"Please, Your Majesty," Piper said.
Everyone's eyes turned toward her. She had to be scared out of her mind, but she looked beautiful and confident—and it had nothing to do with the blessing of Aphrodite. She looked herself again, in day-old traveling clothes with choppy hair and no makeup. But she almost glowed with warmth in that cold throne room. "If you tell us where the storm spirits are, we can capture them and bring them to Aeolus. You'd look good in front of your boss. Aeolus might pardon us and the other demigods. We could even rescue Gleeson Hedge. Everyone wins."
"She's pretty," Zethes mumbled. "I mean, she's right."
"Father, don't listen to her," Khione said. "She's a child of Aphrodite. She dares to charmspeak a god? Freeze her now!"
Boreas considered this. Jason slipped his hand in his pocket and got ready to bring out the gold coin. If things went wrong, he'd have to move fast. The movement caught Boreas's eye. "What is that on your forearm, demigod?" Jason hadn't realized his coat sleeve had gotten pushed up, revealing the edge of his tattoo. Reluctantly, he showed Boreas his marks. The god's eyes widened. Khione actually hissed and stepped away. Then Boreas did something unexpected. He laughed so loudly, an icicle cracked from the ceiling and crashed next to his throne. The god's form began to flicker. His beard disappeared. He grew taller and thinner, and his clothes changed into a Roman toga, lined with purple. His head was crowned with a frosty laurel wreath, and a gladius—a Roman sword like Jason's—hung at his side.
"Aquilon," Jason said, though where he got the god's Roman name from, he had no idea.
The god inclined his head. "You recognize me better in this form, yes? And yet you said you came from Camp Half-Blood? "
Jason shifted his feet. "Uh … yes, Your Majesty."
"And Hera sent you there…" The winter god's eyes were full of mirth. "I understand now. Oh, she plays a dangerous game. Bold, but dangerous! No wonder Olympus is closed. They must be trembling at the gamble she has taken."
"Jason," Piper said nervously, "why did Boreas change shape? The toga, the wreath. What's going on?"
"It's his Roman form," Jason said. "But what's going on—I don't know."
The god laughed. "No, I'm sure you don't. This should be very interesting to watch."
"Does that mean you'll let us go?" Piper asked.
"My dear," Boreas said, "there is no reason for me to kill you. If Hera's plan fails, which I think it will, you will tear each other apart. Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again." Jason felt as if Khione's cold fingers were on his neck again, but it wasn't her—it was just the feeling that Boreas was right. That sense of wrongness which had bothered Jason since he got to Camp Half-Blood, and Chiron's comment about his arrival being disastrous—Boreas knew what they meant.
"I don't suppose you could explain?" Jason asked. "Oh, perish the thought! It is not for me to interfere in Hera's plan. No wonder she took your memory." Boreas chuckled, apparently still having a great time imagining demigods tearing each other apart. "You know, I have a reputation as a helpful wind god. Unlike my brethren, I've been known to fall in love with mortals. Why, my sons Zethes and Calais started as demigods—"
"Which explains why they are idiots," Khione growled.
"Stop it!" Zethes snapped back. "Just because you were born a full goddess—"
"Both of you, freeze," Boreas ordered. Apparently, that word carried a lot of weight in the household, because the two siblings went absolutely still. "Now, as I was saying, I have a good reputation, but it is rare that Boreas plays an important role in the affairs of gods. I sit here in my palace, at the edge of civilization, and so rarely have amusements. Why, even that fool Notus, the South Wind, gets spring break in Cancún. What do I get? A winter festival with naked Québécois rolling around in the snow!"
"I like the winter festival," Zethes muttered.
"My point," Boreas snapped, "is that I now have a chance to be the center. Oh, yes, I will let you go on this quest. You will find your storm spirits in the windy city, of course. Chicago—"
"Father!" Khione protested.
Boreas ignored his daughter. "If you can capture the winds, you may be able to gain safe entrance to the court of Aeolus. If by some miracle you succeed, be sure to tell him you captured the winds on my orders."
"Okay, sure," Jason said. "So Chicago is where we'll find this lady who's controlling the winds? She's the one who's trapped Hera?"
"Ah." Boreas grinned. "Those are two different questions, son of Jupiter." Jupiter, Jason noticed. Before, he called me son of Zeus. "The one who controls the winds," Boreas continued, "yes, you will find her in Chicago. But she is only a servant—a servant who is very likely to destroy you. If you succeed against her and take the winds, then you may go to Aeolus. Only he has knowledge of all the winds on the earth. All secrets come to his fortress eventually. If anyone can tell you where Hera is imprisoned, it is Aeolus. As for who you will meet when you finally find Hera's cage—truly, if I told you that, you would beg me to freeze you."
"Father," Khione protested, "you can't simply let them—"
"I can do what I like," he said, his voice hardening. "I am still master here, am I not?" The way Boreas glared at his daughter, it was obvious they had some ongoing argument. Khione's eyes flashed with anger, but she clenched her teeth.
"As you wish, Father."
"Now go, demigods," Boreas said, "before I change my mind. Zethes, escort them out safely." They all bowed, and the god of the North Wind dissolved into mist. Back in the entry hall, Cal and Leo were waiting for them. Leo looked cold but unharmed. He'd even gotten cleaned up, and his clothes looked newly washed, like he'd used the hotel's valet service. Festus the dragon was back in normal form, snorting fire over his scales to keep himself defrosted. As Khione led them down the stairs, Jason noticed that Leo's eyes followed her.
Leo started combing his hair back with his hands. Uh-oh, Jason thought. He made a mental note to warn Leo about the snow goddess later. She was not someone to get a crush on. At the bottom step, Khione turned to Piper. "You have fooled my father, girl. But you have not fooled me. We are not done. And you, Jason Grace, I will see you as a statue in the throne room soon enough."
"Boreas is right," Jason said. "You're a spoiled kid. See you around, ice princess." Khione's eyes flared pure white. For once, she seemed at a loss for words. She stormed back up the stairs—literally. Halfway up, she turned into a blizzard and disappeared.
"Be careful," Zethes warned. "She never forgets an insult."
Cal grunted in agreement. "Bad sister."
"She's the goddess of snow," Jason said. "What's she going to do, throw snowballs at us?" But as he said it, Jason had a feeling Khione could do a whole lot worse. Leo looked devastated.
"What happened up there? You made her mad? Is she mad at me too? Guys, that was my prom date!"
"We'll explain later," Piper promised, but when she glanced at Jason, he realized she expected him to explain. What had happened up there? Jason wasn't sure. Boreas had turned into Aquilon, his Roman form, as if Jason's presence caused him to go schizophrenic.
The idea that Jason had been sent to Camp Half-Blood seemed to amuse the god, but Boreas/Aquilon hadn't let them go out of kindness. Cruel excitement had danced in his eyes, as if he'd just placed a bet on a dogfight. You will tear each other apart, he'd said with delight. Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again. Jason looked away from Piper, trying not to show how unnerved he was.
"Yeah," he agreed, "we'll explain later."
"Be careful, pretty girl," Zethes said. "The winds between here and Chicago are bad-tempered. Many other evil things are stirring. I am sorry you will not be staying. You would make a lovely ice statue, in which I could check my reflection."
"Thanks," Piper said. "But I'd sooner play hockey with Cal."
"Hockey?" Cal's eyes lit up.
"Joking," Piper said. "And the storm winds aren't our worst problem, are they?"
"Oh, no," Zethes agreed. "Something else. Something worse."
"Worse," Cal echoed.
"Can you tell me?" Piper gave them a smile. This time, the charm didn't work. The purple-winged Boreads shook their heads in unison. The hangar doors opened onto a freezing starry night, and Festus the dragon stomped his feet, anxious to fly.
"Ask Aeolus what is worse," Zethes said darkly. "He knows. Good luck." He almost sounded like he cared what happened to them, even though a few minutes ago he'd wanted to make Piper into an ice sculpture.
Cal patted Leo on the shoulder. "Don't get destroyed," he said, which was probably the longest sentence he'd ever attempted. "Next time—hockey. Pizza."
Zethes looked over to Ash, "It surprises me to see you on Olympus' side moonchild." Jason didn't miss the way that Ash broke his neutral expression into a scowl, before pushing past the god and making his way over to the dragon.
"Come on, guys." Jason stared out at the dark. He was anxious to get out of that cold penthouse, but he had a feeling it was the most hospitable place they'd see for a while. "Let's go to Chicago and try not to get destroyed.
-P-
Piper didn't relax until the glow of Quebec City faded behind them. "You were amazing," Jason told her. The compliment should've made her day. But all she could think about was the trouble ahead. Evil things are stirring, Zethes had warned them. She knew that firsthand. The closer they got to the solstice, the less time Piper had to make her decision.
She told Jason in French: "If you knew the truth about me, you wouldn't think I was so amazing."
"What'd you say?" he asked.
"I said I only talked to Boreas. It wasn't so amazing." She didn't turn to look, but she imagined him smiling.
"Hey," he said, "you saved me from joining Khione's subzero hero collection. I owe you one." That was definitely the easy part, she thought. There was no way Piper would've let that ice witch keep Jason. What bothered Piper more was the way Boreas had changed form, and why he'd let them go. It had something to do with Jason's past, those tattoos on his arm. Boreas assumed Jason was some sort of Roman, and Romans didn't mix with Greeks. She kept waiting for Jason to offer an explanation, but he clearly didn't want to talk about it. Until now, Piper had been able to dismiss Jason's feeling that he didn't belong at Camp Half-Blood. Obviously he was a demigod. Of course he belonged. But now … what if he was something else? What if he really was an enemy? She couldn't stand that idea any more than she could stand Khione. Leo passed them some sandwiches from his pack. He'd been quiet ever since they'd told him what happened in the throne room.
"I still can't believe Khione," he said. "She looked so nice."
"Trust me, man," Jason said. "Snow may be pretty, but up close it's cold and nasty. We'll find you a better prom date." Piper smiled, but Leo didn't look pleased. He hadn't said much about his time in the palace, or why the Boreads had singled him out for smelling like fire. Piper got the feeling he was hiding something. Whatever it was, his mood seemed to be affecting Festus, who grumbled and steamed as he tried to keep himself warm in the cold Canadian air. Happy the Dragon was not so happy.
They ate their sandwiches as they flew. Piper had no idea how Leo had stocked up on supplies, but he'd even remembered to bring veggie rations for her. The cheese and avocado sandwich was awesome. Nobody talked. She noticed Ash bumping his leg up and down, he was either anxious or didn't like flying for extended periods. Whatever they might find in Chicago, they all knew Boreas had only let them go because he figured they were already on a suicide mission.
The moon rose and stars turned overhead. Piper's eyes started to feel heavy. The encounter with Boreas and his children had scared her more than she wanted to admit. Now that she had a full stomach, her adrenaline was fading. Suck it up, cupcake! Coach Hedge would've yelled at her. Don't be a wimp!
Piper had been thinking about the coach ever since Boreas mentioned he was still alive. She'd never liked Hedge, but he'd leaped off a cliff to save Leo, and he'd sacrificed himself to protect them on the skywalk. She now realized that all the times at school the coach had pushed her, yelled at her to run faster or do more push-ups, or even when he'd turned his back and let her fight her own battles with the mean girls, the old goat man had been trying to help her in his own irritating way—trying to prepare her for life as a demigod. On the skywalk, Dylan the storm spirit had said something about the coach, too: how he'd been retired to Wilderness School because he was getting too old, like it was some sort of punishment.
Piper wondered what that was about, and if it explained why the coach was always so grumpy. Whatever the truth, now that Piper knew Hedge was alive, she had a strong compulsion to save him. Don't get ahead of yourself, she chided. You've got bigger problems. This trip won't have a happy ending. She was a traitor, just like Silena Beauregard. It was only a matter of time before her friends found out. She looked up at the stars and thought about a night long ago when she and her dad had camped out in front of Grandpa Tom's house.
Grandpa Tom had died years before, but Dad had kept his house in Oklahoma because it was where he grew up. They'd gone back for a few days, with the idea of getting the place fixed up to sell, although Piper wasn't sure who'd want to buy a run-down cabin with shutters instead of windows and two tiny rooms that smelled like cigars. The first night had been so stifling hot—no air conditioning in the middle of August—that Dad suggested they sleep outside. They'd spread their sleeping bags and listened to the cicadas buzzing in the trees. Piper pointed out the constellations she'd been reading about—Hercules, Apollo's lyre, Sagittarius the centaur. Her dad crossed his arms behind his head. In his old T-shirt and jeans he looked like just another guy from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, a Cherokee who might've never left tribal lands.
"Your grandpa would say those Greek patterns are a bunch of bull. He told me the stars were creatures with glowing fur, like magic hedgehogs. Once, long ago, some hunters even captured a few in the forest. They didn't know what they'd done until nighttime, when the star creatures began to glow. Golden sparks flew from their fur, so the Cherokee released them back into the sky."
"You believe in magic hedgehogs?" Piper asked. Her dad laughed.
"I think Grandpa Tom was full of bull, too, just like the Greeks. But it's a big sky. I suppose there's room for Hercules and hedgehogs." They sat for a while, until Piper got the nerve to ask a question that had been bugging her.
"Dad, why don't you ever play Native American parts?" The week before, he'd turned down several million dollars to play Tonto in a remake of The Lone Ranger. Piper was still trying to figure out why. He'd played all kinds of roles—a Latino teacher in a tough L.A. school, a dashing Israeli spy in an action-adventure blockbuster, even a Syrian terrorist in a James Bond , of course, he would always be known as the King of Sparta. But if the part was Native American—it didn't matter what kind of role it was—Dad turned it down. He winked at her.
"Too close to home, Pipes. Easier to pretend I'm something I'm not."
"Doesn't that get old? Aren't you ever tempted, like, if you found the perfect part that could change people's opinions?"
"If there's a part like that, Pipes," he said sadly, "I haven't found it." She looked at the stars, trying to imagine them as glowing hedgehogs. All she saw were the stick figures she knew —Hercules running across the sky, on his way to kill monsters. Dad was probably right. The Greeks and the Cherokee were equally crazy. The stars were just balls of fire.
"Dad," she said, "if you don't like being close to home, why are we sleeping in Grandpa Tom's yard?" His laughter echoed in the quiet Oklahoma night.
"I think you know me too well, Pipes."
"You're not really going to sell this place, are you?"
"Nope," he sighed. "I'm probably not." Piper blinked, snapping out of her memory as Ash caught her arm just before she could slip off and fall. How could her dad pretend to be so many things he wasn't? She was trying to do that now, and it was tearing her apart. Maybe she could pretend for a little while longer. She could dream of finding a way to save her father without betraying her friends—even if right now a happy ending seemed about as likely as magic hedgehogs. She leaned forward against Jason's warm back. He didn't complain. As soon she closed her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.
She was awoke by a sharp crack, and she tumbled through the sky. Far below she saw city lights glimmering in the early dawn, and several hundred yards away the body of the bronze dragon spinning out of control, its wings limp, fire flickering in its mouth and sparking along it's like a badly wired lightbulb.
A body shot past her—Leo, screaming and frantically grabbing at the clouds. "Not coooooool!" She looked around again and saw another figure, engulfed in flames as they fell down, far from where she was headed.
She tried to call to him, but he was already too gone. Somewhere above her, Jason yelled, "Piper, level out! Extend your arms and legs!" It was hard to control her fear, but she did what he said and regained some balance. She fell spread-eagle like a skydiver, the wind underneath her like a solid block of ice.
Then Jason was there, wrapping his arms around her waist. Thank god, Piper thought. But part of her also thought: Great. Second time this week he's hugged me, and both times it's because I'm plummeting to my death. "We have to get Leo!" she shouted. Their fall slowed as Jason controlled the winds, but they still lurched up and down like the winds didn't want to cooperate.
"Gonna get rough," Jason warned. "Hold on!" Piper locked her arms around him, and Jason shot toward the ground. Piper probably screamed, but the sound was ripped from her mouth. Her vision blurred. And then, thump! They slammed into another warm body —Leo, still wriggling and cursing.
"Stop fighting!" Jason said. "It's me!"
"My dragon!" Leo yelled. "You gotta save Festus!" Jason was already struggling to keep the three of them aloft, and Piper knew there was no way he could help a fifty-ton metal dragon. But before she could try to reason with Leo, she heard an explosion below them. A fireball rolled into the sky from behind a warehouse complex, and Leo sobbed, "Festus!"
Jason's face reddened with strain as he tried to maintain an air cushion beneath them, but intermittent slow-downs were the best he could manage. Rather than free-falling, it felt like they were bouncing down a giant staircase, a hundred feet at a time, which wasn't doing Piper's stomach any favors. As they wobbled and zigzagged, Piper could make out details of the factory complex below—warehouses, smokestacks, barbed-wire fences, and parking lots lined with snow-covered vehicles.
They were still high enough so that hitting the ground would flatten them into roadkill—or skykill —when Jason groaned, "I can't—" And they dropped like stones. They hit the roof of the largest warehouse and crashed through into darkness. Unfortunately, Piper tried to land on her feet. Her feet didn't like that. Pain flared in her left ankle as she crumpled against a cold metal surface. For a few seconds she wasn't conscious of anything but pain—pain so bad that her ears rang and her vision went red.
Then she heard Jason's voice somewhere below, echoing through the building. "Piper! Where's Piper?"
"Ow, bro!" Leo groaned. "That's my back! I'm not a sofa! Piper, where'd you go?"
"Here," she managed, her voice a whimper. She heard shuffling and grunting, then feet pounding on metal steps. Her vision began to clear. She was on a metal catwalk that ringed the warehouse interior. Leo and Jason had landed on ground level, and were now coming up the stairs toward her. She looked at her foot, and wave of nausea swept over her. Her toes weren't supposed to point that way, were they? Oh, god. She forced herself to look away before she threw up. Focus on something else. Anything else.
The hole they'd made in the roof was a ragged starburst twenty feet above. How they'd even survived that drop, she had no idea. Hanging from the ceiling, a few electric bulbs flickered dimly, but they didn't do much to light the enormous space. Next to Piper, the corrugated metal wall was emblazoned with a company logo, but it was almost completely spray-painted over with graffiti. Down in the shadowy warehouse, she could make out huge machines, robotic arms, half-finished trucks on an assembly line. The place looked like it had been abandoned for years.
Jason and Leo reached her side. Leo started to ask, "You okay … ?" Then he saw her foot. "Oh no, you're not."
"Thanks for the reassurance," Piper groaned. "You'll be fine," Jason said, though Piper could hear the worry in his voice. "Leo, you got any first aid supplies?"
"Yeah—yeah, sure." He dug around in his tool belt and pulled out a wad of gauze and a roll of duct tape—both of which seemed too big for the belt's pockets. Piper had noticed the tool belt yesterday morning, but she hadn't thought to ask Leo about it. It didn't look like anything special—just one of those wraparound leather aprons with a bunch of pockets, like a blacksmith or a carpenter might wear. And it seemed to be empty.
"How did you—" Piper tried to sit up, and winced. "How did pull that stuff from an empty belt?"
"Magic," Leo said. "Haven't figure it out completely, but I can summon just about any regular tool out of the pockets, plus some other helpful stuff." He reached into another pocket and pulled out a little tin box. "Breath mint?"
Jason snatched away the mints. "That's great, Leo. Now, can you fix her foot?"
"I'm a mechanic, man. Maybe if she was a car …" He snapped his fingers. "Wait, what was that godly healing stuff they fed you at camp—Rambo food?"
"Ambrosia, dummy," Piper said through gritted teeth. "There should be some in my bag, if it's not crushed." Jason carefully pulled her backpack off her shoulders. He rummaged through the supplies the Aphrodite kids had packed for her, and found a Ziploc full of smashed pastry squares like lemon bars. He broke off a piece and fed it to her. The taste was nothing like she expected. It reminded her of Dad's black bean soup from when she was a little girl. He used to feed it to her whenever she got sick. The memory relaxed her, though it made her sad. The pain in her ankle subsided.
"More," she said.
Jason frowned. "Piper, we shouldn't risk it. They said too much could burn you up. I think I should try to set your foot."
Piper's stomach fluttered. "Have you ever done that before?" "Yeah … I think so." Leo found an old piece of wood and broke it in half for a splint. Then he got the gauze and duct tape ready. "Hold her leg still," Jason told him. "Piper, this is going to hurt." When Jason set the foot, Piper flinched so hard she punched Leo in the arm, and he yelled almost as much as she did. When her vision cleared and she could breathe normally again, she found that her foot was pointing the right way, her ankle splinted with plywood, gauze, and duct tape.
"Ow," she said. "Jeez, beauty queen!" Leo rubbed his arm. "Glad my face wasn't there."
"Sorry," she said. "And don't call me 'beauty queen,' or I'll punch you again."
"You both did great." Jason found a canteen in Piper's pack and gave her some water. After a few minutes, her stomach began to calm down. Once she wasn't screaming in pain, she could hear the wind howling outside. Snowflakes fluttered through the hole in the roof, and after their meeting with Khione, snow was the last thing Piper wanted to see.
"What happened to the dragon?" she asked. "Where are we?"
Leo's expression turned sullen. "I don't know with Festus. He just jerked sideways like he hit an invisible wall and started to fall."
Piper began to rewind on what just happened, her mind locked onto the flaming figure falling away from them. She made a chocking sob that caught Jason's attention instantly. "Piper, what's wrong?"
She looked at Jason, her eyes tearing up, "Ash." Was all she whispered out.
Leo's eyes widened in shock, before locking around. "Where is he?" he asked.
Piper shook her head remorsefully, "I saw him fall away from us, in flames." she managed to whisper out. Leo hung his head, while Jason shot of upwards to see if they find any sign of him.
Leo pointed to the logo on the wall. "As far as where we are …" It was hard to see through the graffiti, but Piper could make out a large red eye with the stenciled words: monocle motors, assembly plant 1. "Closed car plant," Leo said. "I'm guessing we crashlanded in Detroit." Piper had heard about closed car plants in Detroit, so that made sense. But it seemed like a pretty depressing place to land.
"How far is that from Chicago?" Jason handed her the canteen. "Maybe three-fourths of the way from Quebec? The thing is, without the dragon, we're stuck traveling overland."
"No way," Leo said. "It isn't safe." Piper thought about the way the ground had pulled at her feet in the dream, and what King Boreas had said about the earth yielding up more horrors.
"He's right. Besides, I don't know if I can walk. And three people—Jason, you can't fly that many across country by yourself."
"No way," Jason said. "Leo, are you sure the dragon didn't malfunction? I mean, Festus is old, and—"
"And I might not have repaired him right?"
"I didn't say that," Jason protested. "It's just—maybe you could fix it."
"I don't know." Leo sounded crestfallen. He pulled a few screws out of his pockets and started fiddling with them. "I'd have to find where he landed, if he's even in one piece."
"It was my fault." Piper said without thinking. She just couldn't stand it anymore. The secret about her father was heating up inside her like too much ambrosia. If she kept lying to her friends, she felt like she'd burn to ashes.
"Piper," Jason said gently, "you were asleep when Festus conked out. It couldn't be your fault."
"Yeah, you're just shaken up," Leo agreed. He didn't even try to make a joke at her expense. "You're in pain. Just rest." She wanted to tell them everything, but the words stuck in her throat. They were both being so kind to her. Yet if Enceladus was watching her somehow, saying the wrong thing could get her father killed. Leo stood. "Look, um, Jason, why don't you stay with her, bro? I'll scout around for Festus, and try and find Ash. I think Festus fell outside the warehouse somewhere. If I can find him, maybe I can figure out what happened and fix him."
"It's too dangerous," Jason said. "You shouldn't go by yourself."
"Ah, I got duct tape and breath mints. I'll be fine," Leo said, a little too quickly, and Piper realized he was a lot more shaken up than he was letting on. "You guys just don't run off without me." Leo reached into his magic tool belt, pulled out a flashlight, and headed down the stairs, leaving Piper and Jason alone. Jason gave her a smile, though he looked kind of nervous. It was the exact expression he'd had on his face after he'd kissed her the first time, up on the Wilderness School dorm roof—that cute little scar on his lip curving into a crescent. The memory gave her a warm feeling. Then she remembered that the kiss had never really happened. "You look better," Jason offered. Piper wasn't sure if he meant her foot, or the fact that she wasn't magically beautified anymore.
Her jeans were tattered from the fall through the roof. Her boots were splattered with melted dirty snow. She didn't know what her face looked like, but probably horrible. Why did it matter? She'd never cared about things like that before. She wondered if it was her stupid mother, the goddess of love, messing with her thoughts. If Piper started getting urges to read fashion magazines, she was going to have to find Aphrodite and smack her. She decided to focus on her ankle instead. As long as she didn't move it, the pain wasn't bad. "You did a good job," she told Jason. "Where'd you learn first aid?"
He shrugged. "Same answer as always. I don't know." "But you're starting to have some memories, aren't you? Like that prophecy in Latin back at camp, or that dream about the wolf." "It's fuzzy," he said. "Like déjà vu. Ever forgotten a word or a name, and you know it should be on the tip of your tongue, but it isn't? It's like that—only with my whole life." Piper sort of knew what he meant. The last three months —a life she thought she'd had, a relationship with Jason—had turned out to be Mist.
She should've kept her mouth shut, but she voiced the question that had been on her mind since yesterday. "That photo in your pocket," she said. "Is that someone from your past?" Jason pulled back. "I'm sorry," she said. "None of my business. Forget it."
"No—it's okay." His features relaxed. "Just, I'm trying to figure things out. Her name's Thalia. She's my sister. I don't remember any details. I'm not even sure how I know, but—um, why are you smiling?"
"Nothing." Piper tried to kill the smile. Not an old girlfriend. She felt ridiculously happy. "Um, it's just—that's great you remembered. Annabeth told me she became a Hunter of Artemis, right?"
Jason nodded. "I get the feeling I'm supposed to find her. Hera left me that memory for a reason. It's got something to do with this quest. But … I also have the feeling it could be dangerous. I'm not sure I want to find out the truth. Is that crazy? "
"No," Piper said. "Not at all." She stared at the logo on the wall: monocle motors, the single red eye. Something about that logo bothered her. Maybe it was the idea Enceladus was watching her, holding her father for leverage. She had to save him, but how could she betray her friends?
"Jason," she said. "Speaking of the truth, I need to tell you something—something about my dad—" She didn't get the chance. Somewhere below, metal clanged against metal, like a door slamming shut. The sound echoed through the warehouse. Jason stood. He took out his coin and flipped it, snatching his golden sword out of the air. He peered over the railing.
"Leo?" he called. No answer. He crouched next to Piper. "I don't like this."
"He could be in trouble," Piper said. "Go check."
"I can't leave you alone."
"I'll be fine." She felt terrified, but she wasn't about to admit it. She drew her dagger Katoptris and tried to look confident. "Anyone gets close, I'll skewer them."
Jason hesitated. "I'll leave you the pack. If I'm not back in five minutes—"
"Panic?" she suggested. He managed a smile. "Glad you're back to normal. The makeup and the dress were a lot more intimidating than the dagger."
"Get going, Sparky, before I skewer you."
"Sparky?" Even offended, Jason looked hot. It wasn't fair. Then he made his way to the stairs and disappeared into the dark
Piper counted her breaths, trying to gauge how much time had passed. She lost track at around forty-three. Then something in the warehouse went bang! The echo died. Piper's heart pounded, but she didn't call out. Her instincts told her it might not be a good idea. She stared at her splinted ankle. It's not like I can run. Then she looked up again at the Monocle Motors sign. A little voice in her head pestered her, warning of danger. Something from Greek mythology … Her hand went to her backpack. She took out the ambrosia squares. Too much would burn her up, but would a little more fix her ankle? Boom. The sound was closer this time, directly below her. She dug out a whole square of ambrosia and stuffed it in her mouth. Her heart raced faster. Her skin felt feverish. Hesitantly, she flexed her ankle against the splint.
No pain, no stiffness at all. She cut through the duct tape with her dagger and heard heavy steps on the stairs—like metal boots. Had it been five minutes? Longer? The steps didn't sound like Jason, but maybe he was carrying Leo. Finally she couldn't stand it. Gripping her dagger, she called out,
"Jason?"
"Yeah," he said from the darkness. "On my way up." Definitely Jason's voice. So why did all her instincts say Run? With effort, she got to her feet. The steps came closer. "It's okay," Jason's voice promised. At the top of the stairs, a face appeared out of the darkness—a hideous black grin, a smashed nose, and a single bloodshot eye in the middle of his forehead.
"It's fine," the Cyclops said, in a perfect imitation of Jason's voice. "You're just in time for dinner."
Leo took a deep breath and peered inside. Nothing looked different. Gray morning light filtered through the hole in the roof. A few lightbulbs flickered, but most of the factory floor was still lost in shadows. He could make out the catwalk above, the dim shapes of heavy machinery along the assembly line, but no movement. No sign of his friends. He almost called out, but something stopped him—a sense he couldn't identify. Then he realized it was smell. Something smelled wrong—like burning motor oil and sour breath. Something not human was inside the factory. Leo was certain.
His body shifted into high gear, all his nerves tingling. Somewhere on the factory floor, Piper's voice cried out: "Leo, help!" But Leo held his tongue. How could Piper have gotten off the catwalk with her broken ankle? He slipped inside and ducked behind a cargo container. Slowly, gripping his hammer, he worked his way toward the center of the room, hiding behind boxes and hollow truck chassis. Finally he reached the assembly line. He crouched behind the nearest piece of machinery—a crane with a robotic arm.
Piper's voice called out again: "Leo?" Less certain this time, but very close.
He peeked around the edge of the corner, and was met face to face with a cyclops. "Hi!" it said, in a cheery sounding version of Pipers voice. He began to scramble back but was met with a hard club to the head. Everything went Black.
Piper woke to find herself suspended upside down above a fire. Three cyclopes were sat around it, one nursing the flame. She looked around to see Jason and Leo also suspended in the air, the cyclopes all eyeing them hungrily.
When Piper finally spoke, her tone was calm and reasonable, like she was correcting a naughty puppy. "Oh, Mr. Cyclops, you don't want to kill us. It would be much better if you let us go."
Loincloth scratched his ugly head. He turned to his friend in the fiberglass toga. "She's kind of pretty, Torque. Maybe I should let her go."
Torque, the dude in the toga, growled. "I saw her first, Sump. I'll let her go!" Sump and Torque started to argue, but the third Cyclops rose and shouted, "Fools!" Leo almost dropped his screwdriver. The third Cyclops was a female. She was several feet taller than Torque or Sump, and even beefier. She wore a tent of chain mail cut like one of those sack dresses Leo's mean Aunt Rosa used to wear. What'd they call that—a muumuu? Yeah, the Cyclops lady had a chain mail muumuu. Her greasy black hair was matted in pigtails, woven with copper wires and metal washers. Her nose and mouth were thick and smashed together, like she spent her free time ramming her face into walls; but her single red eye glittered with evil intelligence. The woman Cyclops stalked over to Sump and pushed him aside, knocking him over the conveyor belt. Torque backed up quickly.
"The girl is Venus spawn," the lady Cyclops snarled. "She's using charmspeak on you." Piper started to say,
"Please, ma'am—"
"Rarr!" The lady Cyclops grabbed Piper around the waist. "Don't try your pretty talk on me, girl! I'm Ma Gasket! I've eaten heroes tougher than you for lunch!" Piper feared he would get crushed, but Ma Gasket just dropped her and let her dangle from her chain. Then she started yelling at Sump about how stupid he was. Piper sighed, resigning herself to her fate. The other two were now awake, and did the same. Their quest had been going good until they had crash landed. Piper dreaded to think what had happened to Ash.
The last she had seen of him was freefalling towards a forest whilst he was engulfed in flames. He had probably died from the fall but believed the fire must have made it so much worse. She hardly even knew anything about him. If she could guess something he had had a previous encounter with the snow goddess, and had a resentment against the term moonchild.
She was pulled from he thoughts by the nasty lady cyclops standing up. "Right!" she belched, the other two turning to look at her. "Dinner!" She declared. The other lower cyclopes rushed around, and Piper's stomach dropped when he came back with a long knife and some tongs. He began walking over, and piper braced for death.
A high pitched whistling noise was made apparent for a brief second, and Piper opened her eyes to see the tip of a silver arrow protruding from the cyclops' neck. He made an awkward choking sound and dissolved to dust. All noise in the room halted, the fire no longer seemed to crackle. The other two cyclopes looked over to him.
"A fourth!" The lady cyclops belched. "They always take three!" she yelled in outrage. The other one, shouted and charged the newcomer, still hiding in the shadows. He met a gory end with an arrow going straight through his big eye. He screamed as he burnt up into dust. The lady cyclops, Ma Gasket, turned to run. As she did, the moon shining through the hole in the roof seemed to glow brighter, and the demigods watched as the moon's rays turned into a kind of rope, it ran into the darkness where the mystery cyclops killer was, and then lashed out around Ma Gasket's ankle, tugging sharply to get her to fall onto her face. She rolled over to look at the shadow man.
Slow, malevolent bootfalls sounded through the room. From the shadow, emerged Ash. Still alive, but, to Piper at least, look ready to keel over and die himself. His bow was now on his back, a long hunting knife in his hands. His jacket's right arm was torn, and it had taken the shirt under with it too. It was modestly muscled, but also covered in old scars, that seemed to run along it like a psychopaths' railway system. New cuts had been opened, blood dribbled out from cuts on his arm, and soaked through his jeans. His eyebrow was split, and it leaked blood over his black eye, the other silver one shining in the darkness.
He reached Ma Gasket, who was now trembling on the floor, and thrust the blade into her heart, watching her dissolve to power. He looked over to his questmates, took two shaky steps over, and collapsed, a pool of blood forming around him.