Umbra

Chapter 11

Being quiet was difficult.

Emilia never realized how hard it was to shut her mouth. Normally, she was the silent kid in the corner of the classroom with no friends. At Camp, she kept to herself. Really, it was Pollux and Will's fault that she became more of a talker. It was part of her therapy to voice her thoughts and now it was like she had to be chained down in order to prevent the rude slips.

She was glad the others were there to balance her out. If Leo could stay serious, if Jason could be fearless, if Piper could be patient, then Emilia could hold her tongue. Maybe.

Piper, diplomatic as always, flashed the King and his son another smile. "So... you don't know how you got here?"

"Sort of," said Midas, frowning at Lit. Emilia didn't buy the confusion for a second. The hairs on the back of her neck stood, and she wanted them all to just leave now that the traps were disabled. She hoped she was wrong and was just failing to trust everyone around her instead of being right and watching a bomb tick away. "Why did we pick Omaha again? I know it wasn't the weather."

"The oracle," said Lit simply.

"Yes! I was told there was an oracle in Omaha," Midas shrugged. "Apparently I was mistaken. But it is a rather nice house, isn't it? Lit— short for Lityerses, by the way— horrible name but his mother insisted— Lit has plenty of space to practice his swordplay. He had quite a reputation for that. They called him the Reaper of Men back in the old days."

"Delightful," said Emilia. Just the sort of person Gaea would recruit. Lit flashed her a smile that was more of a cruel sneer. Oh, how she wished she'd had more time to perfect her sword skills with Pollux. She could normally hold her own just fine with a spear– even against a sword– but Lit was not bulky enough to put her at a greater advantage. She'd have to exert her energy to darken the room and blind him.

"So," said Jason casually. "All this gold–"

The king's eyes lit up. "Are you here for gold, my boy? Please, take a brochure!" He gestured to the coffee table.

Jason picked one up, showing the others that it read GOLD: Invest for Eternity. "Um, you sell gold?"

"No, no," said the King. "I make it. In uncertain times like these, gold is the wisest investment, don't you think? Governments fall. The dead rise. Giants attack Olympus. But gold retains its value!"

Leo frowned. "I've seen that commercial." Emilia was more focused on mentions of the giants attacking Olympus. Such an odd little thing to mention.

"Oh, don't be fooled by cheap imitators!" said Midas. "I assure you, I can beat any price for a serious investor. I can make a wide assortment of gold items at a moment's notice."

"But your Majesty," said Piper, "you gave up the golden touch, didn't you?"

"Let me guess," said Emilia curtly. "You kept the wish Dionysus gave you– the golden touch– even after realizing it made you a greedy fool. Now you capitalize off of it instead of repenting. I suppose I'm not surprised to see your daughter nowhere in sight. Is she one of the statues?"

Midas's lip curled. "Well, even if she was, there is no running water in the house because I don't want accidents. But we chose to live next to a river just in case. Occasionally, I'll forget and pat Lit on the back—"

Lit retreated a few steps. "I hate that."

"I told you I was sorry, son. At any rate, gold is wonderful. Why would I ever give up that gift?"

"Well," Piper said, seemingly looking at me for help, "isn't that the point of the story? You learned your lesson after turning your daughter into gold?"