Have you ever flew on a fire-breathing dragon above the clouds called Festus to save the Queen of Gods? No? Kira would definitely recommend, it was a great, never-to-forget moment.
She felt more free then she ever had in her whole life. She knew her background, she knew her mission, she wasn't stuck at some glorified prison-school.
The dragon gave off a ring of heat to protect them from the freezing temperatures. Leo taught the three of them how to how to hook their feet in the chinks of the armor, and Kira wasn't even afraid of falling. She trusted Leo.
Leo used the reins to steer the dragon into the sky like he'd been doing it all his life. She admired his back, she sat behind him, and then Piper, and finally Jason.
The wind whipped in their faces, and Kira couldn't help but smile at the sensation.
Leo grinned back at them. "Cool, right?"
"What if we get spotted?" Piper asked.
"The Mist," Jason said. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."
"You sure about that?"
"No," Jason stated blankly. "We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight."
"Where are we heading?" Piper asked after a moment.
"To find the god of the North Wind," Jason said. "And chase some storm spirits."
There was a long silence after that, everyone lost in their own train of thought.
Kira thought about her dream, how her father had told her that she wasn't using her full potential. She felt like she was letting him down, but she was not going to throw all her morals out the window.
She knew she would have to fight on the quest, but she promised herself it would all be self defense, and she would only hurt monsters who tried to hurt her friends.
"Shut up, me," Leo said suddenly. Kira furrowed her brows, concerned.
"What?" She asked.
"Nothing," he said. "Long night. I think I'm hallucinating. It's cool."
"Leo, do you want me to take over? I totally will, I don't mind." Kira said sweetly. "You just got to teach me how to steer him,"
"Nah, just joking." Leo decided it might be good to change the subject. "So what's the plan, bro? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?"
Jason went over the plan, which was pretty straightforward. They had to find a god named Boreas, who would hopefully give them more information.
"His name is Boreas?" Leo had to ask. "What is he, the God of Boring?" Kira snorted softly. Leo smiled.
"Second," Jason continued, "We have to find those venti that had attacked them at the Grand Canyon—"
"Can we just call them storm spirits?" Leo asked. "Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks."
"And third," Jason finished, "We have to find out who the storm spirits worked for, so they could find Hera and free her,"
"So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose," Leo said. "The guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds."
"Think about it, Leo. We could save Coach Hedge if we find him," Kira said softly.
"That's about it," Jason said. "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 blessed the group with his dream about a giant wolf mother and a burnt down house.
"Uh-huh," Leo said. "But you don't know where this place is." Jason admitted he didn't. This plan was starting to sound really, really complicated.
"There's also giants," Piper added. "The prophecy said the giants' revenge."
"Hold on," Leo said. "Giants—like more than one? Why can't it be just one giant who wants revenge?"
Kira felt her ADHD kicking in, her leg began bouncing as she itched to run around. She played with her ring-sword thing, making sure to not open the sword on the dragon.
"I don't think so," Piper said. "I remember in some of the old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants."
"Great," Leo muttered. "Of course, with our luck, it's an army. So you know anything else about these giants? Didn't you do a bunch of myth research for that movie with your dad?"
"Your dad's an actor?" Jason asked.
Leo laughed. "I keep forgetting about your amnesia. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia. That's funny. But yeah, her dad's Tristan McLean."
Kira had admittedly not watched any of Piper's dad's movies. She had been a tiny bit preoccupied most her life, but she remembered most of her classmates talking about him at some point.
"Uh—Sorry, what was he in?"
"It doesn't matter," Piper said 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 remembered. "The last chapter. That's what he meant. No wonder he didn't want us to know all the details."
Leo whistled. "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."
Kira glanced at the back of his head, face full of concern for the boy.
Leo told them about Tía Callida, who was really Hera, and how she'd appeared to him at camp, and he told them about the strange woman in earthen robes who seemed to be asleep, and seemed to know the future.
Kira wanted to give the boy a tight hug, but she was stunned speechless. It was a lot to wrap her head around.
"That's...disturbing,"
"Are you alright?" Piper and Kira spoke at the same time, breaking the barrier of silence, Kira the one asking if the boy was okay.
"Yeah, of course. 'Bout sums it up," Leo agreed. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera. She hates demigods. And the prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleash her rage. So I'm wondering...why are we doing this?"
"She chose us," Jason said. "All three of us. We're the first of the seven who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger."
It excited Kira, to be a part of something so big and important, but it worried her for her friends safety and her ability to mess up practically anything that came her way.
"Besides," Jason continued, "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 agreed. "At least Hera is on our side—mostly. Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She's the main one who keeps peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive than the Titan War."
Jason nodded. "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 that weird sleeping lady," Leo finished. "Dirt Woman fully awake? Not something I want to see."
"But who is she?" Jason asked. "And what does she have to do with giants?"
Silence overtook the group again, and Kira noticed Leo shaking. It wasn't noticeable, but she could tell it wasn't from the cold. She wasn't exactly sure why he was, but she knew she should help him. She scooted closer to him, and rubbed his back softly. She felt him relax into her grip, and he let out a sigh.
She leaned into him, letting her head fall gently onto his shoulder. Leo seemed to relax more and more as she got closer. He stopped shaking.
She could have swore she felt him press a small kiss on the side of her head.
"Why don't you two get some sleep?" Piper said to the two. "You were up all night."
"You won't let me fall off?" Leo asked.
"Trust me, Valdez. Beautiful people never lie." Piper said. "You too, Kira."
In seconds, Leo slumped backwards onto Kira, and she leaned forwards onto him.
Piper shook her awake what felt like moments later.
"We're here," She said to her, and she nodded, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes.
Kira shook Leo awake softly, although he looked so peaceful when he was sleeping that she didn't want to. He woke, murmuring words Kira couldn't understand.
He looked around, and Kira followed his line of sight. It looked like a Christmas movie, the city dusted with snow, and the buildings built with medieval style, in the center a castle-looking building.
"Tell me that's Quebec and not Santa's workshop," Leo said.
"Yeah, Quebec City," Piper confirmed. "One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?"
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Your dad do a movie about that too?"
"I read sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me, doesn't mean I have to be an airhead."
"Feisty!" Leo said. "So you know so much, what's that castle?"
"A hotel, I think."
"No way," Leo said, laughing.
Leo was wrong, like usual. The entrance was splattered with valets and doormen.
"The North Wind is staying in a hotel?" Leo said. "That can't be—"
"Heads up, guys," Jason interrupted. "We got company!"
Kira snapped out of her mini trance of taking in the view of the city.
Looking to the top of the hotel, there were two winged figures, but these weren't like the horses. They almost reminded the girl of angels.
Festus swooped to a halt in midair, wings beating and talons bared, and made a rumbling sound.
"Steady, boy," Leo muttered. Something told him the angels would not take kindly to getting torched.
"I don't like this," Jason said. "They look like storm spirits."
One was looked like an overweight hockey player, with a hockey jersey, baggy sweatpants, and black leather cleats. The guy had both his eyes black, and when he bared his teeth, several of them were missing.
The other guy looked like he was part of a 1980's rock boy band. His ice-white hair was long and feathered into a mullet. He wore pointy-toed leather shoes, designer pants that were way too tight, and a god-awful silk shirt with the top three buttons open. The guy couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds, and he had a bad case of acne.
The hockey angel grunted. "No clearance."
"'Scuse me?" Leo said.
"You have no flight plan on file," explained the 80's boy band with a strong French accent. "This is restricted airspace."
"Destroy them?" The ox showed off his gap-toothed grin. Festus began to hiss steam.
"Hold on," Kira said calmly, giving the two winged dudes a warmed, fake smile.
"Let's have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?" Leo caught on, working with Kira flawlessly.
"I am Cal!" the hockey dude grunted. He looked very proud of himself, like he'd taken a long time to memorize that sentence.
"That's short for Calais," the boy band said. "Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables—"
"Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!"
"—which includes his own name,"
"I am Cal," Cal repeated. "And this is Zethes! My brother!"
"Wow," Leo said. "That was almost three sentences, man! Way to go." Kira kicked the back of his shin for making fun Cal, and offered the two a smile.
"Stupid buffoon," his brother grumbled. "They make fun of you. But no matter. I am Zethes, which is short for Zethes. And the ladies—" He winked at Piper and Kira, but the wink was more like a facial seizure. "They can call me anything they like. Perhaps one of them would like to have dinner with a famous demigod before we must destroy you?"
Kira opened her mouth to politely decline, but surprisingly, Leo beat her too it.
"They're not interested." He said, crossing his arms to appear more threatening.
"That's... a truly horrifying offer." Piper gagged.
"It is no problem." Zethes wiggled his eyebrows. "We are a very romantic people, we Boreads."
"Boreads?" Jason cut in. "Do you mean, like, the sons of Boreas?"
"Ah, so you've heard of us!" Zethes looked pleased. "We are our father's gatekeepers. So you understand, we cannot have unauthorized people flying in his airspace on creaky dragons, scaring the silly mortal peoples."
He pointed below, and Kira saw that the mortals were starting to take notice. Several were pointing up with confusion and annoyance, like the dragon was a traffic helicopter flying too low.
"Which is sadly why, unless this is an emergency landing," Zethes said, brushing his hair out of his acne-covered face, "we will have to destroy you painfully."
"Destroy!" Cal agreed.
"This is an emergency landing," Kira spoke up, managing to not slip up on her words.
"Awww!" Cal said, looking disappointed. He reminded Kira of a giant baby, and she knew that he was probably very influenceable.
"How does the pretty girl decide this is an emergency, then?"
"We have to see Boreas. It's totally urgent! Please?" Piper spoke up for Kira.
"Well...I hate to disappoint two lovely ladies, but you see, my sister, she would have an avalanche if we allowed you—"
"And our dragon is malfunctioning!" Piper added. "It could crash any minute!" Festus shuddered helpfully, then turned his head and spilled gunk out of his ear, splattering a black Mercedes in the parking lot below.
"No destroy?" Cal whimpered.
Zethes gave Piper another spasmodic wink. "Well, you are pretty. I mean, you're right. A malfunctioning dragon—this could be an emergency."
"Destroy them later?" Cal offered. Kira began wondering if she could influence Cal, make him more empathic.
"It will take some explaining," Zethes decided. "Father has not been kind to visitors lately. But, yes. Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us."
The Boreads sheathed their swords and pulled smaller objects from their belts. Then the Boreads switched them on, and Kira realized they were flashlights with orange cones, like the ones traffic controller guys use on a runway. Cal and Zethes turned and swooped toward the hotel's tower.
Leo turned to his friends. "I love these guys. Follow them?"
"I guess," Jason decided. "We're here now. But I wonder why Boreas hasn't been kind to visitors."
"Pfft, he just hasn't met us." Leo whistled. "Festus, after those flashlights!"
"This cannot be good," Jason muttered, but Leo spurred the dragon downward, and they swooped in after the Boreads.
The entry hall had vaulted ceilings forty feet high, huge draped windows, and lush oriental carpets. A staircase at the back of the room led up to another equally massive hall, and more corridors branched off to the left and right.
Oh, and the whole thing was coated in a thick layer of ice.
"Guys," Leo said, "fix the thermostat in here, and I would totally move in."
Leo slid off Festus first, and offered a hand to Kira, who took it gratefully.
"Not me." Jason looked uneasily at the staircase. "Something feels wrong. Something up there..."
Festus shuddered and snorted flames. Frost started to form on his scales.
"No, no, no." Zethes marched over. "The dragon must be deactivated. We can't have fire in here. The heat ruins my hair." Festus growled in response, feeling threatened.
"'S'okay, boy." Leo turned to Zethes. "The dragon's a little touchy about the whole deactivation concept. But I've got a better solution."
"Destroy?" Cal suggested.
"No, Cal. There is always a better option then destroying someone," Kira said, surprising herself for speaking up, yet again. She was beginning to like this confidence she had.
Leo shot her a smile, and hooked his fingers behind the dragons left foreleg.
"Leo," Piper said nervously, "what are you—"
"Watch and learn, beauty queen. When I was repairing Festus last night, I found all kinds of buttons. Some, you do not want to know what they do. But others...ah, here we go."
He pulled a switch, and the dragon shuddered from head to toe. Everyone backed away as Festus folded like origami. His bronze plating stacked together. His neck and tail contracted into his body. His wings collapsed and his trunk compacted until he was a rectangular metal wedge the size of a suitcase.
Leo tried to lift it, but no luck. "Um...yeah. Hold on. I think—aha."
He pushed another button. A handle flipped up on the top, and wheels clicked out on the bottom.
"Ta-da!" he announced. "The world's heaviest carry-on bag!"
"That's impossible," Jason said. "Something that big couldn't—"
"Stop!" Zethes ordered. He and Cal both drew their swords and glared at Leo.
Leo raised his hands. "Okay...what'd I do? Stay calm, guys. If it bothers you that much, I don't have to take the dragon as carry-on—"
Kira felt her friends being threatened again. Just like back at the Grand Canyon, when Piper was being made fun of. But now, she could feel confidence oozing into her veins. Maybe it was Ares, not wanting his daughter to embarrass him on this quest.
She had her hand hovered over her ring, ready to defend Leo. Her mind raced with all the different techniques Connor had taught her.
"Who are you?" Zethes shoved the point of his sword against Leo's chest. "A child of the South Wind, spying on us?"
Kira, who was standing directly beside Leo, took a step forward and towards him, standing between him and the sword. Her mind had gone blank. Usually it would be swimming with worry or anxiety, but it was completely blank. The only thought was that Leo was in danger, and she was not going to let anything happen to him.
Her usual calming and cheerful grin was replaced with a narrowed eyebrows, and a scary, defensive look in her eyes.
She turned her ring into a sword, but kept it down at her side.
"What? No!" Leo said. "Son of Hephaestus. Friendly blacksmith, no harm to anyone!"
Zethes paid no attention to him, glancing nervously at the girl. He took a step back.
"Smell fire," Cal said. "Fire is bad."
"Oh." Leo's heart raced. "Yeah, well ... my clothes are kind of singed, and I've been working with oil, and—"
"No!" Zethes exclaimed. "We can smell fire, demigod. We assumed it was from the creaky dragon, but now the dragon is a suitcase. And I still smell fire on you."
"Hey...look...I don't know—" He glanced at Piper and Jason desperately. "Guys, a little help?"
Seeing Leo scared made her anger grow even more, to the point where she didn't know if she could control it.
Zethes pushed the sword back at Leo, and Kira raised her sword.
Swiftly, she turned it to the side and used the blunt end to push him away from her best friend. Her eyes were blazing.
Jason said something, but she couldn't hear him over the blooding rushing in the her ears.
She glared at the acne-coated, pathetic rock angel. She felt powerful as she watched him cower.
"Zethes?" Piper asked in a sweet voice. "We're all friends here. Put down your swords and let's talk."
Jason had to grab Kira away from Zethes. As soon as she was away from him, she blinked, her thoughts rushing back.
She had lost control of herself. She had let her anger take over, and she was terrified.
Leo was wrong, she couldn't just continue being peaceful. Not when she knew who her parents were, and her fate. She would always be a fighter, an uncontrollable force.
Again the conversation continued, but Kira was lost in her thoughts. She hadn't lost control since..
She was ashamed. She had promised to herself to never lose control. She glanced to Leo, but she couldn't see his face. What if she had scared him? She had sure scared herself.
Her hands shook slightly, and she kept her head down in shame.
"Watching for?" Leo asked. "You mean like in a good way: you'll shower him with fabulous prizes? Or watching for like in a bad way: he's in trouble?"
"That depends on my father's will." Kira raised her head at the sound of a new voice.
At the top stood a girl in a white silk dress. Her skin was unnaturally pale, the color of snow, but her hair long, black, and her eyes were coffee brown.
Kira found herself looking over to Leo, who had lust in his eyes. Biting her lip, she looked back to the ground.
"Father will want to see the one called Jason," the girl said.
"Then it is him?" Zethes asked excitedly.
"We'll see," the girl said. "Zethes, bring our guests."
Leo grabbed the handle of his bronze dragon suitcase.
"Not you, Leo Valdez," she said.
"Why not?" Leo whined.
"You cannot be in the presence of my father," the girl said. "Fire and ice—it would not be wise."
"We're going together," Jason insisted, putting his hand on Leo's shoulder, "or not at all."
The girl turned to Kira, smirking smugly, as if she knew Kira liked Leo, and Leo liked her.
"The girl may stay with him," She said, making Kira look back up.
"They will not be harmed, Jason Grace, unless you make trouble. Calais, keep the demigods here. Guard them, but do not kill them."
Cal pouted. "Just a little?"
"No," the girl insisted. "And take care of his interesting suitcase, until Father passes judgment."
"It's fine, guys," he said. "No sense causing trouble if we don't have to. You go ahead."
"Listen to your friend," the pale girl said. "Leo Valdez will be perfectly safe. I wish I could say the same for you, son of Zeus. Now come, King Boreas is waiting."
Kira wanted to speak up on the fact that she had only mentioned that Leo would be safe, but her confidence was nowhere to be found.
Jason, Piper, and the girl left, leaving Leo, Kira, and Cal to themselves.
For a few minutes, no one talked. Kira sat on the ice-coated stairs, creating a wet spot on her butt that made it look like it peed her pants.
Leo turned to her, trying to find words to talk to her.
"Ki, what happened?" He asked softly, sitting down next to her.
"I lost control, Leo, what did it look like?" Kira croaked, not meeting the boy's eyes. "I'm turning into my father,"
"Ki.." Leo said, not knowing how to help her. "This won't be a flawless journey. We all make mistakes along the way,"
"Mistake?" Kira asked, turning towards him. "I could've killed him, that's a mistake?"
"We're not perfect," Leo said, his eyes full of worry. He scooted closer to her.
"I need to be perfect!" Kira exclaimed, letting out what she had been holding in for too long. "If I'm not perfect, people get hurt, Leo!"
"You're putting too much pressure on yourself, maravillosa," Leo whispered, shaking his head. "Can I show you something?"
Kira wiped a tear that had strayed down her cheek. She nodded, facing the boy. Cal looked interested as well. Leo glanced at him nervously, then shook his head.
"Nevermind. I can't do it here," He said, giving her a sad look. Kira just nodded.