Piper vs Asclepius

	“Doctor.”  Piper’s  smile  was  so  warm  it  would’ve  melted  a  Boread.  “We’d  be  so  grateful  for  your help.  We  need  the  physician’s  cure.”
	Leo  wasn’t  even  her  target,  but  Piper’s  charmspeak  washed  over  him  irresistibly.  He  would’ve done  anything  to  help  her  get  that  cure.  He  would’ve  gone  to  medical  school,  got  twelve  doctorate degrees  and  bought  a  large  green  python  on  a  stick.
	Asclepius  put  his  hand  over  his  heart.  “Oh,  my  dear,  I  would  be  delighted  to  help."
	Piper’s  smile  wavered.  “You  would?  I  mean,  of  course  you  would.”
…
	“Oh,  I  got  better.  That  was  part  of  the  compromise.  You  see,  when  Zeus  killed  me,  my  father  Apollo got  very  upset.  He  couldn’t  take  out  his  anger  on  Zeus  directly;  the  king  of  the  gods  was  much  too powerful.  So  Apollo  took  revenge  on  the  makers  of  lightning  bolts  instead.  He  killed  some  of  the Elder  Cyclopes.  For  that,  Zeus  punished  Apollo  …  quite  severely.  Finally,  to  make  peace,  Zeus  agreed to  make  me  a  god  of  medicine,  with  the  understanding  that  I  wouldn’t  bring  anyone  else  back  to  life.” Asclepius’s  eyes  filled  with  uncertainty.  “And  yet  here  I  am  …  giving  you  the  cure.”
	“Because  you  realize  how  important  this  is,’  Piper  said,  ‘you’re  willing  to  make  an  exception.”
	“Yes  …”  Reluctantly,  Asclepius  handed  Piper  the  vial.