Havoc - Piper McLean

23: Pikes peak

| pikes peak |

—It took Phoebe exactly six seconds to break camp, which Camilla could not believe. The tent self-collapsed into a square the size of a pack of chewing gum. 

Thalia ran uphill through the snow, hugging a tiny little path on the side of the mountain, and soon Camilla and her friends were wheezing trying to keep up with the Hunters. 

Coach Hedge leaped around like a happy mountain goat, coaxing them on like he used to do on track days at school. "Come on, Valdez! Is that what you call efficiency, Romani? Pick up the pace! Let's chant. I've got a girl in Kalamazoo—"

"Let's not," Thalia snapped.

So they ran in silence.

Camilla fell in next to Piper in the middle of the group. "How are you doing?" 

"Better" Piper said, "Much better. Plus, when I found out you tried to flirt with Thalia, that made me recover almost instantly"

Camilla scowled while Piper laughed. The wind carried the sound away but Camilla thought her laugh was the ugliest thing about Piper, it was loud and bubbly and she even snorted. In short, it was perfect. 

She was so lost in thought, she didn't realize the Hunters had stopped. Leo slammed into her and nearly sent them both down the side of the mountain the hard way. Fortunately, Thalia was light enough on her feet to steady the two of them while shaking her head in disappointment, then pointed up.

"That," Leo choked, "is a really large rock."

They stood near the summit of Pikes Peak. Below them the world was blanketed in clouds. The air was so thin, Camilla could hardly breathe. Night had set in, but a full moon shone and the stars were incredible. Stretching out to the north and south, peaks of other mountains rose from the clouds like islands—or teeth.

But the real show was above them. Hovering in the sky, about a quarter mile away, was a massive free-floating island of glowing purple stone. It was hard to judge its size, but Camilla figured it was at least as wide as a football stadium and just as tall. The sides were rugged cliffs, riddled with caves, and every once in a while a gust of wind burst out with a sound like a pipe organ blast. At the top of the rock, brass walls ringed some kind of a fortress.

The only thing connecting Pikes Peak to the floating island was a narrow bridge of ice that glistened in the moonlight.

Then Camilla realized the bridge wasn't exactly ice, because it wasn't solid. As the winds changed direction, the bridge snaked around—blurring and thinning, in some places even breaking into a dotted line like the vapor trail of a plane.

"We're not seriously crossing that," Camilla said.

Thalia shrugged. "I'm not a big fan of heights, I'll admit. But if you want to get to Aeolus's fortress, this is the only way."

"Is the fortress always hanging there?" Piper asked. "How can people not notice it sitting on top of Pikes Peak?"

"The Mist," Thalia said. "Still, mortals do notice it indirectly. Some days, Pikes Peak looks purple. People say it's a trick of the light, but actually it's the color of Aeolus's palace, reflecting off the mountain face."

"It's enormous," Jason said.

Thalia laughed. "You should see Olympus, little brother."

"You're serious? You've been there?"