𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 ! [jason grace]¹

C H A P T E R ⬩ F I V E

O C E A N U S

C H A P T E R   F I V E

( the quest begins )

⟶⬩⬥⬩⟵

          WHEN MALIA HAD woken up that morning, she hadn't expected to see the giant bronze fire-breathing dragon that had been terrorizing the woods of camp flying above the cabins. And she definitely hadn't expected to see the one and only Leo Valdez riding on the back of it.

With her bag on her shoulders and her sword concealed in the bracelet on her wrist, she ran toward the gathering crowd with a few campers, Jason, and Annabeth following her. Excitement raced through her veins as she looked at the bronze dragon gleaming in the early-morning sunlight. In her opinion, the mechanical dragon was insanely beautiful.

As they got closer, Malia could hear what the other campers were saying. One of the Ares girls shouted, "That thing is dangerous! Kill it now!"

"Stand down!" Jason ordered beside Malia, the group finally coming to a stop as they reached the front of the gathering.

Now that she was closer, she could see Leo standing in front of the dragon with a grin. 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.

"Leo, what have you done?" Jason asked in amazement.

"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!"

"Hell yeah!" Malia said, grinning widely. She forgot about her fear of heights at the sight of the dragon.

"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 Malia could tell he was hiding something.

"In. . . the woods," he said. "Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire."

"Mostly?" Nyssa asked.

The dragon's head twitched. It titled to one side and a stream of black liquid—maybe oil, hopefully just oil—poured out of its ear, all over Leo.

"Just a few kinks to work out," Leo said.

"But how did you survive. . . ?" Nyssa was still staring at the creature in awe. "I mean, the fire breath. . ."