You'll Learn to Love Me

Chapter 9: Laylana and Jason, a Dynamic Duo

It took the four of them to hold back the satyr, which Laylana felt slightly ashamed of considering how much training and working out she did.

"Whoa, Coach!" Jason said. "Bring it down a few notches."

A younger man charged into the room. Laylana guessed he must be Lit, the old guy's son. He was dressed in pajama pants with a sleeveless T-shirt that said cornhuskers, and he held a sword that looked like it could husk a lot of things besides corn. His ripped arms were covered in scars, and his face, framed by curly dark hair. Even with the scars on his face, Laylana could definetely admit this guy was attractive. If he hadn't been on the path to kill them, she might've asked for his number. Lit had other plans, and immediately zeroed in on Jason like he was the biggest threat, and stalked toward him, swinging his sword overhead.

"Hold on!" Piper stepped forward, trying for her best calming voice. "This is just a misunderstanding! Everything's fine."

Lit stopped in his tracks, but he still looked wary. It didn't help that Hedge was screaming, "I'll get them! Don't worry!"

"Gleeson," Laylana started. She was also wary of them, but if she could hold them off long enough with talking, she would do it. "they may be friendly. Besides, we're trespassing in their house."

"Thank you!" said the old man in the bathrobe. "Now, who are you, and why are you here?"

"Let's all put our weapons down," Piper said. "Coach, you first."

Hedge clenched his jaw. "Just one thwack?"

"No," Piper said.

"What about a compromise? I'll kill them first, and if it turns out they were friendly, I'll apologize."

"That is counterproductive, Gleeson. We've had talks about this." Laylana looked at him pointedly with her arms crossed. That got his attention as he lowered his club. She and Piper gave Lit a friendly sorry-about-that smile. Even with Piper's hair messed up and wearing two-day-old clothes, she looked extremely cute. Damn, Laylana could totally steal her from Jason after this quest. Lit sent a small smile to the two girls.

Lit huffed and sheathed his sword. "You speak well, girl—fortunately for your friends, or I would've run them through."

"Appreciate it," Leo said. "I try not to get run through before lunchtime."

"Eh, I try to make it until dinner at least." Laylana sheathed her dagger as well. 

The old man in the bathrobe sighed, kicking the teapot that Coach Hedge had smashed. "Well, since you're here. Please, sit down."

Lit frowned. "Your Majesty—"

"No, no, it's fine, Lit," the old man said. "New land, new customs. They may sit in my presence. After all, they've seen me in my nightclothes. No sense observing formalities. Welcome to my humble home. I am King Midas."

"I fucking knew it." Laylana mumbled, Piper nudging her gently as a silent way to say 'shut up'.

"Midas? Impossible," said Coach Hedge. "He died."

They were sitting on the sofas now, while the king reclined on his throne. Lit stood behind the throne, both hands on his sword, glancing at Piper and Laylana and flexing his muscular arms just to be annoying. What the girls didn't see was both Jason and Leo looking at Lit with anger. 

Piper sat forward. "What our satyr friend means, Your Majesty, is that you're the second mortal we've met who should be—sorry—dead. King Midas lived thousands of years ago."

"Interesting." The king gazed out the windows at the brilliant blue skies and the winter sunlight. "You know, I think I was a bit dead for a while. It's strange. Seems like a dream, doesn't it, Lit?"

"A very long dream, Your Majesty."

"And yet, now we're here. I'm enjoying myself very much. I like being alive better."

"But how?" Piper asked. "You didn't happen to have a... patron?"

Midas hesitated, but there was a sly twinkle in his eyes. "Does it matter, my dear?"

"We could kill them again," Hedge suggested.

"Gleeson, you really gotta chill with the murder talk." Laylana sighed. "Why don't you go outside for a bit?" 

Leo coughed. "Is that safe? They've got some serious security."

"Oh, yes, sorry about that. But it's lovely stuff, isn't it? Amazing what gold can still buy. Such excellent toys you have in this country!" Midas fished a remote control out of his bathrobe pocket and pressed a few buttons. "There, safe to go out now."

Coach Hedge grunted. "Fine. But if you need me..." He winked at Jason. Then he pointed at himself, pointed two fingers at their hosts, and sliced a finger across his throat. Very subtle sign language.

"Yeah, thanks," Jason said.

"You're the best, Gleeson." Laylana had to bit her tongue to sound less sarcastic. 

After the satyr left, Piper tried another diplomatic smile. "So... you don't know how you got here?"

"Oh, well, yes. Sort of," the king said. He frowned at Lit. "Why did we pick Omaha, again? I know it wasn't the weather."

"The oracle," Lit said.

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

"Thank God I'm a woman then." Laylana muttered under her breath. Leo heard her say that one and had to stifle his laugh. 

"Oh." Piper tried to sound enthusiastic. "How nice."

Lit continued to smile at her and Laylana, though it had developed more into a sneer. Gods, he was clearly on his high horse. A big ego was not something Laylana liked. Mostly cause it probably compensated for lacking in other departments. 

"So," Jason said. "All this gold—"

The king's eyes lit up. "Are you here for gold, my boy? Please, take a brochure!"

Jason looked at the brochures on the coffee table. Laylana leaned over his shoulder to read it as well. The title said GOLD: Invest for Eternity. "Um, you sell gold?"

"No, no," the king said. "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."

"Oh, don't be fooled by cheap imitators!" the king said. "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..." Piper shook her head in confusion. "Your Majesty, you gave up the golden touch, didn't you?"

The king looked astonished. "Gave it up?"

"Yes," Piper said. "You got it from some god—"

"Dionysus," the king agreed. "I'd rescued one of his satyrs, and in return, the god granted me one wish. I chose the golden touch."

"But you accidentally turned your own daughter to gold," Piper remembered. "And you realized how greedy you'd been. So you repented."

"Repented!" King Midas looked at Lit incredulously. "You see, son? You're away for a few thousand years, and the story gets twisted all around. My dear girl, did those stories ever say I'd lost my magic touch?"

"Well, I guess not. They just said you learned how to reverse it with running water, and you brought your daughter back to life."

"That's all true. Sometimes I still have to reverse my touch. There's no running water in the house because I don't want accidents"—he gestured to his statues—"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 would like to see that." Laylana pointed out. 

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

"Well..." Piper looked truly lost now. "Isn't that the point of the story? That you learned your lesson?"

Midas laughed. "My dear, may I see your backpack for a moment? Toss it here."

Piper hesitated. She dumped everything out of the pack and tossed it to Midas. As soon as he caught it, the pack turned to gold, like frost spreading across the fabric. It still looked flexible and soft, but definitely gold. The king tossed it back.

"As you see, I can still turn anything to gold," Midas said. "That pack is magic now, as well. Go ahead—put your little storm spirit enemies in there."

"Seriously?" Leo and Laylana were interested now. He took the bag from Piper and held it up to the cage. As soon as he unzipped the backpack, the winds stirred and howled in protest. The cage bars shuddered. The door of the prison flew open and the winds got vacuumed straight into the pack. Leo zipped it shut and grinned. "Gotta admit. That's cool."

"Damn, get me one of those." Laylana took the backpack  from him. It was very lightweight, perfect for demigods while they were questing.

"You see?" Midas said. "My golden touch a curse? Please. I didn't learn any lesson, and life isn't a story, girl. Honestly, my daughter Zoe was much more pleasant as a gold statue."

"She talked a lot," Lit offered.

"Exactly! And so I turned her back to gold." Midas pointed. There in the corner was a golden statue of a girl with a shocked expression, as if she were thinking, 'Dad!'

"That's horrible!" Piper said.

"Nonsense. She doesn't mind. Besides, if I'd learned my lesson, would I have gotten these?"

Midas pulled off his oversize sleeping cap, and Laylana didn't know whether to laugh or get sick. Midas had long fuzzy gray ears sticking up from his white hair—like Bugs Bunny's, but they weren't rabbit ears. They were donkey ears.

"Oh, wow," Leo said. "I didn't need to see that."

"Ditto," Laylana bit her lip. "What the hell did you do to get those?"

"Terrible, isn't it?" Midas sighed. "A few years after the golden touch incident, I judged a music contest between Apollo and Pan, and I declared Pan the winner."

"Well that was your first mistake." Laylana knew better than to insult a God, much less someone with a big ego like Apollo.

"Apollo, sore loser, said I must have the ears of an ass, and voilà. This was my reward for being truthful. I tried to keep them a secret. Only my barber knew, but he couldn't help blabbing." Midas pointed out another golden statue—a bald man in a toga, holding a pair of shears. "That's him. He won't be telling anyone's secrets again."

The king grinned. Laylana studied the man's face as his eyes grew wider, having a look of a madman in them. She unconsciously moved her hand to the hilt of her dagger. Suddenly he didn't strike her as a harmless old man in a bathrobe. "Yes, gold has many uses. I think that must be why I was brought back, eh Lit? To bankroll our patron."

Lit nodded. "That and my good sword arm."

Jason glanced at his friends. He and Laylana shared the same look; they need to get the fuck out of there. Suddenly the air in the room seemed much colder.

"So you do have a patron," Jason said. "You work for the giants."

King Midas waved his hand dismissively. "Well, I don't care for giants myself, of course. But even supernatural armies need to get paid. I do owe my patron a great debt. I tried to explain that to the last group that came through, but they were very unfriendly. Wouldn't cooperate at all."

Jason slipped his hand into his pocket, Laylana assuming he was gonna grab his coin/weapon. "The last group?"

"Hunters," Lit snarled. "Blasted girls from Artemis."

Laylana froze. She had a major dislike for the hunters after her quest with Percy, Thalia Grace, Zoe Nightshade, and Bianca Di Angelo. She didn't have a dislike towards certain people like Thalia, but she hated the constant asking for her to join them. She knew she could never swear her loyalty to Artemis, and deep down she didn't want to swear off romance entirely.

"When?" Jason demanded. "What happened?"

Lit shrugged. "Few days ago? I didn't get to kill them, unfortunately. They were looking for some evil wolves, or something. Said they were following a trail, heading west. Missing demigod—I don't recall."

"Percy," Laylana breathed, her eyes widening slightly. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She'd think about that later, for now they were in serious trouble.

Midas scratched his donkey ears. "Very unpleasant young ladies, those Hunters, they absolutely refused to be turned into gold. Much of the security system outside I installed to keep that sort of thing from happening again, you know. I don't have time for those who aren't serious investors."

Jason stood warily and glanced at Laylana, Leo and Piper. She stood up as well, followed by the others.

"Well," Piper said, managing a smile. "It's been a great visit. Welcome back to life. Thanks for the gold bag."

"Oh, but you can't leave!" Midas said. "I know you're not serious investors, but that's all right! I have to rebuild my collection."

Lit was smiling cruelly. The king rose, and Leo and Piper moved away from him. 

"Don't worry," the king assured them. "You don't have to be turned to gold. I give all my guests a choice—join my collection, or die at the hands of Lityerses. Really, it's good either way."

Piper tried to use her charmspeak. "Your Majesty, you can't—"

Quicker than any old man should've been able to move, Midas lashed out and grabbed her wrist.

"No!" Jason yelled.

But a frost of gold spread over Piper, and in a heartbeat she was a glittering statue. Leo tried to summon fire, but he'd forgotten his power wasn't working. Midas touched his hand, and Leo transformed into solid metal.

"Leo!" Laylana gasped as she watched them turn to gold. She moved closer to Jason, unsheathing her dagger. Midas smiled at them.

"Gold trumps fire, I'm afraid." He waved around him at all the gold curtains and furniture. "In this room, my power dampens all others: fire... even charmspeak. Which leaves me only one more trophy to collect."

"Hedge!" Jason yelled. "Need help in here!"

"Gleeson!" Laylana tried to yell as well, but it seemed like her yells went unheard.

Midas chuckled. "No goat to the rescue? Sad. But don't worry, my boy. It's really not painful. Lit can tell you."

Jason looked at Laylana. They silently communicated, and seemed like they were on the same page. "We choose combat. You said we could choose to fight Lit instead."

Midas looked mildly disappointed, but he shrugged. "I said you could die fighting Lit. But of course, if you wish."

The king backed away, and Lit raised his sword.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Lit said. "I am the Reaper of Men!"

"Damn good thing I'm a woman then." Laylana raised her dagger, calling upon any shadows in the room to help her. 

"Come on, Cornhusker." Jason summoned his own weapon. This time it came up as a javelin.

"Oh, a gold weapon!" Midas said. "Very nice."

Lit charged at them. The guy was fast. He slashed and sliced, and Jason could barely dodge the strikes, but his mind went into a different mode—analyzing patterns, learning Lit's style, which was all offense, no defense. Laylana seemed to go hand-in-hand with him, constantly blocking his attacks with her dagger raised above or in front of her to stop any blows. She would occasionally hand him off to Jason, trying to come up with a plan. Jason countered, sidestepped, and blocked. Lit seemed surprised to find him still alive.

"What is that style?" Lit growled. "You don't fight like a Greek."

"Legion training," Jason said. "It's Roman."

"Roman?" Laylana gaped at him as she enveloped Lit's eyes in shadows, temporarily blinding him. 

"Roman?" Lit struck again, grasping at his eyes, and Jason deflected his blade. Even while blinded, he knew where the boy was. "What is Roman?"

"News flash," Jason said. "While you were dead, Rome defeated Greece. Created the greatest empire of all time."

"Well that's offensive." Laylana huffed as she jumped into the fight as well, trying to get one good hit on Lit.

"Impossible," Lit said. "Never even heard of them."

Laylana spun on her heels as Jason  got out of her way. She slashed her dagger across his chest, watching the wound start to leak blood through his shirt. He let out a yell in pain as Laylana planted her boot firmly in his chest, sending him toppling onto the throne.