Reyna barely received any sleep. Her eyes would snap open at the slightest noise. Leo made most of those noises. Now, she was starting to drift to sleep. A yell snapped her right out of it.
She was on her feet and had her sword unsheathed before her eyes were completely open. The first thing she saw was a club flying at her face. Reyna blocked it with her sword and looked at her attacker.
Coach Hedge stared at her wildly. His breathing was almost as wild as his eyes. For a moment, Reyna stared at his horns. Then, she looked back at Hedge's face.
The crazed look in his eyes seemed to lift. Hedge spoke, "You're that kid. Reyna, right? We were being attacked."
"We were," Reyna confirmed. She kept her tone calm and stayed focused on his eyes. "You missed a lot. The storm spirit took you away, and the three of us killed the Chimera. Camp Half-Blood picked us up."
"Cage," Hedge began. Reyna grabbed his shoulder.
"We rescued you from it. Now, you are going to pay attention to me," Reyna ordered. Hedge started to glare at her, but he kept his focus on her. "We learned that Medea had gotten her hands on you."
"Medea? She's dead," Hedge stated.
"People that were dead are coming back," Piper said. Her voice was still tired, and she looked like she had just woken up. Reyna felt a sudden flash of fear. What if her father came back?
Reyna stared at a wall for a few moments as the memories ran through her head. She hadn't told Piper and Leo about it. There was something bad connected to the crime. A terrible punishment would be inflicted on her if she told someone.
It didn't make sense though. Who would punish her? The gods had to know, and they haven't done anything about it. Excluding Chiron, nobody at Camp Half-Blood seemed to know who she was. Someone snapped their fingers in front of her face.
"So, the three of you are on a dangerous quest," Hedge said. It seemed like he was restating fact. Reyna nodded as she realized that she had completely zoned out of the conversation. In a moment, she made a decision.
"Yeah," Reyna answered. "And, you're going to help us."
"Of course. That's why I'm here," Hedge commented. He looked around. "Now, why is everything gold?"
Reyna's eyes swept around the room. She stared. Everything in the room was gold, and she wondered how they didn't notice it before. The good news was the sun that was streaming in from the curtains.
A door opened behind them. Reyna whirled around and stared at a man who walked in. The man was pudgy and had white hair along with a white beard. He almost looked like Santa Claus.
"Lit," the man called. "We have strangers in the house again! Will you please come deal with them?"
Hedge raised his club. Reyna grabbed his arm and spoke, "Lower it. Now."
Another man walked into the room. He was much younger than the other one. The man had curly, black hair, a scarred face, muscles, and pajama pants to complete the scary look. Reyna assumed that he was Lit.
Lit walked straight towards them. His eyes seemed like they were trying to stare in Reyna's soul. Reyna gripped her sword, and she shoved Hedge behind her.
"Stop!" Piper yelled. Lit stopped walking.
"If he didn't stop, he would be getting his butt kicked," Hedge commented. Reyna shot him a dangerous look.
"Shut up," Reyna ordered. She looked at the man. "I'm sorry we are trespassing in your home. We will just be leaving."
"Wait," the man said. At first, Reyna was afraid he would order Lit to attack, but the old man just smiled at them. It seemed forced. "I want to hear your story. Go ahead and sit. We don't need to worry about customs."
Reyna reluctantly lowered her sword. She slipped it back into her backpack and swung her backpack onto her shoulder. Reyna sat by Piper on the couch. Leo glanced at them and sat in a chair. He had been oddly silent.
The man sat on the golden throne. Lit stood by his side. Hedge didn't move, but thankfully, he lowered his club. The man spoke, "Welcome to my home. My name is King Midas."
Silence filled the room for a solid five seconds. Reyna was trying to remember who exactly King Midas was. Piper stared in stunned silence. Leo was humming a jingle under his breath.
"Shouldn't you be dead?" Hedge questioned. Piper shot him a look that told him to be silent.
"Our friend didn't mean that," Piper began. "We've had a bad experience with a mortal that should have been dead but wasn't."
"I may have been dead," Midas commented. He sighed wishfully. "Or, it was a dream ? Alas, it doesn't really matter. I enjoy being alive."
"How are you alive without a patron?" Piper questioned.
"Does it matter if I have a patron?" Midas wondered. He leaned forward and studied her intently.
"We should just kill the two and save us the trouble," Hedge commented.
"Go stand guard," Reyna ordered. When Hedge met her eyes, she sent him a wolf's glare. Hedge, after a moment, nodded even though he grumbled under his breath.
"The traps," Leo said quickly. "I don't think we want him to get roasted."
Midas laughed and pulled out a remote. He pressed it and spoke, "It is safe for your friend to go outside. I quite enjoy the things that gold can buy you in this country."
"Why settle in Omaha?" Leo wondered as Hedge left the room.
"The oracle is suppose to be here," Lit muttered. Midas frowned, but recognition showed on his face.
"That's right," Midas began. "We got this wonderful house though. Lityerses has plenty of room to practice his swordmanship. I do apologize for his terrible name. I like his title of Reaper of Men better."
"That's a wonderful name," Piper commented. Lit winked at her. Piper forced a smile and shot Reyna a desperate look. "What's with all of the gold statues?"
"Well, gold is infinite, right? Olympus will fall when it is attacked by giants. The dead are rising. Maybe, they want gold. Governments rise and fall all of the time. These statues will stand forever because they are made of gold," Midas explained.
"You gave up your golden touch after you turned your daughter to gold," Piper began. Midas looked at her and started laughing.
"I leave for a few thousand years, and the story gets twisted around. Dionysus gave me the golden touch because I saved his friend. The stories probably got that right. I never gave it up though," Midas corrected.
"They said you found a way to reverse it with running water, and you were also able to get your daughter back," Piper protested.
"I did learn that you can reverse the gold with running water," Midas reassured. "That's why I don't have any in the house. We can't have any accidents with the statues. Bad for business."
Reyna looked down at the ground. She felt sick and a little scared. Midas turned people into statues and kept them like it was a zoo. Reyna's breathing quickened as she had flashbacks.
Circe had done that. She turned men into guinea pigs and kept them as pets. Reyna felt nauseous as she thought about it. Piper grabbed him arm and gave her a concerned look. Reyna shook her head and didn't look up.
"So, you didn't learn your lesson when you turned your daughter into a statue?" Leo slowly questioned. He raised an eyebrow.
"Hand me your backpack," Midas commanded as he looked at Piper. After a moment, she grabbed it from the ground and tossed it to him. When it touched Midas' hand, the backpack turned gold. "It's magic now!"
"You could store some kittens in there, or you could use it to hold the little storm spirits. I don't care either way," Midas commented. He tossed them the backpack. "Try it."
Leo stood and gently grabbed the backpack from Piper. He walked towards the cage and opened the backpack. The spirits were sucked in despite all of their struggling. Leo zipped up the backpack and spoke, "This is really cool."
"Why didn't your daughter come back with you?" Reyna asked after awhile. She noticed the statue of a girl in the corner with a shocked look. Reyna had a really bad feeling about it. Midas' smirk confirmed it.
"She talked too much," Lit commented. Midas nodded. As he did, his sleeping cap fell off to reveal donkey ears. Leo made a noise as he choked on his spit.
"Apollo gave me these because I was told to judge a music contest. He was all mad that I declared Pan a better music player than him. I kept this secret for a long time until my barber saw it, but he won't be telling anyone," Midas said motioning to a statue of a man in a toga.
Midas had an insane look in his eyes. Reyna tensed as she watched. She didn't like it, and it sent bad feelings running through her.
"Maybe, I was brought back to be our patron's mobile bank," Midas commented.
"The giants," Reyna said coldly. "You are working for them."
"It's more like paying my patron back a debt. I tried telling that to the last group, but they wouldn't listen. They were looking for some missing demigod," Midas said.
Reyna exchanged a glance with Piper. That group had to looking for Annabeth. Who were they though?
"They were the reason for my security system, and they didn't even want to become statues. That's why I no longer have time for anyone that isn't a serious investor," Midas said. Reyna looked at her friends.
"Thank you for the bag. I hope you enjoy being back to life," Piper began. She stood.
"If you go, I can't rebuild my collection," Midas said. He rose from his throne. "It's okay though. I give everyone who comes here a choice. You can join my collection, or you die at the hands of Lityerses. I can even use your corpse as a statue!"
"You can't," Piper began as she started to use charmspeak. Midas moved faster than anyone expected. He grabbed Piper's arm, and she instantly turned into a gold statue.
Reyna saw red for a few moments. She didn't get up because she was too angry to do anything. Leo jumped to his feet and tried to summon his fire. Midas winked and grabbed his hand. Leo was turned into a gold statue.
"I knew the power damping room would work," Midas commented. He turned on Reyna who had not moved. Fury kept her in place. "You are my only prize left to collect. Now, why do you look so familiar?"
"What are you talking about?" Reyna demanded as she stood. She was scared, but that didn't matter at the moment. Reyna was going to make Midas regret what he had done.
"A group came in a few days ago. They called themselves Amazons, and one of them was looking for a missing demigod. One looked like you. I wonder how much she would pay for your statue," Midas hissed.
Reyna's mind was racing. Someone was looking for her. They looked like her. A sibling?
"I'm going to fight Lit," Reyna said. Lit looked up in surprise, and he laughed.
"You can try," Midas commented. He sat back on his throne and raised his hand. Lit stepped towards Reyna, and he attacked.
It took approximately five seconds for Reyna to get a read on Lit. Every attack he made was meant to hit her, knock her off balance, and allow him to go in for the killing blow. Defense was nowhere on his mind.
Reyna easily blocked the next few blows. She kept moving on her feet, and her fighting style seemed to confuse Lit. He spoke, "What is this?"
"Roman legionnaire training," Reyna responded. The words rolled right off of her tongue.
"What is a Roman?" Lit demanded.
"It's the citizen of a city called Rome," Reyna answered. "They created the greatest empire of all time. Let me give you a history lesson. Macedonia conquered parts of Greece. Later, Rome came in, conquered Macedonia, and then finished the job."
"Impossible," Lit hissed. He brought his sword down in a high arc. Reyna raised her arm to block it. At first, it seemed like a stupid idea, but there was a theory she had been working on for some time. The theory turned out to be correct.
Lit's sword hit her jacket, but it only cut into it slightly. Reyna stabbed him in the stomach. She kicked him away. Lit fell in front of his father. Midas quickly grabbed his son to help him.
In a moment, Lit was a golden statue. Reyna glanced at her arm and saw a thin line of blood. Her jacket was armor of some sort, and she assumed it was another gift from her mother.
"That was pretty crafty girl. I suppose that I have to deal with you now," Midas commented.
"Try it," Reyna snapped. She looked around the room. Her gaze shot upward towards the chandelier, and she flipped her sword. A javelin appeared in her hands.
Midas stared at her. Reyna threw her javelin at the chandelier. It tore through the chain, and Midas could only look up as the chandelier fell right on him.
When the dust cleared, Midas was pinned under the chandelier. Reyna walked towards her javelin and grabbed it. She spun her weapon, and it turned back into a sword. Reyna dropped it into her backpack.
"I'll give you all of the gold you desire if you help me," Midas said quickly. Reyna ignored him and looked around. Her plan was still forming. She walked towards her friends as the door flung open.
"I heard a crash," Hedge said. He looked around wildly. "What happened?"
"Grab Leo and take him outside," Reyna ordered as she noticed how wet Hedge was. "I'll grab Piper."
"What about everyone else?" Hedge questioned. Reyna grabbed Piper's backpack and looked around. She looked back at Hedge.
"Go," Reyna ordered. Hedge finally nodded and grabbed Leo. He carried him out.
Reyna looked around. She didn't want release everyone and have them take their anger out of Midas. That's what pirates had done at Circe's island. The pirates had been turned into guinea pigs, and when they were released, their wrath was horrific.
Pain spiked in Reyna's back. She quickly whirled around, but there was no injuries. It was the pain of remembrance. The memories also reminded her of a girl who tried to protect Reyna from the pirates. Was that girl in the Amazons? Was she the one looking for the missing demigod, and was that demigod Reyna and not Annabeth?
Reyna took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. These men would be travelers when they were released. Reyna spoke, "Mercury, if you can hear me, find these people, release them from Midas' curse, and protect them. I don't have much to offer you."
After a moment, Reyna took off her jacket. She threw it on the couch as a sort of gift to Mercury. Reyna didn't know what he could do with it, but there had to be some kind of sacrifice for him. She finally turned towards Piper, picked her up, and walked out.