Book Cult (New and Improved)

Piper XXXIII

"Piper XXXIII," Will began.

Piper woke up cold and shivering.

She'd had the worst dream about an old guy with donkey ears chasing her around and shouting, You're it! Will furrowed his eyebrows as he read this.

"What?" he muttered to himself.

The other readers had confused expressions on their faces.

Leo's shoulders slumped with relief. At least I'm not the only one. Is that just a side-effect from being turned into gold?

"Oh, god." Her teeth chattered. "He turned me to gold!"

"It's a shame she didn't stay that way." Drew muttered, combing her hair with her fingers.

"You're okay now." Jason leaned over and tucked a warm blanket around her,

"Awww!" the goddess of love cooed.

but she still felt as cold as a Boread.

She blinked, trying to figure out where they were. Next to her, a campfire blazed, turning the air sharp with smoke...They were in a shallow cave, but it didn't offer much protection. Outside, the wind howled. Snow blew sideways.

"Another snow storm?" Athena noticed. Why does Boreas keep making snow storms? Is it an order from Aeolus? 

..."L-L-Leo?" Piper managed.

"Present and un-gold-ified." Leo was also wrapped in blankets. He didn't look great, but better than Piper felt. "I got the precious metal treatment too," he said. "But I came out of it faster. Dunno why.

"Maybe it's because of your fire abilities?" Katie said.

"Could be." Leo shrugged.

We had to dunk you in the river to get you back completely. Tried to dry you off, but ... it's really, really cold."

"Sounds like hypothermia." Will said with a frown. "Try to stay bundled up and near the fire. If you guys have the ingredients, maybe Jason can make some hot chocolate too. That would help."

"We didn't have hot chocolate, but I made a mean set of burgers!" Leo bragged.

"You cooked?" Will said disapprovingly. "Why didn't Jason or Coach Hedge do it? You should've been resting."

"I'm the designated cook of this quest. If anybody's going to be making meals, it'd be Chef Leo." the son of Hephaestus told him. "Besides, Jay couldn't boil water if his life depended on it and Coach Hedge..."

Leo made a face. "I'm a little scared to try whatever he would make."

Will made a face as well. "You have a point."

"We risked as much nectar as we could. Coach Hedge did a little nature magic—"

"Sports medicine."

"I don't think sports medicine is very effective on hypothermia." the son of Apollo remarked before he continued.

... [Coach Hedge]"Kind of a hobby of mine. Your breath might smell like wild mushrooms and Gatorade for a few days, but it'll pass. You probably won't die. Probably." Will's frown deepened.

"He doesn't sound so sure." Lacy gulped, turning slightly pale.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Mitchell said, hoping he didn't sound as unsure as he felt. "Satyrs are usually great at healing magic."