THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES [J. GRACE]

TWENTY-SEVEN

"oh, thank you for reminding me of the cyclopes," piper's voice quavered as she looked around with a newfound paranoia, and jason hated it instantly. he was supposed to shoulder all the unnecessary overthinking as their quest leader. not infect the others with the same negativity. the blonde felt bad as she continued, "i needed that."

"it's a few hours until dawn," jason informed them, not absolutely sure how he knew. he chalked it up as a child jupiter thing, as his father was the god of the sky. he must've been connected to it somehow to know exactly when the sun would rise once again. "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 they rolled in the cages with coach hedge, and the storm spirits, then, settled in. thankfully, neither hephaestus kid found any poison throw pillows, or electric whoopee cushions on the sofas.

leo didn't seem in the mood to make more tacos. besides, they had no fire, so they settled for cold rations.

as jason ate, he studied the metal statues along the walls. they looked like greek gods, or heroes. maybe that was a good sign. or maybe they were used for target practice. on the coffee table sat a tea service, and a stack of glossy brochures, but he couldn't make out the words. the big chair at the other end of the table looked like a throne. none of them tried to sit in it.

the canary cages didn't make the place any less creepy. the venti, or anemoi thullai according to chandler, kept churning in their prison, hissing, and spinning, and jason got the uncomfortable feeling they were watching him. he could sense their hatred for the children of zeus, the lord of the sky who'd ordered aeolus to imprison their kind. the venti would like nothing better than to tear him apart.

as for coach hedge, he was still frozen mid-shout, his weapon raised threateningly. leo was working on the cage, trying to open it with various tools, but the lock seemed to be giving him a hard time. jason decided not to sit next to him in case hedge suddenly unfroze, and went into ninja goat mode.

despite how wired he felt, once his stomach was full, jason started to nod off. the couches were a little too comfortable, a lot better than a dragon's back, and he'd taken the last two watches while his friends slept. he was exhausted.

piper had already curled up on the other sofa. jason wondered if she was really asleep, or dodging a conversation about her dad. whatever medea had meant in chicago, about getting her dad back if she cooperated, it didn't sound good. if piper had risked her own dad to save them, that made the blonde feel even guiltier.

chandler was huddled onto a soft looking sofa, probably waiting for him, or he hoped that maybe she was. she'd tied her curly burgundy hair back, and jason could see her many ear piercings. he was impressed by the jewelry, and how shiny it was even in the dark. she'd used a baby wipe annabeth packed away in her bag to wipe away all of her makeup, and to him, she looked like a million denarii. he could see the girl was desperately trying to stay awake, but she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

jason was worried. they were running out of time to save hera. if he had his days straight, this was early morning of december twentieth. which meant tomorrow was the winter solstice.

"get some sleep," leo advised, still working on the locked cage. he'd spared a single glance at the honey blonde, and the heavy, purple bags that hung underneath his eyes. "it's your turn."