WORTH | jason grace¹

34

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34. Friends

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The sun was going down as they flew north over the Richmond Bridge, and Lorna couldn't believe the day had gone so quickly. Once again, nothing like ADHD and a good fight to the death to make time fly.

"Going okay?" Piper asked Leo from the copilot's seat.

"Aces," he said. "So what's the Wolf House?"

Jason knelt between their seats. "An abandoned mansion in the Sonoma Valley. A demigod built it—Jack London."

Lorna couldn't place the name. "He's an actor?"

"Writer," Piper said. "Adventure stuff, right? Call of the Wild? White Fang?"

"Yeah," Jason said. "He was a son of Mercury—I mean, Hermes. He was an adventurer, traveled the world. He was even a hobo for a while. Then he made a fortune writing. He bought a big ranch in the country and decided to build this huge mansion—the Wolf House."

"Named that 'cause he wrote about wolves?" Leo guessed.

"Partially," Jason said. "But the site, and the reason he wrote about wolves—he was dropping hints about his personal experience. There're a lot of holes in his life story—how he was born, who his dad was, why he wandered around so much —stuff you can only explain if you know he was a demigod."

The bay slipped behind them, and the helicopter continued north. Ahead of them, yellow hills rolled out as far as Lorna could see.

"So Jack London went to Camp Half-Blood," Leo guessed.

"No," Jason said. "No, he didn't."

"Bro, you're freaking me out with the mysterious talk. Are you remembering your past or not?" "Pieces,"

Jason said. "Only pieces. None of it good. The Wolf House is on sacred ground. It's where London started his journey as a child—where he found out he was a demigod. That's why he returned there. He thought he could live there, claim that land, but it wasn't meant for him. The Wolf House was cursed. It burned in a fire a week before he and his wife were supposed to move in. A few years later, London died, and his ashes were buried on the site."

"So," Lorna said, "how do you know all this?"

A shadow crossed Jason's face. Probably just a cloud, but Lorna could swear the shape looked like an eagle.

"I started my journey there too," Jason said. "It's a powerful place for demigods, a dangerous place. If Gaea can claim it, use its power to entomb Hera on the solstice and raise Porphyrion—that might be enough to awaken the earth goddess fully."

Leo kept his hand on the joystick, guiding the chopper at full speed—racing toward the north. Lorna could see some weather ahead—a spot of darkness like a cloudbank or a storm, right where they were going.

"Thirty minutes out," Leo told his friends. "If you want to get some rest, now's a good time."

Jason strapped himself into the back of the helicopter and passed out almost immediately.

Piper, Leo and Lorna stayed wide awake.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Lorna said, "Your dad'll be fine, you know. Nobody's gonna mess with him with that crazy goat around."

Piper glanced back. "My dad," she said thoughtfully. "How's your mom. . ."

Lorna smiled wistfully. "She always knew that dad was Poseidon. I guess she's okay with her kids running off on dangerous quests every now and then."

Piper nodded.

"I was thinking about Jason. I'm worried about him." Lorna said.

"He's starting to remember. That's got to make him a little edgy." Leo said.

"But what if ... what if he's a different person?" Lorna asked.

If the Mist could affect their memories, could Jason's whole personality be an illusion, too? If their friend wasn't their friend, and they were heading into a cursed mansion—a dangerous place for demigods—what would happen if Jason's full memory came back in the middle of a battle?

"Nah," Leo decided. "After all we've been through? I can't see it. We're a team. Jason can handle it."

"I hope you're right. I need him ..." Lorna cleared her throat. "I mean I need to trust him..."

"We know," Piper said.

"Hey, don't worry," Leo said. "Lorn, you two are the strongest, most powerful demigods I've ever met. You can trust yourself. For what it's worth, you can trust me too."

The helicopter dipped in a wind shear, and Leo almost jumped out of his skin. He cursed and righted the chopper.

Piper laughed nervously. "Trust you, huh?"

"No thanks Leo." Lorna added.

"Ah, shut up, already." But he grinned at them, and for a second, it felt like she was just relaxing comfortably with a friend. Then they hit the storm clouds.