I opened up my eyes. It was night and I was lying down on some fallen log of the forest. I looked to my right and saw Leo, glaring at me.

I sat up from the log and asked, “Why are you glaring at me?”

“’Cause I’m jealous.”

I was puzzled. “And why are you jealous?”

“You get more sleep than the Hypnos cabin.”

I was about to ask where we were, but he answered for me.

“You don’t have to waste your words. We’re in Texas,” He explained. “After Fern fixed you up, we had to carry you to Texas. Your horse won’t multiply without your permission.”

Phoenix came up behind Leo and pushed him out the log.

She huffed, “The boy didn’t say nicely.”

Leo got up and dusted himself. “Thanks a lot, circus pony.”

Phoenix turned around and wacked Leo with her tail. I tried to surpress a smile. Phoenix neighed, obviously pleased with herself. I looked at my right arm, it was all bandaged up. It was a little numb, but Fern did a good job. Piper came out of the forest followed by Jason and Fern.

“You’re awake!” Piper said.

“Is your arm okay,” Fern asked. “Maybe I didn’t do it right.”

Leo gasped and said sarcastically, “Oh my gods! Alex, you’re going to die!”

I rolled my eyes and helped Jason and Piper with the campfire.

Jason sighed, “Leo’s been grumpy ever since you conked out and had to sleep for the rest of the trip”.

“He kept asking us if it’s his turn for the piggy-back ride,” Piper said.

Jason laughed. “When he said that, Phoenix dropped you off her back. Then she chased Leo the rest of the way.”

Phoenix grumbled, “One more word out of the boy and he’ll smell something stinky in his sleeping bag the next day”.

“Phoenix!” I scolded, “That’s disgusting, even if he earns it”.

Fern must have heard our conversation because he started to snicker behind Leo’s back. We all heard a rustle behind us, we all turned at a pretty lady came out of the forest.

She was at least in her early 20s, with golden hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a silky nightgown which seemed pretty weird.

“Hello,” she asked timidly. “I’m lost, do you know where I am?”

Leo stammered, “Uh, ah… gah.”

Piper eyed her. “We’re in Texas. Who are you?”

“My name is Lalani, I’m quite lost.”

Jason stammered, “T-then stay for dinner”.

Piper and I glared at Jason. Only Fern seemed to be the only one not trapped in her smell.

“That may not be good. We only have enough food for us.”

“It’s okay!” Leo exclaimed. “I can make more tofu tacos.”

“Tofu?” she asked in disgust.

We all looked confused but she smiled sweetly again. “I mean, I’m not really a fan with tofu. Do you have any meat?”

Leo looked disappointed. “No, Piper and Fern are vegan and-”

She cut him off. “That’s fine. It’s nice to not be alone in the woods.”

She sat down and draped herself with a snake pattern scarf she wore. She noticed me staring and smiled, I looked at her eyes, and I saw a strange glint of red in them. I noticed another thing, has she blinked at all ever since we met her? As we ate, she seemed to stare at only Jason and Leo. The guys seemed to me in some sort of spell of Lalani, she had to be a monster.

Fern whispered to me and Piper, “She smells like a monster.”

I nodded, “She has reddish eyes, and she never seemed to blink at all”.

I shuffled away from her but my hand got caught in the wood. My golden blood dripped down my hand. I don’t think trees like me anymore. No, I think it’s those dryads asking for it. Lalani stared at my hand then licked her lips.

She seemed to snap out of it. “Are you okay sweetie?”

Piper answered for me. “She’s fine, just fine.”

“Would you like to hear a story?” Lalani asked.

Jason and Leo nodded excitedly, like little kids for a bedtime story.

“There once was a beautiful queen of Libya”, she began. “A handsome man loved her, but when his horrid wife found out of their love. She stole the queen’s children and...”

She trailed off then suddenly said, "...killed them!"

Everyone flinched, that was a surprise. Fern was so startled that he fell over backwards. Piper and I chuckled, but Leo and Jaosn didn't even notice.

Jason sniffled. “That’s terrible.”

Piper rolled her eyes.

Leo asked, “What happened next?"

The queen became very sad,” she continued. “Her lover gave her the ability to remove her eyes, then his wife gave her the ability to never close her eyes to see the horrid images of her dead children.”

“Oh no,” Leo said.

The lady smiled, “Now she devours children, in grief of her lost children.”

Piper said, “That’s a horrible story.”

She ignored Piper and asked me, “Your voice must have been stolen."

"That's not a question," I said. "You know."

“You can still talk but your words are limited.”

Fern asked, “How do you know?”

She giggled, “I know many things, but I give it for only a price”.

Piper grumbled, “What do you want?”

She shrugged then put her arms around Leo and Jason. “I would very much like these two, or you-she pointed to me-, the one who holds golden blood.”

I summoned out my sword at pointed it out to Lalani. “What. Are. You?”

She cackled and held the guys tighter. “I’m sadly not very famous in the Greek myths. But I’m a Lamia.”

“The Lamia is a demonic woman, kind of like the empousa; and have serpent like tails like the dracaena,” Fern said.

Lalani stated, “Sometimes. We don’t always have to wear our skin.”

She showed us her shawl.

Piper asked, “Why will we give you, well, anyone?”

“We Lamia know many things, including information for your quest.”

Piper unsheathed her dagger and Fern pulled out his pipes.

I barked, “Tell us!”

Lalani shrugged, “I need something to drink to jog my memory”.

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll give you my blood.”

Her eyes gleamed, “Really?”

“Yeah, just let go of Jason and Leo and put them out of their spell.”

She muttered, “Fine, they weren’t any fun anyway.”

She pushed them to us. Jason and Leo shook their heads.

Leo asked, “What just happened?”

Jason looked at Piper, “I don’t remember-”

Piper glared at Jason, “You’re in big trouble after this”.

Leo sang, “Jason’s in trouble!”

Piper stared at him. “You too.”

Leo grumbled like Swiper in Dora the Explorer, “Aw man”.

I turned around and summoned out those juice packets that Castor gave me.

I called out to Lalani, “My blood is too powerful, even for me. So I have them in packets.”

I handed the packet to her. She bared her teeth, showing sharp canines. She then attacked the juice packet. I gave her packet after packet until she was drunk with wine.

“Wow.” She burped. “I’m probably the hic first Lamia to ever drink, ichor, golden hic blood.”

Piper demanded, “Now, tell us”.

The Lamia giggled then explained, “When you hic head to California hic, go to Las Vegas hic”.

Leo cheered, “Yes!”

She slurred, “You must go to the hic “A-Lyre-Ing Nightclub”. You will meet hic a familiar, lovely young man. He will hic give you a helpful thing for your voice.”

I muttered, “Helpful thing?”

“Now hic,” she said. “I must hic eat you.”

Leo laughed, “But, you’re drunk!”

She looked startled, as if she just noticed she's drunk. "I can still hic kill you."

She draped her shawl over her legs. it welded it together, growing longer with scales. Soon she had a long serpent tail. I gulped, this is the second snake we encountered in our quest. She coiled her tail at us playfully. She stood up with the tail like a cobra. 

"Now surrender yourself hic , demigods."

We all shook out heads. "We rather not," Piper said.

"Then fear hic me," she snarled.

She covered her eyes with her hands. She held out her hands, holding something while closing her eyes. We all peered over as she opened up her fist. In them were eyes, not those fake rubber eyes. These were real, mucus- covered eyes. We all looked at Lalani and where her eyes were supposed, was just empty eyes sockets.

Fern asked, “Is that-?”

I said said, “It can’t be-”

Leo cried, “Holy mother of god! That’s an eye!”

We all screamed and started to back away from Lalani.

She cooed, “Don’t I have hic pretty eyes?”

Piper gave out one of those screams like in old time horror movies. “She took off her eyes!”

Jason yelled, “RUN!”

I pressed my ring to multiply Phoenix. We quickly scrambled to our horses and flew to the sky.

Lalani cackled, “Nice hic doing business hic with you!”

I screamed to her, “I didn’t give you any of my blood, it’s really just wine!”

“What?!” She screamed. “You will hic pay; I will get what’s hic mine!”

But we were already miles away from her. We landed in some clearing of another forest. We were all freaked out by the Lamia, so all we did was stared at the fire Leo made.

I muttered to Leo, “I can’t believe you liked her.”

Leo agreed, “I can’t believe I like her.”

Piper shivered, “Her eyes. She took them off and-”

Jason put his arm around Piper. “You don’t really need to remind us.”

Fern twitched. “I’m going to sleep.”

Everyone agreed and slept on the ground. I volunteered to have first watch, since I got the most sleep.

As everyone started to snore in minutes, I heard a twig snap. I flinched and summoned out my sword. If it was that Lamia, I’m ditching everyone away from the thing. Instead, some guy came out of the bushes. He wore a hooded jacket over his head, and had a pair of sunglasses on even if it was the middle of the night. He had faded jeans and familiar red vans.

I asked, “W-who are you?”

He took off his hoodie over his head. He was some teenager with short blond hair, and he looked like he didn’t cut his beard in ages.

I pointed my sword at him. “I’m going to ask again, who are you?”

He laughed, “It’s me, Apollo”.

“You don’t look like yourself.”

He put his finger over his lips, gesturing me to keep quiet. “I’m not even supposed to be here. Gods can’t help in quests, but I’m here to visit and help you out.”

I lowered my sword, “I-I’m so sorry.”

He said. “No, I’m sorry. I can’t believe I put you through this.”

I was never apologized by a god. “It’s okay.”

“I wish I could do something.”

I sat down on a rock. “Yeah.”

He sat down on a log across from me. “I’ve been doing everything I can do. But the muses been... avoiding me.”

“How could they do that?”

“The sun can see everything, but they’ve shut themselves from my view. They won’t talk, or come back to Olympus.”

“Oh.”

“I was going to tell you to go to Vegas. But that Lamia beat me to it, they were always such blabber-mouths.”

“What’s going to happen at Vegas?”

Apollo scratched his chin. “She said it all. You will meet a boy you know from you past life.”

“Past life?”

“You’re words are already limited, I’ll explain,” he said. “When I meant by past life, I meant the life you never knew who you are. Your “normal” life, the life every demigod wants.”

I nodded that I got it.

He continued, “Your friend will give you something important for your meeting of the muses.”

I opened my mouth but Apollo cut me off.

“Even I don’t know what you’ll get. But all I know is that it’ll help your voice for…” He trailed off.

I didn’t care if he ordered me to not speak. (An order you don’t get everyday). “For what?”

He frowned, “You’re going to have to do a sing-off for each muse”.

I choked. “A sing-off versus every muse? No, I can’t do that!”

“You must!” He said.

Leo turned over in his sleep, and then continued to snore.

He whispered, “I swore on the River Styx that you could do that. If you don’t win then I’d be left in exile from Mount Olympus. You can’t let me do that.”

I didn’t want to disappoint Apollo. Even if he was the one who put me into this muse mess.

“Fine,” I said trying to hide my annoyance.

He smiled, “I wish you luck. And I hope you win.”

Apollo suddenly glowed a brilliant light. Then he vanished from me.

I was getting tired, so I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

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My Lamia version is pretty different to Rick Riordans in The Demigod Diaries, I know. But it's still as effective and helpful to the story. Leave comments and vote, thanks everyone!!!