~ { Shadow and Beauty } ~

The Goddess of Revenge

{Leo}

Riding Arion was the best thing that had happened to Leo all day—which wasn't saying much, since his day had sucked.

   The horse's hooves turned the surface of the lake to salty mist. Leo put his hand against the horse's side and felt the muscles working like a well-oiled machine. For the first time, he understood why car engines were measured in horsepower. Arion was a four-legged Maserati.

   Ahead of them lay an island—a line of sand so white, it might have been pure table salt. Behind that rose an expanse of grassy dunes and weathered boulders.

   Leo sat behind Hazel, one arm around her waist. The close contact made him a little uncomfortable, but it was the only way he could stay on board (or whatever you called it with a horse). And Kiara was sitting behind him, her hands on his shoulders.

   Before they left, Percy had pulled him aside to tell him Hazel's story. Percy made it sound like he was just doing Leo a favor, but there'd been an undertone like If you mess with my friend, I will personally feed you to a great white shark.

   According to Percy, Hazel was a daughter of Pluto. She'd died in the 1940s and been brought back to life only a few months ago.  Leo found that hard to believe. Hazel seemed warm and very alive, not like the ghosts or the other reborn mortals Leo had tangled with. She seemed good with people, too, unlike Leo, who was much more comfortable with machines. Living stuff, like horses and girls? He had no idea what made them work.

   Being a daughter of Pluto, she was Kiara's sister. And as Kiara had said, she was born in the 1930s, somehow, and she looked very much alive as well. She, Piper and Leo had agreed to talk about it later, but none of them had brought up the subject ever since they had "borrowed" the copter which they then destroyed.

   Leo wondered if it was Pluto thing to be born in the early 20th century. He decided not to say that out loud.

   Hazel was also Frank's girlfriend, so Leo knew he should keep his distance. Still, her hair smelled good, and riding with her made his heart race almost against his will. It must've been the speed of the horse. Arion thundered onto the beach. He stomped his hooves and whinnied triumphantly, like Coach Hedge yelling a battle cry.

   Hazel, Kiara and Leo dismounted. Arion pawed the sand.

   "He needs to eat," Hazel explained. "He likes gold, but—"

   "Gold?" Leo asked.

   "He'll settle for grass. Go on, Arion. Thanks for the ride. I'll call you."

   Just like that, the horse was gone—nothing left but a steaming trail across the lake.

   "Fast horse," Leo said, "and expensive to feed."

   "Not really," Hazel said. "Gold is easy for me."

   Leo raised his eyebrows. "How is gold easy? Please tell me you're not related to King Midas. I don't like that guy." Kiara elbowed him.

   Hazel pursed her lips, as if she regretted raising the subject. "Never mind."

   That made Leo even more curious, but he decided it might be better not to press her. He knelt and cupped a handful of white sand. "Well... one problem solved, anyway. This is lime."

   Kiara frowned. "The whole beach?"

   "Yeah. See? The granules are perfectly round. It's not really sand. It's calcium carbonate." Leo pulled a Ziploc bag from his tool belt and dug his hand into the lime.