Chapter Thirty-One | KITTY ELLIS
KITTY HAD NEVER PLAYED MARIO KART but as far as she could tell, driving through Orlando at two in the morning while Alex stood out of the sun roof and shot down empousai, all while trying not to die, must've been what Mario Kart was like. Who needed a license when you had Tyche's favor?
She stayed face front, watching for signs for Disney World. They weren't hard to find. Seemed like every other block had a billboard or a sign or what not. When they got closer, Ophelia focused on manipulating the Mist to conceal them.
And so somehow, an hour later, Kitty pulled into a massive empty parking lot called the Transportation and Ticket Center, took a few deep breaths in a parking space, and tried to wipe the enormous grin off her face.
They'd reached Disney World. They were all in one piece. They hadn't killed anyone. Kitty glanced back as Alex, trying to catch his breath, eased himself back down into the second row. Well, she hadn't killed anyone.
"You're never driving again," Alex said. Closing his eyes, he let his head fall back onto the headrest. "Gods."
Kitty rolled her eyes. "Hey! I did good."
"You got lucky."
"That's literally what I do, asshole."
Ophelia snorted out a small laugh, opening the passenger side door and stepping into the night. The shadows seemed to dark around them. A few overhead lights flickered. "Get some sleep. I can keep us hidden."
Alex rolled down his back window. He scooted over to the door and stuck his arm out, pointing her way. "You need to sleep too. And we need a plan."
"The plan is to not die," Kitty said. Seemed like a good enough plan to her. They would just head to the theme parks in the morning and poke around. "We head over tomorrow and see what's up."
"Great plan, in theory," Alex said. He paused as they all noticed a few workers walking by in white uniforms and cleaning supplies. But they didn't glance over. He turned back to Kitty up in the front. "Except Ophelia can't help during the day, we have no idea where in Disney the Lyre is, and we don't have enough cash left for park tickets."
"I could steal a credit card."
Alex just massaged his forehead. Kitty couldn't help but snicker. The adrenaline from driving along the highways and overpasses of Orlando still had her buzzing.
"I mean, I could also steal one which would double our chances," he said. "But without O to manipulate the Mist, it'll be obvious it's stolen when we buy the tickets. That would land us in jail."
"Does Disney have a jail?"
"How should I know?"
"Hey, focus." Ophelia moved back to the car and leaned against the door, arms crossed along the open window space. Between the three, she looked least spent. It really was incredible how abundant her power could be at night. "You're too tired to fight anything right now," she said, running a hand through Alex's hair. Then she turned to Kitty. "We can do some reconnaissance at the hotels tomorrow. Keep out of the sun and poke around a bit. Then at night, head into one of the parks."
Considering that Alex looked on the edge of sleep anyways, that's what they agreed on. Kitty didn't fancy sleep but her head had started to hurt. She could do a lot but she couldn't fight, and without night time, neither could Ophelia.
It didn't take any work at all to fall into the crowds of visitors at the crack of dawn. Even a human with the tiniest pinch of good luck could go about unnoticed. There were just so many: children of all ages, strollers that could've acted as battering rams, teenage girls with miniature backpacks, families decked out in themed teeshirts.
For a daughter of Tyche, a son of Hermes, and a daughter of Hecate, moving up into the Monorail transportation system unseen took no effort. Alex looked a lot better under the sunlight. Less tired, more pensive. She noticed him fumbling with the two inch caduceus Vindication on his wrist as they dodged strollers and toddlers on leashes.
Most guests went for the Express Monorail. But Alex, after a quick glance at the lanes, took them towards the Resort Monorail. Resort. Guess it made sense that three adult demigods obsessed with cutthroat hospitality business would need to be dramatic. Couldn't just say "hotel." Had to be "resort."
Even with the smaller crowds taking the resort monorail, their car was standing room only. Kitty managed to maneuver over to the windows so she could watch the landscape pass while their train moved along the elevated rail. A happy, male voice over sounded throughout their packed cabin.
"We are traveling to Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. Inside the Great Ceremonial House, you'll find shopping and dining with a South Seas flavor. For an authentic island adventure, Disney's Spirit of Aloha dinner show is presented Tuesday thru Saturday in Luau Cove."
Kitty tried to tune it out. She just wanted to look down and see all the things, not hear fake excitement over an intercom. Island paradise themed decor dotted the landscape. It fit in nicely with the already natural tropical plants of Orlando, Florida. But the buildings, made of browns and reds and decorated in tikis and painted plants, contrasted the usual cityscapes they'd spent so much time in since Camp.
They almost got off to explore when the Monorail pulled into the station of the "Great Ceremonial House" but a quick hand on her arm from Alex stopped her. He gestured with his nose towards a security guard on the platform.
Laistrygonian security guard. Not a human one. She stood stock still as the doors closed again, eyes widening when she saw him start to sniff the air. But the Monorail continued on, the chaos growing as more people boarded at the Polynesian and the next, the Grand Floridan Resort and Spa where another Laistrygonian guard kept them on board.
"Oh, a spa," she said, leaning over to whisper to Ophelia. The girl looked better inside than she did when they'd been walking around, but her tense shoulders and tight grip on the metal pole for stability hadn't changed since they'd boarded. "I could use a spa day when this is all done."
Ophelia only flashed her a small smile before returning to her silent vigil. Fine then. She wanted to watch out the window anyways. The announcer said they'd pass the Magic Kingdom next. It didn't take long to see it.
Looking through what felt like a million bodies but was actually only about eight, she saw a train station, a hoard of Disney guests crowded at ticket booths, and beyond them, the rising shape of Cinderella's Castle. Kitty couldn't help smiling. In some ways, it felt familiar. Like the way casinos in Vegas would use forced perspective to make their Eiffel Tower or Joan of Arc Statue soar above the masses. Very different from the wealthy opulence of the Kennedy Center. But in other ways, this stood on a scale so incredible different from the Strip that it amazed her. Even for a kid who had spent the majority of her years in Camp Half-Blood, the silhouette of Cinderella's Castle was unmistakable.
"Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor manténgase alejado de las puertas."
The doors slid open. Almost every guest got off the Monorail, and no one got on. Finally able to sit down, Ophelia released her grip on the handrail. But Kitty stayed glued to the glass. She watched the Monorail pull out of the station, watched the flood of guests go towards the arched entrances to the theme park, and found herself more and more excited to be on this potentially deadly quest than ever before. If she died, at least she got to go to Disney World to do it.
"We have to get off here," Alex said, keeping his voice low. Their part of the cabin had emptied but another family still sat in the adjacent one. "With so few people on board, monsters would find us no problem."
As it turned out, there weren't any monsters to dodge as the doors opened at the Contemporary Resort. Kitty's eyes widened as their train drove straight inside the massive A-Frame building, not stopping until it reached the station in the center. Human cast members waved and smiled, welcoming them to the Contemporary. Kitty led the way, leaving Alex and Ophelia to follow her down the snaking path to an escalator.
The bustle of crowd noise filled the A-Frame. She had seen two large eating areas and several stores from above. Guests filtered onto the Monorail as they left it behind.
"Here's the plan," Kitty said, Alex grabbing her arm and tugging her to the side of an elevator, "we look around, we don't die, we meet up for food in like two hours."
Alex scoffed. "Kitty. Listen to me. Keep your head on straight. There are probably monsters all over the place," he added. "And we need to keep a low profile."
She stopped herself from making a scathing remark back. He was right. Alex, glancing around them as if every corner hid a Laistrygonian, had led them well this far. So she nodded. "I know. But I'm only half joking," she said. "This place feels right. A child of Nike and a child of Hermes aren't going to hang out at a cute island paradise to do business."
"This is partly a convention center," Ophelia said. "One of the signs said so."
"That makes even more sense," said Kitty.
Alex nodded. He fiddled with the caduceus again as he glanced around. Finally, he looked back. "Alright. I'll stay with Ophelia. We'll cover the upper hotel floors and work our way down. You start at the lobby and work your way up. Look for anything that might give us some idea of where they're hiding the Lyre. Use that luck of yours and don't get caught."
She grinned.
"But Kitty, don't make any moves without us. Meet back here in one hour."
She nodded. "You got it, boss."
As it turned out, there were far less monsters than they anticipated. Kitty started at the lobby, as Alex ordered, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Human workers, human guests. Lots of smiles and laughs and a decent number of tears from toddlers too tired to be getting up for a day of activity. She poked around but saw nothing to indicate demigods, an Ancient Greek black market, or Trigon.
Kitty felt the mood shift physically when she reached the second floor. Noise faded. Instead of parents trying to corral bustling children wearing Mouse ears and Star Wars shirts running every which way, Kitty saw no one. Not a soul.
Liminal. That was the best way she could describe the massive hallway, windowed on one side. The carpet was made of tans, blues, and purples, subdued and surrounded by off white or golden orange marble. A sign pointed her towards a Convention Center.
The hair on her arms stood up. Kitty knew to hide. Instinct, really. She vaulted herself over a nearby front desk.
Something, or several something's, dragged across the carpet. She could hear breathing. Nasally, a bit of a struggle, it sounded inhuman. Kitty didn't dare move, hoping the monster would pass by.
"I don't mean to speak ill of the dead, but I couldn't ssstand her."
Dracaenae, then. Kitty hoped their sense of smell hadn't improved since the Battle of Manhattan. A Laistrygonian would've already pinpointed her.
"No you're right. Priscilla really wasss terrible."
Two at least. Kitty had to breathe but she didn't want to. The dracaenae passed by, their combined total of four tails dragging instead of leaving footsteps.
"She thought she was better than usss because she worked for Kronosss," said the first.
"Ridiculousss. We get better benefits!"
"That'sss what I always say!"
Their voices and tail dragging faded. Kitty covered her mouth as she finally gasped for breath. She closed her eyes and sent her mother a quick prayer of thanks.
She poked her head over the counter top. The dracaenae were a hundred feet down the hall, still gossipping. They held spears tipped with Celestial Bronze, leaning against their shoulders as they patrolled. Hopefully they wouldn't turn around.
Kitty stood up. She looked around, trying to figure out the best way over the counter without making noise.
A finger tapped her shoulder. Kitty nearly screamed, whipping around with her dagger held up in defense. But she found nothing, no one. Only a grey door that said "Cast Members Only" in the center of a black Mickey Mouse head.
Her whole body shook. But she tried to calm down, to focus. It was a long shot to assume that every single three-circle Mickey Mouse logo meant Trigon, but enough strange circumstances were adding up to convince her to take a look.
She grabbed the long door handle and pushed down on it ever so carefully. It wasn't locked. Kitty released another thin breath as she pulled it open.
She froze. Kitty's eyes widened as she looked into the large stock room. On either side ran shelving units sixteen feet high and to either side of the entrance had been stacked cages. Two held Hellhound puppies. Kitty hadn't even realized hellhounds came in puppy size. Another held an asp.
On the floor in front of her, three circles of silver held silver symbols of Hebe, Nike, and Hermes. Trigon.
Tags hung from cages or had been plastered to the sides of cardboard boxes. Kitty passed three trays of fossilized griffon eggs, a box of little life sized animals that had been carved from stone in various horrible poses, and an entire shelf of folded purple tee-shirts. Another area held weaponry. Mostly celestial bronze, there were daggers, swords, arrows, bows, and spears. Mixed in were a few weapons Kitty didn't recognize, more golden in color and straighter than the Campers used. Orange tee-shirts sat across from the purple ones, beside an entire box of ambrosia.
Kitty nearly forgot her purpose as she stood so surrounded by black market goods. She found ancient sheet music preserved by magic and a simple wooden lyre. Her heart leaped in her throat when she found a plastic drawer of Camp Half-Blood necklaces.
Sealed boxes were piled on the far end of the stock room by a wooden work table. Kitty picked her way over carefully, touching nothing for the first time in her life. Someone had been taping up and labeling boxes. Kitty looked at the addresses. The return address read "Phoebe Mitchell, Trigon Utilidors."
Utilidors. What did that mean? She backed away. Kitty didn't dare grab one of the address labels as evidence. Alex and Ophelia would just have to take her word for it. She could feel herself pressing her luck already.
