~ { Shadow and Beauty } ~

Taking A Chopper To Battle

{Piper}

She sobbed into his shirt. She allowed herself to be held for six deep breaths. Seven. Then she couldn't indulge herself anymore. They needed her.

   The helicopter pilot was already looking uncomfortable, like she was starting to wonder why she'd flown them here.

   "Thank you, guys," Piper said. "I—"

   She wanted to tell them how much they meant to her. They'd sacrificed everything, maybe even their quest, to help her. She couldn't repay them, couldn't even put her gratitude into words. But her friends' expressions told her they understood.

   Then, right next to Jason, the air began to shimmer. At first Piper thought it was heat off the tarmac, or maybe gas fumes from the helicopter, but she'd seen something like this before in Medea's fountain. It was an Iris message. An image appeared in the air—a dark-haired girl in silver winter camouflage, holding a bow.

   Jason stumbled back in surprise. "Thalia!"

   "Thank the gods," said the Hunter. The scene behind her was hard to make out, but Piper heard yelling, metal clashing on metal, and explosions.

   "We've found her," Thalia said. "Where are you?"

   "Oakland," he said. "Where are you?"

   "The Wolf House! Oakland is good; you're not too far. We're holding off the giant's minions, but we can't hold them forever. Get here before sunset, or it's all over."

   "Then it's not too late?" Piper cried. Hope surged through her, but Thalia's expression quickly dampened it.

   "Not yet," Thalia said. "But Jason—it's worse than I realized. Porphyrion is rising. Hurry."

   "But where is the Wolf House?" he pleaded.

   "Our last trip," Thalia said, her image starting to flicker. "The park. Jack London. Remember?"

   This made no sense to Piper, but Jason looked like he'd been shot. He tottered, his face pale, and the Iris message disappeared.

   "Bro, you all right?" Leo asked. "You know where she is?"

   "Yes," Jason said. "Sonoma Valley. Not far. Not by air."

   Piper turned to the ranger pilot, who'd been watching all this with an increasingly puzzled expression.

   "Ma'am," Piper said with her best smile. "You don't mind helping us one more time, do you?"

   "I don't mind," the pilot agreed.

   "We can't take a mortal into battle," Jason said. "It's too dangerous." He turned to Leo. "Do you think you could fly this thing?"

   "Um..." Leo's expression didn't exactly reassure Piper. But then he put his hand on the side of the helicopter, concentrating hard, as if listening to the machine. "Bell 412HP utility helicopter," Leo said. "Composite four-blade main rotor, cruising speed twenty-two knots, service ceiling twenty-thousand feet. The tank is near full. Sure, I can fly it."

   Piper smiled at the ranger again. "You don't have a problem with an under-aged unlicensed kid borrowing your copter, do you? We'll return it."

   "I—" The pilot nearly choked on the words, but she got them out: "I don't have a problem with that."

   Leo grinned. "Hop in, kids. Uncle Leo's gonna take you for a ride."

   "Please don't crash the copter," Kiara said as she got on the helicopter.