━━ chapter twenty-five
the wind palace
( savreen )

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    ━━Her mind was buzzing.

    Not just from almost dying from Leo burning the bridge (their only way out of this place), nor from the extraordinary sight that was Aeolus's wind palace, or the pounding of her heart from her nerves, or over what had happened in the cave what felt like hours ago, but from Leo's revelation. 

     Foes bear arms, the prophecy had said. 

     Bridges have always been a symbol of pathways, of connection━between thought, between worlds, between soulmates. And if there was anything Savreen has learnt recently in her adventure amongst the gods, was that they loved their symbolism and their lessons. Was it far fetched that Hera had made her own symbolism between Percy and Jason? That the clue to one would be the other; that they were connected in this strange experience even if they've never once met. Whatever it will mean, it didn't sit well in Savreen's stomach. She could tell it was something dangerous. She could tell that whatever this meant, it had the high chance of going drastically wrong. Perhaps it was her experience, perhaps it was the necklace in her jacket pocket, perhaps it was her powers, or perhaps, it was merely the truth. 

      But the question now was: what was the bridge connecting? Where was the place Jason came from, and Percy crossed to? Savreen was desperate to know━not just for Claire, or for Jason, but for herself. Percy Jackson had become such a mystery, such an enigma, that they all wanted to figure out who he was. See this figure everyone praised. See the boy who faced the same curse Jason was met with, and see how he ended up. Where he ended up. 

      Because Savreen also wanted to know where Jason came from. She wanted to know him, not the fake memory she had been fed. 

      She glanced at him standing beside her, gazing up at the palace with that sad look back in his eyes, except this time, there was a fresh breath of anger. Savreen━somehow━could just feel every ounce of pain he felt then, and it was overwhelming: he had just found his sister after years, and then in just under an hour, he had lost her ... again.

      It made her reach out and grasp his hand, giving it a friendly squeeze. Just to let him know that she was here for him, as she had always been to the ghost he was at the Wilderness School. He had become family to her there, and that had been scary, since every family Sav has ever held left in tragic ways, or made her leave, and she had lost that version of him, too, but now this version━the real Jason━was starting to become her family again, too. 

      She just prayed to the gods she wouldn't lose this family, either. 

      After all the tragedies she's faced ... the thought of this one she knew she wouldn't be able to take. 

      She felt Jason squeeze her hand back, but didn't say a word. He let go, taking a deep breath and settling back into his leadership stance━the one where he set his shoulders back and tried his best to show no other emotion than one that would get them through this. 

      Savreen looked over her shoulder back to Leo. His shoes were charred, and his clothes still steaming. He looked terribly guilty. She stepped back to stand in line with him, taking his hand, too. She clung on tight to it, not letting him pull away even if he wanted to, perhaps scared he'd burn her, or even worse. She linked their fingers, just like she had done in that cave, and the brush of his palm against hers━so warm━sent flutters to her chest. 

      She could feel his eyes on her, and she wasn't sure whether they were grateful, or whether they were something more. Savreen was a little scared to look. After they arrived at camp, hers and Leo's friendship seemed to have changed. There was hesitance there, there was a tenser air between them━she didn't want to think that the rival between their parents had anything to do with it, but that thought that despite everything about them seeming like they were just always meant to be friends, there was something imperfect about the two of them, it sent Savreen on edge. Made her nervous. Made her suddenly see things about Leo she never did before. 

      Perhaps everything was making her on edge. Perhaps it was what happened in the cave━what even did happen in the cave? What had she done to those wolves? She made them stop; she told them what to do, and they listened to her command. That query made her uncomfortable━very uncomfortable. 

     She refused to think any more about it. 

     And so, together, the group of them: Savreen, Leo, Jason, Piper and Coach Hedge left the burnt bridge and climbed the many stairs up to Aeolus's fortress in silence. Never once did Savreen let go of Leo's hand. 

     The palace looked as if someone had taken a picture from a fairytale book of a medieval castle, and placed it on top of magical clouds to make it float in the air━it seemed the mythical destination of a Barbie movie. Savreen seriously felt as if she had danced with twelve sisters on the exact right tiles to venture into a hidden world. 

     Except this didn't make her feel happy as if she was Barbie, she felt the rise in her stomach to her chest━ready for something to go wrong. 

     Finally they arrived at the top of the island. Bronze walls marched all the way around the fortress grounds, though Savreen couldn't imagine who would possibly attack this place━or rather, want to. Twenty-foot-high gates open for them, and a road of polished purple stone led up to the main citadel━a white-columned rotunda, Greek style, such as one of the monuments in Washington, D.C.━except for the cluster of satellite dishes and radio towers on the roof.

     "Um," Piper decided to speak up, pointing upwards to the slowly spinning satellite dishes, "That's ... bizarre?"

      "Guess you can't get cable on a floating island," said Leo.

      "Bet they're stuck with Fox News," Savreen turned up her nose.

      "Or SBS," added Piper. Sav agreed with her, the two girls having a disgusted exchange. 

      "Dang━!" let out Leo suddenly, gesturing to the centre, "━check this guy's front yard!"

     The rotunda sat in the centre of a quarter-mile circle. The grounds were amazing━but in a really scary way: they were divided into four sections like pizza slices (really huge pizza slices), each one representing a season. The section on their right was an icy wasteland, with bare trees and a frozen lake. Snowmen rolled across the landscape as the wind blew, and Savreen shuffled closer to Leo, not particularly sure whether they were decorations or alive. (But she did know Leo could probably melt them if they got too close, so she hid behind him). To their left was an autumn park of gold and red woodland. Mounds of leaves blew into patterns━gods, people, animals that ran after each other before scattering back into the Fall wind. In the distance, there were two more slices within the rotunda. One was a gorgeous secret garden with sheep made out of clouds, and the last 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! 

     Savreen and Piper shared an incredulous glance.

    "One section for each of the four wind gods," guessed Jason, the first time he's spoken since he was forced to say goodbye to Thalia. "Four cardinal directions."

     "I'm loving that pasture," Coach Hedge licked his lips, eyes fixed upon Spring. "You guys mind━?"

    "Go ahead," said Jason, and all of them were admittedly relieved to send the satyr off ... the last thing they needed right now was for Coach Hedge to wave his club at Aeolus and scream: DIE! 

    While the satyr ran off to attack springtime, Savreen, Leo, Jason and Piper 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 said: OLYMPIAN WEATHER CHANNEL, and some that just said OW!

     "Ow!" muttered Leo to Sav, rubbing his arm as if he was just hit. She bit back a snicker the two of them shared between themselves at his terrible joke. Leo grinned, happy to make her laugh. 

     "Hello!" Out of nowhere, a woman floated up to them━literally floated. Savreen's mouth gaped in surprise. She was pretty in an elfish way━much like the nature spirits Sav had only briefly seen in her short time at Camp Half-Blood: petite, with slightly pointed ears and an ageless face that could've been sixteen or thirty. Her brown eyes twinkled cheerfully. Even though there was no wind, her hair blew like she was in some over-dramatic commercial for shampoo, or perfume, or something. Her white gown billowed around her like a hot hair balloon. She shimmered, floated off the ground━you could see right through her, just as if she was a━

     "Are you a ghost?" Jason blurted out. 

     Savreen stared at her friend, horrified. You don't ask people if they're ghosts! She told him and he replied with a look of: she looks exactly like a ghost what was I supposed to━?

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

     Piper quickly came to the rescue, subtly jabbing her elbow into Jason's side at his words. He coughed, trying very hard not to double over. "No, 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."

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

     "Er..." Jason was still massaging his side where Piper had elbowed him. "I━I'm the son of Zeus, yeah."

      "Excellent! Please, right this way." She led them through a set of what Sav could guess to be security doors into another lobby, consulting her tablet as she floated. She didn't look where she was going━but that didn't matter; she just drifted right through a marble column with no problem. "We're out of prime time now, so that's good," she mused. "I can fit you in right before his eleven-twelve spot."

     "Um ... okay."

     This second lobby was just as distracting as the first. Winds blasted around them, making it seem like they were pushing through an invisible crowd of thousands. Doors blew open and slammed by themselves━everything in it was bizarre: paper aeroplanes of all different sizes and shapes sped around where other wind nymphs would occasionally pluck them out of the air, unfold and read them, then toss them back into the air, where the planes would refold themselves and keep flying. 

     An ugly creature━well, Savreen didn't want to say ugly, that was a really mean word. No one was ugly, but ... ━flew past. She looked like a mix between an old lady and a chicken on steroids. Not to mention, she looked familiar━as if Sav has seen these creatures before ... until she realised, she did. They were here and there back at Camp Half-Blood, and Claire had joked to her during the tour that they'd eat her if she stayed out too late ... but the thing was, Savreen still wasn't too sure whether she was serious or not. 

      "Not an aura?" asked Jason, glancing at Mellie as the creature wobbled by.

     Mellie laughed━even that sounded airy and melodic, like spoken through a flute. "That's a harpy, of course. Our━ah━ugly stepsisters, I suppose you would say. Don't you have harpies on Olympus? They're spirits of violent gusts, unlike us aurai. We're all gentle breezes."

    She batted her eyes at them. Savreen was scared what would happen if they said no. 

    So she smiled and awkwardly stated, "Of course, you are."

     Mellie broke out into a smile. "You're so sweet," she told Sav. 

    Sav glanced at Leo to see his reaction, but he was too busy staring up and anything and everything━this entire lobby was a dam of dopamine his ADHD was trying to soak up.

    "So," Piper prompted, "you were taking us to see Aeolus?"

     Mellie flickered back to focus and led them through a set of doors like an airlock. Above the interior door, a green light blinked. "Yes! Yes━we have a few minutes before he starts," she said cheerfully. "He probably won't kill you if we go in now. Come along!"

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

     ━━If Savreen had a dollar each time someone has told them there was a chance a god might kill them, she would have like two dollars, but still, even getting a dollar was concerning. Unlike his brethren, stuck in his cold palace in Quebec, the central section of Aeolus's fortress was as bright and warm as one could get it: it was as big as a 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. Savreen almost pulled her and Leo into the chasm before Jason pulled them back. 

      "Hey━!" Leo gulped. "Hola, Mellie, a little warning next time?!"

     Savreen stared at the drop off, gaping, her entire life just blinking right before her eyes for a moment. Piper pursed her lips, carefully peering over the edge before muttering to the girl beside her, "Wow, that's a far drop."

      "I almost died," whispered Savreen in shock.

     Piper sent her a mischievous grin. Grabbing the back of her denim jacket, she tauntingly pushed Savreen forward and she screamed, going to smack her friend lightly as she laughed, pulling her back. "Don't do that! Why are you so mean?"

      An enormous circular pit plunged into the heart of the mountain. It was probably half a mile deep, honeycombed with caves. Some of the tunnels probably led straight outside where Sav had remembered seeing those sudden gusts of wind. Over caves were sealed in some glistening material like glass of wax. The whole cavern bustled with harpies, aurai and paper aeroplanes, but for someone who couldn't fly (you know, like Savreen━), it would be a very long, very fatal fall.

     Aeolus's fortress might not be cold in temperature, glistened with shards of ice. It might be warm in the studio lights and Mellie's smiles ... but there was something about it that seemed just as cool; just as chilling. 

     "Oh, my━" Mellie gasped. "I'm so sorry!" She unclipped a walkie-talkie from somewhere inside her robes and spoke into it: "Hello, sets? Is that Nuggets? Hi, Nuggets. Could we get a floor in the main studio, please? Yes, a solid one. Thanks."

     A few seconds later, an entire army of harpies rose from the pit━three dozen or more of them, all carrying squares of various building material. They went to work hammering and glueing━and using large quantities of duck tape, which didn't reassure Sav, no matter how many people say duck tape fixed everything. Though, she was impressed, for in no time, there was a makeshift floor snaking over the chasm. It was made of plywood, marble blocks, carpet squares, wedges of grass sod━just about anything.

     "Mierda," Leo let out━both impressed, but at the same time, sort of terrified. He said something entirely in Spanish before he realised that they didn't understand him, so he translated quickly with a roll of his eyes: "It's like Minecraft on steroids."

    "This can't be safe," muttered Jason.

    "Oh, it is!" Mellie assured them. "The harpies are very good."

    It was easy for her to say. She just floated across it without a care in the world. 

    The four friends left behind all glanced at each other, before Savreen, Leo and Piper settled their gazes on Jason who sighed, knowing he'd be the one thrown out to test it. 

     Hesitantly, he stretched out a foot onto the makeshift bridge. Then, he placed his entire weight onto it. Remarkably, the floor held.

     Piper quickly gripped his hand as she followed, "If I fall, you're catching me."

     Jason stared at her. His breath hitched, and a blush started to form on his cheeks that raised all the way up to the tip of his ears. He was suddenly a flustered mess.

     As always, Leo was there to make fun of him. He stepped out next, and Savreen wasn't far behind. She tried to make herself as light as possible, stepping onto the plain as if she was stepping on air itself. Even though technically she couldn't make herself any lighter, but it made her feel better to think that in her head, she was trying. "You're catching us, too Superman," Leo was saying with that impish grin. "But I ain't holding your hand."

     Piper flipped him off with her other hand━something she always did whenever Leo spoke. It only just made him grin more. 

     Mellie led them towards the middle of the chamber where a loose sphere of flat-panel video screens floated around a control centre. Savreen stayed on Piper's other side, peering up and around━doing anything to keep her attention from the chasm below. A man hovered inside the control centre, checking monitors and reading paper-aeroplane messages. He paid them no attention as Mellie brought them forward. She pushed aside a forty-two inch Sony and took them into the control area.

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

     Savreen felt as though she had stepped onto the set of The Today Show. Floating screens showed all sorts of television programmes. Some she recognised━news broadcasts, mostly, perhaps a ABC show here and there━but most of the programmes looked a little strange: gladiators fighting, demigods battling monsters. Maybe they were movies, but with a sick feeling to Sav's stomach, they seemed more like reality shows. 

     Or were they broadcasting straight onto the demigods lives? Was that all they were to the gods? Entertainment? Something to watch after dinner and laugh at all of their mistakes. 

     Did her own mother, Harmonia, see her like that?

     Savreen had to look away. 

    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 centre was talking into an earpiece phone. He had a remote control in each hand and was pointing them at various screens, seemingly at random. 

      He was draped in a suit that looked to be made of the sky itself━constantly changing from clear skies to stormy weather across the fabric. He seemed to be in his sixties, with a shock of white hair, a ton of stage makeup on, and looking more like a Ken Barbie Doll than a real person ... except he somehow halfway melted in a microwave. His eyes darted back and forth from screen to screen, trying to absorb everything at once. He muttered things into his phone, and his mouth kept twitching. He was either amused, crazy━or both. 

     Mellie floated towards him. "Ah, sir, Mr. Aeolus, these demigods━"

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

     It was one of those storm-chaser programmes, where insane thrill-seekers drove after tornadoes. Savreen winced as a Jeep ploughed 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 to Jason with a mad grin. "Isn't that amazing? Let's watch it again."

    "Um, sir," said Mellie carefully, "this is Jason, son of━"

    "Yes, yes, I remember," Aeolus waved her off. "You're back. How did it go?"

    Jason frowned. He glanced briefly back at Savreen, Leo and Piper. They all shrugged. "S━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 ... 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 aid. Odysseus━gods, he docked at my island for a month! At least you stayed only a few days. Now, watch this video. These ducks get sucked straight into━"

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

    "Air!" exclaimed the god. "I love air. How do I look? Makeup!"

    There was a tornado of brushes, blotters and cotton balls. They blurred across Aeolus's face until he looked even more melted than before. Wind swirled through his hair and left it sticking up like a frosted Christmas tree. 

     "Uh ... Mr. Aeolus," Jason slipped off the golden backpack. "We brought you these rogue storm spirits."

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

     Jason stood there, a little dumbfounded by his reaction before Leo nudged him. So, Jason offered the bag. "Boreas sent us to capture them for you. We hope you'll━uh━accept them and stop━you know━ordering demigods to be killed."

     Aeolus laughed again and looked, incredulous, at Mellie. "Demigods be killed━did I order that?"

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

     "Oh, pish. 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 and snatched the golden back before spiralling back into the abyss. 

     Aeolus grinned at Jason. "Now, sorry about that kill-on-sight business. But gods, I really was mad, wasn't I?" And like that, his face darkened━like an oncoming thunder storm. His suit followed, 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 ..."

     Savreen saw Jason tense. And just like the god had said it, Sav seemed to feel it and she hid a shiver. "A ... um ... voice in your head, sir?"

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

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

     "Of course!" he laughed again. "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!"

     Savreen was unsure. She hugged her stomach, watching the way the wind god flew off towards the blue screen as newscast music began to play. She glanced at her friends, hoping they'd see her: is it me or is he a little crazy? look without her actually mentioning it. Leo nodded, eyes wide to tell her: yes, very much, and she felt better that she wasn't the only one thinking this might be a disaster. 

      Her necklace grew warm in her pocket. 

     Stop that, she told it.

     Miraculously, it seemed to follow her request. 

     "Mellie," began Jason, hesitant, "is he ... always like that?"

     She smiled sheepishly. Her hair was still gently drifting like she had a personal breeze following her like a friend. "Well ... you know what they say. If you don't like his mood, wait five minutes. That expression: 'whichever the way the wind blows'━that was based on him."

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

     Mellie blushed the shade of a red sunset. "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 that long."

      "How long do his assistants usually last?" asked Piper.

     "Oh ..." Mellie thought for a moment. She counted a little on her fingers. "I've been doing this for ... twelve hours?"

     Leo turned to Sav, horrified, "We're gonna die."

     Before Jason could tell him to be quiet, a voice blared from floating speakers: "And now, weather every twelve minutes! Here's your forecaster for Olympian weather━the OW! channel━Aeolus!"

     "Ow!" whispered Leo, rubbing his elbow━he just couldn't help it. 

     The entire room burst forth with blinding spotlights. Savreen had to shield her eyes. Aeolus stood before it all with a smile unnaturally white. "Hello, Olympus!" he said in that generic news reporter voice. "Aeolus, master of the 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 the citrus famers!" He gestured at the blue screen, but when Sav checked the monitors, she could see a digital image projected behind the god, so he looked as if he was standing in front of a map of the U.S. with animated smiley suns and frowning storm clouds. "Along the eastern seaboard━oh, hold on━" he tapped his earpiece. "Sorry, folks! Poseidon is angry with Miami today, so it looks like that 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! 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."

     It was back and forth, back and forth. For the next few minutes, Aeolus forecasted each area of the country only to keep changing the prediction as a god spoke into his ear, demanding one thing while another demanded the opposite. Savreen stared, shocked and bewildered. 

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

    Mellie smirked. "And how often are the mortal weathermen right?" Savreen could tell Piper was fighting the urge to butt in and add women to that sentence. "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 didn't say mad, but they all knew she meant it. Aeolus was completely mad.

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

     The lights shut off, the monitors went back to random coverage, and there was a moment where Aeolus's face sagged with weariness, and Savreen could see just how exhausted a god could get. It almost made her feel sorry for him, and for Hera, and for every god out there. Until she reminded herself that in such little time, everything they had already done to make her life absolute hell, and the bitterness she kept boiling beneath in the pit of her stomach returned. 

     "So!" Aeolus returned, and the smile was back onto his face━like it had never been there. "You brought me some rogue storm spirits. I suppose ... thanks! And did you want something else? I assume so. Demigods always do."

     Leo reached for Sav's hand to comment silently in Morse Code: and gods don't?

     She just squeezed his hand in reply to help him keep calm. Would he burst into flames if he got too angry? She hated how that was what she was starting to focus on. 

     Mellie pursed her lips, "Um, sir, this is Zeus's son."

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

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

     Aeolus looked stunned. Then, he laughed so abruptly Savreen, Leo, Piper and Jason all almost jumped right into the chasm. "You mean you're here on behalf of your father this time? Finally! I knew they would send someone to renegotiate my contract!"

     "Um ... what?"

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

     Jason stared back at them, mystified. Savreen wanted to wince━this could be a really, really dangerous misunderstanding. 

     "Dude," spoke up Leo, confused, "you think we're here to promote you?"

     "You are, then?" Aeolus looked so excited, he seemed like a hyper kid with his suit completely blue━not a cloud in the fabric. "Marvellous! 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, Gone with the Wind━"

    "Uh━I don't think those are about you ..." Jason trailed off at the sight of Mellie shaking her head. 

     "Nonsense! Mellie, they're biographies of me, aren't they?"

     "A━Absolutely, sir."

     "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 staff━"

     "Sir," Jason cut him off bravely, "we're not from Olympus."

     Aeolus blinked, "But━"

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

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

    "Sir, please, I don't remember last time, but if you helped me once 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 your kind━"

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

     "Oh, please! I mean you 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."

     Aeolus rolled his eyes. "The point being, I was thrown into the middle of that conflict, too! Juno calls up: 'Oh, Aeolus, destroy Aenea'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," managed Jason. "I━I guess not━"

     "W━we just want information," Sav tried to step in, hoping she could calm the situation before it got worse. "W━we hear you know everything."

     For a second, Aeolus seemed to falter. The thunder on his suit turned back to just grey clouds. He straightened his lapels, "Well ... that's true, of course. For instance, I know that this business here━" he waggled his fingers at the four of them, "━this harebrained scheme of Juno's to bring you all together is likely to end in bloodshed. As for you, Savreen Arora, I know about the necklace in your pocket, and I know what it has done to you. I know what it will do." He held out his hand, and a photo fluttered into his grasp. Savreen's breath hitched at the sight of it. She took the photo with shaking fingers, unable to stop staring at the face of a father she barely remembered, holding a degree in psychology on his graduation day in between his parents, her Dadi and Dada. Words didn't seem to work━she couldn't force any out of her closed throat, and suddenly she felt like she was drowning. She turned to Leo, choked and confused. 

     "I know that your father, Piper McLean," went on the god, "is in serious trouble." A scrap of paper landed in his outstretched hand━a photo of a younger Piper smiling beside her father. Older Piper took it, and she looked horrified.

     "This━" she swallowed harshly, "━this is from his wallet."

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

     "The━the what?"

     He waved aside the question and narrowed his eyes at Leo. "Now, you, son of Hephaestus ... yes, I see your future." A final piece of paper fell into the wind god's hands━an old tattered drawing done in bright crayons.

     Leo's fingers grasped it as if it might be coated in poison. He staggered backwards. He looked sick. 

     Savreen watched him, concerned and yet muddled with the own photo she clutched in a trembling grip. 

     "Leo?" asked Jason. "What is it?"

    "Something I━I drew when I was a kid." He folded it and stuffed it into his pocket before any of them could see what it was. Leo seemed as if he had seen a ghost. "It's ... y━yeah, it's nothing."

     Aeolus laughed. "Really? Just the key to your success! Now, where were we? Ah, yes, you wanted information. Are you sure about that? Sometimes, information can be dangerous."

      Information can be dangerous, Savreen found herself turning the photo over, and on the back, written in her grandmother's handwriting. She translated: don't be afraid, son, your future arrives once you face your fears. She felt tears brim. 

    "Yeah," said Jason, ignoring Mellie's warning, shakes of her head. "We need to find the lair of Enceladus."

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

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

     "Now, that's impossible," said Aeolus. "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," said Jason.

     "Hold on!" Aeolus slapped a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. "I'm getting something! Yes, she's at a place called the Wolf House!" Jason's face turned blank in annoyance. "Sadly, I don't know where that is."

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

    "Yeah," added Leo, catching on. "And if we save her━"

    "She'll be really grateful to you," went on Savreen.

    "And, Zeus might promote you," finished Jason. 

     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 also be great."

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

    "Mellie, quiet!" the god snapped and she closed her mouth, a little scared. "I have half a mind to fire you for letting these people in under false pretences."

     Her face paled. "Yes, sir. S━sorry, sir."

    "It wasn't her fault," said Jason quickly. "But about that help ..."

     Aeolus tilted his head as if thinking. It took Savreen a moment to realise he was listening to voices in his earpiece.

    "Well ... Zeus approves," he muttered. "He says ... he says it would be better off if you could avoid saving her after the weekend, because he has a big party planned━Ow! That was Aphrodite yelling at him, reminding him that the solstice starts at dawn. She says I should help you. And Harmonia, well! Quite surprising I hear her, she's all for it. And Hephaestus ... yes. Hmm ... Very rare they agree on anything. Hold on..."

     Jason smiled at them. Savreen has never seen him so hopeful. And she couldn't blame him ... their parents━their godly parents, were actually standing up for them. It made her feel warm inside━made her feel like Harmonia actually cared. 

     Back towards the centre, Savreen heard a loud belch. Glancing over, she saw Coach Hedge waddle in from the lobby, grass all over his face. Mellie saw him coming across the makeshift floor and caught her breath. "Who is that?"

    Jason stifled a cough. Savreen, Leo and Piper all shared incredulous looks. "That? That's just Coach Hedge. Uh━Glesson Hedge. He's our ..." he looked uncertain on what to call him. Savreen didn't want to say problem, but ... "Uh ... guide."

     "He's so gaotly..."

    Piper pretended to gag beside Leo while he made a face of absolute disgust. 

     "What's up, guys?" Hedge trotted over. "Wow, nice place. Oh! Sod squares."

    "Coach, you just ate," Jason chided━it was like he was talking to a child. "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.

     "I think I just threw up a little in my mouth," whispered Leo. 

     "And Aeolus here was just about to help us."

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

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

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

    "The Bay Area again?" the coach shook his head. He looked grave. "Not good. Not good at all."

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

    Without warning, his face went slack. He bent over and tapped his earpiece as if it were malfunctioning. When he straightened back up again, his eyes were wild. Despite the makeup, he looked like an old man━an old, very frightened man. "She hasn't spoken to me for centuries. I can't━yes━yes, I understand."

    He swallowed, regarding them as if they had suddenly turned into giant cockroaches. Savreen didn't have a good feeling. "I'm sorry, Son of Jupiter. New orders. You all have to die."

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

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

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

     "I doubt it," the wind god flicked his wrist, and far below them a cell door opened in the pit. Savreen heard the raging roar of storm spirits screaming out of it, spiralling up towards them with a howl for blood. 

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

     Savreen inched towards Leo, pressing her thumb on her ring to bring forth her weapon. She knew it would be useless against monsters that could only be hurt by one person, and he was outnumbered a thousand to one. Jason summoned his sword. Coach Hedge pulled out his club. Piper held out her knife and Leo scrambled for a hammer out of his tool belt. Mellie the aura yelled, "NO!"

     She dived at their feet just as the storm spirits hit with hurricane force, blasting the floor to pieces. They shredded the carpet samples, marble and linoleum into what should've been lethal projectiles, expect Mellie's robes spread out like a shield and absorbed the brunt of the impact. The group of them fell into the pit, and Aeolus screamed from above, "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!" Mellie grasped his hand and Jason's eyes seemed to spark a little brighter━as if lightning cascaded within him.

     He turned to to the rest of them. He grabbed Piper's hand. "Group hug!"

     Savreen didn't argue. She forced herself forward, wrapping her arms around both Piper and Leo━the lot of them all huddled together, hanging onto Jason and Mellie desperately as they fell. Sav closed her eyes and hid her face against Leo's chest beside her. She barely heard him scream: "THIS IS NOT GOOD!" as they dropped like stones.

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

    "He's magnificent," gushed Mellie.

    "Concentrate?" prompted Jason.

    "Oh, right!"

     Savreen gritted her jaw tight so she wouldn't scream. Not wanting to look as she felt wind rush around them like a hurricane. They slammed into something━a tunnel━at a painful speed and went rolling over each other down a steep vent. There was no way they could stop.

     Sav gripped the fabric of Leo's army jacket. She felt him do the same to her own. 

     They started to slow down, but the storm spirits were still screaming into the tunnel behind them.

     "Can't━hold━long," gasped Mellie in warning. "Stay together! When the winds hit━"

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

     "Iris-message me?" 

     Hedge winked.

    "Could you guys plan your date later?" screamed Piper. "Look!"

     Savreen found the courage to glance up. Behind them, the tunnel was turning dark. She could feel her ears pop as the pressure built. 

     "Can't hold them," said Mellie again. "But I'll try to shield you, do you one more favour.'

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

    She smiled, and then dissolved, wrapping them in a warm gentle breeze. 

    Then the real winds hit, and they shot into the sky so fast Savreen blacked out. 

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

     a/n: long chapter? long chapter. 

     because y'all miss claire and percy so much, i have for u a little head cannon that's not really a head cannon because it definitely happened lol:

      cos claire's at camp all year around, percy would like invite her over on weekends to do random stuff in manhattan. skateboarding? sure. going to a cafe? definitely. just going on random shopping sprees? all the time. just chilling at his apartment and eating sally's blue cookies? yes and it's the sweetest thing. and claire definitely would've taken photos on a polaroid because we all know she's a secret romantic and likes to capture everything to reminder it's all real. 

     oh, and if y'all didn't already know this, claire lives in percy's hoodies. and she wears them every day now that he's missing - and will continue to, so she can feel as if he's still with her. so she won't forget anything about him. it keeps her calm.