Penelope Orion: Prophecies

Chapter 10

[I'm sorry but I'm going to skip the flashback Leo has. If you want to know what it is, read The Lost Hero chapter eleven]

Leo's P.O.V.

I didn't stick around after Piper turned beautiful. Sure, it was amazing and all - she's got makeup! It's a miracle! - but I had problems to deal with. I ducked out of the amphitheater and ran into the darkness, wondering what I had gotten myself into.

I'd stood in front of stronger, braver demigods and volunteered - volunteered - for a mission that could possibly get me killed. I hadn't mentioned seeing Tia Callida, my old babysitter, but as soon as I heard about Jason and Penelope's vision - the lady in the black dress and shawl - I knew it was the same woman. Tia Callida was Hera. His evil babysitter was the queen of the gods. Stuff like that could really deep-fry your brain.

I trudged towards the woods and tried not to think about my childhood - all the messed up things that had led to my mother's death.

I was almost to the woods when I imagined Tia Callida's  voice: It wasn't your fault, little hero. Our enemy wakes. It's time to stop running.

"Hera," I muttered, "you're not even here, are you? You're in a cage somewhere."

There was no answer. But now, at least, I understood something. Hera had been watching me my entire life. Somehow, she'd known that one day she would need me. Maybe those Fates she mentioned could tell the future. I wasn't sure. But I knew I was meant to go on this quest. Penelope's and Jason's prophecy  warned them to beware the earth, and I knew it had something to do with that sleeping woman in the shop, wrapped in robes of shifting earth.

Oh god, Penelope. She was coming, too. I had to make sure that she stays alive on this quest. I can't let her die. She's my sister.

Stop it, said a voice, she's not your sister. She will never be. I shook my head and thought of something else. Tia's voice echoed in my head. You'll find your destiny, she had promised, and your journey will finally make sense.

I might find out what that flying boat in my dreams meant. I might meet my father, or even get to avenge my mother's death. But first thing's first. I'd promised Jason a flying ride. Not the boat from my dreams - not yet. There wasn't enough time to build something that complicated. I needed a quicker solution. I needed a dragon.

Suddenly, a twig snapped. I spun around and saw a figure bolt behind a tree. Knowing I had no light, I stepped closer, ready to be killed. As I got closet, though, I realized that it was a little kid. But not just any little kid, it was Penelope.

"What are you doing?" I nearly yelled. "Go back!"

"No way." She said softly.

I remember what Will Solace had told me: No one should go in the woods alone, definitely not unarmed. I had nothing - no sword, no flashlight. All I had was a seven year old girl who followed me into the woods. I glanced back at the lights of the cabins. I could turn around with Penelope and tell everyone I'd been joking. Psych! Nyssa could go on the quest instead. I could stay at camp and learn to be part of the Hephaestus cabin, but I wondered how long it would be before I looked like my bunkmates - sad dejected, convinced of my own bad luck. But this is for Penelope, Jason, and Piper.

"Okay, fine but just stay out of the way, okay?" I told her. She nodded.

They cannot stop me from breaking your spirit, the sleeping woman had said. Remember this night, little hero, when they ask you to oppose me.

"Believe me, lady," I muttered, "I remember. And whoever you are, I'm gonna faceplant you hard, Leo-style."

Penelope looked at me and smiled. She heard me. Taking a deep breath, we plunged into the forest.