The Daughter of War and Medicine

Kassandra wriggled and squirmed in her trap, but it wasn't budging. She somehow had to get out there, they were with some sort of witch for Bellona's sake! But no, she just had to be trapped by a Persian rug of all things.

For once in her life, her short life at that, she felt afraid. She was a god, a free force of nature to go wherever she pleased. To be confined to such a limited space and lacking her strength was both personally humiliating and a frightening new experience.

It was a little claustrophobic, but then again she had never experienced such emotions so it wasn't too bad. It was the lack of her freedom that really frightened her as she struggled against the constraints. At least the rug was fluffy. But then again with what she had already seen she wouldn't be surprised if it had some sort of curse.

She struggled for the next five-ten minutes against the restraints, but the most she achieved was the top of the rug falling down so she could actually look around. Safe to say she was in a storage closet with nothing inside, just bare shelves and a mop.

It was almost like the rug got tighter the more she fought against it. What would her mother, or even her father do? Probably reduce the whole mall to rubble, but that was out of the question.

Next tier down, the mortal she arguably trusted the most; Annabeth Chase. What would Annabeth do? She'd stay calm and think of a plan. Stay calm.

She stopped her panicked breaths and paced herself, closing her eyes and focusing on the goal of escape. One step at a time. Breathing deep breaths, she focused what remained of her strength into her hands. Maybe she could...

Perfect! She could freely move her hands now, and when she opened her mouth she managed to force out a little yelp. So the power was fading, finally some good news.

Twisting her hands in an uncomfortable position, she tried to reach for her knife but couldn't quite get to it. Alright then, new plan.

A light bulb must've appeared over her head as she came up with something. Closing her eyes and praying to Tyche this would work, Kassandra focused on creating something sharp. When she re-opened her eyes, a golden light shone brightly in front of her. It was... a razor blade?

The golden object stared at her menacingly, just a couple inches away from her face.

"You'll do I guess," she said. When she moved her head to the left, the razor moved with it.

In an instant she jerked her head downwards, the razor cutting through the rug like a hot knife through butter. She threw her arms out to her sides, the rug hitting the floor and evaporating into thin air.

With wrathful eyes, she kicked down the door and burst out back into the mall. That witch was going to get it.

She darted through the mall at lightning speed, searching for the demi-gods and witch. They had to be somewhere around here...

Unbeknownst to Kassandra, the wings on her sandals had begun to flap. Little did she know but she was no longer running on the ground, but now running on thin air. The gift of Hermes granted her great speed and a light form of flight, but since she was unaware of such abilities she had no idea how to properly utilise them.

Anyway, she tore through all sorts of weird and mystical stores, spilling bottles and upturning stands, running through everything in her path. She left behind a trail of destruction from bubbling concoctions that began to mix on the floor, eating through the floor and creating an ungodly amount of smoke.

"Fool!" someone nearby wailed. "Do you have any idea what so many potions will do when mixed?"

It sounded like the princess. She radiated energy now, much like how a god does but on a lower level. And she could see that energy, a swirling storm of power, just on the floor above her. Gritting her teeth, she squatted before leaping up and through the ceiling.

Her prediction was right, as for when she burst through the ground she was just behind the princess. Her dress was stained a hundred different colours and smoke curled off of her. Many of the stains were even glowing.

Leo was pinned to the ground by a snarling dragon, real flesh and blood and about the size of a camper van. Meanwhile Jason was halfway across the floor and engaged in a heated duel with another dragon of similar proportions.

None the matter, hit first and talk later as the Ares cabin said. Before anyone even realised she had entered the situation, Kassandra grabbed the woman by the neck of her clothes and took off sprinting down the mall, before looping back and around again. It was exhilarating, but not much of a fair fight.

The princess was dragged across the floor until Kassandra got bored and tossed her back over to Piper, darting to the daughter of Aphrodite's side.

"All good?" Kassandra asked.

"Uhh, yeah. Apart from this being Medea, all under control."

"You've doomed us all!" the now revealed Medea screamed. Smoke was rolling across the carpet as the stain spread, throwing sparks and setting fires in the clothing racks. "You have only seconds before this concoction consumes everything and destroys the building. There's no time-"

CRASH!

The stained glass ceiling splintered in a rain of multicoloured shards, and Festus the bronze dragon dropped into the department store.He hurtled into the fray, snatching up a sun dragon in each claw.

"That's my boy!" Leo yelled.

Festus flew halfway up the atrium, then hurled the sun dragons into dark pits below. Leo raced to the fountain and pressed the marble tile, closing sundials over the pits of the dragons. They shuddered as the dragons banged against them, trying to get out, but for the moment they were contained.

Medea cursed in some ancient language. The whole fourth floor was on fire now. The air filled with noxious gas. Even with the roof open, Kassandra could feel the heat intensifying. Piper backed up to the edge of the railing "I will not be abandoned again!"

The sorceress knelt and snatched up a red healing potion, which had somehow survived the crash. The ex huntress could identify it to be the healing one mentioned earlier that Piper had so desperately wanted.

"You want your boyfriend's memory restored? Take me with you!"

Behind them, Leo and Jason were boarding the dragon. It began to rise into the air, but not before snatching up two cages.

The building rumbled. Fire and the smoke curled up the walls, melting the railings, turning the air to acid.

"You'll never survive your quest without me!" Medea growled. "Your boy hero will stay ignorant forever, and your father will die. Take me with you!"

For a second Kassandra was afraid Piper would accept the offer, but luckily her assumption was wrong.

"Not today, witch." Piper jumped over the side. She plummeted for only a second before Leo and Jason caught her, hauling her aboard the dragon.

Medea screamed in rage and locked her sights onto Kassandra. "He said you'd be here! But you shouldn't be! Why weren't you dealt with?"

"Maybe you'll beat a Jason next time," she joked.

She sent her fist into Medea's stomach, then turned around and leapt off the balcony to hold onto Festus by his back legs.

She heard Medea screaming in rage as they soared through the broken roof and over downtown Chicago. Then the department store exploded behind them.

In the smouldering ruins of the building, Medea was left on her last leg. The smell of sulphur and sound of crackling flames screamed 'failure' at her. She coughed and spluttered, cursing the children who had escaped her wrath. She'd have her vengeance though, she just needed to...

"Medea! Long time no see!"

As she clung to life, she turned around to see an approaching robed figure flanked by a lion. Not any lion though, THE lion. The Nemean one to be more specific.

"The ones the mistress talked about... they got away with some sort of dragon... you can still chase after them..."

"Oh that's not what I'm here for," he responded, throwing a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Then what do you want?" she snarled.

"You're still the same since the old days, straight to the point. Well, let's just say the mistress really is disappointed in you. So much so that the only reason she isn't here in person is because she's setting things up to recover for your failures."

"You also failed to trap the girl!"

"That wasn't my task. But you, tut tut tut. Couldn't even charm speak a daughter of Aphrodite who's only been awakened for less than a week!"

"Stop mocking me and go get them!"

The Nemean lion purred as the agent of Gaia stroked its mane.

"You are in no position to be ordering me of all people around. Besides, that still isn't what I'm here for."

"Then stop taunting me... and get to it!"

Medea's skin was covered in burns to the point she looked like she'd been thrown into a barbecue. Her hair was completely gone and the jewels that adorned her had vanished from what remained of her clothes. She looked pitiful.

"Well if you're so eager to get it over with, sure."

With a snap of his fingers, the lion lunged forwards, bearing its fangs and ravaging the witch.

As the four of them flew southwest, Kassandra flipped herself onto the back of the dragon and took a breather. It was a rush of emotion to say the least. Eventually,the smoke from the burning department store faded in the distance and soon enough the suburbs of Chicago gave way to snowy fields, and the sun began to set.

What didn't make sense was Medea herself. How had a mortal from Ancient Greece been alive thousands of years later?

"Was that the real Medea?" asked Kassandra.

"Unfortunately yes. She said something about souls returning from the Underworld. Not just monsters reforming, but the return of mortals."

A flurry of thoughts flew over her head. Was Thanatos on vacation? Had the gods just completely abandoned the mortal world?

"We're going to have to put down soon," Leo warned. "Couple more hours, maybe, to make sure Medea's not following us. I don't think Festus can fly much longer than that."

"Yeah," Piper agreed. "Coach Hedge probably wants to get out of his canary cage, too. Question is- where are we going?"

The Bay Area," Leo said, but it sounded more like a guess than anything. "Didn't Medea say something about Oakland?"

Kassandra was way out of the loop, but since this wasn't her quest and she was here for other reasons, she figured she didn't really need to know.

"Piper's dad," Jason put in. "Something's happened to your dad, right? He got lured into some kind of trap."

Piper let out a shaky breath. "Look, Medea said you would both die in the Bay Area. And besides... even if we went there, the Bay Area is huge! First we need to find Aeolus and drop off the storm spirits. Boreas said Aeolus was the only one who could tell us exactly where to go."

Leo grunted. "So how do we find Aeolus?"

Jason leaned forward. "You mean you don't see it?"

"What?" Leo asked.

"That... whatever it is," Jason said."In the air."

Leo glanced back. Piper looked just as confused as he was. Then he looked behind her at Kassandra. The daughter of Bellona raised her elbows in confusion.

"Right," Leo said. "Could you be more specific on the'whatever-it-is' part?"

"Like a vapour trail," Jason said. "Except it's glowing. Really faint, but it's definitely there. We've been following it since Chicago, so I figured you saw it."

Leo shook his head. "Maybe Festus can sense it. Kassandra, can you see it?"

"No. It could be a sky thing, I mean Jason's the son of the sky god."

"You think Aeolus made it?"

"Well, it's a magic trail in the wind," Jason said. "Aeolus is the wind god. I think he knows we've got prisoners for him.He's telling us where to fly."

"Or it's another trap," Piper said.

There really was something different about Piper since they entered the mall. Kassandra had been inside a rug most of the time, so she didn't know what went on between the three, but it clearly had had a negative effect on her.

"Pipes, you all right?" he asked."Don't call me that."

"Okay, fine. You don't like any of the names I make up for you. But if your dad's in trouble and we can help-"

"You can't," she said, her voice getting shakier. "Look, I'm tired. If you don't mind..." She leaned back against Jason and closed her eyes.

"Do I have a nickname?" asked Kassandra.

Leo looked up into the sky, considering her question.

"Kassy."

"Kassy?"

"Yeah. Kassy."

There was silence on the dragon for a while.

"What sort of nickname is that?" spurted out Jason, half laughing half confused.

"I don't know. It seems like something you call a young person, and you did say you hadn't had your first birthday yet, right?"

"Yeah that's true," she grumbled. Kassy. She had heard Kass, but Kassy was a new one.

The four children of the gods, dragon and cages continued to fly in silence, 'Kassy' soon drifting into the realm of Hypnos.

Kassandra's dreams were empty, nice rest from such a wild quest. When she opened her eyes though, she was greeted with a rushing wind and the screams of demi-gods. Instinctively she tightened her grip on the dragon as they freely fell through the dark night sky.

"Not again!" Leo yelled. "You can't fall again!"

The lights of a city were just below them, it wouldn't be long till they hit the ground.

"Jason!" Leo screamed. "Take Piper and fly out of here!"

"What?"

"We need to lighten the load! I might be able to reboot Festus, but he's carrying too much weight!"

"What about you?" Piper cried. "If you can't reboot him-"

"I'll stay with him," Kassandra yelled. "Just go!"

Jason grabbed Piper around the waist. They both unbuckled harnesses the daughter of (Y/N) didn't know they had, and in a flash they were gone- shooting into the air.

Leo talked to the dragon while he worked whilst falling at terminal velocity, which Kassandra found sort of cute. The city lights were getting closer and closer. He summoned fire in his hand so he could see what he was doing, but the wind kept extinguishing it. In response, Kassandra lit up her hand like a torch and shone it over where Leo worked.

Leo pulled frantically at wires and worked seemingly effortlessly on the machine. Festus groaned- metal creaking inside his neck. His eyes flickered weakly to life, and he spread his wings. Their fall turned into a steep glide.

"Good!" Leo said. "Come on, big boy. Come on!"

They were still flying in way too hot, and the ground was too close.

"Over there!" called out Kassandra, pointing to a white mansion with a huge snowy lawn. Seemed like a good landing spot.

Leo nodded, and tried his best to redirect the dragon in the direction of the lawn. When they got closer though, they must have tripped some sort of sensor. Lights blinded them and Kassandra barely reacted in time to cover Leo as they were hit by gunfire. The sound of metal being cut to shreds was all she could hear before-

BOOM.

Kassandra slipped into unconsciousness.

"...? Kassy? Are you there?"

When Kassandra came to her senses, there were four people leaning over her. One of them was taller than the others, with outlines of muscle she could see by squinting and... a beard? But when she blinked, there were three. Leo, Piper and Jason. Weird.

They all looked fine, but Leo had tears streaking down his cheeks he was attempting to wipe away.

"Yeah yeah I'm... oh."

When she sat up she looked down her legs to see that the dragon was well and truly destroyed. Limbs scattered, smouldering scraps and a huge trench where its body must have crashed. No sign of the head though. Leo sniffled a little at the sight of his dragon in pieces, and Kassandra decided not to push it.

"Where are we?" he asked. "I mean, what city?"

"Omaha, Nebraska," Piper said. "I saw a billboard as we flew in. But I don't know what this mansion is. We came in right behind you, but as you were landing, Leo, I swear it looked like -I don't know-"

"Lasers," Leo said.

He picked up a piece of dragon wreckage and threw it toward the top of the fence. Immediately a turret popped up from the brick wall and a beam of pure heat incinerated the bronze plating to ashes.Jason whistled.

"Some defence system. How are we even alive?"

"Festus," Leo said miserably. "He took the fire. The lasers sliced him to bits as he came in so they didn't focus on you. I led him into a death trap."

"You couldn't have known," Piper said. "He saved our lives again."

Once again, the daughter of Bellona stayed silent. Leo was mourning his dragon and her taking credit would just ruin the situation. She could feel the snow that had run down her back through the laser holes in her shirt though. She would need to get a new top now though.

It was tough not to interject and take glory, it must have been something her father had been put through all the time. So now she would too.

"But what now?" Jason said. "The main gates are locked,and I'm guessing I can't fly us out of here without getting shot down. Kassandra, can you do some god stuff like teleporting us out?"

She shook her head. "It isn't really teleportation anyway, it's air travel. Besides, it's risky enough for me to do it, but there's no way I could even attempt to transport someone else with me."

Leo was the one to come up with a solution.

"Well then, since we can't go out, we'll have to go in."

There were several traps on the way up to the front door, all of which Leo disarmed with ease. It was as if he could smell them, before picking the right tool 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.

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.

"Intrare," (Enter) said Kassandra.

"Latin?" asked Jason, "You speak Latin?"

"Fluently. I learned it from my mother," she said, her voice getting quieter at the mention of her parents. She followed Leo before she could make herself feel worse. She could almost feel Piper and Jason staring at the holes in the back of her shirt though. It must've been worse than she thought.

The entry hall was enormous, but the only light was from 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.

There were sofas arranged in a shape similar to the Olympian council 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?" His 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? 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."

Kassandra extended her hand and tried to light it up. A glow began to emanate from it, but then it flickered and died out. No one else noticed, and she frowned in confusion

"We're not separating again," said Jason, "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," Jason 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."

Kassandra left to carry the cages in whilst the others set up. Unfortunately, Leo wasn't in the mood to make more tacos so none of that. She couldn't be bothered to have cold rations, and she wasn't hungry anyway. She always ate for taste because she didn't have to worry about hunger.

At the end of the room was a throne, and it sort of intimidated her. Not in the sense of 'throne of Zeus', but more in she expected that if she sat in it she'd be trapped or cursed.

After the others finished eating, they all got up on the couches. Piper instantly curled up and seemed to fall asleep, but the others seemed certain to want to stay up. Kassandra sat with her knees up across from the three, Jason and Leo speaking but she drowned their voices out.

There was so much going on, and it was almost too much for her to process. Prophecy, her parents, whatever her situation was with Aspen... and was she seeing things when she woke up earlier? Who was that mystery man?

Time was a funny thing for gods, so much to the point where when she was shaken out of her thoughts by a screaming of a satyr. Broken from her mind wandering, she recoiled to the sunlight that now bathed the room.

"Ahhhggggggh!"

"Coach is awake," Leo said, which was unnecessary at this point. Kassandra hadn't blinked all night, and now she was feeling the effects of it.

The satyr was capering around on his furry hindquarters, swinging his club and yelling, "Die!" as he smashed the tea set, whacked the sofas, and charged at the throne.

"Coach!" Jason yelled.

The satyr turned, his eyes wild to the point he could've gone on par with a maenad.

"You're the new kid," Hedge said, lowering his club. "Jason."

He looked at Leo, then Piper, who'd apparently just woken up. Her hair looked like it had become a nest for a hamster. "Valdez, McLean," the coach said. "What's going on? We were at the Grand Canyon. The anemoi thuellai were attacking and... Lady Kassandra?"

"Lady?" stuttered Leo, caught off guard.

"Of course, Lady Kassandra's father did a great deal of work for satyrs and nature spirits kid, so if we can't show our gratitude to him we will to his daughter."

"No need for formalities Hedge, we're all here on business."

"And where is here? This doesn't seem like the place to-"

He zeroed in on the storm spirit cage, and his eyes went back to war mode. "Die!"

"Whoa, Coach!" Leo stepped in his path, which was pretty brave, even though Hedge was six inches shorter. "It's okay. They're locked up. We just sprang you from the other cage."

"Cage? Cage? What's going on? Just because I'm a satyr doesn't mean I can't have you doing plank push-ups, Valdez!"

Jason cleared his throat. "Coach- Gleeson- um,whatever you want us to call you. You saved us at the Grand Canyon. You were totally brave."

"Of course I was!"

"The extraction team came and took us to Camp HalfBlood. We thought we'd lost you. Then we got word the storm spirits had taken you back to their- um, operator, Medea."

"That witch! Wait- that's impossible. She's mortal. She's dead."

"Yeah, well," Leo said, "somehow she got not dead anymore."

Hedge nodded, his eyes narrowing. "So! You were sent on a dangerous quest to rescue me. Excellent!"

"Um." Piper got to her feet, holding out her hands so Hedge wouldn't attack her. "Actually, Glee—can I still call you Coach Hedge? Gleeson seems wrong. We're on a quest for something else. We kind of found you by accident."

"Oh." The coach's spirits seemed to deflate, but only for a second. Then his eyes lit up again. "But there are no accidents! Not on quests. This was meant to happen! So, this is the witch's lair, eh? Why is everything gold?"

Gold?

Squinting her eyes in the light, the satyr was correct. How she hadn't noticed earlier was beyond her.

The room was full of gold—the statues, the tea set Hedge had smashed, the chair that was definitely a throne. Even the curtains- which seemed to have opened by themselves at daybreak- appeared to be woven of gold fibre.

"Nice," Leo said. "No wonder they got so much security."

"This isn't-" Piper stammered. "This isn't Medea's place,Coach. It's some rich person's mansion in Omaha. We got away from Medea and crash-landed here."

"It's destiny, cupcakes!" Hedge insisted. "I'm meant to protect you. What's the quest?"

Before anyone could speak, or Kassandra could interject, a door opened at the far end of the room.A pudgy man in a white bathrobe stepped out with a golden toothbrush in his mouth. He had a white beard and one of those long, old-fashioned sleeping caps pressed down over his white hair. He froze when he saw them, and the toothbrush fell out of his mouth.

He glanced into the room behind him and called, "Son?Lit, come out here, please. There are strange people in the throne room."

Coach Hedge did the obvious thing. He raised his club and shouted, "Die!"

Kassandra dived forwards and held back the satyr with ease whilst Hedge tried to get out.

A younger man charged into the room. Kassandra guessed he must be Lit, the old guy's son. He was dressed in pajama pants with a sleeveless T-shirt that said cornhuskers, and he held a sword that looked like it could husk a lot of things besides corn.

His ripped arms were covered in scars, and his face, framed by curly dark hair, would've been stereo-typically attractive if it wasn't also sliced up. Lit immediately zeroed in on Jason like he was the biggest threat, and stalked toward him, swinging his sword overhead and completely ignoring the daughter of Bellona.

"Hold on!" Piper stepped forward, trying for her best calming voice. "This is just a misunderstanding! Everything's fine."

Lit stopped in his tracks, but he still looked wary. It didn't help that Hedge was screaming, "I'll get them! Don't worry!"

"Coach," Jason pleaded, "they may be friendly. Besides, we're trespassing in their house."

"Thank you!" said the old man in the bathrobe. "Now, who are you, and why are you here?"

"Let's all put our weapons down," Piper said. "Coach, you first."

Hedge clenched his jaw. "Just one thwack?"

"No," Piper said.

"What about a compromise? I'll kill them first, and if it turns out they were friendly, I'll apologise."

"No!" Piper insisted.

"Meh." Coach Hedge lowered his club.

Piper gave Lit a friendly sorry-about-that smile. Even with her hair messed up and wearing two-day-old clothes, she looked extremely cute. Lit huffed and sheathed his sword. "You speak well, girl- fortunately for your friends, or I would've run them through."

"Appreciate it," Leo said. "I try not to get run through before lunchtime."

"Pah, I'd like to see you try," challenged Kassandra, releasing the calmed satyr from her grasp.

She and Lit locked eye in an intense staring contest.

The old man in the bathrobe sighed, kicking the teapot that Coach Hedge had smashed.

"Well, since you're here. Please, sit down."

Lit frowned, looking back to the old man and losing the contest. "Your Majesty-"

"No, no, it's fine, Lit," the old man said. "New land, new customs. They may sit in my presence. After all, they've seen me in my nightclothes. No sense observing formalities." He did his best to smile, though it looked a little forced. "Welcome to my humble home. I am King Midas."

"Midas? Impossible," said Coach Hedge. "He died."

They were sitting on the sofas now, while the king reclined on his throne. Lit stood behind the throne, both hands on his sword, glancing at Piper and flexing his muscular arms just to be annoying. Piper sat forward.

"What our satyr friend means, Your Majesty, is that you're the second mortal we've met who should be- sorry- dead. King Midas lived thousands of years ago."

"Interesting." The king gazed out the windows at the brilliant blue skies and the winter sunlight. "You know," Midas said, "I think I was a bit dead for a while. It's strange. Seems like a dream, doesn't it, Lit?"

"A very long dream, Your Majesty."

"And yet, now we're here. I'm enjoying myself very much. I like being alive better."

"But how?" Piper asked. "You didn't happen to have a... patron?"

Midas hesitated, but there was a sly twinkle in his eyes. "Does it matter, my dear?"

"We could kill them again," Hedge suggested.

"Coach, not helping," Jason said.

"Why don't you go outside and stand guard?" asked Kassandra, "Patrol the perimeter, lock down base."

Leo coughed. "Is that safe? They've got some serious security."

"Oh, yes," the resurrected one said. "Sorry about that. But it's lovely stuff, isn't it? Amazing what gold can still buy. Such excellent toys you have in this country!"

He fished a remote control out of his bathrobe pocket and pressed a few buttons-a pass code of the sorts.

"There," Midas said. "Safe to go out now."

Coach Hedge grunted. "Fine. But if you need me..." He winked at Kassandra meaningfully. Then he pointed at himself, pointed two fingers at their hosts, and sliced a finger across his throat. Very subtle sign language.

"Thank you Hedge," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "So Midas, you have no recalling of how you got here?"

"Oh, well, yes. Sort of," the king said. He frowned at Lit. "Why did we pick Omaha, again? I know it wasn't the weather."

"The oracle," Lit said.

"Yes! I was told there was an oracle in Omaha." The king shrugged. "Apparently I was mistaken. But this is a rather nice house, isn't it? Lit—it's short for Lityerses, by the way- horrible name, but his mother insisted- Lit has plenty of wide-open space to practice his swordplay. He has quite a reputation for that. They called him the Reaper of Men back in the old days."

"Oh." Piper tried to sound enthusiastic. "How nice."

"So," Jason said. "All this gold-"

The king's eyes lit up. "Are you here for gold, my boy? Please, take a brochure!"

"Um, you sell gold?"

"No, no," the king said. "I make it. In uncertain times like these, gold is the wisest investment, don't you think? Governments fall. The dead rise. Giants attack Olympus. But gold retains its value!"

Giants attack... huh?

Leo frowned. "I've seen that commercial."

"Oh, don't be fooled by cheap imitators!" the king said. "I assure you, I can beat any price for a serious investor. I can make a wide assortment of gold items at a moment's notice."

"But..." Piper shook her head in confusion. "Your Majesty, you gave up the golden touch, didn't you?"

The king looked astonished. "Gave it up?"

"Yes," Piper said. "You got it from some god-"

"Dionysus," the king agreed. "I'd rescued one of his satyrs, and in return, the god granted me one wish. I chose the golden touch."

"But you accidentally turned your own daughter to gold," Piper remembered. "And you realised how greedy you'd been. So you repented."

"Repented!" King Midas looked at Lit incredulously. "You see, son? You're away for a few thousand years, and the story gets twisted all around. My dear girl, did those stories ever say I'd lost my magic touch?"

"Well, I guess not. They just said you learned how to reverse it with running water, and you brought your daughter back to life."

"That's all true. Sometimes I still have to reverse my touch. There's no running water in the house because I don't want accidents"- he gestured to his statues- "but we chose to live next to a river just in case. Occasionally, I'll forget and pat Lit on the back-"

Lit retreated a few steps. "I hate that."

"I told you I was sorry, son. At any rate, gold is wonderful. Why would I give it up?"

"Well..." Piper looked truly lost now. "Isn't that the point of the story? That you learned your lesson?"

Midas laughed. "My dear, may I see your backpack for a moment? Toss it here."

Kassandra was sceptical, but too interested to think about any risks. If she had to protect these kids from an actual threat, she'd probably get distracted by that memory of Aspen when she wore that...

She mentally groaned. Gods, the thing that spirit does to her.

Piper dumped everything out of the pack and tossed it to Midas. As soon as he caught it, the pack turned to gold, like frost spreading across the fabric. It still looked flexible and soft, but definitely gold. The king tossed it back.

"As you see, I can still turn anything to gold," Midas said. "That pack is magic now, as well. Go ahead- put your little storm spirit enemies in there."

"Seriously?" Leo was suddenly interested.

He took the bag from Piper and held it up to the cage. As soon as he unzipped the backpack, the winds stirred and howled in protest. The cage bars shuddered. The door of the prison flew open and the winds got vacuumed straight into the pack. Leo zipped it shut and grinned. "Gotta admit. That's cool."

"You see?" Midas said. "My golden touch a curse? Please.I didn't learn any lesson, and life isn't a story, girl. Honestly, my daughter Zoe was much more pleasant as a gold statue."

"She talked a lot," Lit offered.

"Exactly! And so I turned her back to gold." Midas pointed.

There in the corner was a golden statue of a girl with a shocked expression, as if she were thinking thoughts of betrayal and shock.

"That's horrible!" Piper said.

"That's..." Kassandra's words caught in her throat, she didn't know what to say.

"Nonsense. She doesn't mind. Besides, if I'd learned my lesson, would I have gotten these?"

Midas pulled off his oversized sleeping cap, and Kassy held in a laugh. Midas had long fuzzy grey ears sticking up from his white hair- donkey ears.

"Oh, wow," Leo said. "I didn't need to see that."

"Terrible, isn't it?" Midas sighed. "A few years after the golden touch incident, I judged a music contest between Apollo and Pan, and I declared Pan the winner. Apollo, sore loser, said I must have the ears of an ass, and voilà. This was my reward for being truthful. I tried to keep them a secret. Only my barber knew, but he couldn't help blabbing." Midas pointed out another golden statue- a bald man in a toga, holding a pair of shears. "That's him. He won't be telling anyone's secrets again.

"So you're some sort of infinite money generator with all that gold?" asked the daughter of Bellona curiously.

"Yes, gold has many uses. I think that must be why I was brought back, eh Lit? To bankroll our patron."

Lit nodded. "That and my good sword arm."

"So you do have a patron," Jason said. "You work for the giants."

Midas waved his hand dismissively. "Well, I don't care for giants myself, of course. But even supernatural armies need to get paid. I do owe my patron a great debt. I tried to explain that to the last group that came through, but they were very unfriendly. Wouldn't cooperate at all."

"The last group?"

"Hunters," Lit snarled. "Blasted girls from Artemis."

"When?" Jason demanded. "What happened?"

Lit shrugged. "Few days ago? I didn't get to kill them, unfortunately. They were looking for some evil wolves, or something. Said they were following a trail, heading west. Missing demigod- I don't recall."

Percy Jackson, the man the myth the legend.

Midas scratched his donkey ears.

"Very unpleasant young ladies, those Hunters," he recalled. "They absolutely refused to be turned into gold. Much of the security system outside I installed to keep that sort of thing from happening again, you know. I don't have time for those who aren't serious investors."

"Well," Piper said, managing a smile. "It's been a great visit. Welcome back to life. Thanks for the gold bag."

"Oh, but you can't leave!" Midas said. "I know you're not serious investors, but that's all right! I have to rebuild my collection."

Lit was smiling cruelly. The king rose, and Leo and Piper moved away from him. Jason and she shared a look, and enough was said

"Don't worry," the king assured them. "You don't have to be turned to gold. I give all my guests a choice- join my collection, or die at the hands of Lityerses. Really, it's good either way."

Kassandra could hear charm speak in the words of Piper, "Your Majesty, you can' t-"

However, it was too late. Quicker than any old man should've been able to move, Midas lashed out and grabbed her wrist.

"No!" Jason yelled.

Kassandra leapt from her spot and as she heard her own bones creak after staying stiff for so long, she was too late. A frost of gold spread over Piper, and in a heartbeat she was a glittering statue.

Leo tried to summon fire, but he must've forgotten his power wasn't working. Midas touched his hand, and Leo transformed into solid metal.

Midas smiled apologetically. "Gold trumps fire, I'm afraid." He waved around him at all the gold curtains and furniture. "In this room, my power dampens all others: fire... even charm speak. Which leaves me only one more trophy to collect."

Kassandra, now right in front of the king, was suddenly very aware of just how vulnerable she was. Almost faster than she could comprehend, a hand jabbed at her stomach, but she moved out of the way just in time.

Midas frowned. "No one is faster than me. Who are you?"

She couldn't afford to give a response, as the golden king lurched forwards yet again to touch her shoulder. In the next five seconds, he made twenty more attempts, all of which Kassandra just barely avoided.

"Hedge!" Jason yelled. "Need help in here!"

She couldn't keep up with Midas forever, and that's exactly what happened; he finally made the connection onto her neck. Before the effects of the touch could fully take place, she drew her knife and almost slashed Midas' neck before she fully lost her ability to move.

She could still see and hear everything, but just couldn't move.

Midas turned

"Not fast enough!" chuckled King ass ears. "No goat to the rescue? Sad. But don't worry, it won't hurt. It's really not that painful. Lit can tell you." Jason seemed to think for a second, a whirlwind of ideas swarming through his mind.

"I choose combat. You said I could choose to fight Lit instead."

Midas looked mildly disappointed, but he shrugged. "I said you could die fighting Lit. But of course, if you wish."

The king backed away, and Lit raised his sword.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Lit said. "I am the Reaper of Men!"

Meh.

"Come on, Cornhusker." Jason summoned his weapon. This time it came up as a javelin instead of a gladius.

"Oh, gold weapon!" Midas said. "Very nice."

Lit charged.

What happened next is a little bit of a blur, as something strange began to happen. Like ice, the gold seemed to melt off of Kassandra's skin like it was just an encasing. No one seemed to notice, the gold was just dripping onto the floor.

She didn't know how all this god stuff worked, not being an awakened deity but also still reaping some of the rewards of it, but she would enjoy what she got for now.

Soon enough, she was free.

Whilst Jason and Lit duelled, Kassandra crept forwards towards the old king, her knife still out in front of her. And then,

slash

With incredible speed her knife flew from the Midas' left shoulder to his right, dragging deep enough that if it wasn't for some divine reason he would have been decapitated there and then.

Midas spun around in shock, grasping at his neck that was already healing.

"Why you... what are you doing?"

"Your power is weak in the face of the gods," she threatened, kicking the old king in the stomach and sending him across the room.

"Impossible! The only way to get out of the spell is water from the river!" he cried out.

"Maybe for mortals. Gods on the other hand have no such limitations."

Tossing her knife, it stuck into Midas' thigh and Kassandra rushed forward to get him whilst his guard was down. Midas wasn't used to being on the defensive, trying to block the flurry of fists and stabs coming from the daughter of war.

Two or three times he touched her bare skin, but when the gold began to spread it instantly retracted and dissipated.

As Kassandra forced Midas back towards his throne, Jason landed a critical hit on Lit which sent him tumbling to his fathers feet.

"You'd better help him up," Jason said.

Lit cried, "Dad, no!"

Too late. Midas put his hand on his son's shoulder, and suddenly a very angry-looking gold statue was sitting on Midas's throne.

"Curses!" Midas wailed. "That was a naughty trick, demigod. I'll get you for that." He patted Lit's golden shoulder. "Don't worry, son. I'll get you down to the river right after I collect this prize."

Kassandra had to give credit to the old man's endurance, but the immortals were of a different race to those that walked the earth. Midas rushed forwards again, and Kassandra, now ready not to underestimate him, dodged, weaved and blocked all of his futile attempts.

"I never noticed just how weak the mortals are in comparison to the gods," mocked Kassandra.

Midas only growled as they danced around the room in a flurry of fists and blades. Then, Jason who was still standing over the statue of Lit, seemed to come to some sort of realisation.

The air pressure dropped rapidly, Midas falling back to cover his ears whilst Kassandra stood over him victorious.

"Ow! What are you doing?" the king demanded. "My power is supreme here!"

Thunder rumbled. Outside, the sky turned black.

"You know another good use for gold?" Jason said.

Midas raised his eyebrows, suddenly excited. "Yes?"

"It's an excellent conductor of electricity."

Jason raised his javelin, and the ceiling exploded. A lightning bolt ripped through the roof like it was an eggshell, connected with the tip of Jason's spear, and sent out arcs of energy that blasted the sofas to shreds.

Chunks of ceiling plaster crashed down. The chandelier groaned and snapped off its chain, and Midas screamed as it pinned him to the floor with the ex huntress barely jumping back in time to avoid a similar fate.

The glass immediately turned into gold. When the rumbling stopped, freezing rain poured into the building. Midas cursed in Ancient Greek, thoroughly pinned under his chandelier.

The rain soaked everything, turning the gold chandelier back to glass. Piper and Leo were slowly changing too, along with the other statues in the room.

Then the front door burst open, and Coach Hedge charged in, club ready. His mouth was covered with dirt, snow, and grass.

"What'd I miss?" he asked.

"Where were you?" Jason demanded

Hedge belched. "Getting a snack. Sorry. Who needs killing?"

"No one, now!" complained Kassandra. "Just grab Leo. I'll get Piper."

"Don't leave me like this!" Midas wailed.

All around him the statues of his victims were turning to flesh- his daughter, his barber, and a whole lot of angry looking guys with swords.

Jason grabbed Piper's golden bag and his own supplies. Then he threw a rug over the golden statue of Lit on the throne. Kassy picked up Piper, who was surprisingly light for being covered in gold.

"Let's get out of here," Jason said. "I think these guys will want some quality time with Midas."

Kassandra kicked Midas as she walked out with the others, Piper slung over her shoulder.