Eye of Hecate

Leo

I keep looking back. I half expect to see those nasty sun dragons toting a flying chariot with a screaming magical saleswoman throwing potions, but nothing follows us. 

I steer the dragon towards the southwest. Eventually, the smoke from the burning department store fades in the distance, but I don't relax until the suburbs of Chicago give way to snowy fields, and the sun begins to set. 

"Good job, Festus." I pat the dragon's metal hide. "You did awesome."

The dragon shudders. Gears pop and click in his neck. 

I frown. I don't like those noises. If the control disk is failing again—No, hopefully it's something minor. Something I can fix. 

"I'll give you a tune-up next time we land," I promise. "You've earned some motor oil and Tabasco sauce."

Festus whirls his teeth, but even that sounds weak. He flies at a steady pace, his wings angling to catch the wind, but he's carrying a heavy load. Two cages in his claws, plus four people on his back—the more I think about it, the more worries I get. Even metal dragons have limits. 

"Leo." Ozzy pats my shoulder. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah...not bad for a brainwashed zombie." I hope I don't look as embarrassed as I feel. I try and give Piper a smile. "Thanks for saving us back there, Beauty Queen. If you hadn't talked me out of that spell—"

"Don't worry about it." Piper says. "But Ozzy kept me grounded. You should thank her."

"Nah, really, don't worry about it." Ozzy agrees. "It was nothing."

But I worry a lot. I feel terrible about how easily Medea set me against my friend. And those feelings didn't come from nowhere—my resentment of the way Jason always gets the spotlight and doesn't really seem to need me. I do feel that way sometimes, even if I'm not proud of it. 

What bothers me more is the news about my mom. Medea saw the future down in the Underworld. That was how her patron, the woman in the black earthen robes, came to the machine shop seven years ago to scare me, ruin my life. That's how my mother died—because of something I might do someday. So in a weird way, even if my fire powers aren't to blame, Mom's death is still my fault. 

When we left Medea in the exploding store, I felt a little too good. I hope she won't make it out, and will go right back to the Fields of Punishment, where she belongs. Those feelings don't make me proud, either. 

And if souls are coming back from the Underworld...is it possible my mom can be brought back?

I try to put the idea aside. That's Frankenstein thinking. It isn't natural. It isn't right. Medea might've been brought back to life, but she didn't seem quite human, with the hissing nails and the glowing head and whatnot. 

No, my mom passed on. Thinking any other way will just drive me nuts. Still, the thought keeps poking at me, like an echo of Medea's voice. 

"We're going to have to put down soon," I warn my friends. "Couple more hours, maybe, to make sure Medea's not following us. I don't think Festus can fly much longer than that."

"Yeah," Piper agrees. "Coach Hedge probably wants to get out of his canary cage, too. Question is—where are we going?"

"The Bay Area," I guess. My memories of the department store are fuzzy, but I seem to remember hearing that. "Didn't Medea say something about Oakland?"

Piper doesn't respond for so long, I wonder if I said something wrong. When I turn to look, Ozzy is giving Piper a death glare. 

"Piper's dad," Jason puts in. "something happened to your dad, right? He got lured into some kind of trap."

Piper lets out a shaky breath. "Look, Medea said you guys would die in the Bay Area. And besides...even if we go there, the Bay Area is huge! First we need to find Aeolus and drop off the storm spirits. Boreas said Aeolus is the only one who can tell us exactly where to go."

I grunt. "So how do we find Aeolus?"

Jason leans forward. "You mean you don't see it?" He points ahead of us, but I don't see anything except clouds and the lights of a few towns glowing in the dusk. 

"What?" I ask. 

"I see it." Ozzy points ahead too. "That...whatever it is. In the air."

I glance back. Piper looks just as confused as I am. 

"Right." I say. "Can you guys be more specific on the whatever-it-is part?"

"Like a vapor trail," Jason says. 

"Except it's glowing." Ozzy agrees. 

"Really faint, but it's definitely there." Jason nods. "We've been following is since Chicago, so I figured you saw it."

I shake my head. "Maybe Festus can ssense it. You think Aeolus made it?"

"Well, it's a magic trail in the wind," Jason says. "Aeolus is the wind god. I think he knows we've got prisoners for him. He's telling us where to fly." 

"Or it's another trap." Piper says. 

Her tone worries me. she doesn't just sound nervous. She sounds broken with despair, like we've already sealed our fate, and like it's her fault.

"Pipes, you alright?" I ask. 

"Don't call me that." 

"Okay, fine. You don't like any of the names I make up for you. But if your dad's in trouble and we can help—"

"You can't," she says, her voice getting shakier. "Look, I'm tired. If you don't mind..."

She leans back against Jason and closes her eyes. 

All right, pretty clear signal she doesn't want to talk. 

We fly in silence for a while. Festus seems to know where he's going. He keeps his course, gently curving toward the southwest and hopefully Aeolus's fortress. 

Another wind god to visit, a whole new flavor of crazy—Oh boy, I can't wait. 

  I have way too much on my mind to sleep, but now that I'm out of danger, my body has different ideas. My energy level is crashing. The monotonous beat of the dragons' wings makes my eyes feel heavy. My head starts to nod. 

"Catch a few Z's," Jason says. "It's cool. Hand me the reins."

"Nah, I'm okay—"

"Leo," Ozzy says gently, "you're not a machine. Besides, Jason and I can see the vapor trail. We can make sure we stay on course."

My eye start to close on their own. "All right, Maybe just..." 

I don't finish the sentence before slumping forward against the dragon's warm neck.