You'll Learn to Love Me

Chapter 78: Hygeia

The stairs spiralled downward about sixty feet before opening into a chamber as large as Bunker Nine – which is to say, ginormous. The polished white tiles on the walls and floor reflected the light of Jason's sword and Laylana's Celestial Bronze dagger so well that Leo didn't need to make a fire. At the far end of the room, where the altar would have been, stood a ten-foot-tall statue of pure white alabaster – a young woman in a white robe, a serene smile on her face. In one hand she raised a cup, while a golden serpent coiled around her arm, its head poised over the brim as if ready to drink.

"Large and dangerous," Jason guessed.

"You can say that again." Laylana nodded. "Ten bucks they come to life and try and kill us." 

"You're on, Jackson." 

"I swear to the Gods if I die now when ten dollars is on the line." Laylana twirled her dagger in her hand as she looked over the room. "This must have been the sleeping area. The patients stayed here overnight. The god Asclepius was supposed to send them a dream, telling them what cure to ask for."

"How do you know that?" Leo asked. "Annabeth told you?"

Laylana shot a glare his way. "You fail to remember I've lived the last five years as a demigod. I know shit, Leo. That statue over there is Hygeia, the daughter of Asclepius. She's the goddess of good health. That's where we get the word hygiene."

Jason studied the statue warily. "What's with the snake and the cup?"

"Not sure," Piper admitted, glancing at Laylana for any input, but continued with Laylana just shrugged. "But back in the day this place – the Asclepeion – was a medical school as well as a hospital. All the best doctor-priests trained here. They would've worshipped both Asclepius and Hygeia."

The silence, the gleaming white tiles, the creepy smile on Hygeia's face made Laylana feel very off-put. She continued forward first, followed by Jason and Piper, Leo trailing behind all of them. Strewn across the benches were old magazines: Highlights for Children, Autumn, 20 B.C.E.;
Hephaestus-TV Weekly – Aphrodite's Latest Baby Bump; A: The Magazine of Asclepius – Ten Simple Tips to Get the Most out of Your Leeching!

"It's a reception area," Leo muttered. "I hate reception areas."

Here and there, piles of dust and scattered bones lay on the floor, which did not say encouraging things about the average wait time. Laylana wasn't about to die in a waiting room. She spent enough time in doctors offices, the hospital, and the infirmary. She did not need to experience the same fate as those skeletons.

"Check it out." Jason pointed. "Were those signs here when we walked in? And that door?"

Laylana didn't think so. On the wall to the right of the statue, above a closed metal door, were two electronic signboards. The top one read: THE DOCTOR IS: INCARCERATED. The sign below that read: NOW SERVING NUMBER: 0000000

Jason squinted. "I can't read it that far away. The doctor is..."

"Fucking blind ass bitch." Laylana grumbled, causing Jason to slowly turn his head to glare at her. She kept his stare. "It says 'The doctor is incarcerated.' Didn't Apollo warn you about something like that, Leo?"

Leo nodded. "Apollo warned me that Asclepius was being held under guard. Zeus didn't want him sharing his medical secrets or something."

"Twenty bucks and a box of Froot Loops that statue is the guardian," Piper said.

"No way, I'm about to lose ten bucks to Laylana." Jason shook his head, grimacing at the statue itself. 

"I'm not taking that bet either." Leo glanced at the nearest pile of waiting-room dust. "Well... I guess we take a number."