↳ chapter twenty-four ₊˚.༄
[# either way, we're good]
LOGICALLY, NO SANE PERSON WOULD LET AN UNSCHEDULED HELICOPTER land at Oakland Airport- until Piper got on the radio. Then it turned out to be no problem. They unloaded on the tarmac, and Iana's gaze strayed toward Piper's.
"What now?" she asked her.
Iana could tell Piper didn't want to be in charge, even with the confident front she tried to put on. The group didn't even have a plan for this. They all thought they would die fighting the giant, but the fates had been kind enough to let them live. Though, they could easily die later down the road. On their way to save Hera, as they tried to save Hera, after saving Hera. They had no idea where to go or if they were even too late.
"First thing," Piper started. "I-I have to get my dad home. I'm sorry, guys."
Iana placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to apologize."
"Oh- Yeah," Leo nodded along. "I mean, absolutely. He needs you right now. We can take it from here."
"Pipes, no." Mr. McLean 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.
Piper stared at him. The satyr was the last person any of them expected to offer. "You?" she asked.
"I'm a protector," Gleeson said. "That's my job, not fighting."
He sounded a little crestfallen, and Iana tried not to cringe at herself when she recounted seeing him knocked out in the battle. 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.
"Totally skilled," Iana laid on the praise.
The coach 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 looked glossy, staring at her father. "Dad..."
He held out his arms, and she hugged him.
"Let's give them a minute," Jason advised, and they took the pilot a few yards down the tarmac. After a while, they saw Tristan McLean stumble and rushed over to help.
"Got him," Hedge said. The satyr stumbled, but he was strong enough to hold Tristan McLean upright. "I already asked our ranger friend to call up his plane. It's on the way now. Home address?"
"Everything's on here," Piper said, pointing at the BlackBerry in his pocket. "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 finished explaining, a sleek white Gulf-stream 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 and Iana a hug and glared at Jason and Leo. "You cupcakes take care of these two, you hear? Make sure they get on better terms now. 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.
Piper gave the old satyr one more hug. "Thank you, Gleeson. Take care of him, please."
"I got this, McLean," he assured her. "They got root beer and veggie enchiladas on this flight, and one hundred percent linen napkins- yum! I could get used to this."
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. Iana's brows furrowed, trying to toy with the mist to make it seem like a regular foot.
When the plane was heading down the runaway, Piper started to cry. Despite their unresolved fight, Iana brought her into her arms, rubbing her back slowly. In the corner of her eye, she caught the two boys standing nearby, looking uncomfortable but supportive. Her lips tugged upward when she saw Leo pulling out tissues from his toolbelt.
"Your dad's in good hands," Jason reassured. "You did amazing."
"Hear that, Pipes?" Iana whispered, pulling away for a moment to wipe her tears.
Piper kept her eyes trained on the ground for a few moments, uselessly wiping away her tears as more fell. "We'll be okay, right?" she sniffled, finally meeting Iana's gaze with desperate eyes.
The short haired girl only brought her in for another hug and Piper sobbed into her top, burying her face in her neck. In all honesty, she didn't know what they'll be. Maybe the two of them would figure out their feelings another day. But right now, this would be enough.
"Thank you, guys," Piper said. "I-"
She cut herself off when they all gazed at her with understanding. Then, right next to Jason, the air began to shimmer. At first, Iana thought it had been the mist, or maybe gas fumes from the helicopter. Then, 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 Iana heard yelling, metal clashing on metal, and explosions.
"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 asked, sounding hopeful. But Thalia's expression quickly dampened it.
"Not yet," Thalia said. "But Jason-it's worse than I realized. Porphyrion is rising. Hurry."
"But where is the Wolf House?" Jason pleaded.
"Our last trip," Thalia said, her image starting to flicker. "The park. Jack London. Remember?"
This made no sense to Iana, but Jason looked like he'd been shot. He tottered, his face pale, and the Iris message disappeared.
"Bro, you all right?" Leo asked. "You know where she is?"
"Yes," Jason said. "Sonoma Valley. 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 didn't help the fact that Iana trusted him with nothing. She knew him well enough from their time together at the Wilderness School. But then he put his hand on the side of the helicopter, concentrating hard, as if listening to the machine.
"Bell 412HP utility helicopter," Leo said. "Composite four-blade main rotor, cruising speed twenty-two knots, service ceiling twenty-thousand feet. The tank is near full. Sure, I can fly it."
"And you won't accidentally crash land us in a forest or something?" Iana blurted, concern written all over her face.
Leo rolled his eyes at her. "You're such a mom sometimes. Live a little, EJ."
Iana glared at him and would have given a response if Piper hadn't spoken to the ranger again. "You don't have a problem with an under-aged unlicensed kid borrowing your copter, do you? We'll return it."
"I-" The pilot nearly choked on the words, but she got them out: "I don't have a problem with that."
Leo grinned. "Hop in, kids. Uncle Leo's gonna take you for a ride."
The sun was going down as they flew north over the Richmond Bridge. Iana hadn't realized that the day had gone by so fast.
"Going okay?" Piper asked nervously 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 Valley. A demigod built it- Jack London."
"He an actor?"
"Writer," Piper corrected. "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."
"Did he write about wolves or something?" Iana asked.
"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 Iana could see from her seat beside Jason.
"So Jack London went to Camp Half-Blood," Leo guessed from the front.
"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. "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."
Iana peeked from her window and saw clouds gathering, like a storm was up ahead. The helicopter shuddered. Metal creaked. Leo leveled out the chopper, and the creaking stopped.
"Thirty minutes out," Leo told them, though Iana wasn't sure if his estimates were correct. "If you want to get some rest, now's a good time."
Jason strapped himself into the back of the helicopter and passed out almost immediately. A loud yawn escaped her lips and her entire body stiffened, eyes wide as the three friends looked between each other. She laughed lightly at her own antics before following in suit, closing her eyes as she drifted off into sleep.
author's note!
guys i'm literally so unwell this fic is almost done