The Moon and the Stars || Heroes of Olympus

Chapter 24

I woke up thinking rocks were smacking against the windshield. Then I realised it was just sleet. Frost built up around the edges of the glass, and slushy waves of ice blotted out the view.

"An ice storm?" Piper yelled over the noise of the engine and the wind. "Is it meant to be this cold in Sonoma?"

I didn't think so, but something about this storm seemed malevolent - like it was intentionally hitting us.

Jason woke up quickly. He crawled forward, grabbing the seats for balance. "We've got to be getting close."

Leo was too busy wrestling with a stick to reply.

Below us, the ground was a dark quilt of trees and fog. The ridge of a hill loomed in front of us and Leo yanked the stick, just clearing the treetops.

"There!" Jason shouted.

A small valley opened up before us, with the murky shape of a building in the middle. Leo aimed the helicopter straight for it. All around us there were flashes of light that reminded me of the tracer fire at Midas' compound. Trees cracked and exploded at the edges of the clearing. Shapes were moving through the mist. Combat seemed to be everywhere.

Leo set the helicopter down in an icy field about fifty yards from the house and killed the engine. I nearly relaxed, and then I heard a whistling sound and saw a dark shape hurtling towards us out of the mist.

"Get out!" I screamed.

We leaped from the helicopter and barley cleared the rotors before a massive BOOM shook the ground, knocking Leo off his feet and splattering ice all over him.

I gripped his arm and helped him get up shakily and I saw a chunk of snow, ice and dirt the size of a garage had completely flattened the helicopter.

"You all right?" Jason ran up to him, Piper and I at his side. We were speckled with snow and mud.

"Yeah," Leo shivered. "Guess we owe that ranger lady a new helicopter."

"I got it covered." I said and grabbed a permanent marker from my pocket. "What make was it, Leo?"

Piper raised an eyebrow. "We're about to go into battle and that's what you want to write down?"

"Yes, Piper." I rolled my eyes. "Leo?"

"A Bell 412."

I scribbled it on my hand. "Thanks,"

Jason pointed south. "Fighting's over there." Then he frowned. "No .... it's all around us."

He was right. The sounds of combat rang across the valley. The snow and mist made it hard to tell for sure. but there seemed to be a circle of fighting around the Wolf House.

Behind us stood what was left of Jack London's dream home - a massive ruin of red and grey stones and rough-hewn timber beams. I could imagine how it'd looked before it burned down - a combination of a log cabin and a castle, like a billionaire lumberjack might build. But, in the mist and sleet, the place had a lonely, haunted feel. I could totally believe that the ruins were cursed.

"Jason!" A girl's voice called.

Thalia appeared from the fog, her parka caked in snow. Her bow was in her hand, and her quiver was almost empty. She ran towards us, but made it only a few steps before and Earthborn burst out of the storm behind her, a club held in each of it's six hands.

"Look out!" Leo yelled. We 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 to a pile of clay. Damn, I need to learn that one.