No matter how many times a snake shed its skin, it would always be a snake. No matter how hard Kit Dempsey tried to prove he was no longer a traitor, Camp Half-Blood would always view him as the boy who betrayed them for Kronos. But not Leo Valdez...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: M IS FOR MURDER IN MACY'S
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
WHEN KIT SPOTTED THE polished metal elevator doors waiting for them at the end of the sewer, he immediately realised that something was wrong. On one side of the door was a cursive letter M that was engraved into the stone in perfect handwriting. On the other side was a directory of some kind, which Kit struggled to read from such a distance. With a weary sigh, he stepped closer, and boy did he regret it.
Parking, Kennels, Main Entrance: Sewer Level Furnishings and Cafe M: 1 Women’s Fashion and Magical Appliances: 2 Menswear and Weaponry: 3 Cosmetics, Potions, Poisons and Sundries: 4
“What the fuck?” he muttered, the confusion in his voice prompting Leo to join him.
Immediately, Leo’s eyes went to the weirder of the departments, like kennels and weaponry and poisons. He whirled around to face Jason and Piper, cutting off whatever Piper was whispering to the other boy as he exclaimed, “Guys, you should read this directory. It’s messed up…”
Piper’s brows furrowed as she ambled over to Kit’s other side. “Kennels for what?” she asked what was on both of their minds. “And what kind of department store has its entrance in a sewer?”
“Better yet, what kind of department store sells weapons and poisons,” Kit deadpanned.
“Man, what does ‘sundries’ even mean?” Leo added, too curious for his own good. “Is that like underwear or something?”
With a determined glint in his eyes, Jason declared, “Well, when in doubt, start at the top.”
He didn’t hesitate to move towards the elevator doors, encouraging Piper and eventually Leo to do the same, but Kit’s feet remained firmly in place even when the doors opened and they filed in one-by-one. Frankly, he had no interest in seeing what this so-called Macy’s was like. He couldn’t fathom the others’ curiosity, or in his opinion, sheer idiocy. They were asking for trouble...
But when they turned to him with expectant expressions, and Leo tugged him in by the sleeve of his jacket Kit was yet to give back, he didn’t fight. Instead, he spent the whole time grumbling to himself, narrowed eyes tracking the number that eventually spat them out on the fourth floor. Almost as soon as the doors opened, the scent of perfume was prevalent in the air, sickly sweet.
