EDEN FUCKING HATED fountains. Just, bad memories.
According to the plaque, the ugly fountain in front of her was called Crown Fountain. All the water had emptied out except for a few patches that were starting to freeze. It didn't seem right to her that the fountain would have water in it in the winter anyway. She had a little bit of common sense, come on.
They stepped to the center of the pool. No spirits tried to stop them. The giant monitor walls stayed dark. The drain hole was easily big enough for a person, and a maintenance ladder led down into the gloom.
Muscle Boy went first. Then Pretty Girl and Fire Boy, then Eden went down, mostly because she could control water and shit. She couldn't that well, but who cared? The ladder dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry, with only a trickle of water on the floor.
"Are all sewers this nice?" Kaleidoscope wondered.
"No," Eden and Fire Boy said at the same time.
Perfect Jason frowned. "How do you two know—"
Eden snorted. "Muscle Boy, you expect me to not know the difference between bad sewers and good ones? What a sheltered person you are."
She didn't want to mention her childhood at all.
"Hey, man, I ran away six times. I've slept in some weird places, okay? Now, which way do we go?" Fire Boy asked, and looked at Eden as if she knew what the fuck she was doing.
Perfect Jason tilted his head, listening, then pointed south. "That way."
"How can you be sure?" Pretty Girl asked.
"There's a draft blowing south," Perfect Jason said. "Maybe the venti went with the flow."
It wasn't much of a lead, but nobody offered anything better.
Unfortunately, as soon as they started walking, Kaleidoscope stumbled. Muscle Boy had to catch her.
"Stupid ankle," she cursed.
"Let's rest," Fun Police decided. "We could all use it. We've been going nonstop for over a day. Leo, can you pull any food from that tool belt besides breath mints?"
"Thought you'd never ask. Chef Leo is on it!"
Kaleidoscope and Perfect Jason sat on a brick ledge while Fire Boy shuffled through his pack. Eden sat with Fire Boy, mostly because she didn't feel like third wheeling Fun Police and Kaleidoscope, and she laid on the ground as Fire Boy lit a small cooking fire. He hummed as he pulled supplies out of his pack and his tool belt. Eden started singing the Little Einsteins song, and he joined her.
"Never learned how to cook," Eden said nonchalantly, frowning at herself. "Wow. That's a depressing thought. Sixteen and can't make eggs. I am such a great person."
Fire Boy snorted. "Great people aren't we all. You know, sometimes I feel like I'm . . . not a good person."
"As long as your intentions are good," Eden offered as he prepared stuff. "I don't know what they like, but I hate flour tortillas. They suck." She looked down at the fire. "I was a selfish girl. I almost joined the Titans, actually."
"Really?" Fire Boy asked, half surprise half not.
"Yeah," she said quietly. "I hated the gods back then. Not as much as I do now, but I hated them. My dad at abandoning me. He saw Percy all the time. I hated Zeus for hating me just because I was born. I hated Hera for too many reasons. Why did I have to depend on them for my survival when they all hated me? Why did I have to serve them when they didn't have an ounce of trust and respect for me? They don't do that. That's what doesn't make them human. Mortal."
As if Eden knew what mortality was, really. She knew it was just about fun. She found fun in destroying things, but it was all for a good cause, right?
"So what made you stay?" Fire Boy asked her.
"It was love," Eden told herself not to look at Kaleidoscope. The reminder of Silena — her scent, her smile, her passion, ingrained into her brain. Eden couldn't look at Pretty Girl and not see Silena, which was why she couldn't look at her. "It's always love, isn't it?"
Fire Boy nodded, stirring some sizzling bell peppers and tofu in a pan. "Yeah, baby! Almost there."
"You're such a cringe person," Eden snickered.
"Says the one in love with Piper," Fire Boy retorted.
Eden felt herself heat up. "I'm not," she said firmly. "She just reminds me of the girl I used to love. Too much."
"Yeah," Fire Boy handed her two plates. "Carry those over."
Eden groaned but got up, walking over to Muscle Boy and Pretty Girl with the plates.
"Leo, Eden," Kaleidoscope said in amazement. "How did you—?"
"Chef Leo's Taco Garage is fixing you up!" Fire Boy said proudly. "And by the way, it's tofu, not beef, beauty queen, so don't freak. Just dig in!"
"Besides, I can't cook," Eden said, giving Perfect Jason her extra plate. "But, yeah, I am magical."
The tacos tasted as good as they smelled. While they ate, Fire Boy tried to lighten the mood and joke around. Eden rolled his eyes at him and told them about fun moments in her life, ones that didn't have a huge impact on her and on them.
After Kaleidoscope ate, Perfect Jason encouraged her to get some sleep. After Eden grudgingly looked at her ankle, she curled up and put her head in his lap. In two seconds she was snoring.
Muscle Boy looked up at Fire Boy, who was obviously trying not to laugh. Eden was snickering out loud.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking lemonade Fire Boy had made from canteen water and powdered mix. It was alright, Eden could've had some in her thermos but what could you do?
"Good, huh?" Fire Boy grinned.
"You should start a stand," Perfect Jason said. "Make some serious coin."
Then he frowned. "Leo . . . about this fire stuff you can do . . . is it true?"
Fire Boy's smile faltered. "Yeah, well . . ." He opened his hand. A small ball of flame burst to life, dancing across his palm. Eden stared at it. She felt completely calm and safe for some reason. And she fucking hated fire.
"That is so cool," Perfect Jason said. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Fire Boy closed his hand and the fire went out. "Didn't want to look like a freak."
"I have lightning and wind powers," Perfect Jason reminded him. "Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMWs. Eden could probably kill someone in two seconds. You're no more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too. Like jump off a building and yell, 'Flame on!'"
Fire Boy snorted. "If I did that, you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than 'Flame on!' Trust me, Hephaestus cabin doesn't see fire powers as cool. Nyssa told me they're super rare. When a demigod like me comes around, bad things happen. Really bad."
"Maybe it's the other way around," Muscle Boy suggested. "Maybe people with special gifts show up when bad things are happening because that's when they're needed most."
Fire Boy cleared away the plates. "Maybe. But I'm telling you . . . it's not always a gift."
Perfect Jason fell silent. "You're talking about your mom, aren't you? The night she died."
Fire Boy didn't answer. He didn't have to. The fact that he was quiet — that told Eden enough.
"Leo, her death wasn't your fault. Whatever happened that night — it wasn't because you could summon fire. This Dirt Woman, whoever she is, has been trying to ruin you for years, mess up your confidence, take away everything you care about. She's trying to make you feel like a failure. You're not. You're important." Perfect Jason ranted. Fucking Jesus.
"That's what she said." Fire Boy looked up, his eyes full of pain. "She said I was meant to do something important —something that would make or break that big prophecy about the eight demigods. That's what scares me. I don't know if I'm up to it."
Fire Boy poked at the remnants of his fire, turning over red-hot coals with his bare hand. "You ever wonder about the other four demigods? I mean . . . if we're four of the ones from the Great Prophecy, who are the others? Where are they?"
"Do I have to be involved in this prophecy?" Eden groaned. "Was already involved in the other one because if Percy died, then I would be the person who would like, take over the world or some shit. I don't want to be involved in another one."
Fire Boy snorted. "Too bad, Water Girl."
"Don't ever call me that."
"I don't know," Perfect Jason said, interrupting whatever Fire Boy was about to say. "I guess the other four will show up when the time is right. Who knows? Maybe they're on some other quest right now."
Eden snorted. "I bet their sewer is nicer than ours."
The draft picked up, blowing toward the south end of the tunnel.
"Get some rest, Leo," Perfect Jason said. "Eden and I'll take first watch."
Eden scrunched up her nose, but didn't complain. Surprisingly. She took out her phone and began to text Connor.
"Don't phones attract monsters?" Perfect Jason frowned at her.
"Special phone," Eden spun it around effortlessly before reading Connor's text, frowning. "A prototype made by a friend. Me and my friend got three before he died."
"I'm sorry," Perfect Jason said to her. "Do you want to get some sleep?"
Eden stuck up the middle finger at him. "If you ask me that one more time, I will literally kill you. And I mean that."
Fire Boy and Pretty Girl had slept about four hours. They'd woke up and Eden snickered as she put on another swipe of lipgloss before deeming it shiny enough for her tastes.
Finally they broke camp and started down the tunnel.
It twisted and turned and seemed to go on forever. Eden wasn't sure what to expect at the end — a dungeon, a mad scientist's lab, or maybe a sewer reservoir where all Porta-Potty sludge ends up, forming an evil toilet face large enough to swallow the world.
Instead, they found polished steel elevator doors, each one engraved with a cursive letter M. Next to the elevator was a directory, like for a department store.
"M for Macy's?" Kaleidoscope guessed. "I think they have one in downtown Chicago."
"Or Monocle Motors still?" Fire Boy said. "Guys, read the directory. It's messed up."
"I'm fucking dyslexic, read it to me," Eden grumbled.
Parking, Kennels, Main Entrance: Sewer Level
Furnishings and Café M: 1
Women's Fashion and Magical Appliances: 2
Men's Wear and Weaponry: 3
Cosmetics, Potions, Poisons & Sundries: 4
"Kennels for what?" Kaleidoscope said. "And what kind of department store has its entrance in a sewer?"
"Weird ones," Eden answered, rolling her eyes and snorting. "Duh. Ones infested with monsters, to be more precise."
"Or sells poisons," Fire Boy said. "Man, what does 'sundries' even mean? Is that like underwear?"
Perfect Jason took a deep breath. "When in doubt, start at the top."
* * *
The doors slid open on the fourth floor, and the scent of perfume wafted into the elevator. Eden stepped out first, gun ready.
"Guys," she said. "What the fuck am I seeing?"
Pretty Girl joined her. "This is not Macy's."
Eden snorted and looked sideways at her. "Yeah, no shit."
The department store looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope. Not inside of Pretty Girl, that'd be gross. 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 colors. 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.
Aside from the stained glass ceiling and the elevator, Eden couldn't see any other windows or doors, but two sets of glass escalators ran between the levels. The carpeting was a riot of oriental patterns and colors, and the racks of merchandise were just as bizarre. There was too much to take it at once, but Eden saw normal stuff like shirt racks and shoe trees mixed in with armored manikins, beds of nails, and fur coats that seemed to be moving.
Fire Boy stepped to the railing and looked down. "Check it out."
In the middle of the atrium a fountain sprayed water twenty feet into the air, changing color 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 oversize canary cage. Eden loved the feel of the water. It was addicting.
Inside one of the cages, 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 club.
"Coach Hedge!" Kaleidoscope said. "We've got to get down there."
A voice said, "May I help you find something?"
All four of them jumped back, even Eden. Wow. This wasn't good.
A woman had just appeared in front of them. She wore an elegant black dress with diamond jewelry, and she looked like a retired fashion model — maybe fifty years old, though it was hard for Eden to judge. Her long dark hair swept over one shoulder, and her face was gorgeous in that surreal super-model way — thin and haughty and cold, not quite human. With their long red-painted nails, her fingers looked more like talons.
She smiled. "I'm so happy to see new customers. How may I help you?"
"Um," Perfect Jason started, "is this your store?"
The woman nodded. "I found it abandoned, you know. I understand so many stores are, these days. I decided it would make the perfect place. I love collecting tasteful objects, helping people, and offering quality goods at a reasonable price. So this seemed a good . . . how do you say . . . first acquisition in this country."
She spoke with a pleasing accent, but Eden couldn't guess where from. Clearly she wasn't hostile, though. Eden started to relax. Her voice was rich and exotic. Eden wanted to hear more.
"So you're new to America?" she asked.
"I am . . . new," the woman agreed. "I am the Princess of Colchis. My friends call me Your Highness. Now, what are you looking for?"
Eden had heard of rich foreigners buying American department stores, mostly from Drew. Of course most of the time they didn't sell poisons, living fur coats, storm spirits, or satyrs, but still — with a nice voice like that, the Princess of Colchis couldn't be all bad.
Kaleidoscope poked Muscle Boy in the ribs. "Jason . . ."
"Um, right. Actually, Your Highness . . ." He pointed to the gilded cage on the first floor. "That's our friend down there, Gleeson Hedge. The satyr. Could we . . . have him back, please?"
"Of course!" the princess agreed immediately. "I would love to show you my inventory. First, may I know your names?"
Kaleidoscope started to say, "Jason, I wouldn't—"
"This is Piper," he said. "This is Leo. That's Eden. I'm Jason."
"Jason. What an interesting name," she said, her eyes as cold as the Chicago wind. "I think we'll have to make a special deal for you. Come, children. Let's go shopping."
lots of updates coming up because ive been prewriting way too much honestly i can't help it skdkskks