chapter fifteen

─── you only live once, make bad choices

          𝔗his Ventus seemed to have super speed or something, because it moved like the wind. Which seems obvious, considering it is wind, but you don't know what that's like until you actually see it.

"Come on! Speed up!" I shouted to Leo across the wind.

"If I get any closer, he'll spot us!" Leo shouted back. "What about big, bronze dragon seems stealthy to you?"

"Slow down!" Piper shouted back, which seemed a little contradictory to our goal in my humble opinion. 

The storm spirit dove into the grid of sweets as Festus tried to follow. I say tried, because he then clipped a building and almost hit us all with a gargoyle, so we went back above the buildings.

"Let's track him from above."

"Do you want to drive?" Leo grumbled. "All this passenger seat driving, think it's so easy, guess what...? It's not!"

They continued to follow from above, zipping across streets before Piper let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Oh great. There's two!" She beamed as I looked at where she was pointing. A second ventus had appeared around the corner, weaving together with the first like it was in a chaotic dance of some form. They would shoot up to the top of a skyscraper, and then plummet to the street, seemingly playing in the wind, most often times taking the shape of a horse.

"These guys need to lay off the energy drinks." Leo commented. 

"Chicago does seem to be a good place to hang out. Called the windy city, infested with storm spirits." Piper pointed out, as I kept my eye on them.

"More than two. Think they're having a reunion or something." The dragon circled across a wide avenue that overlooked a lake side park. Storm spirits were converging, in the dozens, whirling around a big art installation.

"Which do you think is Dylan?" Leo checked. "I want to throw something at him."

"Look for the one that tries to blind everyone with it's teeth." Piper suggested. "We can start there."

I wished to join in, but there was something about this art installation. It was familiar, but in an unpleasant way and I really couldn't deal with any more unpleasant things considering my last few hours. It looked strangely like that reflecting pool, the one Hera was trapped in, that I saw in my dreams. The image flickered, changing to show a sleeping woman, as my insides chilled.

"Leo..."

"I see her." Leo confirmed. "I don't like it, but I see her." 

The screens went blank. This sent the Ventus into a frenzy, swirling around, before diving into the centre of the fountain and disappearing.

"I think they just went down the drain. How are we going to follow them now?" Piper questioned.

"Maybe we shouldn't. That fountain is giving me bad vibes." Leo shook his head, turning to look at them. "We're supposed to be beware of the Earth, not go into it."

"I know." I soothed, before chewing on my lips. We had two days until the solstice, two days to find Hera and I knew we had to go underground. "Let's set down in the park. We'll check it out."

Festus set us all down in a large, snowy clearing and I assume that it would have been nice in the summer, but now, the park was desolate. Steam formed around them, as Festus warmed himself and the area up, not looking particularly happy at the constant cold.

I blinked a few times, clearing my eyes, before sliding off the side of the dragon and dropping down onto the floor, the others following behind me.

"Festus can't hang around here in the middle of the park." Leo pointed out, shrugging his thick coat on and zipping it up as he rubbed his hands together. "I'll get arrested for abandoning him. Maybe..."

He trailed off, rummaging through his tool belt, before huffing and then thinking of something else and pulling a big, orange whistle from his belt.

"That'll do." Piper and I just watched him as he got Festus to listen and to understand what the whistle meant, before the dragon launched into the air.

"He is going to come back right?" I turned to Leo as Leo shrugged. "Leo."

"Let's go with yes." Leo turned as Piper took a few steps ahead of us, wincing as she put pressure on her ankle. "Hey, you alright, Pipes?"

"Nectar's wearing off." Piper groaned.

"Let's get out of the wind." I looked at that fountain, sighing slightly. 

"Do we have to...?" Piper questioned, before seeing the look on my face. "Damn it."

I led them over to the large fountain, that was empty of water, though I supposed that made sense given the weather. No spirits tried to stop us, letting us approach the central drain which was big enough for a person. A maintenance ladder led us down into the gloom, and I flicked my coin into a sword, sliding it down the back of my hoodie until the hilt rested on my shoulders and the tip of the sword was tucked into the back of my jeans. I didn't have a sheath for it nor a slightly more conveniently sized dagger, so this would have to do.

It smelt damp as I went down, and I dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry, and Leo and Piper climbed down to join me.

"Are all sewers this nice?" Piper looked around as Leo's face went dark.

"No."

"Wha-"

"Trust me." He stopped her, looking up and down it with a grimace. "I ran away six times, I've slept in some weird places."

The look on his face stopped us from asking anymore questions.

"We go this way." I motioned south, pulling my sword loose and holding it gently.

"How'd you know?"

"There's a draft blowing south. Venti went with the flow of air, I'd assume. Path of least resistance and all." I explained.

Unfortunately, as soon as we started walking, Piper stumbled and went straight into me. I caught her, holding her upright as she tried to mask the pain on her face.

"Stupid ankle." She groaned.

"Let's rest." I changed my tone, hauling her upright and over to a dry corner. "We could all use it. We've been going non-stop for over a day. Leo, think you can make some food?"

"Thought you'd never ask. I'm going to blow your mind." Leo beamed as I helped Piper sit down. The rest wasn't only for Piper. I was tired, dizzy and hungry and I ached all over. I also wasn't eager to face whatever lay ahead. Hera had said that this would be where I was most likely to die, which wasn't exactly helpful.

I rubbed a tired hand down my face.

"The Cyclops thing, that wasn't your fault." I looked up at her. "It wasn't your fault."

"I know." I smiled softly. "It was a stupid mistake on my behalf, but we're not dead and we've got bigger things to worry about. If I'd have had my memories, I would have known this but oh wait, nothing."

"Cress, you'll get them back." Piper squeezed my hand. "I know you will and you're not a one woman army just because your Zeus' daughter."

"I know. I appreciate it." I looked at both Piper and Leo. "I'm sorry, I can't imagine how much this sucks for you two. Not just the quest, all of this. Me appearing on the bus, the Mist messing with your minds and then finding out your demigods and getting sent on a quest."

"Yeah, but we were always going to find out we were demigods." Leo pointed out, cooking his food carefully. "Least we've got memories. Better than you."

"Someone's looking for me." I revealed.

"Your sister?" 

"No." I shook my head, eyebrows furrowing. "Someone else. I think I meant a lot to them, but I don't know how I know them. I don't know where I know them from."

I trailed off, clenching my jaw. Taking a deep breath, I sighed before allowing my face to drop back to neutral and pushing my annoyance down. I had a job to do first and then, then I could ask Hera a favour, ask her to let me go back home.

"Cress...?" Piper trailed off, reaching for my hand.

"Food's done." Leo stood up, handing a plate of food to me before Piper could finish her sentence. He handed another to Piper, before sitting down ahead of us.

"Don't worry, all dietary requirements were handled by yours truly." Leo grinned, taking a bite of his food. "And you can say I'm amazing and deserve a Michelin star, now."

"You're amazing and you deserve a Michelin star." I grinned, laughing as I began to chow down on my food. Piper followed suit, before putting her plate to the side, curling up and falling asleep. Her head was in my lap, and I smiled gently, before looking back at Leo. "Thanks."

"Your welcome." Leo grinned, handing me some lemonade as we watched the fire.

It stayed like that for a few minutes before I looked back at the teenager.

"About the first stuff, that true?" Leo huffed, scratching his neck in a nervous, uncomfortable sort of manner.

"Yeah, well." He opened his hand, a flame flickering to life in the centre. "Some superhero type thing, huh?"

"It's cool." I grinned. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"It's a little freaky."

"No it's not."

"Just a little." Leo pointed out, shaking his hand out. "Felt like people might single me out and shout witch or something and try and burn me at the stake."

We both laughed.

"No, I don't know." Leo sighed. "Spent my whole life trying to hide it, and from what I know, its super rare. Whenever someone comes around with it, bad things happen."

"I'm not supposed to be born." I pointed out, "and I've got lightning and wind powers which, if I had my memories, I could tell you that I'd probably electrocuted someone but I don't, so let's assume I have."

Leo chuckled at that once more, shooting me a soft grin.

"I always thought that people with special gifts show up when bad things happened, because that's when their needed most." I looked back at the fire as Leo grabbed the plates, looking for something to occupy his hands with. "I know they're not always a gift, I've apparently got a power outage issue, not sure what that means."

"Power outage?" Leo looked back. This was more his style of thinking, as the conversation switched slightly. "Got too much power in your body, not outputting it correctly probably. I'd guess something to do with the electricity. When it builds up too much or too quickly, it discharges. Probably causes you pain as well."

"That would explain why I've been in pain the past few days." I muttered. That would do it.

"Put more out, like 50% more output and that should help."

"We got sidetracked." I tried to steer the conversation back. "We were talking about you, not me."

"Look, al I know is I was told that I was meant to do something important, something that could make or break the world. Great thing to tell an eight year old." Leo spoke quicky, trying to get his words out. "I don't know if they've got the right person, or if I'm up to that but I don't want to break the world."

I wanted to say that he'd be fine but I couldn't. I knew that all heroes had happy endings, demigods included and as much as I wanted to believe that the gods would intervene and save us, I knew better. The gods served their own purposes first, and then we served them dutifully, and respectfully.

I think that's what I'd been taught anyway.

"You ever wonder who the other demigods are?" Leo twisted to face me. "I mean, if we're three of the ones from the Great Prophecy, who are the others? Where are they?"

All I knew is that I'd have some form of responsibility or leadership pushed onto my shoulders, whether I liked it or not. Boreas had told us that we'd tear each other apart, and I was worried that we would fail. I had an inkling that I'd been trained within an inch of my life to never show fear, to be confident, to lead and hand out justice when needed to as the only daughter of Jupiter. That was what Jupiter symbolised and I didn't feel like I was a child of Zeus, but then all of that was confusing because that meant there was Roman gods and that in turn, made my head ache and painful flashes of light appear behind my eyes. Maybe I was just making all of this up as a way to work out why I didn't fit in, but then again, Octavian had mentioned something about Ancient Rome.

All I knew was if there were nine of us who might not get along, then we were screwed because I didn't know whether I'd be strong enough to lead them.

"I don't know." I sighed, untensing my shoulders. "They'll show up when the time's right, when they need to be here and who knows? Maybe they're on some other quest right now."

"Probably got actual beds to sleep in, unlike us." Leo huffed as the draft swept up towards them.

"Get some sleep, Leo. I've got first watch." I was tired, shattered and in pain, but I was the oldest and it was my job to make sure the others got at least four hours of sleep. I'd had enough rest passed out on the dragon.

I needed time to think, to process. About the quest, Octavian, Hera and Thalia.

Piper was asleep with her head in my lap, and in a moment, Leo was asleep with his head on my shoulder.

They woke four hours later, broke camp and started down the tunnel. It twisted and turned, seeming to go on forever and I'm not sure what I exactly expected at the end. Maybe a dungeon or torture chamber or something? Instead, we found a steel elevator door, engraved with a cursive M and a directory for a department store.

"M for Macy's?" Piper suggested. "They do have one in downtown Chicago."

"Or Monocle Motors decided to expand." Leo pointed out. "and this directory is all messed up."

Parking, Kennels, Main Entrance; Sewer, Furnisghins and Cafe. Then Women's Fashion and Magical Appliances. Men's Wear and Weaponry was next up. Cosmetics, Potions, Poisons and Sundries was the final floor. 

"Kennels for what?" Piper hummed. "And what kind of department store has its entrance in a sewer?"

"The shitty kind." I muttered, feeling like this was a trap.

"Man, what does 'sundries' even mean? And who sells poisons?" Leo looked confused. I knew that we were walking into a trap, but merely sighed and called the elevator down. "Cress, what you doing?"

"Best place to start, the top." 

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The department store looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope with a ceiling of stained glass mosaic astrological signs around a sun. The upper floors made a ring of balconies around a huge, central atrium with gold railings and glass escalators running between levels.

The furnishing were as odd as the things they had to sell; a mix of normal, human things along with armoured manikins, beds of nails and fur coats.

"Hey, check it out." Leo nodded to the middle of the atrium, where a fountain sprayed water twenty feet into the air, the colours changing. The pool glittered with golden coins, and on either side stood gilded cages. One contained a miniature hurricane, swirling and lashing out, whilst the other contained, though frozen in time, a short, buff satyr, holding onto a branch as a club.

"I know that club anywhere." Piper hissed. "That's Coach Hedge! We've got to get down there!"

"May I help you find something?" All three of us jumped, twisting to find a woman that had just appeared behind us. She wore an elegant black dress, complete with a plethora of diamond jewellery. Her dark hair was swept over one shoulder and her face was cold and haughty, and not quite human. She smiled. "I'm so happy to see new customers. How may I help you?"

Piper and Leo both looked at me.

"Is this your store?" I blurted out, trying to play for time and work out what was going on.

"I found it abandoned, you know. It was perfect." She explained. "I love collecting tasteful objects, helping people and offering quality goods at a reasonable price so this seemed like a good, first acquisition in this country." 

"You're new to America?" I checked, trying to place my finger on the accent.

"I am new." She agreed. "I am the Princess of Colchis. My friends call me Your Highness. Now, what are you looking for?"

"That's our friend down there, Gleeson Hedge." I pointed at the cage. "Can we have him back, Your Highness?"

"Of course." The princess agreed as I pulled a face. Maybe this wouldn't actually be so bad. "I would love to show you my inventory. First, may I know your names?"

This seemed like a bad idea, almost like a trap. Had Hera warned me about something like this? Her Highness seemed on the verge of cooperating, but if we didn't give her our names, would she clam up and not help. 

"Cress, I wouldn't-" My mind didn't seem to process Piper's words.

"This is Piper and Leo." I motioned. "I'm Cressida."

The Princess' eyes landed on me, her eyes flashing as for a moment as if she knew something that I didn't. But my mind was getting blurrier, and I couldn't think of what it could be.

"Cressida." She smiled, her eyes cold though I did not know why my brain didn't see it as an issue. "I think we'll have to make a special deal for you. Come, let us go shopping."

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Hiya,

Wow, this is gonna be fun. Lots of little things here and there, more of Piper, Cress and Leo bonding though which I love and I love that we're getting more into things now. Got big plans for future stuff though and I'm excited for it.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx