~ { Shadow and Beauty } ~

Hera's Gamble

{Kiara}

Kiara tensed. The king was smiling amiably, as if he'd just delivered good news.

   "No," Kiara grumbled, "you did not mention that earlier."

   "Kill us?" Jason said. "Why?"

   "Because," the king said, in heavily accented English, "my lord Aeolus has commanded it." Boreas rose. He stepped down from his throne and furled his wings against his back. As he approached, Khione and Zethes bowed. Jason and Piper followed their example, and so did Kiara after a moment's hesitation.

   "I shall deign to speak your language," Boreas said, "as Piper McLean has honored me in mine. Toujours, I have had a fondness for the children of Aphrodite. As for you, Jason Grace, my master Aeolus would not expect me to kill a son of Lord Zeus... without first hearing you out."

   "Aeolus is the master of the winds, right?" Jason asked. "Why would he want us dead?"

   "You are demigods," Boreas said, as if this explained everything. "Aeolus's job is to contain the winds, and demigods have always caused him many headaches. They ask him for favors. They unleash winds and cause chaos. But the final insult was the battle with Typhon last summer..."

   Boreas waved his hand, and a sheet of ice like a flat-screen TV appeared in the air. Images of a battle flickered across the surface—a giant wrapped in storm clouds, wading across a river toward the Manhattan skyline. Tiny, glowing figures—the gods, Kiara guessed—swarmed around him like angry wasps, pounding the monster with lightning and fire. Finally the river erupted in a massive whirlpool, and the smoky form sank beneath the waves and disappeared.

   "The storm giant, Typhon," Boreas explained. "The first time the gods defeated him, eons ago, he did not die quietly. His death released a host of storm spirits—wild winds that answered to no one. It was Aeolus's job to track them all down and imprison them in his fortress. The other gods—they did not help. They did not even apologize for the inconvenience. It took Aeolus centuries to track down all the storm spirits, and naturally this irritated him. Then, last summer, Typhon was defeated again—"

   "And his death released another wave of venti," Jason guessed. "Which made Aeolus even angrier."

   "C'est vrai," Boreas agreed.

   "I fail to see why demigods should be punished for that," Kiara said. "The gods did what they had to do to protect Olympus. If Olympus was destroyed, monsters of all kinds would have risen. I'm sure you wouldn't have wanted that."

   The king shrugged. "Aeolus cannot take out his anger on the gods. They are his bosses, and very powerful. So he gets even with the demigods who helped them in the war. He issued orders to us: demigods who come to us for aid are no longer to be tolerated. We are to crush your little mortal faces."

   There was an uncomfortable silence.

   "That sounds... extreme," Jason ventured. "But you're not going to crush our faces yet, right? You're going to listen to us first, 'cause once you hear about our quest—"

   "Yes, yes," the king agreed. "You see, Aeolus also said that a son of Zeus might seek my aid, and if this happened, I should listen to you before destroying you, as you might—how did he put it?—make all our lives very interesting. I am only obligated to listen, however. After that, I am free to pass judgment as I see fit. But I will listen first. Khione wishes this also. It may be that we will not kill you."

   Jason let out a sigh of relief. "Great. Thanks."

   "Do not thank me." Boreas smiled. "There are many ways you could make our lives interesting. Sometimes we keep demigods for our amusement, as you can see." he gestured around the room to the various ice sculptures.