BLOODSHOT . . . piper mclean

16.

"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 leaned back against Delusional Boy and closed her eyes.

All right, Eden snorted — pretty clear signal she was hiding something. It was probably daddy issues.

They flew in silence for a while. Eden tapped her nails on Fire Boy's upper back. His head started to nod.

"Catch a few Z's," Delusional Boy said. "It's cool. Hand us the reins."

"Nah, I'm okay—"

"Leo," Delusional Boy said, "you're not a machine. Besides, I'm the only one who can see the vapor trail. I'll make sure we stay on course."

"Mhm," Eden said absentmindedly. "I know Festus well. Beckendorf used to talk to me and Silena and literally everybody else about him—" she cleared her throat. "Point is, go the fuck to sleep."

Fire Boy nodded off. "All right. Maybe just . . ."

He didn't finish the sentence before slumping forward against the dragon's warm neck.

Eden fought not to fall asleep as she trailed her fingers over Leo's back, thinking about how hot blooded he was — the fire ran in his blood, after all, like water ran in hers.

"Who're Beckendorf and Silena?" Delusional Boy asked her.

"No one," Eden snapped. "Drop it."

"You've mentioned them a lot though, Eden—"

"Ask Leo and Piper, I'm sure they know," she said coldly, letting the words fall out of her mouth bitterly as if she was falling in Tartarus.

"Why would they know—"

Eden was saved from answering when the dragon suddenly dropped, and she let out a high, bloodcurdling scream.

* * *

They spiraled through the dark in a free fall, still on the dragon's back, but Festus's hide was cold.

"Not again!" Fire Boy yelled. "You can't fall again!"

Eden could barely hold on. Fucking shit. She screamed just that. She hated the air.

"Jason!" Fire Boy screamed. "Take Eden and Piper 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?" Kaleidoscope asked. "If you can't reboot him—"

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

Perfect Jason grabbed Kaleidoscope around the waist, and she held onto Eden, which didn't seem very safe. She took off her harness, and then they were off.

Eden didn't know how long it was before they dropped to the ground, before Fire Boy dropped to the ground, before Festus exploded, but suddenly she was looking down at Fire Boy, who was waking up.

"Where—"

"Lie still." Kaleidoscope said, her voice cracking. "You rolled pretty hard when — when Festus—"

"Where is he?" Fire Boy sat up.

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

Fire Boy 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 feet long 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," Fire Boy 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," Fire Boy pleaded. "You're the best thing I ever fixed."

The dragon's head whirred its gears, as if it were purring. Eden stared down at the wreckage. What?

"It's not fair," he said.

The dragon clicked. Long creak. Two short clicks. Creak. Creak.

"Yeah," Fire Boy said. "I understand. I will. I promise."

The dragon's eyes went dark. Festus was gone.

Fire Boy cried. Perfect Jason and Kaleidoscope stood on either side, patting his shoulders, saying comforting things; but Eden just stood there, shocked. Memories flooded in her brain and she pressed two of her fingers against each temple. Gods, what was she doing?

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

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

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

Fire Boy didn't answer. He worked at the dragon's neck hinges until the head was detached. 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 Fire Boy's arms like it weighed nothing. It flew into the sky and disappeared.

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

Eden stared at the sky. "Some gods aren't assholes, you know," she said softly. "No matter what I tell you." Even if he kind of was one in the Labyrinth.

God, the fucking Labyrinth. She still had nightmares about the shit under there.

"I had a dream," Fire Boy managed. "Tell you later."

The large white mansion glowed in the center of the grounds. Tall brick walls with lights and security cameras surrounded the perimeter.

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

Eden wondered that herself.

"Omaha, Nebraska," Pretty Girl 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," Fire Boy 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.

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

"Festus," Fire Boy 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," Eden said. "He saved our lives again."

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

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