𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫. ── 𝐣𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞

𝐯𝐢𝐢𝐢. 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐳𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐨

ANDY PULLED JASON'S ARM ALL THE WAY till the courtyard, where they saw a giant mechanical dragon in the sky. Jason gawked, clearly surprised with what was in front of him, and Piper looked awestruck, and walked closer to the dragon.

"LEO?" Piper yelled.

Sure enough, there he was, sitting atop a giant bronze death machine and grinning like a lunatic. Even before he landed, the camp alarm went up. A conch horn blew. All the satyrs started screaming, "Don't kill me!" Half the camp ran outside in a mixture of pajamas and armor. The dragon set down right in the middle of the green, and Leo yelled, "It's cool! Don't shoot!"
Hesitantly, the archers (led by Kayla) lowered their bows. The warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. They made a loose wide ring around the metal monster. Other demigods hid behind their cabin doors or peeped out the windows. Nobody seemed anxious to get close.

Andy couldn't blame them. The dragon was huge. It glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture —different shades of copper and bronze—a sixty-foot-long serpent with steel talons and drill-bit teeth and glowing ruby eyes. It had bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic sails, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.

"It's beautiful," Piper muttered. The other demigods stared at her like she was insane.

Julia Feingold, her fourth in command, stepped up. "Are you crazy, Piper? Don't go any closer, that Dragon could kill you!" 

As if listening, the dragon reared its head and shot a column of fire into the sky. Campers scrambled away and hefted their weapons, but Leo slid calmly off the dragon's back. He held up his hands like he was surrendering, except he still had that crazy grin on his face.

"People of Earth, I come in peace!" he shouted. He looked like he'd been rolling around in the campfire. His army coat and his face were smeared with soot. His hands were grease-stained, and he wore a new tool belt around his waist. His eyes were bloodshot. His curly hair was so oily it stuck up in porcupine quills, and he smelled strangely of Tabasco sauce. But he looked absolutely delighted. "Festus is just saying hello!"

"That thing is dangerous!" an Ares girl shouted, brandishing her spear. "Kill it now!"

Jason pushed through the crowd, practically glowing. Andy stared at him till she shook her head and followed. "Stand down, campers! That's my best friend up there!"

Leo grinned, clearly pleased with the fact that he was Jason's best friend. Andy smiled, and brushed the dust off her jeans. 

Jason gazed up at the dragon and shook his head in amazement. "Leo, what have you done?"

"Found a ride!" Leo beamed. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"

Andy grinned. "If this was the dragon making Olympics, Valdez, I'd give you a bronze medal. I mean, silver clearly isn't in the question here."

Leo rolled his eyes, though still smiling from elf ear to elf ear.

"It—has wings," Nyssa stammered. Her jaw looked like it might drop off her face.

"Yeah!" Leo said. "I found them and reattached them."

"But it never had wings. Where did you find them?"

Leo hesitated, and Aella could tell he was hiding something.

"Hephaestus secrets?" She mouthed, and Leo gave the slightest nod.

Andy blushed. "Nyssa, don't stress about it. Leo, give us a radius, maybe?"