Of course I was apparently forbidden to have a peaceful nap as I had another dream. I was in the same room as before, only this time I wasn't alone in the room. Next to my crib was another crib with a smaller baby in it. My crib was also more spacious and had a book in it. What was weird was that I could read the book perfectly. It took me a moment to realize that the book was in French. Suddenly the door opened and out stepped the old man again but this time he had company. It was a massive black dog by his side. He looked exhausted and he plopped himself down on the table chair and was aggressively licked by the dog. "Doggy!" I blurted out. Suddenly the old man looked at me with pure joy on his face. He got up and walked over to me quickly. He picked me up from the crib and hung me high over his head. "Good job Louis! Yes, doggy!" He said proudly. I laughed and he placed me on the table. The dog then started licking me furiously and I laughed some more. The old man started laughing and then said "I think Mrs O'Leary likes you!". He then looked at me and opened his mouth to say "wake up Louis!". At that moment I woke up and saw that it was Jason who had shaken me. "Mmm what?" I said stretching. "We're going over a game plan," Jason explained. I yawned and stretched some more. "Okay what's the plan?" I asked. "Okay first we find Boreas and get some information from him" Jason started. "His name is Boreas ?" Leo asked. "What is he, the God of Boring?" I laughed and Jason continued "next we have to find those venti that attacked us at the Grand Canyon". "Can we just call them storm spirits?" Leo asked. "Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks." I laughed some more and Jason went on "we have to find out who the storm spirits worked for, so we can find Hera and free her". "So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose," Leo said. "The guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into
the clouds."
"That's about it," Jason said. "Well ... there may be a wolf involved, too. But I think she's friendly. She probably won't eat us, unless we show
weakness." Jason told them about his dream, the big nasty mother wolf and a ruined house with stone spires in the swimming pool. I was intrigued by his dream and thought of sharing my dream with them and eventually decided to. "Guys I had a dream too" I said finally. They all turned to me. "What was it about?" Piper asked. I explained to them what I had dreamed about, including explaining my previous dream last night. "Wait a second you were a baby?" Leo asked. He looked confused and then started laughing. Piper hit him on the shoulder and he stopped. He coughed and then said "sorry Louis but can you blame me?". I laughed and said "well not really,should I tell you I also had to get my diaper changed?". There was a brief pause and then everyone started laughing hysterically. After everyone stopped laughing Jason looked confused again and asked "what could that mean?". Now everyone was confused and I replied "I don't know, maybe it's just a dream". There was a pause and Jason said "I don't know we should ask Chiron when we get back" Jason said. "Yeah we should" I said. There was another pause and then I said "it doesn't matter we should focus on Jason's dream". I turned to Jason and asked "this house…do you know where it is?". Nope," Jason admitted.
"There's also giants," Piper added. "The prophecy said the giants' revenge."
"Hold on," Leo said. "Giants like more than one? Why can't it be just one giant who wants revenge?"
"I don't think so," Piper said. "I remember in some of the old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants."
"Great," Leo muttered. "Of course, with our luck, it's an army. So you know anything else about these giants? Didn't you do a bunch of myth research
for that movie with your dad?"
"Your dad's an actor?" Jason asked.
Leo laughed. "I keep forgetting about your amnesia. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia. That's funny. But yeah, her dad's Tristan McLean."
"Uh Sorry, what was he in?" "King of Sparta" I quickly replied.
Piper looked at me annoyed and said "The giants, well, there were lots of giants in Greek mythology. But if I'm thinking of the right ones, they were
bad news. Huge, almost impossible to kill. They could throw mountains and stuff. I think they were related to the Titans. They rose from the earth after
Kronos lost the war, I mean the first Titan war, thousands of years ago and they tried to destroy Olympus. If we're talking about the same giants". Chiron said it was happening again," Jason said. "The last chapter. That's what he meant. No wonder he didn't want us to know all the
details." Leo whistled. "So ... giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this
isn't the time to bring up my psycho babysitter." Is that another joke?" Piper asked.
Leo told them about Tia Callida, who apparently decided a fireplace was an appropriate place to put a baby to sleep And he told them about the strange woman in brown robes who could apparently see into the future. It took a while before anyone spoke. Eventually I said "man and I dreamed about pooping my pants while you guys get wolves and fortune tellers". Leo let out a small chuckle and then quickly stopped. "Bout sums it up," Leo said. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera. She hates demigods. And the prophecy said we'd cause death if we
unleash her rage. So I'm wondering ... why are we doing this?"
"She chose us," Jason said. "All four of us. We're the first of the eight who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of
something much bigger." Besides," Jason continued, "helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memory. And that dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding on
Hera's energy. If that thing unleashes a king of the giants by destroying Hera — "
"Not a good trade-off," Piper agreed. "At least Hera is on our side — mostly. Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She's the main one who
keeps peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive than the Titan War."
Jason nodded. "Chiron also talked about worse forces stirring on the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic, and all — something that could
awaken if Hera were sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who's controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all the demigods "
"Might be that weird sleeping lady," Leo finished. "Dirt Woman fully awake? Not something I want to see."
"But who is she?" Jason asked. "And what does she have to do with giants?"
"Why don't you get some sleep?" Piper said in his ear. "You were up all night."
"You won't let me fall off?" Leo asked.
Piper patted his shoulder. "Trust me, Valdez. Beautiful people never lie."
"Right," he muttered. He leaned forward against the warm bronze of the dragon's neck, and closed his eyes. We took turns on the reins and we were making pretty good time. Finally we arrived at Quebec City and Piper shook Leo awake. Tell me that's Quebec and not Santa's workshop," Leo said.
"Yeah, Quebec City," Piper confirmed. "One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?"
"Yep, in 1608 one of the French colonies alongside Louisiana and Haiti" I said. They looked at me like I had sprouted a second ear and I said "hey my dads Haitian I know this kinda stuff" I said. Okay man I'm not judging!" Leo said. "So you know so much, what's that castle?"
"Looks like a hotel"
Leo laughed. "No way." As we got close we saw a doorman, valets, and porters taking bags. Sleek luxury
cars were in the drive. People in elegant suits and winter cloaks rushed to get out of the cold. "The North Wind is staying in a hotel?" Leo said. "That can't be"
"Heads up, guys," Jason interrupted. "We got company!". I looked below and saw what Jason meant. Rising from the top of the hotel were two winged figures with deadly looking weapons and angry faces. Festus mustn't be a fan of winged guys. He swooped to a halt in midair, wings beating and talons bared,and made a rumbling sound in his throat. "Steady, boy," Leo muttered. "Should we get ready for a fight?" I asked. One of the guys was massive and looked like he just stepped out of a hockey match with his hockey jersey and destroyed teeth and face. The other guy looked like some kinda wannabe player with tight pants and an unbuttoned shirt but he looked like a guy you would see in a movie as the main character's nerdy friend with his acne and thinness. The hockey player grunted. "No clearance". Scuse me?" Leo said.
"u have no flight plan on file," explained the thin guy. On top of his acne and thin stature he also had a horrible French accent that due to my experience with my dad I knew was fake"This is restricted airspace."
"Destroy them?" The ox showed off his gap-toothed grin. The dragon began to hiss steam, ready to defend them. Jason summoned his golden sword and I tried to go through the bag to find the machete but Leo cried, "Hold on!" Before I could find it. "Let's have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?" Leo asked
"I am Cal!" the hockey player grunted. He looked very proud of himself, like he had just recited Shakespeare from memory.
"That's short for Calais," the thin guy said. "Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables — "
"Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!" Cal offered.
"which includes his own name," the thin guy finished.
"I am Cal," Cal repeated. "And this is Zethes! My brother!"
"Wow," Leo 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 spasm . "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 gagging sound. "That's ... a truly horrifying offer."
"It is no problem." Zethes wiggled his eyebrows. "We are a very romantic people, we Boreads."
"Boreads?" Jason cut in. "Do you mean, like, the sons of Boreas?"
"Ah, so you've heard of us!" Zethes looked pleased. "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." He pointed to the ground below where thankfully the mortals weren't able to see Festus and they looked merely annoyed. "Which is sadly why, 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 much more joy than I thought 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 creepily. "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 I 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 — I found myself believing every word. Jason was nodding, looking
absolutely convinced as was Leo. Zethes picked at his silk shirt, probably to make sure he was still showing off his chiseled chest of course. "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, and spattered more oil on a Mercedes below us "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, as a possible compromise.
"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 at least I thought I thought they were weapons. They were those flashlight things that people use to flag down planes. The brothers then swooped down towards the hotel's tower. Leo turned to his friends. "I love these guys. Follow them?". I wasn't eager to follow the guys who just a couple minutes wanted to kill us and neither did Jason and Piper from the looks they had.
"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." Leo whistled. "Festus, after those flashlights!"
As they got closer, I worried we'd crash into the tower. The Boreads flew right towards the green peak and showed no signs of slowing down then suddenly a section of the roof slid open revealing a way in that Festus could easily fit through. Around the opening were icicles spiked out like daggers. "This cannot be good," Jason muttered. But Leo kept going and we followed after the Boreads. They landed in what must have been the penthouse suite; If penthouse suites were negative ten degrees. The entry hall had ceilings forty feet
high, huge covered windows, and lush 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 we slid off the dragon, the carpet crunched under our 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. "Brrr can't you guys open some windows or something" I asked as I was sure it must've been warmer outside than here. 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, Leo 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." Leo 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." Leo said
"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." Leo hooked his fingers behind the dragon's left foreleg. He 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.
Leo tried to lift it, but the thing must've weighed a lot because he couldn't make it bughe. "Urn . . . 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!" he announced. "The world's heaviest carry-on bag!". I whistled. "Not bad whoever made him knew his stuff!" I said. Stop!" Zethes ordered. He and Cal both drew their swords and glared at Leo.
Leo raised his 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 Leo's chest. "A child of the South Wind, spying on us?"
"What? No!" Leo said. "Son of Hephaestus. Friendly blacksmith, no harm to anyone!"
Cal growled. He put his face up to Leo's, "Smell fire,"
he said. "Fire is bad."
"Oh." Leo's "yeah, well ... my clothes are kind of singed, and I've been working with oil, and — "
"No!" Zethes pushed Leo 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." Hey ... look ... I don't know — " He glanced at his us
desperately. "Guys, a little help?". I took out my bag and gripped hardly onto the handle of my machete and walked slowly up the Boreads. "Relax guys Leo isn't a fire guy! "Leo tell em" I said. "Urn ..." Leo groaned
"Zethes?" Piper tried her dazzling smile again, though she looked a little too nervous and cold to pull it off. "We're all friends here. Put down your
swords and let's talk."
"The girl is pretty," Zethes admitted, "and of course she cannot help being attracted to my amazingness; but sadly, I cannot romance her at this time." He poked his sword point farther into Leo's chest. I almost pulled out my machete but thought that Leo would definitely get skewered if I did.
"Destroy him now?" Cal asked his brother. Zethes nodded. "Sadly, I think — "
"No," Jason insisted. He sounded calm enough, but I figured he was about two seconds away from flipping that coin and making some roasted boreads. "Leo's just a son of Hephaestus. He's no threat. Piper here is a daughter of Aphrodite. Louis is a son of Daedalus 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?". They then turned to me. "And you,you're a son of Daedalus? How's that possible?" Zethes demanded. "Hey I only learned about it yesterday" I defended myself. "Hmm it doesn't matter your merely mortal if true". Zethes said dismissively. "You on the other hand are a son of Zeus?" Zethes said, turning to Jason. I'm afraid to say that I was kinda offended when Zethes said that but I then thought that his attention was not something I cared for. "Urn ... 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?" Leo 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 at the stairs and there I saw a beautiful girl with dark black hair and brown eyes. She was absolutely stunning. Then she looked at Jason and Piper and I, 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."
"Not you, Leo Valdez," she said.
"Why not?" Leo said in a whiny voice,
"You cannot be in the presence of my father," the girl said. "Fire and ice — it would not be wise."
"We're going together," Jason insisted, putting his hand on Leo's shoulder, "or not at all." I stepped forward and did the same. "Yeah what he said" I said. The girl tilted her head like she wasn't used to not getting her way. "He will not be harmed, Jason Grace, unless you make trouble. Calais,
keep Leo Valdez here. Guard him, but do not kill him." She said, Cal pouted. "Just a little?"
"No," the girl insisted. "And take care of his interesting suitcase, until Father passes judgment." We all looked at Leo to assure him that we weren't about to leave him.
"It's fine, guys," he said. "No sense causing trouble if we don't have to. You go ahead."
"Listen to your friend," the pale girl said. "Leo Valdez will be perfectly safe. I wish I could say the same for you, son of Zeus. Now come, King Boreas
is waiting."
