──── chapter eight

{ ☀️ } · heroes save the day. . ݁ ٬٬ ࣪

LEO GOT DISTRACTED on the second floor with the appliances.

"No way," he said. "Is that an armored forge?"

Before Madeline could stop him, he hopped off the escalator and ran over to a big oval oven that looked like a barbecue on steroids. When they caught up with him, the princess said, "You have good taste. This is the H-2000, designed by Hephaestus himself. Hot enough to melt Celestial bronze or Imperial gold."

Jason flinched as if he recognized that term. "Imperial gold?"

The princess nodded. "Yes, my dear. Like that weapon so cleverly concealed in your pocket. To be properly forged, Imperial gold had to be consecrated in the Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill in Rome. Quite a powerful and rare metal, but like the Roman emperors, quite volatile. Be sure never to break that blade. . ." she smiled pleasantly. "Rome was after my time, of course, but I do hear stories. And now over here ─ this golden throne is one of my finest luxury items. Hephaestus made it as a punishment for his mother, Hera. Sit in it and you'll be immediately trapped."

Leo apparently took this as an order. He began walking toward it in a trance. 

"Leo, don't!" Piper warned.

He blinked. "How much for both?"

"Oh, the seat I could let you have for five great deeds. The forge, seven years of servitude. And for only a bit of your strength ─ " she led Leo into the appliance section, giving him prices on various items. Piper looked at Madeline before running after where Leo was being led to to, leaving Madeline to latch onto Jason's arm, tugging him away from the voices.

"But I wanna see more," the blonde boy said as they rounded the corner. Madeline looked back, making sure there was no one.

"No, you need to snap out of it!" the black-haired girl hissed, snapping her fingers in front of the boy's face. "She's charmspeaking you. Can't you feel it?"

He knit his eyebrows. "She seems okay."

"She's not okay! She shouldn't even be alive! She was married to Jason ─ the other Jason ─ three thousand years ago. Remember what Boreas said ─ something about the souls no longer being confined to Hades? It's not just monsters who can't stay dead. She's come back from the Underworld!"

Jason shook his head uneasily. "She's not a ghost."

The girl whined in desperation and grabbed his face in between her hands to focus his dazed eyes onto her. They were so blue up close. He stared at her, his eyes suddenly wide as he started back, breath caught in the back of his throat. 

"Listen to me," Madeline forced her voice to sound stern, "She's not your friend, she's much worse! She's ─ "

"Children." The princess was back with Leo and Piper in tow. "If you please, we will now see what you came for. That is what you want, yes?"

They took the escalator down to the base of the fountain. For the first time, Madeline noticed two large bronze sundials ─ each about the size of a trampoline ─ inlaid on the marble tile floor to the north and south of the fountain. The gilded oversize canary cages stood to the east and west, and the farthest one held the storm spirits. They were so densely packed, spinning around like a super-concentrated tornado, that Madeline couldn't tell how many there were ─ dozens, at least.

"Hey," Leo said, "Coach Hedge looks okay!"

They ran to the nearest canary cage. The old satyr seemed to have been petrified at the moment he was sucked into the sky above the Grand Canyon. He was frozen mid shout, his club raised over his head like he was ordering the gym class to drop and give him fifty. His curly hair stuck up at odd angles. If Madeline just concentrated on certain details ─ the bright orange polo shirt, the wispy goatee, the whistle around his neck ─ she could imagine Coach Hedge as his good old annoying self. But it was hard to ignore the stubby horns on his head, and the fact that he had furry goat legs and hooves instead of workout pants and Nikes.

"Yes," the princess said. "I always keep my wares in good condition. We can certainly barter for the storm spirits and the satyr. A package deal. If we come to terms, I'll even throw in the vial of healing potion, and you can go in peace." she gave Madeline a shrewd look. "That's better than starting unpleasantness, isn't it, dear?"

Leo and Jason were looking at her, nodding urgently and mouthing, Say yes!

"We can negotiate," she said.

"Totally!" Leo agreed. "Name your price."

"Leo!" Madeline snapped, "Shut your mouth!"

And it worked. Leo went to open his mouth, but he couldn't. His mouth seemed like they were glued shut. Madeline eyes widened at the action and she was not the only one that was taken back.

"How did you. . ." Medea looked at her with her mouth agape, then her eyes snapped at her necklace. Her eyes narrowed, "Where did you get that?" she demanded.

Her fingers went towards the crystal necklace Endora had given to all of her friends. Had she. . . No, that would be absurd. . . But then again, it's Endora Prince we're talking about.

"None of your business." Madeline said.

Medea only glared at her. She turned her attention towards Leo and Jason, "Name my price? Perhaps not the best haggling strategy, my boy, but at least you know a thing's value. Freedom is very valuable indeed. You would ask me to release this satyr, who attacked my storm winds ─ "

"Who attacked us," Piper interjected.

Medea shrugged. "As I said, my patron asks me for small favors from time to time. Sending the storm spirits to abduct you ─ that was one. I assure you it was nothing personal. And no harm done, as you came here, in the end, of your own free will! At any rate, you want the satyr freed, and you want my storm spirits ─ who are very valuable servants, by the way ─ so you can hand them over to that tyrant Aeolus. Doesn't seem quite fair, does it? The price will be high."

Madelina and Piper could see that Leo and Jason were ready to offer anything, promise anything. Before they could speak, Madeline spoke, "Of course it would be. What else could we expect from you, Medea."

"You helped the original Jason steal the Golden Fleece." Piper added, "You're one of the most evil villains in Greek mythology. Jason, Leo ─ don't trust her."

Piper put all the intensity she could gather into thosewords. She was utterly sincere, and it seemed to have some effect. Jason stepped away from the sorceress. Leo scratched his head and looked around like he was coming out of a dream. Even Madeline seemed to be affected a bit.

"What are we doing, again?"

"Boys!" Medea spread her hands in a welcoming gesture. Her diamond jewelry glittered, and her painted fingers curled like blood-tipped claws. "It's true, I'm Medea. But I'm so misunderstood. Oh, Charlotte, Piper, my dears, you don't know what it was like for women in the old days. We had no power, no leverage. Often we couldn't even choose our own husbands. But I was different. I chose my own destiny by becoming a sorceress. Is that so wrong? I made a pact with Jason: my help to win the fleece, in exchange for his love. A fair deal. He became a famous hero! Without me, he would've died unknown on the shores of Colchis."

Jason scowled. "Then. . . you really did die three thousand years ago? You came back from the Underworld?"

"Death no longer holds me, young hero," Medea said. "Thanks to my patron, I am flesh and blood again.

"You. . . re-formed?" Leo blinked. "Like a monster?"

Medea spread her fingers, and steam hissed from her nails, like water splashed on hot iron. "You have no idea what's happening, do you, my dears? It is so much worse than a stirring of monsters from Tartarus. My patron knows that giants and monsters are not her greatest servants. I am mortal. I learn from my mistakes. And now that I have returned to the living, I will not be cheated again. Now, here is my price for what you ask."

"Guys," Madeline said. "The original Jason left Medea because she was crazy and bloodthirsty."

"Lies!" Medea said.

"On the way back from Colchis, Jason's ship landed at another kingdom, and Jason agreed to dump Medea and marry the king's daughter." Piper added.

"After I bore him two children!" Medea said. "Still he broke his promise! I ask you, was that right?"

Jason and Leo dutifully shook their heads, but Piper wasn't through. "It may not have been right," she said, "but neither was Medea's revenge. She murdered her own children to get back at Jason. She poisoned his new wife and fled the kingdom."

Medea snarled. "An invention to ruin my reputation! The people of the Corinth ─ that unruly mob ─ killed my children and drove me out. Jason did nothing to protect me. He robbed me of everything. So yes, I sneaked back into the palace and poisoned his lovely new bride. It was only fair ─ a suitable price."

"You're fucking insane," Madeline said.

"I am the victim!" Medea wailed. "I died with my dreams shattered, but no longer. I know now not to trust heroes. When they come asking for treasures, they will pay a heavy price. Especially when the one asking has the name of Jason!"

The fountain turned bright red. Piper drew her dagger, but her hand was shaking almost too badly to hold it. She saw Madeline with her bow in her hands, ready to grab an arrow and shot.

"Jason, Leo ─ it's time to go. Now."

"Before you've closed the deal?" Medea asked. "What of your quest, boys? And my price is so easy. Did you know this fountain is magic? If a dead man were to be thrown into it, even if he was chopped to pieces, he would pop back out fully formed ─ stronger and more powerful than ever."

"Seriously?" Leo asked.

"No, Leo, she's lying," Madeline said. "She did that trick already. She convinced his daughters to cut him to pieces so he could come out of the water young and healthy again, but it just killed him!"

"Ridiculous," Medea said, and Piper could hear the power charged in every syllable. "Leo, Jason ─ my price is so simple. Why don't you two fight? If you get injured, or even killed, no problem. We'll just throw you into the fountain and you'll be better than ever. You do want to fight, don't you? You resent each other!"

"Guys, no!" Piper said. But they were already glaring at each other, as if it was just dawning on them how they really felt. Piper had never felt more helpless. Now she understood what real sorcery looked like. She'd always thought magic meant wands and fireballs, but this was worse. Medea didn't just rely on poisons and potions. Her most potent weapon washer voice.

Leo scowled. "Jason's always the star. He always gets the attention and takes me for granted."

"You're annoying, Leo," Jason said. "You never take anything seriously. You can't even fix a dragon."

"Stop!" Piper pleaded, but both drew weapons ─ Jason his gold sword, and Leo a hammer from his tool belt.

"Let them go, Piper," Medea urged. "I'm doing you a favor. Let it happen now, and it will make your choice so much easier. Enceladus will be pleased. You could have your father back today!"

Medea's charmspeak didn't work on her, but the sorceress still had a persuasive voice. Her father back today? Despite her best intentions, Piper wanted that. She wanted her father back so much, it hurt.

"Piper, what is she babbling about?" Madeline asked, her voice uncertain.

"You work for Enceladus," she said.

Medea laughed. "Serve a giant? No. But we all serve the same greater cause ─ a patron you cannot begin to challenge. Walk away, child of Aphrodite. This does not have to be your death, too. Save yourself, and your father can go free."

Leo and Jason were still facing off, ready to fight, but they looked unsteady and confused ─ waiting for another order. Part of them had to be resisting, Piper hoped. This went completely against their nature.

"Listen to me, girl." Medea plucked a diamond off her bracelet and threw it into a spray of water from the fountain. As it passed through the multicolored light, Medea said, "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me the office of Tristan McLean."

The mist shimmered, and Piper saw her father's study. Sitting behind his desk, talking on the phone, was her dad's assistant, Jane, in her dark business suit, her hair swirled in a tight bun.

"Hello, Jane," Medea said.

Jane hung up the phone calmly. "How can I help you, ma'am? Hello, Piper."

"You ─ "

Piper was so angry she could hardly talk.

"Yes, child," Medea said. "Your father's assistant. Quite easy to manipulate. An organized mind for a mortal, but incredibly weak."

"Thank you, ma'am," Jane said.

"Don't mention it," Medea said. "I just wanted to congratulate you, Jane. Getting Mr. McLean to leave town so suddenly, take his jet to Oakland without alerting the press or the police ─ well done! No one seems to know where he's gone. And telling him his daughter's life was on the line ─ that was a nice touch to get his cooperation."

"Yes," Jane agreed in a bland tone, as if she were sleepwalking. "He was quite cooperative when he believed Piper was in danger."

Piper looked down at her dagger. The blade trembled in her hand. She couldn't use it for a weapon any better than Helen of Troy could, but it was still a looking glass, and what she saw in it was a scared girl with no chance of winning.

"I may have new orders for you, Jane," Medea said. "If the girl cooperates, it may be time for Mr. McLean to come home. Would you arrange a suitable cover story for his absence, just in case? And I imagine the poor man will need some time in a psychiatric hospital."

"Yes, ma'am. I will stand by."

The image faded, and Medea turned to Piper. "There, you see?"

"You lured my dad into a trap," Piper said. "You helped the giant ─ "

"Oh, please, dear. You'll work yourself into a fit! I've been preparing for this war for years, even before I was brought back to life. I'm a seer, as I said. I can tell the future as well as your little oracle. Years ago, still suffering in the Fields of Punishment, I had a vision of the nine in your so-called Great Prophecy. I saw your friend Leo here, and saw that he would be an important enemy someday. I stirred the consciousness of my patron, gave her this information, and she managed to wake just a little ─ just enough to visit him."

"Leo's mother," Madeline said. "Leo, listen to this! She helped get your mother killed!"

"Huh?" Leo mumbled, still in daze. He frowned at his hammer. "So. . . I just attack Jason? That's okay?"

"Perfectly safe," Medea promised. "And Jason, strike him hard. Show me you are worthy of your namesake."

"No!" Piper ordered. She knew it was her last chance. "Jason, Leo ─ she's tricking you. Put down your weapons."

The sorceress rolled her eyes. "Please, girl. You're no match for me. I trained with my aunt, the immortal Circe. I can drive men mad or heal them with my voice. What hope do these puny young heroes have against me? Now, boys, kill each other!"

"Jason, Leo, listen to me." Piper put all of her emotion into her voice. For years she'd been trying to control herself and not show weakness, but now she poured everything into her words ─ her fear, her desperation, her anger. She knew she might be signing her dad's death warrant, but she cared too much about her friends to let them hurt each other. "Medea is charming you. It's part of her magic. You are best friends. Don't fight each other. Fight her!"

They hesitated, and Piper could feel the spell shatter

Jason blinked. "Leo, was I just about to stab you?"

"Something about my mother. . . ?" Leo frowned, then turned toward Medea. "You. . . you're working for Dirt Woman. You sent her to the machine shop." He lifted his arm. "Lady, I got a three-pound hammer with your name on it."

"Bah!" Medea sneered. "I'll simply collect payment another way."

She pressed one of the mosaic tiles on the floor, and the building rumbled. Jason swung his sword at Medea, but she dissolved into smoke and reappeared at the base of the escalator.

"You're slow, hero!" she laughed. "Take your frustration out on my pets!"

Before Jason could go after her, the giant bronze sundials at either end of the fountain swung open. Two snarling gold beasts ─ flesh-and-blood winged dragons ─ crawled out from the pits below. Each was the size of a camper van, maybe not large compared to Festus, but large enough. The dragons spread their wings and hissed. Madeline could feel the heat coming off their glittering skin. One turned his angry orange eyes on her.

"Don't look them in the eye!" Madeline warned, "They'll paralyze you."

"Indeed!" Medea was leisurely riding the escalator up, leaning against the handrail as she watched the fun. "These two dears have been with me a long time ─ sun dragons, you know, gifts from my grandfather Helios. They pulled my chariot when I left Corinth, and now they will be your destruction. Ta-ta!"

The dragons lunged. "Fight."

Leo and Jason charged to intercept. Madeline was amazed how fearlessly the boys attacked even if they had never fought with weapons before ( well, Leo hasn't ) ─ working like a team who had trained together for years. Medea was almost to the second floor, where she'd be able to choose from a wide assortment of deadly appliances.

"Oh, no, you don't you fucking bitch."

Piper and Madeline took after her.

When Medea spotted the two, she started climbing in earnest. She was quick for a three-thousand-year-old lady. The two girls climbed at top speed, taking the steps three at a time, and they still couldn't catch her. Medea didn't stop at floor two. She hopped the next escalator and continued to ascend.

The potions, Madeline thought. Of course that's what she would go for. She was was famous for potions.

Down below, the girl heard the battle raging. Leo was blowing his safety whistle, and Jason was yelling to keep the dragons' attention.

Piper grabbed a shield from an armored manikin on floor three and continued to climb all the while Madeline had her bow prepared, arrow already notched. But when they reached the top floor, breathing hard, they were too late. Medea had reached the potions counter. The sorceress grabbed a swan-shaped vial ─ the blue one that caused painful death ─ and Piper did the only thing that came to mind. She threw her shield. Medea turned triumphantly just in time to get hit in the chest by a fifty-pound metal Frisbee. She stumbled backward, crashing over the counter, breaking vials and knocking down shelves. When the sorceress stood from the wreckage, her dress was stained a dozen different colors. Many of the stains were smoldering and glowing.

"Fool!" Medea wailed. "Do you have any idea what so many potions will do when mixed?"

"Kill you?" Piper said hopefully.

The carpet began to steam around Medea's feet. She coughed, and her face contorted in pain ─ or was she faking? Below, Leo called, "Jason, help!" Piper risked a quick look, and almost sobbed in despair. One of the dragons had Leo pinned to the floor. It was baring its fangs, ready to snap. Jason was all the way across the room battling the other dragon, much too far away to assist.

"You've doomed us all!" Medea screamed.

"Piper," Madeline said, in an urgent tone, "We need to go."

Smoke was rolling across the carpet as the stain spread, throwing sparks and setting fires in the clothing racks.

"Now!"

CRASH!

The stained glass ceiling splintered in a rain of multicolored shards, and Festus the bronze dragon dropped into the department store. He hurtled into the fray, snatching up a sun dragon in each claw. Only now did Piper appreciate just how big and strong their metal friend was.

"That's my boy!" Leo yelled.

Festus flew halfway up the atrium, then hurled the sun dragons into the pits they'd come from. Leo raced to the fountain and pressed the marble tile, closing the sundials. They shuddered as the dragons banged against them, trying to get out, but for the moment they were contained. Medea cursed in some ancient language. The whole fourth floor was on fire now. The air filled with noxious gas. Even with the roof open, Piper could feel the heat intensifying.

She backed up to the edge of the railing, keeping her dagger pointed toward Medea. "I will not be abandoned again!"

The sorceress knelt and snatched up the red healing potion, which had somehow survived the crash. "You want your friend's memory restored? Take me with you!"

Piper glanced behind her. Leo and Jason were on board Festus's back. The bronze dragon flapped his mighty wings, snatched the two cages with the satyr and the storm spirits in his claws, and began to ascend. The building rumbled. Fire and the smoke curled up the walls, melting the railings, turning the air to acid.

"You'll never survive your quest without me!" Medea growled. "The boy hero will stay ignorant forever, and your father will die. Take me with you!"

For one heartbeat, Piper was tempted. Then she saw Medea's grim smile. But it was quickly wiped away. An arrow pierced though her heart and out though her back. The monsters mouth spurted gold mixed with red. Her shaky hands moved to pull the arrow out but it was no use, she was too weak to the Celestial Bronze that struck her heart. Her body fell sideways, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

Piper didn't have time to react to all of this. Madeline grabbed her arm, pulling her to where Festus was flying with the two boys. The two jumped over the side. They plummeted for only a second before Leo and Jason caught them, hauling them aboard the dragon. They soared through the broken roof and over downtown Chicago. Behind them, the department store exploded.

Madeline sat behind Leo as he steered the dragon toward the southwest. Eventually, the smoke from the burning department store faded in the distance, but none of them didn't relax until the suburbs of Chicago gave way to snowy fields, and the sun began to set.

"Good job, Festus." he patted the dragon's metal hide. "You did awesome."

The dragon shuddered. Gears popped and clicked in his neck. "I'll give you a tune-up next time we land," Leo promised. "You've earned some motor oil and Tabasco sauce."

Festus whirled his teeth, but even that sounded weak.

"Leo." Piper said behind, "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah. . . not bad for a brainwashed zombie." Leo said, "Thanks for saving us back there, beauty queen. If you hadn't talked me out of that spell ─ "

"Don't worry about it," Piper said.

"We're going to have to put down soon," Leo warned his friends. "Couple more hours, maybe, to make sure Medea's not following us. I don't think Festus can fly much longer than that."

"She's not gonna follow us," Madeline said, her arms crossed over her chest, "I pierced her heart. She's slow to re-forming."

No said a word before Leo let out a low whistle, "Remind me to never anger you."

Madeline's lips twitched upwards, "We should probably land soon anyway," she said, "I think Hedge probably wants to get out of his canary cage.

"My question is ─ where are we going?"

"The Bay Area," Leo guessed. "Didn't Medea say something about Oakland?"

Piper didn't respond.

"Piper's dad," Jason's voice was heard from behind Madeline. He insisted that the girl now sat in front of him. "Something's happened to your dad, right? He got lured into some kind of trap."

Piper let out a shaky breath. "Look, Medea said you would both die in the Bay Area. And besides. . . even if we went there, the Bay Area is huge! First we need to find Aeolus and drop off the storm spirits. Boreas said Aeolus was the only one who could tell us exactly where to go."

Leo grunted. "So how do we find Aeolus?"

Jason leaned forward. "You mean you don't see it?"

He pointed ahead of them, but Isa didn't see anything except clouds and the lights of a few towns glowing in the dusk.

"What?" Leo asked.

"That. . . whatever it is," Jason said."In the air."

Madeline frowned. She looked between Piper and Leo, who looked just as confused as she was.

"Right," Leo said. "Could you be more specific on the 'whatever-it-is' part?"

"Like a vapor trail," Jason said. "Except it's glowing. Really faint, but it's definitely there. We've been following it since Chicago, so I figured you saw it."

Leo shook his head. "Maybe Festus can sense it. You think Aeolus made it?"

"Well, it's a magic trail in the wind," Jason said. "Aeolus is the wind god. I think he knows we've got prisoners for him. He's telling us where to fly."

"Or it's another trap," Piper said. Her tone worried Madeline. She didn't just sound nervous. She sounded broken with despair, like they'd already sealed their fate, and like it was her fault.

"Pipes, you all right?" Leo asked.

"Don't call me that."

"Okay, fine. You don't like any of the names I make up for you. But if your dad's in trouble and we can help ─ "

"You can't," she said, her voice getting shakier. "Look, I'm tired. If you don't mind. . . " she closed her eyes and leaned forward onto Jason.

All right, it was pretty clear she didn't want totalk.

They flew in silence for a while. Festus seemed to know where he was going. He kept his course, gently curving toward the southwest and hopefully Aeolus's fortress.

His head started to nod.

"Leo," Madeline shook his shoulder, "Get some sleep."

"What, oh, no, I'm fine." Leo said.

The daughter of Apollo rolled her eyes, "What is with you and Hephaestus kids thinking you're machines. Just get some sleep. Besides, Jason is awake to guide so he will make sure we stay oncourse."

Leo's eyes started to close on their own. "All right. Maybe just. . ." he didn't finish the sentence before slumping forward against the dragon's warm neck.

After that, Jason and Madeline sat in silence.

It wasn't that uncomfortable silence she had while sometimes sitting with Drew or Jake, but a comforting one where no words could be exchanged. She started wondering what would happen when he starts remembering his old life. Would he think of them as enemies or would he actually consider them friends.

Her visions told her he was on their side, but was that all true? Did she, maybe, somehow, made those dreams bend in a way her mind wanted them to. She didn't know. She didn't know if that was possible. But she knew that she wanted Jason to stay with them. Her heart thumped against her ribcage. She wanted him to stay. No. She was getting too attached too fast. He could betray her. But Jason would not do such a thing.

Would he?

A light tap caused her to turn around and face the boy. He looked at her with unreadable expression, eyebrows furrowed slightly as he looked at her, "Do you. . ." he started, being hard to bring himself to say it, "Do you know where I came from?"

The question lingered in the air.

"It's just. . . something that Medea mentioned back at the store." he admitted.

"Medea can play mind trick, Jason," Madeline said in a calm tone, but inside, her nerves were getting the better out of her.

Jason nodded in understanding, "I know, I know, but. . . a part of me feels like we have met already. Like I know you, but I haven't physically met you. More like a memory or a dreams of some kind."

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

A creepy laughter echoed in her ears.

He knows.

"We have never met before you arrived," Madeline said, "You have never seen me before nor have I seen you."

Jason frowned, "But, I think that's not ─ "

"It is the truth," she said and turned her head back around, "Do not question it. . . please."

"Maddy, is everything ─ "

"Please, Jason, just drop it." Madeline pleaded, "Gods are always watching and I don't want them to know I told you before time is right. So please, don't ask question I can't answer you now."

Festus dropped out of the sky.

"What, what?. . . Not again!" Leo yelled. "You can't fall again!"

He could barely hold on. The wind stung his eyes, but he managed to pull open the panel on the dragon's neck. He toggled the switches. He tugged the wires. The dragon's wings flapped once, but Leo caught a whiff of burning bronze. The drive system was overloaded. Festus didn't have the strength to keep flying, and Leo couldn't get to the main control panel on the dragon's head ─ not in midair. He saw the lights of a city below them ─ just flashes in the dark as they plummeted incircles. They had only seconds before they crashed.

"Jason!" he screamed. "Take Piper and Maddy and fly out of here!"

"What?"

"We need to lighten the load! I might be able to reboot Festus, but he's carrying too much weight!"

"What about you?" Piper cried. "If you can't reboot him ─ "

"I'll be fine," Leo yelled. "Just follow me to the ground. Go!"

Jason grabbed Madeline and Piper around the waist. They unbuckled their harnesses, and in a flash they were gone ─ shooting into the air.

"Now," Leo said. "Just you and me, Festus ─ and two heavy cages. You can do it, boy!"

Leo talked to the dragon while he worked, falling at terminal velocity. He could see the city lights below him, getting closer and closer. He summoned fire in his hand so he could see what he was doing, but the wind kept extinguishing it. He pulled a wire that he thought connected the dragon's nerve center to its head, hoping for a little wake-up jolt. Festus groaned ─ metal creaking inside his neck. His eyes flickered weakly to life, and he spread his wings. Their fall turned into a steep glide.

"Good!" Leo said. "Come on, big boy. Come on!"

They were still flying in way too hot, and the ground was too close. Leo needed a place to land ─ fast. There was a big river ─ no. Not good for a fire-breathing dragon. He'd never get Festus out from the bottom if he sank, especially in freezing temperatures. Then, on the riverbanks, Leo spotted a white mansion with a huge snowy lawn inside a tall brick perimeter fence ─ like some rich person's private compound, all of it blazing with light. A perfect landing field.

He did his best to steer the dragon toward it, and Festus seemed to come back to life. They could make this! Then everything went wrong. As they approached the lawn, spotlights along the fence fixed on them, blinding Leo. He heard bursts like tracer fire, the sound of metal being cut to shreds ─ and BOOM.

Leo blacked out.

When Leo came to his senses, Madeline, Jason and Piper were leaning over him. He was lying in the snow, covered in mud and grease. He spit a clump of frozen grass out of his mouth.

"Where ─ "

"Lie still." Piper had tears in her eyes. "You rolled pretty hard when ─ when Festus ─ "

"Where is he?"

Leo sat up, but his head felt like it was floating. They'd landed inside the compound. Something had happened on the way in ─ gunfire?

"Seriously, Leo," Jason said. "You could be hurt. You shouldn't ─ "

Leo pushed himself to his feet. Then he saw the wreckage. Festus must have dropped the big canary cages as he came over the fence, because they'd rolled in different directions and landed on their sides, perfectly undamaged. Festus hadn't been so lucky. The dragon had disintegrated. His limbs were scattered across the lawn. His tail hung on the fence. The main section of his body had plowed a trench twenty feet wide and fifty feetlong across the mansion's yard before breaking apart. What remained of his hide was a charred, smoking pile of scraps. Only his neck and head were somewhat intact, resting across a row of frozen rosebushes like a pillow.

"No," Leo sobbed. He ran to the dragon's head and stroked its snout. The dragon's eyes flickered weakly. Oil leaked out of his ear.

"You can't go," Leo pleaded. "You're the best thing I ever fixed."

The dragon's head whirred its gears, as if it were purring. Madeline, Jason and Piper stood next to him, but Leo kept his eyes fixed on the dragon. He remembered what Hephaestus had said: That isn't your fault, Leo. Nothing lasts forever, not even the best machines. His dad had been trying to warn him.

"It's not fair," he said.

The dragon clicked. Long creak. Two short clicks. Creak. Creak. Almost like a pattern. . . triggering an old memory in Leo's mind. Leo realized Festus was trying to say something. He was using Morse code ─ just like Leo's mom had taught him years ago. Leo listened more intently, translating the clicks into letters: a simple message repeating over and over.

"Yeah," Leo said. "I understand. I will. I promise."

The dragon's eyes went dark. Festus was gone. Leo cried. He wasn't even embarrassed. His friends stood on either side, patting his shoulders, saying comforting things; but the buzzing in Leo's ears drowned out their words.

Finally Jason said, "I'm so sorry, man. What did you promise Festus?"

Leo sniffled. He opened the dragon's head panel, just to be sure, but the control disk was cracked and burned beyond repair.

"Something my dad told me," Leo said. "Everything can be reused."

"Your dad talked to you?" Madeline asked. "When was this?"

Leo didn't answer. He worked at the dragon's neck hinges until the head was detached. It weighed about a hundred pounds, but Leo managed to hold it in his arms. He looked up at the starry sky and said, "Take him back to the bunker, Dad. Please, until I can reuse him. I've never asked you for anything."

The wind picked up, and the dragon's head floated out of Leo's arms like it weighed nothing. It flew into the sky and disappeared.

Piper looked at him in amazement. "He answered you?"

"I had a dream," Leo managed. "Tell you later."

He knew he owed his friends a better explanation, but Leo could barely speak. He felt like a broken machine himself ─ like someone had removed one little part of him, and now he'd never be complete. He might move, he might talk, he might keep going and do his job. But he'd always be off balance, never calibrated exactly right. Still, he couldn't afford to break down completely. Otherwise, Festus had died for nothing. He had to finish this quest ─ for his friends, for his mom, for his dragon. He looked around.

The large white mansion glowed in the center of the grounds. Tall brick walls with lights and security cameras surrounded the perimeter, but now Leo could see ─ or rather sense ─ just how well those walls were defended.

"Where are we?" he asked. "I mean, what city?"

"Omaha, Nebraska," Piper said. "I saw a billboard as we flew in. But I don't know what this mansion is. We came in right behind you, but as you were landing, Leo, I swear it looked like ─ I don't know—"

"Lasers," Leo said. He picked up a piece of dragon wreckage and threw it toward the top of the fence. Immediately a turret popped up from the brick wall and a beam of pure heat incinerated the bronze plating to ashes.

Jason whistled. "Some defense system. How are we even alive?"

"Festus," Leo said miserably. "He took the fire. The lasers sliced him to bits as he came in so they didn't focus on you. I led him into a death trap."

"You couldn't have known," Piper said. "He saved our lives again."

"But what now?" Jason said. "The main gates are locked, and I'm guessing I can't fly us out of here without getting shot down."

Madeline looked up the walkway at the big white mansion. "Since we can't go out, we'll have to go in."