THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES [J. GRACE]

THIRTY

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES ༉‧₊˚.[THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS]

P I P E R
chapter thirty: thalia grace (jason's older (?) sister) comes to the demigod rescue

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"WOLVES," PIPER breathed, panic surging through her veins as her heartbeat accelerated dramatically. "they sound close."

jason shoved his hand into his pocket, and revealed his gold coin. within moments, he was holding his sword, and at his side, stood chandler, with the sword piper had seen before, tight in her grasp. the aphrodite girl noted the way the honey blonde angled himself in front of chandler, no doubt ready to protect the curly haired girl.

leo, and coach hedge got to their feet, too. piper, sensing the danger coming, also, attempted to ready herself, and stand defensively, and found black spots appear before her vision. before she could strain to try again, chandler's voice interrupted with a underlying tone of sternness, "stay there," she said. "we'll cover for you."

it was a cool way of saying they'd protect her, but piper appreciated the sentiment, but it made her grit her teeth in anger. not at chandler, but more at the fact that she couldn't be standing with them. first, it was her stupid ankle. now? it was stupid hyperthermia. why couldn't she be at her best? piper wanted to be on her feet, her dagger clutched defensively in her hands.

then, just outside the firelight at the entrance of the cave, she saw a pair of red eyes glowing in dark. fear bled into her veins, cold as ice. okay, she thought. maybe a little protection is fine. more wolves edged into the firelight. black beasts bigger than great danes, with ice, and snow caked on their fur. their fangs gleamed, and their glowing red eyes looked disturbingly intelligent. the wolf in front was almost as tall as a horse, his mouth stained as if he'd just made a fresh kill. piper pulled her dagger out of its sheath.

then, jason stepped forward,  and said something in latin. chandler seemed to understand whatever jason was saying completely, and added on in the same tongue. piper didn't think a dead language would have much effect on wild animals, but the alpha wolf curled his lip. the fur stood up along his spine. one of his lieutenants tried to advance, but the alpha wolf snapped at his ear. then, all of the wolves backed into the dark.

"dude, i gotta study latin." leo's usual resort to humor didn't fail, though his fear was apparent as the hammer shook in his hand. "what'd you guys say?"

hedge cursed, not even attempting to censor himself as he did when he was still their gym teacher at the wilderness school. "whatever it was, it wasn't enough. look." the wolves were coming back, but the alpha wolf wasn't with them. they didn't attack. they waited, at least a dozen now, in a rough semicircle just outside the firelight, blocking the cave exit. the coach hefted his club. "here's the plan. i'll kill them all, and you guys escape."

"coach, they'll rip you apart," piper disagreed with him, dismissing the idea of him trying to fight a pack of vivacious wolves by himself as absolutely ridiculous.

"nah, i'm good," the goat attempted to assure her, but the way his chest heaved, it was apparent he didn't believe his own words. piper still admired the bravery of him trying to give them a way out. then, it died as she saw the silhouette of a man coming through the storm, wading through the wolf pack.