O C E A N U S

C H A P T E R   N I N E

( jason and leo: the idiots )

⟶⬩⬥⬩⟵

          MALIA WANTED TO run for the elevator.

Her second choice: attack the weird princess now, because she was sure a fight was coming. And she was sure that Piper knew this too, with the way that she was gripping the hilt of her dagger. The way the lady's face had glowed when she'd heard Jason's name had been bad enough. Now Her Highness was smiling like nothing had happened, and Jason and Leo didn't seem to think anything was wrong.

Malia glanced down at her wrist to see the trident charm glowing green with warning. If she was right about who this princess was, Jason was in serious danger. They all were.

The princess gestured toward the cosmetics counter. "Shall we start with the potions?"

"Cool," Jason said.

"Guys," Piper interrupted, "we're here to get the storm spirits and Coach Hedge. If this—princess—is really our friend—"

"Oh, I'm better than a friend, my dear," Her Highness said. "I'm a saleswoman." Her diamonds sparkled, and her eyes glittered like a snake's—cold and dark. "Don't worry. We'll work our way down to the first floor, eh?"

Leo nodded eagerly. "Sure, yeah! That sounds okay. Right, Piper?"

Malia and Piper shared a look. They then turned to Leo with the same expression: No, it is not okay!

"Of course it's okay." Her Highness put her hands on Leo's and Jason's shoulders and steered them toward the cosmetics. "Come along, boys."

Malia and Piper didn't have much choice except to follow.

Malia had a deeply rooted hatred for department stores. It started when she was six and nearly got stolen from JC Penny's while shopping with her mom and Percy. Luckily Percy had been paying attention, otherwise she wouldn't have made it to her seventh birthday. The monster trying to steal her had been a dracaena that wanted her dead and for lunch, so she wasn't real close with department stores. The other reason was because the last time she'd been in one, it'd been during the Titan War last summer and she'd been helping some of the Aphrodite girls survive. Not a fun experience.

Anyway, she wasn't thrilled to be back in a department store—especially one run by a crazy princess who glowed in the dark.

"And here," the princess said, "is the finest assortment of magical mixtures anywhere."

The counter was crammed with bubbling beakers and smoking vials on tripods. Lining the display shelves were crystal flasks—some shaped like swans or honey bear dispensers. The liquids inside were every color, from glowing white to polka-dotted. And the smells—ugh! Some were pleasant, like fresh-baked cookies or roses, but they were mixed with the scents of burning tires, skunk spray, and gym lockers.

The princess pointed to a bloodred vial—a simple test tube with a cork stopper. "This one will heal any disease."

"Even cancer?" Leo asked. "Leprosy? Hangnails?"

"Any disease, sweet boy. And this vial"—she pointed to a swan-shaped container with blue liquid inside—"will kill you very painfully."

"Awesome," Jason said. His voice sounded dazed and sleepy.

"Jason," Malia said, moving closer to him. "We've got a job to do. Remember?"

She may not have been a child of Aphrodite blessed with charmspeak like Piper, but she hoped that any connection she'd formed with Jason over the past few days would be strong enough to break him out of his stupor. It was a long shot, but she reached for his hand and grabbed it tightly, praying to Aphrodite and her father that he would snap out of it and realize that something dangerous was going on. Something that they probably wouldn't survive if he and Leo remained this way.

"Job to do," Jason muttered. It looked like his eyes were clearing up, but it faded just as quickly as it came. "Sure. But shopping first, okay?"

Malia internally groaned. She moved back to where Piper was and shook her head. "We're doomed."

Piper nodded. "This has to be some sort of spell. No boy likes shopping."

"Unless they are flamboyant or gay," Malia added on, pursing her lips. "Though, I don't take Leo or Jason as gay guys. Unless they are really good at hiding it."

Piper shrugged with a small smile. Malia was glad she wasn't the only girl on this trip with the two idiotic boys. Otherwise she would have committed murder two days ago.

The princess smiled at Jason. "Then we have potions for resisting fire—"

"Got that covered," Leo said.

"Indeed?" The princess studied Leo's face more closely. "You don't appear to be wearing my trademark sunscreen. . . but no matter. We also have potions that cause blindness, insanity, sleep, or—"

"Wait." Piper had moved to stare at the red vial while Malia watched the princess closely. Sunscreen? There was only one type of sunscreen that Malia knew about that could make you fire resistant, and the one who made it should be dead. "Could that potion cure lost memory?"

The princess narrowed her eyes. "Possibly. Yes. Quite possibly. Why, my dear? Have you forgotten something important?"

Malia got what Piper was hinting at. If they could get that vial and give it to Jason, it could possibly give him his memories back. And if they could get that vial, and it could cure Jason's memory. . .

Did she really want that, though?

If Jason found out who he was, he might not even be her friend. Hera had taken away his memories for a reason, and even if she hated Hera, she understood that bit a bit. She'd told him it was the only way he'd survive at Camp Half-Blood. What if Jason found out that he was their enemy, or something? He might come out of his amnesia and decide he hated all of them. He might have a girlfriend wherever he came from—

Whoa! Where did that thought come from? Why should Malia care about whether or not he has a girlfriend. She didn't like him in that way. . . right? Sure, he gave her butterflies when he smiled at her, and yeah, his touch sent electric sparks through her veins. And she hadn't been completely turned off by him wrapping his arms around her waist and holding onto her tightly. She she definitely didn't mind holding his hand.

Oh, gods! She liked Jason. As more than a friend. As. . . as in a crush!

Malia pushed those thoughts away. She had other things to focus on right now. And anyway, all those things didn't matter.

Jason always looked so anguished when he tried to remember things. Malia hated seeing him that way. She wanted to help him because she cared about him, even if that meant losing him. And maybe it would make this trip through Her Craziness's department store worthwhile.

"How much?" Malia found herself asking.

The princess got a faraway look in her eyes. "Well, now. . . The price is always tricky. I love helping people. Honestly, I do. And I always keep my bargains, but sometimes people try to cheat me." Her gaze drifted to Jason. "Once, for instance, I met a handsome young man who wanted a treasure from my father's kingdom. We made a bargain, and I promised to help him steal it."

"From your own dad?" Jason still looked half in a trance, but the idea seemed to bother him as much as it was bothering Malia.

"Oh, don't worry," the princess said. "I demanded a high price. The young man had to take me away with him. He was quite good-looking, dashing, strong. . ." She looked at Malia and Piper. "I'm sure, my dears, you understand how one might be attracted to such a hero, and want to help him."

Malia did her best to control her emotions, but she was pretty sure there was a faint blush on her cheeks. She got the creepiest feeling that the princess could read her thoughts.

She also found the princess's story disturbingly familiar. Pieces of old myths she'd read for fun or with Annabeth started coming together, and all the hints she had been dropping made it scarily obvious on who she was. Malia wished she wasn't smart enough to figure it out, but now that she knew, it was impossible to forget.

"At any rate," Her Highness continued, "my hero had to do many impossible tasks, and I'm not bragging when I say he couldn't have done them without me. I betrayed my own family to win the hero his prize. And still he cheated me out of my payment."

"Cheated?" Jason frowned, as if trying to remember something important.

"That's messed up," Leo said.

Her Highness patted his cheek affectionately. "I'm sure you don't need to worry, Leo. You seem honest. You would always pay a fair price, wouldn't you?"

Leo nodded. "What were we buying again? I'll take two."

Piper broke in: "So, the vial, Your Highness—how much?"

The princess assessed Piper's clothes, her face, her posture, as if putting a price tag on one slightly used demigod. She did the same to Malia, who gave her a bored look in return.

"Would you give anything for it, my dear?" the princess asked. "I sense that you both would."

The words washed over Malia as powerfully as a good surfing wave. The force of the suggestion nearly lifted her off her feet. She wanted to pay any price. She wanted to say yes.

Then her stomach twisted, and Malia grew angry. The feeling she was experiencing was something close to what she had experienced when Drew first tried to charmspeak her. Over the years, Malia had grown an intolerance to any form of charmspeak. Whether it was a gift that all children of Poseidon had, since charmspeak tended to flow like waves in an ocean, or if it was just her being pretty strong-willed and stubborn, she didn't know. But she was happy for it since it kept her from doing something stupid.

Malia's gaze turned cold. "No, we won't pay any price. But a fair price, maybe."

Piper nodded. "After that, we need to leave. Right, guys?"

Just for a moment, Piper's words seemed to have some effect. The boys looked confused.

"Leave?" Jason said.

"You mean. . . after shopping?" Leo asked.

Malia wanted to scream, but the princess tilted her head, examining Piper and Malia with newfound interest.

"Impressive," the princess said. "Not many people could resist my suggestions. Are you children of Aphrodite, my dears? Ah, yes—I should have seen it. In Piper, at least. Malia, you are a wonder. No matter. Perhaps we should shop a while longer before you decide what to buy, eh?"

"But the vial—"

"Now, boys." She turned to Jason and Leo. Her voice was so much more powerful than Piper's, so full of confidence, Piper didn't stand a chance. "Would you like to see more?"

"Sure," Jason said.

"Okay," Leo said.

"Excellent," the princess said. "You'll need all the help you can get if you're to make it to the Bay Area."

Malia looked down at her bracelet to see it pulsing with green light. Her stomach dropped at the mention of the Bay Area, somewhere so close to where she had held up the sky for days on end before Artemis had taken it from her and she'd been saved by her brother and friends. A place where the Titans had been born and haunted her nightmares. A place that demigods weren't supposed to go.

"The Bay Area?" She said. "Why the Bay Area?"

The princess smiled. "Well, that's where you'll die, isn't it?"

Then she led them toward the escalators, Jason and Leo still looking excited to shop.

Malia and Piper shared a look. "What is she talking about?"

Piper looked uneasy. "Not sure." She pursed her lips. "Could you watch the boys. I need to ask the princess something."

Malia nodded, watching Piper carefully, before the two of them split off to do their separate chores.

⟶⬩⬥⬩⟵

"Leo, do not put that in your mouth! Jason, drop the moving fur coat! Gods, you two are acting like children!"

Malia raced around the fourth floor of the department store, trying to keep her friends (and potential crush) from dying. The daughter of Poseidon swore to herself that she was going to murder the two demigods if they got out of this alive. They deserved it for making her run around like a mother looking after a set of twins that just could not listen to simple instructions. She hoped that Piper was having better luck with the princess.

"But it looks so cool!" Jason whined, pouting as he held the coat in his hands.

Malia gave him a look. "Put the moving fur coat down, Jason Grace."

The blond sighed and put the coat down, moving to stand beside Malia as she walked over to Leo and dragged him away from the potions that he was trying to consume. Malia led them over toward the rack of shirts, feeling as though they were the least dangerous thing in the store. However, when she got to the rack, she regretted her decision immediately.

The rack was labeled DISTRESSED CLOTHING, which was an understatement. All the clothing on the rack was torn and shredded or completely destroyed. Her eyes scanned the clothing, taking in the rips and tears that were rimmed with crimson. Blood. They were stab wounds or slashes that were caused by monsters probably. Armor with dents and burn marks. The sight of it made Malia's stomach drop.

Jason picked up a purple tee shirt like the one he had been wearing when he got to camp. This shirt looked like it had been chewed by tigers, with barely any fabric hanging on. The look in Jason's eyes almost gave Malia hope that he was snapping out of it.

"Hey, check it out!" Jason shouted toward Piper and Her Highness. The two turned to look at it, and when Piper met Malia's gaze, Malia knew that Piper had come to the same conclusion about who this princess was that she had. "Why does this look so familiar?"

"Jason, it's like yours," Malia said. "Now we really have to leave." But she wasn't sure he could eve hear her anymore through the princess's enchantment.

"Nonsense," the princess said. "The boys aren't done, are they? And yes, my dear. Those shirts are very popular—trade-ins from previous customers. It suits you."

Leo picked up an orange Camp Half-Blood tee with a hole through the middle, as if it had been hit by a javelin. Next to that was a dented bronze brestplate pitted with corrosion—acid, maybe?—and a Roman toga slashed to pieces and stained with something that looked disturbingly like dried blood.

"Your Highness," Piper said, trying to control her nerves. "Why don't you tell the boys how you betrayed your family? I'm sure they'd like to hear that story."

Her words didn't have any effect on the princess, but the boys turned, suddenly interested.

"More story?" Leo asked.

"I like more story!" Jason agreed.

Gods, they sounded like children.

The princess shot Piper an irritated look. "Oh, one will do strange things for love, Piper. You should know that. I fell for that young hero, in fact, because your mother Aphrodite had me under a spell. If it wasn't for her—but I can't hold a grudge against a goddess, can I?"

The princess's tone made her meaning clear: I can take it out on you.

"But that hero took you with him when he fled Colchis," Malia pointed out, glaring at the princess. She grabbed the boys before they could wander off by their shirt collars, which was a little hard since they were taller than her. "Didn't he, Your Highness? He married you just as he promised."

The look in the princess's eyes made Malia think she should apologize, but she bit her tongue, not backing down.

"At first," Her Highness admitted, "it seemed he would keep his word. But even after I helped him steal my father's treasure, he still needed my help. As we fled, my brother's fleet came after us. His warships overtook us. He would have destroyed us, but I convinced my brother to come aboard our ship first and talk under a flag of truce. He trusted me."

"And you killed your own brother," Piper said.

"What?" Jason stirred. For a moment he looked almost like himself. "Killed your own—"

"No," the princess snapped. "Those stories are lies. It was my new husband and his men who killed my brother, though they couldn't have done it without my deception. They threw his body into the sea, and the pursuing fleet had to stop and search for it so they could give my brother a proper burial. This gave us time to get away. All this, I did for my husband. And he forgot our bargain. He betrayed me in the end."

Jason still looked uncomfortable. "What did he do"

The princess held the sliced-up toga against Jason's chest, as if measuring him for an assassination. "Don't you know the story, my boy? You of all people should. You were named for him."

"Jason," Piper said. "The original Jason. But then you're—you should be dead!"

Malia glared harder. "She should be, but that doesn't mean she is. Life as a demigod is funny that way."

The princess smiled. "As I said, a new life in a new country. Certainly I made mistakes. I turned my back on my own people. I was called a traitor, a thief, a liar, a murderess. But I acted out of love." She turned to the boys and gave them a pitiful look, batting her eyelashes. Malia could feel the sorcery washing over them, taking control more firmly than every. It reminded her of how she'd felt on Circe's Island when she was twelve. "Wouldn't you do the same for someone you loved, my dears?"

For a moment, Jason's gaze flickered over to Malia. "Oh, sure."

"Okay," Leo said.

"Guys!" Malia ground her teeth in frustration, cheeks pink from meeting Jason's gaze. "Don't you see who she is? Don't you—"

"Let's continue, shall we?" the princess said breezily. "I believe you wanted to talk about a price for the storm spirits—and your satyr."

⟶⬩⬥⬩⟵

Leo got distracted on the second floor with the appliances.

"No way," he said. "Is that an armored forge?"

Before Malia or Piper could stop him, he hopped off the escalator and ran over to a big oval oven that looked like a barbecue on steroids.

When they caught up to him, the princess said, "You have good taste. This is the H-2000, designed by Hephaestus himself. Hot enough to melt Celestial bronze or Imperial gold."

Jason flinched as if he recognized that term. "Imperial gold?"

The princess nodded. "Yes, my dear. Like that weapon so cleverly concealed in your pocket. To be properly forged, Imperial gold had to be consecrated in the Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill in Rome. Quite a powerful and rare metal, but like the Roman emperors, quite volatile. Be sure never to break that blade. . ." She smiled pleasantly. "Rome was after my time, of course, but I do hear stories. And now over here—this golden throne is one of my finest luxury items. Hephaestus made it as a punishment for his mother, Hera. Sit in it and you'll be immediately trapped."

Leo apparently took this as an order. He began walking toward it in a trance. Malia snatched the back of his shirt to keep him from walking over to the chair while Piper warned, "Leo, don't!"

He blinked. "How much for both?"

"Oh, the seat I could let you have for five great deeds. The forge, seven years of servitude. And for only a bit of your strength—" She led Leo into the appliance section, giving him prices on various items.

Piper and Malia shared a look before the daughter of Aphrodite followed them, leaving Malia to reason with Jason. She grabbed his hand and pulled him aside, slapping him upside the head.

"Ow," he muttered sleepily. "What was that for?"

"Snap out of it!" Malia hissed.

"What do you mean?"

"She's charmspeaking you, idiot! Can't you feel it?"

He knit his eyebrows. "She seems okay."

Malia wanted to kill him. She actually wanted to kill him, and she had never wanted to kill anyone in her entire life. Other than Percy, but he was her brother and she had the right to want to kill him. But with Jason, she had this overwhelming urge to just hit him until he was unconscious because of how obliviously idiotic he could be.

She was rifling through the multiple ways she could kill him. And she was pretty sure she had good reasons to kill him, too.

One, he had dragged her on a quest to save Hera's royal ass.

Two, he had been knocked out by a Cyclops and almost eaten and was acting like nothing had even happened.

Three, he was incredibly cute!

Four, he was falling under the princess's enchantment so easily that it was making her frustrated.

Five, he was incredibly cute! (Wait, had she already said that one?)

And six, he had made her like him more than she had ever liked anyone in her entire life in a matter of days.

"She's not okay! She shouldn't even be alive! She was married to Jason—the other Jason—three thousand years ago. Remember what Boreas said—something about the souls no longer being confined to Hades? It's not just monsters who can't stay dead. She's come back from the Underworld!"

Piper may have been the one to talk with the princess, but Malia knew the story like the back of her hand. She didn't have to hear the princess's story to know who she was.

Jason shook his head uneasily. "She's not a ghost."

"No, she's worse! She's—"

"Children." The princess was back with Leo and Piper in tow. "If you please, we will now see what you came for. That is what you want, yes?"

Malia had to grit her teeth to keep in a scream of frustration. She was tempted to whip out her sword and take on this witch herself, but she didn't like her chances—not in the middle of Her Highness's department store with half of her friends under a spell. She wasn't even sure if Jason and Leo would take her side in the fight, and with just her and Piper as the only ones free from the spell, the odds weren't in their favor. She had to figure out a better plan.

They took the escalator down to the base of the fountain. For the first time, Malia noticed two large bronze sundials—each about to size of a trampoline—inlaid on the marble tile floor to the north and south of the fountain. The gilded oversize canary cages stood to the east and west, and the farthest one held the storm spirits. They were so densely packed, spinning around like a super-concentrated tornado, that Malia couldn't tell how many there were—dozens, at least.

"Hey," Leo said, "Coach Hedge looks okay!"

They ran to the nearest canary cage. The old satyr seemed to have been petrified at the moment he was sucked into the sky above the Grand Canyon. He was frozen mid-shout, his club raised over his head ready to strike. His curly hair stuck up at odd angles. When she looked at the others, she could see them still struggling to come to terms with the fact that Hedge was a satyr and not a human.

"Yes," the princess said. "I always keep my wares in good condition. We can certainly barter for the storm spirits and the satyr. A package deal. If we come to terms, I'll even throw in the vial of healing potion, and you can go in peace." She gave Piper and Malia a shrewd look. "That's better than starting unpleasantness, isn't it, dears?"

Malia didn't trust her one bit. A fair deal wasn't possible with this woman. It was all a trick. And she knew Piper knew it too. However, Jason and Leo were looking at them, nodding urgently and mouthing Say yes! Malia needed more time to think.

"We can negotiate," she said.

"Totally!" Leo agreed. "Name your price."

"Leo!" Piper snapped.

"Gods, you are dumber than my brother. And that's saying something." Malia wanted to slap the child of Hephaestus so hard.

The princess chuckled. "Name my price? Perhaps not the best haggling strategy, my boy, but at least you know a thing's value. Freedom is very valuable indeed. You would ask me to release this satyr, who attacked my storm winds—"

"Who attacked us," Piper interjected."

Her Highness shrugged. "As I said, my patron asks me for small favors from time to time. Sending the storm spirits to abduct you—that was one. I assure you it was nothing personal. And no harm done, as you came here, in the end, of your own free will! At any rate, you want the satyr freed, and you want my storm spirits—who are very valuable servants, by the way—so you can hand them over to that tyrant Aeolus. Doesn't seem quite fair, does it? The price will be high."

Malia could see that the boys were ready to offer anything, promise anything. Before they could speak, she played her last card. A hail Mary, of sorts.

"You're Medea," she said. "You helped the original Jason steal the Golden Fleece. You're one of the most evil villains in Greek Mythology. Jason, Leo—don't trust her."

Now, Malia wasn't a child of Aphrodite and she didn't have charmspeak, but she put as much power into her words as possible. She was sincere, and it seemed to have some effect on them. Jason stepped away from the sorceress.

Leo scratched his head and looked around like he was coming out of a dream.

"What are we doing, again?"

"Boys!" The princess spread her hands in a welcoming gesture. Her diamond jewelry glittered, and her painted fingers curled like blood-tipped claws. "It's true, I'm Medea. But I'm so misunderstood. Oh, Piper and Malia, my dears, you don't know what it was like for a women in the old days. We had no power, no leverage. Often we couldn't even choose our own husbands. But I was different. I chose my own destiny by becoming a sorceress. Is that so wrong? I made a pact with Jason: my help to win the fleece, in exchange for his love. A fair deal. He became a famous hero! Without me, he would've died unknown on the shores of Colchis."

Jason—Malia's Jason—scowled. "Then. . . you really did die three thousand years ago? You came back from the Underworld?"

"Death no longer holds me, young hero," Medea said. "Thanks to my patron, I am flesh and blood again."

"You. . . re-formed?" Leo blinked. "Like a monster?"

Medea spread her fingers, and steam hissed from her nails, like water splashed on hot iron. "You have no idea what's happening, do you, my dears? It is so much worse than a stirring of monsters from Tartarus. My patron knows that giants and monsters are not her greatest servants. I am mortal. I learn from my mistakes. And now that I have returned to the living, I will not be cheated again. Now, here is my price for what you ask."

"Guys," Piper said. "The original Jason left Medea because she was crazy and bloodthirsty."

"Lies!" Medea said.

"On the way back from Colchis, Jason's ship landed at another kingdom, and Jason agreed to dump Medea and marry the king's daughter," Malia said, sending Medea a glare.

"After I bore him two children!" Medea said. "Still he broke his promise! I ask you, was that right?"

Jason and Leo dutifully shook their heads, but Malia and Piper weren't finished.

"It may not have been right," Piper continued, "but neither was Medea's revenge. She murdered her own children to get back at Jason. She poisoned his new wife and fled the kingdom."

Medea snarled. "An invention to ruin my reputation! The people of the Corinth—the unruly mob—killed my children and drove me out. Jason did nothing to protect me. He robbed me of everything. So yes, I sneaked back into the palace and poisoned his lovely new bride. It was only fair—a suitable price."

"You're insane, you know that right?" Malia said.

"I am the victim!" Medea wailed. "I died with my dreams shattered, but no longer. I know now not to trust heroes. When they come asking for treasures, they will pay a heavy price. Especially when the one asking has the name of Jason!"

The fountain turned bright red. Malia flicked her wrist and her sword appeared in her hand. Piper drew her dagger, but her hand was shaking. Piper looked at the boys. "Jason, Leo—it's time to go. Now."

"Before you've closed the deal?" Medea asked. "What of your quest, boys? And my price is so easy. Did you know this fountain is magic? If a dead man were to be thrown into it, even if he was chopped to pieces, he would pop back out fully formed—stronger and more powerful than ever."

"Seriously?" Leo asked.

Malia shook her head. "Leo, she's lying. She did that trick with somebody before—a king. She convinced his daughters to cut him to pieces so he could come out of the water young and healthy again, but it just killed him!"

"Ridiculous," Medea said, and Malia could hear the power charged in every syllable. "Leo, Jason—my price is so simple. Why don't you two fight? If you get injured, or even killed, no problem. We'll just throw you into the fountain and you'll be better than ever. You do want to fight, don't you? You resent each other!"

"Guys, no!" Piper said. But they were already glaring at each other, as if it was just dawning on them how they really felt.

Malia felt just as helpless as she had back on Circe's island, facing off with the sorceress who was much more powerful than anyone she'd ever met before. Media didn't rely on poisons and potions like most did. Her most powerful weapon was her voice.

Leo scowled. "Jason's always the star. He always gets the attention and takes me for granted."

"You're annoying, Leo," Jason said. "You never take anything seriously. You can't even fix a dragon."

Malia winced. That was a low blow.

"Stop!" Piper pleaded, but both drew weapons—Jason his gold sword, and Leo a hammer from his tool belt.

"Let them go, Piper," Medea urged. "I'm doing you a favor. Let it happen now, and it will make your choice so much easier. Enceladus will be pleased. You could have your father back today!"

Malia looked over at Piper to see her skin turn sickly pale. Her hands were shaking and she looked sick to her stomach. What had Medea been talking about? What had happened to Piper's father? And what did she have to do with Enceladus?

"You work for Enceladus," Piper said.

Medea laughed. "Serve a giant? No. But we all serve the same greater cause—a patron you cannot begin to challenge. Walk away, child of Aphrodite. This does not have to be your death, too. Save yourself, and your father can go free."

Leo and Jason were still facing off, ready to fight, but they looked unsteady and confused—waiting for another order. Part of them had to be resisting, Malia hoped. This went completely against their nature.

"Listen to me, girl." Medea plucked a diamond off her bracelet and threw it into a spray of water from the fountain. As it passed through the multicolored light, Medea said, "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me the office of Tristan McLean."

The mist shimmered, and Malia saw an office space come into view. Sitting behind a desk, talking on a phone, was a woman in a dark business suit with her hair in a tight bun. Judging by Piper's pale complexion, this woman wasn't a sight for sore eyes.

"Hello, Jane," Medea said.

The woman—Jane—hung up the phone calmly. "How can I help you, ma'am? Hello, Piper."

"You—" Piper sounded enraged.

"Yes, child," Medea said. "Your father's assistant. Quite easy to manipulate. An organized mind for a mortal, but incredibly weak."

"Thank you, ma'am," Jane said.

"Don't mention it," Medea said. "I just wanted to congratulate you, Jane. Getting Mr. McLean to leave town so suddenly, take his jet to Oakland without alerting the press or the police—well done! No one seems to know where he'd gone. And telling him his daughter's life was on the line—that was a nice touch to get his cooperation."

"Yes," Jane agreed in a bland tone, as if she were sleepwalking. "He was quite cooperative when he believed Piper was in danger."

Malia had no idea what was going on. She was in a world of confusion. Piper looked both angry and sad, and everything Medea was saying was making Malia's thoughts spin.

"I may have new orders for you, Jane," Medea said. "If the girl cooperates, it may be time for Mr. McLean to come home. Would you arrange a suitable cover story for his absence, just in case? And I imagine the poor man will need some time in a psychiatric hospital."

"Yes, ma'am. I will stand by."

The image faded, and Medea turned to Piper. "There, you see?"

"You lured my dad into a trap," Piper said. "You helped the giant—"

"Oh, please, dear. You'll work yourself into a fit! I've been preparing for this war for years, even before I was brought back to life. I'm a seer, as I said. I can tell the future as well as your little oracle. Years ago, still suffering in the Fields of Punishment, I had a vision of the eight in your so-called Great Prophecy. I saw your friend Leo here, and saw that he would be an important enemy someday. I stirred the consciousness of my patron, gave her this information, and she managed to wake just a little—just enough to visit him."

"Leo's mother," Malia realized. "Leo, listen to this! She helped get your mother killed!"

"Uh-huh," Leo mumbled, in a daze. He frowned at his hammer. "So. . . I just attack Jason? That's okay?"

"Perfectly safe," Medea promised. "And Jason, strike him hard. Show me you are worthy of your namesake."

"No!" Piper ordered. Her voice was powerful, but Malia knew it wasn't enough yet. "Jason, Leo—she's tricking you. Put down your weapons."

The sorceress rolled her eyes. "Please, girl. You're no match for me. I trained with my aunt, the immortal Circe. I can drive men mad or heal them with my voice. What hope do these puny young heroes have against me? Now, boys, kill each other!"

"Jason, Leo, listen to me." Piper put all of her emotion into her voice. It was rich like caramel and honey combined, rolling off her tongue in waves. "Medea is charming you. It's part of her magic. You are best friends. Don't fight each other. Fight her!"

They hesitated, and Malia could feel the spell shatter.

Jason blinked. "Leo, was I just about to stab you?"

"Something about my mother. . . ?" Leo frowned, then turned toward Medea. "You. . . you're working for Dirt Woman. You sent her to the mechanic shop." He lifted his arm. "Lady, I got a three-pound hammer with your name on it."

"Bah!" Medea sneered. "I'll simply collect payment another way."

She pressed one of the mosaic tiles on the floor, and the building rumbled. Jason swung his sword at Medea, but she dissolved into smoke and reappeared at the base of the escalator.

"You're slow, hero!" She laughed. "Take your frustration out on my pets!"

Before Jason could go after her, the giant bronze sundials at either end of the fountain swung open. Two snarling gold beasts—flesh-and-blood winged dragons—crawled out from the pits below. Each was the size of a camper van, maybe not large compared to Festus, but large enough.

"So that's what's in the kennels," Leo said meekly.

The dragons spread their wings and hissed. Malia could feel the heat coming off their glittering skin. One turned his angry orange eyes on her, and Malia immediately looked away.

"Don't look them in the eye!" Jason warned. "They'll paralyze you."

"Indeed!" Medea was leisurely riding the escalator up, leaning against the handrail as she watched the fun. "These two dears have been with me a long time—sun dragons, you know, gifts from my grandfather Helios. They pulled my chariot when I left Corinth, and now they will be your destruction. Ta-ta!"

The dragons lunged. Leo and Jason charged to intercept. Malia had to admit that she was pretty impressed with how fearlessly the boys attacked—working like a team who had trained together for years.

Medea was almost to the second floor, where she'd be able to choose from a wide assortment of deadly appliances.

"You go after Medea. I'll help the boys!" Piper nodded and raced after the sorceress, leaving Malia to battle the dragons with a guy with amnesia and a kid with a hammer. She spun her blade expertly before jumping into battle, every amount of training and internal instincts she had obtained over the years kicking in.

After battling Medusa, Malia had grown accustomed to fighting things she couldn't directly look at without turning to stone or getting hurt in some way, shape, or form. She ran into battle with storming eyes and her blade glowing, running to Leo's aid since he was only fighting with a hammer.

"What's the game plan here?" Leo asked her, fending off the dragon with his hammer.

Malia swung her blade at the dragon's legs, managing to cut a decent gash in one of its forelegs. "Distract it. Try and give it enough injuries to weaken it."

"Then what?"

"I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead." Leo gave her a look as they ducked under another strike. "Sorry! I'm a little preoccupied at the moment to be thinking up a game plan."

The dragon noticed her lapse in attention attacked, it's razor sharp teeth digging into her side. She held in a shout of pain and immediately flicked her other wrist, sending a jet of water from the fountain toward the dragon. The water was so powerful that it sent the dragon flying across the room, its body slamming into the wall. The dragon, dazed and weak, remained on the ground.

Malia clenched her teeth in pain, not bothering to look down at her side. She already knew what it would look like. Bad. It would look really bad. She was already weak from using her abilities and not getting proper sleep. She didn't need some injury keeping her from finishing this quest.

"I swear, when we are done with this, I'm going to kill Hera," Malia mumbled to herself, spinning her blade. She moved over to where Jason was fighting the other dragon and began to aid him, giving him a cheeky grin. "Hey. How ya doin'?"

Jason shrugged. "Could be better. You?"

"Same old, same old."

They fought the dragon together, acting as if they had fought together for years. They stabbed and parried and battled the dragon, seeming to know what each other was thinking before they actually went through with it. They were slashing and striking and causing enough damage to make the dragon back down. But not enough to kill it.

Suddenly, Leo shouted from behind them. "Jason, Malia, help!"

The two turned, only to see that the other dragon—the one that Malia had disoriented—had Leo pinned to the ground. It was baring its fangs, ready to snap. Malia then spotted Leo's bright orange safety whistle off to the side. She ran over to where it was laying and picked it up, pressing it to her lips and blowing hard. A shrill sound echoed through the store, grabbing everyone's attention.

Silence filled the store. CRASH! The stained glass ceiling splintered in a rain of multicolored shards, and Festus the bronze dragon dropped into the department store.

He hurled into the fray, snatching up a sun dragon in each claw. Only now did Malia appreciate just how big and strong their metal friend was.

"That's my boy!" Leo yelled.

Festus flew halfway up the atrium, then hurled the sun dragons into the pits they'd come from. Leo raced to the fountain and pressed the marble tile, closing the sundials. They shuddered as the dragons banged against them, trying to get out, but for the moment they were contained.

Malia grinned and dropped the whistle. She pressed down on the trident emblem on her sword and slipped the bracelet back on her wrist before running over to the dragon. Leo was already on his back, waiting for the others. Malia climbed up onto the dragon and sat down, Jason getting on behind her. There was space between her and Leo for Piper to get on.

The bronze dragon flapped his mighty wings, snatched the two cages with the satyr and storm spirits in his claws, and began to ascend. The building rumbled. Fire and smoke curled up the walls, melting the railings and turning the air to acid.

Suddenly, Piper jumped over the side. She fell for only a second before Malia and Leo caught her, hauling her aboard the dragon in between them. They could hear Medea screaming in rage as they soared through the broken roof and over downtown Chicago.

Then the department store exploded behind them.

Malia glanced down at her side to see the right side of her shirt torn and bloodied, the pain beginning to come back as the adrenaline left her system. She pursed her lips and swallowed thickly, leaning back against Jason's chest. Her eyes felt heavy and all she wanted to do was sleep, but she knew that wouldn't be the best option. However, as they got further from the department store, the idea of sleep got more inviting, until eventually, she found herself closing her eyes.

Malia!

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A U T H O R S   N O T E

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This chapter was hella long too. Malia got hurt, sadly, but I wanted her to experience something different than what the other people do. Because she's a daughter of Poseidon, she can't get hypothermia like Piper does, so I did something else that would make her need healing and help, you know?

Anyway, Malia came to terms with the fact that she absolutely is crushing on Jason. It's really cute to me, and kinda sweet, and I can't wait for them to start dating and see how Percy reacts to her having a boyfriend. Protective Jason and Percy moments!

Please comment and vote!

Love you all!

~ a.h.