“Oh, gold weapon!” Midas said. “Very nice. ”
Lit charged.
The guy was fast. He slashed and sliced, and Jason could barely dodge the strikes, but his mind went into a different mode—analyzing patterns, learning Lit’s style, which was all offense, no defense.
Jason countered, sidestepped, and blocked. Lit seemed surprised to find him still alive.
“What is that style?” Lit growled. “You don’t fight like a Greek. ”
“Legion training,” Jason said, though he wasn’t sure how he knew that. “It’s Roman. ”
“Roman?” Lit struck again, and Jason deflected his blade. “What is Roman?”
“News flash,” Jason said. “While you were dead, Rome defeated Greece. Created the greatest empire of all time. ”
“Impossible,” Lit said. “Never even heard of them. ”
Jason spun on one heel, smacked Lit in the chest with the butt of his javelin, and sent him toppling into Midas’s throne.
“Oh, dear,” Midas said. “Lit?”
“I’m fine,” Lit growled.
“You’d better help him up,” Jason said.
Lit cried, “Dad, no!”
Too late. Midas put his hand on his son’s shoulder, and suddenly a very angry-looking gold statue was sitting on Midas’s throne.
“Curses!” Midas wailed. “That was a naughty trick, demigod. I’ll get you for that. ” He patted Lit’s golden shoulder. “Don’t worry, son. I’ll get you down to the river right after I collect this prize. ”
Midas raced forward. Jason dodged, but the old man was fast, too. Jason kicked the coffee table into the old man’s legs and knocked him over, but Midas wouldn’t stay down for long.
Then Jason glanced at Piper’s golden statue. Anger washed over him. He was the son of Zeus. He could not fail his friends.
He felt a tugging sensation in his gut, and the air pressure dropped so rapidly that his ears popped. Midas must’ve felt it too, because he stumbled to his feet and grabbed his donkey ears.
“Ow! What are you doing?” he demanded. “My power is supreme here!”
Thunder rumbled. Outside, the sky turned black.
“You know another good use for gold?” Jason said.
Midas raised his eyebrows, suddenly excited. “Yes?”
“It’s an excellent conductor of electricity. ”
Jason raised his javelin, and the ceiling exploded. A lightning bolt ripped through the roof like it was an eggshell, connected with the tip of Jason’s spear, and sent out arcs of energy that blasted the sofas to shreds. Chunks of ceiling plaster crashed down. The chandelier groaned and snapped offits chain, and Midas screamed as it pinned him to the floor. The glass immediately turned into gold.
When the rumbling stopped, freezing rain poured into the building. Midas cursed in Ancient Greek, thoroughly pinned under his chandelier. The rain soaked everything, turning the gold chandelier back to glass. Piper and Leo were slowly changing too, along with the other statues in the room.
Then the front door burst open, and Coach Hedge charged in, club ready. His mouth was covered with dirt, snow, and grass.
“What’d I miss?” he asked.
“Where were you?” Jason demanded. His head was spinning from summoning the lightning bolt, and it was all he could do to keep from passing out. “I was screaming for help. ”
Hedge belched. “Getting a snack. Sorry. Who needs killing?”
“No one, now!” Jason said. “Just grab Leo. I’ll get Piper. ”
“Don’t leave me like this!” Midas wailed.
All around him the statues of his victims were turning to flesh—his daughter, his barber, and a whole lot of angry-looking guys with swords.
Jason grabbed Piper’s golden bag and his own supplies.
Then he threw a rug over the golden statue of Lit on the throne. Hopefully that would keep the Reaper of Men from turning back to flesh—at least until after Midas’s victims did.
“Let’s get out of here,” Jason told Hedge. “I think these guys will want some quality time with Midas. ”
PIPER WOKE UP COLD AND SHIVERING.
She’d had the worst dream about an old guy with donkey ears chasing her around and shouting, You’re it!
“Oh, god. ” Her teeth chattered. “He turned me to gold!”
“You’re okay now. ” Jason leaned over and tucked a warm blanket around her, but she still felt as cold as a Boread.
She blinked, trying to figure out where they were. Next to her, a campfire blazed, turning the air sharp with smoke. Firelight flickered against rock walls. They were in a shallow cave, but it didn’t offer much protection. Outside, the wind howled. Snow blew sideways. It might’ve been day or night. The storm made it too dark to tell.
“L-L-Leo?” Piper managed.