iv.

—SAVANNAH didn't know when Coach Hedge's baseball cap had flown off to reveal a set of horns or when his baseball bat just happened to become a thicker wooden club with leaves sprouting out. She didn't really want to know. She was pretty sure her mind was playing tricks on her, anyway. Like, Dylan was floating? No way.

Savannah could hear the guy's shouts over the rush of wind through her ears. He didn't quite sound like himself, but she could see his mouth moving. "Oh, come on, Coach. Let the boy attack me! After all, you're getting too old for this. Isn't that why they retired you to this stupid school? I've been on your team the entire season, and you didn't even know. You're losing your nose, Grandpa." Savannah was too confused for words. What do you even say to delusional people? Her father may have been known as the crazy neighbor but this was a whole different situation to deal with.

Coach made an angry growling in the back of his throat that sounded more like an animalistic snarl. "That's it, Cupcake. You're going down."

"You think you can protect four half-bloods at once, old man?" Dylan laughed and Savannah almost thought it was barking. Four half-bloods? What was a half-blood? And why were there four of them? He suddenly turned serious. "Good luck."

Dylan pointed at Leo and Savannah, who were too busy watching the scene like a tennis match to realize that clutching each other's hands might prove to be a disadvantage for both of them. A funnel cloud appeared around both of them. They were sent flying off the skywalk.

Leo managed to twist in midair and grab the edge of the cliff with one of his hands and still hold onto Savannah as she dangled above the chasm. She held her breathe and shut her eyes tightly. She was sure she was also screaming but the wind stole it straight out of the air. Leo did his best to bring her closer to the wall so she could hold on herself, but she was too frightened to even notice what he was doing.

"Savannah, grab the wall," Leo called to her.

She was shocked out of fear and reached out her hand to claw the red rock beside her. Her feet kicked around till they felt a thick enough ledge to stand on. She was hanging on with fingertips and toes and Leo was doing the same above her.

"You okay?" He asked before anything else.

She nodded, unable to produce words through her fearful crying. Was this what the Wilderness School was preparing her for when they had them do the rock climbing wall?

"Help!" Leo yelled up to the people above them. "Rope, please? Bungee cord? Something?"

A second later, Savannah could see a pale red figure bounding down the canyon quickly with the sound of ... Hooves? It wasn't long before the figure was right above them and reaching out chubby hands. Leo took one without thinking and he was lifted onto the thing's back. Savannah stared at the hooves that were right by her head and she tentatively took the other hand, immediately being swept into the air with an arm under her knees and one around her back.

It was a very bumpy ride back and Savannah was repeating one line over and over into the thing's ears. "I don't want to die. I don't want to die." Eventually, her and Leo were placed back on the skywalk and they scrambled to hold onto a railing.

They both looked over to see Jason lying on his back, slowly trying to get up. He was now missing a shoe and had scorch marks across his clothing.

"How are you alive?" Dylan's form flickered. "That was enough lightening to kill twenty men!" Jason was struck by lightning?!

"My turn," Jason said. Savannah could barely see it from her position, but it was unmistakable that Jason pulled out the coin from his pocket and tossed it into the air, the gold erupting into a long and glimmering sword.

Dylan made a snarling noise that made Savannah flinch. He looked at the swirling dark winds beside him and glared. "Well? Kill him!" They flew at Jason, their hands cracking and popping like static.

"Oh, my god!" Savannah screeched and stuffed her face in Leo's chest. What the hell was going on?!

Jason started to swing at the spirits, one of them dissolving away and into the wind. The second produced a lightning bolt and sent it in the blonde's direction but the sword he was holding seemed to just soak it up. Jason took this as his chance to lunge at the disoriented spirit and it turned to a yellowish powder.

Dylan gave a wail of distress and anger and looked at the spots where his comrades were before, like he was waiting, but the dust remained sitting or flying off, dispersed in the wind. "Impossible! Who are you, half-blood?"

Savannah was breathing heavily and Piper was in no better condition as she dropped Hedge's club at her feet. "Jason, how...?

Hedge looked to the heavens. "Spirits, fear me!" He was flexing his arms to present his muscles but when he looked around and only saw Dylan, his shoulders slumped. "Curse it, boy!" He snapped. "Didn't you leave some for me? I like a challenge!"

Leo, who was also sufficiently still confused looked at the man wildly. "Yo, Coach Supergoat, whatever you are — we just fell down the freaking Grand Canyon! Stop asking for challenges!"

Dylan hissed and Savannah's hand clenched Leo's. "You have no idea how many enemies you've awakened, half-bloods. My mistress will destroy all demigods. This war you cannot win."

A giant force of air from the storm pushed down on them and the skywalk's surface was forming cracks. Leo removed his hand from Savannah's to let her hold onto the railing with both hands.

"My mistress calls me back!" Dylan shouted with excitement. "And you, demigod, will come with me!"

He moved for Jason, but Piper tackled him to the ground. The smoky figure was disoriented as Piper somehow connected. They went sprawling to the ground and Savannah, Leo, Jason, and Hedge moved forward to help. Before they could reach the brunette, the spirit let loose a battle cry that sent them flying to their backs.

Savannah's back hit the glass and her spine popped from the intense movement. She winced and looked over at Leo to see him curling on his side, holding a hand to the back of his head. She tried to scoot towards him, but Dylan shouted. "I'll settle for this one!"

He snatched up Leo's arm and started to rise in the air. Savannah scrambled to her feet, trying to catch her balance with wavering vision. She looked around for a way to help but the only thing that caught her eye was Piper hanging off the edge of the skywalk. "Leo! Piper!"

Piper was the only one who responded to the distressed girl. "Help!" She yelled. "Somebody!" Then she slipped, making Savannah gasp and trip to run towards her, looking back at a still half-concious Leo floating with Dylan.

"Jason, go!" Hedge yelled. "Save her!" He grabbed Savannah's forearm and gave a stern look to stay put and she nodded. The coach launched himself at the spirit with some self-improvised karate. Leo was knocked free and Savannah didn't hesitate to go against Hedge's wishes and stride toward her fallen friend.

Savannah caressed his face gently and stared at the gray sky, waiting for Hedge to come back down, but all she could hear was a fading shout. "Save her! I got this!"

Savannah faintly saw Jason hop off the skywalk and she started to sob. She fisted Leo's shirt between the fingers of her left hand and wiped her nose with the other.

"Leo, please wake up," she cried and leaned her head down, listening for a heartbeat, but her ragged gasps and the howling wind made it impossible to hear anything which made her panic more. The tears were mixing with the rain making her hair a sopping mess. "Leo, this isn't funny. It's not a joke. Wake up. Please."

Savannah shook his shoulder a bit more and just when she started to try and calm down for her own sake, two bodies came and landed on the ground next to her. She looked at Piper and Jason before shaking her head in utter disbelief, new tears in her eyes and shaking Leo harder.

He came to only moments after, his curly hair soaked and it was littered with glittered gold from the monster dust on the ground.

"Stupid ... ugly ... goat," he muttered. Savannah sighed in relief and squished him into a hug.

She tightened her grip when Piper spoke up. "Where did he go?"

Savannah looked at the girl, painfully and surprised. She pointed up slowly. "He didn't come back down."

"Please tell me he didn't actually save my life," Leo groaned.

Savannah nodded with a sympathetic smile. "Twice."

Leo groaned louder. "What happened? The tornado guy, the gold sword ... I hit my head. That's it, right? I'm hallucinating?" Savannah wanted to think that, too, maybe pinch herself and end up back on the bus ride to the canyon.

Jason's eyes became knowing and he walked over to pick up his sword a few feet away. He flipped it in the air and it shrunk into a coin mid-spin.

"Yep," Leo said. "Definitely hallucinating."

"What were those things?" Savannah looked around, expecting more to formulate, but she saw clearing skies.

"Venti," he said. "Storm spirits."

Piper shivered from the fresh memory. Savannah was probably going to have a small fear of storms from now on. "Okay," Piper said. "You acted like...like you'd seen them before. Who are you?"

He shook his head. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. I don't know.

"Coach Hedge said he had to protect four people," Jason recalled. "I think he meant us."

  "And that thing Dylan turned into ..." Piper shuddered again. "God, I can't believe it was hitting on me." She scrunched her eyebrows together. "He called us...what, demigods?"

"And half-bloods," Savannah added.

Leo laid on the ground, not anxious to get up, especially with Savannah's hand in his. "Don't know what demi means," he said. "But I'm not feeling too godly. You guys feeling godly?"

A cracking noise was heard and Savannah jumped, thinking it was thunder and another venti — or whatever it was — returning for more.

But Jason corrected her thoughts. "We need to get off this thing," he looked at the glass. "Maybe if we —"

"Ohhh-kay," Leo interrupted. "Look up there and tell me if those are flying horses." Savannah looked down at him before narrowing her eyes at the clearing sky.

"Those are flying horses."

NOTES ;
NO NOTES, ONLY LOVE