Daughter of Neptune, Book one

XX

Piper's pov

I wanted to run for the elevator. My second choice: attack the weird princess now, because I was sure a fight was coming.. The way the lady's face glowed when she heard Jason and Tori's names had been bad enough. Now Her Highness was smiling like nothing had happened, and Jason and Leo didn't seem to think anything was wrong. Tori and I were the only ones who seemed to thinking straight.

The princess gestured toward the cosmetics counter. "Shall we start with potions?"

"Cool," Jason said.

"Guys," I interrupted, "we're here to get the storm spirits and Coach Hedge. If this--princess--is our friend--"

"Oh, I'm better than a friend, my dear," Her Highness said. "I'm a saleswoman." Her diamonds sparkled, and her eyes glittered like a snake's--cold and dark. "Don't worry. We'll work our way down to the first floor, eh?"

Leo nodded eagerly. "Sure, yeah! That sounds okay. Right Tori?"

Tori stared daggers at him: No, it is not okay!

"Of course it's okay." Her Highness put her hands on Leo's and Jason's shoulders and steered us toward the cosmetics.

"Come along, boys."

I didn't have much choice except to follow.

I hated department stores--mostly because I've been caught stealing from several of them. Well, not exactly caught, and not exactly stealing. I'd talked salesmen into giving me computers, new boots, a gold ring, once even a lawn mower, though I have no idea why I wanted one. I never kept the stuff ____back. I just did it to get my dad's attention. Usually I talked my neighbors UPS guy into taking stuff back. But of course the salesmen I duped always came back to their senses and called the police, who eventually track me down.

Anyway, I wasn't thrilled to be back in a department store--especially one run by a crazy princess who glowed in the dark.

"And here," the princess, "is the finest assortment of magical mixtures anywhere,"

The counter was crammed with bubbling beakers and smoking vials on Tri__pods. Lining the display shelves were crystal flasks--some shaped like swans of honey beat dispensers. The liquid inside were every color, from glowing white to polka-dotted. And the smells--ugh! Some were pleasant, like fresh-baked cookies or roses, but they were mixed with scents of burning tires, skunk spray, and gym lockers. The princess pointed to a blood red vial--a simple test tube with a cork stopper. "This one will heal any disease."

"Even cancer?" Leo asked. "Leprosy? Hangnails?"

"Awesome," Jason said. His voice sounded dazed and sleepy.

"Jason," Tori said. "We've got a job to do. Remember?"

"Job to do," Jason muttered. "Sure. But shopping first, okay?"

The princess beamed at him. "Then we have potions for resisting fire--"

"Got that covered," Leo said.

"Indeed?" The princess studied Leo's face more closely. "You don't appear to be wearing my trademark sunscreen...but no matter. We also have potions that cause blindness, insanity, or sleep, or--"

"Wait." I was still still staring at the red vial. "Could that potion cure lost memory?"

The princess narrowed her eyes. "Possibly. Yes. Quite possibly. Why, my dear? Have you forgotten something important?"

I tried to keep my expression neutral, but if that vial could cure Jason and Tori's memories...

Do I really want that? I wondered.

If Jason and Tori found out who they were, they might not even be our friend. Hera had taken away their memories for a reason. She'd told them it was the only way they'd survive at Camp Half-Blood. What if they found out that they were our enemy, or something? Jason might have a girlfriend where ever he came from and Tori could have a boyfiend.

It doesn't matter, I decided, which kind of surprised me.

Both of them always looked so anguished when they tried to remember things. I hated seeing them that way. I wanted to help them because I cared about them, even if that meant losing them. And maybe it would make this trip through Her Craziness's department store worthwhile .

"How much?" I asked.

The princess got a faraway look in her eyes. "Well, now... The price is always tricky. I love helping people. Honestly, I do. And I always keep my bargains, but sometimes people try to cheat me." Her eyes drifted to Jason and Tori. "Once, for instance, I met a handsome young man who wanted a treasure from my father's kingdom. We made a bargain, and I promised to help him steal it."

"From your own dad?" Jason still looked half in a trance, but the idea seemed to bother him.

"Oh, don't worry," the princess said. "I demanded a high price. The young man had to take me away with him. He was quite good-looking, dashing, strong..." She looked at me. "I'm sure, my dear, you understand how one might be attracted to such a hero, and want to help him."

I tried to control my emotions, but I probably blushed. I got the creepiest feeling the princess could read my thoughts.

I also found the princess's story disturbingly familiar. Pieces of old myths I read with my dad started coming together, but this woman couldn't be the one I was thinking of.

"At any rate," Her Highness patted his check affectionately. "I'm sure you don't need to worry, Leo. You seem honest. You would always pay a fair price, wouldn't you?"

Leo nodded. "What were you buying again? I'll take two."

I broke in: "So, the vial, Your Highness--how much?"

The princess assessed my clothes, my face, my posture, as if putting a price tag on one slightly used demigod.

"Would you give anything for it, my dear?" the princess asked. "I sense that you would."

The words washed over me as powerfully as a good surfing wave. The force of suggestion nearly lifted me off my feet. I wanted to pay any price. I wanted to say yes.

My stomach twisted. I realized I was being charmspoken. I sensed something like it before, when Drew spoke at the campfire, but this was a thousand times more potent. No wonder my friends were dazed. Was this was what people felt when I used charmspeak? A feeling of guilt settled over me.

I summoned all my willpower. "No, I won't pay any price. But a fair price, maybe. After that, we need to leave. Right, guys?"

Tori nodded at me, my words seemed to have some effect. But the boys looked confused.

"Leave?" Jason said.

"You mean...after shopping?" Leo asked.

Just by looking at her face, I could tell Tori wanted to scream, but the princess tilted her head, examining me with newfound respect.

"Impressive," the princess said. "Not many people could resist my suggestions. Are you a child of Aphrodite, my dear? Ah, yes-- l should have seen it. No matter. Perhaps we should shop a while longer before you decide what to buy, eh?"

"But the vial--"

"Now boys." She turned to Jason and Leo. Her voice full of confidence, I didn't stand a chance. "Would you like to see more?"

"Sure," Jason said.

"Okay," Leo said.

"Excellent," the princess said. "You'll need all the help you can get if you're to make it to the Bay Area."

My hand moved to my dagger. I thought about my dream of the mountaintop--the scene Enceladus had shown me, a place I knew, where I was supposed to betray my friends in two days.

"The Bay Area?" Tori said. "Why the Bay Area?"

The princess smiled. "Well, that's where they'll die, isn't it?"

Then she lead them toward the escalators, Jason and Leo still looking excited to shop.