After Theo leaves, I get lost in thought again. I feel like the least useful questmate. I mean, Theo is this all-powerful, gorgeous, smart, sweet, and generally incredibly important being. Piper and Jason are powerful too. Piper has her magic voice, and Jason is the son of Zeus. And I'm just a lowly mechanic who can't fix a dragon. God, I wish I was cooler. Then maybe I'd have a chance with Theo. She's so perfect. So out of my league.
"Enough, Valdez." I scold myself. "Nobody's going to play any violins for you just because you're not important. Fix the stupid dragon."
Then, I hear the voice.
You're wrong, Leo, it said.
I fumble my brush and drop it into Festus's head. I stand, but can't see who's spoken. Then, I look at the ground. Snow and chemical sludge are forming and shifting to form eyes, a nose, and a mouth. The face of a giant sleeping woman. She doesn't speak. Her lips don't move. But I can feel her voice through the earth.
They need you desperately, she says. In some ways, you are the most important of the seven. Like the control disk in the dragon's brain. Without you, the power of the others means nothing. Without you, my Theodora cannot accomplish anything. She needs you. Without you, they will never reach me, never stop me. And I will fully wake.
"You." My voice is shaking. I haven't heard that voice since I was eight. "You killed my mom."
The face shifts, forming a sleepy smile. Ah, but Leo. I am your mother too. The First Mother. Do not oppose me. Walk away now. Let my son Porphyrion rise and become king, and I will ease your burdens. You will tread lightly on the earth.
I grab the nearest thing I can find. A Porta-Potty seat, and throw it at the face. "Leave me alone!"
The toilet seat sinks into the earth, causing ripples in the face, and she dissolves away. From the direction of the factory, I hear a crash. Metal crumples and groans, the sound echoing across the yard. A panic sets in immediately. Theo isn't back yet. Something happened. Jason and Piper are in trouble. Theo is in trouble.
Walk away now, the voice had urged.
"Not likely." I growl. "Gimme the biggest hammer you got."
I reach into my toolbelt and pull out a three pound club hammer with a double-faced head the size of a baked potato. Then, I jump off the dragon's back and run towards the warehouse.
