Daughter of Neptune, Book one

XXXVIII

Piper's pov

Air traffic control didn't want to let an unscheduled helicopter land at the Oakland Airport—until I got on the radio. Then it turned out to be no problem.

We unloaded in the tarmac, and everyone looked at me.

"What now?" Jason asked me.

I felt uncomfortable. I didn't want to be in charge, but for my dad's sake, I had to appear confident. I had no plan. I'd just remembered that he'd flown into Oakland, which meant his private plane would still be here. But today was the solstice. We had to save Hera. We had no idea where to go or if we were too late. And how could I leave my dad in this condition?

"First thing," I said. "I—I have to get my dad home. I'm sorry, guys."

Their faces fell.

"Oh," Leo said. "I mean, absolutely. He needs you right now. We can take it from here."

"Pipes, no." My dad had been sitting in the helicopter doorway, a blanket around his shoulders. But he stumbled to his feet. "You have a mission. A quest. I can't—"

"I'll take care of him," said Coach Hedge.

I stared at him. The satyr was the last person I'd expect to offer. "You?" I asked.

"I'm a protector," Gleeson said. "That's my job, not fighting."

He sounded a little crestfallen, and I realized maybe I shouldn't have recounted how he got knocked unconscious in the last battle. In his own way, maybe the satyr was as sensitive as my dad.

Then Hedge straightened, and set his jar. "Of course, I'm good at fighting, too." He glared at us all, daring us to argue.

"Yes," Jason said.

"Terrifying," Leo agreed.

The coach grunted. "But I'm a protector, and I can do this. Your dad's right, Piper. You need to carry on with the quest."

"But..." My eyes stung, as if I were back in the forest fire. "Dad..."

He held out his arms, and I hugged him. He felt frail. He was trembling so much, it scared me.

"Let's give them a minute," Jason said, and they took the pilot a few yards down the tarmac.

"I can't believe it," my dad said. "I failed you."

"No, Dad!"

"The things they did, Piper, the visions they showed me..."

"Dad, listen." I took out the vial from my pocket. "Aphrodite gave me this, for you. It takes away your recent memories. It'll make it like none of this ever happened."

He gazed at me, as if translating my words from a foreign language. "But you're a hero. I would forget that?"

"Yes," I whispered. I forced an assuring tone into my voice. "Yes, yes would. It'll be like—like before."

He closed his eyes and took a shaken breath. "I love you, Piper. I always have. I—I sent you away because I didn't want you exposed to my life. Not the way I grew up—the poverty, the hopelessness. Not the Hollywood insanity either. I thought—I thought I was protecting you." He managed a brittle laugh. "As if your life without me was better, or safer."

I took his hand. I'd heard him talk about protecting me before, but I'd never believed it. I'd always thought he was just rationalizing. My dad seemed so confident and easygoing, like his life was a joyride. How could he claim I needed protecting from that?

Finally I understood he'd been acting for my benefit, trying not to show how scared and insecure he was. He really had been trying to protect me. And now his ability to cope had been destroyed.