{LORELAI}

Phoebe had finished setting up the silver tent pavilion thing right outside the cave, and Piper, Evangeline, and Coach Hedge rested in it next to a kerosene heater keeping them warm and a bunch of comfy throw pillows. Garfield was curled up on a lilac pillow, sleeping soundly.

The daughters of Aphrodite and Hades, and the satyr were drinking hot chocolate while Phoebe taught Lorelai how to use a bow and arrow.

The daughter of Apollo drew back the bow string with the arrow in place, and then she released it, sending the arrow flying straight into a nearby pile of snow, the target was marked with a rock buried in the pile of snow.

"That's so cool," The daughter of Iris complimented.

"It's nothing much," Phoebe shrugged, the daughter of Apollo handed the blonde her silver bow and arrow. "C'mon, give it a try."

Lorelai steadied herself and launched the arrow. The arrow went with a whistle, looking like a streak of moonlight. She saw it again as it hit the spot next to the arrow Phoebe had launched.

"Not bad," Phoebe patted her shoulder. "If you practiced a little more you could be a great huntress."

"Really?" The blonde arched a brow.

"Totally,"

"That sounds like a pretty nice thing," Lorelai admitted. "Being immortal, going around the world hunting things."

"and you don't have to spend time with boys," Phoebe said boys like the word was rotten in her mouth.

The daughter of Iris figured her animosity toward the male species was because of the way they used to be during the time the daughter of Apollo was mortal.

"Yeah," Lorelai murmured. "But I don't think I can leave Leo, Jason, and Butch behind, they're nice people, maybe you should give them a try."

Phoebe scowled at the thought. "No, better to keep your distance from...them."

"You little shits!" Lorelai heard Leo gasp. "We've been sitting in a cave and you guys get the luxury tent? Somebody give me hypothermia. I want hot chocolate and a parka!"

"It's not like we asked you to stay back with Jeremy," Evangeline glanced at him. "You're the one who wanted to flirt with spark plug."

"That doesn't make it fair, Casper!"

Phoebe sniffed. "Boys,"

"It's all right, Phoebe," Thalia said. "They'll need extra coats. And I think we can spare some chocolate."

Phoebe grumbled, but soon the sons of Hephaestus and Zeus were also dressed in silvery winter clothes that were incredibly lightweight and warm and given hot chocolate.

"Why do you have a bow and arrow?" Jason asked as he walked up next to her, his hands stuffed inside the pockets of his coat and his cheeks tinted red from the cold.

"Phoebe's teaching me archery," Lorelai told him, she released another arrow which landed away from the target.

"That's nice," he said. "Do you like it?"

"Kind of," The daughter of Iris said. "I mean, it's cool but my shoulder's starting to hurt a bit."

"You know what they say, practice makes perfect." The son of Zeus tried to lighten up the mood.

"Not in my case," the blonde mumbled. "It took me eight years to learn how to tie my shoelaces,"

"How old were you?"

"I was eight."

"Oh, I think I learned how to do that around that age too,"

"You remember it?"

"No," Jason frowned. "But I'm guessing here."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, I know now that a bow and arrow would not help me in a fight."

"I think your rock is enough for that,"

"Yeah," she admitted, pulling the small rock out of her pocket.

She glanced at the rock in her hand and saw a small twinkle slipping through the crack on it. She frowned. "That's weird,"

"What?" Jason asked.

"Hold this," she handed him the bow, Lorelai reached under her jacket and pulled out her dagger. She took the rock as she sat down, cross-legged on the ground.

"Lorelai, you'll catch a cold," Jason sat down in front of her.

She didn't say anything as she jammed the tip of the knife in between the crack. Lorelai used all her strength, she pulled the dagger to the left and forced the pressure onto the tip of the blade.

She tried her best but it didn't work.

"Give it to me," Jason held out his hand.

She handed it over and he wrapped his hand around the hilt of the dagger, but as he tried to crack it open, he noticed the rock carefully. "Lorelai, where on earth did you find a geode rock?"

"A what?"

They heard a soft crack, the rock split open, and inside were tiny pieces of light green crystals embedded in the hollow shell of the rock.

"Holy shit," she gasped. "This had these inside this whole time?"

"Did you not know that?"

"No!" She took her dagger and rock back.

"Well—uh, it matches your eyes." Jason chuckled nervously.

"It does?"

"Yeah, totally."

"Huh," she said. "you can keep it,"

"What?" Jason blinked.

"It's not of much use to me anymore, sure, the rocks inside are pretty, but I can't attack anybody with them. And green is my second favorite color."

"Which one's the first?"

"Purple,"

"Oh, okay," Jason glanced down at the rocks in his hand. "You sure?"

"Yeah, keep it safe till we get back to camp, maybe Olivia might need it for making one of her crystal jewelry."

The son of Zeus arched a brow. "Olivia makes jewelry?"

"Yeah, loads of it."

Jason chuckled softly and glanced over to the tent where Thalia seemed to be in another argument with Evangeline.

"How did it go with your sister?" Lorelai asked.

"Not good," he murmured. "Thalia doesn't even seem a little bit surprised that I appeared out of nowhere. I don't know what I was expecting, but she's not a lot like me. She seems more put together."

"That's not true," Lorelai tried to say. "You both...uh, have the same colored eyes."

"Thanks, Lorelai,"

The daughter of Iris winced, by the look on his face she knew she wasn't helping him, "Maybe you just have to get to know her, you can form a new bond."

"You really think that would work?"

"No, but it's worth a shot." the blonde shrugged. "Come on."

"How do you get along with Butch then?" The son of Zeus asked as they got to their feet.

"I don't know," Lorelai pursed her lips.

"He's all big and scary, with the whole prison escapee look and you're...the opposite,"

"Wow, thanks a lot Jason," Lorelai grumbled.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean it like that, I meant that you have this sort of thing about you, it makes it easy to relax around you, to be able to trust you, and on the other hand, Butch scares me."

The blonde's lip slightly twitched up. "So you trust me?"

"Of course, I trust all of you guys, although I'm not a hundred percent sure I should place my life in Evangeline's hands."

"It'll probably be safer if you don't,"

The daughter of Iris saw Phoebe break the camp in exactly six seconds. The tent self-collapsed into a square the size of a pack of chewing gum.

Thalia ran uphill through the snow, hugging a tiny path on the side of the mountain, and soon the others followed.

Coach Hedge leaped around like a happy mountain goat, coaxing them on like he used to do on track days at school, Lorelai used to love those days. She used to always be the first, she was even on the track team. "Come on, Valdez! Pick up the pace! Let's chant. I've got a girl in Kalamazoo—"

"Let's not," Thalia snapped.

"Someone's cranky," Evangeline grumbled.

"I know for a fact that you of people cannot be the one talking about being cranky," The daughter of Zeus shot back at her.

"You try not to be cranky after spending days traveling with Captain Amnesia and his crew for three days straight," The brunette said.

They started arguing, again.

"I can see why she doesn't like you now," Lorelai mumbled to Jason who was walking in step with her.

"Because I'm Thalia's brother?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "Olivia said something about Evangeline being petty,"

"She was right about that," Jason admitted as he glanced at the rock in his hand. "What kind of jewelry does Olivia make?"

"Uh, dunno, I saw a bunch of necklaces and rings near her bed," Lorelai told him. "Why?"

"No reason, just wondering."

"Okay," she said, giving him a skeptical look.

Then, Leo bumped into Evangeline who caught him before he fell from the side of the mountain. The daughter of Iris glanced up and saw it.

"That," Leo choked. "Is a really large rock."

They stood near the summit of Pikes Peak.

Below them, the world was blanketed in clouds. The air was so thin, she could hardly breathe. Night had set in, but a full moon shone and the stars were incredible. Stretching out to the north and south, peaks of other mountains rose from the clouds like islands—of teeth.

But the real show was above them. Hovering in the sky, about a quarter mile away, was a massive free-floating island of glowing purple stone. It was hard to figure out its size. The rides were rugged cliffs, riddled with caves, and every once in a while, a gust of wind burst out with a sound like a pipe organ blast. At the top of the rock, brass walls ringed some kind of a fortress.

The only thing connecting Pikes Peak to the floating island was a narrow bridge of ice that glistened in the moonlight. Then she realized that the bridge wasn't solid, it wasn't exactly made up of ice either.

As the winds changed direction, the bridge snaked around—blurring and thinning, in some places even breaking into a dotted line like the vapor trail of a plane.

"We're not seriously crossing that," Leo said.

Thalia shrugged. "I'm not a big fan of heights, I'll admit. But if you want to get to Aeolus's fortress, this is the only way."

"Is the fortress always hanging there?" Piper asked.

"How can people never notice it while sitting on Pikes Peak?" Lorelai added.

"The Mist," Evangeline told them. "Some mortals, notice it indirectly. Some days I'm guessing Pikes Peak looks purple. It's the color of Aeolus's palace, reflecting off the mountain face."

"It's enormous," Jason noted.

"You should see Olympus, little brother."

"You're serious? You've been there?"

Thalia and Evangeline shared a knowing look with a grimace as if it wasn't a good memory.

"We should go across in two different groups," Thalia told them. "The bridge is fragile."

"That's reassuring," Leo said. "Jason, can't you just fly us up there?"

The daughter of Zeus laughed. Then she seemed to realize Leo's question wasn't a joke. "Wait...Jason, you can fly?"

The blond gazed up at the floating fortress. "Well, sort of. It's more like I can control the winds. But the winds up here are so strong, I'm not sure I'd want to try. Thalia, you mean...you can't fly?"

For a second, Thalia looked genuinely afraid. Then she got her expression under control. Lorelai had a feeling Thalia was more afraid of heights than she was of cockroaches.

"Truthfully," the raven-haired girl said, "I've never tried. Might be better if we stuck to the bridge."

Coach Hedge tapped the ice vapor trail with his hoof, then jumped onto the bridge. Amazingly, it held his weight. "Easy! Merlyn and I'll go first. Piper, come on, girl. We'll give you a hand."

Evangeline hopped onto the vapor trail and it seemed fine, "No, that's okay," Piper started to say, but the satyr grabbed her hand and dragged her up the bridge.

When the three were about halfway, the bridge seemed to be holding them just fine. Garfield hopped onto the bridge and followed after.

Thalia turned to the other huntress. "Phoebe, I'll be back soon. To find the others. Tell them I'm on my way."

"You sure?" Phoebe narrowed her eyes at Jason and Leo like they might kidnap Thalia or something.

"It's fine," Thalia promised.

The daughter of Apollo nodded, and she patted Lorelai on the shoulder. "Take care, Lorelai," she bid goodbye, then raced down the mountain path, the white wolves at her heels.

"Bye, Phoebe!" Lorelai waved.

"Jason, Leo, Lorelai, just be careful where you step," Thalia told them. "It hardly ever breaks."

"Don't say that!" The daughter of Iris hissed. "You're going to jinx us."

"What is it with you and bridges, Laur?" Jason asked.

The children of Iris, Zeus, and Hephaestus led their way up the bridge.

Halfway up, things went wrong, just like Lorelai had predicted. Maybe she was actually psychic.

Piper, Coach Hedge, Garfield, and Evangeline had made their way safely to the top and were waving at them, encouraging them to keep climbing.

Then Leo stopped midway. "Why do they have a bridge?" he asked suddenly.

The daughter of Zeus frowned. "Leo, this isn't a good place to stop. What do you mean?"

"They're wind spirits," He said. "Can't they fly?"

"Yes, but sometimes they need a way to connect to the world below."

"Leo, I love you, but we can have this conversation at the top," Lorelai spoke, nervously.

The son of Hephaestus ignored her and asked, "So the bridge isn't always here?"

The raven-haired girl shook her head. "The wind spirits don't like to anchor to the earth, but sometimes it's necessary. Like now. They know you're coming."

"Leo?" Jason said. "What are you thinking?"

Lorelai felt a hot breeze hit her ankles, she glanced down and saw steam, she turned her gaze over to Leo whose shoes were literally smoking. The ice was thinning.

"Leo, stop it," The son of Zeus warned. "You're going to melt it."

"I'll try," Leo said. "Listen, Jason, what did Hera call you in that dream? She called you a bridge."

"Leo, calm down!" Lorelai held out her hands. "You're going to melt us to our deaths."

"Just listen," He insisted. "If Jason is a bridge, what's he connecting? Maybe two different places that normally don't get along—like the air palace and the ground. You had to be somewhere before this, right? And Hera said you were an exchange."

"Like the enemies of the Greeks?" Lorelai asked.

"Exactly!"

"An exchange," Thalia's eyes widened. "Oh, gods."

Jason frowned. "What are you guys talking about?"

The daughter of Zeus murmured something like a prayer. "I understand now why Artemis sent me here. Jason—she told me to hunt for Lycaon and I would find a clue about Percy and Landon. You are the clue. Artemis wanted us to meet so I could hear your story."

"But I don't remember anything. I don't have a story," Jason said.

"They're right," Lorelai said. "It's all connected together."

Leo snapped his fingers. "Jason, what did you call that place in your dream? That ruined house. The Wolf House?"

Thalia nearly choked. "The Wolf House? Jason, why didn't you tell me that? That's where they're keeping Hera?"

"Do you know where it is?" The son of Zeus asked.

Then the bridge dissolved. Leo would've fallen to his death if Jason hadn't grabbed his coat. The three scrambled to the top, and when they turned, Thalia was on the other side of a thirty-foot chasm. The bridge was continuing to melt.

"Go!" The raven-haired girl shouted, backing down the bridge as it crumbled. "Find out where the giant is keeping Piper's dad. Save him! I'll take the Hunters to the Wolf House and hold it until you can get there. We can do both!"

"But where is the Wolf House?" Jason shouted.

"You know where it is, little brother!" She was so far away now that they could barely hear her voice over the wind.

Then she turned and raced down the dissolving bridge.

The daughter of Iris was about to take off after her until Jason grabbed her hand and dragged her along.

They climbed for their lives, the ice vapor thinning under their feet. Several times, Jason had to grab Leo and Lorelai and use the winds to keep them aloft, but it was more like bungee jumping than flying.

When they reached the floating island, Piper, Evangeline, and Coach Hedge pulled them aboard just as the last vapor bridge vanished. They stood gasping for breath at the base of a stone stairway chiseled into the side of the cliff, leading up to the fortress.

Lorelai glanced back down. The top of Pikes Peak floated below them in a sea of clouds, but there was no sign of Thalia anywhere.

"What happened?" Piper demanded. "Leo, why are your clothes smoking?"

"Where's Thalia?" Evangeline asked.

"I got a little heated," Leo gasped. "Sorry, Jason. Honest. I didn't—"

"It's all right," Jason said, but his expression was grim. "We've got less than twenty-four hours to rescue a goddess and Piper's dad. Let's go see the king of winds."

Bronze walls marched all the way around the fortress grounds. Twenty-foot-high gates opened for them, and a road of polished purple stone led up to the main citadel—a white-columned rotunda, Greek style, like a monument in Washington D.C.—except for the cluster of satellite dishes and radio towers on the roof.

"That's bizarre," Piper said.

"Guess you can't get cable on a floating island," Leo said. "Damn, check this guy's front yard."

The rotunda sat in the center of a quarter-mile circle. The grounds were amazing in a scary way. They were divided into four sections, each one representing a season.

The section to their right was an icy waste, with bare trees and a frozen lake. Snowmen rolled across the landscape as the wind blew. To their left was an autumn park with gold and red trees. Mound leaves blew into patterns—gods, animals, and people that ran after each other before scattering back into leaves.

In the distance, she could see two more areas behind the rotunda. One looked like a green pasture with sheep made out of clouds. The last section was a desert where tumbleweeds scratched strange patterns in the sand like Greek letters, smiley faces, and a huge advertisement that read: watch Aeolus nightly!

"A section for each wind god," Evangeline said.

"Four cardinal directions," Jason added.

"I'm loving that pasture." Coach Hedge licked his lips. "You guys mind—"

"Go ahead," The son of Zeus told him.

"Yeah, you deserve a break," Lorelai said.

"You're right, Warner, I do deserve a break don't I? I've been kicking so much monster butt, I should get myself a treat." The satyr puffed his chest.

"Whatever you say, Coach Hedge," She murmured as he ran off to attack springtime, Garfield following behind, the four demigods walked down the road to the steps of the palace.

They passed through the front doors into a white marble foyer decorated with purple banners that read Olympian Weather Channel, and some that just read ow!

"Hello!" A woman floated up to them. She was pretty in an elfish way—petite, with slightly pointy ears, and an ageless face that could've been sixteen or thirty.

Her brown eyes twinkled cheerfully. Even though there was no wind, her dark hair blew in slow motion, shampoo-commercial style. Her white gown blew around her like parachute material.

She had a white tablet computer in her hand. "Are you from Lord Zeus?" she asked. "We've been expecting you."

Lorelai blinked, the woman's shape faded in and out like she was made of fog.

"Are you a ghost?" The blonde blurted.

The smile turned into a pout. "I'm an aura, madam. A wind nymph, as you might expect, working for the lord of the winds. My name is Mellie. We don't have ghosts."

"Right," Piper came to the rescue. "of course you don't! My friend simply mistook you for Helen of Troy, the most beautiful mortal of all time. It's an easy mistake."

"Not really," Evangeline mumbled.

The compliment seemed a little over the top, but Mellie blushed. "Oh...well, then. So you are from Zeus."

"Er," The blond said. "I'm the son of Zeus, yeah."

"Excellent! Please, right this way." She led them through some security doors into another lobby, consulting her tablet as she floated. "We're out of primetime now, so that's good." she mused. "I can fit you in right before his 11:12 spot."

"That would be great, Mellie," Evangeline offered her a pleased smile.

If Lorelai had a penny for each time she had almost fallen to her death, she would have three pennies, which isn't a lot but it's weird that happened three times right?

The central section of Aeolus's fortress was as big as the cathedral, with a soaring domed roof covered in silver. Television equipment floated randomly through the air—cameras, spotlights, set pieces, potted plants. And there was no floor.

Evangeline grabbed the blonde before she fell into the chasm below. The daughter of Hades pulled her back flush against her, Lorelai's arms wrapping around Evangeline's waist.

Lorelai flushed red at the proximity. "Thanks," she offered her a smile.

"Lorelai?" Evangeline called.

"Yeah?"

"You can let go of me now,"

The daughter of Iris pulled away. "My bad," She felt her cheeks burn even hotter as she saw the amused smirk on Evangeline's face.

She turned her attention back to her surroundings. Mellie led them toward the middle of the chamber, where a loose sphere of flat-panel video screens floated around a kind of control center. A man hovered inside, checking monitors and reading paper airplane messages.

The man paid no attention to them as Mellie brought them forward. She pushed a forty-two-inch Sony out of their way and led them into the control area.

Leo whistled. "I got to get a room like this."

The floating screens showed all sorts of television programs. News broadcasts mostly played on the screens—but some programs looked like gladiators fighting, and demigods battling monsters. Maybe they were movies, but looked more like a reality TV show.

At the far end of the sphere was a silky blue backdrop like a cinema screen, with cameras and studio lights floating around it.

The man in the center was talking into an earpiece phone. He had a remote in each hand and was pointing them at various screens, seemingly at random. He wore a business suit that looked like the sky.

He looked like he was in his sixties, with a shock of white hair, but he had a ton of stage makeup on, and that smooth plastic surgery look to his face, so he appeared not really young, not really old, just like a messed up Ken doll.

His eyes darted back and forth from screen to screen, like he was trying to absorb everything at once. He muttered things into his phone, and his mouth twitched. He was either amused, or crazy, or both.

Mellie floated toward him. "Ah, sir, Mr. Aeolus, these demigods—"

"Hold it!" He held up a hand to silence her, then pointed at one of the screens.

It was one of those storm-chaser programs, where insane thrill-seekers drive after tornados. Lorelai watched as a jeep plowed straight into a funnel cloud and got tossed into the sky.

Aeolus shrieked with delight. "The Disaster Channel. People do that on purpose!" He turned toward them with a mad grin. "Isn't that amazing? Let's watch it again."

"Um, sir," The aura tried to speak, "this is Jason, son of—"

"Yes, yes, I remember," The master of winds said. "You're back. How'd it go?"

Jason hesitated. "Sorry? I think you've mistaken me—"

"No, no, Jason Grace, aren't you? It was, what—last year? You were on your way to fight a sea monster, I believe."

"I—I don't remember."

Aeolus laughed. "Must not have been a very good sea monster! No, I remember every hero who's ever come to me for aird. Odysseus—gods, he docked at my island for a month! At least you only stayed a few days. Now, watch this video. These ducks get sucked straight into—"

"Sir," Mellie interrupted. "Two minutes to air."

"Air!" The man exclaimed. "I love air. How do I look? Makeup!"

Immediately a small tornado of brushes, blotters, and cotton balls descended on Aeolus. They blurred across his face in a cloud of flesh-tone smoke until his coloration was even more gruesome than before.

The wind swirled through his hair and left it sticking up like a frosted Christmas tree.

"Mr. Aeolus," The son of Zeus slipped off the golden backpack. "We brought you these rogue storm spirits."

"Did you!" Aeolus looked at the bag like it was a gift from a fan—something he really didn't want. "Well, how nice."

Leo nudged him, and Jason offered the bag. "Boreas sent us to capture them for you. We hope you'll accept them and stop—you know—ordering demigods to be killed."

The master of winds laughed and looked incredulously at Mellie. "Demigods be killed—did I order that?"

Mellie checked her computer tablet. "Yes, sir, fifteenth September. 'Storm spirits released by the death of Typhon, demigods to be held responsible,' etc...yes, a general order for them all to be killed."

"Oh, pish," Aeolus waved a hand. "I was just grumpy. Rescind that order, Mellie, and um, who's on guard duty—Teriyaki?—Teri, take these storm spirits down to cell block Fourteen E, will you?"

A harpy swooped out of nowhere, snatched the golden bag, and spiraled into the abyss.

The man grinned at the son of Zeus. "Now, sorry about that kill-on-sight business. But gods, I really was mad, wasn't I?" His face slightly darkened, but his suit did the same, the lapels flashing with lightning. "You know...I remember now. Almost seemed like a voice was telling me to give that order. A little cold tingle on the back of my neck."

"Cold tingle?" Lorelai asked. "Was it in your head?"

"Yes. How odd. Mellie, should we kill them?"

"No, sir," she said patiently. "They just brought storm spirits, which makes everything all right."

"Of course," The master of the winds laughed. "Sorry. Mellie, let's send the demigods something nice. A box of chocolates perhaps."

"A box of chocolates to every demigod in the world, sir?"

"No, too expensive. Never mind. Wait, it's time! I'm on!"

Aeolus flew off toward the blue screen as newscast music started to play.

The blonde glanced toward the others, who seemed just as confused.

"Is he always like that?" The daughter of Hades asked.

Mellie smiled sheepishly. "Well, you know what they say. If you don't like his mood, wait five minutes. That expression 'whichever way the wind blows'—that was based on him."

"And that thing about the sea monster," Jason started. "Was I here before?"

The aura blushed. "I'm sorry, I don't remember. I'm Mr. Aeolus's new assistant. I've been with him longer than most, but still—not long enough."

"How long do his assistants usually last?" The daughter of Aphrodite asked.

"Oh..." Mellie thought for a moment. "I've been doing this for...twelve hours?"

A voice blared from the floating speakers: "And now, weather every twelve minutes! Here's your forecaster for Olympian Weather—the OW! channel—Aeolus!"

Lights blazed on Aeolus, who was now standing in front of the blue screen. His smile was unnaturally white, and he looked like he'd had so much caffeine his face was about to explode.

"Hello, Olympus! Aeolus, master of winds here, with weather every twelve! We'll have a low-pressure system moving over Florida today, so expect milder temperatures since Demeter wishes to spare farmers!"

He gestured at the blue screen, but when she checked the monitors, she saw a digital image projecting behind Aeolus, it looked like she was standing in front of a U.S. map with animated smiley suns and frowny stormy clouds.

"Along the eastern seaboard—oh, hold on." He tapped his earpiece. "Sorry, folks! Poseidon is angry with Miami today, so it looks like Florida freeze is back on! Sorry, Demeter. Over in the Midwest, I'm not sure what St. Louis did to offend Zeus, but you can expect winter storms!" Aeolus continued.

"Boreas himself is being called down to punish the area with ice. Bad news, Missouri! No, wait. Hephaestus feels sorry for central Missouri, so you all will have much more moderate temperatures and sunny skies!"

He kept forecasting each area of the country and changing his prediction two or three times as he got messages over his earpiece, Lorelai felt bad for him.

"This can't be right," Jason whispered. "Weather isn't random."

Mellie smirked. "And how often are mortal weathermen right? They talk about fronts and air pressure and moisture, but the weather surprises them all the time. At least Aeolus tells us why it's so unpredictable. Very hard job, trying to appease all the gods at once. It's enough to drive anyone..." She trailed off.

"Mad." Evangeline finished, her gaze locked on the master of winds.

"And that's the weather," Aeolus concluded. "See you in twelve minutes, because I'm sure it'll change!"

The lights shut off, the video monitors went back to random coverage, and just for a moment, Aeolus's face sagged weariness. Then he seemed to remember them and he put a smile back on.

"So, you brought me some rogue storm spirits," Aeolus said. "I suppose...thanks! And did you want something else? I assume so. Demigods always do."

"Um, sir," Mellie said. "This is Zeus's son."

"Yes, yes. I know that. I said I remember him from before."

"But, sir, they're here from Olympus."

The man looked stunned. Then he laughed. "You mean you're here on behalf of your father this time? Finally! I knew they would send someone to renegotiate my contract!"

"What the fuck do you mean by that?" Evangeline asked.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Aeolus sighed with relief. "It's been what, three thousand years since Zeus made me master of winds. Not that I'm ungrateful, of course! But really, my contract is so vague. Obviously, I'm immortal, but, 'master of winds,' what does that mean? Am I a nature spirit? A demigod? A god? I want to be a god of the winds because the benefits are so much better. Can we start with that?"

"Um, Aeolus, sir?" Lorelai asked. "Do you think we're here to promote you?"

"You are then?" Aeolus grinned. His business suit turned completely blue—not a cloud in the fabric. "Marvelous! I mean, I think I've shown quite a bit of initiative with the weather channel, eh? And of course, I'm in the press all the time. So many books have been written about me: Into Thin Air, Up in the Air—"

"I don't think those are about you," Jason said.

"Nonsense," Aeolus said. "Mellie, they're biographies of me, aren't they?"

"Absolutely, sir," she squeaked.

"There, you see? I don't read. Who has time? But obviously, mortals love me. So, we'll change my official title to god of the winds. Then, about salary and stuff—"

"Sir," The son of Zeus said, "We're not from Olympus."

The man blinked. "But—"

"I'm the son of Zeus, yes," he said. "But we're not here to negotiate your contract. We're on a quest and we need your help."

Aeolus's expression hardened. "Like last time? Like every hero who comes here? Demigods! It's always about you, isn't it?"

"Look, he doesn't remember last time," Evangeline said. "but if you've helped him before—"

"I'm always helping! Well, sometimes I'm destroying, but mostly I'm helping, and sometimes I'm asked to do both at the same time! Why, Aeneas, the first of his kind—"

"My kind?" Jason asked. "You mean, demigods?"

"Oh, please!" Aeolus said. "I mean your line of demigods. You know, Aeneas son of Venus—the only surviving hero of Troy. When the Greeks burned down his city, he escaped to Italy, where he founded the kingdom that would eventually become Rome, blah, blah, blah. That's what I meant."

"I don't get it," The son of Zeus admitted.

"That can't be possible," Evangline murmured. "Romans don't—"

Aeolus rolled his eyes. "The point being, I was thrown in the middle of the conflict, too! Juno calls up: "Oh, Aeolus, destroy Aeneas's ships for me. I don't like him.' Then Neptune says, 'No, you don't! That's my territory. Calm the winds.' Then Juno is like, 'No, wreck his ships, or I'll tell Jupiter you're uncooperative!' Do you think it's easy juggling requests like that?"

"No," Jason said. "I guess not."

"Your job sounds tough," Lorelai said, her voice laced with sympathy.

"It is my dear," He seemed to calm down for a split second. "Don't get me started on Amelia Earhart! I'm still getting angry calls from Olympus about knocking her out of the sky!"

"We just want information," Piper spoke calmly. "We hear you know everything."

Aeolus straightened his lapels and looked slightly mollified. "Well...that's true, of course. For instance, I know that his business here"—he waggled his fingers at the five of them—"this harebrained scheme of Juno's to bring you all together is likely to end in bloodshed. As for you, Piper McLean, I know your father is in serious trouble."

He held out his hand, and a scrap of paper fluttered into his grasp. It was a photo of Piper's dad. Lorelai had watched one of his movies with Piper.

The daughter of Aphrodite took the photo with shaky hands. "This—this is from his wallet."

"Yes," the man said. "All things lost in the wind eventually come to me. The photo blew away when the Earthborn captured him."

"The what?"

Aeolus waved aside the question, his eyes narrowing at Leo. "Now, you, son of Hephaestus...yes, I see your future."

Another paper fell into the wind god's hands—an old tattered drawing done in crayons.

Leo took it as if it was coated in poison. He staggered back.

"What is it?" Lorelai asked.

"Something I—I drew when I was a kid." He folded it and quickly put it into his coat. "It's...yeah, it's nothing."

Aeolus laughed. "Really? Just a key to your success!"

"Hey," Evangeline started. "Back to—"

"Ah yes, Evangeline Merlyn, you made quite the impression with your little fight with the Titan Lord,"

The daughter of Hades's brow arched.

Aeolus produced a Polaroid picture of a younger Evangeline, she looked about ten years old. She was standing on the right of a boy with brown hair and greenish-blue eyes, who had the biggest smile on his face.

On the boy's left was another boy who had glossy black hair and black eyes, he looked a year older than the other two in the photo. He seemed to be having the same angry and bored expression as Evangeline, the two seemed to be glaring at one another while the boy in the middle smiled at the camera.

Lorelai could see Evangeline's eyes widen at the sight.

"Now," Aeolus handed the picture to her. "Where were we? Ah, yes, you wanted information. Are you sure about that? Sometimes information can be dangerous."

He smiled at Jason like he was issuing a challenge. Behind him, Mellie shook her head in warning.

"We need to find the lair of Enceladus," Jason said. "So, yeah."

Aeolus's smile faltered. "The giant? Why would you want to go there? He's horrible! He doesn't even watch my program!"

Piper held up the photo. "Aeolus, he's got my father. We need to rescue him and find out where Hera is being held captive."

"Now, that's impossible," Aeolus said. "Even I can't see that, and believe me, I've tried. There's a veil of magic over Hera's location—very strong, impossible to locate."

"She's at a place called the Wolf House," Lorelai told him.

"Hold on!" The man put his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. "I'm getting something! Yes, she's at a place called the Wolf House! Sadly, I don't know where that is."

"Enceladus does," Piper persisted. "If you help him find us, we could get the location of—"

"Yeah," Leo said, catching on. "And if we save her, she'd be really grateful to you—"

"And Zeus might promote you," Jason said.

"You'll get to become a god," Evangeline added.

"Don't you want that?" Lorelai finished.

Aeolus's eyebrows crept up. "A promotion—and all you want from me is the giant's location?"

"Well, if you could get us there, too," Jason amended, "that would be great."

Mellie clapped her hands in excitement. "Oh, he could do that! He often sends helpful winds—"

"Mellie, be quiet!" Aeolus snapped. "I have half a mind to fire you for letting these people under false pretenses."

Her face paled. "Yes, sir. Sorry, Sir."

"It's not her fault," Lorelai spoke up. "But we would really appreciate it if you could help us, sir."

Aeolus tilted his head, he was listening to voices in his earpiece.

"Well...Zeus approves," The wind lord muttered. "He says...he says it would be better if you could avoid saving her until after the weekend because he has a big party planned—Ow! That's Aphrodite yelling at him, reminding him that the solstice starts at dawn. She says I should help you. And Hephaestus...yes. Hmm. Iris agrees too. Dionysus is saying something about a girl named...Evelyn? Is there an Evelyn here?"

"Yes, there is," Evangeline nodded.

"Ah, okay," he murmured. "Very rare they agree on anything. Hold on..."

Lorelai felt a wave of relief as she realized their parents were helping them.

Back toward the entrance, she heard a loud belch. Coach Hedge waddled in from the bobby with Garfield following behind, grass was all over the satyr's face. Mellie saw him coming across the makeshift floor and caught her breath. "Who is that?"

Jason stifled a cough. "That? That's just Coach Hedge. Uh, Gleeson Hedge. He's our..."

"Our Guide," Lorelai finished.

"He's so goatly," Mellie murmured.

Behind her, Piper poofed out her cheeks, pretending to vomit.

"What's up, guys?" Hedge trotted over, and Garfield jumped into Lorelai's arms. "Wow, nice place. Oh! Sod squares."

"Coach, you just ate," The son of Zeus reminded. "And we're using the sod as a floor. This is, ah, Mellie—"

"An aura." Hedge smiled winningly. "Beautiful as a summer breeze."

Mellie blushed. The daughter of Iris raised her eyebrows, she shared a look with Leo who looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"And Aeolus here," Evangeline spoke. "Was just about to help us."

"Yes," The wind lord muttered. "It seems so. You'll find Enceladus on Mount Diablo."

"Devil Mountain?" Leo asked. "That doesn't sound good."

"I remember that place!" Piper said. "I went there once with my dad. It's just the east of San Francisco Bay."

"The Bay Area again?" The coach shook his head. "Not good. Not good at all."

"Now..." Aeolus began to smile. "As to getting you there—"

Suddenly his face went slack. He bent over and tapped his earpiece as if it were malfunctioning.

When he straightened again, his eyes were wild.

Despite the makeup, he looked like an old man—a very frightened old man. "She hasn't spoken to me for centuries. I can't—yes, yes I understand." He swallowed, regarding Jason as if he had suddenly turned into a giant cockroach. "I'm sorry, son of Jupiter. New orders. You all have to die."

Those words were enough for Evangeline to take out her sword.

Mellie squeaked. "But—but, sir! Zeus said to help them. Aphrodite, Iris, Hephaestus—"

"Mellie!" Aeolus snapped. "Your job is already on the line. Besides, there are some orders that transcend even the wishes of gods, especially when it comes to the forces of nature," 

"Whose orders?" Jason demanded. "Zeus will fire you if you don't help us!"

"I doubt it." Aeolus flicked his wrist, and far below them, a cell door opened in the pit. She could hear the storm spirits coming for their blood.

"Even Zeus understands the order of things," Aeolus said. "And if she is waking—by all the gods—she cannot be denied. Goodbye, Hereos. I'm terribly sorry, but I'll have to make this quick. I'm back on air in four minutes."

Jason summoned his sword. Coach Hedge pulled out his club. Mellie the aura yelled, "No!"

She dived at their feet just as the storm spirits hit the hurricane force, blasting the floor to pieces, shredding the carpet samples and marble and linoleum into what should've been lethal projectiles, had Mellie's robes not spread out like a shield and absorbed the brunt of impact. The seven of them fell into the pit, and Aeolus screamed above them, "Mellie, you are so fired!"

"Quick," Mellie yelled. "Son of Zeus, do you have any power over the air?"

"A little!"

"Then help me, or you're all dead!" She grabbed Jason's hand. The storm spirits were following them down, closing rapidly, bringing with them a cloud of deadly shrapnel.

Jason grabbed Lorelai's hand. "Group hug!"

"No thanks," Evangeline said.

Leo tugged her closer, and they all tried to huddle together, hanging on to Jason and Mellie as they fell.

"This is not good!" Leo yelled.

"Bring it on, gas bags!" Hedge yelled at the storm spirits. "I'll pulverize you!"

"He's magnificent," Mellie sighed.

"Focus!" Lorelai urged.

"Right!"

They slammed into the tunnel at a painful speed and went rolling over each other down a steep vent that was not designed for people.

Mellie's robes billowed around her. The others clung to her desperately, and they began to slow down, but the storm spirits were screaming into the tunnel behind them.

"Can't—hold—long," Mellie warned. "Stay together! When the winds hit—"

"You're doing great, Mellie," Hedge said. "My own mama was an aura, you know. She couldn't have done better herself."

"Iris-message me?" Mellie pleaded.

Hedge winked. "Warner will help me with that,"

Lorelai shot him a look as she held Garfield tighter, the cat yawned. He seemed to be really used to falling through the air.

"Plan this later!" Evangeline yelled.

"Look!" Piper screamed.

Behind them, the tunnel was turning dark, Lorelai could feel her ears pop as the pressure built.

"Can't hold them," Mellie warned. "But I'll try to shield you, do you one more favor."

"Thanks, Mellie," Jason said. "I hope you get a new job."

She smiled, and then dissolved, wrapping them in a warm gentle breeze. Then the real winds hit, shooting them into the sky so fast, that Lorelai blacked out.

------✧------

A/N: We only have a few chapters left of TLH so I'm making the chapters longer, my apologies in advance guys.

I also had this entrance test to this new school like I told you guys before my old one burned down so I needed a new one to go to and I got in so I guess that's good news.

Garfield is very much like the cat in the newest quiet place.