LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . hoo

XXXIX.

THE BASIN FILLED with alarming speed. Mia, Percy, Jason, and Piper pounded on the walls, looking for an exit, but they found nothing. They climbed into the alcoves to gain some height, but with water pouring out of each niche, it was like trying to balance at the edge of a waterfall. Even as Mia stood in a niche, the water was soon up to her thighs. From the floor, it was probably eight feet deep and rising fast. Fuck being short.

"I could try lightning," Jason said. "Maybe blast a hole in the roof?"

"That could bring down the whole room and crush us," Piper said.

"Or electrocute us," Mia added smartly.

"Not many choices," Jason said.

"Let me search the bottom," Percy said. "If this place was built as a fountain, there has to be a way to drain the thing. You guys, check the niches for secret exits. Maybe the seashells are knobs, or something."

Percy jumped in the water. Jason and Piper climbed from niche to niche, kicking and pounding, wiggling seashells embedded in the stone; but they had no luck. Mia stood there, wondering if it was an illusion of the Mist, and she tried to dispel it — but it wasn't an illusion, as much as she wished.

Sooner than Mia expected, Percy broke the surface, gasping and flailing. She offered her hand, and he almost pulled her in before she could help him up.

"Couldn't breathe," he choked. "The water . . . not normal. Hardly made it back."

As the water rose around her, Mia felt it affecting her too. Her leg muscles trembled like she'd shadow traveled multiple times. Her hands turned wrinkled and dry, despite being in the middle of a fountain.

The others moved sluggishly. Piper was shaking from the cold, hugging herself tightly. Jason's face was pale. He seemed to be having trouble holding his sword. Percy was drenched and shivering. His hair didn't look quite so dark, as if the color was leaching out.

"They're taking our power," Piper said. "Draining us."

"Jason," Mia urged, "do the lightning."

Jason raised his sword. The room rumbled, but no lightning appeared. The roof didn't break. Instead, a miniature rainstorm formed at the top of the chamber. Rain poured down, filling the fountain even faster, but it wasn't normal rain. The stuff was just as dark as the water in the pool. Every drop stung Mia's skin.

"Not what I wanted," Jason said.

The water was up to their necks now. Mia could feel her strength fading.

I'm fine, everything's fine, she thought, but she couldn't lie her way out of this. Soon the poisonous water would be over their heads. They'd have to swim, and this stuff was already paralyzing them.

Percy started pushing the water away with the back of his hand, like he was shooing a bad dog. "Can't — can't control it!"

"We can't fight this," Piper said, grabbing her cornucopia. "If we hold back, that just makes us weaker."

"What do you mean?" Jason shouted over the rain.

Mia was swimming now, but the water wasn't halfway to the ceiling yet. At least they had time to carry out Piper's probably stupid plan.

"The horn of plenty," she said. "We have to overwhelm the nymphs with fresh water, give them more than they can use. If we can dilute this poisonous stuff—"

"Can your horn do that?" Percy struggled to keep his head above water, which was obviously a new experience for him. He looked scared out of his mind.

"Only with your help." Piper said. "I need you guys to channel everything you've got into the cornucopia," she said. "Percy, think about the sea."