𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐒│p. jackson

[ 14. ]

II xv. the crazy weather man... II

WHEN THE GROUP finally arrived at the top of their destination, Andromeda felt like crying in relief. Though the fortress was definitely a sight-walking up thousands of steps takes a toll on you.

Bronze walls marched all the way around the fortress grounds, though Jason couldn't imagine who would possibly attack this place. Twenty foot-high gates opened for them, and a road of polished purple stone led up to the main citadel-a white-columned rotunda, Greek style, like one of the monuments in Washington, D.C. -except for the cluster of satellite dishes and radio towers on the roof.

"That's bizarre," Piper said.

"Are you kidding?" Andromeda breathed in disbelief. "Anyone got a camera? I need to show this to Beth when we get back!"

Hedge turned back. "Any one of you pipsqueaks got a camera?" They all shook their heads. She patted his shoulder in thanks. "Oh, c'mon, none of ya?"

When they finished admiring the fortress, the group started forward. Andromeda heard Leo's comment before she could see what it was about.

"Dang, check this guy's front yard."

The rotunda sat in the center of a quarter-mile circle. The grounds were amazing in a scary way. They were divided into four sections like big pizza slices, each one representing a season. The section on their right was an icy waste, with bare trees and a frozen lake. Snowmen rolled around everywhere, giving the impression they were alive.

To their left was an autumn park with gold and red trees. Mounds of leaves blew into patterns-gods, people, animals that ran after each other before scattering back into leaves. In the distance, the group could see two more areas behind the rotunda. One looked like a green pasture with sheep made out of clouds. The last section was a desert where tumbleweeds scratched strange patterns in the sand like Greek letters, smiley faces, and a huge advertisement that read: watch Aeolus nightly!

"One section for each of the four wind gods," Jason guessed. "Four cardinal directions."

"I'm loving that pasture." Coach Hedge licked his lips. "You guys mind-"

"Go to town," Jason said.

While the satyr ran off to attack springtime, Jason, Andromeda, Leo, Alabaster, and Piper walked down the road to the steps of the palace. They passed through the front doors into a white marble foyer decorated with purple banners that read Olympian weather channel, and some that just read: ow!

"Hello!"

Andromeda and the group turned to see a woman floating up to them. She was pretty in that elfish way-petite, slightly pointy ears, and an ageless face that could've been sixteen or thirty. An aura. She had a white tablet computer in her hand.

"Are you from Lord Zeus?" she asked. "We've been expecting you."

"Are you a ghost?" Jason practically blurted just as she finished speaking.

The cheerful smile she'd held before turned into a pout. "I'm an aura, sir. A wind nymph, as you might expect, working for the lord of the winds. My name is Mellie. We don't have ghosts."

"Oh..." Andromeda stepped on his foot. "Ouch!"

Piper came to the rescue. "No, of course you don't! My friend simply mistook you for Helen of Troy, the most beautiful mortal of all time. It's an easy mistake."