Bewitched || P. Jackson

𝕄 for Macy's

The demigods slept for five hours before Leo begrudgingly woke up to make breakfast. The sewer was eerily quite as the teenagers chewed on the left-over tacos. Nicki then took it upon herself to make sure each of the demigods properly brushed their teeth and used mouthwash.

Finally, they broke camp and started down the tunnel.

It twisted and turned and seemed to go on forever. Nicki 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?"

"A weird one?" Nicki suggested, fiddling with her sling.

"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. "

"Me first!" Ethan yelled excitedly, shoving Nicki into Jason in his haste.

"Sorry." Nicki patted Jason's arm awkwardly before following Ethan into the elevator. "You're so weird."

"Just trying to lighten the mood, Nic."

The doors slid open on the fourth floor, and the scent of perfume wafted into the elevator. Jason stepped out first, sword ready.

Purple mist danced around Nicki's fingertips. With Ethan pulled behind her protectively, her eyes darted from side to side, on high alert.

"Guys," Jason sad."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, Nicki 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 Nicki 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.

"I don't like this," Ethan mumbled, his eye narrowing.

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.