Learning to Trust (A Leo Valdez Love Story)

Chapter 10

LEO'S POV

      They started climbing the cliffs up to the floating islands. The golden backpack of winds was strapped over Jason's shoulders. The closer they got to Aeolus's palace, the more the winds seemed to struggle in the pack, making it harder for Jason to carry. The only one who seemed to be in a good mood was Coach Hedge. He kept bounding up the slippery staircase and trotting back down. "Come on cupcakes! Only a few thousand steps to go!" The rest of them climbed in silence, however.

       Piper seemed worried and kept glancing back at Jason. Maybe she was thinking of Thalia's idea. Jason and Leo had told her and Kyra what had happened on the bridge- how they could save both her dad and Hera- but Leo didn't really understand how they were going to do that, and he wasn't sure if the possibility had made Piper more hopeful or just anxious.

      Leo kept swatting at his own legs, afraid that his pants were going to catch on fire again. He wasn't steaming anymore, but the incident on the bridge had really freaked him out. If Leo kept spontaneously combusting every time he got excited, they were going to have a tough time taking him anywhere, and he knew it too.

      Kyra kept moving forward, but appeared to be deep in thought. Her eyes were glazed over, and she had a look of concentration on her face. Leo wondered what Thalia was going to say about Kyra before he melted the bridge. What was that about? Ever since they told her of their conversation back on the bridge, Kyra had been distant. Even though it wasn't much time, Leo wanted to get to know Kyra better. He wanted to help her and protect her, though he was fairly sure she could handle herself. When the wolves came, she never missed a shot with her bow.

      Finally they arrived at the top of the island. Bronze walls marched all the way around the fortress grounds, though Leo couldn't imagine who would possibly attack this place. Twenty-foot high gates opened for them, and a road of polished purple stone led up to the main citadel- a white-columned rotunda, Greek style, like one of the monuments in Washington, D.C.- except for the cluster of satellite dishes  and radio towers on the roof.

      "That's bizarre ," Piper said.

      "Guess you can't get cable on a floating island," Leo said. "Dang, check out this guy's front yard." The rotunda sat in the center of a quarter-mile circle. The grounds were amazing in a scary way. They were divided into four sections, like pizza slices, each one representing  a season. The section to their right was an icy waste, with bare trees and a frozen lake. Snowmen rolled across the landscape as the wind blew, so Leo sure if they were decorations or alive.

      To their left was an autumn park with gold and red trees. Mounds of leaves blew into patterns- gods, people, animals that ran after each other before scattering back into leaves!

      In the distance, Leo could see two more areas behind the rotunda. One looked like a green pasture with sheep made out of clouds. The last section was a desert where tumbleweeds scratched strange patterns into the sand like Greek letters, smiley faces, and a huge advertisement that read: Watch Aeolus nightly!

      "One section for each of the four wind gods," Jason suggested. "Four cardinal directions."

      "I'm loving that pasture," Coach Hedge licked his lips. "You guys mind-"

      "Go ahead," Jason said. Leo was relieved to send the satyr off. It would be hard enough getting on Aeolus's good side without Coach Hedge waving his club around and screaming, "Die!"

      While the satyr ran off to attack springtime, Jason, Leo, Piper, and Kyra walked down the road to the steps of the palace. They passed through the front doors into a white marble foyer decorated with purple banners that read Olympian Weather Channel, and some that just read ow!

      "Hello!" a woman floated up to them. Literally floated. She reminded Leo of the nature spirits at Camp Half-Blood- petite, slightly pointy ears, and an ageless face that could've been sixteen or thirty. Her brown eyes twinkled cheerfully. Even though there was no wind, her dark hair blew in slow motion, shampoo commercial style. Her white gown billowed around her like parachute material. Leo couldn't tell if she had feet, if so they didn't touch the floor. She had a white tablet computer in her hand. "Are you from Lord Zeus," She asked. "We've been expecting you."

      "Are you a ghost," Jason blurted out. Right away Leo knew Jason had insulted her . The smile turned into a pout.

      "I am an aura, sir. A wind nymph, as you might expect, working for the lord of the winds. My name is Mellie. We don't have ghosts."

      Piper and Kyra came to the rescue. "No, of course you don't. Obviously our friend here isn't that bright," Kyra said, whilst shooting him an apologetic look.

      "He simply mistook you for Helen of Troy, the most beautiful mortal of all time. It's an easy mistake." Piper finished. 

      Wow they were good. That comment seemed a little over the top, but Mellie the aura blushed. "Oh... well then. So you are  from Zeus?"

      "Err," Jason said. "I'm the son of Zeus, yeah."

      "Excellent! Please, right this way." She led them through some security doors into another lobby, consulting her tablet as she floated. She didn't look where she was going, but apparently it didn't matter as she drifted strait through a marble column with no problem. "We're out of prime time now, so that's good," she mused. "I can fit you in right before his 11:12 spot."

      "Um, okay," Jason said.

      An ugly creature fluttered past. She looked like a mix between an old lady and a chicken on steroids. She had a wrinkled face with black hair tied in a hairnet, arms like a human plus wings like a chicken, and a fat feathered body, with talons for feet. It was amazing she could fly at all. She kept drifting around and kept bumping into things like a parade balloon.     

      "Not an aura," Jason asked Mellie as the creature wobbled by. 

      Mellie laughed. "That's a harpy, of course. Our, ah, ugly stepsisters, I suppose you could say. Don't you have harpies on Olympus? They're spirits of wild gusts, unlike us aurai. We're gentle breezes." She batted her eyes at Jason.

      "Course you are," Jason said.

      "So," Piper prompted, "You were taking us to see Aeolus?"

      Mellie led them through a set of doors, like an airlock. Above the interior door, a green light blinked. "We have a few minutes before he starts," Mellie said cheerfully. "He probably won't kill us if we go in now. Come along!"