Wildfire (Leo Valdez x OC) (1)

Piper should be a diplomat. Or a therapist.

The doors slid open on the fourth floor, and a strong scent of perfume wafted into the lift, causing me to gag.

Jason stepped out first, sword at the ready. 

"Woah." He said, lowering his sword. "Guys, you've got to see this."

We joined him and Piper caught her breath. "This is not Macy's."

"Or Medusa." I said.

The place 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 colours. 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.

"Yeah... Medusa definitely isn't this fancy." I said. "Some of the stuff they're selling is weird though."

Leo stepped to the railing and looked down. "Check it out."

In the middle of the atrium, a fountain sprayed water high into the air, almost reaching one of the balconies. It's water changing colour 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 oversized canary cage.

Inside one, a miniature hurricane swirled and lightning flashed. Somebody had imprisoned the storm spirits, and the cage shuddered as they tried to get out. In the other, frozen like a statue, was a short, buff satyr, holding a tree branch.

"Coach Hedge!" I said. "We have to get down there."

A voice said, "May I help you find something?"

We all jumped. A woman had just appeared behind us. 

She wore an elegant black dress with diamond jewellery, and she looked like a retired fashion model – maybe fifty years old, though it was hard to judge. Her long dark hair swept over one shoulder, and her face was gorgeous, but in a surreal way, as if someone had edited her face to make sure it didn't have a single imperfection.

With her long, red-painted nails, her hands looked more like talons. She didn't quite look human.

She smiled. "I'm so happy to see new customers. How may I help you?"

"Uhm," Jason started. "Is this your store?"

The woman nodded. "I found it abandoned, you know. I understand so many stores are, these days." I furrowed my brows, she said 'these days' as if she wasn't from 'these days'. "I decided it would be the perfect place – "

"What? In a sewer?" I said. The lady glared for a moment before continuing with a dazzling smile. I frowned.

"I love collecting tasteful objects, helping people and offering good quality goods at a reasonable price."

"Said every business owner ever." I muttered.

The woman ignored me. "So, this seemed a good... how do you say... first acquisition in this country."

The woman's voice had slowly begun to sound richer and more exotic; it was making me feel sleepy and relaxed. I saw Jason and Leo's eyelids droop as smiles grew on their face. 

"So, you're new to America?" Jason asked.

"Indeed, much like your friend there." She pointed at me. "I am the Princess of Colchis. My friends call me Your Highness. Now what are you looking for?"

I looked to my left, Piper was looking around frantically, unlike the boys she didn't seem sleepy. 

My eyes felt heavy, my thoughts were sluggish. There was something weird going on with the lady, but her voice made me feel like I didn't have a care in the world, she couldn't be all bad, right?