Haunted || Leo Valdez

86 - Everybody Say Thank You, Leo

SHE DREW ANOTHER ONE LMAO THIS IS SO ACCURATE SHE EVEN DID ANNE IN THE BACK

"Querida?"

Rebecca looked up from where she was sitting on the bed as Leo poked his head in her room. Rebecca set down the photos she'd recovered from Anne's room. Anne had framed her favorite one, the one from just before the campfire/sing along just a week after Rebecca and Leo had started dating. Rebecca remembered Anne getting frustrated at the camera and muttering obscenities under her breath as she tried to figure out how to set the timer for the device.

"I remember that," Leo said, pointing at another picture from the New Years' celebration. Anne had actually managed to get a shot of Rebecca and Leo kissing in front of everyone on the beach during the fireworks. It would've been enchanting and romantic if Anne hadn't been doing a duck face and throwing up a peace sign in the front.

Rebecca gave him a half smile. "Yeah, that was a great night."

"Remember how I reprogrammed the Jumbotron?"

"How could I not? You dragged me along for the ride."

"I saw an opportunity and I took it." Leo shrugged.

Rebecca sighed. "I miss her, Leo. And Henry."

"Me too, Querida."

"It should've been me."

"No, don't say that —"

"No, really. She wasn't even alive again for a year, but I've been alive for, like, eighty. That's more than both of her lives combined, it's not fair..."

Leo knelt in front of her. "I know. I hate it, too. Every single time we lose someone I can't help feeling like I could've prevented it. I could've prevented Percy and Annabeth falling into Tartarus if I hadn't been so fixated on getting the Athena Parthenos loaded right away. And if I'd been a little quicker priming my device at the Tower of London, I probably could've blasted through those spirits and made it to you before the King killed Anne."

"But that wasn't your fault."

"I know. But, it's like... I feel like... I still could've done something, right? And that's how you feel, too. Nobody blames you for not knowing everything."

"But I could've sensed that Henry wasn't himself."

"I think, under normal circumstances, yes. But think about it. The only times you've ever successfully been kidnapped was when Gaea was helping them. She's with the giants, and she was with the King. She probably helped him hide it from you."

"I guess that could've happened." Rebecca frowned. "But I can't stop thinking... what if the King was inside Henry all along, slowly building up enough power to fully take over?"

"You mean like the Malignant Spirit with a weak host?"

"Yes. Not that I'm calling Henry weak or anything—"

"No, no, of course not—"

"—But when I didn't know about the Malignant Spirit, it was easier for it to take over me. What if Henry had no idea about the King slowly growing more powerful inside him, and that's what made it so easy to take over him?"

Leo frowned. "I really hope that wasn't the case."

"Not that we can do anything about it now," Rebecca muttered. She huffed. "What's the point of having a powerful chaotic entity inside of you if you can't even use it to save your friends?"

"You've all but mastered control over it, Querida. Chiron said that many hosts fell to its influence. That makes you stronger than all of those people. And who were they again? I'm pretty sure Attila the Hun was in there somewhere, so by that logic you're stronger than Attila the Hun."