Eye of Hecate

Leo

I figure I have the worst luck in the group, and that's saying a lot. Why don't I get to have the long-lost sister or the movie star dad who needs rescuing or the uncle who taught me magic? All I got is a tool belt and a dragon that broke down halfway through the quest. Maybe it's the stupid curse of the Hephaestus cabin, but I don't think so. My life was unlucky way before I got to camp.

A thousand years from now, when this quest is being told around a campfire, I figure people will talk about brave Jason, beautiful Piper, powerful Ozzy, and their sidekick Flaming Valdez, who accompanied them with a bag of magic screwdrivers and occasionally fixed tofu burgers.

For a minute, Jason and Thalia face each other, stunned. Then Thalia rushes forward and hugs him.

"My gods! She told me you were dead!" She grips Jason's face and seems to be examining everything about it. "Thank Artemis, it is you. That little scar on your lip—you tried to eat a stapler when you were two!"

I laugh. "Seriously?"

Hedge nods like he approves of Jason's taste. "Staplers—excellent source of iron."

"W-wait," Jason stammers. "Who told you I was dead? What happened?"

At the cave entrance, one of the white wolves barks. Thalia looks back at the wolf and nods, but she keeps her hands on Jason's face, like she's afraid he might vanish. "My wolf is telling me I don't have much time, and she's right. But we have to talk. Let's sit."

Piper and Ozzy do better than that. They collapse simultaneously. I catch Ozzy instantly, and Piper would crack her head on the cave floor if Hedge didn't catch her.

Thalia rushes over. "What's wrong with them? Ah—never mind. I see. Hypothermia. Ankle. And this one expended herself too much." She frowns at the satyr. "Don't you know nature healing?"

Hedge scoffs. "Why do you think she looks this good? Can't you smell the Gatorade?"

Thalia looks at me for the first time, and of course it's an accusatory glare, like Why did you let the goat be a doctor? As if that's my fault.

"You and the satyr," Thalia orders, "take the girls to my friend at the entrance. Phoebe's an excellent healer."

"It's cold out there!" Hedge says. "I'll freeze my horns off."

But I know when we aren't wanted. "Come on, Hedge. These two need time to talk."

"Humph. Fine," the satyr mutters. "Didn't even get to brain anybody."

Hedge carries Piper toward the entrance. I'm about to follow with Ozzy in my arms when Jason calls, "Actually, man, could you, um, stick around?"

I see something in Jason's eyes I don't expect: Jason is asking for support. He wants somebody else there. He's scared.

I grin. "Sticking around is my specialty." I pass Ozzy off to Hedge, who manages to support both girls, and trudges off into the snow.