The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus #1)(123)

How could she go back to the way things were?

She held his hand, speaking to him about small things—her time at the Wilderness School, her cabin at Camp Half-Blood. She told him how Coach Hedge ate carnations and got knocked on his butt on Mount Diablo, how Leo had tamed a dragon, and how Jason had made wolves back down by talking in Latin. Her friends smiled reluctantly as she recounted their adventures. Her dad seemed to relax as she talked, but he didn’t smile. Piper wasn’t even sure he heard her.

As they passed over the hills into the East Bay, Jason tensed. He leaned so far out the doorway Piper was afraid he’d fall.

He pointed. “What is that?”

Piper looked down, but she didn’t see anything interesting—just hills, woods, houses, little roads snaking through the canyons. A highway cut through a tunnel in the hills, connecting the East Bay with the inland towns.

“Where?” Piper asked.

“That road,” he said. “The one that goes through the hills.”

Piper picked up the com helmet the pilot had given her and relayed the question over the radio. The answer wasn’t very exciting.

“She says it’s Highway 24,” Piper reported. “That’s the Caldecott Tunnel. Why?”

Jason stared intently at the tunnel entrance, but he said nothing. It disappeared from view as they flew over downtown Oakland, but Jason still stared into the distance, his expression almost as unsettled as Piper’s dad’s.

“Monsters,” her dad said, a tear tracing his cheek. “I live in a world of monsters.”

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL DIDN’T WANT TO let an unscheduled helicopter land at the Oakland Airport—until Piper got on the radio. Then it turned out to be no problem.

They unloaded on the tarmac, and everyone looked at Piper.

“What now?” Jason asked her.

She felt uncomfortable. She didn’t want to be in charge, but for her dad’s sake, she had to appear confident. She had no plan. She’d just remembered that he’d flown into Oakland, which meant his private plane would still be here. But today was the solstice. They had to save Hera. They had no idea where to go or if they were even too late. And how could she leave her dad in this condition?

“First thing,” she said. “I—I have to get my dad home. I’m sorry, guys.”

Their faces fell.

“Oh,” Leo said. “I mean, absolutely. He needs you right now. We can take it from here.”

“Pipes, no.” Her dad had been sitting in the helicopter doorway, a blanket around his shoulders. But he stumbled to his feet. “You have a mission. A quest. I can’t—”

“I’ll take care of him,” said Coach Hedge.

Piper stared at him. The satyr was the last person she’d expected to offer. “You?” she asked.

“I’m a protector,” Gleeson said. “That’s my job, not fighting.”

He sounded a little crestfallen, and Piper realized maybe she shouldn’t have recounted how he got knocked unconscious in the last battle. In his own way, maybe the satyr was as sensitive as her dad.

Then Hedge straightened, and set his jaw. “Of course, I’m good at fighting, too.” He glared at them all, daring them to argue.

“Yes,” Jason said.

“Terrifying,” Leo agreed.

The coach grunted. “But I’m a protector, and I can do this. Your dad’s right, Piper. You need to carry on with the quest.”

“But …” Piper’s eyes stung, as if she were back in the forest fire. “Dad …”

He held out his arms, and she hugged him. He felt frail. He was trembling so much, it scared her.

“Let’s give them a minute,” Jason said, and they took the pilot a few yards down the tarmac.

“I can’t believe it,” her dad said. “I failed you.”

“No, Dad!”

“The things they did, Piper, the visions they showed me …”

“Dad, listen.” She took out the vial from her pocket. “Aphrodite gave me this, for you. It takes away your recent memories. It’ll make it like none of this ever happened.”

He gazed at her, as if translating her words from a foreign language. “But you’re a hero. I would forget that?”

“Yes,” Piper whispered. She forced an assuring tone into her voice. “Yes, you would. It’ll be like—like before.”

He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. “I love you, Piper. I always have. I—I sent you away because I didn’t want you exposed to my life. Not the way I grew up—the poverty, the hopelessness. Not the Hollywood insanity either. I thought—I thought I was protecting you.” He managed a brittle laugh. “As if your life without me was better, or safer.”

Piper took his hand. She’d heard him talk about protecting her before, but she’d never believed it. She’d always thought he was just rationalizing. Her dad seemed so confident and easygoing, like his life was a joyride. How could he claim she needed protecting from that?

Finally Piper understood he’d been acting for her benefit, trying not to show how scared and insecure he was. He really had been trying to protect her. And now his ability to cope had been destroyed.

She offered him the vial. “Take it. Maybe someday we’ll be ready to talk about this again. When you’re ready.”