𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗘 ━━ l. valdez

xxxi ━━ half moonshine, a full eclipse

01. chapter thirty-one

━━━━━━━━ ( 💫 ) ━━━━━━━━

WHEN I SAW HOW WELL PIPER AND HEDGE were being treated, i was thoroughly offended.

the hunter phoebe had set up this silver tent pavilion thing right outside the cave. how she'd done it so fast, i had no idea, but inside was a kerosene heater keeping them toasty warm and a bunch of comfy throw pillows. piper looked back to normal, decked out in a new parka, gloves, and camo pants like a hunter. she and hedge and phoebe were kicking back, drinking hot
chocolate.

"oh, no way," leo said. "we've been sitting in a cave and you get the luxury tent? somebody give me hypothermia. i want hot chocolate and a parka!"

phoebe sniffed. "boys," she said, like it was the worst insult she could think of. i had to agree with her on that one.

"it's all right, phoebe," Thalia said. "they'll need extra coats. and i think we can spare some chocolate."

phoebe grumbled, looking at the two boys. she happily provided me with hot-chocolate and a silvery winter coat, nearly identical to the one i had gotten from the children's home lost and found.

she then provided leo and jason with the same amenities, but with not even half the willingness.

"cheers!" said coach hedge. he crunched down his plastic thermos cup.

"that cannot be good for your intestines," leo said.

thalia patted piper on the back. "you up for moving?"

piper nodded. "thanks to phoebe, yeah. you guys are really good at this wilderness survival thing. i feel like i could run ten miles."

thalia winked at Jason. "she's tough for a child of aphrodite. i like this one."

"hey, i could run ten miles too," leo volunteered. "tough hephaestus kid here. let's hit it."

naturally, thalia ignored him.

"very tough," i teased him. leo grumbled something about girls under his breath.

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

we ran uphill through the snow, hugging a tiny little path on the side of the mountain. piper and i kept in pace with thalia and phoebe.

leo and jason lagged behind a bit. i assumed they were unloading on the conversation with thalia.

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! pick up the pace! let's chant. i've got a girl in kalamazoo—"

"let's not," Thalia snapped.

so we ran in silence.

when we were near the summit of pikes peak, we stopped. leo slammed into me and nearly sent us both down the side of the mountain the hard way. i steadied them both, then pointed up.

"that," leo choked, "is a really large rock."

below us the world was blanketed in clouds. the air was so thin, i 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 us. 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 i figured it was at least as wide as a baseball 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.