𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 (𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨'𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬)

SIXTEEN ; the risk of riches

     If being rich came with such paranoia and this extensive of security, Eileen wanted no part of it. Trying to enter the mansion was like trying to cross a pit of very angry snakes - every time you took a step you had to pray you weren't accidently stepping on something that wanted to kill you. They would have been dead ten times over if it weren't for Leo.

     He was like their own personal sniffer-dog, picking up on the most unnoticeable traps and disabling them before Eileen even had time to figure out exactly what they were. Trapdoors on the sidewalk, more lasers on the steps, a nerve gas dispenser that dropped from the overhang on the porch. Then there was also the poison spikes in the welcome mat (which definitely wasn't very welcoming), and finally the exploding doorbell.

     How half of those things were even possible as traps was beyond Eileen, but she was once more incredibly grateful that Leo was there.

     "You're amazing, man," Jason told him.

     Leo was examining the front door lock for any final hidden weapons. A scowl darkened his face. His eyes were still red and puffy from crying, but he didn't look sad anymore. Just frustrated and a little mad. "Yeah, amazing," he said. "Can't fix a dragon right, but I'm amazing."

     Jason's face morphed into shock as Leo repeated his words from back at Medea's store. "Hey, that wasn't your-"

     "Front door's already unlocked," Leo announced as if he hadn't even heard Jason speaking.

     Piper came to stand beside Eileen. "It is?" She said in disbelief, "all those traps, and the door's unlocked?"

     "Whoever lives here probably didn't think there was a need," Eileen guessed. "A robber would have been dead at the front gate."

     Leo turned the knob and the door swung open soundlessly. Without even looking around, he stepped inside. Eileen held her breath and waited for another explosion - something Leo had missed or hadn't thought to originally be a threat - but when nothing came, she followed close behind.

     It was dark inside - far too dark to see anything but what was directly in front of her face - but Eileen could tell the minute she stepped inside that this room was massive. Maybe even bigger than Boreas's ice palace. Four sets of footsteps echoed in the dark. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the lighting (or lack thereof), Eileen could begin to make out thick velvet drapes that covered ten-foot tall windows. The faint glow of the moon poked through them around the edges, but that and the flood lights in the yard seemed to be their only source of light. Along the walls, life-sized figures of metal statues lined up one after the other. That gave Eileen some serious deja-vu.

     She looked around, expecting something to jump out of the darkness. Maybe Khione or Medea. If they were lucky, maybe it would only be a storm spirit. She stood a little closer to her friends, just in case.

     A few sofa's formed a U-shape in the middle of the room, with a central coffee table joined by a single chair. If she squinted, Eileen thought it looked a bit like a cheap throne. Of course the paranoid rich people would have a throne.

    A massive chandelier hung overhead, swinging gently on its hinges as a sharp gust of wind blew in from outside. Along the back wall stood a row of closed doors.

     Overall, the room was cold and empty. Not somewhere Eileen would want to spend her free time hanging around.

     "Where's the light switch?" Jason asked. His voice bounced off the walls; obnoxiously loud and echo-y.

     "Don't see one," Leo said.

     "I'm not surprised," Eileen muttered. "Can't see much at all."