The Veiled Legacy | PJO - Book Two

twelve

ARIANA REMEMBERS

They stopped at the front porch. As Frank had feared, a loose ring of campfires glowed in the woods, completely surrounding the property, but the house itself seemed untouched.

Frank decided against ringing the doorbell. Instead he checked the stone elephant statue in the corner - a tiny duplicate of the one in Portland. The spare key was still tucked under its foot.

He hesitated at the door.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked.

Ariana frowned. "You okay?"

Frank didn't respond.

"Frank?" Hazel asked.

"Ella is nervous." the harpy muttered from her perch on the railing. "The elephant - the elephant is looking at Ella."

"It'll be fine." Frank's hand was shaking so badly he could barely fit the key in the lock. "Just stay together."

Inside, the house smelled closed-up and musty.
They examined the living room, the dining room, the kitchen. Dirty dishes were stacked in the sink.

Ella had said the Laistrygonians were cannibals.
He pushed that thought aside. Monsters ignored regular mortals. At least, they usually did.

In the parlour, Buddha statues and Taoist immortals grinned at them like psycho clowns.

Large porcelain vases were strung with cobwebs. Again. Frank said she insisted that her collection be dusted regularly.

The fireplace was dark and cold.

Hazel hugged her chest as if to keep the piece of firewood from jumping into the hearth. "Is that -"

"Yeah." Frank said. "That's it."

"That's what?" Percy and Ariana asked.

Hazel's expression was sympathetic, but it didn't give anything away.

"It's the fireplace." Frank told them, which sounded stupidly obvious. "Come on. Let's check upstairs."

The steps creaked under their feet. They checked the other bedrooms. The middle two were empty. A dim light flickered under the last door - his grandmother's room.

Frank knocked quietly. No one answered. He pushed open her door.

Grandmother lay in bed, looking gaunt and frail, her white hair spread around her face like a basilisk's crown. A single candle burned on the nightstand.

"Mars." Frank said.

"Has Frank gone crazy? I don't see Mars?" Ariana mumbled to Percy and Hazel.

"Frank?" Hazel whispered. "What do you mean, Mars? Is your grandmother ... is she okay?"

Frank glanced at his friends. "You don't see him?"

"See who?" Percy gripped his sword. "Mars Where?"

Frank clenched his fists. "Guys, it's ... it's nothing. Listen, why don't you take the middle bedrooms?"

"Roof." Ella said. "Roofs are good for harpies."

"Sure." Frank said in a daze. "There's probably food in the kitchen. Would you give me a few minutes alone with my grandmother? I think she-"

His voice broke.

Hazel laid her hand on his arm. "Of course, Frank. Come on, Ella, Percy, Ari."

They left giving Frank some space. Ariana felt bad for him, as far as she knew she didn't have any family members alive.