cacoethes |PERCY JACKSON| [book 2]

XVIII

"WELCOME!" said the lady with the clipboard.

She looked like a flight attendant—blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She shook their hands as they stepped onto the dock. With the dazzling smile she gave them, you would've thought they'd just gotten off the Princess Andromeda rather than a banged-up rowboat.

Then again, their rowboat wasn't the weirdest ship in port. Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned three-masted sailing ship. There was a helipad with a "Channel Five Fort Lauderdale" helicopter on it, and a short runway with a Learjet and a propeller plane that looked like a World War II fighter. Maybe they were replicas for tourists to look at or something.

"Is this your first time with us?" the clipboard lady inquired

Annabeth, Selena, and Percy exchanged looks. Annabeth said, "Umm ..."

"First—time—at—spa," the lady said as she wrote on her clipboard. "Let's see ..." She looked us up and down critically. "Mmm. An herbal wrap to start for the young ladies. And of course, a complete makeover for the young gentleman."

"A what?" Percy asked,

She was too busy jotting down notes to answer, "Right!" She said with a breezy smile. "Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please."

Now here's the thing. The trio was used to traps, and usually, those traps looked good at first. So Selena expected the clipboard lady to turn into a snake or a demon, or something, any minute. But on the other hand, they'd been floating in a rowboat for most of the day. Selena was hot, tired, and hungry, and when this lady mentioned a luau, her stomach sat up on its hind legs and begged like a dog.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Annabeth muttered, looking at Selena and Percy,

"Don't jinx us, blondie." Selena sighed as they followed the lady.

Selena crossed her arms, ready to take her dagger out of her sleeve but the farther they wandered into the resort, the more she forgot about it.

The place was amazing. There was white marble and blue water everywhere she looked. Terraces climbed up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level, connected by watersides and waterfalls and underwater tubes you could swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming impossible shapes, like flying eagles and galloping horses.

Selena smiled at Annabeth before turning to look at Percy, who looked like he was going to be sick, "You okay?" She asked him,  "You look pale."

"I'm okay," Percy said and she could tell he was lying, "Just ... let's keep walking."

They passed all kinds of tame animals. A sea turtle napped in a stack of beach towels. A leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board. The resort guests—only young women, as far as she could see—lounged in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies or reading magazines while herbal gunk dried on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.

As they headed up a staircase toward what looked like the main building, Selena heard a woman singing. Her voice drifted through the air like a lullaby. Her words were in some language other than Ancient Greek, but just as old—Minoan, maybe, or something like that. Selena could understand what she sang about—moonlight in the olive groves, the colors of the sunrise. And magic. Something about magic. Her voice seemed to lift Selena off the steps and carry her toward her. She quickly shook her head and the trance seemed to wear off.

They came into a big room where the whole front wall was windows. The back wall was covered in mirrors, so the room seemed to go on forever. There was a bunch of expensive-looking white furniture, and on a table in one corner was a large wire pet cage. The cage seemed out of place, but she didn't think about it too much, because just then Selena saw the lady who'd been singing ... and whoa.

She sat at a loom the size of a big screen TV, her hands weaving colored thread back and forth with amazing skill. The tapestry shimmered like it was three dimensional—a waterfall scene so real Selena could see the water moving and clouds drifting across a fabric sky.

Annabeth caught her breath, "It's beautiful."

The woman turned. She was even prettier than her fabric. Her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold. She had piercing green eyes and she wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like deer running through a forest at night.

"You appreciate weaving, my dear?" the woman asked.

"Oh, yes, ma'am!" Annabeth answered, "My mother is—"

Annabeth stopped herself. You couldn't just go around announcing that your mom was Athena, the Goddess who invented the loom. Most people would lock you in a rubber room.

Our hostess just smiled. "You have good taste, my dear. I'm so glad you've come. My name is C.C."

The animals in the corner cage started squealing. They must've been guinea pigs, from the sound of them.

They introduced ourselves to C.C. She looked Percy over with a twinge of disapproval as if he'd failed some kind of test.

"Oh, dear," she sighed. "You do need my help."

"Ma'am?" Percy asked, confused,

C.C. called to the lady in the business suit. "Hylla, take Annabeth and Selena on a tour, will you? Show them what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness." C.C turned to Selena, "A little chubby, but that's okay. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with this young gentleman."

"But ..." Annabeth's voice sounded hurt. "What's wrong with my hair?"

Selena looked down at herself, "Chubby?"

C.C. smiled benevolently. "My dears, you are lovely. Really! But you ladies are not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!"

"Wasted?"

Selena put her hands on her hips. Was she really that much larger than the other two?

"Well, surely you're not happy the way you are! My goodness, there's not a single person who is. But don't worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa. Hylla will show you what I mean. You, my dears, need to unlock your true selves!"

Annabeth's eyes glowed with longing. Selena had never seen her so much at a loss for words. "But ... what about Percy?"

"Oh, definitely," C.C. said, giving Percy a sad look. "Percy requires my personal attention. He needs much more work than you."

The guinea pigs squealed like they were hungry. 

"Well..." Selena looked down at herself once again, "I suppose..."

"Right this way, dears," Hylla said. Selena and Annabeth allowed themselves to be led away into the waterfall-laced gardens of the spa.