The Lost Hero: My Version

Leo

Leo's tour was going great until he learned about the dragon.

The archer dude, Will Solace, seemed pretty cool; everything he showed Leo was so amazing it should have been illegal. Real Greek warships moored at the beach that sometimes-had practice fights with flaming arrows and explosives? Sweet! Arts-and-crafts sessions where you can make sculptures with chainsaws and blowtorches? He was like, sign me up! The woods were stacked with dangerous monsters and no one should ever go in there alone? Nice! And the camp was overflowing with fine-looking girls, not like Piper wasn't one, she obviously was but Leo saw her as a sister.

He didn't quite understand all this related-to-the-gods stuff, but he hoped that didn't mean he was cousins with all these ladies. Wait- he and Piper might actually be siblings! He knew it! Will showed him the awesome cabins, dining pavilion and sword arena.

"Do I get a sword?" Leo asked.

Will glanced at him like he found the idea disturbing. "You'll probably make your own, seeing as you're in cabin nine."

"Yeah, what's up with that? Where's Piper and Jason going to go?"

"Your dad's Hephaestus." He started to explain.

"Festus?" He had heard somebody say that before, but was still dismayed. "Sounds like the god of cowboys."

"He-phaestus." Will corrected before continuing. "God of blacksmiths and fire."

Leo had heard that too but he was trying not to think about it; the god of fire... seriously? Considering what had happened to him mum, this seemed like some kind of sick joke.

"So, flaming hammer. Good or bad thing?"

Will took a while to answer. "You were claimed really quickly, usually that's a good thing."

"But that Rainbow Pony dude -Butch- he mentioned a curse?"

"Ah... look, it's nothing. Since Cabin Nine's last head counsellor died- "

"Died? Like, painfully?"

"I ought to let your bunkmates tell you about it."

"Yeah, where are my home dawgs? Shouldn't their counsellor be giving me a VIP tour?"

"He, um, can't. You'll see why." He forged on ahead before Leo could ask any more questions.

"Curses and death." Leo muttered to himself, "This just gets better and better."

He was halfway across the green when he spotted his old babysitter and she was not the kind of person he expected to see at a demigod camp. Leo froze in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" concern creped its way into Will's voice.

Tía Callida -Auntie Callida. That's what she'd called herself, but Leo hadn't seen her since he was five years old; she was just standing there, in the shadow of a large white cabin at the end of the green, watching him. He hadn't even thought about her since he and Piper came up with a stupid ongoing joke about the things she did, which they soon stopped because Jason joined and they didn't want to make him feel left out or explain the whole story. So, the joke faded and she left his mind completely.

She wore her black linin widow's dress with a black shawl pulled over her hair. Her face hadn't changed: leathery skin, piercing dark eyes, her withered hands were like claws. She appeared ancient, but no different to how Leo remembered.

"That old lady..." Leo said through the corner of his mouth. "What's she doing here?"

Will tried to follow his gaze. "What old lady?"