ONE LAST TIME . . . heroes of olympus

17

KAT COULD'VE DIED five times on the way to the front door if not for Leo. But also, she's incredibly talented at avoiding traps; she did it for a living, after all.

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. Kat would've dodged her way through them, but this was also a decent solution.

"You're amazing, man," said Jason.

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

"Hey, that wasn't your—"

Kat was staring at the front door. "Front door's already unlocked," she announced.

Piper stared at the door in disbelief. "It is? All those traps, and the door's unlocked? How do you know that, anyway?"

"I'm the daughter of Hermes, I can literally unlock locks with my mind," Kat shrugged. "Open it."

Leo turned the knob. The door swung open easily. He stepped inside without hesitation.

Kat reached behind her and grabbed Cortana, whispering for it to light up dimly before following him inside, guarding his back.

Her first impression of the house: Dark.

From the echo of her footsteps — which she shouldn't be able to hear, that's an issue — she could tell the entry hall was enormous, even bigger than Boreas's penthouse; but the only illumination came from the yard lights outside and Cortana. A faint glow peeked through the breaks in the thick velvet curtains. The windows rose about ten feet tall. Spaced between them along the walls were life-size metal statues. As Kat's 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's voice echoed alarmingly through the room.

"Don't see one," said Leo.

"Fire?" suggested Kat. "I could also light up my sword if we need to."

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?"

Leo shook his head. "After all those traps outside? Bad idea."

Kat's skin tingled. She hated being a demigod. Looking around, she didn't see a comfortable room to hang out in. She imagined vicious storm spirits lurking in the curtains, dragons under the carpet, a chandelier made of lethal ice shards, ready to impale them.

"Leo's right," Jason said. "We're not separating again — not like in Detroit."

"Oh, thank you for reminding me of the Cyclopes." Piper's voice quavered. "I needed that."

"It's a few hours until dawn," Kat guessed. "Too cold to wait outside. Let's bring the cages in and make camp in this room. Wait for daylight; then we can decide what to do."

Nobody offered a better idea, so they rolled in the cages with Coach Hedge and the storm spirits, then settled in. Thankfully, Leo didn't find any poison throw pillows or electric whoopee cushions on the sofas.