Well... It's been what six, or was it 7 weeks?

Sorry Guys, didn't want to leave the story like that, But I've managed to scrape up a decent but shorter Chapter to placate you all for a while.

For those who don't read Hotel Mismatched I've been gone for a while because My brother went into Hospital for appendicitis towards the end of September, he was released a few days later but I was the one who had to take him to hospital because i was the only adult at the time. I got stranded at the Children's hospital in another city until he was released. Major dampener on my mood. I've been finding it hard to get motivated for writing. Hotel Mismatched is slightly easier because they're must smaller chapters.

Sorry again for the wait. I apologise if this chapters isn't up to standards.

"What are they?" Hazel asked.

We had all gathered on the deck overlooking Venice. There were lots of lions and long haired ant-eater cows.

"The mortals think they're stray dogs."

"Or pets roaming around," Piper said. "My dad shot a film in Venice once. I remember him telling me there were dogs everywhere. Venetians love dogs."

"But what are they?" Frank asked, repeating Hazel's question. "They look like … starving, shaggy cows with sheepdog hair."

"Really? I was thinking more along the lines of long haired, cow sized anteaters," I say while tuning out the steady whispers that were gathering in my head,

"Maybe they're harmless," Leo suggested. "They're ignoring the mortals."

"Harmless!" Gleeson Hedge laughed. "Valdez, how many harmless monsters have we met? We should just aim the ballistae and see what happens!"

"Uh, no," Leo said.

"We'll have to walk through them and hope they're peaceful," Frank said after a moment. "It's the only way we're going to track down the owner of that book."

Leo pulled the leather-bound manual from underneath his arm. He'd slapped a sticky note on the cover with the address the dwarfs in Bologna had given him.

"La Casa Nera," he read. "Calle Frezzeria."

"The Black House," Nico di Angelo translated. "Calle Frezzeria is the street."

"You speak Italian?" Frank asked.

"Yeah I asked him to teach me but we haven't started yet," I say.

"Frank is right. We have to find that address. The only way to do it is to walk the city. Venice is a maze. We'll have to risk the crowds and those … whatever they are."

"Maybe I should stay on board. Lots of venti in that storm last night. If they decide to attack the ship again …" Jason said.

I don't really like Venti; they get really annoying really quick.

Coach Hedge grunted. "Well, I'm out, too. If you soft-hearted cupcakes are going to stroll through Venice without even whacking those furry animals on the head, forget it. I don't like boring expeditions."

"Its okay, Coach." Leo grinned. "We still have to repair the foremast. Then I need your help in the engine room. I've got an idea for a new installation."

"Well …" Piper shifted her feet. "Whoever goes should be good with animals. I, uh … I'll admit I'm not great with cows."

"I'll go," Frank said.

Leo patted him on shoulder and handed him the leather-bound book. "Awesome. If you pass a hardware store, could you get me some two-by-fours and a gallon of tar?"

"Leo," Hazel chided, "it's not a shopping trip."

"I'll go with Frank," Nico offered.

"Uh … you're good with animals?" he asked.

"No," I say. "Even Susie still doesn't like him and she's been around ages. Isn't that right Susie?"

"He sssssmellsssss funny."

"I'll take that as an agreement."

Nico smiled without humour. "They can sense death. But there's something about this city …" His expression turned grim. "Lots of death. Restless spirits. If I go, I may be able to keep them at bay. Besides I speak Italian."

Leo scratched his head. "Lots of death, huh? Personally, I'm trying to avoid lots of death, but you guys have fun!"

"I'll go, too." Hazel slipped her arm through Frank's. "Three is the best number for a demigod quest, right?"

"All right, then. Let's go find the owner of that book," Nico said.

"Yay! A Quest!"

"You aren't coming."

"Darn it."

The weather was cold and it had no right to be.

I only really had summer clothes so I'd taken the sheet from the bed and folded it up before wrapping it around my shoulders and over my head.

Nico had joined me a while ago and we were playing poker with the deck of cards I'd found a while ago. Go fish and snap had gotten boring days ago.

The ship listed and we lost the cards.

"Oh come on, I had three kings!"

"You win then, I had nothing, let's go see what's going on."

We raced out of the room and into the hall and found Hazel and Frank. The way upstairs was frozen in a block of ice.

"I knew it was cold but really?"

"Going to assume it's not the staff and that Jason Piper and Leo are in trouble," I said watching as Hazel began banging the hilt of her gladius on the ice to no avail.

Frank transformed into a bear and bashed at the ice with his claws before morphing back.

I move forward and place a hand on the ice a push magic into my palm. It cracks slightly under the pressure but otherwise doesn't budge.

Hazel bangs on it again and a few more cracks appear.

We keep banging against it and eventually it splits into two rather uneven pieces.

Hazel wedged her gladius between the two pieces and eventually the smaller piece fell away and shattered on the floor. Frank wandered off to find a broom while the rest of us continued hammering away at the rest of the ice.

It took a good half an hour before we could force the door open.

On the deck we found a defrosting Jason and a shivering Piper.

Oh and we'd been blown miles off course, and Leo was missing.

It would be very difficult to fix the ship without Leo. I had faith that we'd see him again though. We found Nico and he'd been kidnapped.

Plus, if he'd died then I would have heard it in the whispers. I heard plenty of whispers, each time we met a monsters they'd be at the edge of my head warning me.

From the little research Nico and I had done, which hadn't been much fun at all, Banshee's were able to tell when someone was about to die.

I hadn't noticed anything strange.

It was just a matter of Leo making his way back to the ship.

Everything would be okay then.

Yeah, I warned you it was going to be short

Sorry again guys

Reviews and Ideas are Appreciated and Adored!

~Jessica