EURYDICE || Percy Jackson

7 - Festus

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FESTUS
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"RISE AND SHINE, SHIT HEADS!"

Laviana's eyes snapped open at the loud greeting.

She groaned in annoyance, slamming one of the pillows on top of her head, and turning to face the wall.

Sirius the dog barked, but soon readjusted himself

"She really does sleep like the dead," Conor mused behind her.

"Leave me alone," she moaned. "It's too early."

"It's eight am."

"My point exactly."

She grunted as a heavy weight - a backpack - was dumped on top of her.

"You have a quest, dumbass," Travis said. "It's your first time leading one. You can't just hide in your bed."

The reminder of the quest got her moving. She had an ac/dc shirt, faded jeans, and her rings. The brothers had given her a blue jacket, which smelled like the sea, for some reason she saw the two of them snickering as she put it on. She tied her hair up into a ponytail, two strands framing her face.

Conor had just been helping her with her bag when his smirk fell into a scowl. "Nakamura."

Laviana turned around to see the one-eyed demigod standing behind them, a black stick in his hand. She hadn't even heard his steps approaching.

He held up his hands. "Relax. I'm not going to kill you."

"That's rich," Travis muttered. "Coming from you of all people."

Ethan grit his teeth. With apparent reluctance, he turned back to Laviana. "Here. It's the copy of the elder wand these two idiots stole."

He held out the wand.

Conor's eyes widened. "Where did you get that? It was hidden-"

"In a shoe box under your bed," Ethan finished dryly. "I took it to some of the Hecate kids. It should work now."

Laviana took it from his hand and stuck it in a side pocket, which somehow went deep enough. "Thanks. But I don't know any spells or whatever."

Ethan shrugged. "Most of the spells in Harry Potter were some variation of the Latin word or phrase. Try something like that."

Then the doors of the cabin burst open. Half a dozen campers spilled in. "Hurry!" One of the kids said, and Laviana couldn't tell if his expression was excitement or fear. "The dragon is back."

-

Leo Valdez sat atop a giant bronze death machine and grinning like a lunatic. Even before he landed, the camp alarm went up. A conch horn blew. All the satyrs started screaming, "Don't kill me!" Half the camp ran outside in a mixture of pajamas and armor. The dragon set down right in the middle of the green, and Leo yelled, "It's cool! Don't shoot!"

Hesitantly, the archers lowered their bows. The warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. They made a loose wide ring around the metal monster. Other demigods hid behind their cabin doors or peeped out the windows. Nobody seemed anxious to get close.

Laviana couldn't blame them. The dragon was huge. It 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. It had bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic sails, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.