𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 - jason grace

08. MUFFINS WITH A GODDESS

𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐀 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓 as she and her friends approached the store. They were twenty yards from the porch when something hissed in the grass behind them.

"Go!" Frank yelled.

Percy stumbled. While Hazel helped him up, Frank turned and nocked an arrow. Maia gripped her daggers and sprinted forward.

"Nice creepy reptile," Frank said, seemingly anxious. "Nice poisonous, firebreathing reptile."

"Frank!" Hazel yelled behind him. "Come on!"

The snake sprang at him. It sailed through the air so fast, there wasn't time to knock an arrow. Frank swung his bow and smacked the monster down the hill. It spun out of sight, wailing, 'Screeeee!'

"We'll never get out of here," Frank said miserably, having lost his bow.

"Then we'd better go in." Hazel pointed to the hand painted sign over the door: RAINBOW ORGANIC FOODS & LIFESTYLES.

Maia had no idea what that meant, but it sounded better than flaming poisonous snakes. She and her friends made their way inside. As they stepped through the door, lights came on. Flute music started up like they'd walked onto a stage. The wide aisles were lined with bins of nuts and dried fruit, baskets of apples, and clothing racks with tie-dyed shirts and gauzy Tinker Bell-type dresses. The ceiling was covered in wind chimes. Along the walls, glass cases displayed crystal balls, geodes, macramé dream catchers. Incense must have been burning somewhere. It smelled like a bouquet of flowers was on fire.

"Fortune-teller's shop?" Frank wondered.

"Hope not," Hazel muttered.

Percy leaned against Maia. He looked worse than ever, like he'd been hit with a sudden flu. His face glistened with sweat. "Sit down ..." he muttered. "Maybe water."

"Yeah," Maia said. "Let's find you a place to rest."

The floorboards creaked under their feet. Frank navigated between two Neptune statue fountains. A girl popped up from behind the granola bins. "Help you?"

Frank was so startled he lurched backwards, knocking over one of the fountains. A stone Neptune crashed to the floor. The sea god's head rolled off and water spewed out of his neck, spraying a rack of tie-dyed man satchels. Yikes, Maia thought, that's got to hurt.

"Sorry!" Frank bent down to clean up the mess. He almost goosed the girl with his spear.

"Eep!" she said. "Hold it! It's okay!"

Frank straightened slowly, trying not to cause any more damage. Maia shared the sentiment. Hazel looked mortified. Percy turned a sickly shade of green as he stared at the decapitated statue of his dad. The girl clapped her hands. The fountain dissolved into mist. The water evaporated. She turned to Frank.

"Really, it's no problem. Those Neptune fountains are so grumpy looking they bum me out."

"Uh ... sorry about the fountain," Frank said. "We were just –"

"Oh, I know!" the girl said. "You want to browse. It's all right. Demigods are welcome. Take your time. You're not like those awful monsters. They just want to use the restroom and never buy anything!" She snorted. Her eyes flashed with lightning. At this point, Maia wasn't sure if she was imagining things, but she just pretended to understand.

From the back of the store, a woman's voice called: "Fleecy? Don't scare the customers, now. Bring them here, will you?"

"Your name is Fleecy?" Hazel asked.