Caliginosity [ Leo Valdez ]

Festus Explodes

Livana clung to Leo tightly as they flew, afraid Medea would follow them. Leo kept looking back, making sure Livana was alright and possibly to check if they were being chased, too. He steered the dragon toward the southwest.

Eventually, the smoke from the burning department store faded in the distance, but Livana didn't relax until the suburbs of Chicago gave way to snowy fields, and the sun began to set.

"Good job, Festus," Leo said, patting the dragon's metal hide. "You did awesome."

The dragon shuddered. Gears popped and clicked in his neck.

Livana could feel Leo frown; he didn't like those noises. She remembered the control disc she watched Leo put in and hoped it wasn't failing again. Hopefully it was something minor- something he could fix.

"I'll give you a tune-up next time we land," Leo promised. "You've earned some motor oil and Tabasco sauce."

Festus whirled his teeth, but even that sounded weak. He flew at a steady pace, his great wings angling to catch the wind, but he was carrying a heavy load. Two cages in his claws plus four people on his back- the more Livana thought about it, the more worried she got. Even metal dragons had limits.

"Leo." Livana rubbed his shoulder. "Do you feel okay?"

"Yeah... not bad for a brainwashed zombie," Leo said with sarcasm. Livana tilted her head in confusion; both of those words sounded bad. Leo sighed and relaxed his posture. "Thanks for saving us back there, Liv. You, too, beauty queen. If you hadn't talked me out of that spell-"

"Don't worry about it," the girls said in unison. They glanced at each other and giggled. Livana enjoyed the bonding she and Piper had that day, even if they were in danger the whole time. Her braid had stayed intact through the fight- not even budging when she fell.

Livana shuddered. She was thankful Nico had saved her, but she still felt sick. Did she really cause her dad's death? The memory was cloudy, but it still existed- unlike Jason's. That confused her the most; why couldn't she remember? Livana knit her brows together, the thought was a bad itch she couldn't scratch.

All worries cleared from her mind as she leaned into Leo. His warmth spread over her and enveloped her in a relaxing feeling. Livana sighed in content as Leo shifted to hold her weight better. He seemed deep in thought, though.

"Leo?" Livana asked him in a hushed tone. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Leo replied, almost brushing her off. He stayed quiet for a moment. "Actually, when we land...can we talk? I need to get some stuff off my chest."

"Oh, sure." Livana sat up a bit. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to talk to someone," Leo said. Livana nodded and rubbed his shoulder. The boy smiled back at her, gently placing a hand on hers. Livana felt her heart skip a beat. "We're going to have to put down soon," Leo warned his friends. "Couple more hours, maybe, to make sure Medea's not following us. I don't think Festus can fly much longer than that."

"Yeah," Piper agreed. "Coach Hedge probably wants to get out of his canary cage, too. Question is- where are we going?"

"The Bay Area," Leo guessed. Livana's gut dropped. She remembered what Medea had said earlier- her and the boys would die there. She gulped, shifting uncomfortably. "Didn't Medea say something about Oakland?"

Neither Livana or Piper responded.

"Piper's dad," Jason put in. "Something happened to your dad, right? He got lured into some kind of trap."

Piper let out a shaky breath. "Look, Medea said you three would die in the Bay Area. And besides... even if we went there, the Bay Area is huge! First we need to find Aeolus and drop off the storm spirits. Boreas said Aeolus was the only one who could tell us exactly where to go."