The ogres shuffled forward. They were small compared to Enceladus, about seven feet tall. Each one of them had six arms—one pair in the regular spot, then an extra pair sprouting out the top of their shoulders, and another set shooting from the sides of their rib cages. They wore only ragged leather loincloths, and even across the clearing, Amoriel could smell them. Six guys who never bathed, with six armpits each. She decided if she survived this day, she'd have to take a three-hour bubble bath just to forget the stench.

"What—what are those?" Leo asked Piper.

It was Amoriel who answered. "Gegenees."

"In English?" Leo asked.

"The Earthborn," Piper said. "Six-armed giants who fought Jason—the first Jason."

"Very good, my dear!" Enceladus sounded delighted. "They used to live in a miserable place in Greece called Bear Mountain. Mount Diablo is much nicer! They are lesser children of Mother Earth, but they serve their purpose. They're good with construction equipment—"

"They're also very stupid," Amoriel said. "Our only advantage."

"Vroom, vroom!" one of the Earthborn bellowed, and the others took up the chant, each moving his six hands as though driving a car as if it were some kind of weird religious ritual. "Vroom, vroom!"

"Yes, thank you, boys," Encedalus said. "They also have a score to settle with heroes. Especially anyone named Jason."

"Yay-son!" the Earthborn screamed. They all picked up clumps of earth, which solidified in their hands, turning to nasty pointed stones. "Where Yay-son? Kill Yay-son!"

"Yeah, not happening, buddy." Amoriel raised her sword, ready to fight till the death. "Jay-Jay, I might just murder your entire fan base."

"Oh please do," Jason remarked.

Enceladus smiled. "You see, Piper, you have a choice. Save your father, or ah, try to save your friends and face certain death."

Piper stepped forward. Her eyes blazed with such rage, even the Earthborn backed away. She radiated power and beauty, but it had nothing to do with her clothes or her makeup.

"You will not take the people I love," she said. "None of them."

Her words rippled across the clearing with such force, the Earthborn muttered, "Okay. Okay, sorry," and began to retreat.

"Stand your ground, fools!" Enceladus bellowed. He snarled at Piper. "This is why we wanted you alive, my dear. You could have been so useful to us. But as you wish. Earth-born! I will show you, Jason."

Amoriel unconsciously tried to pull Jason behind her and charge. But the giant didn't point to Jason. He pointed to the other side of the bonfire, where Tristan McLean hung helpless and half-conscious.

The demigods shared a look, and all four of them knew the game plan. When had that happened, that we could read each other so well?

Jason charged Enceladus, while Piper rushed to her father, and Leo dashed for the tree harvester and Amoriel threw a golden dagger. Easily, she had already killed one ogre. She ran towards the other ogres her sword in hand. Admittedly, she was tiny compared to these creatures, but she felt like she was specifically trained for situations like these. She battles the two ogres.

One reached to grab her but Amoriel was able to black it by holding her sword in front of her with both hands on its handle. It was strong and she could see the other one was about to attack.

She kicked the ogre on the leg, just below his knee, where it hurt the most, and jumped to the side to avoid the incoming ogre, using her sword to trip it. When the ogre fell face-first into the ground, Amoriel didn't give it any time to recover as she buried her sword into its back.

Unfortunately, the other one that she kicked was able to pull itself up, ready to attack again. Amoriel ran towards the Earthborn before jumping onto its back. The ogre took a hold of her hand, trying to pull her away but Amoriel wrapped her legs on its neck, effectively snapping it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Piper at the stake, cutting her father free. On the other side of the clearing, Jason fought the giant, somehow managing to dodge his massive spear and blasts of fire breath, Leo riding the tree harvester and killing some of the ogres as well while Coach Hedge was still heroically passed out with his goat tail sticking up in the air.

The Earthborn was fast, but Leo ran like a storm spirit. He leaped toward the harvester from five feet away and slammed into the driver's seat. His hands flew across the controls, and the machine responded with unnatural speed—coming to life as if it knew how important this was.

"Ha!" Leo screamed, and swung the crane arm through the bonfire, toppling burning logs onto the Earthborn and spraying sparks everywhere. Two giants went down under a fiery avalanche and melted back into the earth—hopefully to stay for a while.

The other four ogres stumbled across burning logs and hot coals while Leo brought the harvester around. He smashed a button, and on the end of the crane arm, the wicked rotating blades began to whir.

Out of the corner of her eye, Amoriel could see Piper at the stake, cutting her father free. On the other side of the clearing was me and Jason, fighting the giant, somehow managing to dodge his massive spear and blasts of fire breath. Coach Hedge was still heroically passed out with his goat tail sticking up in the air.

Amoriel saw six more ogres heading to Leo's direction so she was able to kill two before the others turned around.

She could see Leo was fighting a few ogres as well as he tried to make sure none make it to Piper and her dad, but her boyfriend seems to have it handled so Amoriel focussed on trying to kill the four more in front of her.

They're all trying to reach for her —all twenty-four hands— and it's times like this that Amoriel was glad for being short. She ducked under one, letting her sword cut whoever is close enough. Amoriel literally has no idea how she did it but she fought all four ogres and won.

"How did you do that?" Leo asked her as he and Piper watched her kill her last ogre in shock. "You're like a battle demon."

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment, repair boy." She muttered, trying to catch her breath.

However, the battle isn't over. Jason was still fighting the giant Enceladus—and it wasn't going well.

Up until this point, Amoriel did a lot of unbelievable things in this quest. But perhaps the most unbelievable thing she had done so far was charging into the battle with 30 foot something giant who had terrible body odor. Admittedly she hadn't really thought this through. The battle went in fully-fledged. When Jason's lance broke, he knew he condemned him and Amoriel to death. but just as Enceladus came in for a final strike, Amoriel quickly shot an arrow in his eye, temporarily blinding him.

He managed to work timely with Amoriel, while he gathered his strength she would attack the giant with everything she knew; he couldn't help see how powerful she looked doing it. She looked like a warrior that even a king would fear, he feared her and she was mostly nice to him; not even scared him as much as she did.

Jason rolled away from the giant's first spear thrust and jabbed Enceladus in the ankle. Amoriel, on the other hand, managed to snag him behind the leg. Jason's javelin managed to pierce the thick dragon hide, and golden ichor—the blood of immortals—trickled down the giant's clawed foot.

Enceladus bellowed in pain and blasted him with fire. Jason scrambled away, rolling behind the giant, and struck again behind his knee.

It went on like that for seconds, minutes—it was hard to judge.

Amoriel had tried to duck and slice trick which surprisingly worked before she got blasted with fire; she stood up relentlessly, wiping the blood on her face before charging back in. Every few minutes, she'd pull herself out of the Earth trying to swallow her whole.

Enceladus's spear missed Jason by a millimeter. Jason kept dodging, but the ground stuck to his feet. Gaea was getting stronger, and the giant was getting faster. Enceladus might be slow, but he wasn't dumb. He began anticipating Jason's moves, and his attacks were only annoying him, making him more enraged.

"I'm not some minor monster," Enceladus bellowed. "I am a giant, born to destroy gods! Your little golden toothpicks can't kill me, demigods!"

Amoriel didn't waste energy replying. She was already tired. The ground clung to her feet, making her feel like she weighed an extra hundred pounds. The air was full of smoke that burned her lungs. Her breath was raspy. Fires roared around her, stoked by the winds, and the temperature was approaching the heat of an oven.

Jason raised his javelin to block the giant's next strike—a big mistake. He managed to deflect the spear, but it grazed his shoulder, and his arm dropped.

He backed up, almost tripping over a burning log.

Jason and Amoriel retreated, trying to lure the giant to the edge of the clearing. Enceladus could sense they were tired. The giant smiled, baring his fangs.

"The mighty Jason Grace and Amoriel Fletcher," he taunted. "Yes, we know about you two, son of Jupiter and the firstborn of cupid. The ones who led the assault on Mount Othrys. The ones who single-handedly slew the Titan Krios and toppled the black throne."

Jason and Amoriel's face went blank with recognition.

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked. He must've realized his mistake when Enceladus breathed fire.

Distracted, Jason moved too slowly. The blast missed him, but heat blistered his back. He slammed into the ground, his clothes smoldering. He was choking as he tried to breathe.

He scrambled back as the giant's spear cleaved the ground between his feet.

Amoriel helped him stand.

If Jason could only summon one good blast of lightning—but he was already drained, and in this condition, the effort might kill him. Amoriel didn't even know if electricity would harm the giant.

Death in battle is honorable, said a voice in Amoriel's head.

That's real comforting, Amoriel thought.

One last try: Jason and Amoriel look at each other and charged.

Enceladus let them approach, grinning with anticipation. At the last second, Jason faked a strike and rolled between the giant's legs. He came up quickly, thrusting with all his might, ready to stab the giant in the small of his back, but Enceladus anticipated the trick. He stepped aside with too much speed and agility for a giant as if the earth were helping him move.

He swept his spear sideways, met Jason's javelin—and with a snap like a shotgun blast, the golden weapon shattered.

The explosion was hotter than the giant's breath, blinding Amoriel with golden light. The force knocked them off their feet and squeezed the breath out of them.

When he regained his focus, he was sitting at the rim of a crater. Enceladus stood at the other side, staggering and confused. The javelin's destruction had released so much energy, it had blasted a perfect cone-shaped pit thirty feet deep, fusing the dirt and rock into a slick glassy substance. Jason wasn't sure how he'd survived, but his clothes were steaming.

Amoriel was thrown backward into a wall making a crater where she landed, she was bleeding but alive and as well as she could be. She picked up her sword and ran back in to cover Jason.

"You know what giant? I'm starting to get really sick of you!" Amoriel shouted she managed to run up the huge legs of Enceladus, her sword running a huge line into his skin as it bled gold to the floor. He saw her and grabbed her, screaming swear words in multiple languages, before he threw her into the wall. She was quiet and fell to the ground, not moving.

Jason was out of energy. He had no weapon. He couldn't save Amoriel. And Enceladus was still very much alive.

Jason tried to get up, but his legs were like lead. Enceladus blinked at the destruction, then laughed. "Impressive! Unfortunately, that was your last trick, demigod."

Enceladus leaped the crater in a single bound, planting his feet on either side of Jason. The giant raised his spear, its tip hovering six feet over Jason's chest.

"And now," Enceladus said, "my first sacrifice to Gaea!"

"No, Jason!" Amoriel screamed, Jason didn't even know she was alive.

Time slowed down which was really frustrating since Jason still couldn't move. He felt himself sinking into the earth like the ground was a waterbed—comfortable, urging him to relax and give up. He wondered if the stories of the Underworld were true. Would he end up in the Fields of Punishment or Elysium? If he couldn't remember any of his deeds, would they still count? He wondered if the judges would take that into consideration, or if his dad, Zeus, would write him a note: "Please excuse Jason from eternal damnation. He has had amnesia."

Jason couldn't feel his arms. He could see the tip of the spear coming toward his chest in slow motion. He knew he should move, but he couldn't seem to do it. Funny, he thought. All that effort to stay alive, and then, boom. You just lie there helplessly while a fire-breathing giant impales you.

Leo's voice yelled, "Heads up!"

A large black metal wedge slammed into Enceladus with a massive thunk! The giant toppled over and slid into the pit.

"Jason, get up!" Piper called. Her voice energized him, shook him out of his stupor. He sat up, his head groggy, while Piper grabbed him under his arms and hauled him to his feet.

"Don't die on me," she ordered. "You are not dying on me."

"Yes, ma'am." He felt light-headed, but she was about the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Her hair was smoldering. Her face was smudged with soot. She had a cut on her arm, her dress was torn, and she was missing a boot. Beautiful.

About a hundred feet behind her, Leo was standing over a piece of construction equipment—a long cannonlike thing with a single massive piston, the edge broken clean off.

Amoriel was standing there bashfully and kept shooting arrows at the giant. But these arrows were a bright red.

Then Jason looked down in the crater and saw where the other end of the hydraulic ax had gone. Enceladus was struggling to rise with every arrow shot by Amoriel having him fall back down, an ax blade the size of a washing machine stuck in his breastplate.

Amazingly, the giant managed to pull the ax blade free. He yelled in pain and the mountain trembled. Golden ichor soaked the front of his armor, but Enceladus stood.

Shakily, he bent down and retrieved his spear.

"Good try." The giant winced. "But I cannot be beaten."

As they watched, the giant's armor mended itself, and the ichor stopped flowing. Even the cuts on his dragon-scale legs, which Jason and Amoriel had worked so hard to make, were now just pale scars.

Leo ran up to them, saw the giant, and cursed. "What is it with this guy? Die, already!"

"My fate is preordained," Enceladus said. "Giants cannot be killed by gods or heroes."

"Only by both," Amoriel said. The giant's smile faltered, and Jason saw in his eyes something like fear. "It's true, isn't it? Gods and demigods have to work together to kill you."

"You will not live long enough to try!" The giant started stumbling up the crater's slope, slipping on the glassy sides.

"Anyone have a god handy?" Leo asked.

"Well Hephaestus and Aphrodite have been the only ones nice enough to actually help us, so we better start praying guys," Amoriel answered.

Jason's heart filled with dread. He looked at the giant below them, struggling to get out of the pit, and he knew what had to happen.

"Leo," he said, "if you've got a rope in that tool belt, get it ready."

He leaped at the giant with no weapon but his bare hands.

"Enceladus!" Piper yelled. "Look behind you!"

It was an obvious trick, but her voice was so compelling, even Jason bought it. The giant said, "What?" and turned like there was an enormous spider on his back.

Jason tackled his legs at just the right moment. The giant lost his balance. Enceladus slammed into the crater and slid to the bottom. While he tried to rise, Jason put his arms around the giant's neck. When Enceladus struggled to his feet, Jason was riding his shoulders.

"Get off!" Enceladus screamed. He tried to grab Jason's legs, but Jason scrabbled around, squirming and climbing over the giant's hair.

Father, Jason thought. If I've ever done anything good, anything you approved of, help me now. I offer my own life—just save my friends.

Suddenly he could smell the metallic scent of a storm. Darkness swallowed the sun. The giant froze, sensing it too.

Jason yelled to his friends, "Hit the deck!"

And every hair on his head stood straight up.

Crack!

Lightning surged through Jason's body, straight through Enceladus, and into the ground. The giant's back stiffened, and Jason was thrown clear.

When he regained his bearings, he was slipping down the side of the crater, and the crater was cracking open. The lightning bolt had split the mountain itself. The earth rumbled and tore apart, and Enceladus's legs slid into the chasm. He clawed helplessly at the glassy sides of the pit, and just for a moment managed to hold on to the edge, his hands trembling.

He fixed Jason with a look of hatred. "You've won nothing, boy. My brothers are rising, and they are ten times as strong as I. We will destroy the gods at their roots! You will die, and Olympus will die with—"

The giant lost his grip and fell into the crevice.

The earth shook. Jason fell toward the rift.

"Grab hold!" Leo yelled.

Jason's feet were at the edge of the chasm when he grabbed the rope, and Leo, Amoriel, and Piper pulled him up.

Amoriel hugged him tightly; "Do that one more time and I'll destroy you, Jason Grace, heed my warning."

They stood together, exhausted and terrified, as the chasm closed like an angry mouth. The ground stopped pulling at their feet.

For now, Gaea was gone.

The mountainside was on fire. Smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the air. Amoriel spotted a helicopter—maybe firefighters or reporters—coming toward them.

All around them was carnage. The Earthborn had melted into piles of clay, leaving behind only their rock missiles and some nasty bits of loincloth, but Amoriel figured they would re-form soon enough. Construction equipment lay in ruins. The ground was scarred and blackened.

Coach Hedge started to move. He sat up with a groan and rubbed his head. His canary yellow pants were now the color of Dijon mustard mixed with mud.

He blinked and looked around him at the battle scene. "Did I do this?"

Before they could reply, Hedge picked up his club and got shakily to his feet. "Yeah, you wanted some hoof? I gave you some hoof, cupcakes! Who's the goat, huh?"

He did a little dance, kicking rocks and making what were probably rude satyr gestures at the piles of clay.

Leo cracked a smile, and Jason couldn't help it—he started to laugh. It probably sounded a little hysterical, but it was such a relief to be alive, he didn't care. Amoriel joined in; shaking her head at the crazy scene and their equally crazy friends.

Then a man stood up across the clearing. Tristan McLean staggered forward. His eyes were hollow, shell-shocked, like someone who'd just walked through a nuclear wasteland.

"Piper?" he called. His voice cracked. "Pipes, what—what is—"

He couldn't complete the thought. Piper ran over to him and hugged him tightly, but he almost didn't seem to know her.

Amoriel and Jason had felt a similar way—that morning at the Grand Canyon when they woke up with no memory. But Mr. McLean had the opposite problem. He had too many memories, too much trauma his mind just couldn't handle. He was coming apart.

"We need to get him out of here," Jason said.

"Yeah, but how?" Leo said. "He's in no shape to walk."

Jason glanced up at the helicopter, which was now circling directly overhead. "Can you make us a bullhorn or something?" he asked Leo. "Piper has some talking to do.

Borrowing the helicopter was easy... Getting Piper's dad on board was not.

Piper needed only a few words through Leo's improvised bullhorn to convince the pilot to land on the mountain. The Park Service copter was big enough for medical evacuations or search and rescue, and when Piper told the very nice ranger pilot lady that it would be a great idea to fly them to the Oakland Airport, she readily agreed.

"No," her dad muttered, as they picked him up off the ground. "Piper, what—there were monsters—there were monsters—"

She needed all three of her friends to help to hold him, while Coach Hedge gathered their supplies. Fortunately, Hedge had put his pants and shoes back on, so they didn't have to explain the goat legs.

It broke Piper's heart to see her dad like this—pushed beyond the breaking point, crying like a little boy. She didn't know what the giant had done to him exactly, how the monsters had shattered his spirit, but she didn't think she could stand to find out.

"It'll be okay, Dad," she said, making her voice as soothing as possible. She didn't want to charmspeak her own father, but it seemed the only way. "These people are my friends. We're going to help you. You're safe now."

He blinked and looked up at helicopter rotors. "Blades. They had a machine with so many blades. They had six arms ..."

When they got him to the bay doors, the pilot came over to help. "What's wrong with him?" she asked.

"Smoke inhalation," Jason suggested. "Or heat exhaustion."

"We should get him to a hospital," the pilot said.

"It's okay," Amoriel said. "The airport is good."

"Yeah, the airport is good," the pilot agreed immediately. Then she frowned, as if uncertain why she'd changed her mind. "Isn't he Tristan McLean, the movie star?"

"No," Piper said. "He only looks like him. Forget it."

"Yeah," the pilot said. "Only looks like him. I—" She blinked, confused. "I forgot what I was saying. Let's get going."

Jason raised his eyebrows at Piper, obviously impressed, but Piper looked miserable. Amoriel could tell she didn't want to play with people's memories, not like Jason and her's.

"Piper." Her dad grasped her hand and held on like he was afraid he'd fall. "It's you? They told me—they told me you would die. They said ... horrible things would happen."

"It's me, Dad." Piper looked on the verge of tears. "Everything's going to be okay."

"They were monsters," he said. "Real monsters. Earth spirits, right out of Grandpa Tom's stories—and the Earth Mother was angry with me. And the giant, Tsul'kälû, breathing fire—" He focused on Piper again, his eyes like broken glass, reflecting a crazy kind of light. "They said you were a demigod. Your mother was ..."

"Aphrodite," Piper said. "Goddess of love."

"I—I—" He took a shaky breath, then seemed to forget how to exhale.

The others were careful not to watch. Leo fiddled with a lug nut from his tool belt. Jason gazed at the valley below—the roads backing up as mortals stopped their cars and gawked at the burning mountain. Gleeson chewed on the stub of his carnation, and for once the satyr didn't look in the mood to yell or boast. Amoriel simply joined Jason looking out the window at the burning mountain behind them.

Tristan McLean wasn't supposed to be seen like this. He was a star. He was confident, stylish, suave—always in control. That was the public image he projected. Amoriel could tell Piper was about to have an emotional breakdown.

"I didn't know about Mom," Piper told him. "Not until you were taken. When we found out where you were, we came right away. My friends helped me. No one will hurt you again."

Her dad couldn't stop shivering. "You're heroes—you and your friends. I can't believe it. You're a real hero, not like me. Not playing a part. I'm so proud of you, Pipes." But the words were muttered listlessly, in a semi-trance.

He gazed down on the valley, and his grip on Piper's hand went slack. "Your mother never told me."

"She thought it was for the best." It sounded lame, and no amount of charmspeak could change that.

Piper felt inside the pocket of her jacket but came out empty-handed. No wads of cash this time.

She held his hand, speaking to him about small things—her time at the Wilderness School, her cabin at Camp Half-Blood. She told him how Coach Hedge ate carnations and got knocked on his butt in Mount Diablo, how Leo had tamed a dragon, and how Jason had made wolves back down by talking in Latin. How Amoriel had saved the boys in Medea's place. They smiled reluctantly as she recounted their adventures. Her dad seemed to relax as she talked, but he didn't smile. Amoriel wasn't even sure he heard her.

As they passed over the hills into the East Bay, Jason tensed. He leaned so far out the doorway Amoriel was afraid he'd fall.

He pointed. "What is that?"

Amoriel looked down, she saw a highway cut through a tunnel in the hills, connecting the East Bay with the inland towns. She felt like she had been here before, a long time ago.

"Where?" Piper asked.

"That road," he said. "The one that goes through the hills."

"The pilot says it's Highway 24," Piper reported. "That's the Caldecott Tunnel. Why?"

Jason stared intently at the tunnel entrance, but he said nothing. It disappeared from view as they flew over downtown Oakland, but Jason and Amoriel still stared into the distance, their expression almost as unsettled as Piper's dad.

"Monsters," her dad said, a tear tracing his cheek. "I live in a world of monsters."

Air traffic control didn't want to let an unscheduled helicopter land at the Oakland Airport—until Piper got on the radio. Then it turned out to be no problem.

They unloaded on the tarmac, and everyone looked at Piper, asking the silent question of what would happen to her dad now.

"What now?" Jason asked her.

She looked uncomfortable. But she pulled herself together to say,

Amoriel knew her friend was uncomfortable. Piper forced herself to look collected. Amoriel could almost see the gears working in her head.

"First thing," she said. "I—I have to get my dad home. I'm sorry, guys."

Their faces fell.

"Oh," Leo said. "I mean, absolutely. He needs you right now. We can take it from here."

"He's right, Piper," Amoriel said. "We understand." But even as Amoriel said the words, she couldn't help but be disappointed. She's gotten attached to the Aphrodite girl and would have preferred to fight by her side, but she knew that family always comes first.

"Pipes, no." Her dad had been sitting in the helicopter doorway, a blanket around his shoulders. But he stumbled to his feet. "You have a mission. A quest. I can't—"

"I'll take care of him," said Coach Hedge.

Piper stared at him. The satyr was the last person anyone would expect to offer. Piper seemed to have gotten the same idea.

"You?" she asked.

"I'm a protector," Gleeson said. "That's my job, not fighting."

Amoriel smiled at him. She hadn't even realized that she's gotten attached to him too.

Then Hedge straightened and set his jaw. "Of course, I'm good at fighting, too." He glared at them all, daring them to argue.

"Yes," Jason said.

"Terrifying," Leo agreed.

"A battle demon," Amoriel said remembering Leo's earlier words. Leo snorted and covered his mouth, but the Coach seemed satisfied.

"But I'm a protector, and I can do this. Your dad's right, Piper. You need to carry on with the quest."

"But ..." Piper hesitated, obviously wanting to be with her father at his weakest moment. "Dad ..."

He held out his arms, and she hugged him. Amoriel averted her eyes, meeting Leo's, both of them not wanting to intrude the obviously intimate moment with the father-daughter duo.

"Let's give them a minute," Jason said, and we took the pilot a few yards down the tarmac.

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Leo asked Amoriel, sounding worried for their friend.

"Of course, " Amoriel said. "Piper has to get her toughness from somewhere.

Jason nodded along in agreement. "They'll both be fine."

"How's your head?" Leo asked Amoriel, not really having the opportunity earlier.

"Still connected to my body, I think." She joked.

The three then kept quiet pretended not to hear the exchange between Piper and her father and patiently waited for the two to finish.

Suddenly Tristan McLean collapsed behind them, and they rushed to help.

"Got him," Hedge said. The satyr stumbled, but he was strong enough to hold Tristan McLean upright. "I already asked our ranger friend to call up his plane. It's on the way now. Home address?"

Piper was about to tell him, but she checked her dad's pocket, finding a BlackBerry was still there. It seemed bizarre that he'd still have something so normal after all he'd been through.

"Everything's on here," Piper said. "Address, his chauffeur's number. Just watch out for Jane."

Hedge's eyes lit up like he sensed a possible fight. "Who's Jane?"

By the time Piper explained, her dad's sleek white Gulf-stream had taxied next to the helicopter.

Hedge and the flight attendant got Piper's dad on board. Then Hedge came down one last time to say his good-byes. He gave Piper and Amoriel a hug and glared at Jason and Leo.

"You cupcakes take care of these girls, you hear? Or I'm gonna make you do push-ups."

"You got it, Coach," Leo said, a smile tugging at his mouth. Wrapping an arm around Amoriel's waist.

"No push-ups," Jason promised.

Piper gave the old satyr one more hug. "Thank you, Gleeson. Take care of him, please."

"I got this, McLean," he assured her. "They got root beers and veggie enchiladas on this flight, and one hundred percent linen napkins—yum! I could get used to this."

Trotting up the stairs, he lost one shoe, and his hoof was visible for just a second. The flight attendant's eyes widened, but she looked away and pretended nothing was wrong.

When the plane was heading down the runaway, Piper started to cry. She'd been holding it in too long and she just couldn't anymore. Amoriel quickly shrugged Leo's arms off and rushed to wrap her arms around her friend. Both boys stood uncomfortably nearby, Jason fidgeting with his fingers and Leo pulling a Kleenex out of his tool belt.

"Oh, pipes. Everything is going to be okay," Amoriel said. "Your dad's in good hands and you did amazing."

Piper allowed herself to be held for another moment, sobbing in Amoriel's arms, before pulling away and wiping her tears.

"Thank you, guys," Piper said. "I-"

She couldn't bring herself to say another word as one more sob rocked her body. But her friends understood. No more words needed to be said. They knew what she meant.