Leo's POV ~

Waking up to Jason and Piper almost falling off Festus, by getting scared from a flying boy, wasn't exactly how I wanted to wake up. They were freaking out swaying left to right, Wyatt decided to finally help them. Festus was really calm about this, I thought for sure he would have tried to attack Wyatt, but I guess he likes him or something. "Why are you guys in Quebec?" Wyatt asked. He sounded so calm about this.

Piper and Jason were catching their breath, "What is wrong with you!?" Piper screamed, which startled Festus, oh so a girl yelling scares him, but a boy popping out of nowhere is just normal? We're a lot alike. But once and awhile I'll flinch when the normal boy comes out of nowhere. Okay they finally forgave Wyatt and asked him what he was doing here, "I have to help you guys free Hera…I can't do everything, but I'll help you guys out." He said.

"Couldn't you wait until we landed to scare us? Not when we're three hundred feet in the air!?" Piper asked angrily. "I'm sorry, but I didn't know you guys would be up here. Hell I'm lucky I didn't fall straight down." Wyatt Said.

Piper sighed, "Anyway. We just have to go to that hotel, I think that's where Boreas is." I'm surprised by how much she knows. "Uh guys? We've got company!" Jason said. I looked below and saw what Jason meant. Rising from the top of the tower were two winged figures—angry angels, with nasty-looking swords.

Festus didn't like the angel guys. He swooped to a halt in midair, wings beating and talons bared, and made a rumbling sound in his throat that I recognized. He was getting ready to blow fire.

Wyatt was next to us, he looked clam and collected, so I said, "Steady, boy," Something tells me the angels would not take kindly to getting torched. "I don't like this," Jason said. "They look like storm spirits."

At first I thought he was right, but as the angels got closer, I could see they were much more solid than venti. They looked like regular teenagers except for their icy white hair and feathery purple wings. Their bronze swords were jagged, like icicles. Their faces looked similar enough that they might've been brothers, but they definitely weren't twins.

One was the size of an ox, with a bright red hockey jersey, baggy sweatpants, and black leather cleats. The guy clearly had been in too many fights, because both his eyes were black, and when he bared his teeth, several of them were missing.

The other guy looked like he'd just stepped off one of Leo's mom's 1980s rock album covers—Journey, maybe, or Hall & Oates, or something even lamer. His ice-white hair was long and feathered into a mullet. He wore pointy-toed leather shoes, designer pants that were way too tight, and a god-awful silk shirt with the top three buttons open. Maybe he thought he looked like a groovy love god, but the guy couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds, and he had a bad case of acne.

"Out of the way." Wyatt said.

The angels pulled up in front of the dragon and hovered there, swords at the ready.

The hockey ox grunted. "No clearance."

"Clearance?" Wyatt asked, the venti looked at him, "You have no flight plan on file," explained the groovy love god. On top of his other problems, he had a French accent so bad I was sure it was fake. "This is restricted airspace."

"Destroy them?" The ox showed off his gap-toothed grin. Wyatt lifted his hand, and the dragon began to hiss steam, ready to defend them. Jason summoned his golden sword, "Hold on!" I yelled, "Let's have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?"

Wyatt stopped and backed off. "I am Cal!" the ox grunted. He looked very proud of himself, like he'd taken a long time to memorize that sentence.

"That's short for Calais," the love god said. "Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables—"

"Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!" Cal offered.

"—which includes his own name," the love god finished.

"I am Cal," Cal repeated. "And this is Zethes! My brother!"

"Wow," I said. "That was almost three sentences, man! Way to go."

Cal grunted, obviously pleased with himself.

"Stupid buffoon," his brother grumbled. "They make fun of you. But no matter. I am Zethes, which is short for Zethes. And the lady there—" He winked at Piper, but the wink was more like a facial seizure. "She can call me anything she likes. Perhaps she would like to have dinner with a famous demigod before we must destroy you?"

Piper made a sound like gagging on a cough drop. "That's … a truly horrifying offer."

"It is no problem." Zethes wiggled his eyebrows. "We are a very romantic people, we Boreads."

"Famous demi-god? I don't think I've ever heard of you." Wyatt said smugly.

"Boreads?" Jason cut in before they could reply. "Do you mean, like, the sons of Boreas?"

"Ah, so you've heard of us!" Zethes turned his attention to Jason. "We are our father's gatekeepers. So you understand, we cannot have unauthorized people flying in his airspace on creaky dragons, scaring the silly mortal peoples."

"What about me? I'm not scaring anyone, plus I'm not a creaky dragon either." Wyatt asked. Zethes narrowed his eyes at Wyatt, "The rule applies to everything and everyone. No appointment, no entrance."

Wyatt sighed and looked at me, oh…I guess he wants me to figure something out? "But, unless this is an emergency landing," Zethes said, brushing his hair out of his acne-covered face, "we will have to destroy you painfully."

"Destroy!" Cal agreed, with a little more enthusiasm than I thought was necessary.

"Wait!" Piper said. "This is an emergency landing."

"Awww!" Cal looked so disappointed, I almost felt sorry for him.

Zethes studied Piper, which of course he'd already been doing. "How does the pretty girl decide this is an emergency, then?"

"We have to see Boreas. It's totally urgent! Please?" She forced a smile, which Leo figured must've been killing her; but she still had that blessing of Aphrodite thing going on, and she looked great. Something about her voice, too—Leo found himself believing every word. Jason was nodding, looking absolutely convinced.

Wyatt was studying Piper, like she was using some power he didn't have and trying to figure out what it is.

Zethes picked at his silk shirt, probably making sure it was still open wide enough. "Well … I hate to disappoint a lovely lady, but you see, my sister, she would have an avalanche if we allowed you—"

"And our dragon is malfunctioning!" Piper added. "It could crash any minute!"

Festus shuddered helpfully, then turned his head and spilled gunk out of his ear, splattering a black Mercedes in the parking lot below.

"No destroy?" Cal whimpered.

Zethes pondered the problem. Then he gave Piper another spasmodic wink. "Well, you are pretty. I mean, you're right. A malfunctioning dragon—this could be an emergency."

"Destroy them later?" Cal offered, which was probably as close to friendly as he ever got.

"It will take some explaining," Zethes decided. "Father has not been kind to visitors lately. But, yes. Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us."

The Boreads sheathed their swords and pulled smaller weapons from their belts—or at least I thought they were weapons. Then the Boreads switched them on, and I realized they were flashlights with orange cones, like the ones traffic controller guys use on a runway. Cal and Zethes turned and swooped toward the hotel's tower.

I turned to Jason and Piper, "I love these guys. Follow them?"

Wyatt looked interested in meeting Boreas, but Jason and Piper didn't look eager.

"I guess," Jason decided. "We're here now. But I wonder why Boreas hasn't been kind to visitors."

"Pfft, he just hasn't met us." I said and whistled. "Festus, after those flashlights!"

As they got closer, I was worried we'd crash into the tower. The Boreads made right for the green gabled peak and didn't slow down. Then a section of the slanted roof slid open, revealing an entrance easily wide enough for Festus. The top and bottom were lined with icicles like jagged teeth.

"This cannot be good," Jason muttered, but I spurred the dragon downward, and we swooped in after the Boreads. They landed in what must have been the penthouse suite; but the place had been hit by a flash freeze. The entry hall had vaulted ceilings forty feet high, huge draped windows, and lush oriental carpets. A staircase at the back of the room led up to another equally massive hall, and more corridors branched off to the left and right. But the ice made the room's beauty a little frightening. When I slid off the dragon, the carpet crunched under my feet. A fine layer of frost covered the furniture. The curtains didn't budge because they were frozen solid, and the ice-coated windows let in weird watery light from the sunset. Even the ceiling was furry with icicles. As for the stairs, I was sure I'd slip and break my neck if I tried to climb them.

"Guys," I said, "fix the thermostat in here, and I would totally move in."

"Not me." Jason looked uneasily at the staircase. "Something feels wrong. Something up there …"

Festus shuddered and snorted flames. Frost started to form on his scales.

"No, no, no." Zethes marched over, though how he could walk in those pointy leather shoes, I had no idea. "The dragon must be deactivated. We can't have fire in here. The heat ruins my hair."

Festus growled and spun his drill-bit teeth.

"'S'okay, boy." I turned to Zethes. "The dragon's a little touchy about the whole deactivation concept. But I've got a better solution."

"Destroy?" Cal suggested.

"No, man. You gotta stop with the destroy talk. Just wait." I told Cal.

"Leo," Piper said nervously, "what are you—"

"Watch and learn, beauty queen. When I was repairing Festus last night, I found all kinds of buttons. Some, you do not want to know what they do. But others … Ah, here we go." I said.

I hooked my fingers behind the dragon's left foreleg. I pulled a switch, and the dragon shuddered from head to toe. Everyone backed away as Festus folded like origami. His bronze plating stacked together. His neck and tail contracted into his body. His wings collapsed and his trunk compacted until he was a rectangular metal wedge the size of a suitcase.

I tried to lift it, but the thing weighed about six billion pounds. "Um … yeah. Hold on. I think—aha."

He pushed another button. A handle flipped up on the top, and wheels clicked out on the bottom.

"Ta-da!" I announced. "The world's heaviest carry-on bag!"

"That's impossible," Jason said. "Something that big couldn't—"

"Stop!" Zethes ordered. He and Cal both drew their swords and glared at me.

I raised my hands. "Okay … what'd I do? Stay calm, guys. If it bothers you that much, I don't have to take the dragon as carry-on—"

"Who are you?" Zethes shoved the point of his sword against my chest. "A child of the South Wind, spying on us?"

"What? No!" I said. "Son of Hephaestus. Friendly blacksmith, no harm to anyone!"

Cal growled. He put his face up to my face, and he definitely wasn't any prettier at point-blank, with his bruised eyes and bashed-in mouth. "Smell fire," he said. "Fire is bad."

"Oh." My heart raced. "Yeah, well … my clothes are kind of singed, and I've been working with oil, and—"

"No!" Zethes pushed me back at sword point. "We can smell fire, demigod. We assumed it was from the creaky dragon, but now the dragon is a suitcase. And I still smell fire … on you."

Wyatt came out of nowhere and grabbed Zethes sword, "Take it easy. It might be me you're smelling, look." Wyatt lifted up his hand and a fire ball appeared, "my power is all over the place, he's just a son of Hephaestus, he's harmless."

Zethes pulled his sword away from Wyatt's hand and backed away. "Put it out!" He ordered. Wyatt reluctantly put it out, "See? It isn't him, I'm the one with power to control fire."

Zethes looked past Wyatt and glared at me. "Then sadly, I think both of you will have to-

"No," Jason insisted. He sounded calm enough, but I think he was about two seconds away from flipping that coin and going into full gladiator mode. "Leo's just a son of Hephaestus. He's no threat. Piper here is a daughter of Aphrodite. I'm the son of Zeus. We're on a peaceful …"

Jason's voice faltered, because both Boreads had suddenly turned on him.

"What did you say?" Zethes demanded. "You are the son of Zeus?"

"Um … yeah," Jason said. "That's a good thing, right? My name is Jason."

Cal looked so surprised, he almost dropped his sword. "Can't be Jason," he said. "Doesn't look the same."

Zethes stepped forward and squinted at Jason's face. "No, he is not our Jason. Our Jason was more stylish. Not as much as me—but stylish. Besides, our Jason died millennia ago."

"Wait," Jason said. "Your Jason … you mean the original Jason? The Golden Fleece guy?"

"Of course," Zethes said. "We were his crewmates aboard his ship, the Argo, in the old times, when we were mortal demigods. Then we accepted immortality to serve our father, so I could look this good for all time, and my silly brother could enjoy pizza and hockey."

"Hockey!" Cal agreed.

"But Jason—our Jason—he died a mortal death," Zethes said. "You can't be him."

"I'm not," Jason agreed.

"So, destroy?" Cal asked. Clearly the conversation was giving his two brain cells a serious workout.

"No," Zethes said regretfully. "If he is a son of Zeus, he could be the one we've been watching for."

"Watching for?" I asked. "You mean like in a good way: you'll shower him with fabulous prizes? Or watching for like in a bad way: he's in trouble?"

A girl's voice said, "That depends on my father's will."

I looked up the staircase. My heart nearly stopped. At the top stood a girl in a white silk dress. Her skin was unnaturally pale, the color of snow, but her hair was a lush mane of black, and her eyes were coffee brown. She focused on me with no expression, no smile, no friendliness. But it didn't matter. I was in love. She was the most dazzling girl I'd ever seen.

Then she looked at Jason and Piper, and seemed to understand the situation immediately.

"Father will want to see the one called Jason," the girl said.

"Then it is him?" Zethes asked excitedly.

"We'll see," the girl said. "Zethes, bring our guests."

I grabbed the handle of the suit case the bronze dragon was in, before I could take a step, she froze me with a look. Not literally froze, but she might as well have.

"Not you, Leo Valdez," she said. I would have wondered how she knew my name if not for my mood dropping from being in love to depressed. She then looked at Wyatt, "The same applies to you, Wyatt Knight."

"Why not?" I probably sounded whiny kindergartner, but I couldn't help it. I want to be by her.

Wyatt smirked, "Who's going to stop me? You?"

With Wyatt here, all four of us could go and see Boreas, but she's right, fire and ice don't get along, "No one can stop you Wyatt, but this will take longer if me and you go along." I told Wyatt.

The pretty girl was studying Wyatt and me, "Calais, keep them here. Guard them, but do not kill them."

Cal pouted. "Just a little?"

"No," the girl insisted. "And take care of Leo Valdez's interesting suitcase, until Father passes judgment."

Wyatt did as I asked, which is kind of surprising, I thought he would have been a little mad at me for telling him what to do, "Alright, but I don't necessarily need to stay here, I can control my power."

We know you're strong Wyatt! "We don't need to cause them any trouble, plus the faster we get this done, the faster we'll get this quest done." Piper said. Wyatt Pondered this for a second. "Sorry for my manners, we'll wait here." Wyatt promised.

Finally...

I looked up at the pale girl again.

Jason and Piper went on, since Wyatt is with me, they probably thought this was the safest place for me.

When they left, Wyatt Sighed, "Maybe I should just look for Hera, instead of sitting here waiting for you guys." Wyatt Looked at Cal, like he wanted him to reply, good luck with that. Cal didn't say anything back, so Wyatt started floating on his back, "I can make things in here twice as cold, or I can freeze everything, but it won't get cold, time itself will stop."

I'm not sure he's kidding, I think he's actually thinking he should do this. "That a joke?" I asked.

Wyatt shrugged. Cal looked confused, I think he's trying to figure out what Wyatt means by that.

Wyatt smiled and winked, then he disappeared before my eyes, he didn't...

This will be all for today.

Thanks for reading!

Rilurz~