The Blood of Olympus(142)

Which raised the question: where were they?

Below was a solid white blanket of clouds. The sun shone directly overhead in a brilliant blue sky. So it was about noon … but of which day? How long had Leo been dead?

He opened the access panel in Festus’s neck. The astrolabe was humming away, the crystal pulsing like a neon heart. Leo checked his compass and GPS, and a grin spread across his face.

‘Festus, good news!’ he shouted. ‘Our navigation readings are completely messed up!’

Festus said, Creak?

‘Yeah! Descend! Get us below these clouds and maybe –’

The dragon plummeted so fast that the breath was sucked out of Leo’s lungs.

They broke through the blanket of white and there, below them, was a single green island in a vast blue sea.

Leo whooped so loudly they probably heard him in China. ‘YEAH! WHO DIED? WHO CAME BACK? WHO’S YOUR FREAKIN’ SUPERSIZED McSHIZZLE NOW, BABY? WOOOOOOOO!’

They spiralled towards Ogygia, the warm wind in Leo’s hair. He realized his clothes were in tatters, despite the magic they’d been woven with. His arms were covered in a fine layer of soot, like he’d just died in a massive fire … which, of course, he had.

But he couldn’t worry about any of that.

She was standing on the beach, wearing jeans and a white blouse, her amber hair pulled back.

Festus spread his wings and landed with a stumble. Apparently one of his legs was broken. The dragon pitched sideways and catapulted Leo face-first into the sand.

So much for a heroic entrance.

Leo spat a piece of seaweed out of his mouth. Festus dragged himself down the beach, made clacking noises that meant Ow, ow, ow.

Leo looked up. Calypso stood over him, her arms crossed, her eyebrows arched.

‘You’re late,’ she announced. Her eyes gleamed.

‘Sorry, Sunshine,’ Leo said. ‘Traffic was murder.’

‘You are covered with soot,’ she noted. ‘And you managed to ruin the clothes I made for you, which were impossible to ruin.’

‘Well, you know.’ Leo shrugged. Somebody had released a hundred pachinko balls in his chest. ‘I’m all about doing the impossible.’

She offered her hand and helped him up. They stood nose to nose as she studied his condition. She smelled like cinnamon. Had she always had that tiny freckle next to her left eye? Leo really wanted to touch it.

She wrinkled her nose. ‘You smell –’

‘I know. Like I’ve been dead. Probably because I have been. Oath to keep with a final breath and all, but I’m better now –’

She stopped him with a kiss.

The pachinko balls slammed around inside him. He felt so happy he had to make a conscious effort not to burst into flames.

When she finally let him go, her face was covered in soot smudges. She didn’t seem to care. She traced her thumb across his cheekbone.

‘Leo Valdez,’ she said.

Nothing else – just his name, as if it were something magical.

‘That’s me,’ he said, his voice ragged. ‘So, um … you want to get off this island?’

Calypso stepped back. She raised one hand and the winds swirled. Her invisible servants brought two suitcases and set them at her feet. ‘What gave you that idea?’

Leo grinned. ‘Packed for a long trip, huh?’

‘I don’t plan on coming back.’ Calypso glanced over her shoulder, at the path that led to her garden and her cavern home. ‘Where will you take me, Leo?’

‘Somewhere to fix my dragon, first,’ he decided. ‘And then … wherever you want. How long was I gone, seriously?’

‘Time is difficult on Ogygia,’ Calypso said. ‘It felt like forever.’

Leo had a stab of doubt. He hoped his friends were okay. He hoped a hundred years hadn’t passed while he was flying around dead and Festus searched for Ogygia.

He would have to find out. He needed to let Jason and Piper and the others know he was okay. But right now … priorities. Calypso was a priority.

‘So once you leave Ogygia,’ he said, ‘do you stay immortal or what?’

‘I have no idea.’

‘And you’re okay with that?’

‘More than okay.’

‘Well, then!’ He turned towards his dragon. ‘Buddy, you up for another flight to nowhere in particular?’

Festus blew fire and limped around.

‘So we take off with no plan,’ Calypso said. ‘No idea where we’ll go or what problems await beyond this island. Many questions and no tidy answers?’

Leo turned up his palms. ‘That’s how I fly, Sunshine. Can I get your bags?’

‘Absolutely.’

Five minutes later, with Calypso’s arms around his waist, Leo spurred Festus into flight. The bronze dragon spread his wings, and they soared into the unknown.