Daughter of Neptune, Book one

XXIV

Tori's pov

I 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 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, Valdez," I 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.

Piper stared at the door in disbelief. "It is? All those traps and the door's unlocked?"

Leo turned the knob. The door swung open easily. He stepped inside without hesitation.

Before I could follow, Piper caught my arm. "He's going to need some time to get over Festus. Don't take it personally."

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, okay."

I still felt terrible. Back in Medea's store, Jason said some pretty harsh stuff to Leo—stuff a friend shouldn't say, not to mention the fact that Jason almost skewered Leo with a sword. If it wasn't for Piper, they'd both be dead. And nor Piper or I got out of that encounter easily, either. Then I walked inside the house.

My first impression of the house: Dark.

From the echo of my footsteps I 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 my eyes adjusted, I saw sofas arranged in the shape of 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?" Jason's voiced 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? Why?" Piper asked.

"Well, if I knew that—"

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

Leo shook his head. "After all those traps outside? Bad idea."

My skin tingled. I hated being a demigod. Looking around, I didn't see a comfortable room to hang out in. I imagined vicious storms spirits lurking in the curtains, dragons under the carpet, a chandelier made of lethal ice shards, ready to impale us.

"Leo's right," Jason said. "We're nodded separating again—not like in Detroit."

"Oh, thank you for reminding me of the Cyclopes." Piper's voice quavered. "I needed that."

"It's a few hours until dawn," I guessed. "Too cold to wait outside. Let's bring the cages in and make camp in this room. Wait for daylight; then we can decide what to do."

Nobody offered a better idea, so we rolled in the cages with Coach Hedge and the storm spirits, we settled in.

Thankfully, Leo didn't find any poison throw pillows of electric whoopee cushions on the sofas.