~ { Shadow and Beauty } ~

Cyclopes

   Kiara's vision started to clear just enough for her to make out Jason's features a bit easier. "I— I broke my arm—"

   "I bandaged it," Jason said. "It'll heal in some time." He gave Kiara a bar of ambrosia. "Here, eat this."

   Kiara took the ambrosia and nibbled on it. It tasted like hot chocolate. The taste was really familiar, but she couldn't remember why. It was probably one of the memories Hera had stolen from her. The pain subsided and her vision cleared fully, but she felt sad that she couldn't remember.

   "Where's Piper?" she asked again. This time, her answer came from somewhere a dozen feet away from her.

   "Kiara!" Piper got to her feet, and limping, she rushed to Kiara's side and hugged her tightly. "Thank the gods you're fine," she mumbled into her hair.

   Ignoring the butterflies in her stomach, Kiara gently pushed Piper away with her good arm. "I wouldn't put it as fine. It feels like I've been trampled by a herd of pegasi."

   Piper looked as if she was about to cry out of happiness. "But you're alive."

   "Last I checked I was," Kiara confirmed. She noticed Leo standing a few feet behind Piper.

   "Good to know you're not dead," he told her, grinning. "You're probably the only hot girl—after Piper—who doesn't think I'm way below their league."

   "Now, I never said that," Kiara said.

   Leo gasped mockingly overdramatically. "I thought we were friends!"

   All four of them burst out laughing at that.

   "What happened to Festus," Kiara asked finally. "Where are we?"

   Leo's expression turned sullen. "I don't know with Festus. He just jerked sideways like he hit an invisible wall and started to fall." Leo pointed to the logo on the wall. "As far as where we are..." It was hard to see through the graffiti, but Kiara could make out a large red eye with the stenciled words: Monocle Motors, assembly plant 1.

   "Closed car plant," Leo said. "I'm guessing we crash-landed in Detroit."

   The smile left on Kiara's face disappeared completely. "It's my fault," she muttered. "I wasn't  supposed to be in the air."

   "It can't be your fault," Piper assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

   Kiara shrugged off Piper's hand. "It's my fault," she said, a bit louder this time. "I'm the daughter of Pluto. The sky is Jup—Zeus's territory. I'm not allowed up there."

   "You think it was Zeus's fault that we crashed?" Jason asked. Kiara nodded.

   Leo stood. He looked crestfallen. "'ll scout around for Festus. I think he fell outside the warehouse somewhere. If I can find him, maybe I can figure out what happened and fix him."

   "It's too dangerous," Jason said. "You shouldn't go by yourself. I'll come with you."

   "Ah, I got duct tape and breath mints. I'll be fine," Leo said, a little too quickly, and, despite not being all that good at reading people, Kiara realized he was a lot more shaken up than he was letting on. "You guys just don't run off without me." Leo reached into his magic tool belt, pulled out a flashlight, and headed down the stairs,

   "Breath mints?" Kiara asked, confused.

   "Our little mechanic friend's tool belt can conjure many sorts of stuff, including breath mints," Piper said.

   "How— You know what, I don't want to know," Kiara said and ran a hand through her hair. "So we are in Detroit, huh? How far is that from Chicago?"