Penelope Orion: Prophecies

Chapter 11

Penelope's P.O.V.

Flying on the dragon was the coolest thing ever! Well, maybe except the fact that I get air sick very easily. But surprisingly, I didn't puke. I was sitting in front of Leo, who had his arm wrapped around me. Before we landed, the camp alarm sounded. I saw satyrs running around and apparently screaming, "Don't kill me!" Half the camp ran outside in a mixture of pajamas and armor and I laughed like a lunatic as we landed.

"It's cool! Don't shoot!" Leo yelled then lowered his voice. "Stay here."

The archers hesitantly lowered their bows and the warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. In the midst of them was Clarisse. I smiled and waved at her. When she saw me, her spear clattered to the ground and her mouth was open. Then she stooped down and grabbed it. The campers made a loose, wide ring around Festus. Other demigods hid behind their cabin doors or peeked out the windows. Nobody seemed anxious to get close. I couldn't exactly blame them, Festus was huge. He glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture - different shades of copper and bronze - a sixty-foot-long serpent with steel talons and drill-bit teeth and glowing ruby eyes. He also had bat shaped wings twice his length that unfurled like metallic sails, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.

The dragon reared its head and shot a column of flame into the sky. Campers scrambled away and hefted their weapons, but behind me, Leo slid off calmly. He held up his hands like he was surrendering. "People of Earth, I come in peace!" He shouted, I laughed. It looked like he had rolled around in a fire and oil. His army coat and face was smeared with soot. His hands were greased-stained, and he wore a new tool belt around his waist. His curly hair was covered in so much oil that it stuck up like porcupine quills. But he looked absolutely delighted. "Festus is just saying hello!"

"That thing is dangerous!" Clarisse yelled, brandishing her spear. "Kill it now!"

"Stand down!" someone yelled. I knew that voice. It was Jason. He pushed through the crowd, flanked by Annabeth and Nyssa, one of Leo's sisters.

Jason gazed up at the dragon and me and shook his head in amazement, his eyes still locked on me. "Leo, what have you done?"

"Found a ride!" Leo beamed. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"

"It - has wings," Nyssa stammered.

"Yeah!" Leo said. "I found them and attached them."

"But it never had wings. Where did you find them?"

I saw Leo hesitate. "In... the woods," he said. "Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire."

"Mostly?" Nyssa asked.

The dragon's head twitched. It tilted to one side and a stream of oil poured out of its ear, all over Leo. I laughed even more. "Just a few kinks to work out," he said.

"But how did you survive ... ?" Nyssa was still staring at Festus in awe. "I mean, the fire breath..."

"I'm quick," he said. "And lucky. Now am I on this quest, or what?"

Jason scratched his head. "You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, 'festus' means happy? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?"

The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped his wings. "That's a yes, bro!" Leo said. "Now, um, I'd really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked some supplies in the - um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous."

Jason frowned. "But we haven't planned anything yet. We can't just--"

"Go," Annabeth said. She looked like the only one who didn't look nervous at all. Her expression was wistful and sad, like this reminded her of better times. "Jason, Penelope, you've only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!"

Piper's P.O.V.

Jason nodded. Then smiled at me. "You ready, partner?"

I looked at the bronze dragon wings shining against the sky, and those talons that could've shredded me to pieces. "You bet." I said

~*~*~*~*~*

Flying on a dragon is the most amazing experience ever, I thought.

Up high, the air was freezing cold; but the dragon's metal hide generated so much heat, it was like we were flying in a protective bubble. Talk about seat warmers! And the grooves in the dragon's back were designed like high-tech saddles, so they weren't uncomfortable at all. Penelope showed us how to hook our feet in the chinks of the armor, like in stirrups, and use the leather safety harnesses cleverly concealed under the exterior plating. We sat in single file: Leo in front, then Penelope, then me, then Jason. I was very aware of Jason right behind me. I wished he would hold onto me, maybe wrap his arms around my waist; but sadly he didn't.

"Penelope. Where were you last night?" Jason asked. "I was worried."

"With Leo!" she said happily.

"Don't worry Jason, she was fine. I kept her safe." Leo said, steering the dragon into the sky like he'd been doing this all his life. "Cool, right?"

"What if we get spotted?" Penelope asked.

"The Mist," Jason said glancing at Leo." It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. It they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."

I glanced over my shoulder. "You sure about that?" I asked.

"No," he admitted. Then I saw that he was clutching a photo in his hand - a picture of a girl with dark hair. I gave him a quizzical look, but he blushed and put the photo in his pocket. "We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight."

I wondered who the girl in the picture was, but I didn't want to ask; and if Jason didn't volunteer the information, that wasn't a good sign. Had he remembered something about his life before? Was that a photo of his real girlfriend?

Stop it, I thought. You'll just torture yourself.

Penelope leaned back onto me and smiled. "You okay Pip?" She turned her body so that she was sideways on the back of the dragon. She was so small, I was afraid that the wind would knock her off. But she didn't budge.

"Yeah!" I told her. "I love this metal guy."

"Okay, cause I was the one who named him. He was so happy when Leo put these wings on him."

The little girl yawned, curled up and closed her eyes. I guess she's been up all night. I thought, wrapping my arms around her small frame as she fell asleep. "Where are we going?" I asked Jason.

"To find the North Wind," Jason said. "And chase some storm spirits."