Warriors || Leo Valdez [2]

26

After everything, Leo pulled Alex aside. He felt pretty useless being knocked out while Alex and Percy did everything. 

"You sure you okay?" He asked.

"Better than okay" Alex promised. "Are you?"

"I don't know... I feel pretty useless on this trip. The only thing I'm doing is flying this ship" Leo sighed. 

"Leo, you are important" Alex lay a hand on his cheek. 

"Gods I love it when you do that"

"Do what?"

"Anything and everything" Alex blushed which caused Leo to grin wider. "Especially that"

---

"Lex" Leo whispered. "Come on, wake up. We're descending over Rome. You really should see this."

The sky was brilliant blue, as if the stormy weather had never happened. The sun rose over the distant hills, so everything below them shone and sparkled like the entire city of Rome had just come out of the car wash.

Alex had seen big cities before. But the sheer vastness of Rome grabbed her by the throat and made it hard to breathe. The city seemed to have no regard for the limits of geography. It spread through hills and valleys, jumped over the Tiber with dozens of bridges, and just kept sprawling to the horizon. Streets and alleys zigzagged with no rhyme or reason through quilts of neighbourhoods. Glass office buildings stood next to excavation sites. A cathedral stood next to a line of Roman columns, which stood next to a modern soccer stadium. 

In some neighbourhoods, old stucco villas with red-tiled roofs crowded the cobblestone streets, so that if Alex concentrated just on those areas, she could imagine she was back in ancient times. Everywhere she looked, there were wide piazzas and traffic-clogged streets. Parks cut across the city with a crazy collection of palm trees, pines, junipers, and olive trees, as if Rome couldn't decide what part of the world it belonged to-or maybe it just believed all the world still belonged to Rome.

"We're setting down in that park," Leo announced, pointing to a wide green space dotted with palm trees. "Let's hope the Mist makes us look like a large pigeon or something."

It seemed to work. Alex didn't notice any cars veering off the road or Romans pointing to the sky and screaming, "Aliens!" The Argo II set down in the grassy field and the oars retracted.

The noise of traffic was all around them, but the park itself was peaceful and deserted. To their left, a green lawn sloped toward a line of woods. An old villa nestled in the shade of some weird-looking pine trees with thin curvy trunks that shot up thirty or forty feet, then sprouted into puffy canopies. 

To their right, snaking along the top of a hill, was a long brick wall with notches at the top for archers-maybe a medieval defensive line, maybe Ancient Roman. Alex wasn't sure.

To the north, about a mile away through the folds of the city, the top of the Colosseum rose above the rooftops, looking just like it did in travel photos.

Jason pointed to the base of the archers' wall, where steps led down into some kind of tunnel.
"I think I know where we are," he said. "That's the Tomb of the Scipios."

Percy frowned. "Scipio... Reyna's pegasus?"

"No," Annabeth put in. "They were a noble Roman family, and... wow, this place is amazing."

Jason nodded. "I've studied maps of Rome before. I've always wanted to come here, but... "

Nobody bothered finishing that sentence. Looking at his friends' faces, Alex could tell they were just as much in awe as he was. They'd made it. They'd landed in Rome-the Rome.

"Plans?" Hazel asked. "Nico has until sunset-at best. And this entire city is supposedly getting destroyed today."

Percy shook himself out of his daze. "You're right. Annabeth... did you zero in on that spot from your bronze map?"

"Yes," she said carefully. "It's on the Tiber River. I think I can find it, but I should-"

"Take me along," Percy finished. "Yeah, you're right."

Annabeth glared daggers at him. "That's not-"

"Safe," he supplied. "One demigod walking through Rome alone. I'll go with you as far as the Tiber. We can use that letter of introduction, hopefully meet the river god Tiberinus. Maybe he can give you some help or advice. Then you can go on alone from there."

They had a silent staring contest, but Percy didn't back down.

"Fine," Annabeth muttered. "Hazel, now that we're in Rome, do you think you can pinpoint Nico's location?"

Hazel blinked, as if coming out of a trance from watching the Percy/Annabeth Show . "Um.. hopefully, if I get close enough. I'll have to walk around the city. Frank, would you come with me?"

Frank beamed. "Absolutely."

"And, uh... Leo," Hazel added. "It might be a good idea if you came along too. The fish-centaurs said we'd need your help with something mechanical."

"Yeah," Leo said, pressing a kiss to Alex's temple. "no problem."

Alex wasn't a detective, but she knew that Frank's jealous feelings had disappeared just like hers when Leo and Alex had started dating? she wasn't sure if she could call it that.

Piper drew her knife and set it on the rail. "Jason, Alex and I can watch the ship for now. I'll see what Katoptris can show me. But, Hazel, if you guys get a fix on Nico's location, don't go in there by yourselves. Come back and get us. It'll take all of us to fight the giants."

She didn't say the obvious: even all of them together wouldn't be enough, unless they had a god on their side. Alex decided not to bring that up.

"Good idea," Percy said. "How about we plan to meet back here at... what?"

"Three this afternoon?" Alex suggested.

Jason nodded."That's probably the latest we could rendezvous and still hope to fight the giants and save Nico. If something happens to change the plan, try to send an Iris-message."

The others nodded in agreement, but Alex noticed several of them glancing at Annabeth. Another thing no one wanted to say: Annabeth would be on a different schedule. She might be back at three, or much later, or never. But she would be on her own, searching for the Athena Parthenos.

Coach Hedge grunted. "That'll give me time to eat the coconuts-I mean dig the coconuts out of our hull. Percy, Annabeth... I don't like you two going off on your own. Just remember: behave. If I hear about any funny business, I will ground you until the Styx freezes over."

The idea of getting grounded when they were about to risk their lives was so ridiculous, Percy couldn't help smiling.

"We'll be back soon," he promised. He looked around at his friends, and he pressed a kiss to Alex's other temple."Good luck, everyone."

Leo lowered the gangplank, and Percy and Annabeth were first off the ship.