Chapter six

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Chapter six.

[Leah actually knows something for once]

"Control is something so many crave,

but no one seems to realize

that control is simply when chaos

decides to hand over the leash."

Leah hadn't ever been in California (except for with the Hunters) before, or anywhere on the west coast for that matter. She had lived in Pittsburgh with her mom for her entire life and all her friends and family lived close. Except for her uncle Matthew. Matthew lived in Britain, but no one ever talked about him. Leah was pretty sure the family legally disowned him, although she had no idea why.

So Leah was actually pretty content with the sun that was burning her skin and the trees that looked very artificial. She hadn't been there before when she wasn't looking for Percy, so it was all new to her. She assumed the others had been, because they weren't enjoying it half as much as she was. They were currently at "Café Verve, Walnut Creek, CA," and according to the waitress who was serving them, it was 9 A.M. on December the twenty-first, the winter solstice. Jason and Glee filled Leah in on their plan, about Piper's dad being kidnapped by Enceladus and the deadline they had to fulfil. 

Mount Diablo wasn't that big in comparison to the Rockies Leah had traveled in. It wasn't covered with snow, and instead of looking wild and rough, Mount Diablo looked almost peaceful. Weird for a mountain that had a giant on it, who was waiting to kill off a small part of humanity. 

Leo pulled something out of his pocket - the old crayon drawing Aeolus had given him. Aphrodite must had thought it important if she put it in there. Although Leah doubted it could be of any use fighting the giant, she was still curious as to what it was. "What is that?" Piper asked. Leo folded it up once more and put it away. "Nothing. You don't want to see my kindergarten artwork." 

Leah leaned her head on her right hand, staring out at the street in front of them. "You know, the gods do a lot of weird and nonsensical stuff, but most of the time it works out or actually means something, so hey, maybe your kindergarten drawing is actually the key to our success," Leah said dreamily. Leo shot her a look before shaking his head. "Not today. He was talking about... later." 

"How can you be so sure?" Jason asked of him. Leo hesitated, before replying. "Trust me. Now- what's our game plan?" Hedge belched, at which Leah crinkled her nose in disgust. He'd already had three espressos and a plate of doughnuts, some napkins and a flower from another table. He nearly ate the silverware, but Piper stopped him by slapping his hand. 

"Climb the mountain," Hedge said. "Kill everything except Piper's dad." Leah put a finger up. "How will that work - we're with five people, of which only three have a significant control over their powers, and we're on the offensive, which means that we most definitely do not have the advantage." Leah brought out a pen from her pack and began drawing the demigods and satyr on her napkin. 

She started out with Piper, sketching her face shape and the choppy hair that framed it. She looked up from time to time, looking at the details that she had forgotten. 

The demigods looked slightly disturbed by her knowledge of strategy. "What? I did go to Camp Half-Blood for five years and I couldn't get out of Capture the Flag, so I picked up some stuff." "Guys," Piper cut her off, "There's more you need to know." Leah had finished up her sketch of Piper and moved on to Jason, trying to capture the whole justice thing he had going on. 

𝕱𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖑𝖞 𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖊 - a Leo Valdez slowburnWhere stories live. Discover now