Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
―Ah, shut up, already.‖ But he grinned at her, and for a second, it felt like he was just relaxing comfortably<br />
with a friend.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n they hit the storm clouds.<br />
AT FIRST, LEO THOUGHT ROCKS WERE pelting the windshield. <strong>The</strong>n he realized it was sleet. Frost built up<br />
around the edges of the glass, and slushy waves of ice blotted out his view.<br />
―An ice storm?‖ Piper shouted over the engine and the wind. ―Is it supposed to be this cold in Sonoma?‖<br />
Leo wasn‘t sure, but something about this storm seemed conscious, malevolent—like it was intentionally<br />
slamming them.<br />
Jason woke up quickly. He crawled forward, grabbing their seats for balance. ―We‘ve got to be getting<br />
close.‖<br />
Leo was too busy wrestling with the stick to reply. Suddenly it wasn‘t so easy to drive the chopper. Its<br />
movements turned sluggish and jerky. <strong>The</strong> whole machine shuddered in the icy wind. <strong>The</strong> helicopter probably<br />
hadn‘t been prepped for cold-weather flying. <strong>The</strong> controls refused to respond, and they started to lose altitude.<br />
Below them, the ground was a dark quilt of trees and fog. <strong>The</strong> ridge of a hill loomed in front of them and<br />
Leo yanked the stick, just clearing the treetops.<br />
―<strong>The</strong>re!‖ Jason shouted.<br />
A small valley opened up before them, with the murky shape of a building in the middle. Leo aimed the<br />
helicopter straight for it. All around them were flashes of light that reminded Leo of the tracer fire at Midas‘s<br />
compound. Trees cracked and exploded at the edges of the clearing. Shapes moved through the mist. Combat<br />
seemed to be everywhere.<br />
He set down the helicopter in an icy field about fifty yards from the house and killed the engine. He was<br />
about to relax when he heard a whistling sound and saw a dark shape hurtling toward them out of the mist.<br />
―Out!‖ Leo screamed.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y leaped from the helicopter and barely cleared the rotors before a massive BOOM shook the ground,<br />
knocking Leo off his feet and splattering ice all over him.<br />
He got up shakily and saw that the world‘s largest snowball—a chunk of snow, ice, and dirt the size of a<br />
garage—had completely flattened the Bell 412.<br />
―You all right?‖ Jason ran up to him, Piper at his side. <strong>The</strong>y both looked fine except for being speckled<br />
with snow and mud.<br />
―Yeah.‖ Leo shivered. ―Guess we owe that ranger lady a new helicopter.‖<br />
Piper pointed south. ―Fighting‘s over there.‖ <strong>The</strong>n she frowned. ―No … it‘s all around us.‖<br />
She was right. <strong>The</strong> sounds of combat rang across the valley. <strong>The</strong> snow and mist made it hard to tell for<br />
sure, but there seemed to be a circle of fighting all around the Wolf House.<br />
Behind them loomed Jack London‘s dream home—a massive ruin of red and gray stones and rough-hewn<br />
timber beams. Leo could imagine how it had looked before it burned down—a combination log cabin and castle,<br />
like a billionaire lumberjack might build. But in the mist and sleet, the place had a lonely, haunted feel. Leo<br />
could totally believe the ruins were cursed.<br />
―Jason!‖ a girl‘s voice called.<br />
Thalia appeared from the fog, her parka caked with snow. Her bow was in her hand, and her quiver was<br />
almost empty. She ran toward them, but made it only a few steps before a six-armed ogre—one of the<br />
Earthborn—burst out of the storm behind her, a raised club in each hand.<br />
―Look out!‖ Leo yelled. <strong>The</strong>y rushed to help, but Thalia had it under control. She launched herself into a<br />
flip, notching an arrow as she pivoted like a gymnast and landed in a kneeling position. <strong>The</strong> ogre got a silver<br />
arrow right between the eyes and melted into a pile of clay.<br />
Thalia stood and retrieved her arrow, but the point had snapped off. ―That was my last one.‖ She kicked<br />
the pile of clay resentfully. ―Stupid ogre.‖<br />
―Nice shot, though,‖ Leo said.<br />
Thalia ignored him as usual (which no doubt meant she thought he was as cool as ever). She hugged<br />
Jason and nodded to Piper. ―Just in time. My Hunters are holding a perimeter around the mansion, but we‘ll be<br />
overrun any minute.‖<br />
―By Earthborn?‖ Jason asked.<br />
―And wolves—Lycaon‘s minions.‖ Thalia blew a fleck of ice off her nose. ―Also storm spirits—‖<br />
―But we gave them to Aeolus!‖ Piper protested.<br />
―Who tried to kill us,‖ Leo reminded her. ―Maybe he‘s helping Gaea again.‖