The Lost Heroine (Heroes of Olympus/Kane Chronicles crossover) [2016]

Chapter 18: Hazel

I WAS HORRIFIED TO FIND PIPER MISSING. When Jason freaked out and started swearing in Latin, I felt terrible for him. Piper was a great friend, and to have her go missing was the last straw. First Annabeth went missing, and now Piper. The poor guy was really stressed--his girlfriend just got kidnapped by a hostile snow goddess. I'd never actually opposed Khione, but I knew that she'd been defeated by Leo the first time and Piper the second time. Now Piper was gone, and we had a quest that was most likely going to leave three of my friends dead.

I glanced around at the group. Frank, Leo, Nico, Will, Percy, Jason, Annabeth, Calypso, Sadie, Jaz, Zia, Carter, Walt... I couldn't imagine letting any of them die. I couldn't lose Piper, either. I had no idea how this quest was going to end up, but I knew I wouldn't like it.

"We've still got a transportation problem," Frank pointed out.

"We could use Arion," I suggested, but Annabeth shook her head.

"That worked for two or three people, but there's no way we can do it with fourteen people all the way to Antarctica," she said regretfully. "We need more ideas."

"Freak?" Carter asked hopefully.

"He can only carry four people!" Zia reminded him. Jason cursed in Latin again.

"The pegasi won't last the whole trip without donuts," Percy said glumly.

"Festus won't, either," Leo said, agitated. "I mean without motor oil and Tabasco sauce, not donuts."

I was starting to lose hope. If we took too long to get there, Khione might get bored and kill Piper. Then Carter said, "What about a portal?"

"Portal?" the Greeks and Romans repeated, turning to Carter.

"Magicians can travel through portals, using an Egyptian relic," he explained. "Where can we find an Egyptian relic?"

"An Egyptian relic? Like... Cleopatra's needle, in Central Park?" Annabeth asked.

Carter stared at her. "Gods," he said after a while, "you're smart."

Annabeth smiled. "I'm a daughter of Athena."

"You ready for a short ride?" Zia asked the group. We cheered.

I mounted Arion. Nico climbed on behind me, muttering in Ancient Greek. Behind me, the others mounted Festus, Blackjack, Porkpie, Frank, and Zia and Annabeth's giant bird rides.

Arion galloped through the air as easily as if it were land. For some reason, this didn't bother my sensitive stomach. Flying or sailing on the Argo II had made me sick.

Nico wasn't so lucky. His usually pale face was tinted with green, and he kept his mouth tightly shut. I squeezed his hand. "Nico, you're okay," I assured him. He clamped his fingers around mine and refused to let go. It felt strange to comfort my older brother, who was scared of heights. I was fourteen, same as Sadie. Nico, Jaz and Carter were fifteen. Leo and Piper-- I felt a twinge of regret as I thought her name-- were sixteen, and so was Zia. Frank, Walt, and Percy were seventeen, and Annabeth, Jason and Will were eighteen. Calypso, of course, was three thousand. Actually, if you counted the years I was in the Underworld, I was seventy three. I shoved the thought out of my mind. I'd started a new life. I had a second chance.

You didn't deserve it, a voice in my head argued. Look what happened to Sammy! Look what almost happened to Leo!

I shook my head forcefully. Sammy's death hadn't been my fault. I had to sacrifice myself to stop Gaea, and my death wasn't his fault either. And Leo had made his own decision, and he came back alive. Sometimes, I would look at Leo laughing and joking, and think he was Sammy. Gods, what was I thinking?

Frank cawed and grinned, if eagles could grin. Whenever my mind wandered to Sammy, he'd always make me feel guilty by being sweeter than ever. I hit my forehead with my palm. Sammy Valdez was dead. I was not going to mourn a boy who I had known sixty years ago and who'd died twenty years ago. I had to focus on the present and the future. I imagined Elsa, singing, "I'm never going back-- the past is in the past!"

Piper, why did we have to watch Frozen?