Bookmark (New and Improved)

Leo XXXVII

"Leo XXXVII," Apollo read.

The demigods grumbled and whispered complaints to each other about the last chapter's cliff-hanger.

"Guys, relax. This chapter is just as important as Annabeth's." Will chastised. After all, Leo, Hazel, and Frank were the ones who were supposed to scout ahead and look for Nico.

"Yeah, but I wish that the book had just wrapped things up before moving on to Leo's point-of-view," Percy frowned. "It's so annoying that we have to wait."

"It'll be over before you know it," the son of Apollo tried to comfort.

"Easy for you to say," Leo grumbled, looking just as happy as the other demigods. He flipped a penny he found in his pocket.

LEO WISHED HE WASN'T SO GOOD. Apollo's eyebrows furrowed.

The demigods stopped complaining and blinked. It was jarring to see such a sentence after the last scene they read.

"It's a blessing and a curse." Leo agreed, dramatically placing a hand over his chest.

Really, sometimes it was just embarrassing. If he hadn't had such an eye for mechanical stuff, they might never have found the secret chute, gotten lost in the underground, and been attacked by metal dudes. But he just couldn't help himself.

"Attacked?" Hephaestus picked up.

"What's going on?" Poseidon worriedly said, thinking about Frank.

"I feel like I just blacked out and missed the whole chapter," Nico said, grimacing as he wondered what dangers his friends were in. "What's happening?"

Part of it was Hazel's fault. For a girl with super underground senses, she wasn't much good in Rome. She kept leading them around and around the city, getting dizzy, and doubling back.

Will frowned in concern. "Is she alright?"

"She should be fine," Nico reassured. "It must be hard for her to sense me with all the tunnels underground."

"Sorry," she said. "It's just...there's so much underground here, so many layers, it's overwhelming. Like standing in the middle of an orchestra and trying to concentrate on a single instrument. I'm going deaf."

"It's giving me a headache just thinking about it," Chris said, holding his forehead.

As a result, they got a tour of Rome. Frank seemed happy to plod along like a big sheepdog (hmm, Leo wondered if he could turn into one of those, or even better: a horse that Leo could ride).

Ares/Mars glared at Leo.

Said boy rolled his eyes at his remark. Great, more of my 'funny' jokes.

But Leo started to get impatient. His feet were sore, the day was sunny and hot, and the streets were choked with tourists.

"Sounds like a typical day in Rome," Hermes said. "That place is always crowded."

...They passed big churches, freestanding arches, clothing stores, and fast-food restaurants. One statue of some Ancient Roman dude seemed to be pointing to a nearby McDonald's.

"How convenient," Travis snickering 

..."I never thought I'd get to see Rome," Hazel said. "When I was alive, I mean the first time, Mussolini was in charge. We were at war."

The gods grimaced.

Some of the demigods winced at the reminder.

"Yeah, I can't imagine there were a lot of Americans who would travel to Italy at that time," Katie said, frowning slightly.