Soul of Olympus

Chapter Nineteen

THEY WOULD'VE DIED FIVE TIMES on the way to the front door if not for Leo. First it was the motion-activated trapdoor on the sidewalk, then the lasers on the steps, then the nerve gas dispenser on the porch railing, the pressure-sensitive poison spikes in the welcome mat, and of course the exploding doorbell. Leo deactivated all of them. It was like he could smell the traps, and he picked just the right tool out of his belt to disable them.

"You're amazing, man," Jason said.

Leo scowled as he examined the front door lock.

 "Yeah, amazing," he said. "Can't fix a dragon right, but I'm amazing."

"Hey, that wasn't your—"

"Front door's already unlocked," Leo announced.

They stared at the door in disbelief.

 "It is? All those traps, and the door's unlocked?" Piper asked.

Leo turned the knob. The door swung open easily. He stepped inside without hesitation, with Piper following. Before Jason could follow, Ariadne caught his arm. 

"He's going to need some time to get over Festus, it was like his baby. Don't take it personally. Okay?"

"Yeah," Jason said. "Yeah, okay."

But still he felt terrible. Back in Medea's store, he'd said some pretty harsh stuff to Leo—stuff a friend shouldn't say, not to mention the fact he'd almost skewered Leo with a sword. If it hadn't been for Piper, they'd both be dead.And Piper hadn't gotten out of that encounter easily, either. None of them had.

"Ariadne," he said, "I know I was in a daze back in Chicago, but that stuff about your mom—if you want someone to talk to, I want to help you. I don't care if it's sensitive or not, you need someone to be your protector too. Like you do for everyone else."

Her eyes were always intriguing,especially with the flecks of gold in them, but now they looked shattered, as if she'd seen or heard something she just couldn't cope with. 

"Jason, you don't know what you're asking. Please—don't make me feel worse. Come on. We should stick together."

She ducked inside.

"Together," Jason said to himself. "Yeah, we're doing great with that."

Their first impression of the house: Dark. From the echo of his footsteps he could tell the entry hall was enormous, even bigger than Boreas's penthouse; but the only illumination came from the yard lights outside. A faint glow peeked through the breaks in the thick velvet curtains. The windows rose about ten feet tall. Spaced between them along the walls were life-size metal statues.As their eyes adjusted, they could see sofas arranged in a U in the middle of the room, with a central coffee table and one large chair at the far end.A massive chandelier glinted overhead. Along the back wall stood a row of closed doors.

"Where's the light switch?" Jasons's voice echoed alarmingly through the room.

"Don't see one," Leo said.

"Fire?" Piper suggested.

Leo held out his hand, but nothing happened. 

"It's not working."

"Your fire is out?How? Why?" Ariadne asked.

"Well, if I knew that—"

"Okay, okay," she said. "What do we do—explore? Or stay here?"

Leo shook his head. "After all those traps outside? Exploring is a bad idea."

Jason's skin tingled. He hated being a demigod. Looking around, he didn't see a comfortable room to hang out in. He imagined vicious storm spirits lurking in the curtains, dragons under the carpet, a chandelier made of lethal ice shards, ready to impale them.