𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍, leo valdez

𝐢𝐯

chapter iv.

When Piper and Jason were with Layna and Leo, they saw that Layna had just turned him around and that Leo was moaning. His army jacket was soaked in the rain and his curls glistened golden from rolling in the monster dust. But at least he wasn't dead. »Stupid... Ugly... Goat,« he murmured. »Where is he?« asked Piper. Layna pointed straight up. »Didn't go down again-...« she started to speak, but she was interrupted by Leo. »Please, don't tell me he saved my life.« »Twice,« Jason said. Leo moaned even louder. »What happened? The tornado type, the golden sword, the light that suddenly appears... I banged my head. That's it, isn't it? I'm hallucinating.«

Jason had completely forgotten about the sword. He went to the place where it lay and lifted it up. The cutting edge was perfectly balanced. On impulse, he turned the sword in his hand with a swing. It shrunk back to a coin and landed on his palm. »There we have it,« said Leo. »Perfect hallucinations.« Piper shivered in her rain-soaked clothes. »Jason, those things...« »Venti,« he said. »Storm spirits« »Exactly. You looked as if ... you've seen them before. Who are you?« He shook his head. »I've been trying to tell you that all the time. I don't know.« The storm subsided. The other desert students stared through the glass doors in horror. In the meantime, security guards were tampering with the locks, but seemed to be unsuccessful.

»Coach Hedge said he had to protect four people,« Jason remembered. »I think he meant us.« »And this thing that Dylan turned into...« Piper shuddered. »Good God, I can't believe it hit me. What did he call us ... demigods?« Layna sat next to Leo, who was lying on his back and looking up at the sky, while Layna looked at Jason and Piper. »Half I see,« Layna began, but she was interrupted by Leo, who finished her sentence. »But I don't feel particularly godly. Do you feel godly?«

They heard a cracking sound, as if from breaking branches, and the cracks in the glass grew even larger. »We have to get out of here," Jason said. "Maybe we could...« »Ooohhh-kay,« Leo interrupted him. »Look up and tell me if they're flying horses.« At first, Jason thought Leo had really banged his head too hard. Then he saw a dark shadow flying towards them from the east - too slow for an airplane, too big for a bird. As he came closer, he recognized two winged animals, gray, four-legged, and just like horses. They pulled a brightly painted box on two wheels: a chariot.

»Reinforcements,« Jason said. »Hedge said that a rescue party is on its way to us.« »A rescue party?« Leo got back on his feet with the help of Layna. »That sounds like a mountain hike.« »And why do they want to rescue us?« asked Piper.

The four watched as the chariot landed at the other end of the sidewalk. The horses put on their wings and trotted nervously over the glass, as if they sensed that it could break at any moment. In the car were two teenagers - a tall blonde, perhaps a little older than the others, and a muscleman with a shaved head. Both wore jeans and orange T-shirts and had shields hanging over their backs. The girl jumped from the wagon before it had come to a stop. She pulled out a knife and ran towards the four of them, while the muscleman brought the horses to a halt.

»Where is he?« the girl wanted to know. Her gray eyes were angry and a bit confusing. »Where's who?« asked jason. She frowned, as if the answer was an impudent one. Then she turned to Layna, Leo and Piper. »What about Gleeson? Where is your protector Gleeson hedge?«

Leo cleared his throat. »He was kidnapped by... Tornado things.« »Venti,« Jason said. »Storm spirits.« The blonde raised an eyebrow. »You mean Anemoi Thuellai? That's what they are called in Greek. Who are you and what happened?« Jason made an effort with his explanation, when he had told his story about halfway, the muscleman came over from the car. He stood there, staring at them angrily and had his arms crossed in front of his chest. He had a rainbow tattoo on his biceps, which Layna and Jason found a bit unusual.