. ―And what kind of department store has its entrance in a sewer?‖
―Or sells poisons,‖ Leo said. ―Man, what does ‗sundries‘ even mean? Is that like underwear?‖
Jason took a deep breath. ―When in doubt, start at the top.‖
* * *
The doors slid open on the fourth floor, and the scent of perfume wafted into the elevator. Jason stepped out first, sword ready.
―Guys,‖ he said. ―You‘ve got to see this.‖
Piper joined him and caught her breath. ―This is not Macy‘s.‖
The department store looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope. The entire ceiling was a stained glass mosaic with astrological signs around a giant sun. The daylight streaming through it washed everything in a thousand different colors. The upper floors made a ring of balconies around a huge central atrium, so they could see all the way down to the ground floor. Gold railings glittered so brightly, they were hard to look at.
Aside from the stained glass ceiling and the elevator, Jason couldn‘t see any other windows or doors, but two sets of glass escalators ran between the levels. The carpeting was a riot of oriental patterns and colors, and the racks of merchandise were just as bizarre. There was too much to take it at once, but Jason saw normal stuff like shirt racks and shoe trees mixed in with armored manikins, beds of nails, and fur coats that seemed to be moving.
Leo stepped to the railing and looked down. ―Check it out.‖
In the middle of the atrium a fountain sprayed water twenty feet into the air, changing color from red to yellow to blue. The pool glittered with gold coins, and on either side of the fountain stood a gilded cage—like an oversize canary cage.
Inside one, a miniature hurricane swirled, and lightning flashed. Somebody had imprisoned the storm spirits, and the cage shuddered as they tried to get out. In the other, frozen like a statue, was a short, buff satyr, holding a tree-branch club.
―Coach Hedge!‖ Piper said. ―We‘ve got to get down there.‖
A voice said, ―May I help you find something?‖
All three of them jumped back.
A woman had just appeared in front of them. She wore an elegant black dress with diamond jewelry, and she looked like a retired fashion model—maybe fifty years old, though it was hard for Jason to judge. Her long dark hair swept over one shoulder, and her face was gorgeous in that surreal super-model way—thin and haughty and cold, not quite human. With their long red-painted nails, her fingers looked more like talons.
She smiled. ―I‘m so happy to see new customers. How may I help you?‖
Leo glanced at Jason like, All yours.
―Um,‖ Jason started, ―is this your store?‖
The woman nodded. ―I found it abandoned, you know. I understand so many stores are, these days. I decided it would make the perfect place. I love collecting tasteful objects, helping people, and offering quality goods at a reasonable price. So this seemed a good … how do you say … first acquisition in this country.‖
She spoke with a pleasing accent, but Jason couldn‘t guess where from. Clearly she wasn‘t hostile, though. Jason started to relax. Her voice was rich and exotic. Jason wanted to hear more.
―So you‘re new to America?‖ he asked.
―I am … new,‖ the woman agreed. ―I am the Princess of Colchis. My friends call me Your Highness. Now, what are you looking for?‖
Jason had heard of rich foreigners buying American department stores. Of course most of the time they didn‘t sell poisons, living fur coats, storm spirits, or satyrs, but still—with a nice voice like that, the Princess of Colchis couldn‘t be all bad.
Piper poked him in the ribs. ―Jason …‖
―Um, right. Actually, Your Highness …‖ He pointed to the gilded cage on the first floor. ―That‘s our friend down there, Gleeson Hedge. The satyr. Could we … have him back, please?‖
―Of course!‖ the princess agreed immediately. ―I would love to show you my inventory. First, may I know your names?‖
Jason hesitated. It seemed like a bad idea to give out their names. A memory tugged at the back of his mind—something Hera had warned him about, but it seemed fuzzy.
On the other hand, Her Highness was on the verge of cooperating. If they could get what they wanted without a fight, that would be better. Besides, this lady didn‘t seem like an enemy.
Piper started to say, ―Jason, I wouldn‘t—‖
―This is Piper,‖ he said. ―This is Leo. I‘m Jason.‖
The princess fixed her eyes on him and, just for a moment, her face literally glowed, blazing with so much anger, Jason could see her skull beneath her skin. Jason‘s mind was getting blurrier, but he knew something didn‘t seem right. Then the moment passed, and Her Highness looked like a normal elegant woman again, with a cordial smile and a soothing voice.
―Jason. What an interesting name,‖ she said, her eyes as cold as the Chicago wind. ―I think we‘ll have to make a special deal for you. Come, children. Let‘s go shopping.‖
Uhm wow
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