SAFE . . . reyna ramirez-arellano

76 - pointy dicks

LEO STARED AT the dagger. "Okay . . . so I don't like your idea as much as I thought. You think one of us defeats Gaea and the other one dies? Or maybe one of us dies while defeating her? Or—"

"Guys," Jason said, "we'll drive ourselves crazy overthinking it. You know how prophecies are. Heroes always get in trouble trying to thwart them."

"Yeah," Leo muttered. "We'd hate to get in trouble. We've got it so good right now."

"You know what I mean," Jason said. "The final breath line might not be connected to the storm and fire part. For all we know, the two of us aren't even storm and fire. Percy can raise hurricanes."

"And I could always set Coach Hedge on fire," Leo volunteered. "Then he can be fire."

The thought of a blazing satyr screaming, "Die, scumbag!" as he attacked Gaea was enough to make Briar snort.

"I hope I'm wrong," she said, twiddling her thumbs. "But the whole quest started with us finding Juno and waking that giant king Porphyrion. I have a feeling the war will end with us too. For better or worse."

"Hey," Jason said, "personally, I like us."

"Agreed," Leo said. "Us is my favorite people."

Briar managed a smile. She really did love her boys. She wished she could use her charmspeak on the Fates, describe a happy ending, and force them to make it come true.

Unfortunately, it was hard to imagine a happy ending with all the dark thoughts in her head. She worried that the giant Clytius had been put in their path to eliminate Leo as a threat. If so, that meant Gaea would also try to eliminate Jason. Without storm or fire, their quest couldn't succeed.

And this wintry weather bothered her too . . . She felt certain it was being caused by something more than just Diocletian's scepter. The cold wind, the mix of ice and rain seemed actively hostile, and somehow familiar.

That smell in the air, the thick smell of . . .

Briar should have understood what was happening sooner, but she'd spent most of her life in Southern California with no major changes of season. She hadn't grown up with that smell . . . the smell of impending snow. And she was just so distracted with Reyna avoiding her, she should've been more aware.

Every muscle in her body tensed. "Leo, sound the alarm."

Leo immediately dropped his screwdriver and punched the alarm button. He frowned when nothing happened.

"Uh, it's disconnected," he remembered. "Festus is shut down. Gimme a minute to get the system back online."

"We don't have a minute! Fires — we need vials of Greek fire. Jason, call the winds. Warm, southerly winds."

"Wait, what?" Jason stared at her in confusion. "Bri, what's wrong?"

"It's her!" Briar flicked her wrists, and both of her daggers were in her hands. "She's back! We have to—"

Before she could finish, the boat listed to port. The temperature dropped so fast, the sails crackled with ice. The bronze shields along the rails popped like over-pressurized soda cans.

Jason drew his sword, but it was too late. A wave of ice particles swept over him, coating him like a glazed donut and freezing him in place. Under a layer of ice, his eyes were wide with amazement.

"Leo! Fire! Now!" Briar yelled.

Leo's right hand blazed, but the wind swirled around him and doused the fire. Leo clutched his Archimedes sphere as a funnel cloud of sleet lifted him off his feet.