Heroes of Olympus - The Blood of Olympus (Discontinued)

Chapter 5 - Leo

Chapter 5 - Leo

Forget monsters, titans, giants, and crazy Gladiator Hosts dressed in pinstripe suits. Leo would've settled for another hydraulic game of death with Ma Gasket right then. Ozzie's words still rang in his head, "the deadliest game of Capture the Flag ever devised."  What genius thought he could attract game contenders by loudly announcing it was the 'deadliest ever'? 

Seriously... Leo wanted to shove the end of his sledgehammer down Ozzie's beefy throat. 

He shifted his weight on the back of his hippocampus, and looked over at his friends. He was at the end of the row, the other demigods all lined up at his left. 

Annabeth shifted next to him, mounted on her steed, her ivory sword gripped tightly in her grasp. Percy sat next to her, muttering quietly into her ear. She was nodding slowly, her eyes closed, her breathing deep. Obviously, Percy was trying to reassure her, to comfort her before things got ugly. Leo leaned forward, and saw Jason and Frank engaged in quiet conversations with Piper and Hazel as well.

Suddenly, Leo felt a twinge of jealousy and sadness. Where was his beloved? Why wasn't he with her now, holding her hand and breathing in her sweet scent. He felt all by himself, alone with nobody to hold on to, to keep him going, to help him move forward from the dark corners of his mind. He closed his eyes, and was almost welcomed by the warm image of Calypso, her eyes gazing into his, her long, cinnamon colored hair swirling around her shoulders. "I'm coming back for you, Calypso," he remembered speaking these words as his small raft drifted away from the island of Ogygia, the tingles of her kiss still hanging from his lips. "I swear it on the River Styx." He realized now how stupid that promise sounded. No man ever returned to that island twice. Not even if Khione loaded him into a rocket launcher and blasted him straight in that direction with tracking devices latched all over his clothes, their sensors locked on Ogygia, could he find it a second time. 

Yet, Leo felt a strange sensation flood through him that he very rarely felt. He only experienced this feeling once before, and that was during the time when he worked all night rebuilding Festus's control disk in the dark woods that lay beyond Camp Half-Blood: an unbroken bond of sheer determination. He was going to return to Ogygia. This is what Ozzie's stupid test signified for him. He wasn't going to win this game of Capture the Flag so the seven could continue sailing across the Mediterranean. He was going to win this game so he can live another day to return to Ogygia, and free Calypso from her eternal prison (even if it was a paradise of an island).

Ozzie's booming voice jerked him back to reality. "The seven half-bloods are Team Red!"

Suddenly, Leo felt a weight drop onto his head, and felt the straps of a Greek war helmet latch around his chin. He brushed his hand along the top, and felt the soft, frizzled ends of a horse hair plume. Looking to his left, he saw all his friends wearing red-plumed helmets as well. Gripping his sledge hammer tightly, Leo looked straight ahead at Ozzie and Teddi, still standing on the island in the center of the arena.

"And now, Ladies and Gentleman..." Ozzie bellowed, and the crowd all around them began to grow silent. "May I introduce you to... the warriors of Team Black!" He swept his arm to other side of the coliseum. The crowd roared, stomping their feet, and waving their arms; and at the opposite end of the arena, past the coves, islands, and other floating obstacles, a small army appeared out of thin air.

A squad of giant sea horses burst from the water, their riders resembling Nereids and sea Nymphs. About thirty of them appeared, lined up in two rows of fifteen. Their eyes glowed green, their skin consisting of blue and purple scales, their hair running in black braids down their shoulders, linked with coral, starfish, and sea shells. Even from so far away, Leo could see them baring rows of razor sharp teeth, and hear the clatter of bone weapons, hardened lances, and swords made from whales' ribs. The army roared in unison, and the deafening noise drowned out the entire coliseum.