Daughter of Wine

Leo

I hope the taxi can take us all the way to the top. This mountain looked smaller from the bottom, and I'm enjoying the ride. Calli is right up next to me. I look over at her, and she's reading the paper that Aeolus gave her. 

"What is that?" I ask her, leaning over to see, my head neary resting on her shoulder. 

She quickly folds it up. "Nothing. Something I wrote when I was seven, that's all." 

"It can't be nothing." I whine, leaning fully onto her. 

She looks down at me like I'm a lost puppy. "It's nothing, I promise." She shakes me off her shoulder and turns to look out the window. 

Unfortunately, we're not very lucky. The cab makes lurching, grinding sounds as it climbs up the mountain road, and about halfway up we find the ranger station closed, a chain blocking the way. 

"Far as I can go." The cabbie says. "You sure about this? Gonna be a long walk back, and my car is acting funny. I can't wait for you." 

"We're sure." I'm the first one out. I have a bad feeling about what's wrong with the cab, and when I look down I see I'm right. The wheels are sinking into the road like it's made of quicksand. Not fast, just enough to make the driver think he has a transmission problem or a bad axle, but I know better. 

The road is hard packed-dirt. No reason at all it should have been soft, but already my shoes are starting to sink. 

"Gaea is messing with us. That's rude, she's playing dirty." Calli frowns, then smiles. "Playing dirty, hah." She removes the wine-colored heels that Aphrodite gave her. I like it better that way anyways. She's taller than me with those stilettos on, and I don't think she's the kind of girl to wear heels. She looks amazing though. The jumpsuit is so elegant yet casual, emphasizing her hourglass figure, and it's cut just low enough to look a little scandalous, but not so much that it looks bad. And that gold grape-vine tiara, it makes her look like a princess. I can feel myself drooling. 

While the rest of my friends get out, I pay the cabbie. "Keep the change. And get out of here. Quick." 

The driver doesn't argue. Soon all we can see is a dust trail. 

The view from the mountain is pretty amazing. The whole inland valley around Mount Diablo is a patchwork of towns. There's grids of tree-lined streets and nice middle-class suburbs, shops, and schools. All these normal people living normal lives. 

"Lucky non-demigods." Calli scoffs under her breath, and I can't help but agree. 

"That's Concord." Jason says, pointing to the north. "Walnut Creek below us. To the north, Danville, past those hills. And that way..."

He points west, where a ridge of golden hills holds back a layer of fog, like the rim of a bowl. "That's Berkley Hills. The East Bay. Past that, San Francisco." 

"Jason?" Piper touches his arm. "You remember something? You've been here?"

"Yes... no." He gives her an anguished look. "It just seems important." 

"That's Titan land." Coach Hedge nods towards the west. "Bad place, Jason. Trust me, this is as close to 'Frisco as we want to get."

Calli shivers in agreement, but Jason looks towards the foggy basin with such longing that I feel uneasy. Why does he seem so connected with this place that Hedge says is evil and gives Calli the chills? 

I try to move my foot, but now my heels are completely embedded in the dirt. 

"Hey, guys." I offer. "Let's keep moving." 

The others notice the problem. 

"Gaea is stronger here." Hedge grumbles. He pops his hooves free from his shoes, then hands them to me. "Keep those for me, Valdez. They're nice."