Jɪɴx ➪ 𝙡. 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙯

enter the goddess- Calypso

chapter thirteen; enter the goddess- Calypso

LEO VALDEZ knew he was fucked.

No doubt about it.

One moment he was having the time of his life, hands in Jinx's hair and mouth attached to hers and the next he was being flung away from everyone he loves.

He could barely remember what was happening when he came to mid-crash. Ideas rushed into his mind as the sea came closer and so did his impending doom.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Leo was still clutching the Archimedes sphere, which didn't surprise him. Unconscious or not, he would never let go of his most valuable possession.

He managed to pull some duct tape from his tool belt and strap the sphere to his chest, considering it the most important thing. That made him look like a low-budget Iron Man, but at least he had both hands free. Leo started to work, furiously tinkering with the sphere, pulling out anything he thought would help from his magic tool belt: a drop cloth, metal extenders, some string, and grommets.

The wind roared in his ears. It kept ripping tools, screws, and canvas out of his hands, but finally, he constructed a makeshift frame. He popped open a hatch on the sphere, teased out two wires, and connected them to his crossbar.

Glancing down only made him more conscious of the fact that he was alarmingly close to hitting the water. He was not keen on going splat in the middle of nowhere. Definitely not before saving the world and being named the number one hero. He mumbled another profanity, praying to his dad that he'd be able to finish in time.

He turned the sphere's control dial, and it whirred into action. More bronze wires shot from the orb, intuitively sensing what Leo needed. Cords laced up the canvas drop cloth. The frame began to expand on its own. Leo pulled out a can of kerosene and a rubber tube and lashed them to the thirsty new engine that the orb was helping him assemble.

Finally, he made himself a rope halter and shifted so that the X-frame was attached to his back. The sea got closer and closer—a glittering expanse of slap-you-in-the-face death.

He couldn't help the hopeful smile that graced his lips. He had a chance.

Leo yelled in defiance and punched the sphere's override switch.

The engine coughed to life. The makeshift rotor turned. The canvas blades spun, but much too slowly. Leo's head was pointed straight down at the sea—maybe thirty seconds to impact.

At least nobody's around, he thought bitterly, or I'd be a demigod joke forever.

Suddenly the orb got warm against his chest. The blades turned faster. The engine coughed, and Leo tilted sideways, slicing through the air.

"YES!" he yelled.

He had successfully created the world's most dangerous personal helicopter.

He shot toward the island in the distance, but he was still falling much too fast. The blades shuddered. The canvas screamed.

The beach was only a few hundred yards away when the sphere turned lava-hot and the helicopter exploded, shooting flames in every direction. If he hadn't been immune to fire, Leo would have been charcoal. As it was, the midair explosion probably saved his life. The blast flung Leo sideways while the bulk of his flaming contraption smashed into the shore at full speed with a massive KA-BOOM!

Leo opened his eyes, amazed to be alive. He was sitting in a bathtub-sized crater in the sand. A few yards away, a column of thick black smoke roiled into the sky from a much larger crater. The surrounding beach was peppered with smaller pieces of burning wreckage.