orenda [leo valdez]

viii. Chef Leo's Taco Garage Makes Tacos

If Kira was taking notes down for this quest, she would have to say that Chicago was definitely not her favorite. 

"Chicago," Jason had said, as the Chicago skyline came into view. 

"Good eye, Jason," Kira told him. "We almost missed it,"

"One problem down," Leo said, ignoring her. "We got here alive. Now, how do we find the storm spirits?"

A figure spiraled towards some skyscrapers.

"How about we follow that one," Jason suggested, "and see where it goes?"

They tried to keep up with it, but it was a wind spirit. It went as fast as it wanted. 

"Speed up!" Jason urged.

"Bro," Leo said, "if I get any closer, he'll spot us. Bronze dragon ain't exactly a stealth plane."

"Slow down!" Piper yelped.

The storm spirit dove into the grid of downtown streets. Festus tried to follow, but his wingspan was way too wide. His left wing clipped the edge of a building, slicing off a stone gargoyle before Leo pulled up.

"Get above the buildings," Jason suggested. "We'll track him from there."

"You want to drive this thing?" Leo grumbled, but he did what Jason asked.

They caught sight of it again, blowing over pedestrians. Kira liked this storm spirit. 

"Oh great," Piper said. "There're two."

A second storm spirit linked with the first, joining in a chaotic dance and shooting to the top of a skyscraper. 

"Those guys do not need any more caffeine," Leo said.

"I guess Chicago's a good place to hang out," Piper said. "Nobody's going to question a couple more evil winds."

"More than a couple," Jason said. "Look."

The dragon circled over a wide avenue next to a lake-side park. Storm spirits were converging—at least a dozen of them, whirling around a big public art installation.

"Which one do you think is Dylan?" Leo asked. "I wanna throw something at him."

At the center of the art installation, there was a giant public fountain. The monoliths seemed to be built of video screens, flashing the combined image of a giant face that spewed water into the pool. The image on the screens changed to a woman's face with her eyes closed.

"Leo..." Jason said nervously.

"I see her," Leo said. "I don't like her, but I see her."

Then the screens went dark. The venti swirled together into a single funnel cloud and skittered across the fountain, kicking up a waterspout almost as high as the monoliths. They got to its center, popped off a drain cover, and disappeared underground.

"Did they just go down a drain?" Piper asked. "How are we supposed to follow them?"

"Maybe we shouldn't," Leo said. "That fountain thing is giving me seriously bad vibes. And aren't we supposed to, like, beware the earth?"

"Put us down in that park," Jason suggested. "We'll check it out on foot."

Festus landed in an open area between the lake and the skyline. The signs said Grant Park. Festus flapped his wings unhappily and shot fire into the sky, but there was no one around to notice. The wind coming off the lake was bitter cold.