reflection ● jason grace

Mrs. V makes excellent cookies

Clara hadn't missed Los Angeles.

She didn't talk much about her arm. There used to be a somber feeling at night, when she had to detach it from her, placing it on the bedside table like a pair of glasses, but that feeling had long since vanished.

Clara was a quick learner; she knew not to shower in the morning in case there was swelling, and she figured out how to hold her dagger so that she could drive it in a monster's heart even with her weakened arm. But sometimes, like now, she would get a cold feeling in her shoulder. A warning. So though she had missed Nathan terribly (not that she would ever admit it) the city of angels could go to hell.

Michael was the one who rang the doorbell. Clara could hear it echoing through the mansion. In all honesty, she had blocked out her last visit to the place, so she couldn't tell if anything had changed. Nervous for some reason, probably from the anxious vibes Daria was giving off, she grabbed Dakota's hand.

Dakota squeezed it back.

"I've got it, mom!" They could hear Nathan yell. Clara could see an involuntary grin make its way onto Michael's face. "Jeez."

He yanked the expensive-looking door open much harder than Clara would have. His thick brown hair was even fluffier now and his septum was pierced with something that his centurion would definitely kill him for, but he didn't look very surprised. "Oh, thank god."

"You look ridiculous," Michael informed him, voicing what the rest of them were too polite to say.

"Missed you too, Kahale," Nathan grinned. He scanned the group once again, his tattoo poking out from under his shirt sleeve. "Where's Jason?"

Daria shivered. Clara knew she was too nice to snap at them for pleasantries, even though she definitely thought they were wasting time. "Can we come in?" She asked, in a tone that was especially foreboding. "We need to talk."

"I have snacks!" Mrs. Vargas announced, poking her head into Nathan's bedroom where the five of them were piled up.

The mood was somber. If Mrs. Vargas was concerned with the weapons they'd brought into the house, she didn't show it. Then again, Clara could see Nathan's guitar propped up against the wall, in staff mode.

"Mom!" Nathan said sharply, not in a tone Clara would use with her own deceased mother. "Now's not the time!"

Mrs. Vargas ignored him. "Can I help at all, Clara? Daria?" She looked at Koda and Michael. "I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced."

"I'm Dakota!" Clara's best friend said brightly. "This is Michael. We go to camp with your son!" Koda looked at Nathan and dropped their voice. "Does she know about the uh...?"

"I'm pretty sure she knows her son is a demigod," Michael said dryly as if Mrs. V wasn't there. He had a serious expression on his face. Sometimes, the son of Venus was just as intimidating as Daria. "Don't be stupid, Koda."

Clara shoved him hard, like Daria did from the other side. Even though the girl had snapped at Dakota before, Clara knew she would defend the child of Bacchus until the day she died.

"I think we're good, Mrs. Vargas," Clara told her. She shrugged, "unless you can charter an airplane to Hawaii."

The doctor tilted her head. "I mean, if it will help find Jason, I'm sure arrangements can be made."

Daria grimaced. "No. No airplanes."

"But Daria-"

Daria glared at Michael, who sank down in his seat. Clara knew it was killing him to keep his temper, but no had ever picked an argument with Daria and won. Michael would just embarrass himself. "No."