Hurricane ~ L. Valdez

1.7 - Cal Just Wants To Destroy Stuff

       I don't think I had slept that well in a while (which is saying something, since we were flying on the back of a dragon). But, it felt like only seconds later that Piper shook us awake.

       "We're here," she said.

       The daylight was fading, and we were flying above a city sat on a cliff overlooking the river. The town had a medieval feel to it, and there was a literal castle sitting in the middle of it.

       "Tell me that's Quebec and not Santa's workshop," Leo said.

       "Yeah,Quebec City," Piper said, nodding. "One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?"

       Leo raised an eyebrow. "Your dad do a movie about that too?"

       Piper made a face at him, but it didn't exactly work with the glamorous makeup. "I read sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me, doesn't mean I have to be an airhead."

       "Feisty!" Leo said, causing me to slap him on the back of the head. "So you know so much, what's that castle?"

       "A hotel, I think."

       "No way," Leo laughed. As we got closer, we realized that Leo was wrong. I was about to tell him that, but he cut me off before I could. "Don't even say it, Elara." I smiled a bit. "The North Wind is staying in a hotel?" He wondered aloud. "That can't be-"

       "Head's up, guys," Jason, who had been awfully quiet for most of the ride, said. "We got company."

       I looked down, and instantly saw what my brother meant. Rising from the top of the tower were two angry angels, with really scary looking swords,

       Festus was not a big fan of the angel guys. He made a rumbling noise that I was not very fond of. "Steady, boy," Leo muttered.

       "I don't like this." I mumbled, and Jason nodded.

       "Me neither..." he agreed. "They look like storm spirits."

       Jason was right, but as we got closer I realized that they were much more solid than anemoi thuellai. They looked more like teenagers except with white hair and feathery purple wings. They looked kind of similar, like they were brothers, except one was the size of an oxwith two black eyes and a bright red hockey jersey, and the other looked like a cringy 80s rockstar... like knockoff David Bowie(Labryinth scarred me for life, let me tell you.)

       The two angels hovered in front of our dragon, and the hockey ox (Leo's words not mine) grunted. "No clearance."

       "Excuse me?" I said, crossing my arms.

       "What he means, ma cherie," the 80's rockstar said in a terrible French accent, "is that you have no flight plan on file. This is restricted airspace."

       "Destroy them?" The ox asked, causing Jason and I to summon our swords, and Leo's dragon to hiss.

       "Hold on!" Leo exclaimed. "Let's have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?"

       "I am Cal!" The ox grunted. He looked very proud of himself for remembering that.

       "That's short for Calais," the love god said. (Fun fact, my mom's family is Cajun, and we have Calais cousins except they spell it Callais (it's pronounced ka-lay) "Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables-"

       "Pizza!Hockey! Destroy!" Cal offered.

       "-which includes his own name," the love god finished.

       "I am Cal," Cal repeated. "And this is Zethes! My brother!"

       I clapped, and Leo grinned. "Wow, that was almost three sentences,man! Way to go." Cal grunted, pleased with himself.

       "Stupid buffoon," his brother grumbled. "They make fun of you. But no matter. I am Zethes. And the ladies there-" He winked at Piper and I, which was a truly horrifying expression on his face. "They can call me anything they like. Perhaps they would like to have dinner with a famous demigod before we must destroy you?"

       Piper made a gagging sound like she was gagging on a cough drop. "That's...a truly horrifying offer."

       I put on my trademark smirk. "I don't think it's possible to have dinner with myself, but if you find out how, let me know."

       Leo let out a choked laugh, covering it with a cough. Don't worry, I swear to the gods I'm not that stuck up... but I was part of a crazy intense battle, and my brother was offered immortality... so ya know.

       The love god looked taken aback, but quickly recovered, turning to Piper."It is no problem." He said, wiggling his eyebrows. "We are very romantic people, we Boreads."

       "Boreads?"Jason cut in. "Do you mean, like, the sons of Boreas?"

       "No, Jason, they meant the sons of Apollo." I shot back with an eyeroll.

       "Ah,so you've heard of us!" Rockstar said, looking pleased. "We are our father's gatekeepers. So you understand, we cannot have unauthorized people flying in his airspace on creaky dragons, scaring the silly mortal peoples."

       He pointed down at the mortals, who were looking up at us in annoyance... knowing the Mist they probably thought we were a helicopter flying too low.

       "Which is sadly why, unless this is an emergency landing," Zethes said, brushing his hair out of his acne-filled face, "we will have to destroy you painfully."

       Lovely.

       "Destroy!" Cal agreed, with way more enthusiasm than needed.

       "Wait!" Piper said. "This is an emergency landing."

       "Awww!" Cal said, looking so disappointed that I actually kind of felt sorry for him.

       Zethes studied Piper (more than he had already been doing). "How does the pretty girl decide this is an emergency, then?"

       "We have to see Boreas. It's totally urgent! Please?" She forced a smile, which must have been killing her. She must've been using her charmspeak... Jason was nodding along, completely under her spell...at least more than normal.

       Zethes opened his shirt more, which was something I definitely did not need to see. "Well... I hate to disappoint a lovely lady, you see, but my sister, she would have an avalanche if we allowed you-"

       "And our dragon is malfunctioning!" Piper added. "It could crash any minute!"

       I kicked Festus lightly with my leg, and he shuddered helpfully, then turned his head and spilled gunk out of his ear, completely covering a black Mercedes in the parking lot below us. Poor mortal people.

       "No destroy?" Cal whimpered, and I was starting to feel worse and worse for him.

       Zethes pondered the problem, before giving Piper a spasmodic wink. "Well, you are pretty. I mean, you're right. A malfunctioning dragon-this could be an emergency."

       "Destroy them later?" Cal offered.

       "It will take some explaining." Zethes decided. "Father has not been kind to visitors lately. But, yes. Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us."

       The two Boreads pulled out those flashlight thingys people use at airports, and turned, swooping toward the hotel tower.

       Leo turned to us. "I love these guys. Follow them?" He asked. Jason and Piper didn't look as eager as we did.

       "I guess," Jason decided. "We're here now. But I wonder why Boreas hasn't been kind to visitors."

       "Pfft, he just hasn't met us." Leo whistled. "Festus, after those flashlights!" I thought for sure we were going to run into thetower, but a slanted roof opened for Festus.

        "This cannot be good," Jason muttered, but Leo continued to aim Festus downward, and we swooped in after the Boreads.