The Cult of Dionysus

Callida

We don't have to go far. 

Leo and Apollo carry Cal while we follow Emmie to the big ornate building at the plaza's south end. As I suspected, it was a railroad depot at some point. Carved in granite under the rose window are the words UNION STATION.

Emmie ignores the main entrance. She veers right and stops in front of a wall. She runs her fingers between the bricks, tracing the shape of a doorway. Mortar cracks and dissolves. A newly cut door swings inward, revealing a narrow chute like a chimney with metal rungs leading up.

"Nice trick." Leo says, "But Calypso's not exactly in wall-climbing condition."

Emmie knits her brow. "You're right." She faces the doorway. "Waystation, can we have a ramp please?"

The metal rungs vanish. With a soft rumble, the chute's interior wall slants backwards, the bricks rearranging themselves into a gentle upwards slope. 

"Woah," says Leo. "Did you just talk to the building?"

A smile tugs at the corner of Emmie's mouth. "The Waystation is more than a building."

Suddenly I don't like the look of that ramp. "This is a living structure? Like the Labyrinth?"

"And you want us to go inside?" Apollo looks appalled.

Emmie gives him the stink-eye."The Waystation is no work of Daedalus. It's perfectly safe...as long as you remain our guests."

Her tone suggests that our welcome is probationary. Behind us, the emergency sirens grow louder. Calypso inhales raggedly. I guess we don't really have much choice. Besides, I remember with a pang in my chest that my thyrsus is broken. No fighting anything for me until it's fixed, I guess. We follow Emmie into the building.

Lighting appears along the walls- warm yellow candles flickering in bronze sconces. About twenty feet up the ramp, a door opens on our left. Inside, I glimpse an infirmary that would make Asclepius jealous: A fully stocked supply cabinet with medicine, surgical tools, and potion ingredients; a hospital bed with built in monitors, GCI interface, and levitating bariatric slings. Racks of healing herbs dry against the wall next to the portable MRI machine. In the back corner, a glassed-in habitat seethes with poisonous snakes. 

"Oh, my." Apollo says. "Your med bay is cutting-edge."

"Yes," Emmie agrees. "And Waystation is telling me I should treat your friend immediately."

Leo pokes his head into the infirmary. "You mean this room just appeared here?"

"No." Emmie says. "Well, yes. It's always here, but... it's easier to find when we need it."

Leo nods thoughtfully. "You think the Waystation could organize my sock drawer?"

A brick falls from the ceiling and clunks at Leo's feet. 

"That's a no." Emmie interprets. "Now, if I can have your friend, please."

"Uh..." Leo points to the glass habitat. "You got snakes in there. Just saying."

"I'll take good care of Calypso." Emmie promises. 

She takes Calypso from them, lifting the sorceress in her arms with no apparent difficulty. "You three go ahead. You'll find Jo at the top of the ramp."

"Jo?" Apollo asks. 

"You can't miss her." Emmie replies. "She'll explain the Waystation better than I could."

She carries the sorceress into the infirmary. The door shuts behind her. 

Leo frowns at Apollo. "Snakes?"