Daughter of Wine

Callida

We would've died five times on the way to the front door if not for Leo. There's a motion-activated trapdoor on the sidewalk, lasers on the steps, then a nerve-gas dispenser on the porch railing, the pressure sensitive poison spikes in the welcome mat, and of course, the exploding doorbell. 

Leo deactivates all of them. It's like he can smell the traps, and he picks just the right tool out of his toolbelt to disable them. 

"You're amazing, man." Jason tells him. 

Leo scowls as he examines the front door. "Yeah, amazing. Can't fix a dragon right, but I'm amazing." 

"Hey that wasn't your-"

"Front door's already unlocked." Leo interrupts. 

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

Leo turns the knob and the door swings open easily. He steps inside without hesitation, so I follow. Inside, it's dark. I can tell the entry hall is enormous from the sound of my footsteps, but the only illumination comes from the yard lights outside. 

"Where's the light switch?" Jason's voice echoes loudly through the room. 

"Don't see one." Leo says. 

"Fire?" Piper suggests. 

Leo holds out his hand, but nothing happens. "It's not working." 

I try too, but just like Leo, no fire. A panic starts building up inside of me. What if this mansion is blocking my abilities? 

"Your fire is out?" Piper asks us. "Why?"

I shrug, but Leo seems to scowl again. "Well, if I knew that-"

"Okay, okay." Piper raises her hands. "What do we do- explore?" 

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

My skin tingles nervously. Something about this mansion gives me serious creeps. I keep expecting one of my new questmates to start speaking in tongues and crawling backwards. 

"Leo's right." Jason agrees. "We're not separating again. Not like in Detroit." 

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

"It's a few hours until dawn." I note. "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." 

Leo and Piper look to Jason, as if waiting for his approval. He shrugs and nods, and since no one offers a better idea, we go and start rolling the canary cages inside. 

We settle in on the sofas that crowd the end of the entry hall. Leo hands me a sandwich that he pulls out of his bag, and we all eat in silence. I try to look around the room and see what's going on, but it's too dark. I can make out statues along the walls, but not what they are. There's a big chair in the center of our sofas, on the opposite side of the coffee table as me, but none of us dares sit in it. 

The canary cages don't make the place any less creepy. The storm spirits churn in their prison, hissing and spinning. Hedge is still frozen mid-shout, his cudgel raised. I never really got to know Hedge. I saw him around camp for a while, then I heard he was at the Wilderness School. I have heard stories, though. That he was overly violent, obsessed with fighting. Not usual for a satyr. 

Leo is working on his cage, trying to open it with various tools, but none of them seem to work. I curl up on the sofa, my back to everyone. I don't feel like talking. Medea's words had bothered me too much. My mom died because of something I may or may not do in the future. I had always felt guilty that she had to protect me, which is why I trained so hard and pushed myself to learn so many things. I don't want anyone to have to sacrifice themselves for me ever again. But this is a whole other level of guilt. She died because of who I am. Because of my fate. That woman was there because of me.