The Blazing Fate

Chapter Twenty-Three

Borrowing the helicopter was easy. Getting Tristian McLean on board was not.

Piper needed only a few words through Leo's improvised bullhorn to convince the pilot to land on the mountain. The Park Service copter was big enough for medical evacuations or search and rescue, and when Piper told the very nice ranger pilot lady that it would be a great idea to fly them to Oakland Airport, she readily agreed.

'No,' Mr. McLean muttered. 'Piper, what—there were monsters—there were monsters—'

Piper needed both boys' help to hold him, while Coach Hedge and Astrid gathered their supplies. Fortunately, Hedge had put his pants and shoes back on, so they didn't have to explain the goat legs.

Astrid could barely focus with the pain in her arm, but she couldn't fix that right now. First, they had to get onto the plane.

When they got him to the bay doors, the pilot came over to help. 'What's wrong with him?' She asked.

'Smoke inhalation,' Jason suggested. 'Or heat exhaustion.'

'We should get him to a hospital,' the pilot said.

'It's okay,' Piper said, 'The airport is good.'

'Yeah, the airport is good,' the pilot agreed immediately. Then she frowned, as if uncertain why she'd changed her mind. 'Isn't he Tristian McLean, the movie star?'

'No,' Piper said. 'He only looks like him. Forget it.'

'Yeah,' the pilot said. 'Only looks like him. I—' she blinked, confused. 'I forgot what I was saying. Let's get going.'

Finally, they got him on board, and the helicopter took off. The pilot kept getting questions over her radio, asking her where she was going, but she ignored them. They veered away from the burning mountain and headed toward the Berkeley Hills.

Astrid sat down and started to get to work on her arm. Leo came over to help her. She ate some Ambrosia and focused a lot of her power on healing her arm. Leo rubbed some cooling gel on the burn and Astrid soon started to feel better.

Air traffic control didn't want to let an unscheduled helicopter land at the Oakland Airport—until Piper got on the radio. Then it turned out to be no problem.

They unloaded on the tarmac, and everyone looked at Piper.

'What now?' Jason asked her.

'First thing,' she said. 'I—I have to get my dad home. I'm sorry, guys.'

Astrid knew her face fell. But she tried to cover it. 'Oh. I mean, absolutely. He needs you right now. We can take it from here.'

'Piper, no,' her dad had been sitting in the helicopter doorway, a blanket around his shoulders. But he stumbled to his feet. 'You have a mission. A quest. I can't—'

'I'll take care of him,' Coach Hedge said.

Piper stared at him. 'You?' she asked.

'I'm a protector,' Hedge said. 'That's my job, not fighting.'

He sounded a little crestfallen. But then he straightened and set his jaw. 'Of course, I'm good at fighting, too.'

He glared at them all.

'Yes,' Jason said.

'Terrifying,' Leo agreed.

'A monster killer,' Astrid choked out.

The coach grunted. 'But I'm a protector, and I can do this. Your dad's right, Piper. You need to carry on with the quest.'

'But...' Piper's eyes watered. 'Dad...'