You'll Learn to Love Me

Chapter 14: Saving Piper's Dad

In no time, Leo had rolled up the sleeves on his collarless shirt, even though the wind was cold and sharp. Laylana herself had tied a portion of her dress to make it look more like a shirt, thankful for the leggings that Aphrodite had given her, and also for the fact she left her with her combat boots. She watched as Leo had begun to fiddle with gears and small tools, crafting what looked to be a little windup toy by the time they reached the crest of the mountain. Finally Jason crouched behind a wall of rock. He gestured for the others to do the same. Laylana and Leo crawled up next to him, Laylana having already drawn her dagger and grasped it tightly in her hand. Piper had to pull Gleeson down.

"I don't want to get my outfit dirty!" Gleeson complained.

"Shhh!" Piper said.

Reluctantly, the satyr knelt. Just over the ridge where they were hiding, in the shadow of the mountain's final crest, was a forested depression about the size of a football field, where the giant Enceladus had set up camp. Trees had been cut down to make a towering purple bonfire. The outer rim of the clearing was littered with extra logs and construction equipment —an earthmover; a big crane thing with rotating blades at the end like an electric shaver. Why a giant needed construction equipment, Laylana wasn't sure. Then, she laid eyes on the giant himself. He was thirty feet tall, circling the purple bonfire and chanting under his breath. He was armored in bronze, but it looked sooty, which wasn't a surprise with the fire. From the waist down, he was even more terrifying. His legs were scaly green, with claws instead of feet. In his hand, Enceladus held a spear the size of a flagpole. Every so often he dipped its tip in the fire, turning the metal molten red.

"Oh fuck," Laylana felt her hand shake slightly before she shook her head and whispered to herself. "Come on, pull yourself together." 

"Okay," Gleeson whispered. "Here's the plan—"

Leo elbowed him. "You're not charging him alone!"

"Aw, c'mon."

"Not happening." Laylana confirmed.

Piper choked back a sob. "Look." Just visible on the other side of the bonfire was a man tied to a post. His head slumped like he was unconscious. Laylana assumed that that was Piper's dad. "Dad," 

Leo swallowed. Laylana looked at the mortal, gritting her teeth. If she could help it, no one would die today. She had become close with Piper, whether that be a true friendship or trauma bonding, she didn't care. 

"There's five of us," Gleeson whispered urgently. "And only one of him."

"Did you miss the fact that he's thirty feet tall?" Leo asked.

"Okay," Gleeson said. "So you, me, Laylana, and Jason distract him. Piper sneaks around and frees her dad."

They all looked at Laylana and Jason.

"What?" Jason asked. "I'm not the leader."

"I'm not either," Laylana shrugged.

"Yes," Piper said. "You are. Jason this was your quest. And Laylana, you promised Jason you would guide him. And you have."

They'd never really talked about it, but no one else disagreed. Coming this far had been a team effort, but when it came to a life-and-death decision, they trusted Laylana and Jason to make the right calls. Even if Jason had no memory, and Laylana was an emotional wreck between her trauma and losing her brother, they both had a kind of balance to decision-making. You could just tell Jason had been in battles before, and he knew how to keep his cool. And with Laylana's experience in the war, she usually tried to think rationally.

"I hate to say it," Jason sighed, "but Coach Hedge is right. A distraction is Piper's best chance."

Not a good chance. Not even a survivable chance. Just their best chance. They couldn't sit there all day and talk about it, though. It had to be close to noon—the giant's deadline—and the ground was still trying to pull them down. Laylana's knees had already sunk two inches into the dirt. She noticed Leo glance at the construction equipment, and his eyes went wide, a small smirk appearing on his face.