A very romantic restaurant

Valentino was pleased to see them both notice his obvious plants. That was always a good sign in new members, and he smiled into his beard as he walked toward the restaurant. He wouldn't tell them, but this was a restaurant he owned. They wouldn't be getting out until he was ready for them to leave.

I felt like we were walking into a trap, so I was glad to have my sword and knife with me. I saw a few of the people standing around glance at my sword before acting like it didn't exist. I wondered if that was purposeful, to let me know that they either were actually demi-gods, or could at least see through the Mist.

I interlaced our fingers and squeezed Cynder's hand a little.

Valentino opened the door, pushing the handle a little to give the kids room to catch up.

I held the door open with my shoulder as I walked in with Cynder. The place was kind of shaded inside, and all the walls were painted darkly. IT just yelled 'trap.' "Couldn't you have picked somewhere a bit less shady?" I asked.

"OH, you want to sit out in the sun? Roast a bit? Sure, you look like you'd last a long time out there." Valentino said, ready to punch this kid.

I set my jaw in annoyance, knowing he had us caught right now. Authority really didn't work for me, unless I had it. If I ended up joining this thing, I'd end up running it, I decided. Anyone who got in my way would die. "Booth in the corner." I said to the waitress.

I looked around the place when we walked in. Low lighting, dark walls. Add in the people who just seemed to hang around outside, and I was surprised the police weren't swooping down on this place already. Maybe bribes had something to do with it.

The waitress nodded, took three menus, and led the trio to a booth in the relatively isolated corner. It was a bit dark, and a single tall candle sat in the center of the table. The waitress snapped, then held out her index finger, which now held a small, dancing flame at the end. She lit the candle then shook her hand, extinguishing the flame.

"Or don't even hide that you're a demigod." I muttered, and sat down at the table. I moved the candle towards the other end of the table.

Valentino sat across the table from the boy, noting him moving the candle with curiosity.

F*ck, I shouldn't have done that. The fat old satyr totally noticed.

I felt myself involuntarily tense up when the waitress lit a candle. Gods, why? Why did there have to be an open flame here? If, no, when that satyr noticed my reaction - with manipulation being part of his job, I doubted he would miss it - he was sure to take advantage of it. I sat down next to Lee, trying to stay as calm as possible, and avoided looking at the candle.

The waitress set down the three menus, and walked away without saying anything.

I grabbed two menus, setting one in front of Cynder and the other in front of me.

Valentino smiled slightly and pushed the candle right in front of the girl.

I picked the candle up and threw it at a window. It would either break the window or set the drapes on fire.

Valaentino gave the kid a level-headed glare as the drapes caught on fire. One of the waiters pulled the water from glasses and splashed it onto the curtains, dousing the flames. "Now, kid, that wasn't very smart."

"No, it really wasn't. You should stop doing so many stupid things." I replied, crossing my arms.

Valentino narrowed his eyes. "You remind me of how I was when I started all of this. Stupid. Fortunately for you, that stupidity is why we're here today, so I'm going to let it slide. My sources have let me know of multiple killings, and have erased your records from the police department several times. We saw Ariana Leeson's body. We've never had someone tortured that painfully, and were quite impressed. I'd love to have you join, when you're ready to leave camp. First of all, what are your names?" Valentino asked.

I felt Cynder touch my arm, so I let the dumb f*ck call me stupid. When he asked for our names, I decided I'd tell him. How he knew Cynder's mom's name without knowing my name, I didn't know. "Lee." I said, simply.

Valentino nodded, and laughed. "I knew that, of course. That was a test. Leander Kelly and Cynder Leeson by birth, and Cynder Kelly by marriage. Your mother must hav ebeen an awful person." Valentino added, smiling at his information supply.

"Yes, we always do that stuff to people who piss us off." I said, and explained, "Murder them. Not always with torture, of course." I picked up my menu and started to look at it. It seemed to be a typical diner-style menu, but everything was ten times fancier and expensive.

I looked over the menu and acted really distraught. "They don't have any goat or tin cans!" I said, and slammed the menu down. "This is an awful establishment!" I yelled.

Valentino slammed his hand down on the table, and three waiters turned at once, pulling knives and such from their hidden spots.

I laughed a little. "You really don't scare me." I said, and pointed at the chicken platter. "I'll have the chicken, please." I said to one of the potentially threatening-looking waiters.

Valentino sighed, and considered giving the code for poisoning their food, whcih would be to order the lobster. Instead, he ordered the all clear by saying, "Turkey leg, please." He held his menu out to the waiter, who took it away. He scratched his eye to tell him to watch these two.

"And I'll have a Doctor Pepper to drink." I added, since all of the fancies drinks were alcoholic.

"I'll just have water," I added. Drinks were important.

The waiter silently took Valentino's menu, noting the signal to keep an eye on the new demigods, then took said new demigods' menus away as well. The girl asked for water, so he took a glass from somewhere, pointed inside, and it filled with water. He set it down on the table and left.

I was a bit thirsty, so I took a sip of water. I spit it back out, though, upon realizing that it was salt water. I wrinkled my nose slightly, and pushed the glass away from me.

"What's wrong with the water?" I asked Cynder, after seeing her spit it out. Maybe it was poisoned. I should have thought of that, earlier. "You own this restaurant completely, or just have a lot of plants?" I asked.

"The first. Typically, of course, the waiters don't use so much flair with their powers. They're just showing off because they know what you are." Valentino explained.

"Well, they never really get to use their powers, so probably a bit of both. "He said, and then hollered, "BRENT, YOU AS*! GET BACK HERE AND GIVE THIS GIRL DRINKING WATER!"

As one of the waitresses walked by, I made her feel extreme pain in her Achilles' tendon, and she promptly fell over. I snickered a little and stopped using my powers.

The waiter, Brent, came back with a sullen expression on his face and a glass of fresh water, along with a Dr. Pepper. He left them on the table, and headed back to the kitchen to get their food.

I snickered again when some waitress fell over, and took a swig of the clean water to get the salty taste out of my mouth. Ahaha... hah... I thought of a different meaning to that, and turned slightly pink for a moment.

I looked over at Cynder, and saw her turn pink. I raised an eyebrow, and just took a drink of my Doctor Pepper.

Valentino watched the interactions between the two, labeling them as a barrier to good working. "Would you two be able to work apart?"

"No."