The Blood of Olympus

Chapter 27: Leo

So, Blood of Olympus is out and about! How did you all like it? Personally I loved it, except the ending was rushed, and...well, I don't want to give away any spoilers, but PM me if you want to here The Rant in its full entirety!

By the way, I just wanted to thank everyone who commented last chapter telling me to continue this fanfiction - which was pretty much everyone. It meant a lot to see that people actually liked this so much that they'd still read it when the real deal is out, so - thanks!

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Chapter 27: Leo

Leo was standing inside a restaurant. It was obviously busy, noise and chatter filled the air, and waitresses bustled around serving food.

Leo's first thought was that the smell of cooking omelettes was simply divine.

His second thought was that the blonde waitress standing next to him was smoking hot. She looked like the kind of popular, perky cheerleader you would find in a high school. Just the kind of girl who wouldn't give a guy like Leo the time of the day. Though since Leo's heart was far away in Ogygia, he didn't spend too much time ogling at her.

And his third thought was that the girl sitting in the corner of the cafe looked very much like Reyna.

Leo wove his way through the crowds until he was standing directly in front of Reyna's table. Upon a closer glance, he could see Nico, hidden in the shadows of their booth, and Coach Hedge who was just finishing eating his spoon. All three were in deep whispered conversation, and Leo had to lean in close to hear.

" - searched everywhere in the city." Reyna was saying, her voice despairing and her face full of worry, "Nico's hunch must have been wrong."

Coach Hedge grunted, "'Course it was wrong. No one in their right minds would hide a giant statue of Athena here."

Leo frowned. Come to  think of it, he couldn't see the Athena Parthenos nearby, though admittedly he had a hard time envisioning Reyna, Nico, and Coach Hedge lugging a forty foot tall statue into a sidewalk cafe.

Reyna furrowed her brow in apparent confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Muncaster Castle." Coach Hedge said through a mouthful of napkin.

"What?"

Coach Hedge swallowed noisily, "Clean out your ears cupcake. I said Muncaster Castle. It's in this town. Headquarters of the National Owl Center, which means a lot of owls, which is Athena's symbolic creature. Hiding another huge symbol of Athena here...lets jsut say Gaea's too smart for that."

Reyna glared at Coach Hedge, "Then why didn't you say something before, faun?"

Coach Hedge held up his hands defensively, "You never asked. Anyways, Death Breath sounded pretty sure that the statue was in England, so I thought OK, might as well see."

Reyna groaned in frustration, throwing up her hands "Then what are we supposed to do? We've failed our quest!"

Nico leaned forward, speaking for the first time, "Not necessarily. There might be another way to locate the statue. Coach, you can speak to animals, right?"

Coach Hedge puffed out his chest, "What kind of satyr do you take me for? Of course I can talk to animals."

"Well," Nico reasoned, "The Athena Parthenos...a symbol of Athena that powerful, it's practically a beacon. And if owls are Athena's sacred creature, maybe Coach Hedge could talk to some of the owls at Muncaster Castle, and..." he trailed off, looking at Reyna and Coach Hedge doubtfully.