~ { Shadow and Beauty } ~

The Devil Mountain

{Leo}

Piper found Kiara at a small park close to the café.

   They hauled a cab and all of them jumped in under the curious looks of the cabbie.

   Leo hoped the taxi could take them all the way to the top. But no such luck.

   The cab made lurching, grinding sounds as it climbed the mountain road, and halfway up they found the ranger's station closed, a chain blocking the way.

   "Far as I can go," the cabbie said. "You sure about this? Gonna be a long walk back, and my car's acting funny. I can't wait for you."

   "We're sure." Leo was the first one out. He had a bad feeling about what was wrong with the cab, and when he looked down he saw he was right.

   The wheels were sinking into the road like it was made of quicksand. Not fast—just enough to make the driver think he had a transmission problem or a bad axle—but Leo knew different. The road was hard-packed dirt. No reason at all it should have been soft, but already Leo's shoes were starting to sink. Gaea was messing with them.

   While his friends got out, Leo paid the cabbie. He was generous—heck, why not? It was Aphrodite's money. Plus, he had a feeling he might never be coming off this mountain.

   "Keep the change," he said. "And get out of here. Quick."

   The driver didn't argue. Soon all they could see was his dust trail.

   The view from the mountain was pretty amazing. The whole inland valley around Mount Diablo was a patchwork of towns—grids of tree-lined streets and nice middle-class suburbs, shops, and schools. All these normal people living normal lives—the kind Leo had never known.

   "That's Concord," Jason said, pointing to the north. "Walnut Creek below us. To the south, Danville, past those hills. And that way..." He pointed west, where a ridge of golden hills held back a layer of fog, like the rim of a bowl.

   "That's the Berkeley Hills. The East Bay. Past that, San Francisco," Kiara finished.

   "Jason?" Piper touched his arm. "You remember something? You've been here?"

   "Yes ... no." He gave her an anguished look. "It just seems important."

   "That's Titan land." Coach Hedge nodded toward the west. "Bad place, Jason. Trust me, this is as close to 'Frisco as we want to get."

   But Jason looked toward the foggy basin with such longing that Leo felt uneasy. Why did Jason seem so connected with that place—a place Hedge said was evil, full of bad magic and old enemies? What if Jason came from here? Everybody kept hinting Jason was an enemy, that his arrival at Camp Half-Blood was a dangerous mistake.

   No, Leo thought. Ridiculous. Jason was their friend.

   He noticed Kiara giving a similar look towards Berkeley Hills, but she looked away and glanced up the mountain.

   Leo tried to move his foot, but his heels were now completely embedded in the dirt.

   "Hey, guys," he said. "Let's keep moving."

   The others noticed the problem.

   "Gaea is stronger here," Hedge grumbled. He popped his hooves free from his shoes, then handed the shoes to Leo. "Keep those for me, Valdez. They're nice."

   Leo snorted. "Yes, sir, Coach. Would you like them polished?"

   "That's varsity thinking, Valdez." Hedge nodded approvingly. "But first, we'd better hike up this mountain while we still can."