Haunted || Leo Valdez

53 - Anne Makes a Hamilton Reference

The new civil war had begun.

Leo had somehow escaped his fall unharmed. Rebecca saw him ducking from portico to portico, blasting fire at the giant eagles swooping down on him. Roman demigods tried to chase him, tripping over piles of cannonballs and dodging tourists, who screamed and ran in circles.

Tour guides kept yelling, "It's just a reenactment!" Though they didn't sound sure. The Mist could only do so much to change what mortals saw.

In the middle of the courtyard, a full-grown elephant — probably Frank — rampaged around the flagpoles, scattering Roman warriors. Jason stood about fifty yards away, sword-fighting with a stocky centurion whose lips were stained cherry red — yep, definitely Dakota.

Jason yelled, "Sorry about this, Dakota!" He vaulted straight over the centurion's head like an acrobat and slammed the hilt of his gladius into the back of the Roman's head. Dakota crumpled.

"Jason!" Annabeth called.

He scanned the battlefield until he saw them.

Annabeth pointed to where the Argo II was docked. "Get the others aboard! Retreat!"

"What about you?" he called.

"Don't wait for me!"

Annabeth bolted off before either of them could protest.

"I'll get Leo," Rebecca said, "You find Frank and Henry."

"Sounds good."

Rebecca found Leo being pursued by a couple of Romans. The fire was good for keeping the eagles away, but it could only do so much with the soldiers. One of them raised his spear to throw at Leo, and Rebecca put on a burst of speed. When she reached them, she grabbed the end of the spear and yanked it backwards over the Roman's shoulder, causing him to stumble back. She ducked around him and kicked him in the chest. His partner tried to stab at her with his sword, but Rebecca leapt back and landed next to Leo.

" 'Sup?" Leo nodded, as if they were meeting up at a mall and not facing down a Roman soldier who was calling for backup.

Rebecca rolled her eyes as she took a fighting stance. "You are so strange."

"That's part of the reason you started going out with me, though," Leo said, summoning fire.

It felt right to be bantering while facing deadly enemies again. Rebecca couldn't hold back a grin as she replied, "True, but it doesn't make me wrong."

Leo blasted fire at the oncoming Romans. "Wow. These guys are determined to get us."

"Yeah, I noticed." Rebecca blocked a sword strike meant to hit Leo's back. "We have to get back to the ship. Jason's gone to get the others."

"That wall over there provides us with plenty of shadows." Leo threw a wrench as hard as he could and knocked out one of the soldiers.

"Good idea," Rebecca said. "Let's make a break for it."

Rebecca slammed her fist into the ground, summoning a wall of gold to spring up. She heard the clang of the Romans in their armor, slamming against the gold that had unexpectedly cut them off from Leo and Rebecca.

"Let's get out of here," Rebecca suggested.

"With pleasure," Leo agreed. They headed for the shadows and reappeared on the deck of the Argo II.

Immediately, Leo ran for the helm. Rebecca noticed Percy and Jason with their swords crossed. They were working together, summoning wind and water to drive the Romans back.