𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 •| ⊱ Jason Grace¹

•| ⊱ SIXTEEN

Hermia was impressed. Taking out three Cyclopes with nothing but a tool kit? Not bad. When Piper told them about the other kid the Cyclopes claimed to have eaten, the one in the purple shirt who spoke Latin, Mia had a feeling he could have a connection to Jason.

"I'm not alone, then," he said. "There are others like me."

"Superman don't say that," Hermia said as she held to his waist tightly. It might have been the fact that her father's words were getting to her, but she wasn't going to let Jason feel like he was alone.

"Yeah, you were never alone. You've got us." Piper added.

"I-I know... but something Hera said. I was having a dream..."

Jason told them what he'd seen, and what the goddess had said inside her cage.

"An exchange?" Piper asked. "What does that mean?"

Jason shook his head. "But Hera's gamble is me. Just by sending me to Camp Half-Blood, I have a feeling she broke some kind of rule, something that could blow up in a big way-"

"Or save us," Piper said hopefully. "That bit about the sleeping enemy-that sounds like the lady Leo told us about."

Leo cleared his throat. "About that ... she kind of appeared to me back in Detroit, in a pool of Porta-Potty sludge."

It was Gaea. Mia couldn't help but realize Gaea had her claws deep in this quest and her life. After her father's words Hermia couldn't help but think she had to choose the good side. But how could she, when her father didn't know how it felt to lose the people he cared about. Lysander's and Demetrius's lives were hanging in the mix of all this. So how could she choose the good side?

Piper's voice suddenly cut through her thoughts. "She's trying to divide us." Mia slipped her arm from around Jason's waist.

"What's wrong?" he asked as Piper got quite.

"I just... Why are they toying with us? Who is this lady, and how is she connected to Enceladus?"

"Enceladus?"

"What are you talking about, Piper." Mia asked. She was beyond confused because she's never heard that name before.

"I mean ..." Piper's voice quavered. "That's one of the giants. Just one of the names I could remember."

Leo scratched his head. "Well, I dunno about Enchiladas-"

"Enceladus," Piper corrected.

"Whatever. But Old Potty Face mentioned another name. Porpoise Fear, or something?"

"Porphyrion?" Piper asked. "He was the giant king, I think."

"I'm going to take wild guess," Jason said. "In the old stories, Porphyrion kidnapped Hera. That was the first shot in the war between the giants and the gods."

Again, Mia was lost in the words they said. Without realizing it she got lost in her thoughts again.

Suddenly she could see a purple crystal in her vision. It looked so familiar, but Mia couldn't remember where she'd seen it. She didn't know why that image appeared in her mind, but she had a feeling she would soon find out.

They flew west and Hermia wasn't sure how much time passed before the dragon dove through a break in the clouds, and below them, glittering in the winter sun, was a city at the edge of a massive lake. A crescent of skyscrapers lined the shore. Behind them, stretching out to the western horizon, was a vast grid of snow-covered neighborhoods and roads.

"Chicago," Jason said.

"One problem down," Leo said. "We got here alive. Now, how do we find the storm spirits?"