Anti-Hero || Leo Valdez

41 - Pat Recounts How Jason Got Kabob-ed

When the rushing stopped, Leo was on that boat throne room he'd seen in his dream. It looked like it was sideways this time, though, and it took Leo a minute to realize that was because he was watching this scene play out as Pat had seen it, and Pat was currently hanging across the backside of a white stallion next to Piper, who seemed to be barely conscious.

Caligula stepped forward from his dais. Sure enough, next to him stood Medea, the department store witch, in all her capitalist glory.

"Perfect timing!" Caligula said enthusiastically. "I've been having the most fascinating conversation with your friends."

He gestured at two swirling columns of wind before him. One of them imprisoned Meg. Inside the other was Jason. Both struggled helplessly, screaming silently, their tornado prisons swirling with shrapnel that sliced at their clothes and skin. Like a giant blender or something.

"Incitatus," Caligula said, frowning at Lester/Apollo. "This can't actually be him, can it? Are we sure it's not him?" He pointed at Pat.

"Afraid so, pal," said the horse. Okay, the horse could talk. That was new. "May I present the pathetic excuse for a god, Apollo, also known as Lester Papadopoulos."

The stallion knelt on its forelegs, spilling Apollo, Piper, and Pat to the floor.

Jason lashed out in his wind tunnel of shrapnel, trying to break free. He cast a distressed look at Piper and yelled something Leo couldn't hear. In the other wind column, Meg floated with her arms and legs crossed, scowling like an angry genie, ignoring the bits of metal cutting her face.

Caligula stepped down from his dais. He strolled between the wind columns with a jaunty lilt in his step and stopped a few feet in front of Apollo. In his open palm, he bounced two small bits of gold—Meg's rings.

"So! Who's this?" He gestured at Pat. "I've never seen him before!"

"This is Lester's son, Patrick," the horse told him. When Caligula gave no indication he recognized Pat, the horse added, "He's the Sun Wrath's twin brother."

"Ah, I see." Caligula nodded emphatically. "He could be useful. He could lead us to the Sun Wrath so we could get to her before the Queen of Snakes gets her scaly little claws on her. The Sun Wrath combined with Apollo's essence would make me even more powerful!"

"NO!" Pat bellowed, trying to stand up. "You won't touch her, you fucking — fuck! Crockpot body-ass bitch shitface dickhead with your fucking —"

"Oh, dear," Caligula said He stepped forward and backhanded Pat across the mouth. "Tie him up. We may have to use other methods to, ah, persuade him to take us to his sister." As two guards stepped forward to carry out the emperor's orders, he looked over at Piper. "This must be the lovely Piper McLean." He frowned down at her, as if just realizing she was barely conscious. "Why is she like this? I can't taunt her in this condition. Reverb!"

Two guards shuffled forward and dragged Piper to her feet. One waved a small bottle under her nose— smelling salts, probably. Piper's head snapped back. A shudder ran through her body, then she pushed the guards away.

"I'm fine." She blinked at her surroundings, saw Jason and Meg in their wind columns, then glared at Caligula. She struggled to pull her knife, but her fingers didn't seem to work. "I'll kill you."

Caligula chuckled. "That would be amusing, my love. But let's not kill each other quite yet, eh? Tonight, I have other priorities." He beamed at Lester. "Oh, Lester. What a gift Jupiter has given me!" He walked a circuit around the former god, running his fingertips along his shoulders as if checking for dust. Leo wondered why he didn't attack, but to be fair, he was completely outmatched.