( O.H ) Folklore, Heroes of Olympus ²

04. self-obsessed narcissist

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          Riding Arion had been frightening for a total of 2 seconds. Mostly because her fear of heights has yet to dissipate over the past few months. But once they had reached the lake, a sense of serenity washed over Iana. The horse's hooves turned the surface of the lake to salty mist. Visually, it looked like how her illusions would be turned back to what it once was.

Ahead of them lay an island—a line of sand so white, it might have been pure table salt. Behind that rose an expanse of grassy dunes and weathered boulders.

Iana sat at the very back, since she was the tallest out of the three, she figured they would appreciate a sense of security (although she herself had to cast a spell in order not to fly off the speeding horse).

Before they left, Percy had pulled Iana and Leo aside to tell him Hazel's story. Percy made it sound like he was just doing them a favor, but there'd been an undertone like If you mess with my friend, I will personally feed you to a great white shark.

According to Percy, Hazel was a daughter of Pluto. She'd died in the 1940s and been brought back to life only a few months ago.

Iana did presume there was something other worldly about Hazel, like her spirit had been gone for a while before it had returned to the land of the living. But she was certainly glad Hazel wasn't like any of the ghosts or reborn mortals she had seen.

Arion thundered onto the beach. He stomped his hooves and whinnied triumphantly. Iana, Hazel, and Leo dismounted. Arion pawed the sand.

"He needs to eat," Hazel explained. "He likes gold, but—"

"Gold?" Leo asked.

"He'll settle for grass. Go on, Arion. Thanks for the ride. I'll call you."

Just like that, the horse was gone—nothing left but a steaming trail across the lake.

"Fast horse," Leo said.

"And expensive taste." Iana comments.

"Not really," Hazel shrugged. "Gold is easy for me."

Leo raised his eyebrows. "How is gold easy? Please tell me you're not related to King Midas. I don't like that guy."

Hazel pursed her lips, as if she regretted raising the subject. "Never mind."

Leo knelt and cupped a handful of white sand. "Well... one problem solved, anyway. This is lime."

Hazel frowned. "The whole beach?"

"Yeah. See? The granules are perfectly round. It's not really sand. It's calcium carbonate." Leo pulled a Ziploc bag from his tool belt and dug his hand into the lime.

Suddenly he froze.

Iana knelt beside him, waving her hand in her face. Her friend didn't blink, didn't acknowledge her. As if he was in another world.

The daughter of Hecate furrowed her brows. She couldn't sense any spirits that wanted to the them harm, nor could she sense any lingering curses or jinx's placed upon the island.

Iana placed an arm on his shoulder and gently shook him. "You okay, Leo?"

He took a shaky breath, shooting Iana a somewhat reassuring smile. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, fine."

He started to fill the bag.

Hazel knelt next to him and the two girls started to help. "We should've brought a pail and shovels."

Iana made a small ripple in the space next to them and a small image of a pail and shovel floated in the air. A few moments later, the illusion dissolved.