THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES [J. GRACE]

NINETEEN

fire is bad, cal had told him. that pretty much summed it up. leo knew he couldn't keep the truth from his friends much longer. ever since camp half-blood, one line of that great prophecy kept coming back to him: to storm or fire the world must fall. and leo was a fire guy, the third since sixteen sixty-six when london had burned down. if he told his friends what he could really do – hey, guess what, guys? i might destroy the world! – why would anyone welcome him back at camp? leo would have to go on the run again. even though he knew that drill, the idea depressed him.

then there was khione. wow, that girl was fine. leo knew he'd acted like a total fool, but he couldn't help himself. he'd had his clothes cleaned with the one-hour valet service, which had been totally sweet, by the way. he'd combed his hair, never an easy job, and even discovered the tool bag could make breath mints, all in hopes that he could get close to her.

naturally, no such luck.

getting frozen out, story of his life, by his relatives, foster homes, you name it. even at wilderness school, leo had spent the last few weeks feeling like a third wheel as jason, and piper, his only friends, became a couple. he was happy for them and all, but still it made him feel like they didn't need him anymore.

"leo," chandler said softly, pulling him out of his thoughts. "i know exactly what you're thinking," she told him, though he still deemed it as a pretty wide claim. she fiddled with her fingers, folding them together, then taking them apart. "i've been there, but trust me, it'll be fine."

leo couldn't believe his ears. "you know how i feel? dangerous? unwanted?"

chandler nodded, a sheepish smile on her lips. "yeah, i was told about the sixteen sixty-six guy, too. it's why my cabin made it such a big thing to hide. then, when i kept getting chosen for quests, i didn't understand why. like, why would the great percy jackson need me when he's brave, and loyal, and got the super pretty, and super smart annabeth chase, and the funny, and empathic grover underwood? i felt as if they didn't need me. especially with this dangerous gift i was forced to hide."

"then, one day, percy seemed to notice all of my self doubt, and was concerned. he let me basically yell out all of my pent up feelings, and how i felt, and everything. it felt so great to let everything off my chest, and have that much trust in someone to say those things," chandler said softly. "i've been down the same path. the whole, unwanted, too dangerous to be alive, thing."

leo felt better that someone understood, so he began laying out all his feelings as they worked, and chandler listened carefully. he told her about when he'd found out that jason's whole time at school had been an illusion, a kind of a memory burp, leo had been secretly excited. it was a chance for a reset. now, jason, and piper weren't heading toward being a couple again, he had the chance he'd been waiting for. he wouldn't wind up the odd man out again.

"wait, so you want to date piper?" chandler asked him, a bit surprised at the confession.

"no, no," leo corrected, "i don't want to be the odd man out in the trio. the single, not dating anyone person. sure, i used to like piper, but she started dating jason, so that kind of went down the drain." then, he thought a moment, "well, i could try since you technically stole him from her."

chandler almost decked leo for that one, so he hurriedly continued, "but no, i don't see her that way. it was a fleeting crush i guess." but after that, there seemed to be silence. his sister wandered deep into her thoughts, and leo got so involved with his work, he wasn't sure how much time had passed before he heard the voice.

you're wrong, leo, it said. he fumbled his brush, and dropped it into the dragon's head.

"leo, you good?" chandler called to him. he stood, but he couldn't see who'd spoken. he knew it wasn't chandler, so who else could it have been? then, he looked at the ground. snow, and chemical sludge from the toilets, even the asphalt itself was shifting like it was turning to liquid. a ten-foot-wide area formed eyes, a nose, and a mouth – the giant face of a sleeping woman. "what the actual fu—"

she didn't exactly speak. her lips didn't move. but leo could hear her voice in his head, as if the vibrations were coming through the ground, straight into his feet, and resonating up his skeleton. they need you desperately, she said. in some ways, you two are the most important of the eight – like the control disk in the dragon's brain. without the children of hephaestus, the power of the others means nothing. they will never reach me, never stop me. and i will fully wake.

"you." leo was shaking so badly he wasn't sure he'd spoken aloud. he hadn't heard that voice since he was eight, but it was her: the earthen woman from the machine shop. "you killed my mom."

"i am not being paid enough for this shit," chandler said, threading her hands through her hair. "first, a titan possesses my friend, now we've got talking sludge!"

the face shifted. the mouth formed a sleepy smile like it was having a pleasant dream. 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. chandler, do you really want to save hera, the women who claimed to give you and your brother your powers? if so, why did only you, and percy jackson survive that explosion? why wasn't he fire-proof?

leo grabbed the nearest thing he could find, a porta-potty seat, and threw it at the face. "leave us alone!"

chandler laughed slightly, "i know this isn't the time, but you threw a toilet seat at her!"leo shook his head. he couldn't believe a goofball like that actually saved the world, but if she did, that left a whole lot of hope for leo. the toilet seat sank into the liquid earth. snow and sludge rippled, and the face dissolved.

leo stared at the ground, waiting for the face to reappear. but it didn't. he wanted to think he'd imagined it, but the sound of chandler cracking up was too much of a wake up call. then, from the direction of the factory, he heard a crash – like two dump trucks slamming together. metal crumpled, and groaned, and the noise echoed across the yard. instantly, he knew that jason, and piper were in trouble.

"we gotta go save them," chandler said firmly. instantly, he recalled his earlier thought; he couldn't believe a goofball like that actually saved the world. he lied. leo could see. the pure determination, the deadliness. it was insane to witness the switch flip.

walk away now, the voice had urged the pair of fire-users. "not likely," leo growled.

"go kiss a toilet seat," chandler replied dryly, and held her giant battle ax defensively.

"give me the biggest hammer you've got," leo told the belt. he reached into his tool belt and pulled out a three-pound club hammer with a head the size of a baked potato.

"awe, i'm so glad you like your gift!" chandler gushed. then, she, and leo jumped off the dragon's back, and ran toward the warehouse.