Daughter of Neptune, Book one

XXIX

Leo's pov

When I saw how well Piper and Hedge were being treated, I was thoroughly offended.

I'd imagine them freezing their hindquarters off in the snow, but 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 camp pants like a Hunter. She and Hedge and Phoebe were kicking back, drinking hot chocolate.

"Oh, no way," I 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.

"It's all right, Phoebe," Thalia said. "They'll need extra coats. And I think we can spare some chocolate."

Phoebe grumbled, but soon Tori, Jason, and I were also dressed in silvery winter clothes that were incredibly light-weight and warm. The hot chocolate was first-rate.

"Cheers!" Said Coach Hedge. He crunched down his plastic thermos cup.

"That cannot be good for your intestines," Tori 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 a tough for a child of Aphrodite. I like this one."

"Hey, I could run ten miles too," I volunteered. "Tough Hephaestus kid here. Let's hit it."

Naturally, Thalia ignored him.

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. I wanted to ask her for blueprints, but we didn't have the time.

Thalia ran uphill through the snow, hugging a tiny little path on the side of the mountain, and soon I was regretting trying to look macho, because the Hunters and Tori left me in the dust.

Coach Hedge leaped around like a happy mountain goat, coaxing us 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.

I fell in next to Jason at the back of the group. "How you doing, man?"

Jason's expression was enough of an answer: Not good.

"Thalia takes it so calmly," Jason said. "Like it's no big deal that I appear led. I didn't know what I was expecting, but...she's not like me. She seems so much more together."

"Hey, she's not fighting amnesia," I said. "Plus, she had more time to get used to this whole demigod thing. You fight monsters and talk to gods for a while, you probably get used to surprises."

"Maybe," Jason said. "I just wish I understood what happened when I was two, why my mom got rid of me. Thalia ran away because of me."

"Hey, whatever's happened, it wasn't your duly. And you sister is pretty cool. She's a lot like you."

Jason took that in silence. I wondered if I said the right things. I wanted to make Jason feel better, but this was way out of my comfort zone.

I wished I could reach inside my tool belt and pick just the right wrench to fix Jason's and Tori's memories—maybe a little hammer—bonk the sticking spot and make everything run right. That would be a lot easier than trying to talk it through. Not good with organic life forms. Thanks for those inherited traits, Dad.