𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 - jason grace

13. FAMILY REUNIONS

𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐀'𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐗𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄. Now, Maia wasn't lying when she'd said she knew Hylla. They'd grown up together in Puerto Rico. And yes, they were cousins. Obviously they'd know each other. But, Maia had always been closer to Reyna. The few times her grandfather had taken her over to her uncle's house, she'd often play with Reyna – they were closer in age and were less shy around each other.

The group wandered south of downtown, into a plaza surrounded by smaller glass and brick buildings. Maia's nerves started tingling. She looked around, sure she was being watched. She was quite familiar with the feeling of eyes piercing into the back of her head. She got it all the time at camp, when she'd mess something up.

"There," Hazel said.

The office building on their left had a single word etched on the glass doors: AMAZON.

"Oh," Frank said. "Uh, no, Hazel. That's a modern thing. They're a company, right? They sell stuff on the Internet. They're not actually Amazons."

"Unless..." Percy walked through the doors. The other three had no choice but to follow.

The lobby was like an empty fish tank—glass walls, a glossy black floor, a few token plants, and pretty much nothing else. Against the back wall, a black stone staircase led up and down. In the middle of the room stood a young woman in a black pantsuit, with long auburn hair and a security guard's earpiece. Her name tag said kinzie. Her smile was friendly enough, but something about her stare was a bit unnerving to Maia.

Kinzie nodded at Hazel and Maia, ignoring the boys. "May I help you?"

"Um...I hope so," Hazel said. "We're looking for Amazons."

Kinzie glanced at Hazel's sword, then Frank's spear, though neither should have been visible through the Mist.

"This is the main campus for Amazon," she said cautiously. "Did you have an appointment with someone, or—"

"Hylla," Percy interrupted. "We're looking for a girl named—"

Kinzie moved so fast, Maia's eyes almost couldn't follow. She kicked Frank in the chest and sent him flying backward across the lobby. She pulled a sword out of thin air, swept Percy off his feet with the flat of the blade, and pressed the point under his chin.

Too late, Hazel reached for her sword. Maia couldn't even move to grab her daggers. A dozen more girls in black flooded up the staircase, swords in hand, and surrounded her.

Kinzie glared down at Percy. "First rule: Males don't speak without permission. Second rule, trespassing on our territory is punishable by death. You'll meet Queen Hylla, all right. She'll be the one deciding your fate."

Maia gave him a look,as if to say, I told you so. Technically, she did, she just wasn't sure if the Amazonian traditions were still... at their peak. They definitely were.

The Amazons confiscated the quartet's weapons and marched them down so many flights of stairs, Maia had lost count.

Finally they emerged in a cavern so big it could have accommodated ten high schools, sports fields and all. Stark fluorescent lights glowed along the rock ceiling. Conveyor belts wound through the room like water slides, carrying boxes in every direction. Aisles of metal shelves stretched out forever, stacked high with crates of merchandise. Cranes hummed and robotic arms whirred, folding cardboard boxes, packing shipments, and taking things on and off the belts. Some of the shelves were so tall they were only accessible by ladders and catwalks, which ran across the ceiling like theaters scaffolding.

Maia remembered the time Jason and Reyna had tried telling her about the Amazons. It was kind of a sore subject for Reyna, so Maia learned not to ask. However, at that moment, she wished she'd payed attention that one time, or maybe even asked more. She knew what they were getting into, but not at all the extent of it.