We ride in silence for a while. Leo seems focused on the sky ahead of us, as if he's scared we'll run into something. I start getting a bit nervous. I haven't left camp since I arrived when I was eight years old. I travelled from Miami on my own. I don't remember much, except for a lot of monsters coming after me. I remember I would squeeze my eyes shut and hold out my hand, and something would happen. Water would grab them, lightning would strike them, the earth would swallow them. And I'd always pass out afterwards. I aslo remember talking a lot of people into giving me rides. They'd stop and ask if I wanted them to call my parents, or take me home, and I'd just tell them no and that I need a ride north.
The family who had adopted me had simply given me some cash and sent me on my way. I assume it's hard to take care of an all powerful god-like child who didn't know how to keep control. They told me to go to a strawberry farm in Long Island. I didn't even know what Long Island was. I asked a stranger and they told me it was north, so I went north.
Since I arrived at camp, I haven't left. I learn what I can from tv and my phone, but I haven't experienced it. I'm worried I'm going to embarass myself. I'm worried I made a big mistake coming into a world I don't know much about.
"Shut up me." Leo snaps me out of my train of thought.
"What?" Piper asks.
"Nothing." He says. "Long night. I think I'm hallucinating.. It's cool."
Nobody says anything, but I think Jason, Piper and I are on the same page about the hallucinating dragon driver.
"Just joking." Leo tries. "So what's the plan bro? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?"
As we fly over what I assume is New England, Jason lays out the plan. First, find the wind god Boreas and grill him for information.
"His name is Boreas?" Leo asks. "What is he, the god of Boring?"
"The god of the north wind." I correct. I don't know what gift Boreas gave me, I want to ask him.
Jason ignores us and continues with the plan. The second thing we have to do is find those venti that attacked them at the Grand Canyon.
"Can we call them storm spirits?" I ask. I don't know why, but Jason's Latin makes me feel uncomfortable. Like, something is off. "Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks."
Jason ignores me again. The last thing we have to do is find out who the storm spirits work for, so we can find Hera and save her.
"So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose." Leo says. "The guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds."
"That's about it." Jason agrees. "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 tells us about his dream. The big nasty mother wolf and a burned out houuse with stone spires growing out of the swimming pool.
"Uh huh." Leo doesn't sound so sure of this. "But you don't know where this place is."
"Nope." Jason admits.
"There's also giants." Piper adds. "The prophecy said the giants revenge."
"Hold on." Leo says. "Giants? Like, more than one? Why can't it be just one giant who wants revenge?"
"I don't think so." I hope I'm wrong. "I remember in some of the old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants."
"Great." Leo mutters. "Of course, with our luck, it's an army. So you know anything else about these giants? Piper, didn't you do a bunch of myth research for that movie with your dad?"
"Your dad's an actor?" Jason and I both ask her.
Leo laughs. "I keep forgetting about your amnesia. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia. That's funny. But yeah, her dad's Tristan McLean."
"Oh my god." I suddenly remember the movie I watched, where he was some Greek warrior os something. There's a poster in the Aphrodite cabin.
"Uh, sorry, what was he in?" Jason asks.
"It doesn't matter." Piper interrupts quickly. "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 remembers. "The last chapter. That's what he meant. No wonder he didn't want us to know all the details."
Leo whistles. "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 asks him incredulously.
Leo tells us about his Tia Callida, who was really Hera, and how she'd appeared to him at camp.
"That's the old lady you saw?" I ask.
He nods. "I didn't want you to think I was nuts."
"Too late for that." I scoff.
He continues telling about the things that Tia Callida did, and the strange woman in earthen robes who seemed to be asleep, and seemed to know the future. I notice he doesn't mention his fire abilities or his mom's death. I figure it's not my place to bring it up.
No one knows what to say when he's done.
"That's... disturbing." I decide to break the silence.
"'Bout sums it up." Leo agrees. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera. She hates demigods. I'm wondering, why are we doing this?"
"She chose us." I say. I suddenly feel the need to protect Hera. She gave me life instead of tossing me off Olympus to shatter into thousands of tiny clay pieces. "All four of us. I know she hasn't sent me any dream visions, and I'm really starting to wonder why, if she did for the rest of you, but it doesn't matter. She gave me life. Literally. You guys are the first of the seven demigods who have to Gather for the Great Prophecy, and I'm the clay. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger. Something that Hera and the dirt woman knew was coming a long time ago."
"Besides." Jason adds, "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 agrees.
"At least Hera is on our side... mostly." I add. "Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She's the main one who keeps the peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive than the Titan War."
Jason nods. "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 the weird sleeping lady." Leo finishes. "Dirt Woman fully awake? Not something I want to see."
"But who is she?" Jason asks. "And what does she have to do with giants?"
Good questions, but none of us have answers.
I notice Leo is shaking in front of me. I don't think it's from the cold.
I lean forwards and whisper in his ear. "Why don't you get some sleep? We were up all night."
"What about you?" Leo asks me. "You were too."
"Hypnos." I explain. "It takes some focus, but I can make myself feel like I've had a full night's sleep. As long as I sleep the next night I'll be fine."
He seems like he wants to protest. "You won't let me fall off?"
I put my hands on his waist. "I promise."
"Okay." He mutters, a small smile forms on the corner of his lip. He leans forwards against the warm bronze of the dragon's neck and closes his eyes.
