The Hidden Follower

19.

"Enceladus?" Jason said. "You mentioned that name before."

Coach Hedge whistled. "Big giant. Breathes fire. Not somebody I'd want barbecuing my daddy goat. "

Jason gave him a shut-up look. "Piper, go on. What happened next?"

"I—I tried to reach my dad, but all I got was his personal assistant, and she told me not to worry. "

"Jane?" Leo asked. "Didn't Medea say something about controlling her?"

Piper nodded. "To get my dad back, I had to sabotage this quest. I didn't realize it would be the three of us. Then after we started the quest, Enceladus sent me another warning: He told me he wanted you two dead. He wants me to lead you to a mountain. I don't know exactly which one, but it's in the Bay Area—I could see the Golden Gate Bridge from the summit. I have to be there by noon on the solstice, tomorrow. An exchange."

Instead, Jason scooted next to her and put his arm around her again. "God, Piper. I'm so sorry. "

Leo nodded. "No kidding. You've been carrying this around for a week? Piper, we could help you. "

She glared at them. "Why don't you yell at me or something? I was ordered to kill you!"

"Because you're a nice person Piper, you went against Drew's rules, you ignore taunts, you fight back when you need to, you follow your heart and your head when whichever is needed, you have all the qualities of a great leader, except confidence but, not everyone needs it to be good at something. I got all of that and I've barely known you for a day."

  "come on," Jason added. "You've saved us both on this quest. I'd put my life in your hands any day. "

"Same," Leo said. "Can I have a hug too?"

"Leo, stop being touch-starved for just a moment so Piper can feel loved, then someone will give you a hug."

"You don't get it!" Piper said. "I've probably just killed my dad, telling you this. "

"I doubt it. " Coach Hedge belched. He was eating his tofu burger folded inside the paper plate, chewing it all like a taco. "Giant hasn't gotten what he wants yet, so he still needs your dad for leverage. He'll wait until the deadline passes, see if you show up. He wants you to divert the quest to this mountain, right?"

Piper nodded uncertainly.

"So that means Hera is being kept somewhere else," Hedge reasoned. "And she has to be saved by the same day. So you have to choose—rescue your dad or rescue Hera. If you go after Hera, then Enceladus takes care of your dad. Besides, Enceladus would never let you go even if you cooperated. You're obviously one of the seven in the Great Prophecy. "

"That's true, all three of you probably are and based off Annabeth and Percy's track record so are they." Piper looked down eyebrows furrowed as she rubbed part of her arm. "You're doing it again, stop thinking your not worth it, you are."

"So we have no choice," Piper said miserably. "We have to save Hera, or the giant king gets unleashed. That's our quest. The world depends on it. And Enceladus seems to have ways of watching me. He isn't stupid. He'll know if we change course and go the wrong way. He'll kill my dad. "

"He's not going to kill your dad," Leo said. "We'll save him. "

"We don't have time!" Piper cried. "Besides, it's a trap. "

"We're your friends, beauty queen," Leo said. "We're not going to let your dad die. We just gotta figure out a plan."

Coach Hedge grumbled. "Would help if we knew where this mountain was. Maybe Aeolus can tell you that. The Bay Area has a bad reputation for demigods. The old home of the Titans, Mount Othrys, sits over Mount Tam, where Atlas holds up the sky. I hope that's not the mountain you saw. "

"I don't think so." Piper said. "This was inland."

Jason frowned at the fire, like he was trying to remember something.

"Bad reputation ... that doesn't seem right. The Bay Area ..."

Delta looked down mumbling curses quietly hoping Jason wouldn't suddenly remember anything.

"You think you've been there?" Piper asked.

"I ..." He looked like he was almost on the edge of a breakthrough. Then the anguish came back into his eyes. "I don't know. Hedge, what happened to Mount Othrys?"

Hedge took another bite of paper and burger. "Well, Kronos built a new palace there last summer. Big nasty place, was going to be the headquarters for his new kingdom and all. Weren't any battles there, though. Kronos marched on Manhattan, tried to take Olympus. If I remember right, he left some other Titans in charge of his palace,"

"Krios and someone else I believe." Delta tried to confirm.

"Maybe, but after Kronos got defeated in Manhattan, the whole palace just crumbled on its own. "

"No," Jason said.

"Fuck damnit, " Delta whispered.

The others looked at him.

"What do you mean, 'No'?" Leo asked.

"That's not what happened. I—" He tensed, looking toward the cave entrance. "Did you hear that?"

For a second, nothing. Then howls piercing the night.

"Wolves, " Piper said. "They sound close."

Red eyes could now be seen at the front of the cave.

Jason rose and summoned his sword. Leo and Coach Hedge got to their feet too, Delta having been standing already.

"Stay there," Jason told Piper. "We'll protect you.

More wolves edged into the firelight—black beasts bigger than Great Danes, with ice and snow caked on their fur. Their fangs gleamed, and their glowing red eyes looked disturbingly intelligent. The wolf in front was almost as tall as a horse, his mouth stained as if he'd just made a fresh kill.

Delta heard Piper's Dagger leaving it's sheath.

Jason spoke in Latin.

The alpha wolf curled his lip. The fur stood up along his spine. One of his lieutenants tried to advance, but the alpha wolf snapped at his ear. Then all of the wolves backed into the dark.

"Dude, I gotta study Latin. " Leo's hammer shook in his hand. "What'd you say, Jason?"

"Yeah, he's not gonna answer you."

  "Shut up Delta."

  Hedge cursed. "Whatever it was, it wasn't enough. Look. "

The wolves were coming back, but the alpha wolf wasn't with them. They didn't attack. They waited—at least a dozen now, in a rough semicircle just outside the firelight, blocking the cave exit.

The coach hefted his club. "Here's the plan. I'll kill them all, and you guys escape."

"Yeah, hate to say it coach but, that's not going to work, anyone got some silver on them?" Delta said.

The wolves hesitated their movements at the word but quickly recovered as they realized there wasn''t any of the material around.

  "Why don't you use your fancy chalk to get some Delta." Leo gritted out of his teeth.

   "I ran out Leo, I didn't have a infinite amount."

   "Okay, well next time can you some at the magical dollar store."

    The wolves started to lose patience and growled. "Can't exactly do that Leo, I have to get it from someone I can't currently contact."

    Suddenly the wolves parted and a man stepped out of the shadows and into the firelight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~•~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Written: August 8, 2021
Published: August 9, 2021
Edited: ____ __, ____