xviii. dying light

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
DYING LIGHT

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

HEA STOOD AT THE mouth of the cave, the hood of a thick woollen parka pulled over her plaited hair. Behind her, the snow was beginning to thin out into a light mist, like her presence had scared away whatever was trying to overcome Annais and Ezra. She had her own sword out in defence, and at the sight of Ezra's glowing weapon, her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. But she managed to bite her tongue for the moment, forcefully meeting Annais' gaze as the younger girl lowered her sword, a smile spreading wide across her face.

"You're here..." she breathed out. "How are you... how are you here?"

Hea winked and grinned. "I have my sources."

Before she could change her mind, Annais surged forward and hugged her. Hea let out a laugh, dropping her sword to the ground with a clatter and hooking her arms around Annais' neck. In the embrace of her older sister, her predestined protector, Annais Min was a child again, a girl of blood and bone, love and loss. Hea's hand ran through her dirty hair once, then she stepped away to greet Ezra, awkwardly hugging the girl for a second before taking up her position in the cave entrance again.

"So you got separated from Mel and your demigods, huh?"

"Unfortunately," drawled Ezra. At the same time, she gathered up her scythe and returned it to pendant form, reattaching it to her bracelet like she hadn't just wielded Kronos' mighty weapon, the scythe that took Penelope's last breath. Annais wanted to ask her how she got her hands on it, and yet again, why she'd kept it from them. But at Hea's pointed gaze settling on her glare, she schooled her expression into cold neutrality, just like her sister had taught her.

"You two never make things easy," Hea sighed, brows furrowing in contemplation. Annais didn't really want to rely on her for help, but she was at a loss for what to do. They'd broken the compass so they had no way of knowing where Jason and the others had ended up, not to mention Eddie was exhausted and would need a break before he could transport anyone on his back. It was all down to Hea now. "Fortunately for you, I think I know how to help. Aphrodite's been tracking her daughter ever since you guys left Camp Half-Blood. If things go as planned, she'll have them at a cafe you can join them at."

"Just like that?" Ezra frowned. "It's that easy?"

Hea huffed. "Well, things don't always have to be life endangering, Ezra. You just have a bad habit of getting yourself into shit." Ezra's mouth opened instinctively to retort, but both she and Annais knew the older girl was right. Hea took her hesitation as a sign to continue. "Look, we don't have much time. Take ten to clean yourselves up, then we'll head out."

But in true Hea Min fashion, 'take ten' actually meant 'we're leaving in thirty seconds with or without you, so hurry up.' Annais and Ezra had just enough time to change into dryer clothes and force down some ambrosia to heal the aches and pains before Hea was marching back into the cave, the hood of her parka settled back over her head again.

"If we leave now, we can be there by sun-down," she said. "You ready?"

Annais wasn't sure what to expect when she re-entered the outside world, but a chariot made of what looked like bone wasn't it. Hea presented it proudly to them, listing off its attributes so that Ezra could understand it beyond a simple once over with her hand. It kind of reminded Annais of the chariot back at Camp Half-Blood, the one they'd smashed on the way out of the Grand Canyon, only stronger than any mode of transport the demigods back home could've ever thought to make. Not to mention double the size, and with a gated back so that Ezra wouldn't have to worry about attaching herself to one of them. Instead, she sat down in the corner with her back pressed to the gate, reassessing what was usable and what was broken beyond repair in their packs. Annais took the front with Hea, clinging to the railing as her sister urged the two skeletal horses into the air.

"Cool, right?" Hea laughed once they were finally up high enough to feel the sun's warmth instead of the iciness of the snow. "Hephaestus helped me with it."

"I like it," Annais replied. "It's very you."

For a while, they flew in silence. Ezra had started to doze about an hour into the trip, but Annais couldn't bring herself to close her eyes when she knew she had Hea so close to her. She wanted to savour every second before the girl went back to Aphrodite and Hephaestus and became nothing but another ghost in her life again, a distant stranger who she only saw on holidays.

Behind them, Ezra let out a loud snore, suddenly shifting Annais' souring mood. She and Hea laughed as the girl mumbled in her sleep and pressed her face against the gate, her neck at an awkward angle that would probably kill her later but seemed comfortable for the moment. As silence dawned again, Hea caught the wavering smile on Annais' face.

"What's on your mind?" she asked, a slight frown tugging at her brows. When Annais just shrugged in dismissal, she smirked. "Is it that boy you and Ezra were talking about earlier? What was his name again? Jason?"

Annais' face flushed red. "I don't know what you're talking about, Hea."

"Don't bullshit me, Annais Min. I know what I heard."

"Look, I just miss him," she admitted with a reluctant sigh. Quickly, before Hea could tease her, she added, "But I miss my other friends, too. And Mel. There's nothing weird about that."

"Sure," Hea conceded. "But when Ezra asked if you like him, you said 'maybe, but love is stupid.'"

"Jeez, how long were you watching us for?" Annais scowled, feeling like a foolish teenage girl as her blush bloomed darker, like the petals of a rose. "Look, it really doesn't matter, okay? I'm pretty sure my friend, Piper, likes him too."

"Piper? Aphrodite's girl?" Hea questioned. Annais nodded wordlessly, eyes locked stubbornly on the setting sun. "I wouldn't worry about her, Annais. I have a front row seat to Aphrodite's match-making and Jason Grace hasn't even crossed her mind for this Piper. You, on the other hand..."

"So the rumours are true?" she sighed in dismay.

"I don't know. Are they?" she snickered. At Annais' deadpan stare, Hea rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. Is it really such a bad thing to have a crush, Annais? Surely, you've had one before. I swear you used to like one of the Stoll brothers. Or was it Charles Beckendorf? I can't remember."

Annais' face paled to a sickly shade. "Beckendorf... And now look at him," she muttered, and any lightness that had lingered in the air before faded into thick, unbreakable tension. "I have too much to think about right now, things more important than some dumb boy who I didn't even trust a little while ago. So tell Aphrodite to mind her business."

Hea huffed out a weak laugh. "She won't like that." It was obviously forced, but Annais couldn't bring herself to care.

Just minutes later, Ezra woke with a flinch. Hea and Annais frowned down at her, the former asking if she was alright, but Ezra said nothing. Whatever she had dreamt of, she wasn't willing to tell anyone. Instead, she quickly forced herself to her feet and felt up the railing to stand on Hea's other side. Annais took her spot on the floor to allow them more room, grateful for the break from Hea's pensive stare on the side of her head. For a while, she closed her eyes in a facade of sleep, but her brain continued to race with each beat of the skeletal horses' wings. They couldn't be far now. And with each mile gained, more and more valuable time slipped away.

"Where'd you get that scythe?" she heard Hea ask at some point.

Ezra's breath hitched, and through a quick blink of her eyes, Annais saw her brows furrowing into a hard line. "I think you know, Hea."

Annais really didn't want to hear anymore. Her previous curiosity was long gone. Fortunately, Hypnos had decided to take pity on her, and with one more blink to witness Hea and Ezra haloed by the evening sky, Annais was out like a light.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

"WELL, GUYS," HEA BEGAN the moment the chariot touched down outside what seemed to be some sort of cafe. It was only early in the morning, 10am at the latest, but a fair few people were already out and about. The trio garnered a number of weird stares as they filed out of the chariot one-by-one, and if Annais wasn't so focused on the oncoming shitshow, she probably would've been amused. Hopefully, the mist was doing its job and making it look like a mini bus or something, anything that would be easy to hide. "This is where I leave you."

Or not. Annais frowned as she wheeled around to face her sister. "Wait, what?" she asked, unsure if she'd heard her right. "You're leaving already?"

At that, Hea just shrugged, casting an uncertain glance up at the mountain towering over the town. Annais recognised it as Mount Diablo, the place Athena had used to trap Enceladus in the first war between the giants and the Gods. Annabeth used to be obsessed with it, but Annais couldn't help wondering why Hea had decided to bring them there, had known this was where the others would end up. Had they found something out in the time Annais and Ezra had been separated from them? Or did it have to do with Piper's dad? Last Annais heard, he was being held captive. Was this where he was? Did they even have the time to save him with Hera's own freedom dwindling by the second?

Annais let out a heavy sigh as Hea began to back up towards the chariot again. Gods, she wished she would stay. But if Annais Min knew anything about her sister, she knew that she wouldn't.

"Stay safe, please?" Hea said, to which Ezra shook her head and turned her back on the sound of her voice. Annais wanted to do the same, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from Hea's face then, away from the worry that clouded her features. "We have a lot to discuss when you get back."

"How are we even meant to find them?" Ezra burst out then, unable to hold in her frustration. "Seriously, what is it with you Gods and your riddles?"

Hea wasn't a God, but she might as well have been. Her expression remained eerily impassive even when facing the brunt of Ezra Min's rage. She picked up the reins connected to her skeletal horses, tugging at them to kick start them to life again. "You'll know, alright?" she insisted, and Annais could already feel her slipping away. "You're not far, I can tell you that much."

Each of the Mins -- even Annais, though she'd never admit it -- were good at running when the going got tough. And like the dying light of the sun going down each day, Hea Min was quick to disappear again, leaving Annais and Ezra stranded in the middle of the road with no clue where to go, looking war-torn and completely defeated. Still, the moment Hea's chariot disappeared out of sight, Annais made her way over to the cafe, murmuring half-heartedly for Ezra to follow her.

The least they could do was start asking around. Maybe someone had seen Jason and the others in passing and would be able to point them in the right direction.

"Good morning," Annais awkwardly greeted the barista behind the counter. Above the redheaded woman was a sign that read 'Cafe Verve' in neat cursive writing. It was one of those hippie places that Melanie, and probably Penelope too, would've loved.

"Morning! What can I get for you two today?" she chirped, tapping a few buttons on the screen in front of her. Annais had to give her credit, she didn't look the least bit phased by their worse-for-wear appearances. She just smiled like seeing two teenage girls covered in dirt and grime was a regular occurrence for her.

"Oh, uh, we're not ordering anything sorry," she said, prompting the woman's brows to furrow in confusion. "We're actually looking for a few of our friends. We've been... camping, and my cousin and I got separated on a... hike. Have four kids around our age stopped here by any chance? There's two girls and two boys. Both girls and one of the boys are brunette, and the other boy is blonde, blue eyes, very pretty..."

Annais didn't have a lot of hope, but much to her surprise, the barista's green eyes brightened and she nodded. "Yes, actually, I have seen them," she exclaimed. "They came in with a man, though I'm sure it's who you're describing."

A man? Was it Piper's dad? Had they managed to find him already? They didn't have time to dwell on it, though. She could've easily been wrong, but they had no other leads to go on. This was their only chance. "You don't happen to know where they went, do you?" she asked. "Like a name or even just a general direction?"

"Hm," the lady muttered to herself, frowning. "They didn't say much when they ordered, but one of the girls asked to use the phone for a second. I believe they caught a taxi up the mountain then."

Of course they did, Annais thought with a sigh she tried her best to hide as she thanked the barista and followed Ezra back outside. Still, at the very least, they had a location now. That was one of their problems solved. The next on the list? Figuring out how the fuck they were supposed to get up a giant (hah!) mountain before the Solstice came and went.

"Alright," Ezra said as soon as the cafe door shut and the barista could no longer hear them. "Let's go find the others and kick some ass!"

"Uh, I hate to break it to you, but there's no way we're walking up that mountain in time."

At that, Ezra scoffed. "Who said anything about walking?"

Before Annais could even think to question her, she raised her fingers to her lips and let out an ear-piercing whistle. Annais immediately cringed, casting a furtive glance around at random people passing by. The last thing they needed was someone thinking Ezra was whistling at them. But for once, luck seemed to be on their side, and no one seemed to notice anything, not even when Eddie came soaring over the cafe's roof out of nowhere.

"Eddie?" Annais exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't realise he was tailing us."

"I had him following at a distance just in case," Ezra shrugged as the two girls made their way over to where the pegasus stood. Like them, he looked like he'd seen better days, but he seemed to have more energy than he had when they crashed down in the snow. He didn't even complain when the two girls heaved themselves up on his back, just stamping his hoof with an air of impatience. "Alright, my boy, you know what to do. We need to get up that mountain."

With a sudden jolt, Eddie soared high into the air, frightening Annais enough that she grabbed hold of Ezra's shoulders without thinking. "Not a word," she immediately hissed, then sighed when Ezra's body started shaking with laughter anyways.

As they came to find out, Ezra had brought them some very valuable time by summoning Eddie. Beneath them, Annais could just make out the rocky edges of the mountain twisting and forming the smiling features of a sleeping face, one just like Leo had seen when Festus first crashed. Even then, Gaea was watching, waiting in anticipation. Annais had the feeling that if she and Ezra had tried to climb the mountain on foot, they never would've made it to the top.

"Are we close?" Ezra asked at some point, hands tight around Eddie's neck. "I can smell smoke."

At first, Annais couldn't see anything, then there it was. Through the trees, smoke drifted up into the air in plumes, turning the sky a dark shade of grey. "Yeah," Annais sighed at the sight. "We should land now, walk the last few metres."

Almost as soon as their feet touched the ground, Gaea took hold. The otherwise rock hard dirt sunk like quicksand, tugging at their heels and forcing them to always move in fear of getting stuck. Eddie whined in fright, causing Annais to wince and look around warily. So far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the smoke was thicker, stronger and easier to smell now, and none of the others were anywhere in sight. Annais had the horrible feeling they were walking into another trap, but there was no going back now. Turning around would mean accepting defeat. It would mean failing their quest. And no matter what, Annais and Ezra Min weren't going to let that happen.

"Eddie should go," Annais suggested as she adjusted her bag on her back and slipped her ring off her finger, holding it in her palm just in case. "We don't want him getting caught."

Ezra nodded, approaching the panicking pegasus and murmuring soothing words in his ear. A moment later, he took off into the air, hesitating once to look down at his companions before disappearing back down the mountain. Annais watched him go for as long as she could before attaching Ezra's tether to her belt and leading the way up the mountain. It was difficult, what with Gaea trying tooth and nail to stop them, but the closer they got to the smoke, the easier it became to sense the oncoming danger.

That was when they heard it. The deafening roar of a giant breathing fire. Annais felt the pure heat of it on her skin as she and Ezra took off running, slipping and tripping over themselves as the ground transformed into a pool of mud. They burst through the treeline and right into action.

Everything was so chaotic, it was hard to take it in. Enceladus was standing by a huge bonfire releasing havoc on a group of demigods -- their demigods. In the midst of it all, Jason was charging towards the giant with his spear raised, Gleeson Hedge on one side of him and Leo on the other. Piper and Melanie were nowhere in sight, but Annais could see Piper's dad strung up on a post just behind Enceladus and knew they were probably trying to get to him.

Suddenly, Enceladus roared again, slamming his own spear into the earth. The whole mountain seemed to shake like it was about to split in two. Jason and Leo flew back but managed to get up where Gleeson remained unconscious. Meanwhile, Enceladus' eyes were scanning the clearing, locking first on Annais with her sword and Ezra holding Kronos' scythe, then redirecting to a bush just to their right.

"I see you, Piper McLean and Melanie Min," he bellowed suddenly, then blew fire right in that direction.

Piper and Melanie came running out into the clearing a second later, their wide eyes finding Annais and Ezra first as they ended up beside them.

"You're alive!" Mel cried out in relief.

Annais really wished she could hug her but they didn't have the time. For the moment her arms reached towards her cousin, Enceladus' next roar of fire came barrelling towards them and Annais Min was diving right back into the action, into the final(ish) fight.

Right where she was meant to be.

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