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―I don‘t know,‖ Thalia said. ―But the monsters keep re-forming almost as fast as we can kill them. We took<br />
the Wolf House with no problem: surprised the guards and sent them straight to Tartarus. But then this freak<br />
snowstorm blew in. Wave after wave of monsters started attacking. Now we‘re surrounded. I don‘t know who or<br />
what is leading the assault, but I think they planned this. It was a trap to kill anyone who tried to rescue Hera.‖<br />
―Where is she?‖ Jason asked.<br />
―Inside,‖ Thalia said. ―We tried to free her, but we can‘t figure out how to break the cage. It‘s only a few<br />
minutes until the sun goes down. Hera thinks that‘s the moment when Porphyrion will be reborn. Plus, most<br />
monsters are stronger at night. If we don‘t free Hera soon—‖<br />
She didn‘t need to finish the thought.<br />
Leo, Jason, and Piper followed her into the ruined mansion.<br />
Jason stepped over the threshold and immediately collapsed.<br />
―Hey!‖ Leo caught him. ―None of that, man. What‘s wrong?‖<br />
―This place …‖ Jason shook his head. ―Sorry … It came rushing back to me.‖<br />
―So you have been here,‖ Piper said.<br />
―We both have,‖ Thalia said. Her expression was grim, like she was reliving someone‘s death. ―This is<br />
where my mom took us when Jason was a child. She left him here, told me he was dead. He just disappeared.‖<br />
―She gave me to the wolves,‖ Jason murmured. ―At Hera‘s insistence. She gave me to Lupa.‖<br />
―That part I didn‘t know.‖ Thalia frowned. ―Who is Lupa?‖<br />
An explosion shook the building. Just outside, a blue mushroom cloud billowed up, raining snowflakes and<br />
ice like a nuclear blast made of cold instead of heat.<br />
―Maybe this isn‘t the time for questions,‖ Leo suggested. ―Show us the goddess.‖<br />
Once inside, Jason seemed to get his bearings. <strong>The</strong> house was built in a giant U, and Jason led them<br />
between the two wings to an outside courtyard with an empty reflecting pool. At the bottom of the pool, just as<br />
Jason had described from his dream, two spires of rock and root tendrils had cracked through the foundation.<br />
One of the spires was much bigger—a solid dark mass about twenty feet high, and to Leo it looked like a<br />
stone body bag. Underneath the mass of fused tendrils he could make out the shape of a head, wide shoulders,<br />
a massive chest and arms, like the creature was stuck waist deep in the earth. No, not stuck—rising.<br />
On the opposite end of the pool, the other spire was smaller and more loosely woven. Each tendril was as<br />
thick as a telephone pole, with so little space between them that Leo doubted he could‘ve gotten his arm<br />
through. Still, he could see inside. And in the center of the cage stood Tía Callida.<br />
She looked exactly like Leo remembered: dark hair covered with a shawl, the black dress of a widow, a<br />
wrinkled face with glinting, scary eyes.<br />
She didn‘t glow or radiate any sort of power. She looked like a regular mortal woman, his good old<br />
psychotic babysitter.<br />
Leo dropped into the pool and approached the cage. ―Hola, Tía. Little bit of trouble?‖<br />
She crossed her arms and sighed in exasperation. ―Don‘t inspect me like I‘m one of your machines, Leo<br />
Valdez. Get me out of here!‖<br />
Thalia stepped next to him and looked at the cage with distaste—or maybe she was looking at the<br />
goddess. ―We tried everything we could think of, Leo, but maybe my heart wasn‘t in it. If it was up to me, I‘d just<br />
leave her in there.‖<br />
―Ohh, Thalia Grace,‖ the goddess said. ―When I get out of here, you‘ll be sorry you were ever born.‖<br />
―Save it!‖ Thalia snapped. ―You‘ve been nothing but a curse to every child of Zeus for ages. You sent a<br />
bunch of intestinally challenged cows after my friend Annabeth—‖<br />
―She was disrespectful!‖<br />
―You dropped a statue on my legs.‖<br />
―It was an accident!‖<br />
―And you took my brother!‖ Thalia‘s voice cracked with emotion. ―Here—on this spot. You ruined our lives.<br />
We should leave you to Gaea!‖<br />
―Hey,‖ Jason intervened. ―Thalia—Sis—I know. But this isn‘t the time. You should help your Hunters.‖<br />
Thalia clenched her jaw. ―Fine. For you, Jason. But if you ask me, she isn‘t worth it.‖<br />
Thalia turned, leaped out of the pool, and stormed from the building.<br />
Leo turned to Hera with grudging respect. ―Intestinally challenged cows?‖<br />
―Focus on the cage, Leo,‖ she grumbled. ―And Jason—you are wiser than your sister. I chose my<br />
champion well.‖<br />
―I‘m not your champion, lady,‖ Jason said. ―I‘m only helping you because you stole my memories and<br />
you‘re better than the alternative. Speaking of which, what‘s going on with that?‖
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