I don't own this. ENjoy
JASON WAS AFRAID THEY'D LOSE THEIR TARGET. The ventus moved like … well, like the wind.
"No dip. They are wind." Hermes said.
"Speed up!" he urged.
"Bro," Leo said, "if I get any closer, he'll spot us. Bronze dragon ain't exactly a stealth plane."
"Exactly." Hermes continued.
"Slow down!" Piper yelped.
The storm spirit dove into the grid of downtown streets. Festus tried to follow, but his wingspan was way too wide. His left wing clipped the edge of a building, slicing off a stone gargoyle before Leo pulled up.
"Get above the buildings," Jason suggested. "We'll track him from there."
"Good idea." Athena said.
"You want to drive this thing?" Leo grumbled, but he did what Jason asked.
After a few minutes, Jason spotted the storm spirit again, zipping through the streets with no apparent purpose—blowing over pedestrians, ruffling flags, making cars swerve.
"Is that why Chicago is called the windy city?" asked Frederick. "Because of all the wind spirits who like it there?"
Athena nodded. "That and because of the wind that blows off of the lake."
"Oh great," Piper said. "There're two."
She was right. A second ventus blasted around the corner of the Renaissance Hotel and linked up with the first. They wove together in a chaotic dance, shooting to the top of a skyscraper, bending a radio tower, and diving back down toward the street.
"Those guys do not need any more caffeine," Leo said.
"I guess Chicago's a good place to hang out," Piper said. "Nobody's going to question a couple more evil winds."
"Exactly why they like it there." Athena said.
"More than a couple," Jason said. "Look."
The dragon circled over a wide avenue next to a lake-side park. Storm spirits were converging—at least a dozen of them, whirling around a big public art installation.
"Don't get too close." Esperanza said.
"Which one do you think is Dylan?" Leo asked. "I wanna throw something at him."
Hermes and Apollo snickered.
But Jason focused on the art installation. The closer they got to it, the faster his heart beat. It was just a public fountain, but it was unpleasantly familiar. Two five-story monoliths rose from either end of a long granite reflecting pool. The monoliths seemed to be built of video screens, flashing the combined image of a giant face that spewed water into the pool.
Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it looked like a high-tech, super-size version of that ruined reflecting pool he'd seen in his dreams, with those two dark masses jutting from either end. As Jason watched, the image on the screens changed to a woman's face with her eyes closed.
Everyone shivered.
"Leo …" he said nervously.
"I see her," Leo said. "I don't like her,
"None of us like her." Hera muttered.
but I see her."
Then the screens went dark. The venti swirled together into a single funnel cloud and skittered across the fountain, kicking up a waterspout almost as high as the monoliths. They got to its center, popped off a drain cover, and disappeared underground.
The gods looked concerned. No air spirit would willingly go under ground.
"Did they just go down a drain?" Piper asked.
"Yes." Apollo said.
"How are we supposed to follow them?"
"Answer that question and you will be in pain." Artemis said after reading that part.
Apollo nodded hastily.
Artemis smirked behind the book. Sometimes it was nice to have a reputation as a man hating goddess.
"Maybe we shouldn't," Leo said. "That fountain thing is giving me seriously bad vibes. And aren't we supposed to, like, beware the earth?"
Jason felt the same way, but they had to follow. It was their only way forward. They had to find Hera, and they now had only two days until the solstice.
The mortals paled.
"Only two days?" asked Tristan. How on earth had they done it? Travel a bit more than half way across the country, save him and Hera, and defeat what sounds like two giants.
The gods nodded.
Tristan was mystified.
"Put us down in that park," he suggested. "We'll check it out on foot."
Festus landed in an open area between the lake and the skyline. The signs said Grant Park, and Jason imagined it would've been a nice place in the summer; but now it was a field of ice, snow,
Everyone frowned at the mention of the snow.
and salted walkways. The dragon's hot metal feet hissed as they touched down. Festus flapped his wings unhappily and shot fire into the sky, but there was no one around to notice. The wind coming off the lake was bitter cold. Anyone with sense would be inside. Jason's eyes stung so badly, he could barely see.
They dismounted, and Festus the dragon stomped his feet. One of his ruby eyes flickered, so it looked like he was blinking.
"That's not good." Esperanza said, frowning.
"Is that normal?" Jason asked.
Artemis glared at Apollo and Hermes.
Leo pulled a rubber mallet from his tool bag. He whacked the dragon's bad eye, and the light went back to normal. "Yes," Leo said. "Festus can't hang around here, though, in the middle of the park. They'll arrest him for loitering. Maybe if I had a dog whistle …"
"Dog whistles are not found in machine shops." Hephaestus said. "Unless you are making or fixing one. But that's rare." He finished when he saw Apollo open his mouth.
He rummaged in his tool belt, but came up with nothing.
"Too specialized?" he guessed. "Okay, give me a safety whistle.
"That on the other hand, they have a lot of." Hephaestus stated.
They got that in lots of machine shops."
This time, Leo pulled out a big plastic orange whistle. "Coach Hedge would be jealous! Okay, Festus, listen." Leo blew the whistle. The shrill sound probably rolled all the way across Lake Michigan. "You hear that, come find me, okay? Until then, you fly wherever you want. Just try not to barbecue any pedestrians."
The mortals looked nervous.
"He really wouldn't barbecue any pedestrians, right?" asked Tristan.
The gods shrugged.
The dragon snorted—hopefully in agreement. Then he spread his wings and launched into the air.
Piper took one step and winced. "Ah!"
Everyone looked confused.
"Her ankle." Apollo said. "The ambrosia must have worn off."
Tristan looked worried at the mention of his daughter's injury.
"Your ankle?" Jason felt bad he'd forgotten about her injury back in the Cyclops factory. "That nectar we gave you might be wearing off."
"It's fine." She shivered, and Jason remembered his promise to get her a new snowboarding coat. He hoped he lived long enough to find her one.
Zeus flinched. He had been trying not to act concerned, but actually he was fearful and worried to death about his son.
She took a few more steps with only a slight limp, but Jason could tell she was trying not to grimace.
"Let's get out of the wind," he suggested.
"Down a drain?" Piper shuddered.
Aphrodite made gagging noises.
Without pausing Artemis laid a hand on her arm and squeezed for a moment.
"Sounds cozy."
They wrapped themselves up as best they could and headed toward the fountain.
According to the plaque, it was called Crown Fountain. All the water had emptied out except for a few patches that were starting to freeze. It didn't seem right to Jason that the fountain would have water in it in the winter anyway. Then again, those big monitors had flashed the face of their mysterious enemy Dirt Woman.
The gods snickered.
Nothing about this place was right.
They stepped to the center of the pool. No spirits tried to stop them. The giant monitor walls stayed dark. The drain hole was easily big enough for a person, and a maintenance ladder led down into the gloom.
Jason went first. As he climbed, he braced himself for horrible sewer smells, but it wasn't that bad. The ladder dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry, with only a trickle of water on the floor.
Piper and Leo climbed down after him.
"Are all sewers this nice?" Piper wondered.
"No," Leo said.
Esperanza sniffled at the reminder.
"Trust me."
Jason frowned. "How do you know—"
"Hey, man, I ran away six times. I've slept in some weird places, okay? Now, which way do we go?"
Jason tilted his head, listening, then pointed south. "That way."
"How can you be sure?" Piper asked.
"There's a draft blowing south," Jason said. "Maybe the venti went with the flow."
Athena nodded. The roman has had surprisingly good ideas.
It wasn't much of a lead, but nobody offered anything better.
Unfortunately, as soon as they started walking, Piper stumbled. Jason had to catch her.
"Stupid ankle," she cursed.
"Let's rest," Jason decided. "We could all use it. We've been going nonstop for over a day. Leo, can you pull any food from that tool belt besides breath mints?"
"Thought you'd never ask. Chef Leo is on it!"
Hephaestus smiled sadly. He remembered this.
Piper and Jason sat on a brick ledge while Leo shuffled through his pack.
Jason was glad to rest. He was still tired and dizzy, and hungry, too. But mostly, he wasn't eager to face whatever lay ahead. He turned his gold coin in his fingers.
If you are to die, Hera had warned, it will be by her hand.
Zeus flinched again.
Whoever "her" was. After Khione, the Cyclops mother, and the weird sleeping lady, the last thing Jason needed was another psycho villainess in his life.
"It wasn't your fault," Piper said.
He looked at her blankly. "What?"
"Getting jumped by the Cyclopes," she said. "It wasn't your fault."
Beryl grimaced. That won't stop him from blaming himself.
He looked down at the coin in his palm. "I was stupid. I left you alone and walked into a trap. I should've known…"
He didn't finish. There were too many things he should have known—who he was, how to fight monsters, how Cyclopes lured their victims by mimicking voices and hiding in shadows and a hundred other tricks. All that information was supposed to be in his head.
Hera flinched. "It was necessary, Jason." She whispered.
He could feel the places it should be—like empty pockets. If Hera wanted him to succeed, why had she stolen the memories that could help him? She claimed his amnesia had kept him alive, but that made no sense. He was starting to understand why Annabeth had wanted to leave the goddess in her cage.
Hera winced.
"Hey." Piper nudged his arm. "Cut yourself some slack. Just because you're the son of Zeus doesn't mean you're a one-man army."
Apollo and Hermes snorted.
A few feet away, Leo lit a small cooking fire. He hummed as he pulled supplies out of his pack and his tool belt.
In the firelight, Piper's eyes seemed to dance. Jason had been studying them for days now, and he still couldn't decide what color they were.
"I know this must suck for you," he said. "Not just the quest, I mean. The way I appeared on the bus, the Mist messing with your mind, and making you think I was …you know."
Aphrodite winced. "Stupid Mist." She muttered.
She dropped her gaze. "Yeah, well. None of us asked for this. It's not your fault."
She tugged at the little braids on each side of her head. Again, Jason thought how glad he was that she'd lost the Aphrodite blessing. With the makeup and the dress and the perfect hair, she'd looked about twenty-five, glamorous, and completely out of his league. He'd never thought of beauty as a form of power, but that's the way Piper had seemed—powerful.
Aphrodite's smile was wide.
He liked regular Piper better—someone he could hang out with. But the weird thing was, he couldn't quite get that other image out of his head. It hadn't been an illusion. That side of Piper was there too. She just did her best to hide it.
"Back in the factory," Jason said, "you were you going to say something about your dad."
She traced her finger over the bricks, almost like she was writing out a scream she didn't want to vocalize. "Was I?"
"Just tell them Piper." Tristan said quietly.
"Piper," he said, "he's in some kind of trouble, isn't it?"
Over at the fire, Leo stirred some sizzling bell peppers and meat in a pan.
Esperanza looked mystified. "I don't even want to know." She said.
"Yeah, baby! Almost there."
Piper looked on the verge of tears.
Tristan looked a little miffed. "If he makes her cry . . ." He left the threat open.
"Jason … I can't talk about it."
"We're your friends. Let us help."
That seemed to make her feel worse. She took a shaky breath. "I wish I could, but—"
"And bingo!" Leo announced.
He came over with three plates stacked on his arms like a waiter. Jason had no idea where he'd gotten all the food, or how he'd put it together so fast, but it looked amazing: pepper and beef tacos with chips and salsa.
Athena raised an eyebrow. "I agree with Ms. Valdez here. I don't want to know."
"Leo," Piper said in amazement. "How did you—?"
"Chef Leo's Taco Garage is fixing you up!" he said proudly. "And by the way, it's tofu, not beef, beauty queen, so don't freak. Just dig in!"
Jason wasn't sure about tofu, but the tacos tasted as good as they smelled. While they ate, Leo tried to lighten the mood and joke around. Jason was grateful Leo was with them.
"If only Leo was here to hear that." Apollo said suddenly.
"Why is that?" asked Esperanza concerned.
"You'll see, I'm sure, if you continue reading his thoughts." Apollo waved away.
It made being with Piper a little less intense and uncomfortable. At the same time, he kind of wished he was alone with her; but he chided himself for feeling that way.
After Piper ate, Jason encouraged her to get some sleep. Without another word, she curled up and put her head in his lap. In two seconds she was snoring.
"So . . . Piper and Annabeth snore." Apollo said.
Frederick and Athena raised their eyebrows. "Do you want to explain how you know that?" Athena asked threatenly.
"Oh, yeah, I might've already read the first series and let me tell you, Percy is hilarious. Like for example, he thinks Mr. D looks like a cherub that turned middle aged in a trailer park." Apollo said, cheekily.
Mr. D sputtered, while the others laughed.
"And he thinks Hades is the most god like god he has met."
Hades smirked while his two brothers huffed.
"And the his father looks like a beach bum."
Now Zeus and Hades smirked while Poseidon sputtered.
"And Athena looks like Annabeth and we all know how that turned out."
Athena raised an eyebrow.
"And that Aphrodite looks like Annabeth as well."
Athena and Aphrodite beamed.
"And that Ares looks like a guy that would make pro wrestlers run for their mommies."
Ares smirked.
"And that Hermes looks like his kids. Trouble makers, the lot of them."
Hermes grinned mischievously.
"He thinks Artemis is beautiful." Apollo gritted that out. "And that I look like Luke."
Hermes grin dropped.
"And that Zeus looks like a businessman."
Zeus looked annoyed. "Apollo."
"And that-"
"APOLLO." Zeus yelled.
"Yes, father?" Apollo looked up.
"We have a book to finish." Zeus said.
"Oh, right." He turned to look across at his twin. "Anytime now sis."
Artemis huffed.
Jason looked up at Leo, who was obviously trying not to laugh.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking lemonade Leo had made from canteen water and powdered mix.
"Good, huh?" Leo grinned.
"You should start a stand," Jason said. "Make some serious coin."
Apollo and Hermes laughed.
But as he stared at the embers of the fire, something began to bother him. "Leo … about this fire stuff you can do … is it true?"
Leo's smile faltered. "Yeah, well …" He opened his hand. A small ball of flame burst to life, dancing across his palm.
The mortals gasped.
"That is so cool," Jason said. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Leo closed his hand and the fire went out. "Didn't want to look like a freak."
"I have lightning and wind powers," Jason reminded him. "Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMWs. You're no more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too. Like jump off a building and yell, 'Flame on!'"
Leo snorted. "If I did that, you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than 'Flame on!'
Everyone laughed.
Trust me, Hephaestus cabin doesn't see fire powers as cool. Nyssa told me they're super rare. When a demigod like me comes around, bad things happen. Really bad."
Esperanza looked sad.
"Maybe it's the other way around," Jason suggested. "Maybe people with special gifts show up when bad things are happening because that's when they're needed most."
Leo cleared away the plates. "Maybe. But I'm telling you … it's not always a gift."
Jason fell silent. "You're talking about your mom, aren't you? The night she died."
Esperanza made a silent choking sound.
Leo didn't answer. He didn't have to. The fact that he was quiet, not joking around—that told Jason enough.
"Leo, her death wasn't your fault. Whatever happened that night—it wasn't because you could summon fire. This Dirt Woman, whoever she is, has been trying to ruin you for years, mess up your confidence, take away everything you care about. She's trying to make you feel like a failure. You're not. You're important."
The gods winced. That's gotta hurt.
"That's what she said." Leo looked up, his eyes full of pain. "She said I was meant to do something important—something that would make or break that big prophecy about the seven demigods. That's what scares me. I don't know if I'm up to it."
Jason wanted to tell him everything would be all right, but it would've sounded fake. Jason didn't know what would happen. They were demigods, which meant sometimes things didn't end okay. Sometimes you got eaten by the Cyclops.
Hermes winced.
If you asked most kids, "Hey, you want to summon fire or lightning or magical makeup?" they'd think it sounded pretty cool. But those powers went along with hard stuff, like sitting in a sewer in the middle of winter, running from monsters, losing your memory, watching your friends almost get cooked, and having dreams that warned you of your own death.
Now everyone winced.
Leo poked at the remnants of his fire, turning over red-hot coals with his bare hand. "You ever wonder about the other four demigods? I mean … if we're three of the ones from the Great Prophecy, who are the others? Where are they?"
Jason had thought about it, all right, but he tried to push it out of his mind. He had a horrible suspicion that he would be expected to lead those other demigods, and he was afraid he would fail.
Athena snorted. "Yeah, that turned out so well."
Ares grinned remembering that. "I don't know. That was some wicked fighting."
The mortals looked fearful.
"Fighting?" Sally asked.
Ares turned toward her. "Yeah, Jason and the sea br-"
Poseidon coughed and looked at Ares pointedly.
Ares winced and gritted out sarcastically. "Percy get into a fight in book three. While they have a good friendship going, the get possessed and fight. Only one of the girls save them and I ain't telling you which one."
The mortals gasped.
"Are they alright?" Sally asked.
Ares shrugged. "They are fine."
He turned back to Artemis.
You'll tear each other apart, Boreas had promised.
Jason had been trained never to show fear. He was sure of that from his dream with the wolves. He was supposed to act confident, even if he didn't feel it. But Leo and Piper were depending on him, and he was terrified of failing them. If he had to lead a group of six—six who might not get along—that would be even worse.
The gods snorted.
"I don't know," he said at last. "I guess the other four will show up when the time is right. Who knows? Maybe they're on some other quest right now."
Leo grunted. "I bet their sewer is nicer than ours."
Esperanza smiled sadly.
The draft picked up, blowing toward the south end of the tunnel.
"Get some rest, Leo," Jason said. "I'll take first watch."
It was hard to measure time, but Jason figured his friends slept about four hours. Jason didn't mind. Now that he was resting, he didn't really feel the need for more sleep. He'd been conked out long enough on the dragon. Plus, he needed time to think about the quest, his sister Thalia, and Hera's warnings. He also didn't mind Piper's using him for a pillow. She had a cute way of breathing when she slept—inhaling through the nose, exhaling with a little puff through the mouth.
Tristan twitched.
He was almost disappointed when she woke up.
Finally they broke camp and started down the tunnel.
It twisted and turned and seemed to go on forever. Jason wasn't sure what to expect at the end—a dungeon, a mad scientist's lab, or maybe a sewer reservoir where all Porta-Potty sludge ends up, forming an evil toilet face large enough to swallow the world.
Apollo and Hermes tried to hold it in. They really did, but all of the sudden loud laughter burst from them, so infectious that everyone else joined in.
Instead, they found polished steel elevator doors, each one engraved with a cursive letter M. Next to the elevator was a directory, like for a department store.
"M for Macy's?" Piper guessed. "I think they have one in downtown Chicago."
Everyone sobered. "Not Macy's something worse. Much worse." Aphrodite murmured.
"Or Monocle Motors still?" Leo said. "Guys, read the directory. It's messed up."
Parking, Kennels, Main Entrance: Sewer Level
Furnishings and Café M: 1
Women's Fashion and Magical Appliances: 2
Men's Wear and Weaponry: 3
Cosmetics, Potions, Poisons & Sundries: 4
Everyone shuddered. That sounded horrible.
"Kennels for what?" Piper said. "And what kind of department store has its entrance in a sewer?"
"Or sells poisons," Leo said. "Man, what does 'sundries' even mean? Is that like underwear?"
Apollo and Hermes laughed again.
Jason took a deep breath. "When in doubt, start at the top."
The doors slid open on the fourth floor, and the scent of perfume wafted into the elevator. Jason stepped out first, sword ready.
"Guys," he said. "You've got to see this."
Piper joined him and caught her breath. "This is not Macy's."
The department store looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope. The entire ceiling was a stained glass mosaic with astrological signs around a giant sun. The daylight streaming through it washed everything in a thousand different colors. The upper floors made a ring of balconies around a huge central atrium, so they could see all the way down to the ground floor. Gold railings glittered so brightly, they were hard to look at.
"That sounds beautiful." Maria murmured.
Aside from the stained glass ceiling and the elevator, Jason couldn't see any other windows or doors, but two sets of glass escalators ran between the levels. The carpeting was a riot of oriental patterns and colors, and the racks of merchandise were just as bizarre. There was too much to take it at once, but Jason saw normal stuff like shirt racks and shoe trees mixed in with armored manikins, beds of nails, and fur coats that seemed to be moving.
"Now that sounds weird." Queen Marie said.
Leo stepped to the railing and looked down. "Check it out."
In the middle of the atrium a fountain sprayed water twenty feet into the air, changing color from red to yellow to blue. The pool glittered with gold coins, and on either side of the fountain stood a gilded cage—like an oversize canary cage.
Inside one, a miniature hurricane swirled, and lightning flashed. Somebody had imprisoned the storm spirits, and the cage shuddered as they tried to get out. In the other, frozen like a statue, was a short, buff satyr, holding a tree-branch club.
"Oh, I hope the satyr is okay." Sally muttered. She had a fondness for the satyrs after Grover had saved Percy's life so many times.
"Coach Hedge!" Piper said. "We've got to get down there."
A voice said, "May I help you find something?"
The gods growled.
All three of them jumped back.
A woman had just appeared in front of them. She wore an elegant black dress with diamond jewelry, and she looked like a retired fashion model—maybe fifty years old, though it was hard for Jason to judge. Her long dark hair swept over one shoulder, and her face was gorgeous in that surreal super-model way—thin and haughty and cold, not quite human. With their long red-painted nails, her fingers looked more like talons.
The mortals looked disturbed.
She smiled. "I'm so happy to see new customers. How may I help you?"
Leo glanced at Jason like, All yours.
"Um," Jason started, "is this your store?"
The woman nodded. "I found it abandoned, you know. I understand so many stores are, these days. I decided it would make the perfect place. I love collecting tasteful objects, helping people, and offering quality goods at a reasonable price. So this seemed a good … how do you say … first acquisition in this country."
She spoke with a pleasing accent, but Jason couldn't guess where from. Clearly she wasn't hostile, though. Jason started to relax. Her voice was rich and exotic. Jason wanted to hear more.
"What's happening to him? He should remember what Hera said, about that place being dangerous." Beryl said.
"He's being charmspoken. Him and Leo both." Aphrodite said distastefully.
Esperanza and Beryl gasped.
"What about Piper?" asked Tristan.
"She is a charmspeaker. It won't work on her." Aphrodite explained.
Tristan looked relieved.
"Lucky." Esperanza said softly.
"So you're new to America?" he asked.
"I am … new," the woman agreed. "I am the Princess of Colchis. My friends call me Your Highness. Now, what are you looking for?"
Jason had heard of rich foreigners buying American department stores. Of course most of the time they didn't sell poisons, living fur coats, storm spirits, or satyrs, but still—with a nice voice like that, the Princess of Colchis couldn't be all bad.
Beryl and Esperanza listened worriedly.
Piper poked him in the ribs. "Jason …"
"Um, right. Actually, Your Highness …" He pointed to the gilded cage on the first floor. "That's our friend down there, Gleeson Hedge. The satyr. Could we … have him back, please?"
"Of course!" the princess agreed immediately. "I would love to show you my inventory. First, may I know your names?"
Jason hesitated. It seemed like a bad idea to give out their names. A memory tugged at the back of his mind—something Hera had warned him about, but it seemed fuzzy.
"Listen to it." Beryl said desperately.
On the other hand, Her Highness was on the verge of cooperating. If they could get what they wanted without a fight, that would be better. Besides, this lady didn't seem like an enemy.
"No." Beryl said.
Piper started to say, "Jason, I wouldn't—"
"This is Piper," he said. "This is Leo. I'm Jason."
The princess fixed her eyes on him and, just for a moment, her face literally glowed, blazing with so much anger, Jason could see her skull beneath her skin. Jason's mind was getting blurrier, but he knew something didn't seem right. Then the moment passed, and Her Highness looked like a normal elegant woman again, with a cordial smile and a soothing voice.
The mortals gasped.
Queen Marie looked queasy. "This is in 2011 right?" She asked.
Athena nodded.
"And Hazel is 13?" She continued.
Hades looked thoughtful. He knew where she was going with this. "Hazel won't be like that. The mortal was brought back by the earth mother. Hazel was brought back by Nico. A true son of Hades. She will be just like she was before. No added things."
Queen Marie looked happy. She turned to Maria. "Thank you." She said.
Maria looked confused and nodded after a moment.
Artemis started reading again.
"Jason. What an interesting name," she said, her eyes as cold as the Chicago wind. "I think we'll have to make a special deal for you. Come, children. Let's go shopping."
"Done." Artemis said. She tossed the book to Apollo. "Your turn."
Apollo deftly caught the book. "Chapter 27 Piper."
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