HORIZON ⸺ jason grace

x. shopping trip curtiosy of lady dirt-face

VIOLET WAS ALL SET with shopping trips for a while.

The sewer had led the four demigods to a department store that resembled the inside of a kaleidoscope.

The entire ceiling was a stained glass mosaic with astrological signs around a giant sun. The daylight streaming through it washed everything in a thousand different colors. The upper floors made a ring of balconies around a huge central atrium, so they could see all the way down to the ground floor. Gold railings glittered so brightly, they were hard to look at.

"This is not Macy's." Piper said

Aside from the stained glass ceiling and the elevator, Violet couldn't see any other windows or doors, but two sets of glass escalators ran between the levels. The carpeting was a riot of oriental patterns and colors, and the racks of merchandise were just as bizarre. There was too much to take it at once, but she saw normal stuff like shirt racks and shoe trees mixed in with armored manikins, beds of nails, and fur coats that seemed to be moving.

Leo stepped to the railing and looked down. "Check it out."

In the middle of the atrium, a fountain sprayed water twenty feet into the air, changing color from red to yellow to blue — it reminded Violet of the fire at camp. The pool glittered with gold coins, and on either side of the fountain stood a gilded cage.

Inside one, a miniature hurricane swirled, and lightning flashed. Somebody had imprisoned the storm spirits, and the cage shuddered as they tried to get out. In the other, frozen like a statue, was a short, buff satyr, holding a tree-branch club.

"Coach Hedge!" Piper yelled. "We've got to get down there."

A voice said, "May I help you find something?"

All four of them jumped back. A woman had just appeared in front of them. She wore an elegant black dress with diamond jewelry, and she looked like a retired fashion model. With her long red-painted nails, her fingers looked more like talons. She was beautiful, absolutely, but there was something inhuman about her.

She smiled. "I'm so happy to see new customers. How may I help you?"

"Um," Jason started, "is this your store?"

The woman nodded. "I found it abandoned, you know. I understand so many stores are, these days. I decided it would make the perfect place. I love collecting tasteful objects, helping people, and offering quality goods at a reasonable price. So this seemed a good ... how do you say ... first acquisition in this country."

Violet could see Jason relax, and if Leo hadn't been between them, she would've stomped on his foot. "So you're new to America?" he asked.

"I am ... new," the woman agreed. "I am the Princess of Colchis. My friends call me Your Highness. Now, what are you looking for?"

Violet's head started turning myth after myth over, trying to figure out who this woman was. She was quickly pulled from her thoughts at Jason's voice.

"Um, right. Actually, Your Highness..." He pointed to the gilded cage on the first floor. "That's our friend down there, Gleeson Hedge. The satyr. Could we ... have him back, please?"

"Of course!" the princess agreed immediately. "I would love to show you my inventory. First, may I know your names?"

Violet was growing increasingly suspicious. "Jason, I wouldn't-"

"This is Piper," he said, and to Violet's relief, she looked just as concerned. "This is Leo, and that's Violet. I'm Jason."

The princess fixed her eyes on him and, just for a moment, her face literally glowed, blazing with so much anger, Violet could see her skull beneath her skin. Then the moment passed, and Her Highness looked like a normal elegant woman again, with a cordial smile and a soothing voice.