The Return of Leo Valdez (After Blood of Olympus)

27- Frank

Just a quick note, I accidentally got a California vulture and California condor confused. This whole time Frank was a condor, not a vulture. Sorry for the confusion please enjoy this chapter ;).

Frank was surprised the scorpions didn't notice him already. I mean, how can you not notice a giant California Condor in the middle of Texas?

Frank also wondered if the mortals still thought Reyna, Hazel and himself were still acacias.

Frank tried to imagine a patch of acacias, moving across a highway, dodging cars and fighting scorpions.

Sometimes, Frank was happy he wasn't a mortal.

Frank glanced up at Hazel. Sweat beaded her forehead as she battled the other scorpion, completely unaware of the unconscious Reyna.

Frank soon realized it was all up to him. The only problem was he was stuck as a condor. Frank couldn't call out to Hazel and tell her to let the skeletons kill the monsters...unless...

Frank opened his beak and let out a shrill cry. Hazel turned her head for the slightest second and Frank could see, Hazel understood him.

Hazel shouted something in Latin that sounded like "skeletons, stand ground."

Frank looked in Reyna's direction, the scorpions were still slowly coming in for the kill. Every so often I saw their stingers twitch, like they could barely wait to pierce Reyna.

Hazel ran over to me. Her eyebrows were furrowed, I could tell she was scared.

"Listen Frank, I got a plan. You need to fly up to the scorpions and distract them. I'll sneak up to Reyna and grab her out of the way."

Frank nodded. The butterflies in his stomach felt more like swarming bees. Their stingers poked his insides, making him feel numb.

Frank flapped his wings. A soft breeze blew in his face. He was ready. Hazel withdrew her sword.

"Wait for the right moment," Hazel said looking up at the two scorpions. "And...now!"

Frank took off in the air. The wind didn't stop him. Frank let out a shrill screech and the scorpions turned their attention to him, and they did not look happy.

Frank flew in the scorpions face, trying to annoy them. Several times the scorpions spit poison and swung their stingers, but Frank avoided it.

Frank flew high above the scorpions heads to get them to turn around. Suddenly, as one scorpion tried to face Frank, his tail whacked the cliff.

The scorpion just started an avalanche.

Frank let out a loud screech. Hazel was just about to pull Reyna out of the way when she looked up.

Frank looked at the scorpion that the skeletons were fighting, it was no where to be seen.

Suddenly, Frank felt a tingling.

He was turning back into a human.

They only problem was, he was thirty feet in the air. Frank quickly dived down trying to reach the ground as quickly as possible, but, his wings began to change into arms.

Frank was in a free fall. He started forming into a human and he had no control over it. Frank let out a human scream as he plummeted towards the earth.

"Frank!" Hazel yelled as she ran to him, dragging Reyna behind her.

Suddenly, Frank began to slow down. Hazel must have done something. He could finally relax a little bit.

However, his relaxation was cut short when Frank saw the rocks rapidly pick up speed.

"Hazel! Get Reyna out of her!" Frank yelled, still falling.

"What about you?" Hazel yelled back.

The rocks were only 100 feet from the ground, and they were moving fast. Also, the scorpions just realized that they've been tricked and seemed more angry than ever.

They pinched their pinchers together and made a small clack, clack, clack noise.

"Forget about me!" Frank yelled. "Just go! I'll meet you on the other side of the cliff! Just go!"

Hazel nodded and took off with Reyna on her back. "Just be quick okay?" Hazel yelled.

Frank nodded as he fell towards the brown earth. He looked up and saw the scorpions behind him. Foam was oozing out of their mouths and their claws were pinching together rapidly.

Frank saw the hunger in their eyes and he realized, these scorpions were mad they let two humans escape, and they weren't going to let the third one go.