Fire and Ice (A Leo Valdez fanfic) [2017]

Chapter 17: Leo

THE LOOK ON KHIONE'S FACE WAS PRICELESS. Leo had never seen someone look horrified, scared and murderous at the same time. He couldn't help grinning at her confusion.

Eira looked so strong, so powerful. Her face shone blue from the light reflecting off her sword. Her black hair was out of its usual braid and now cascaded down her back, a silky black waterfall. Her clothing was dirty and torn, but she stood tall and held her sword high. Her face was alight with joy and relief. Leo had never seen her look so beautiful.

Khione made a choking noise, as if she had a hairball. Leo stifled a laugh at the thought. "You-- you dare--"

"Yeah, I dare." Leo grinned. "You thought I would let you take her?"

"You--" Eira hesitated. "I thought you hated me."

Leo turned his gaze on her, no longer smiling. "I don't know how I feel about you, Eira. But I don't hate you enough to leave you at her mercy." He softened. "You're a great actor, by the way. You nearly had me there." He turned back to Khione. "You aren't taking her, Khione. I won't let you. Sure, maybe one demigod can't defeat you. But maybe two demigods, along with a fire-breathing dragon, can." He held up his hands, which burst into flames.

"I'm immortal!" Khione snapped. "You can't kill me."

"Maybe not," Leo retorted, "but I sure can slow you down." He channeled all his hatred for Khione into his right hand and shot a blast of white-hot fire at her. Khione deflected it with an icy projectile. "See, insolent boy? You have no chance."

Leo knew this was dangerous. One wrong move and he could become an eternal Leosicle. Khione shot another icy blast and Leo melted it. Festus charged in to help, but Khione intervened with a jet of ice that hit his head. Festus became still, and his glowing eyes dimmed. Leo snarled. She'd frozen Festus's control disk, again. Two people in one day messing with his dragon? He wasn't going to let that happen. He resumed fighting with renewed force.

Then he saw Eira raise her sword. He shot another flame at Khione to keep her attention. Khione stepped back, right in front of Eira. Eira swung her sword at Khione's arm. If she'd been human, she would have lost her arm. As it was, she simply got a deep cut on her arm, which began to bleed golden ichor. She snarled. "How dare you, filthy demigod! Betray your own mother! You are a disgrace to your own family!"

Eira stood up tall, her bright blue eyes blazing with fury. "I don't care if you're my biological mother, but you are not my family. Neither is my father. Or my aunt. All of you could have been there for me when I was living on the streets, losing friends, having no place to feel safe at home. But you weren't. You abandoned me." She turned to Leo. "I once believed that Camp Half Blood could be my home, that the demigods would accept me for who and what I was. I see now I was wrong. I may never belong at camp, or be accepted there. But--" she turned back to Khione-- "I know for a fact that my home is not with you."

Leo felt like he'd been slapped. He understood the unspoken meaning of Eira's words. He had abandoned her too. He had turned her away when she hadn't done anything wrong. It was his fault she had ever met Khione. He knew the terrible things Khione could do, and now Eira was in danger because of him.

Khione's face was radiating anger. Her face was pure white. "So be it," she said quietly, hatred etched into her words. "I thought I could trust you. It seems all demigods are the same." Suddenly, faster than Leo had ever seen anyone move, she lashed out and shot a jet of ice straight at Eira's chest. Eira blocked her face with her hands, but not fast enough. Before Leo could blink, the daughter of Khione was encased by her own element.

"No!" Leo screamed, his voice cracking helplessly. 

Khione smirked. "You humans are so weak. The girl will freeze to death in a few minutes. Now for you, Leo Valdez."

"How could you?" Tears froze on Leo's cheeks. It was his fault she was even here. Now she could die, or already be dead. "She's your daughter. Don't you care about her?"

"She was simply a prop. She is worthless. A worthless piece of demigod dirt, just like you all. I was foolish to be tempted by that mortal man. Gareth Bowen. But enough of this foolish talk. I have another piece of dirt to wipe off of the earth. Now, finally, I can finish off what I should have done a year ago. Goodbye, Leo Valdez." 

She paced around him, her eyes gleaming like those of an animal stalking its prey. Leo stumbled backwards and tripped over the curb behind him. He hit the ground hard. In that moment, he knew he was going to die. His fire couldn't stop her; nothing from his tool belt would be useful; Festus was frozen. Leo felt as if his own body was already frozen. He couldn't move at all. He was stuck staring at Khione's vengeful face. 

As he lay there, he knew that he deserved this: it was his fault Eira had left camp. What she had needed was someone to be with her and stay with her when the camp shunned her. Leo should have been that someone. The gods were punishing him for his stupidity. Khione pointed her hand at Leo's chest, and a blinding light engulfed Leo's vision.

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Cliffie! Muahahahaha!