LEO
Leo enjoyed the tour of the colony until he heard about the dragon.
The archer, Will Solace, was a pretty cool guy. Everything he was showing Leo was so awesome it should have been illegal. Real Greek warships anchored in front of the beach, where people were practicing combat with flaming arrows and explosives ? Very cool ! Craft classes where you could sculpt with chainsaws and flamethrowers ? Leo said yes right away, I'm signing up ! The woods were full of dangerous monsters and you weren't allowed to go in alone. Nice ! Add to that the fact that most of the girls at the camp were the cute ones. Leo didn't quite understand this story that they were all connected by their divine parent, but he hoped he wasn't related to all those gazelles. That would suck. He was going to go see the underwater beauties of the lake again -- they were worth risking drowning for their charm.
Will showed him the cabins, the dining hall, and the fencing arena.
"Am I getting a sword ?" asked Leo.
Will gave him a puzzled look, as if the idea seemed odd.
"You'll probably make your own sword," he said, "since you're from cabin Nine."
"Oh yeah, what's that all about ? Vulcan ?"
"We don't usually call the gods by their Roman names. The original names are Greek. Your father is Hephaestus."
"Festus ?" Leo had heard someone say that name before, but it remained vague in his mind. "It sounds like a cowboy name."
"Hephaestus," Will corrected, "the God of Fire and Blacksmiths."
Leo had heard that before, too, but he tried not to think about it. The God of Fire... No kidding ? Considering what had happened to his mother, Leo thought it was distasteful.
"So the flaming hammer above my head," he asked, "is that a good sign or a bad one ?"
Will didn't answer right away.
"You were claimed almost immediately," he finally said. "Usually that's good."
"But the guy with the rainbow there, Butch. He said something about a curse."
"Oh, look, it's nothing. Ever since the old head counselor at cabin Nine died..."
"How did he die ? Painfully ?"
"I'd better let your cabin mates tell you about that."
"Yeah, by the way, where are my buddies ? Shouldn't their counselor be rolling out the red carpet for me right now, giving me the V.I.P. tour ?"
"Uh... he can't. You'll see why."
Will pressed on without giving Leo time to ask any more questions.
"Deaths and curses," Leo grumbled. "It gets better and better."
In the middle of the center lawn, Leo spotted his old babysitter. And she was not at all the kind of person he would have expected to meet in a colony for demigods.
He cringed.
"What is it ?" asked Will.
Tia Callida - Auntie Callida. That was what she called herself back then, but Leo hadn't seen her since kindergarten. Standing in the shadow of a large white cabin at the end of the lawn, she watched him. She was wearing her long black widow's dress and a black shawl covered her hair. Her face had not changed: parchment-like skin, dark, piercing eyes. Her crumpled hands looked like birds' talons. She looked very old, but no older than Leo remembered.
"That old lady," he asked, "what's she doing here ?"
Will tried to follow the direction of her gaze.
"What old lady ?" he retorted.
YOU ARE READING
Bloody Lover | Piper McLean
Fanfiction" Earlana Ramírez Arellano has a big problem. She doesn't remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently, she is best friends with Leo, a young Latino boy, and a sweet half-cherokee beauty, called Piper. The la...
