The Fight Against Night (Percy Jackson/Kane Chronicles)

Chapter 14 Leo

Ο Διακυρίττεσθαι Άντεξελαύνω Νύξ  

Leo

Why do bad things always happen to us? That is a question every demigod asks. First we had to come on this stupid quest and now our friends had been kidnapped. Can't a guy sail across the sky in his flying dragon ship in peace?

The Argo II was floating above Quebec City overlooking the beautiful city. From this altitude the city looked like a tiny toy model that kids played with at day cares. I don't know why I was thinking about this in a time of crisis but I was. Maybe it was because the others had left on their rescue mission and Percy had told me to stay and watch the ship. In other words I was bored. I felt like I was being used as the getaway driver in a robbery, only instead of stealing money from a bank we were stealing people from an evil god that wanted to kill everyone. Regardless, I wanted to be with everyone else saving my friends. Instead I was bumming around on my ship talking clank and creak with Festus. I had to bid my time waiting for Percy's signal to come and pick everyone up. More like open a teleporter that I had created for everyone to walk through.

Do I hear you are intrigued by my teleporter? Well, basically it is a little ball that when turned o and placed on the ground it will latch to the ground and open a portal to the matching ball on the ship. To use it though you have to know the special password and both balls have to be turned on. Since it is a fast prototype I just put together it has some catches. I can't seem to get the portal to stay open for longer than 10 minutes and the two balls can't be too far away from each other. So, no, you can't teleport yourself to a tropical islands thousands of miles away. Its radius covers the area surrounding Boreas' palace give or take a few hundred feet. Also the balls have trouble returning to the owner once they have teleported. They are supposed to use GPS to locate each other and fly back to you, but sometimes they just explode or tell horrible Spanish jokes on their screen.

I'm sorry. Am I boring you with my talk about mechanics? Well too bad. You aren't the one stuck on a ship by yourself! Anyways, when Percy gives me the signal (which he wouldn't tell me what it was just that I would know it when I saw it) I am to turn on my half of the teleporter and to be prepared to be boarded. Yay. Percy had also said that if they hadn't returned by night fall that either A) They were in danger and needed me to rescue them or B) I was an idiot and missed their signal. Sadie said it was probably the latter.

So, yes, I have been sitting on the deck of the Argo II watching the horizon for the "special signal" while thinking about how to get the astrolabe to work so I can find Calypso. I think I have it figured out, but I can't very well leave everyone behind and forget about the quest at hand. Though I would love to see Calypso again I doubt she would appreciate the world falling apart when I arrived. I can just imagine her reaction now. She would be standing on the island in her white shirt and jeans covered in dirt from her garden. Her arms crossed and an angry look on her face full of disapproval. She would probably say something like, Leo Valdez, you are the biggest idiot I have ever had the chance to meet! Oh, how I miss her so much.

By now it was starting to get dark and still I had not seen anything that could have been Percy's signal. The most interesting thing I'd seen all day was a plane cross the sky with a banner on the back that said Elise Will You Leave Me Alone! I was starting to get worried that my friends rescue mission had went south.

"Festus, it looks like I am going to have to save some people, so don't cause too many problems while I'm gone," I said to my only companion. He creaked in response which I could tell meant No promises. "And find a way to activate the portal when I notify you." Yes, Festus could also activate the portal and I had a walkie-talkie in my belt that would let me talk to Festus from below.