𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙇𝘼𝙈𝙀𝘿; heroes of olympus

gold is like frost, but worse

ERITH JAY
THE FOUR OF them would've died five times on the way to the front door if not for Leo. He was, by all means, brilliant.

First it was the motion-activated trapdoor on the sidewalk, then the lasers on the steps, then the nerve gas dispenser on the porch railing, the pressure-sensitive poison spikes in the welcome mat, and of course the exploding doorbell.

Leo deactivated all of them. It was like he could smell the traps, and he picked just the right tool out of his belt to disable them.

"You're amazing, man," Jason said, because, as always, they were thinking the same thing.

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

"Hey, that wasn't your―" Jason tried, but Leo cut him off before he could continue.

"Front door's already unlocked."

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

"I guess the homeowners figured intruders would be dead before they reached the door. Why fuss over it?" Erith figured while Leo turned the knob. The door swung open easily. He stepped inside without hesitation.

Erith followed him. Truthfully, she was anxious about being around him and she was anxious about leaving him alone. Her father's words rang in her ears, but Leo was also an emotional disaster at the moment. He deserved a friend. And as much as Erith hated to admit it, Jason's constant optimism wasn't all that helpful sometimes. And Piper... Piper had her own worries going on. This was especially true, Erith noted, as Jason and Piper spoke tensely in the doorway.

"Leo," Erith said.

He turned.

Her voice stuck in her throat. Before she could open her mouth, she heard Piper's footsteps, and then Jason hurrying after her.

So she just dropped her head and let her words sink back into her stomach.

―

THEIR FIRST IMPRESSION of the house: dark.

Their footsteps echoed, so Erith could tell the place was enormous. The only illumination came from the yard lights outside. A faint glow peeked through the breaks in the thick velvet curtains. The windows rose about ten feet tall. Spaced between them, lined up along the walls, were life-size metal statues. Erith didn't like the look of those. She all-too-well remembered Annabeth's retelling of her experience with Medusa on her first quest with Percy and Grover, and the ice statues in Boreas' palace.

As her eyes adjusted, she saw sofas arranged in a U in the middle of the room, with a central coffee table and one large chair at the far end. A massive chandelier glinted overhead. Along the back wall stood a row of closed doors.

"Where's the light switch?" Jason asked, his voice echoing alarmingly through the room.

"Don't see one," Leo said.

"Fire?" Piper suggested. "Erith's light?"

Leo held out his hand, but nothing happened. "It's not working."

"Your fire is out? Why?" Piper asked.

"Well, if I knew that―"

"Okay, okay," she said. "What do we do―explore?"