O C E A N U S

C H A P T E R   E L E V E N

( the truth is out )

⟶⬩⬥⬩⟵

          MALIA WOKE UP cold and shivering.

She'd had the worst dream about an old guy with donkey ears trying to play Marco Polo with her, which was a game she sucked at ironically. You'd think she would be good at it, what with being the daughter of the god of the sea, but she always ended up going the wrong way. She blamed it on being directionally challenged. She sucked at knowing her left from her right.

"Oh, gods." Her teeth chattered. "That son of a— uggh! He turned me to gold!"

"Is he still nearby? I want to smack the donkey ears off of him," Piper muttered, shivering next to Malia. The daughter of Aphrodite's lips were blue, her skin pale as she shook.

Malia's body was tense, her muscles trying to warm her up as she curled into herself to keep warm. She was soaking wet and cold as ice, but her side didn't hut as much as it had when she'd been turned to gold. Meaning either the water had healed her or the magical golden touch of King Douchebag had done it.

"You're okay now." Jason leaned over and tucked a warm blanket around her, the girl immediately relaxing as heat surged through her body. She mentally thanked her dad for giving her a tolerance to cold water.

Malia blinked, trying to figure out where they were. Next to her and Piper, a campfire blazed, turning the air sharp with smoke. Firelight flickered against rock walls. They were in a shallow cave, but it didn't offer much protection. Outside, the wind howled. Snow blew sideways. It might've been day or night. The snow made it too dark to tell.

"L-L-Leo?" Piper managed through chattering teeth.

"Present and un-gold-ified." Leo was also wrapped in blankets, but he stood and handed one off to Piper, giving her a smile. He didn't look great, but better than how Piper did. The poor girl was shaking like a chihuahua. "I got the precious metal treatment too," he said. "But I came out of it faster. Dunno why. We had to dunk you in the river to get you back completely. Tried to dry you off, but. . . it's really, really cold."

Piper glanced at Malia. "Why aren't you shaking?"

Malia shrugged. "Daughter of Poseidon. Maybe I'm immune to hypothermia? I don't know. Water heals me, so being drenched in it is probably healing both my previous injury and stopping me from getting sick?" She had no clue, really. This was her first time taking an ice bath in the middle of a blizzard.

"You've got hypothermia," Jason told Piper. "We risked as much nectar as we could. Coach Hedge did a little nature magic—"

"Sports medicine." The coach looked over Piper, getting in her face. "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."

"Thanks," Piper said weakly. "How did you beat Midas?"

Jason told the two of them the story, putting most of it down to luck. Malia didn't believe that. She'd seen Jason fight, even if it had been while she was fighting, too. He was skilled, and there was no doubt in her mind that he could take out Lit over and over again without breaking a sweat.

The coach snorted. "Kid's being modest. You should've seen him. Hi-yah! Slice! Boom with the lightning!"

"Coach, you didn't even see it," Jason said. "You were outside eating the lawn."

But the satyr was just warming up. "Then I came in with my club, and we dominated that room. Afterward, I told him, 'Kid, I'm proud of you! If you could just work on your upper body strength—'"

"Coach," said Jason.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up, please."

"Sure." The coach sat down at the fire and started chewing his cudgel.

Jason put his hand on Malia's forehead and checked her temperature. He did the same for Piper, grimacing. "Leo, can you stoke the fire?"

"On it." Leo summoned a baseball-sized clump of flames and lobbed it into the campfire.

Malia and Piper shared a look. "Do we look that bad?"

"Nah," Jason said.

Malia sent him a look. "You're a shit liar."

Piper hummed in agreement. "Where are we?"

"Pikes Peak," Jason said. "Colorado."

Malia nearly choked on air. "But that's, what—five hundred miles from Omaha?"

"How did we end up here?" Piper asked, moving closer to the fire. She was slowly beginning to warm up by the looks of it.

"Something like that," Jason answered Malia's assumption. "I harnessed the storm spirits to bring us this far. They didn't like it—went a little faster than I wanted, almost crashed us into the mountainside before I could get them back in the bag. I'm not going to be trying that again."

Malia pouted. "Aw, I missed all the fun." She would have paid good money to see Jason struggle with storm spirits. "Why are we here?"

Leo sniffed as he moved to sit beside Piper, slinging an arm over the girl to keep her warm. "That's what I asked him."

Jason gazed out into the storm as if watching for something. "That glittery wind trail we saw yesterday?"

"You mean the magical purple trail of wind vapor that only you could see?" Malia asked, perking a brow. "No, I don't remember it."

Jason rolled his eyes with a small smile. "Well, I could see it. It was still in the sky, though it had faded a lot. I followed it until I couldn't see it anymore. Then—honestly I'm not sure. I just felt like this was the right place to stop."

"'Course it is." Coach Hedge spit out some cudgel splinters. Malia had honestly forgotten about him. "Aeolus's floating palace should be anchored above us, right at the peak. This is one of his favorite spots to dock."

"Maybe that was it." Jason knit his eyebrows. "I don't know. Something else, too. . ."

"The Hunters were heading west," Piper said. Malia remembered King Asshat saying something along those lines before he turned her to gold. "Do you think they're around here?"

Jason rubbed his forearm as if the tattoos were bothering him. "I don't see how anyone could survive on the mountain right now. The storm's pretty bad. It's already the evening before the solstice, but we didn't have much choice except to wait out the storm here. We had to give you and Malia some time to rest before we tried moving."

Honestly, he didn't need to convince her. The wind outside was howling, reminding her of when she'd seen Typhon for the very first time. Being against that monster had scared her, and hearing similar sounds left her with that similar fear. Plus, she was cold, still injured, and shaking like a fucking leaf.

"We have to get you warm." Jason sat down next to Malia and held out his arms awkwardly, like he wasn't sure of what he was doing. "Uh, you mind if I. . ."

"Mind if you what?" Malia decided to mess with him a little. Hey, she was related to Percy Jackson, supreme idiot and sarcasm king. She wouldn't be Malia Jackson without messing with someone at least once a week, twice if she was lucky or in a good mood.

Jason's cheeks burned a little, which made Malia's heart jump. She could see Piper and Leo trying not to laugh at their friend's misfortune. "Um, well, you're shaking and I thought, um, maybe. . . I don't know. Nevermind."

Malia rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Jason, I'm only messing with you. I don't mind."

His cheeks burned brighter as he put his arms around her and held her close. She snuggled deeper into his hold, sighing at the warmth his body emitted. The blanket had been nice, and so had the fire, but being in his arms filled her with a different kind of warmth that she really didn't mind. She may not have had a bad case of hypothermia like Piper, but gods dammit she was cold.

They moved closer to the fire while Piper and Leo did the same, silence filling the cave. Coach Hedge chewed on his club and spit out splinters into the fire, which evidently gave it more fuel.

After a few minutes Leo gave Piper his blankets and broke out some cooking supplies. He started to fry burger patties, making Malia's stomach grumble in anticipation. She didn't remember when she'd last had a good meal. Back at Medea's department store, possibly. "So, guys, long as you're cuddled up for story time. . . something I've been meaning to tell you. On the way to Omaha, I had this dream. Kinda hard to understand with the static and the Wheel of Fortune breaking in—"

"Wheel of Fortune?" It sounded like Piper thought Leo was joking, but Malia had experience with weird demigod dreams. She didn't doubt that he'd actually experienced something like that.

"The thing is," Leo said, "my dad Hephaestus talked to me."

Leo told them about his dream. In the firelight, with the wind howling, the story was even creepier. Malia could imagine the static-filled voice of the god warning about giants who were the sons of Tartarus, and about Leo losing some friends along the way. She'd heard Hephaestus speak before, back at the Winter Solstice Council meeting after her brother and friends had saved her from holding up the sky. Of course, when she'd heard him speak, he was trying to decide if he should let her and her brother live or die, so she wasn't exactly fond of him.

She'd also met him one-on-one when she'd been in the Labyrinth with Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson. He'd tried to get her killed then as well, sending her to check out his forge that was also a volcano and getting her blasted millions of feet into the sky. Her brother had been lucky to end up on Calypso's island while all she got was stranded in the back of a trash truck with no clue of how she ended up in Wisconsin. Don't ask her how she'd traveled all the way from Washington to Wisconsin because she was still trying to figure that out herself.

Malia tried to focus on good things: Jason's arms around her, the warmth slowly spreading into her body, how she was going to pummel her brother into oblivion when she finally found out where he was and make him pay for scaring her. But, no matter how many happy thoughts she had, there were twice as many bad ones.

Piper sighed. "I don't understand. If demigods and gods have to work together to kill the giants, why would the gods stay silent? If they need us—"

"Ha," said Coach Hedge. "The gods hate needing humans. They like to be needed by humans, but not the other way around. Things will have to get a whole lot worse before Zeus admits he made a mistake closing Olympus."

"Coach," Piper said, "that was almost an intelligent comment."

Hedge huffed while Malia bit back a laugh. "What? I'm intelligent! I'm not surprised you cupcakes haven't heard of the Giant War. The gods don't like to talk about it. Bad PR to admit you needed mortals to help beat an enemy. That's just embarrassing."

Malia rolled her eyes. "The gods and their issues with bad PR. I swear, they are sometimes worse than celebrities with the way they behave. Especially Zeus." She then looked up at Jason with a small frown. "Ah, no offence."

"None taken," he assured. "There's more, though." He turned to the others. "When I dreamed about Hera in her cage, she said Zeus was acting unusually paranoid. And Hera—she said she went to those ruins because a voice had been speaking in her head. What if someone's influencing the gods, like Medea influenced us?"

Malia shivered at that. The thought of someone influencing the gods reminded her of how Kronos had influenced Ares when she was eleven and on her first quest with her brother. The way Ares had followed the Titan king's orders so easily because of how persuasive Kronos was. She hoped that what Jason said wasn't the case, but she had a feeling it was. Someone was telling the gods what to do, and she knew that this someone was not on their side.

Leo set hamburger buns on the skillet to toast. "Yeah, Hephaestus said something similar, like Zeus was acting weirder than usual. But what bothered me was the stuff my dad didn't say. Like a couple of times he was talking about the demigods, and how he had so many kids and all. I don't know. He acted like getting the greatest demigods together was going to be almost impossible—like Hera was trying, but it was a really stupid thing to do, and there was some secret Hephaestus wasn't supposed to tell me."

Malia felt Jason's muscles tense around her. She knew a thing or two about the gods keeping secrets from their children. It annoyed her to no end, but she understood that sometimes (rarely) it was for the safety of the children.

"Chiron was the same way back a camp," he said. "He mentioned a sacred oath not to discuss—something. Coach, you know anything about that?"

"Nah. I'm just a satyr. They don't tell us the juicy stuff. Especially an old—" He stopped himself.

"An old guy like you?" Piper asked. "But you're not that old, are you?"

"Hundred and six," the coach muttered.

Malia sent him a small smile. "That's not too old. What about Silenus and Maron? They've got to be nearing two hundred at this point? Maybe even three or four."

Leo coughed. "Say what?"

"Don't catch your panties on fire, Valdez. That's just fifty three in human years." Coach sent Leo a look. "Still, yeah, I made some enemies on the Council of Cloven Elders. Stupid fat satyrs. I've been a protector a long time. But they started saying I was getting unpredictable. Too violent. Can you imagine?"

"Wow." Piper looked like she was trying not to roll her eyes. "That's hard to believe."

Coach scowled. "Yeah, then finally we get a good war going with the Titans, and do they put me on the front lines? No! They send me as far away as possible—the Canadian frontier, can you believe it? Then after the war, they put me out to pasture. The Wilderness School. Bah! Like I'm too old to be helpful just because I like playing offense. All those flower-pickers on the Council—talking about nature."

"I thought satyrs liked nature," Piper ventured.

"Shoot, I love nature," Hedge said. "Nature means big things killing and eating little things! And when you're a—you know—vertically challenged satyr like me, you get in good shape, you carry a big stick, and you don't take nothing from no one! That's nature." Hedge snorted indignantly. "Flower-pickers. Anyway, I hope you got something vegetarian cooking, Valdez. I don't do flesh."

"Yeah, Coach. Don't eat your cudgel. I got some tofu patties here. Piper's vegetarian too. I'll throw them on in a second."

The smell of frying burgers filled the air, making Malia smile. She looked over at Coach Hedge. "Well, Coach, it sucks that you weren't there for the war. We could have used someone as bold as you on the front lines. You would have given Kronos a run for his money."

Coach Hedge huffed and grinned down at his cudgel. Silence filled the cave aside from the wind blowing outside and the crackling fire. Malia leaned into Jason's chest more and began to relax, no longer feeling as cold as she had when she woke up. It was nice to relax on a quest for once and not worry too much about the next step. However, it didn't last very long.

As Leo handed out the food, Piper faced them. "We need to talk. I don't want to hide anything from you guys anymore."

Malia was mid-bite as she turned to look at her. The boys did the same, everyone taking notice of how pale and nervous Piper seemed.

"Three nights before the Grand Canyon trip," she continued, "I had a dream vision—a giant, telling me my father had been taken hostage. He told me I had to cooperate, or my dad would be killed."

The flames crackled.

Malia knew what that feeling was like. She'd experienced it when Hades had taken her mother hostage when his Helm of Darkness was taken. Immediately she realized how much pressure Piper had been under. Having a god hold her mother (who knew about the demigod world) hostage was one thing, but Piper's dad was being kept by a murderous giant who probably didn't care whether he lived or died.

Finally Jason said, "Enceladus? You mentioned that name before."

Coach Hedge whistled. "Big giant. Breathes fire. Not somebody I'd want barbecuing my daddy goat."

Malia sent him a shut up look. "Piper, go on . What happened next?"

"I—I tried to reach my dad, but all I got was his personal assistant, and she told me not to worry."

"Jane?" Leo remembered. "Didn't Medea say something about controlling her?"

Piper nodded. "To get my dad back, I had to sabotage this quest. I didn't realize it would be the three of us and Malia. Then after we started the quest, Enceladus sent me another warning: He told me he wanted Jason and Leo dead. He wants me to lead you to a mountain. I don't know exactly which one, but it's in the Bay Area—I could see the Golden Gate Bridge from the summit. I have to be there by noon on the solstice, tomorrow. An exchange."

Piper didn't meet any of their eyes, and Malia frowned. She was probably busy blaming herself, waiting for them to yell at her. Instead, Malia slipped from Jason's hold and moved over to Piper, wrapping her in a hug. Piper tensed, but she accepted the hug with a smile, leaning into Malia. The daughter of Poseidon remained silent for a moment before sighing.

"Gods, Piper. I'm so sorry," she whispered, rubbing Piper's back.

Leo and Jason nodded. "No kidding. You've been carrying this around for a week? Piper, we could help you."

Piper pulled back from Malia and glared at the three of them. "Why don't you yell at me or something? I was ordered to kill you!"

Malia pursed her lips. "Well, actually you were ordered to kill them. Which, honestly, I'm a little offended. Why doesn't he want me dead, too? I've had plenty of people who wanted me dead, including Hephaestus, Hera, Hades. . . a lot of H-names."

Jason shook his head with a smile and moved to wrap his arm back around Malia, which made the girl blush as her heart raced. "Aw, come on, Piper. You've saved us all on this quest. I'd put my life in your hands any day."

"Same," Leo said. He then looked at Malia. "Can I have a hug, too?"

Malia flashed him the finger with a smile.

"You don't get it!" Piper said. "I've probably just killed my dad, telling you this."

"I doubt it." Coach Hedge belched. He was eating his tofu burger inside the paper plate, chewing it all like a taco. "Giant hasn't gotten what he wants yet, so he still needs your dad for leverage. He'll wait until the deadline passes, see if you show up. He wants you to divert the quest to this mountain, right?"

Piper nodded uncertainly.

"So that means Hera is being kept somewhere else," Hedge reasoned. "And she has to be saved by the same day. So you have to choose—rescue your dad, or rescue Hera. If you go after Hera, then Enceladus takes care of your dad. Besides, Enceladus would never let you go even if you cooperated. You're obviously one of the eight in the Great Prophecy."

One of the eight. They'd all talked about this before, the prospect of this quest being the first step in the direction of the Great Prophecy being fulfilled. She didn't doubt it since the universe just loved putting her in dangerous situations and giving her enough trauma to last ten lifetimes. Of course, she didn't feel very important, but when did she ever, right?

"So we have no choice," Piper said miserably. "We have to save Hera, or the giant king gets unleashed. That's our quest. The world depends on it. And Enceladus seems to have ways of watching me. He isn't stupid. He'll know if we change course and go the wrong way. He'll kill my dad."

"He's not going to kill your dad," Leo said. "We'll save him."

"We don't have time!" Piper cried. "Besides, it's a trap!"

Malia rolled her eyes. "Listen, Piper. Every single quest I've gone on, we've barely gotten the job done in enough time. And yet, here we are. The world is still spinning, and everyone is still breathing. We can do both, I know we can."

"Yeah. We're your friends, beauty queen," Leo said. "We're not going to let your dad die. We just gotta figure out a plan."

Coach Hedge grumbled. "Would help if we knew where this mountain was. Maybe Aeolus can tell you that. The Bay Area has a bad reputation for demigods. Old home of the Titans, Mount Othrys, sits over Mount Tam, where Atlas holds up the sky. I hope that's not the mountain you saw."

Malia shivered. She reached up and plucked the silver strand of hair from the black, studying it with pained eyes. Gods, she hoped that she didn't have to return there. That mountain held so many dark memories and she didn't want to relive them.

Piper shook her head. "I don't think so. This was inland."

Malia sighed in relief. "Thank the gods. I've held the sky up once, I don't want to have to do it again."

Leo and Piper looked at her with wide eyes, but Jason kept them from asking any questions. "Bad reputation. . . that doesn't seem right. The Bay Area. . ."

"You think you've been there?" Malia asked, glad to have something else to talk about.

"I. . ." He looked like he was almost on the edge of a breakthrough. Then the anguish came back to his eyes. "I don't know. Hedge, what happened to Mount Othrys?"

Hedge took another bite of paper and burger. "Well, Kronos built a new palace there last summer. Big nasty place, was going to be the headquarters for his new kingdom and all. Weren't any battles there, though. Kronos marched on Manhattan, tried to take Olympus. If I remember right, he left some other Titans in charge of his palace, but after Kronos got defeated in Manhattan, the whole palace just crumbled on its own."

"No," Jason said.

Malia turned to look at him with everyone else.

"What do you mean, 'No'?" Leo asked.

"That's not what happened. I—" He tensed, looking toward the cave entrance. "Did you hear that?"

For a second, nothing. Then Malia heard it: howls piercing the night.

"Wolves," Piper said. "They sound close."

Jason rose and summoned his sword. Leo and Coach Hedge got to their feet too. Malia glanced down at her bracelet to see it beginning to glow green, meaning danger was near. She and Piper both tried to stand, but Piper stumbled back and Malia instantly felt dizzy. Looking down, she saw that her injury was still pretty bad and healing, the bandages now beginning to spot with blood. Great.

"Stay there," Jason told them. "We'll protect you."

Malia gritted her teeth. She hated feeling helpless, and it looked like Piper did, too. Malia was a daughter of Poseidon, the last one to ever exist. She didn't need anyone to protect her. But now she had an injury that would keep her from fighting and that ticked her off. She wanted to be on her feet, with Tidal Wave in hand.

Then, just outside the firelight at the entrance of the cave, she saw a pair of red eyes glowing in the dark.

Okay, Malia thought, maybe a little protection was fine.

More wolves edged into the firelight—black beasts bigger than Great Danes, with ice and snow caked on their fur. Their fangs gleamed, and their glowing red eyes looked disturbingly intelligent. The wolf in front was almost as tall as a horse, his mouth stained as if he'd just made a fresh kill. Malia felt her food trying to crawl back up her throat.

Malia flicked her wrist, her sword forming in her hand just as Piper pulled her dagger out of its sheath.

Then Jason stepped forward and said something in Latin.

Malia didn't think a dead language would have much effect on wild animals, but the alpha wolf curled his lip. The fur stood up along his spine. One of his lieutenants tried to advance, but the alpha wolf snapped at his ear. Then all of the wolves backed into the dark.

"Dude, I gotta study Latin." Leo's hammer shook in his hand. "What'd you say, Jason?"

Hedge cursed. "Whatever it was, it wasn't enough. Look."

The wolves were coming back, but the alpha wolf wasn't with them. They didn't attack. They waited—at least a dozen now, in a rough semicircle just outside the firelight, blocking the cave exit.

The coach hefted his club. "Here's the plan. I'll kill them all, and you guys escape."

"Coach, I mean this in the nicest possible way, but they'll rip you apart," Malia said.

"Nah, I'm good."

Then Malia saw the silhouette of a man coming through the storm, wading through the wolf pack.

"Stick together," Jason said. "They respect a pack. And Hedge, no crazy stuff. We're not leaving you or anyone else behind."

Malia and Piper moved closer together. They were the weak links in their "pack" right now. No doubt the wolves could smell their fear. Honestly, it was like she was wearing a sign that said FREE LUNCH with the way the wolves were looking at her.

The wolves parted, and the man stepped into the firelight. His hair was greasy and ragged, the color of fireplace soot, topped with a crown of what looked like finger bones. His robes were tattered fur—wolf, rabbit, raccoon, deer, and several others Malia couldn't identify. The furs didn't look cured, and from the smell, they weren't very fresh. His frame was lithe and muscular, like a distance runner's. But the most horrible thing was his face. His thin pale skin was pulled tight over his skull. His teeth were sharpened like fangs. His eyes glowed bright red like his wolves'—and they fixed on Jason with absolute hatred.

"Ecce," he said, "filli Romani."

"Speak English, wolf man!" Hedge bellowed.

The wolf man snarled. "Tell your faun to mind his tongue, son of Rome. Or he'll be my first snack."

Malia knew that faun was the Roman name for satyr. And this man talked in fluent Latin instead of Greek, meaning he was probably from Roman mythology or late Ancient Greek mythology, when Rome was close to taking over. However, Malia wasn't like Annabeth, where she could pluck stories from thin air. She had to think hard, because she was unsure whether this person was who she thought he was.

The wolf man studied their little group. His nostrils twitched. "So it's true," he mused. "A child of Aphrodite. A son of Hephaestus. A faun. A daughter of Poseidon. And a child of Rome, of Lord Jupiter, no less. All together, without killing each other. How interesting."

"You were told about us?" Jason asked. "By whom?"

The man snarled—perhaps a laugh, perhaps a challenge. "Oh, we've been patrolling for you all across the west, demigod, hoping we'd be the first to find you. The giant king will reward me well when he rises. I am Lycaon, king of the wolves. And my pack is hungry."

The wolves snarled in the darkness.

Malia knew the story. It clicked immediately. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Leo put up his hammer and slip something else from his tool belt—a glass bottle full of clear liquid.

Lycaon glared at Jason's sword. He moved to each side as if looking for an opening, but Jason's blade moved with him.

"Leave," Jason ordered. "There's no food for you here."

"Unless you want tofu burgers," Leo offered.

Lycaon bared his fangs. Apparently he wasn't a fan of tofu.

"If I had it my way," Lycaon said with regret, "I'd kill you first, son of Jupiter. Your father made me what I am. I was the powerful mortal king of Arcadia, with fifty fine sons, and Zeus slew them all with his lightning bolts."

"Ha," Coach Hedge said. "For good reason!"

Jason glanced over his shoulder. "Coach, you know this clown?"

"I do," Piper and Malia said at the same time, their voices melding together. They looked at each other in surprise.

Piper cleared her throat. "Lycaon invited Zeus to dinner," she said. "But the king wasn't sure it was really Zeus. So to test his powers, Lycaon tried to feed him human flesh. Zeus got outraged—"

"And killed my sons!" Lycaon howled. The wolves behind him howled too.

"So Zeus turned him into a wolf," Malia said. "They call werewolves lycanthropes, named after him, the first werewolf."

"The king of wolves," Coach Hedge finished. "An immortal, smelly, vicious mutt."

Lycaon growled. "I will tear you apart, faun!"

"Oh, you want some goat, buddy? 'Cause I'll give you goat."

"Stop it," Jason said. "Lycaon, you said you wanted to kill me first, but. . . ?"

"Sadly, Child of Rome, you are spoken for. Since this one"—he waggled his claws at Piper—"has failed to kill you, you are to be delivered alive to the Wolf House. One of my compatriots has asked for the honor of killing you herself. And the daughter of Poseidon, as well."

"Who?" Jason said, sounding outraged.

The wolf king snickered. "Oh, a great admirer of yours. Apparently, you made quite an impression on her. She will take care of you two soon enough, and really I cannot complain. Spilling your blood at the Wolf House should mark my new territory quite well. Lupa will think twice before challenging my pack."

Malia's heart tried to jump out of her chest. She didn't understand everything Lycaon had said, but a woman who wanted to kill both her and Jason? Medea? That was one woman that could want both of them dead, but Malia didn't know why her and not just Jason.

Piper struggled to her feet. Malia did so, too, feeling her legs wobble beneath her.

"You're going to leave now," Piper said, "before we destroy you."

She sounded rather tough, but she looked like a wreck. She was shivering in her blankets, pale and sweaty and barely able to hold her weapon.

Lycaon's red eyes crinkled with humor. "A brave try, girl. I admire that. Perhaps I'll make your end quick. Only the son of Jupiter and the daughter of Poseidon are needed alive. The rest of you, I'm afraid, are dinner."

At that moment, Malia had a feeling they were going to die. Well, apparently she wasn't because there were people who wanted to kill her themselves. That, or she just wasn't worth killing (which was a tad bit insulting, you know).

Jason took a step forward. "You're not killing anyone, wolf man. Not without going through me."

Hot! Malia couldn't help but thing. Absolutely fucking hot!

Lycaon howled and extended his claws. Jason slashed at him, but his golden sword passed straight through as if the wolf king wasn't there.

Lycaon laughed. "Gold, bronze, steel—none of these are any good against my wolves, son of Jupiter."

"Silver!" Piper cried. "Aren't werewolves hurt by silver?"

"We don't have any silver!" Jason said.

Wolves leaped into the firelight. Hedge charged forward with an elated "Woot!"

But Leo struck first. He threw his glass bottle and it shattered on the ground, splattering liquid all over the wolves—the unmistakable smell of gasoline. He shot a burst of fire at the puddle, and a wall of flames erupted.

Wolves yelped and retreated. Several caught fire and had to run back into the snow. Even Lycaon looked uneasily at the barrier of flames now separating his wolves from the demigods.

"Aw, c'mon," Coach Hedge complained. "I can't hit them if they're way over there."

"Let's focus on the fact that they can't kill us, m'kay?" Malia shot at the coach.

Every time a wolf came closer, Leo shot a new wave of fire from his hands, but each effort seemed to make him a little more tired, and the gasoline was already dying down. "I can't summon any more gas!" Leo warned. Then his face turned red, Malia laughing into her hand. "Wow, that came out wrong. I man the burning kind. Gonna take the tool belt a while to recharge. What you got, man?"

"Nothing," Jason said. "Not even a weapon that works."

"Lightning?" Piper asked.

Jason concentrated, but nothing happened. "I think the snowstorm is interfering, or something.

"Unleash the venti!" Piper said.

"Then we'll have nothing to give to Aeolus!" Malia said. "We'll have come all this way for nothing."

Lycaon laughed. "I can smell your fear. A few more minutes of life, heroes. Pray to whatever gods you wish. Zeus did not grant me mercy, and you will have none from me."

The flames began to sputter our. Jason cursed and dropped his sword. He crouched like he was ready to go hand-to-hand. (Malia would pay to see that). Leo pulled his hammer out of his pack. Piper raised her dagger. Coach Hedge hefted his club, and he was the only one who looked excited about dying. Malia gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, glaring at the monsters.

Then a ripping sound cut through the wind—like a piece of tearing cardboard. A long stick sprouted from the neck of the nearest wolf—the shaft of a silver arrow. The wolf writhed and fell, melting into a puddle of shadow.

More arrows. More wolves fell. The pack broke into confusion. An arrow flashed toward Lycaon, but the wolf king caught it in midair. Then he yelled in pain. When he dropped the arrow, it left a charred, smoking gash across his palm. Another arrow caught him in the shoulder, and the wolf king staggered.

Malia felt her heart race. She knew those arrows. She knew who they belonged to. A smile stretched across her lips and she no longer felt the effects of her worsening wound making her feel weak. She felt adrenaline race through her.

"Curse them!" Lycaon yelled. He growled at his pack, and the wolves turned and ran. Lycaon fixed Jason with those glowing red eyes. "This isn't over, boy."

The wolf king disappeared into the night.

Seconds later, Malia heard more wolves baying, but the sound was different—less threatening, more like hunting dogs on the scent. A smaller white wolf burst into the cave, followed by two more.

Hedge said, "Kill it?"

"No!" Malia said, grinning. "Wait."

The wolves tilted their heads and studied the campers with huge golden eyes.

A heartbeat later, their masters appeared: a troop of hunters in white-and-gray winter camouflage, at least half a dozen. All of them carried bows, with quivers of glowing silver arrows on their backs.

Their faces were all covered with parka hoods, but clearly they were girls. Malia knew the names of each one, save for two hidden in the back. One, a little taller than the rest, crouched in the firelight and snatched up the arrow that had wounded Lycaon's hand.

"So close." She turned to her companions. "Phoebe, stay with me. Watch the entrance. The rest of you, follow Lycaon. We can't lose him now. I'll catch up with you."

The other hunters mumbled in agreement and disappeared, heading after Lycaon's pack.

The girl in white turned toward them, her face still hidden in her parka hood. "We've been following that demon's trail for over a week. Is everyone all right? No one got bit?"

Malia grinned up at the girl. Jason stood frozen, staring at her. Piper and Leo looked confused while Coach looked miffed about not being able to kill anything.

"You're her," Piper said. "You're Thalia."

The girl tensed. Malia couldn't stop grinning as she lowered the hood of her parka. Her hair was still spiky black, with a silver tiara across her brow. Her face had a super-healthy glow to it, as if she were a little more than human, and her eyes were brilliant blue. She looked just how Malia remembered.

"Do I know you?" Thalia asked.

Piper took a deep breath. "This might be a shock, but—"

"Thalia." Jason stepped forward, his voice trembling. "I'm Jason, your brother."

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A U T H O R S   N O T E

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This was another long chapter. Next chapter will hold a pretty big surprise that I'm excited for. You guys probably have been expecting it, but I don't care because it's my book and I'm excited! Thalia is a complete badass and I would love to have her as a sister. But she's Jason's sister and their relationship is honestly top tier.

Please comment and vote!

Love you all!

~ a.h.