The Poseidon Girls

Chapter 8 ~ The Gatekeeper who Loved Piper (CASS)

By the time Piper shook Leo awake, daylight was fading.
"We're here." The insane height was starting to get to me, so I was too scared to look down, but I assumed Quebec would be pretty. I shivered uncontrollably in the cold.
"There's a hoodie in your backpack if you want it." Coral told me.
"Thanks." I replied, fishing around in my backpack to find it. I pulled it in as soon as I had yanked it out from the bottom of my bag.
"Tell me that's Quebec and not Santa's workshop." Leo commented. So, Quebec looked like a Christmassy place, I guess.
"Yeah, Quebec City." Piper confirmed. "One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?"
"Your dad do a movie about that too?"
"I read sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me, doesn't mean I have to be an airhead."
"Feisty!" Leo remarked. "Since you know so much, what's that castle?"
"A hotel, I think."
"No way." Leo laughed. "The North Wind is staying in a hotel?"
"That can't be -"
"Heads up, guys," Jason interrupted. "We got company." I was tempted to look down, but then I'd be even more nervous. How long would Zeus let Coral and I stay in his domain for without blasting us out? Fest is wasn't happy. He halted in midair, his giant bronze wings flapping, and his talons bared. There was a low rumbling sound coming from his throat. Leo muttered something to Festus.
"I don't like this." Jason decided. "They look like storm spirits." Soon, two angels were hovering in front of us. They looked pretty much like regular teenagers, apart from they had icy white hair, and purple feathery wings. They carried bronze swords that were jagged, as if they were icicles dipped in bronze. Their faces looked similar enough for them to be brothers, but there was no way those two were twins.

One was around the size of an ox, with a bright red hockey jersey, baggy sweatpants, and black leather cleats. He'd clearly been in too many fights - both his eyes were black, and, when he bared his teeth, there were several missing.

The other had long hair styled into a mullet. He wore leather shoes with pointed toes, designer pants that were far too tight, and a silk shirt with the top three buttons undone. He can't have weighed much, and he had a bad case of acne. The Angels pulled up in front of Festus and hovered there, swords at the ready. The hockey angel grunted,
"No clearance."
"'Scuse me?" Leo asked.
"You have no flight plan on file," the other angel explained. His French accent sounded awful, and was clearly fake. "This is restricted airspace."
"Destroy them?" The ox asked, showing off his gap-toothed grin. Festus began to hiss and steam, ready to defend us if he needed to. Jason, probably Coral, and I summoned out swords, but Leo cried,
"Hold on! Let's have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honour of destroying me?"
"I am Cal!" The hockey angel grunted, looking very proud of himself.
"That's short for Calais." The other angel explained. Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables -"
"Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!" Cal offered.
"- which includes his own name." Carl's brother finished.
"I am Cal," Cal repeated. "And this is Zethes! My brother!"
"Wow, that was almost three sentences, man! Way to go." Leo grinned. Cal looked proud.
"Stupid buffoon," Zethes grumbled. "They make fun of you. But no matter. I am Zethes, which is short for Zethes. And the lady there -" Zethes winked, but the wink was more like a facial seizure. Also, was he winked at me, Piper, or Coral? "She can call me anything she likes. Perhaps she would like to have dinner with a famous demigod before we must destroy you?" Piper made a sound like gagging on a medical tablet.
"That's... a truly horrifying offer."
"It is no problem," Zethes wiggled his eyebrows. "We are very romantic people, we Boreads."
"Boreads?" Jason cut in. "Do you mean, like, the sons of Boreas?"
"Ah, so you've heard of us!" Zethes looked pleased. "We are our father's gatekeepers. So you understand, we cannot have unauthorised people flying in his airspace on creaky dragons, scaring the silly mortal peoples." Zethes pointed below us. "Which is sadly why, unless this is an emergency landing, we will have to destroy you painfully." Zethes brushed his hair out of his acne-covered face.
"Destroy!" Cal agreed.
"Wait!" Piper said. "This is an emergency landing."
"Awwwww!" Cal looked so disappointed, I almost felt sorry for him. Zethes studied Piper closely.
"How does the pretty lady decide this is an emergency, then?"
"We have to see Boreas. It's totally urgent! Please?" The was something convincing about Piper's voice,mane I almost believed it myself. Then I remembered what Rose told me about Charmspeak. Jason nodded. Zethes picked at his silk shirt.
"Well... I hate to disappoint a lovely lady, but you see, my sister, she would have an avalanche if we allowed you -"
"And our dragon is malfunctioning!" Piper added.
"It could crash at any minute!" I agreed, desperate to land somewhere before Zeus decided he would blast Coral and I out of the sky. Festus shuddered helpfully, then turned his head, spilling gunk out of his ear.
"No destroy?" Cal whimpered. Zethes pondered our problem, then gave Piper another spasmodic wink.
"Well, you are pretty. I mean, you're right. A malfunctioning dragon - this could be an emergency.
"Destroy them later?" I guess this offer of Cal's was about as friendly as he got.
"It will take some explaining," Zethes decided. "Father has not been kind to visitors lately. But yes, faulty dragon people, follow us." The Boreads sheathed their swords and pulled little orange flashlights out their belts. The two brothers turned and swooped away.
"I love these guys. Follow them?" Leo asked us.
"I guess." Jason agreed. "We're here now. But I wonder why Boreas hasn't been kind to visitors?"
"Pfft, he just hasn't met us." Leo whistled. "Festus, after those flashlights!" As we got closer, I was worried we would crash into the tower. The Boreads made straight for the peak and didn't slow down. Then a section of slanted roof slid open, revealing an entrance easily wide enough for Festus. The top and bottom were lined with icicles.
"This cannot be good," Jason muttered. Leo spurred his dragon on, and we entered after the Boreads. We landed in what I guessed to be the penthouse suite of a hotel, but the place had been hit by a flash freeze. The entry hall had forty-foot high vaulted ceilings, huge, draped windows, and lush, oriental carpets.