The central section of Aeolus's fortress was as big as a cathedral, with a soaring domed roof covered in silver. Television equipment floated randomly through the air —cameras, spotlights, set pieces, potted plants. And there was no floor. Leo almost fell into the chasm before Jason pulled him back.

"Holy—!" Leo gulped. "Hey, Mellie. A little warning next time!"

"Contrary to what you may think, humans do take fall damage." Valen said dryly.

An enormous circular pit plunged into the heart of the mountain. It was probably half a mile deep, honeycombed with caves. Some of the tunnels probably led straight outside. Other caves were sealed with some glistening material like glass or wax. The whole cavern bustled with harpies, aurai, and paper airplanes, but for someone who couldn't fly, it would be a very long, very fatal fall.

"Oh, my," Mellie gasped. "I'm so sorry." She unclipped a walkie-talkie from somewhere inside her robes and spoke into it: "Hello, sets? Is that Nuggets? Hi, Nuggets. Could we get a floor in the main studio, please? Yes, a solid one. Thanks."

A few seconds later, an army of harpies rose from the pit —three dozen or so demon chicken ladies, all carrying squares of various building material. They went to work hammering and gluing—and using large quantities of duct tape. In no time there was a makeshift floor snaking out over the chasm. It was made of plywood, marble blocks, carpet squares, wedges of grass sod —just about anything.

"That can't be safe," Jason said.

"Oh, it is!" Mellie assured him. "The harpies are very good. "

Valen sighed, testing the floor for himself, before indicating the others to follow him. Piper gripped Jason's hand as they stepped onto it. "If I fall, you're catching me."

"Uh, sure." Jason said, his face red.

Leo stepped out next. "You're catching me, too, Superman. But I ain't holding your hand."

Mellie led them toward the middle of the chamber, where a loose sphere of flat-panel video screens floated around a kind of control center.

A man hovered inside, checking monitors and reading paper airplane messages. The man paid them no attention as Mellie brought them forward. She pushed a forty-two-inch Sony out of their way and led them into the control area.

Leo whistled. "I got to get a room like this."

The floating screens showed all sorts of television programs. News broadcasts, mostly —but some programs looked a little strange: gladiators fighting, demigods battling monsters.

Valen raised an eyebrow, Does he keep an eye on every demigod?

At the far end of the sphere was a silky blue backdrop like a cinema screen, with cameras and studio lights floating around it. The man in the center was talking into an earpiece phone. He had a remote control in each hand and was pointing them at various screens, seemingly at random.

He wore a business suit that looked like the sky—blue mostly, but dappled with clouds that changed and darkened and moved across the fabric. He looked like he was in his sixties, with a shock of white hair, but he had a ton of stage makeup on, and that smooth plastic-surgery look to his face, so he appeared not really young, not really old, just wrong—like a Ken doll someone had halfway melted in a microwave.

His eyes darted back and forth from screen to screen, like he was trying to absorb everything at once. He muttered things into his phone, and his mouth kept twitching. He was either amused, or crazy, or both.

Mellie floated toward him. "Ah, sir, Mr. Aeolus, these demigods—"

"Hold it!" He held up a hand to silence her, then pointed at one of the screens. "Watch!"

It was one of those storm-chaser programs, where insane thrill-seekers drive after tornados. As they watched, a Jeep plowed straight into a funnel cloud and got tossed into the sky.

Aeolus shrieked with delight. "The Disaster Channel. People do that on purpose!"

He turned toward Jason with a mad grin. "Isn't that amazing? Let's watch it again."

"Um, sir," Mellie said, "this is Jason, son of—"

"Yes, yes, I remember." Aeolus said. "You're back. How did it go?"

Jason hesitated. "Sorry? I think you've mistaken me—"

"No, no, Jason Grace, aren't you? It was—what—last year? You were on your way to fight a sea monster, I believe."

"I—I don't remember."

Aelous laughed. "Must not have been a very good sea monster! No, I remember every hero who's ever come to me for aid. Odysseus—gods, he docked at my island for a month! At least you only stayed a few days. Now, watch this video. These ducks get sucked straight into—"

"Sir." Mellie interrupted. "Two minutes to air."

"Air!" Aeolus exclaimed. "I love air. How do I look? Makeup!"

Immediately, a small tornado of brushes, blotters, and cotton balls descended on Aeolus. They blurred across his face in a cloud of flesh-tone smoke until his coloration was even more gruesome than before. Wind swirled through his hair and left it sticking up like a frosted Christmas tree.

"Mr. Aeolus." Jason slipped off the golden backpack. "We brought you these rogue storm spirits."

"Did you!" Aeolus looked at the bag like it was a gift from a fan—something he really didn't want. "Well, how nice."

Leo nudged him, and Jason offered the bag. "Boreas sent us to capture them for you. We hope you'll accept them and stop—you know—ordering demigods to be killed."

Aeolus laughed, and looked incredulously at Mellie. "Demigods be killed—did I order that?"

Mellie checked her computer tablet. "Yes, sir, fifteenth of September. 'Storm spirits released by the death of Typhon, demigods to be held responsible,' etc…yes, a general order for them all to be killed."

"Oh, pish." Aeolus said. "I was just grumpy. Rescind that order, Mellie, and um, who's on guard duty—Teriyaki?—Teri, take these storm spirits down to cell block Fourteen E, will you?"

"A harpy named Teriyaki?" Valen muttered. "How ironic."

Leo chuckled silently beside him, "I know right?"

A harpy swooped out of nowhere, snatched the golden bag, and spiraled into the abyss. Aeolus grinned at Jason. "Now, sorry about that kill-onsight business. But gods, I really was mad, wasn't I?"

His face suddenly darkened, and his suit did the same, the lapels flashing with lightning. "You know … I remember now. Almost seemed like a voice was telling me to give that order. A little cold tingle on the back of my neck."

Jason tensed. A cold tingle on the back of his neck … Why did that sound so familiar? "A…um, voice in your head, sir?"

"Yes. How odd. Mellie, should we kill them?"

"No, sir," she said patiently. "They just brought us the stormspirits, which makes everything all right."

"Of course." Aeolus laughed. "Sorry. Mellie, let's send the demigods something nice. A box of chocolates, perhaps."

"A box of chocolates to every demigod in the world, sir?"

"No, too expensive. Never mind. Wait, it's time! I'm on!"

Aeolus flew off toward the blue screen as newscast music started to play.

They shared a glance with each other, and Valen made a move to summon his sword.

"Mellie," he said, "is he…always like that?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Well, you know what they say. If you don't like his mood, wait five minutes. That expression 'whichever way the wind blows'—that was based on him."

"And that thing about the sea monster," Jason said. "Was I here before?"

Mellie blushed. "I'm sorry, I don't remember. I'm Mr. Aeolus's new assistant. I've been with him longer than most, but still—not that long."

"How long do his assistants usually last?" Piper asked.

"Oh…" Mellie thought for a moment. "I've been doing this for…twelve hours?"

A voice blared from floating speakers: "And now, weather every twelve minutes! Here's your forecaster for Olympian Weather—the OW! channel—Aeolus!"

Lights blazed on Aeolus, who was now standing in front of the blue screen. His smile was unnaturally white, and he looked like he'd had so much caffeine his face was about to explode.

"Hello, Olympus! Aeolus, master of the winds here, with weather every twelve! We'll have a low-pressure system moving over Florida today, so expect milder temperatures since Demeter wishes to spare the citrus farmers!"

He gestured at the blue screen, but when Jason checked the monitors, he saw that a digital image was being projected behind Aeolus, so it looked like he was standing in front of a U.S. map with animated smiley suns and frowny storm clouds. "Along the eastern seaboard—oh, hold on."

He tapped his earpiece. "Sorry, folks! Poseidon is angry with Miami today, so it looks like that Florida freeze is back on! Sorry, Demeter. Over in the Midwest, I'm not sure what St. Louis did to offend Zeus, but you can expect winter storms! Boreas himself is being called down to punish the area with ice. Bad news, Missouri! No, wait. Hephaestus feels sorry for central Missouri, so you all will have much more moderate temperatures and sunny skies."

Aeolus kept going like that—forecasting each area of the country and changing his prediction two or three times as he got messages over his earpiece—the gods apparently putting in orders for various winds and weather.

"This can't be right." Jason whispered. "Weather isn't this random."

Mellie smirked. "And how often are the mortal weathermen right? They talk about fronts and air pressure and moisture, but the weather surprises them all the time. At least Aeolus tells us why it's so unpredictable. Very hard job, trying to appease all the gods at once. It's enough to drive anyone …"

Great, a mad god. That's all we need right now. Valen grumbled mentally, glaring down at his tattoo, Can you stop leaving me on read and actually reply?

The tattoo glowed, and Valen could swear he heard someone whisper 'control' into his ear. He whipped his head around, but there was no one there.

I can't learn to control anything if I'm dead!

"And that's the weather." Aeolus concluded. "See you in twelve minutes, because I'm sure it'll change!"

The lights shut off, the video monitors went back to random coverage, and just for a moment, Aeolus's face sagged with weariness. Then he seemed to remember he had guests, and he put a smile back on.

"So, you brought me some rogue storm spirits," Aeolus said. "I suppose…thanks! And did you want something else? I assume so. Demigods always do."

Mellie said, "Um, sir, this is Zeus's son."

"Yes, yes. I know that. I said I remembered him from before."

"But, sir, they're here from Olympus."

Aeolus looked stunned. Then he laughed so abruptly, Jason almost jumped into the chasm. "You mean you're here on behalf of your father this time? Finally! I knew they would send someone to renegotiate my contract!"

"Um, what?" Jason asked.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Aeolus sighed with relief. "It's been what, three thousand years since Zeus made me master of the winds. Not that I'm ungrateful, of course! But really, my contract is so vague. Obviously I'm immortal, but 'master of the winds.' What does that mean? Am I a nature spirit? A demigod? A god? I want to be god of the winds, because the benefits are so much better. Can we start with that?"

"Dude," Leo said, "you think we're here to promote you?"

"You are, then?" Aeolus grinned. His business suit turned completely blue—not a cloud in the fabric. "Marvelous! I mean, I think I've shown quite a bit of initiative with the weather channel, eh? And of course I'm in the press all the time. So many books have been written about me: Into Thin Air, Up in the Air, Gone with the Wind—"

"Er, I don't think those are about you." Jason said, before he noticed Mellie shaking her head.

"Nonsense." Aeolus said. "Mellie, they're biographies of me, aren't they?"

"Absolutely, sir," she squeaked. "There, you see? I don't read. Who has time? But obviously the mortals love me. So, we'll change my official title to god of the winds. Then, about salary and staff—"

"Sir," Jason said, "we're not from Olympus."

Aeolus blinked. "But—"

"I'm the son of Zeus, yes," Jason said, "but we're not here to negotiate your contract. We're on a quest and we need your help."

Aeolus's expression hardened. "Like last time? Like every hero who comes here? Demigods! It's always about you, isn't it?"

"Sir, please, I don't remember last time, but if you helped me once before—"

"I'm always helping! Well, sometimes I'm destroying, but mostly I'm helping, and sometimes I'm asked to do both at the same time! Why, Aeneas, the first of your kind—"

A chill ran down Valen's spine. Aeneas, the first Roman demigod. That confirms it, there is a Roman pantheon out there.

"My kind?" Jason asked. "You mean, demigods?"

"Oh, please!" Aeolus said. "I mean your line of demigods. You know, Aeneas, son of Venus—the only surviving hero of Troy. When the Greeks burned down his city, he escaped to Italy, where he founded the kingdom that would eventually become Rome, blah, blah, blah. That's what I meant."

"I don't get it," Jason admitted.

Aeolus rolled his eyes. "The point being, I was thrown in the middle of that conflict, too! Juno calls up: 'Oh, Aeolus, destroy Aeneas's ships for me. I don't like him.' Then Neptune says, 'No, you don't! That's my territory. Calm the winds.' Then Juno is like, 'No, wreck his ships, or I'll tell Jupiter you're uncooperative!' Do you think it's easy juggling requests like that?"

"No," Jason said. "I guess not."

"And don't get me started on Amelia Earhart! I'm still getting angry calls from Olympus about knocking her out of the sky!"

"We just want information," Piper said in her most calming voice. "We hear you know everything."

Aeolus straightened his lapels and looked slightly mollified. "Well…that's true, of course. For instance, I know that this business here"—he waggled his fingers at the three of them—"this harebrained scheme of Juno's to bring you all together is likely to end in bloodshed. As for you, Piper McLean, I know your father is in serious trouble." He held out his hand, and a scrap of paper fluttered into his grasp. It was a photo of Piper with a guy who must've been her dad.

Piper took the photo. Her hands were shaking. "This—this is from his wallet."

"Yes," Aeolus said. "All things lost in the wind eventually come to me. The photo blew away when the Earthborn captured him."

"The what?" Piper asked.

Aeolus waved aside the question and narrowed his eyes at Leo. "Now, you, son of Hephaestus…yes, I see your future." Another paper fell into the wind god's hands—an old tattered drawing done in crayons. Leo took it as if it might be coated in poison. He staggered backward.

"Leo?" Jason said. "What is it?"

"Something I—I drew when I was a kid." He folded it quickly and put it in his coat. "It's…yeah, it's nothing."

Aeolus laughed. "Really? Just the key to your success! Now, where were we? Ah, yes, you wanted information. Are you sure about that? Sometimes information can be dangerous."

"Yeah," Jason said. "We need to find the lair of Enceladus."

Aeolus's smile melted. "The giant? Why would you want to go there? He's horrible! He doesn't even watch my program!"

Piper held up the photo. "Aeolus, he's got my father. We need to rescue him and find out where Hera is being held captive."

"Now, that's impossible," Aeolus said. "Even I can't see that, and believe me, I've tried. There's a veil of magic over Hera's location—very strong, impossible to locate."

"She's at a place called the Wolf House," Jason said.

"Hold on!" Aelous put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. "I'm getting something! Yes, she's at a place called the Wolf House! Sadly, I don't know where that is."

"Enceladus does," Piper persisted. "If you help us find him, we could get the location of the goddess—"

"Yeah," Leo said, catching on. "And if we save her, she'd be really grateful to you—"

"And Zeus might promote you," Jason finished.

"We'll be sure to tell him just how helpful you were," Valen said. "Or unhelpful, your choice."

Aeolus's eyebrows crept up. "A promotion—and all you want from me is the giant's location?"

"Well, if you could get us there, too," Jason amended, "that would be great."

Mellie clapped her hands in excitement. "Oh, he could do that! He often sends helpful winds—"

"Mellie, quiet!" Aeolus snapped. "I have half a mind to fire you for letting these people in under false pretenses."

Her face paled. "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

"It wasn't her fault," Jason said. "But about that help …"

Aelous tilted his head, listening in from his earpiece. "Well… Zeus approves," Aeolus muttered. "He says…he says it would be better if you could avoid saving her until after the weekend, because he has a big party planned—Ow! That's Aphrodite yelling at him, reminding him that the solstice starts at dawn. She says I should help you. And Hephaestus…yes. Hmm. Very rare they agree on anything. Even Hades agrees to it, er he sends his regards to you? Hold on…"

Coach Hedge waddled in from the lobby, grass all over his face. Mellie saw him coming across the makeshift floor and caught her breath. "Who is that?"

Jason stifled a cough. "That? That's just Coach Hedge. Uh, Gleeson Hedge. He's our …" Jason wasn't sure what to call him: teacher, friend, problem?

"Our guide."

"He's so goatly," Mellie murmured.

"I'm gonna puke," Valen deadpanned at her.

"What's up, guys?" Hedge trotted over. "Wow, nice place. Oh! Sod squares."

"Coach, you just ate," Jason said. "And we're using the sod as a floor. This is, ah, Mellie—"

"An aura." Hedge smiled winningly. "Beautiful as a summer breeze."

Mellie blushed.

"And Aeolus here was just about to help us," Jason said.

"Yes," the wind lord muttered. "It seems so. You'll find Enceladus on Mount Diablo."

"Devil Mountain?" Leo asked. "That doesn't sound good."

"I remember that place!" Piper said. "I went there once with my dad. It's just east of San Francisco Bay."

"The Bay Area again?" The coach shook his head. "Not good. Not good at all."

"Now …" Aeolus began to smile. "As to getting you there—"

Suddenly, his face went slack. He bent over and tapped his earpiece as if it were malfunctioning. When he straightened again, his eyes were wild. Despite the makeup, he looked like an old man—an old, very frightened man. "She hasn't spoke to me for centuries. I can't—yes, yes I understand."

He swallowed, regarding Jason as if he had suddenly turned into a giant cockroach. "I'm sorry, son of Jupiter. New orders. You all have to die."

Gaea, Valen realized. He wasn't going to let that happen.

"Hold it!" he demanded, striding forward, his arm held high. "As the Dominant of Erebus, I absolve Gaea's orders." His tattoo showered the room with purple light, the primordial was listening and he agreed.

Then, the entire area went dark. The skies above blotched in inky blackness, with no stars, nor moon to light it up.

"Infringe upon my demands and you shall face the wrath of the unknown." 'Valen' said, a trail of shadows concealing his body. His eyes held an incomprehensible oldness in them, they had gone from electric blue to ominous purple.

Aeolus gulped, and bowed his head to him, "I'm terribly sorry, but if she is waking—by all the gods— she cannot be denied." Aeolus flicked his wrist, and far below them, a cell door opened in the pit.

"You understand what that means, don't you?" 'Valen' said.

Aeolus nodded silently.

"Very well." He walked away, the wreath of shadows leaving him, and his eyes returned to normal. Strangely, the darkness that blanketed Aeolus' castle didn't disappear.

Jason summoned his sword. Coach Hedge pulled out his club. Mellie the aura yelled, "No!"

She dived at their feet just as the storm spirits hit with hurricane force, blasting the floor to pieces, shredding the carpet samples and marble and linoleum into what should've been lethal projectiles, had Mellie's robes not spread out like a shield and absorbed the brunt of the impact. The five of them fell into the pit.

"Quick," Mellie yelled. "Son of Zeus, do you have any power over the air?"

"We both do." Valen said, now returned to normal. The others looked at him with varying degrees of fear and wariness. He rolled his eyes. "We'll talk about it later, now focus on saving our lives!"

Mellie nodded, "Help me, or you're all going to die!"

Mellie grabbed their hands, and an electric charge went through their arms. They understood what she needed. They had to control their fall and head for one of the open tunnels. The storm spirits were following them down, closing rapidly, bringing with them a cloud of deadly shrapnel.

"Group hug!" Jason yelled.

Jason grabbed Pipers hand, and Valen grabbed Leos. Hedge grabbed Piper and Leos vacant hands.

"This is NOT GOOD!" Leo yelled.

"Bring it on, gas bags!" Hedge yelled up at the stormspirits. "I'll pulverize you!"

"He's magnificent," Mellie sighed.

"Concentrate?" Jason prompted.

"Right!" she said.

They channeled the wind so their fall became more of a tumble into the nearest open chute. Still, they slammed into the tunnel at painful speed and went rolling over each other down a steep vent that was not designed for people. There was no way they could stop. Mellie's robes billowed around her. Valen and the others clung to her desperately, and they began to slow down, but the storm spirits were screaming into the tunnel behind them

"Can't—hold—long," Mellie warned. "Stay together! When the winds hit—"

"You're doing great, Mellie," Hedge said. "My own mama was an aura, you know. She couldn't have done better herself."

"Iris-message me?" Mellie pleaded.

Hedge winked.

"Flirt later maybe?" Valen suggested, "Just a thought."

Piper screamed. "Look!"

Behind them, the tunnel was turning dark.

Their ears popped as the pressure built.

"Can't hold them," Mellie warned. "But I'll try to shield you, do you one more favor."

"Thanks, Mellie," Jason said. "I hope you get a new job."

She smiled, and then dissolved, wrapping them in a warm gentle breeze. Then the real winds hit, shooting them into the sky so fast, Valen blacked out

.

.

.

He woke up in a cafe of all places, completely disoriented by the fall. He took a moment to gather his bearings, and sighed.

'So, you haven't found love yet have you?' Aphrodites voice echoed in his head.

Can the whole love business wait until after the war? Preferably never?

He heard her giggle as her voice grew fainer and fainter. He sighed again, and looked down at himself. He was wearing a black coat with a blood red shirt underneath. Thin gold chains wrapped around his wrists loosely as some sort of bracelets, and one hung from his belt, goung around one of the black trousers legs before ending at the belt once again. A gold and purple brooch was pinned to his left breast pocket, made in the likeliness of the symbol of the house of Hades. Along with that, his wreath was back, but more modernized and without its function of warning him. To complete the outfit, Aphrodite had seen it fit to equip him with black-red bichromatic leather gloves.

Normally I'd be annoyed at the unprompted outfit change, but this actually looks good for some reason. Could do without the gold chains though.

He looked up, the others had gotten the same treatment. That was when Piper woke up and gasped loudly, looking at her new attire.

"Mother!"

Jason flinched, bumping the table with his knees, and then everyone else was awake.

"What?" Hedge demanded. "Fight who? Where?"

"Falling!" Leo grabbed the table. "No—not falling. Where are we?"

Jason blinked, trying to get his bearings. He focused on Piper and made a little choking sound. "What are you wearing?"

Piper blushed. She was wearing a turquoise dress, with black leggings and black leather boots. She had on a silver charm bracelet, and a snowboarding jacket. She pulled out her dagger and looked at her reflection.

"It's nothing," she said. "It's my—" she faltered. "It's nothing."

Leo grinned. "Aphrodite strikes again, huh? You're gonna be the best-dressed warrior in town, beauty queen."

"Hey, Leo." Jason nudged his arm. "You look at yourself recently?"

"What … oh."

Leo was wearing pinstriped pants, black leather shoes, a white collarless shirt with suspenders, and his tool belt, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and a porkpie hat.

"God, Leo." Piper tried not to laugh. "I think my dad wore that to his last premiere, minus the tool belt."

"Hey, shut up!" "I think he looks good," said Coach Hedge. "'Course, I look better."

The satyr was a pastel nightmare. Aphrodite had given him a baggy canary yellow zoot suit with two-tone shoes that fit over his hooves. He had a matching yellow broad-brimmed hat, a rose-colored shirt, a baby blue tie, and a blue carnation in his lapel, which Hedge sniffed and then ate.

"Not going to lie, she got my fashion sense down perfectly," Valen said, "Which oddly makes sense for a goddess of love."

"Well," Jason said, "at least your mom overlooked me."

Jason was dressed simply in jeans and a clean purple T-shirt. He had new track shoes on, and his hair was newly trimmed.

"Anyway," she said uncomfortably, "how did we get here?"

"Oh, that would be Mellie," Hedge said, chewing happily on his carnation. "Those winds shot us halfway across the country, I'd guess. We would've been smashed flat on impact, but Mellie's last gift—a nice soft breeze—cushioned our fall."

"And she got fired for us," Leo said. "Man, we suck."

"Ah, she'll be fine," Hedge said. "Besides, she couldn't help herself. I've got that effect on nymphs. I'll send her a message when we're through with this quest and help her figure something out. That is one aura I could settle down with and raise a herd of baby goats."

"Jason," Valen said with a perfectly neutral tone.

"Yeah?"

"Could you please run me through with your sword?"

Jason only chuckled in response.

"I'm going to be sick," Piper said. "Anyone else want coffee?"

"Coffee!" Hedge's grin was stained blue from the flower. "I love coffee!"

"That's probably the only thing we agree on," Valen said, nodding.

"Um," Jason said, "but—money? Our packs?"

"I got that covered, the money that is." Valen said, bringing out his card, "Being the son of the lord of the riches has its perks."

Piper looked down. Their packs were at their feet, and everything seemed to still be there.

"Waitress!" Hedge called. "Six double espressos, and whatever these guys want. Put it on the emo guys tab."

"..." Valen stared at him, "I'm tempted to not pay for it anymore."

It didn't take them long to figure out where they were. The menus said "Café Verve, Walnut Creek, CA." And according to the waitress, it was 9 a.m. on December 21, the winter solstice, which gave them three hours until Enceladus's deadline.

They didn't have to wonder where Mount Diablo was, either. They could see it on the horizon, right at the end of the street. After the Rockies, Mount Diablo didn't look very large, nor was it covered in snow. It seemed downright peaceful, its golden creases marbled with gray-green trees. But size was deceptive with mountains.

Leo pulled something out of his pocket—the old crayon drawing Aeolus had given him.

"What is that?" Piper asked.

Leo folded it up gingerly again and put it away. "Nothing. You don't want to see my kindergarten artwork."

"It's more than that," Jason guessed. "Aeolus said it was the key to our success."

Leo shook his head. "Not today. He was talking about…later."

"How can you be sure?" Piper asked.

"Trust me," Leo said. "Now—what's our game plan?"

Coach Hedge belched. He'd already had three espressos and a plate of doughnuts, along with two napkins and another flower from the vase on the table. He would've eaten the silverware, except Piper had slapped his hand.

"Climb the mountain," Hedge said. "Kill everything except Piper's dad. Leave."

"Thank you, General Eisenhower," Jason grumbled.

"Hey, I'm just saying!"

"Before we go to fight this giant," Valen said, "You need to know more about our enemy."

"Gaea," Piper said, "You mentioned her before."

Leo nodded, "Evil Earth. I thought she was supposed to have, like, flowers in her hair and birds singing around her and deer and rabbits doing her laundry."

"Leo, that's Snow White," Piper said.

"Okay, but—"

"Listen, cupcake." Coach Hedge dabbed the espresso out of his goatee. "He's telling us some serious stuff, here. Gaea's no softie. I'm not even sure I could take her."

Leo whistled. "Really?"

Hedge nodded. "This earth lady—she and her old man the sky were nasty customers."

"Ouranos," Piper said. She couldn't help looking up at the blue sky, wondering if it had eyes.

"Right," Hedge said. "So Ouranos, he's not the best dad. He throws their first kids, the Cyclopes, into Tartarus. That makes Gaea mad, but she bides her time. Then they have another set of kids—the twelve Titans—and Gaea is afraid they'll get thrown into prison too. So she goes up to her son Kronos—"

"The big bad dude," Leo said. "The one they defeated last summer."

"Big egoistical maniac, has a punchable face. Fell to mortal will. Yeah that guy," Valen said, "Was a pain and a half taking him down though."

"Right. And Gaea's the one who gives him the scythe, and tells him, 'Hey, why don't I call your dad down here? And while he's talking to me, distracted, you can cut him to pieces. Then you can take over the world. Wouldn't that be great?'"

"Definitely not Snow White," Piper decided.

"Nah, Kronos was a bad guy," Hedge said. "But Gaea is literally the mother of all bad guys. She's so old and powerful, so huge, that it's hard for her to be fully conscious. Most of the time, she sleeps, and that's the way we like her—snoring."

"But she talked to me," Leo said. "How can she be asleep?"

Gleeson brushed crumbs off his canary yellow lapel. He was on his sixth espresso now, and his pupils were as big as quarters. "Even in her sleep, part of her consciousness is active—dreaming, keeping watch, doing little things like causing volcanoes to explode and monsters to rise. Even now, she's not fully awake. Believe me, you don't want to see her fully awake."

"But she's getting more powerful," Piper said. "She's causing the giants to rise. And if their king comes back—this guy Porphyrion—"

"He'll raise an army to destroy the gods," Jason put in. "Starting with Hera. It'll be another war. And Gaea will wake up fully."

Gleeson nodded. "Which is why it's a good idea for us to stay off the ground as much as possible."

Leo looked warily at Mount Diablo. "So … climbing a mountain. That would be bad."

"There is something else," Valen said, gathering their attention. "The primordials, they are so incomprehensibly strong that they cannot directly interfere with the mortal world. There are rules they must follow, and unlike the ancient laws the Olympians try to follow, these ares are enforced."

"By who?" Leo asked.

"Whom." Piper corrected.

"Chronos." Valen said, continuing before Leo could speak, "No, its not the same guy as Kronos the Titan. Chronos with a ch, the incarnation of time itself."

"So, father time?" Leo said.

"Yes. There is a certain hierarchy among the primordials. Gaea is, truth be told, pretty low among the original five. Chronos, obviously, is at the top. Erebus and Nyx are after him. Gaea comes after them, and Tartarus comes at last." He explained.

"However," He said, "This does not mean one is stronger than the other, no. They are all relatively around the same level, albeit some are more versatile than the others."

"So wait, if she cant interfere directly, what about when she talked to Aeolus?" Jason asked.

"That was indirect meddling. She did not directly try to kill us. The technicalities are annoying I know." He said.

"The important thing," He continued, "Is that she can directly interfere, but only when she is possessing a host. Like how Erebus came out in Aeolus' palace. He was acting through me, thereby bypassing the rule."

They collectively shuddered, and Leo spoke, "I do not want to see that again."

Valen smiled apologeticaly, "I'm afraid you will have to. Gaea most definitely has a host, or at least preparing someone to be her host. Once she can possess her host, the only ones who can even think of fighting agains ther are other Dominants."

"Dominants?" Piper asked.

"Beings who host deities." Valen explained, "I am the Dominant of Erebus, my brother Nico is the Dominant of Hades. The process of summoning and using the powers of a deity is called priming."

Jason narrowed his eyes, rubbing his chin. "If a giant can only be killed by a god and a demigod working together—"

"Then a Dominant is the perfect being to counter them," Valen finished. He sighed, "Unfortunately Erebus seemed to be insistent on ignoring my summons."

Deal with it.

Valen blinked, "Wha-?"

Are you for real?

…

He sighed again, "Well, we can only hope he answers when it comes to fighting Enceladus."

Hedge got up, grinning like a kid given candy, "Well then, what are we waiting for? Lets go beat some stuff up!"