𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗘 ━━ l. valdez

xxxiv ━━ the devil that you know (looks now more like an angel)

01. chapter thirty-four

━━━━━━━━ ( 💫 ) ━━━━━━━━

I HOPED THE TAXI COULD TAKE US ALL the way to the top.

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." i stepped out of the cab after leo. leo stared at the cab with a terrified look in his eyes. i turned.

the wheels were sinking into the road like it was made of quicksand. not fast—just enough to make the driver think he was having regular car issues—but i knew different.

the road was hard-packed dirt. no reason at all it should have been soft, but already my shoes were starting to sink. gaea was messing with us. i knew i would get the brunt of it.

gaea already tried this before with me, and it worked. but after my stunt in the labyrinth, finding my way out, gaea would be determined to successfully rid of me. gaea wanted me gone.

leo paid the cabbie. "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 i had six weeks ago, AKA 1933.

"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."

"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 me felt uneasy. why did jason seem so connected with that place—a place hedge said was evil, full of bad magic and old enemies? i didn't dwell on that thought. i knew all about being involved with those who were thought of as evil. i spent my entire childhood playing games with ghosts as my only friends.

i tried to move my foot, but my heels were now completely embedded in the dirt.

"guys," i 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."

"how do we know where the giant is?" piper asked.

jason pointed toward the peak. drifting across the summit was a plume of smoke. from a distance, i had thought it was a cloud, but it wasn't. something was burning.