MELANCHOLY [1]

TWELVE

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twelve
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THE MOMENT LEO SHOUTED IN VICTORY, he collapsed, groaning. Via and Piper called out to him, trying to get him to stand up. Leo staggered around, and finally freed Piper and Via from the chains. Together they lowered Jason, who was still unconscious.

Via tackled Leo with a hug. "You're a freaking genius, you are!"

Leo chuckled. "It was no biggie."

Impulsively, Via kissed him on his cheek. Turning to Jason, she didn't see Leo flush a deep red. She managed to trickle a little nectar into Jason's mouth, and he groaned. The welt on his head started to shrink. His colour came back a little.

"Yeah, he's got a nice thick skull," Via said. "He'll be fine."

"Thank god," Piper sighed. Then she looked at Leo with something like fear. "How did you—the fire—have you always...? And Via, you knew...?"

Via nodded. Leo looked down. "Always," he said. "I'm a freaking menace. Sorry, I should have told you sooner but—"

"Sorry?" Piper punched his arm. She was grinning. "That was amazing, Valdez! You saved our lives, what are you sorry about? Via, how long have you known?"

"He had to use his fire against Festus in the woods, when we repaired him." Via confessed. "That's how we survived. Because he's immune. Which is super cool, by the way." She grinned, motioning to Leo.

Leo blinked. He started to smile, but he looked down, next to Piper's foot.

Yellow dust— the powdered remains of one of the Cyclopes— was shifting across the floor like an invisible wind was pushing it back together.

"They're forming again," Leo said. "Look."

Piper and Via collectively stepped away from the dust. "That's not possible," Via said, confused, "once monsters are killed, they can't return from Tartarus for a long time. They definitely can't return in two minutes."

"Apparently, the dust doesn't know that." Leo said. Via watched as it collected into a pile, and then very slowly spread out, forming into a shape with arms and legs.

"Oh, god." Piper turned pale. "Boreas said something about this— the earth yielding up horrors. 'When monsters no longer stay in Tartarus, and souls are no longer confined to Hades. How long do you think we have?"

Via's thoughts turned to the sleeping woman from the ground. She was definitely a horror from the earth.

"I don't know." Leo said. "But we need to get out of here."

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Behind Via, Jason snapped awake. "Cyclops!"