Eye of Hecate

Jason

I sit in silence with Leo for a few minutes, drinking lemonade he made from canteen water and powdered mix.

"Good, huh?" Leo grins.

"You should start a stand," I say. "Make some serious coin."

But as I stare at the embers of the fire, something begins to bother me. "Leo...about this fire stuff you can do...is it true?"

Leo's smile falters. "Yeah, welll..." He opens his hand. A small ball of flame bursts to life, dancing across his palm.

"That is so cool." I say. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Leo closes his hand and the fire goes out. "Didn't want to look like a freak."

"I have lightning and wind powers," I remind him. "Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMWs. Your friend Ozzy says magic words and blows up Cyclopes. You're no more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too. Like jump off a building and yell, 'Flame on!'"

Leo snorts. "If I did that, you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than 'Flame on!' Trust me, Hephaestus cabin doesn't see fire powers as cool. Nyssa told me they're super rare. When a demigod like me comes around, bad things happen. Really bad."

"Maybe it's the other way around," I suggest. "Maybe people with special gifts show up when bad things are happening because that's when they're needed most."

Leo clears away the plates. "Maybe. But I'm telling you...it's not always a gift."

I fall silent. "You're talking about your mom, aren't you? The night she died."

Leo doesn't answer. He doesn't have to. The fact that he's quiet, not joking around—that tells me enough.

"Leo, her death wasn't your fault. Whatever happened that night—it wasn't because you could summon fire. This Dirt Woman, whoever she is, has been trying to ruin you for years, mess up your confidence, take away everything you care about. She's trying to make you feel like a failure. You're not. You're important."

"That's what she said." Leo looks up, his eyes full of pain. "She said I was meant to do something important—something that would make or break that big prophecy about the eight demigods. That's what scares me. I don't know if I'm up to it."

I want to tell him everything will be all right, but it would sound fake. I don't know what'll happen. We're demigods, which means sometimes things don't end okay. Sometimes you get eaten by the Cyclops.

If you ask most kids, "Hey, you want to summon fire or lightning or magical makeup?" they'll think it sounds pretty cool. But those powers come along with hard stuff, like sitting in a sewer in the middle of winter, running from monsters, losing your memory, watching your friends almost get cooked, and having dreams that warn you of your own death.

Leo pokes at the remnants of his fire, turning over red-hot coals with his bare hand. "You ever wonder about the other five demigods? I mean...if we're three of the ones from the Great Prophecy, who are the others? Where are they?"

I have thought about it, all right, but I try to push it out of his mind. I have a horrible suspicion that I'll be expected to lead those other demigods, and I'm afraid I'll fail.

You'll tear each other apart, Boreas promised.

I've been trained never to show fear. I'm sure of that from my dream with the wolves. I'm supposed to act confident, even if I don't feel it. But Leo and Piper are depending on me, and I'm terrified of failing them. If I have to lead a group of seven—seven who might not get along—that'll be even worse.