Air traffic control didn't want to let an unscheduled helicopter land at the Oakland Airport—until Piper got on the radio. Then it turned out to be no problem.
They unloaded on the tarmac, and everyone looked at Piper.
"What now?" Jason asked her.
Piper took a moment to respond. "First thing," she said. "I—I have to get my dad home. I'm sorry, guys."
"Oh," Leo said. "I mean, absolutely. He needs you right now. We can take it from here."
Valen nodded, "It's best you get him somewhere safe first, we can manage the rest of the quest."
"Pipes, no." Her dad had been sitting in the helicopter doorway, a blanket around his shoulders. But he stumbled to his feet. "You have a mission. A quest. I can't—"
"I'll take care of him," said Coach Hedge.
Valen did a double take and Piper stared at the satyr incredulously. "You?" she asked.
"I'm a protector," Gleeson said. "That's my job, not fighting."
Then Hedge straightened, and set his jaw. "Of course, I'm good at fighting, too." He glared at them all, daring them to argue.
"Yes," Jason said.
"Terrifying," Leo agreed.
"Titans pale in comparison," Valen said dryly.
The satyr grunted. "But I'm a protector, and I can do this. Your dad's right, Piper. You need to carry on with the quest."
"But…" Piper's eyes stung, as if she were back in the forest fire. "Dad…"
He held out his arms, and she hugged him
"Let's give them a minute," Jason said, and they took the pilot a few yards down the tarmac.
They saw Piper offer her dad a vial full of pink liquid and watched as he willingly downed it. A moment later, he lost all the strength in his limbs and stumbled forward. Piper caught him and the others ran back to her.
"Got him," Hedge said. The satyr stumbled, but he was strong enough to hold Tristan McLean upright. "I already asked our ranger friend to cal up his plane. It's on the way now. Home address?"
Piper opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself. She checked her dad's pocket and fished out a blackberry.
"Everything's on here," Piper said. "Address, his chauffeur's number. Just watch out for Jane."
Hedge's eyes lit up, like he sensed a possible fight. "Who's Jane?"
By the time Piper explained, her dad's sleek white Gulfstream had taxied next to the helicopter.
Hedge and the flight attendant got Piper's dad on board.
Then Hedge came down one last time to say his good-byes. He gave Piper a hug and glared at Jason and Leo. "You cupcakes take care of this girl, you hear? Or I'm gonna make you do push-ups."
"You got it, Coach," Leo said, a smile tugging at his mouth.
"No push-ups," Jason promised.
He then stared at Valen, "As much as I distrust you for lying, I'll still ask you this. Look after them in my place, make sure they stay alive. If you don't, I promise you I will-"
"I'll keep them safe," Valen interrupted. "You can rest easy."
Hedge grumbled something intelligible in response.
Piper gave the old satyr one more hug. "Thank you, Gleeson. Take care of him, please."
"I got this, McLean," he assured her, his composure returning. "They got root beer and veggie enchiladas on this flight, and one hundred
Trotting up the stairs, he lost one shoe, and his hoof was visible for just a second. The flight attendant's eyes widened, but she looked away and pretended nothing was wrong.
When the plane was heading down the runaway, Piper started to cry.
Before she knew it, Jason was hugging her, and Leo stood uncomfortably nearby, pulling Kleenex out of his tool belt. Valen sighed, looking away awkwardly.
"Your dad's in good hands," Jason said. "You did amazing."
She sobbed into his shirt. But she couldn't indulge herself any longer. They needed her. The helicopter pilot was already looking uncomfortable, like she was starting to wonder why she'd flown them here.
"Thank you, guys," Piper said. "I—"
She stopped mid sentence again. Struggling to find the words to express her emotions.
Then, right next to Jason, the air began to shimmer. An image appeared in the air—a dark-haired girl in silver winter camouflage, holding a bow.
Jason stumbled back in surprise. "Thalia!"
"Thank the gods," said the Hunter. The scene behind her was hard to make out, but the sound of metal clashing with metal and explosions were impossible to miss.
"We've found her," Thalia said. "Where are you?"
"Oakland," he said. "Where are you?"
"The Wolf House! Oakland is good; you're not too far. We're holding off the giant's minions, but we can't hold them forever. Get here before sunset, or it's all over."
"Then it's not too late?" Piper cried. Hope surged through her, but Thalia's expression quickly dampened it.
"Not yet," Thalia said. "But Jason—it's worse than I realized. Porphyrion is rising. Hurry."
"We should be there within an hour," Valen said.
"Can't you shadow travel them here?" Thalia asked urgently.
"I don't have that part of my soul yet, remember?" Valen said.
Now if only someone could help out, someone who can also control shadows…
You're on your own there.
But why?!
It's dangerous for you to host me for long intervals without your whole soul.
What do you-
His conversation was cut short when Jason asked a question.
"But where is the Wolf House?" he pleaded.
"Our last trip," Thalia said, her image starting to flicker. "The park. Jack London. Remember?"
Jason looked like he had been shot. He tottered, his face pale, and the Iris message disappeared.
"Bro, you alright?" Leo asked. "You know where she is?"
"Yes," Jason said. "Sonoma Valey. Not far. Not by air."
Piper turned to the ranger pilot, who'd been watching all this with an increasingly puzzled expression.
"Ma'am," Piper said with her best smile. "You don't mind helping us one more time, do you?"
"I don't mind," the pilot agreed.
"We can't take a mortal into battle," Jason said. "It's too dangerous."
He turned to Leo. "Do you think you could fly this thing?"
"Um…" Leo's expression wasn't exactly reassuring. But then he put his hand on the side of the helicopter, concentrating hard, as if listening to the machine.
"Bel 412HP utility helicopter," Leo said. "Composite fourblade main rotor, cruising speed twenty-two knots, service ceiling twenty-thousand feet. The tank is near ful. Sure, I can fly it."
Piper smiled at the ranger again. "You don't have a problem with an under-aged unlicensed kid borrowing your copter, do you? We' l return it."
"I—" The pilot nearly choked on the words.
"Screw it," Valen said, "Give me your phone."
Numbly, as if in a trance, she complied.
Valen brought out his card and tapped it over the screen. A rather obnoxious ping was all the confirmation he needed about the transaction being successful.
"That should cover the copter and then some." He said, handing her back her phone.
He turned to Piper, "Tell her to go away but don't use much charmspeak on her, it's harming her brain too much."
"What?" Piper said, confused. But she complied nonetheless.
Valen sighed, storing the card back in his ring. He glanced at the discarded vial, and a memory came back to him.
"I almost forgot," he said, bringing out the memory restoring vial he had stolen off of Medea, "I took this while you were talking to Medea."
"Is that-"
"The memory restoring potion? Yes." He said, turning to Jason, "Catch."
"Wha-" Jason went tense, taken by surprise. He barely managed to grab it before it fell to the ground.
"Did you just-"
"Yes," Valen said, interrupting him. Jason sighed, and stared at the vial.
"Well, go on." Valen insisted. "Drink it."
"What if Medea was lying?" He said.
"..." Valen stared at him, "I have a nigh endless source of Nectar if that happens.
Jason sighed again, and downed it in one go. He blinked, waiting for it to take effect.
"What is it?" Leo asked, "Do you remember anything?"
Jason shook his head, "It didn't work, nothing's happening."
"Give it time." Valen said, "Memory retrieval probably doesn't happen instantly.
"Lets go then," Jason said, nodding. "We don't have long."
Leo grinned. "Hop in, kids. Uncle Leo's gonna take you for a ride."
"I'm tempted to just fly beside you…"
.
.
.
The sun was going down as they flew north over the Richmond Bridge.
"Going okay?" Piper asked Leo from the copilot's seat.
"Aces," he said. "So what's the Wolf House?"
Jason knelt between their seats. "An abandoned mansion in the Sonoma Valey. A demigod built it—Jack London."
Leo couldn't place the name. "He an actor?"
"Writer," Piper said. "Adventure stuff, right? Call of the Wild? White Fang?"
"Yeah," Jason said. "He was a son of Mercury—I mean, Hermes. He was an adventurer, traveled the world. He was even a hobo for a while. Then he made a fortune writing. He bought a big ranch in the country and decided to build this huge mansion—the Wolf House."
"Named that 'cause he wrote about wolves?" Leo guessed.
"Partially," Jason said. "But the site, and the reason he wrote about wolves—he was dropping hints about his personal experience. There're a lot of holes in his life story—how he was born, who his dad was, why he wandered around so much —stuff you can only explain if you know he was a demigod."
The bay slipped behind them, and the helicopter continued north. Ahead of them, yellow hills rolled out as far as the eye could see."
"So Jack London went to Camp Half-Blood," Leo guessed.
"No," Jason said. "No, he didn't."
"Bro, you're freaking me out with the mysterious talk. Are you remembering your past or not?"
"Pieces," Jason said. "Only pieces. None of it good. The Wolf House is on sacred ground. It's where London started his journey as a child—where he found out he was a demigod. That's why he returned there. He thought he could live there, claim that land, but it wasn't meant for him. The Wolf House was cursed. It burned in a fire a week before he and his wife were supposed to move in. A few years later, London died, and his ashes were buried on the site."
"So," Piper said, "how do you know all this?"
A shadow crossed Jason's face in the shape of an eagle.
"I started my journey there too," Jason said. "It's a powerful place for demigods, a dangerous place. If Gaea can claim it, use its power to entomb Hera on the solstice and raise Porphyrion—that might be enough to awaken the earth goddess fully."
"The Roman Camp, I'm assuming?" Valen asked.
"Maybe," Jason said, "I don't remember."
They fell into silence after that. A few minutes later, the helicopter shuddered, and metal creaked. Thankfully Leo leveled it out.
"There are parachutes in this thing right?" Valen asked, breaking the silence.
Leo laughed, "Dude, you can fly. If anything it's me and Piper who should be worried."
"Just asking," Valen said.
"You know, we never got to talk about your past." Leo said. "The whole hero of the war thing?"
Valen sighed, "Yeah, now's as good of a time to talk as any. Ask away."
"What was it like?" Jason asked. "When you first got to the camp."
Valen rubbed his chin, reminiscing about the day he met his cousins and siblings.
"A mix of thrill and wariness," he said finally. "On one hand, I could finally have a place to call home, on the other hand, I was among strangers in a strange place. It felt surreal at first, to see so many demigods in the same place.
He sighed, "Also happened to be the year I got a spear through my chest. Would not recommend."
Leo laughed, "Can't imagine why."
Valen smiled, "I kinda deserved it for shit-talking Atlas for so long."
"Atlas as in the guy who holds up the sky?" Piper asked.
Valen nodded, "The very same. Even with five of us, we needed a goddess' help to trick him back under the sky."
"What about the war?" Jason asked. "What was it like on your side?"
Valen's face darkened, his expression turned grim, "It was a bloodbath, we lost many. The entirety of Manhattan was turned into a battlefield. Kronos had cast a spell that slowed down any mortal trying to enter the island and put everyone within to sleep."
"How did he do that?" Piper asked. "I can understand slowing them down, but how did he put them to sleep?"
"He had help from Morpheus," Valen said. "and Hecate, and a lot of minor gods."
"How did it end?" Jason asked, intrigued. "When we broke their thrones-"
He grinded to a stop, "I- I think the potion is working."
"You think?" Valen retorted sarcastically. "Regardless, the war ended when Percy, Thalia, Annabeth, Grover and I defeated Kronos."
"And we shattered their thrones at the same time," Jason muttered. "It all lined up."
Valen shrugged, "Fate works in weird ways."
"Was that what you meant when you mentioned fighting a Titan?" Leo asked from the pilot seat.
Valen nodded, "Him, Lelantos and Hyperion."
"You fought three Titans?" Piper asked, surprised.
"Two of those were group efforts, and Melinoe helped me against Lelantos."
"The goddess of souls?" She asked.
"Yeah," Valen said. "She's rather friendly for a goddess of souls. Anyways, the war ended when Annabeth stabbed Kronos in his Achilles' heel, causing him to self combust."
"And you got abducted right after the war." Leo said. "Man, you can't catch a break huh?"
"Technically it was a few weeks later, but yeah." Valen said. "How far are we from the wolf house?"
Leo looked down at the controls, "We'll be there in around twenty minutes."
"Well," Valen said, "if you don't have any more questions…"
He trailed off, walking to a seat at the back of the chopper and dropped down in a meditative position.
Leo nodded, "If you want to get some rest, nows the best time."
Jason strapped himself into the back of the helicopter and passed out almost instantly.
A few minutes later, they hit the storm clouds. At first, Leo thought rocks were pelting the windshield. Then he realized it was sleet. Frost built up around the edges of the glass, and slushy waves of ice blotted out his view.
"An ice storm?" Piper shouted over the engine and the wind. "Is it supposed to be this cold in Sonoma?"
"No," Valen said, having walked up to them. "This is not natural."
Jason woke up quickly. He crawled forward, grabbing the seats for balance. "We've got to be getting close."
The whole machine shuddered in the icy wind. The helicopter probably hadn't been prepped for cold-weather flying. The controls refused to respond, and they started to lose altitude.
Below them, the ground was a dark quilt of trees and fog. The ridge of a hill loomed in front of them and Leo yanked the stick, just clearing the treetops.
"There!" Jason shouted.
A small valley opened up before them, with the murky shape of a building in the middle. All around them were flashes of light. Trees cracked and exploded at the edges of the clearing. Shapes moved through the mist. Combat seemed to be everywhere.
He set down the helicopter in an icy field about fifty yards from the house and kiled the engine.
"Get out!" Valen yelled, grabbing Leo off the seat, Jason did the same for Piper.
They leaped from the helicopter and barely cleared the rotors before a massive BOOM shook the ground.
A chunk of snow, ice, and dirt the size of a garage had completely flattened the Bell 412.
"Everyone alive?" Valen asked.
Jason and Piper ran up to them, apart from the mud and snow caking their clothes, they were fine.
"Yeah." Leo shivered. "Good thing you paid the ranger for the copter, eh?"
Piper pointed south. "Fighting's over there." Then she frowned. "No…it's all around us."
"Forget that, we need to get to the wolf house." Valen said, pointing behind them.
There loomed Jack London's dream home—a massive ruin of red and gray stones and rough-hewn timber beams.
"Jason!" a girl's voice called.
Thalia appeared from the fog, her parka caked with snow. Her bow was in her hand, and her quiver was almost empty. She ran toward them, but made it only a few steps before a six-armed ogre—one of the Earthborn—burst out of the storm behind her, a raised club in each hand.
"Look out!" Leo yelled. They rushed to help, but Thalia had it under control. She launched herself into a flip, notching an arrow as she pivoted like a gymnast and landed in a kneeling position. The ogre got a silver arrow right between the eyes and melted into a pile of clay.
Thalia stood and retrieved her arrow, but the point had snapped off. "That was my last one." She kicked the pile of clay resentfully. "Stupid ogre."
"You have your daggers," Valen said.
"Yeah, but they arent the same as my arrows."
Valen nodded sagely, "Yeah, that does happen when you compare a ranged weapon to a melee one."
Thalia looked at him, annoyed, "I'd zap you if I had any energy to spare."
She hugged Jason and nodded to Piper. "Just in time. My Hunters are holding a perimeter around the mansion, but we'l be overrun any minute."
"By Earthborn?" Jason asked.
"And wolves—Lycaon's minions." Thalia blew a fleck of ice off her nose. "Also storm spirits—"
"But we gave them to Aeolus!" Piper protested.
"Who tried to kill us," Leo reminded her. "Maybe he's helping Gaea again."
"I don't know," Thalia said. "But the monsters keep reforming almost as fast as we can kil them. We took the Wolf House with no problem: surprised the guards and sent them straight to Tartarus. But then this freak snowstorm blew in. Wave after wave of monsters started attacking. Now we're surrounded. I don't know who or what is leading the assault, but I think they planned this. It was a trap to kill anyone who tried to rescue Hera."
"Where is she?" Jason asked.
"Inside," Thalia said. "We tried to free her, but we can't figure out how to break the cage. It's only a few minutes until the sun goes down. Hera thinks that's the moment when Porphyrion wi l be reborn. Plus, most monsters are stronger at night. If we don't free Hera soon—"
She didn't need to finish the thought.
They followed her into the ruined mansion. Jason stepped over the threshold and immediately collapsed.
"Hey!" Leo caught him. "None of that, man. What's wrong? "
"This place…" Jason shook his head. "Sorry… It came rushing back to me."
"So you have been here," Piper said.
"We both have," Thalia said. Her expression was grim, like she was reliving someone's death. "This is where my mom took us when Jason was a child. She left him here, told me he was dead. He just disappeared."
"She gave me to the wolves," Jason murmured. "At Hera's insistence. She gave me to Lupa."
"That part I didn't know." Thalia frowned. "Who is Lupa?"
An explosion shook the building. Just outside, a blue mushroom cloud billowed up, raining snowflakes and ice like a nuclear blast made of cold instead of heat.
"Maybe this isn't the time for questions," Leo suggested. "Show us the goddess."
Once inside, Jason seemed to get his bearings. The house was built in a giant U, and Jason led them between the two wings to an outside courtyard with an empty reflecting pool. At the bottom of the pool, just as Jason had described from his dream, two spires of rock and root tendrils had cracked through the foundation.
One of the spires was much bigger—a solid dark mass about twenty feet high. Underneath the mass of fused tendrils they could make out the shape of a head, wide shoulders, a massive chest and arms, like the creature was stuck waist deep in the earth. No, not stuck—rising.
On the opposite end of the pool, the other spire was smaller and more loosely woven. Each tendril was as thick as a telephone pole, with so little space between them that nothing thicker than a blade could get through.
Leo dropped into the pool and approached the cage. "Hola, Tía. Little bit of trouble?"
She crossed her arms and sighed in exasperation. "Don't inspect me like I'm one of your machines, Leo Valdez. Get me out of here!"
"You know," Valen said, walking up to her. "You should probably be a little less hostile to your would be saviours, your royal highness."
"Valen Steensen." Hera said disappointed. "You have returned."
Thalia stepped next to him and looked at the goddess with distaste. "We tried everything we could think of, but maybe my heart wasn't in it. If it was up to me, I'd just leave her in there."
"Ohh, Thalia Grace," the goddess said. "You should be careful while speaking to your superiors."
"Save it!" Thalia snapped. "You've been nothing, but a curse to every child of Zeus for ages. You sent a bunch of intestinally challenged cows after my friend Annabeth—"
"She was disrespectful!"
"You dropped a statue on my legs."
"It was an accident!"
"And you took my brother!" Thalia's voice cracked with emotion. "Here—on this spot. You ruined our lives. We should leave you to Gaea!"
"Hey," Jason intervened. "Thalia—Sis—I know. But this isn't the time. You should help your Hunters."
Thalia clenched her jaw. "Fine. For you, Jason. But if you ask me, she isn't worth it."
Thalia turned, leaped out of the pool, and stormed from the building.
Leo turned to Hera with grudging respect. "Intestinally challenged cows?"
"Focus on the cage, Leo," she grumbled. "And Jason —you are wiser than your sister. I chose my champion wel."
"I'm not your champion, lady," Jason said. "I'm only helping you because you're better than the alternative. Speaking of which, what's going on with that?"
He nodded to the other spire that looked like the king-size granite body bag.
"That, Jason," Hera said, "is the king of the giants being reborn."
"Gross," Piper said.
"Indeed," Hera said. "Porphyrion, the strongest of his kind. Gaea needed a great deal of power to raise him again —my power. For weeks I've grown weaker as my essence was used to grow him a new form."
"So you're like a heat lamp," Leo guessed, "or fertiliser."
The goddess glared at him, but Leo didn't care.
"Joke all you wish," Hera said in a clipped tone. "But at sundown, it will be too late. The giant will awake. He wil offer me a choice: marry him, or be consumed by the earth. And I cannot marry him. We wil al be destroyed. And as we die, Gaea wil awaken."
Leo frowned at the giant's spire. "Can't we blow it up or something?"
"Without me, you do not have the power," Hera said. "You might as well try to destroy a mountain."
"Done that once today," Jason said.
"I could also prime, if he listens to my call." Valen suggested.
"Just hurry up and let me out!" Hera demanded.
Jason scratched his head. "Leo, can you do it?"
"I don't know." Leo tried not to panic. "Besides, if she's a goddess, why hasn't she busted herself out?"
Hera paced furiously around her cage, cursing in Ancient Greek. "Use your brain, Leo Valdez. I picked you because you're inte ligent. Once trapped, a god's power is useless. Your own father trapped me once in a golden chair. It was humiliating! I had to beg—beg him for my freedom and apologize for throwing him off Olympus."
"Sounds fair," Leo said.
Hera gave him the godly stink-eye. "I've watched you since you were a child, son of Hephaestus, because I knew you could aid me at this moment. If anyone can find a way to destroy this abomination, it is you."
"But it's not a machine. It's like Gaea thrust her hand out of the ground and…" Leo trailed off, the line of the prophecy coming back to him.
"Hold on. I do have an idea. Piper, I'm going to need your help. And we're going to need time."
The air turned brittle with cold. The temperature dropped so fast, Leo's lips cracked and his breath changed to mist. Frost coated the walls of the Wolf House. Venti rushed in —but instead of winged men, these were shaped like horses, with dark storm-cloud bodies and manes that crackled with lightning. Some had silver arrows sticking out of their flanks. Behind them came red-eyed wolves and the six-armed Earthborn.
Piper drew her dagger. Jason grabbed an ice-covered plank off the pool floor. Leo reached into his tool belt, but he was so shaken up, all he produced was a tin of breath mints. He shoved them back in, hoping nobody had noticed, and drew a hammer instead. Valen summoned his sword and tried contacting Erebus.
One of the wolves padded forward. It was dragging a human-size statue by the leg. At the edge of the pool, the wolf opened its maw and dropped the statue for them to see—an ice sculpture of a girl, an archer with short spiky hair and a surprised look on her face.
"Thalia!" Jason rushed forward, but Piper and Leo pulled him back
"Who did this?" Jason yelled. His body crackled with electricity. "I'll kill you myself!"
Valen's mind went blank, his tattoo pulsed.
Erebus-
You are blinded by rage.
I don't care.
He could hear Erebus sigh through their tether, Very well, I will aid you, but I will not let you prime.
Fine. Valen retorted, he'd take all he could get.
"Bon soir, mes amis," said Khione, the goddess of snow. She gave Leo a frosty smile. "Alas, son of Hephaestus, you say you need time? I'm afraid time is one tool you do not have."
"What've you done?" Jason demanded.
"Oh, so many things," the snow goddess purred. "Your sister's not dead, if that's what you mean. She and her Hunters will make fine toys for our wolves. I thought we'd defrost them one at a time and hunt them down for amusement. Let them be the prey for once."
The wolves snarled appreciatively.
"Yes, my dears." Khione kept her eyes on Jason. "Your sister almost killed their king, you know. Lycaon's off in a cave somewhere, no doubt licking his wounds, but his minions have joined us to take revenge for their master. And soon Porphyrion will arise, and we shall rule the world."
Jason tightened his grip on the piece of wood, splintering it further. He had no weapon, not after his sword exploded on Mount Diablo. Which meant his only assets were one whiny imprisoned goddess, one sort-of girlfriend with a dagger, his cousin who currently had the same powers as him, and Leo, who apparently thought he could defeat the armies of darkness with breath mints.
At that despairing moment, he felt a weight shift in his pocket. Curious, he fished it out and was greeted by a storm grey hilt in his hand. It had no blade, but it didn't look like it was broken. He noticed a note attached to it, reading 'For the weapon you lost.'
"Zeus?" he muttered. "No, Jupiter."
He put just a little bit of his mana into the hilt, and a blade shot out of it. It was not made of any metal, instead it looked to be made purely out of storm clouds compressed into a thin blade. It was the shape of a gladius, the hilt opened up both ways. Lightning rumbled in the blade, running up his arm, rejuvenating him.
Thanks, I guess? he thought with uncertainty.
The mark of Erebus flared, tendrils of darkness branched out of it, crawling over Valen's arm. It made its way past his shoulder and covered part of his face. Half of his body was writhing with them, the other half remained unscathed.
Valen took a deep calming breath and flexed his fingers. As they moved, a trail of iridescent darkness followed. He brought his arm up in one swift motion, making a fist. Shadows arose from the ground, skewering half a dozen of his enemies.
It feels good to have some of my old powers back. He thought, summoning Stormguard.
The wolves snarled at him, and the Earthborn raised their weapons.
"Ah yes, Valen Steensen," Khione said. "The oh-so-great hero of the titan war. Do you really think you can best a goddess?"
"Yes," Valen said simply, raising his sword. He shared a glance with Jason, and an understanding passed between them.
"Traitor!" Hera shouted. "You meddlesome, D-list goddess! You aren't worthy to pour my wine, much less rule the world."
Khione sighed. "Tiresome as ever, Queen Hera. I've been wanting to shut you up for millennia."
Khione waved her hand, and ice encased the prison, sealing in the spaces between the earthen tendrils.
"That's better," the snow goddess said. "Now, demigods, about your death—"
"You're the one who tricked Hera into coming here," Jason said.
The wolves snarled, and the storm spirits whinnied, ready to attack, but Khione held up her hand.
"Patience, my loves. If he wants to talk, what matter? The sun is setting, and time is on our side. Of course, Jason Grace. Like snow, my voice is quiet and gentle, and very cold. I also whispered in Aeolus's ear that he should issue an order to kill demigods. It is a small service for Gaea, but I'm sure I will be well rewarded when her sons the giants come to power."
"You could've killed us in Quebec," Jason said. "Why let us live?"
Khione wrinkled her nose. "Messy business, killing you in my father's house, especially when he insists on meeting all visitors. I did try, you remember. It would've been lovely if he'd agreed to turn you to ice. But once he'd given you guarantee of safe passage, I couldn't openly disobey him. My father is an old fool. He lives in fear of Zeus and Aeolus, but he's still powerful. Soon enough, when my new masters have awakened, I will depose Boreas and take the throne of the North Wind, but not just yet. Besides, my father did have a point. Your quest was suicidal. I fully expected you to fail."
"And to help us with that," Leo said, "you knocked our dragon out of the sky over Detroit. Those frozen wires in his head—that was your fault. You're gonna pay for that."
"You're also the one who kept Enceladus informed about us," Piper added. "We've been plagued by snowstorms the whole trip."
"Yes, I feel so close to all of you now!" Khione said. "Once you made it past Omaha, I decided to asked Lycaon to track you down so Jason could die here, at the Wolf House." Khione smiled at him. "You see, Jason, your blood spilled on this sacred ground will taint it for generations. Your demigod brethren will be outraged, especially when they find the bodies of these two from Camp Half-Blood. They'll believe the Greeks have conspired with giants. It will be … delicious."
"You'll set demigods against demigods," he said.
"You would start a war just to settle your own petty agenda?" Valen said, disgusted, "I think Kronos had a better goal than you."
Khione waved her arm, and a sheet of ice formed over Valens mouth, "Quiet."
Valen narrowed his eyes, and ripped the ice off his face, the darkness healing his skin. "Many have tried to silence me, none have succeeded." He said, reciprocating Khiones movement and materializing a dog muzzle over her mouth. "Now isn't that a lot better?"
Khione glared at him with such hatred, that a lesser man would have soiled himself. She tore off the muzzle off her face, and snarled at him.
"Khione, you'll tear the world apart." Piper said, possibly saving Valens life, "The giants will destroy everything. You don't want that. Call off your monsters."
Khione hesitated, then laughed. "Your persuasive powers are improving, girl. But I am a goddess. You can't charm-speak me. We wind gods are creatures of chaos! I'll overthrowAeolus and let the storms run free. If we destroy the mortal world, all the better! They never honored me, even in Greek times. Humans and their talk of global warming. Pah! I'll cool them down quickly enough. When we retake the ancient places, I will cover the Acropolis in snow."
"The ancient places." Leo's eyes widened. "That's what Enceladus meant about destroy the roots of the gods. He Enceladus meant about destroy the roots of the gods. He meant Greece."
"You could join me, son of Hephaestus," Khione said. "I know you find me beautiful. It would be enough for my plan if these other two were to die. Reject that ridiculous destiny the Fates have given you. Live and be my champion, instead. Your skills would be quite useful."
Leo looked stunned. He glanced behind him, like Khione might be talking to somebody else. Then Leo laughed so hard, he doubled over. "Yeah, join you. Right. Until you get bored of me and turn me into a Leosicle? Lady, nobody messes with my dragon and gets away with it. I can't believe I thought you were hot."
Khione's face turned red. "Hot? You dare insult me? I amcold, Leo Valdez. Very, very cold."
She shot a blast of wintry sleet at the demigods, but Leo held up his hand. A wall of fire roared to life in front of them, and the snow dissolved in a steamy cloud.
Leo grinned. "See, lady, that's what happens to snow in Texas. It—freaking—melts."
Khione hissed. "Enough of this. Hera is failing. Porphyrion is rising. Kill the demigods. Let them be our king's first meal!"
Jason hefted his new sword up, the thunder within crackling in response, Leo lit his hammer aflame, Valen wreathed Stormguard in dark shadows, and the monsters charged.