The Lost Hero

The dragons spread their wings and hissed. Piper could feel the heat coming off their glittering skin. One
turned his angry orange eyes on her.
―Don‘t look them in the eye!‖ Jason warned. ―They‘ll paralyze you.‖
―Indeed!‖ Medea was leisurely riding the escalator up, leaning against the handrail as she watched the
fun. ―These two dears have been with me a long time—sun dragons, you know, gifts from my grandfather
Helios. They pulled my chariot when I left Corinth, and now they will be your destruction. Ta-ta!‖
The dragons lunged. Leo and Jason charged to intercept. Piper was amazed how fearlessly the boys
attacked—working like a team who had trained together for years.
Medea was almost to the second floor, where she‘d be able to choose from a wide assortment of deadly
appliances.
―Oh, no, you don‘t,‖ Piper growled, and took off after her.
When Medea spotted Piper, she started climbing in earnest. She was quick for a three-thousand-year-old
lady. Piper climbed at top speed, taking the steps three at a time, and still she couldn‘t catch her. Medea didn‘t
stop at floor two. She hopped the next escalator and continued to ascend.
The potions, Piper thought. Of course that‘s what she would go for. She was famous for potions.
Down below, Piper heard the battle raging. Leo was blowing his safety whistle, and Jason was yelling to
keep the dragons‘ attention. Piper didn‘t dare look—not while she was running with a dagger in her hand. She
could just see herself tripping and stabbing herself in the nose. That would be super heroic.
She grabbed a shield from an armored manikin on floor three and continued to climb. She imagined
Coach Hedge yelling in her mind, just like back in gym class at Wilderness School: Move it, McLean! You call
that escalator-climbing?
She reached the top floor, breathing hard, but she was too late. Medea had reached the potions counter.
The sorceress grabbed a swan-shaped vial—the blue one that caused painful death—and Piper did the
only thing that came to mind. She threw her shield.
Medea turned triumphantly just in time to get hit in the chest by a fifty-pound metal Frisbee. She stumbled
backward, crashing over the counter, breaking vials and knocking down shelves. When the sorceress stood
from the wreckage, her dress was stained a dozen different colors. Many of the stains were smoldering and
glowing.
―Fool!‖ Medea wailed. ―Do you have any idea what so many potions will do when mixed?‖
―Kill you?‖ Piper said hopefully.
The carpet began to steam around Medea‘s feet. She coughed, and her face contorted in pain—or was
she faking?
Below, Leo called, ―Jason, help!‖
Piper risked a quick look, and almost sobbed in despair. One of the dragons had Leo pinned to the floor. It
was baring its fangs, ready to snap. Jason was all the way across the room battling the other dragon, much too
far away to assist.
―You‘ve doomed us all!‖ Medea screamed. Smoke was rolling across the carpet as the stain spread,
throwing sparks and setting fires in the clothing racks. ―You have only seconds before this concoction
consumes everything and destroys the building. There‘s no time—‖
CRASH! The stained glass ceiling splintered in a rain of multicolored shards, and Festus the bronze
dragon dropped into the department store.
He hurtled into the fray, snatching up a sun dragon in each claw. Only now did Piper appreciate just how
big and strong their metal friend was.
―That‘s my boy!‖ Leo yelled.
Festus flew halfway up the atrium, then hurled the sun dragons into the pits they‘d come from. Leo raced
to the fountain and pressed the marble tile, closing the sundials. They shuddered as the dragons banged
against them, trying to get out, but for the moment they were contained.
Medea cursed in some ancient language. The whole fourth floor was on fire now. The air filled with
noxious gas. Even with the roof open, Piper could feel the heat intensifying. She backed up to the edge of the
railing, keeping her dagger pointed toward Medea.
―I will not be abandoned again!‖ The sorceress knelt and snatched up the red healing potion, which had
somehow survived the crash. ―You want your boyfriend‘s memory restored? Take me with you!‖
Piper glanced behind her. Leo and Jason were on board Festus‘s back. The bronze dragon flapped his
mighty wings, snatched the two cages with the satyr and the storm spirits in his claws, and began to ascend.
The building rumbled. Fire and the smoke curled up the walls, melting the railings, turning the air to acid.
―You‘ll never survive your quest without me!‖ Medea growled. ―Your boy hero will stay ignorant forever,
and your father will die. Take me with you!‖
For one heartbeat, Piper was tempted. Then she saw Medea‘s grim smile. The sorceress was confident in
her powers of persuasion, confident that she could always make a deal, always escape and win in the end.