Kyra Pafford has been at Camp-Half Blood for three months. The gates to Olympus have closed and she has yet to be claimed. When three demigods show up to Camp Half-Blood, everything begins to change. She finally gets her chance to prove herself to t...
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AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL DIDN'T WANT TO let an unscheduled helicopter land at the Oakland Airport—until Piper got on the radio. Then it turned out to be no problem.
They unloaded on the tarmac, and everyone looked at Piper, "What now?" Jason asked her.
"First thing," she sighed, "I—I have to get my dad home. I'm sorry, guys."
Their faces fell and Kyra stepped forward, "He needs you right now. We can take it from here."
"Pipes, no." Piper's 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.
Piper stared at him. The satyr was the last person they would expect to offer. "You?" she asked.
"I'm a protector," Coach Hedge replied, "That's my job, not fighting." He sounded a little crestfallen, and Jason realized maybe he shouldn't have recounted how he got knocked unconscious in the last battle. In his own way, maybe the satyr was as sensitive as Piper's dad.
Then Hedge straightened and set his jaw. "Of course, I'm good at fighting, too." He glared at them all, daring them to argue.
"Yes," Jason nodded,
"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 ..." Piper's eyes stung, "Dad ..." He held out his arms, and she hugged him. He felt frail. He was trembling so much, it scared her.
"Let's give them a minute," Jason muttered, and they took the pilot a few yards down the tarmac.
Kyra turned to Jason while Leo and Hedge talked to the pilot, "Jason, what did you see back there?"
He looked down at the blonde girl. Jason knew that out of all of them, she would understand what he had seen, but even he couldn't explain in, "I don't even really know myself."
She nodded, still hesitant on his answer, before the group saw Piper's dad collapse. She caught him and they ran over to help,
"Got him," Hedge said. The satyr stumbled, but he was strong enough to hold Tristan McLean upright. "I already asked our ranger friend to call up his plane. It's on the way now. Home address?"
"Everything's on here," Piper told the satyr, handing him a Blackberry, "Address, his chauffeur's number. Just watch out for Jane."
Hedge's eyes lit up, like he sensed a possible fight. "Who's Jane?"
By the time Piper explained, her dad's sleek white Gulf-stream had taxied next to the helicopter. Hedge and the flight attendant got Piper's dad on board. Then Hedge came down one last time to say his goodbyes. He gave Piper and Kyra a hug and glared at Jason and Leo. "You cupcakes take care of these girls, you hear? Or I'm gonna make you do push-ups."
"You got it, Coach," Leo said, a smile tugging at his mouth.
"No push-ups," Jason promised, grabbing Kyra's hand. He'd never let anything happen to them. They saw him as a leader. They trusted him with their lives.
Piper gave the old satyr one more hug. "Thank you, Gleeson. Take care of him, please."
"I got this, McLean," he assured her. "They got root beer and veggie enchiladas on this flight, and one hundred percent linen napkins—yum! I could get used to this." Trotting up the stairs, he lost one shoe, and his hoof was visible for just a second. The flight attendant's eyes widened, but she looked away and pretended nothing was wrong.
When the plane was heading down the runaway, Piper started to cry. She'd been holding it in too long and she just couldn't anymore. Kyra let go of Jason's hand and wrapped her arms around the brunette girl while Jason stood awkwardly next to Leo, who was pulling Kleenex out of his tool belt.
"Your dad's in good hands," Kyra whispered to the daughter of Aphrodite, "You did amazing."
Piper sobbed into Kyra's shoulder. Jason knew the blonde would be able to calm Piper down. She had done the same thing with Jason. Kyra may not have realized it, but she's the team's anchor. If something happened to her, they would crumble.
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Okay I just wanna give a shoutout to @survivory/@revolutionary for making an awesome book cover and I just wanted to show some appreciation because it meant a lot.
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