Inferno (Leo Valdez x OC) (2)

I don't think flying a warship is a great first impression

Just in case some of you didn't notice the (2) in the title (don't worry I've done it too), this is the second book in the Wildfire series so if you haven't already, please read the first one. It's called Wildfire if you haven't guessed by the series' name. If you've read the first one then hi again! Hope you enjoy :)

Until I met the exploding statue, I thought I was prepared for anything. I'd spent most of the flight sat beside Leo, watching Annabeth pace the deck or Piper muttering charmspeak under her breath. I'd only left to help Annabeth lecture Coach Hedge about staying on the ship or to listen to Annabeth repeat the plan a thousand times. And the backup plan. And the backup plan for the backup plan.

The warship descended through the clouds and I couldn't help but second-guess coming to the camp. What if the Romans panicked and attacked us on sight? A giant flying Greek warship definitely wouldn't look friendly to a legion of Roman demigods. Especially not with the amount of ballistae and the giant bronze dragon figurehead that could breathe fire.

Too late to turn back now.

The clouds broke beneath the hull, revealing the gold-and-green carpet of the Oakland Hills below us. I watched as Annabeth's knuckles turned white as she gripped the railing tightly.

Beside me, Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling with levers. Most helmsmen probably would've been satisfied with a simple pilot's wheel but I guess Leo couldn't be counted as 'most helmsmen'.

He'd installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls, a dubstep soundboard and motion control sensors from a Nintendo Wii. He could turn the ship by pulling on the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album or raise the sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast.

Until Leo came to Camp, Percy, the Stoll brothers and I had wrestled for the title of most ADHD demigod at Camp, however, now it was clear Leo beat us all, by a long shot.

Piper was still pacing along the deck, mumbling her lines. "Lower your weapons, we just want to talk."

Her charmspeak had rapidly improved after returning from our quest and she had even managed to convince some of the Hecate kids to start a food fight, although it's highly likely they wanted to do that anyway.

For a child of Aphrodite, she preferred to play down her beauty. She wore tattered jeans, worn trainers and a white shirt with hello kitty designs on, which could have been a joke but it was hard to tell with Piper. Her hair was no longer cut as choppy and was instead braided with an eagle's feather.

Then there was Piper's boyfriend – Jason. He stood at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were even whiter than Annabeth's, clutching the hilt of his golden sword. Otherwise, he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target. Over his jeans and orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, he'd donned a toga and a purple cloak – symbols of his old rank as praetor.

He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would at least make the Romans hesitate before blowing us to bits.

Annabeth tried to hide it but I could tell she still didn't trust Jason fully. It could've been because he was Roman. It could've been a resentment for being swapped with her boyfriend. Whatever it was, I didn't believe her. Jason had saved my life enough times that I trusted him to have my back in a fight. Although I wasn't entirely sure what would happen if he had to choose between us and the Romans.

Annabeth tensed beside me and I frowned.

"Annie?" I asked tentatively. She'd been jumpy the whole trip, probably nerves for seeing Percy again but she had been acting strangely for around a month now and refused to tell me anything.