Fire and Wisdom [Leo Valdez]

XI - Leo

After a fifteen minute walk around Central Park, Leo decided to set up camp next to the Sherman Monument—which was just a golden-bronze statue of one guy on a horse and a woman with angel wings motioning to something while holding a large feather. He'd only seen and read about it in history books—and he knew that a son of Ares named General William Tecumseh Sherman was built after. He seemed like a pretty tough hero considering he served as General for the Union Army during the American Civil War. He remembered that it was something a few Ares and Athena kids wouldn't shut up about every Valentine's Day. "The Sherman Monument!" Caroline said with glee; which made her sound like a little kid visiting a carnival for the first time. "I've only seen pictures and a few stories my Dad told me about! It's beautiful," "Your dad would tell you stories about this thing?" Leo asked once he set up a tent and three sleeping bags inside after putting a sleeping Annabeth in one of them. "Yeah! My Dad is a writer, and he's really into architectural designs. He keeps lots of newspaper clippings of buildings and stuff in a scrapbook next to a few pages of the books he's written," She explained while sitting next to him against the monument. "Your dad seems pretty cool, Caroline." Leo smiled, but Caroline only frowned. "Yeah, he sounds cool, but you should see how boring he gets sometimes." She sighed, and Leo decided to go ahead and get some rest, so he walked into the tent with Caroline following along and the two of them got into their sleeping bags, turning out the lanterns soon after. Before he fell asleep, Leo looked at the top of the tent in thought. He had dozens of things racing through his head. One of them were about Caroline being a legacy of Jupiter/Zeus, and that she might be sent to Camp Jupiter after all. That was the last thing he didn't want—not seeing his girlfriend for a while. He cleared his mind, and fell asleep.

In his dream, he was standing in some type of cave, where he saw a girl with spiky black hair with blue streaks, wearing a silver winter coat and a silver tiara over her brow. It was Thalia Grace—the daughter of Zeus. She was handcuffed in black chains with a faint purple aura around them while being shoved by some type of monster. It seemed to be some type of Gorgon; but it wasn't Medusa. It had red corn snakes for hair and middle-aged skin. "Keep walking, Daughter of Zeus! We have not even begun the trap for you yet!" She ordered, poking Thalia's back with some type of javelin that looked like it was made of human bones. Spine, probably. "Euryale, can we kill her now?" Another Gorgon asked as she followed along, holding a similar bone-like javelin in her wrinkly hand. "Not yet, Stheno! We have to test her to make sure she won't trick us." Euryale explained as she shoved Thalia into a shallow looking ditch. "Let me go, you crazy-haired freaks!" Thalia demanded, her body illuminating with electricity, but the two Gorgons laughed evilly at her. "Don't even try to electrocute us, foolish hero. It won't work on Gorgons," Stheno laughed as her snake-hair hissed faintly. "I know, my babies. You will get to eat a delicious meal provided by Zeus himself soon enough." Stheno cooed, and Thalia huffed, "Oh my gods, you have got to be kidding me," she said under her breath. Thalia concentrated for a moment, but nothing happened. "Stupid cave. Won't let my bow and arrows appear to help me!" Thalia complained, and Euryale snapped her old-looking fingers, and a gold cage fell down from the cave ceiling and landed around Thalia, locking her inside. "Let me out! Now!" Thalia screamed, but the Gorgon sisters ignored her as they walked out of the cave, sealing the entrance with a huge boulder, leaving Thalia in the darkness.