They fall through the air in the dark in a free fall, still on the dragon's back, but Festus's hide was cold. His ruby eyes were dim.

"Not again!" Mia yelled. "You can't fall again!"

Mia could barely hold on. The wind stung her eyes, but he managed to pull open the panel on the dragon's neck. She could see Leo doing the same. They both toggled the switches. He tugged the wires. The dragon's wings flapped once, but Mia caught a whiff of burning bronze. The drive system was overloaded. Festus didn't have the strength to keep flying, and Leo couldn't get to the main control panel on the dragon's head—not in midair. He saw the lights of a city below them—just flashes in the dark as they plummeted in circles. They had only seconds before they crashed.

"Jason!" he screamed. "Take Piper and Mia and fly out of here!"

"What?"

"No!" Mia said, "I'm not leaving you!"

Leo shouted, "We need to lighten the load! I might be able to reboot Festus, but he's carrying too much weight!"

"What about you?" Mia cried. "If you can't reboot him—"

"I'll be fine," Leo yelled. "Just follow me to the ground. Go!"

"No no no!" Mia said, "I'm not leaving you!"

Jason grabbed Piper around the waist and tried to grab Mia, but she pushed him. Jason didn't want to leave her, but Piper had already unbuckled their harnesses, and in a flash, they were gone—shooting into the air.

Despite the danger, Leo smiled to himself. "Just me, you guys—and two heavy cages. You can do it, boy! Mia, help me out."

Leo talked to the dragon while he and Mia worked, falling at terminal velocity. He could see the city lights below him, getting closer and closer. He summoned fire in his hand so he could see what he was doing, but the wind kept extinguishing it.

He pulled a wire that he thought connected the dragon's nerve center to its head, hoping for a little wake-up jolt.

Festus groaned—metal creaking inside his neck. His eyes flickered weakly to life, and he spread his wings. Their fall turned into a steep glide.

"Good!" Mia said. "Come on, big boy. Come on!"

They were still flying in way too hot, and the ground was too close. Mia needed a place to land—fast.

There was a big river—no. Not good for a fire-breathing dragon, and Mia didn't have her Poseidon contacts. They'd never get Festus out from the bottom if he sank, especially in freezing temperatures.

Then, on the riverbanks, Mia spotted a white mansion with a huge snowy lawn inside a tall brick perimeter fence—like some rich person's private compound, all of it blazing with light. A perfect landing field. He did his best to steer the dragon toward it, and Festus seemed to come back to life. They could make this!

Then everything went wrong. As they approached the lawn, spotlights along the fence fixed on them, blinding Leo. Leo threw his arms around Mia, and they heard bursts like tracer fire, the sound of metal being cut to shreds—and BOOM.

Mia and Leo blacked out.

When Leo came to his senses, Jason and Piper were leaning over him. He was lying in the snow, covered in mud and grease. He spits a clump of frozen grass out of his mouth. He quickly looked next to him, and there was Mia, looking up at the sky, out of breath.

"Where—"

"Lie still, you two." Piper had tears in her eyes. "You rolled pretty hard when—when Festus—"

"Where is he?" Mia sat up, but her head felt like it was floating. They'd landed inside the compound. Something had happened on the way in—gunfire?

"Seriously, guys," Jason said. "You could be hurt. You shouldn't—"

Leo pushed himself to his feet, helping Mia up. Then they saw the wreckage. Festus must have dropped the big canary cages as he came over the fence because they'd rolled in different directions and landed on their sides, perfectly undamaged. Festus hadn't been so lucky.

The dragon had disintegrated. His limbs were scattered across the lawn. His tail hung on the fence. The main section of his body had plowed a trench twenty feet wide and fifty feet long across the mansion's yard before breaking apart. What remained of his hide was a charred, smoking pile of scraps. Only his neck and head were somewhat intact, resting across a row of frozen rosebushes like a pillow.

"No," Leo sobbed. They ran to the dragon's head and stroked its snout. The dragon's eyes flickered weakly. Oil leaked out of his ear.

"You can't go," Leo pleaded, as Mia held back tears. "You're the best thing I ever fixed."

The dragon's head whirred its gears as if it were purring. Mia thought of the Prophecy her mom talked about. It can wait.

"It's not fair," Leo said.

The dragon clicked. Long creak. Two short clicks. Creak. Creak. Almost like a pattern … morse code. Mia never needed to learn it, but Leo seemed to understand. He nodded.

"Yeah," Leo said. "I understand. I will. I promise."

The dragon's eyes went dark. Festus was gone.

Mia began to cry. She wasn't even embarrassed. Their friends stood on either side, patting her shoulders, saying comforting things, but it can't get the fact that she couldn't save him.

Finally, Jason said, "I'm so sorry, man. What did you promise Festus?"

Leo sniffled. He opened the dragon's head panel, just to be sure, but the control disk was cracked and burned beyond repair.

"Something my dad told me," Leo said. "Everything can be reused."

"Your dad talked to you?" Jason asked. "When was this?"

Leo didn't answer, but he looked up at the sky, "Take him back to the bunker, Dad. Please, until I can reuse him. I've never asked you for anything."

The wind picked up, and the dragon's head floated out of Leo's arms like it weighed nothing. It flew into the sky and disappeared.

Piper looked at him in amazement. "He answered you?"

"I had a dream," Leo managed. "Tell you later."

"I also had a dream.." Mia said, looking at her fingers. "But, that's a talk for another time."

There was a moment of quiet, when Leo looked up at Piper, "Where are we? I mean, what city?"

"Omaha, Nebraska," Piper said. "I saw a billboard as we flew in. But I don't know what this mansion is. We came in right behind you, but as you were landing, Leo, I swear it looked like—I don't know—"

"Lasers," Leo said. He picked up a piece of dragon wreckage and threw it toward the top of the fence. Immediately a turret popped up from the brick wall and a beam of pure heat incinerated the bronze plating to ashes.

Jason whistled. "Some defense system. How are we even alive?"

"Festus," Mia said miserably. "He took the fire. The lasers sliced him to bits as he came in so they didn't focus on you. I led him into a death trap."

"I did," Leo said.

"You guys couldn't have known," Piper said. "He saved our lives again."

"But what now?" Jason said. "The main gates are locked, and I'm guessing I can't fly us out of there without getting shot down."

Mia looked up the walkway at the big white mansion. "Since we can't go out, we'll have to go in."

Leo deactivated all of the defenses. It was like he could smell the traps, and he picked just the right tool out of his belt to disable them.

"You're amazing, man," Jason said.

Leo scowled as he examined the front door lock. "Yeah, amazing," he said. "Can't fix a dragon right, but I'm amazing."

"Valdez, stop taking it out on yourself-" Mia was interrupted.

"Front door's already unlocked," Leo announced.

Piper stared at the door in disbelief. "It is? All those traps, and the door‟s unlocked?"

Leo turned the knob. The door swung open easily. He stepped inside without hesitation.

Before Mia could follow, Piper caught his arm. "He's going to need some time to get over Festus. Don't take it personally."

"Fetus is my dragon too." Mia said, "He needs to start remembering that he wasn't the only one who helped built him."

Mia walked over to Leo and began to walk next to him.

Leo nodded. He kept looking down at his feet. "I heard what you told Piper."

Mia blushed, "Er- sorry."

Leo shook his head, "It's cool, I guess. It's true. I'm sorry-"

"Don't be!" Mia said, grabbing his warm hand. "We both failed to fix Fetus.. but we will fix him. I feel it. And, we're in this together. How hard can that be?"

Leo smiled. "That's the longest I ever heard you say. All I need is for you to smile more."

Mia rolled her eyes, "Nice one, Valdez. Does that work on all the girls?"

Leo sighed. "There are no other girls." And that pretty much ended their conversation.

Mia's first impression of the house: Dark.

From the echo of his footsteps, he could tell the entry hall was enormous, even bigger than Boreas's penthouse; but the only illumination came from the yard lights outside.

A faint glow peeked through the breaks in the thick velvet curtains. The windows rose about ten feet tall. Spaced between them along the walls were life-size metal statues. As Mia's eyes adjusted, she saw sofas arranged in a U in the middle of the room, with a central coffee table and one large chair at the far end. A massive chandelier glinted overhead. Along the back wall stood a row of closed doors.

"Where's the light switch?" Her voice echoed alarmingly through the room, as she felt Leo hold her hand harder.

"Don't see one," Leo said.

"Fire?" Piper suggested.

Leo held out his free hand, but nothing happened. "It's not working."

"Your fire is out? Why?" Piper asked.

"Well, if I knew that—"

"Okay, okay," she said, as Mia glared at Leo for his attitude. "What do we do—explore?"

Leo shook his head. "After all those traps outside? Bad idea."

Mia's skin tingled. She hated being a demigod. Looking around, he didn't see a comfortable room to hang out in. He imagined vicious storm spirits lurking in the curtains, dragons under the carpet, a chandelier made of lethal ice shards, ready to impale them.

"Leo's right," she said. "We're not separating again—not like in Detroit."

"Oh, thank you for reminding me of the Cyclopes." Piper's voice quavered. "I needed that."

"It's a few hours until dawn," Jason guessed. "Too cold to wait outside. Let's bring the cages in and make camp in this room. Wait for daylight; then we can decide what to do."

Nobody offered a better idea, so they rolled in the cages with Coach Hedge and the storm spirits, then settled in. Thankfully, Leo didn't find any poison throw pillows or electric whoopee cushions on the sofas.

Leo didn't seem in the mood to make more tacos. Besides, they had no fire, so they settled for cold rations. As Mia ate, she opened out the journal from her bag. She had forgotten all about it, but it seemed to be a very interesting love story. The boy seemed to be very inserted in the writer, but Mia is thinking that he is pushing it too hard. But.. this book seemed pretty old. Maybe, people at that time were like that.

Mia felt much better. As for Coach Hedge, he was still frozen mid-shout, his cudgel raised. Leo was working on the cage, trying to open it with various tools, but the lock seemed to be giving him a hard time. Leo would randomly look up at Mia to see how's shes doing.

Jason began to doze off, and Mia looked back at him. He was staring at Piper, who was also daydreaming.

"Get some sleep," Leo said to Jason. "It's your turn."

Jason took a deep breath. "Leo, I'm sorry about that stuff I said in Chicago. That wasn't me. You're not annoying and you do take stuff seriously—especially your work. I wish I could do half the things you can do."

Leo lowered his screwdriver. He looked at the ceiling and shook his head like, What am I gonna do with this guy? Mia fiddled with her fingers, ready to see a new fight emerging.

"I try very hard to be annoying," Leo said. "Don't insult my ability to annoy. And how am I supposed to resent you if you go apologizing? I'm a lowly mechanic. You're like the prince of the sky, son of the Lord of the Universe. I'm supposed to resent you."

"Lord of the Universe?"

"Sure, you're all—bam! Lightning man. And watch me fly. I am the eagle that soars—"

"Shut up, Valdez."

Leo managed a little smile. "Yeah, see. I do annoy you."

"I apologize for apologizing."

"Thank you." He went back to work, but the tension had eased between them. Leo still looked sad and exhausted—just not quite so angry.

"Go to sleep, Jason," he ordered. "It's gonna take a few hours to get this goat-man free. Then I still got to figure out how to make the winds a smaller holding cell, 'cause I am not lugging that canary cage to California."

"You did fix Festus, you know," Jason said. "You gave him a purpose again. I think this quest was the high point of his life."

Mia was afraid he'd blown it and made Leo mad again, but Leo just sighed.

"I hope," he said. "Now, sleep, man."

After a while, they heard Jason's snores. Leo gave a small laugh. Mia gave him a calm look.

"That was nice." Mia said, "You guys been friends a long time?"

"Kinda." Leo said, "To me, yes. But that was all a trick of the mist."

Mia and Leo wouldn't talk, but then he pulled out a screwdriver. "Nice."

After a while, Mia noticed a glimpse of fog. She stood up, and walk past Leo. Someone began to speak.

"Insert Drachma."

Mia scrolled through her pockets, and throw in a Drachma. She quickly threw it into the fog.

"O Iris, Goddess of Rainbow, show me what you need to show me!" Mia said, hoping Leo wasn't going to overhear her conversation with the person who sent her this.

Soon, Mia saw a raven-haired boy. He turned around and gave her a grin. It was her best friend, Nico Di'Angelo.

"Nico!" Mia said, "How've you been? Oh my gods, how do you feel? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mimi." Nico said, "Well, more than fine. I have a sister."

Mia's eyebrow raised, "What did you do?"

"Well, I'll tell you how I got her when we are face to face. Her name is Hazel, and she is a daughter of Pluto."

"The Roman Form of Hades?" Mia scrunched her nose.

"Don't make that face," Nico said, sticking his tongue out at her. "She's right here. Her name is Hazel"

Then, a girl, thirteen of twelve, with curly hair appeared. She shyly waved.

"Hey, Hazel." Mia smiled, "I hope you can take care of Nico. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Of course," Hazel said. Before Mia can talk anymore, the fog disappeared.

"Insert one drachma."

Mia didn't want to waste anymore, so she sat next to Leo. Thankfully, he didn't ask any questions.

Mia helped Leo chose different tools. It was hours, and finally, using a hammer, they ripped the lock.

Leo gave a silent victory shout. "Finally! Finally-"

Then, they looked at each other. Leo gave her a small smile.

"And this is the part where the boy grabs the girl and kisses her?" Leo asked. And without warning, Leo grabbed Mia's hand and pulled her closer to him. Slowly, their lips were getting closer.

"Ahhhggggggh!"

Gleeson had woken up, and he was capering around on his furry hindquarters, swinging his club and yelling, ―Die!‖ as he smashed the tea set, whacked the sofas, and charged at the throne.

Jason leaped to his feet.

"Coach is awake," Leo said, which was kind of unnecessary. He was blushing, and Mia looked to her feet.

"Coach!" Jason yelled.

Hedge turned, breathing hard. His eyes were so wild, Mia was afraid he might attack. The satyr was still wearing his orange polo shirt and his coach's whistle, but his horns were clearly visible above his curly hair, and his beefy hindquarters were definitely all goat.

"You're the new kid," Hedge said, lowering his club. "Jason." He looked at Leo, then Piper, who'd apparently also just woken up. Her hair looked like it had become a nest for a friendly hamster.

"Valdez, McLean... Mia!" the coach said, pausing at her name. Mia grinned.

"Hey dad," Mia said. The three looked confused, and Leo's mouth dropped open.

"You're a satyr?!" Leo said, "I thought your dad died?"

Mia rolled her eyes, "My dad did die. I was assigned a satyr because... I didn't have any friends other than Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth, so I was alone most of the time. I meet Gleeson when I was four. He's kinda like my dad. I have many nicknames for him. Dad, Glee, Hedge, Killer-"

Couch Hedge interrupted her. "What's going on? We were at the Grand Canyon. The Anemoi thuellai were attacking and—" He zeroed in on the storm spirit cage, and his eyes went back to DEFCON 1. "Die!"

"Whoa!" Mia stepped in his path, which was pretty brave, even though Hedge was six inches shorter.

Leo cleared his throat. "It's okay. They're locked up. We just sprang you from the other cage."

"Cage? Cage? What's going on? Just because I'm a satyr doesn't mean I can't have you doing plank push-ups, Valdez!"

Jason cleared his throat. "Coach—Gleeson—um, whatever you want us to call you. You saved us at the Grand Canyon. You were totally brave."

"Of course I was!" Coach Hedge said, as Mia calmly nodded.

"The extraction team came and took us to Camp Half-Blood. We thought we'd lost you. Then we got word the storm spirits had taken you back to their—um, operator, Medea."

"That witch! Wait—that's impossible. She's mortal. She's dead."

"Yeah, well," Leo said, "―somehow she got not dead anymore."

Hedge nodded, his eyes narrowing. "So! You were sent on a dangerous quest to rescue me. Excellent!"

"Um." Piper got to her feet, holding out her hands so Coach Hedge wouldn't attack her. "Actually, Glee—can I still call you Coach Hedge? Gleeson seems wrong. We're on a quest for something else. We kind of found you by accident."

"Oh." The coach's spirits seemed to deflate, but only for a second. Then his eyes lit up again. "But there are no accidents! Not on quests. This was meant to happen! So, this is the witch's lair, eh? Why is everything gold?"

"Gold?‖" Mia looked around. From the way Leo and Piper caught their breath, he guessed they hadn't noticed yet either.

The room was full of gold—the statues, the tea set Hedge had smashed, the chair that was definitely a throne. Even the curtains—which seemed to have opened by themselves at daybreak—appeared to be woven of gold fiber.

"Nice," Leo said. "No wonder they got so much security."

"This isn't—" Piper stammered. "This isn't Medea's place, Coach. It's some rich person's mansion in Omaha. We got away from Medea and crash-landed here."

"It's destiny, cupcakes!" Hedge insisted. "I'm meant to protect you. What's the quest?"

Before Mia could decide if he wanted to explain or just shove Coach Hedge back into his cage, a door opened at the far end of the room.

A pudgy man in a white bathrobe stepped out with a golden toothbrush in his mouth. He had a white beard and one of those long, old-fashioned sleeping caps pressed down over his white hair. He froze when he saw them, and the toothbrush fell out of his mouth. He glanced into the room behind him and called, "Son? Lit, come out here, please. There are strange people in the throne room."

Coach Hedge did the obvious thing he's done since Mia was younger. He raised his club and shouted, "Die!"

It took all four of them to fold back the satyr.

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

A younger man charged into the room. Jason 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, would've been handsome if it wasn't also sliced up. Mia's heart somersaulted, and Leo noticed.

Lit immediately zeroed in on Jason like he was the biggest threat, and stalked toward him, swinging his sword overhead. "Hold on!" Mia 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!"

"Coach," Jason pleaded, "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."

"No!" Piper insisted.

"Meh." Coach Hedge lowered his club.

Mia gave Lit a friendly sorry-about-that smile. Even with her hair messed up and wearing two-day-old clothes, she looked extremely cute, and Leo felt a little jealous she was giving Lit that smile.

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."

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 of observing formalities." He did his best to smile, though it looked a little forced. "Welcome to my humble home. I am King Midas."

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

They were sitting on the sofas now, while the king reclined on his throne. Tricky to do that in a bathrobe, and Mia kept worrying the old guy would forget and uncross his legs. Hopefully, he was wearing golden boxers under there.

Lit stood behind the throne, both hands on his sword, glancing at Mia and flexing his muscular arms just to be annoying. Leo wondered if he looked that ripped holding a sword. Sadly, he doubted it.

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. In the distance, downtown Omaha looked like a cluster of children's blocks —way too clean and small for a regular city.

"You know," the king said, "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.

"Coach, not helping," Jason said. "Why don't you go outside and stand guard?"

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

"Oh, yes," the king said. "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!"

He fished a remote control out of his bathrobe pocket and pressed a few buttons—a passcode, Jason guessed.

"There," Midas said. "Safe to go out now."

Coach Hedge grunted. "Fine. But if you need me …‖ He winked at Jason meaningfully. 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.

After the satyr left, Mia 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."

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

Lit's smile was more of a cruel sneer. Jason was now one hundred percent sure he didn't like this guy, and he was starting to regret sending Hedge outside.

"So," Jason said. "All this gold—"

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

Mia looked at the brochures on the coffee table. 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 deadrise. 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 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, but she wasn't eager to offend the king. 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 was suddenly interested. 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."

"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 Mia 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."

"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. 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 smiled. Suddenly he didn't strike Jason as a harmless old man in a bathrobe. His eyes had a merry glow to them—the look of a madman who knew he was mad, accepted his madness and enjoyed it. "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."

Mia glanced at her friends. 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."

Mia watched as Jason slipped his hand into his pocket and grabbed his gold coin. "The last group?"

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

An arrow has appeared in Mia's hand. She had always had a soft spot for the Hunters, and now... Mia caught a whiff of electrical fire like Jason just melted some of the springs in the sofa.

Thalia Grace had been here.

"When?" she demanded. "What happened?"

Lit shrugged. "A 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, Mia thought. Mia did ask the Hunters to look for him.

Midas scratched his donkey ears. "Very unpleasant young ladies, those Hunters," he recalled. "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."

Mia stood warily and glanced at her friends. They got the message.

"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 charm to speak. "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.

Mia and Jason were so horrified that they couldn't move. Their friends—just gone. And she hadn't been able to stop it.

Midas smiled apologetically. "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 charm speak. Which leaves me only one more trophy to collect."

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

For once, the satyr didn't charge in. Mia wondered if the lasers had gotten him, or if he was sitting at the bottom of a trap pit.

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

Jason fixed on an idea. "I choose combat. You said I 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!"

"Come on, Cornhusker." Jason summoned his own weapon. This time it came up like a javelin, and Mia was glad for the extra length. Mia tried to aim the arrow, but a sudden hand was on her shoulder. She blacked out.