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chapter eighteen
( IT'S CALLS LIFE )
Borrowing the helicopter was easy.. Getting her dad on board was not.
Piper needed only a few words through Leo's improvised bullhorn to convince the pilot to land on the mountain. The Park Service copter was big enough for medical evacuations or search and rescue, and when Piper told the very nice ranger pilot lady that it would be a great idea to fly them to the Oakland Airport, she readily agreed.
"No," her dad muttered, as they picked him up off the ground. "Piper, what—there were monsters—there were monsters—"
She needed Leo's, Katherine's and Jason's help to hold him, while Coach Hedge gathered their supplies. Fortunately Hedge had put his pants and shoes back on, so Piper didn't have to explain the goat legs.
"It'll be okay, Dad," Piper said, making her voice as soothing as possible. She didn't want to charmspeak her own father, but it seemed the only way. "These people are my friends. We're going to help you. You're safe now."
He blinked, and looked up at helicopter rotors. "Blades. They had a machine with so many blades. They had six arms ..."
When they got him to the bay doors, the pilot came over to help. "What's wrong with him?" she asked.
"Smoke inhalation," Jason suggested. "Or heat exhaustion."
"We should get him to a hospital," the pilot said.
"It's okay," Piper said. "The airport is good."
"Yeah, the airport is good," the pilot agreed immediately. Then she frowned, as if uncertain why she'd changed her mind. "Isn't he Tristan McLean, the movie star?"
"No," Piper said. "He only looks like him. Forget it."
"Yeah," the pilot said. "Only looks like him. I—" She blinked, confused. "I forgot what I was saying. Let's get going."
Katherine raised his eyebrows at Piper, obviously impressed, Katherine remember that once Selina has this ability too, sadly she didn't make it through till this day to teach Piper.
Finally they got him on board, and the helicopter took off. The pilot kept getting questions over her radio, asking her where she was going, but she ignored them. They veered away from the burning mountain and headed toward the Berkeley Hills.
Piper time with her dad making Katherine couldn't help but miss her own father.
"Piper." Her dad grasped her hand and held on like he was afraid he'd fall. "It's you? They told me—they told me you would die. They said ... horrible things would happen."
"It's me, Dad. Everything's going to be okay." Said Piper
"They were monsters," he said. "Real monsters. Earth spirits, right out of Grandpa Tom's stories—and the Earth Mother was angry with me. And the giant, Tsul'kälû, breathing fire—" He focused on Piper again, his eyes like broken glass, reflecting a crazy kind of light. "They said you were a demigod. Your mother was ..."
"Aphrodite," Piper said. "Goddess of love."
"I—I—" He took a shaky breath, then seemed to forget how to exhale.
Piper's friends were careful not to watch. Leo fiddled with a lug nut from his tool belt. Jason gazed at the valley below—the roads backing up as mortals stopped their cars and gawked at the burning mountain. Katherine were messing with her earring ruby and losing her mind at the memories. Gleeson chewed on the stub of his carnation, and for once the satyr didn't look in the mood to yell or boast.
Tristan McLean wasn't supposed to be seen like this. He was a star. He was confident, stylish, suave—always in control. That was the public image he projected. But this was different. Now it was broken, gone.
"I didn't know about Mom," Piper told him. "Not until you were taken. When we found out where you were, we came right away. My friends helped me. No one will hurt you again."
Her dad couldn't stop shivering. "You're heroes—you and your friends. I can't believe it. You're a real hero, not like me. Not playing a part. I'm so proud of you, Pipes." But the words were muttered listlessly, in a semi-trance.
He gazed down on the valley, and his grip on Piper's hand went slack. "Your mother never told me."
