Fall From Glory || A Percy Jackson story

Chapter 10: Leo Becomes a Main Character

I now had the favor of Hecate, but the cursing of the blade was more complicated than that. Everything had fallen perfectly into place for the prerequisites and conditions, but now I needed to invest a lot of time and effort into making it work.

I was conflicted for several moments over whether I should go back to camp or not, but I eventually decided not to. It would raise too many questions, and it would be infinitely harder to get out again for the next part of building the sword. My lips curled in distaste. The process required lives. Human lives.

It was a messy and unsavory prospect, but if the extermination of all monsters required taking some human lives too, I wouldn't balk. I knew there were plenty of places to find people who deserved it.

From what I had been able to gather with Athena's and Hephaestus's blessings, the theory of why the sword would work was dangerous and complex. First, I needed Hecate's blessing to enchant the blade so it captured human souls as they were reaped. The designer, whoever it was, had thought that Hecate's power would be sufficient. They were wrong, but I had Hades's gift as well. Things fit perfectly enough for me that I was beginning to worry about it being a trap.

The enchantment, which was dark enough to be considered a curse, contained the souls tightly within the blade. The number was an estimate, but the designer of the sword thought that roughly one hundred souls would be needed to create the desired effect. The effect that he was going for was a theoretical black hole of sorts that existed in a different dimension. Whoever had written the instructions said that they were the first to ever discover it. A dimension of souls.

After the blade had taken enough souls to create the vacuum, one last enchantment would seal the magic. That would complete the blade, leaving an endless black hole that absorbed and destroyed any spirits it reaped. Even immortal ones.

For a simple monster, just breaking the skin would instantly and permanently kill it. If I ever used it against a demigod, it would have the same effect on them as Luke's Backbiter had on me. And if I ever used it against a god, titan, giant, or even a primordial, it would take a fatal wound through the heart, and their souls would be trapped. The power of the sword couldn't destroy them, but no power in any realm could escape.

I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders back. I had work to do.

*                *                *

An awed silence reigned on Camp Half-Blood. Months and months had passed, yet here he was—shimmering wings blew powerful gusts of wind into the demigods below, and the campers could feel the heat on their faces as they looked at him. The ground rumbled as the two-ton metallic dragon landed heavily on the ground, and there was no smile on the barely familiar face on top.

"I'm back," Leo Valdez announced, his voice flat. His hands were still, and the fire that burned in his eyes was cold. He slid gracefully down the dragon's leg, and Piper and Jason were immediately on top of him. His signature smile flickered briefly across his features at the sight and the feeling of his friends, but it was quickly doused.

"We missed you so much!" Piper said, half crying and half laughing. "What took you so long?"

"We've already told all of our Leo stories," Jason added. "Got any new ones?"

Leo huffed out a hint of a laugh, but he was obviously not in the mood. He looked around. "Did Percy and Annabeth go off to college yet?" he asked.

Everyone shifted uncomfortably. "Percy's on a self-assigned quest," Piper said after a moment. "Annabeth..."

She swallowed and looked away, and the crowd of campers examined their feet.