Estella kept looking back. She almost expected to see those sun dragons toting a flying chariot with a screaming magical saleswoman throwing potions, but nothing followed them.
Leo was steering Festus toward the southwest. Eventually, the smoke from the burning department store faded in the distance, but Estella didn't relax until the suburbs of Chicago gave way to snowy fields, and the sun began to set.
"Good job, Festus." Leo patted the dragon's metal hide. "You did awesome."
The dragon shuddered. Gears popped and clicked in his neck.
Estella noticed Leo frown.
"I'll give you a tune-up next time we land," Leo promised. "You've earned some motor oil and Tabasco sauce."
Festus whirled his teeth, but it sounded weak to Estella. He flew at a steady pace, his great wings angling to catch the wind.
"Leo." Piper patted his shoulder. "You feeling okay?"
"Yeah ... not bad for a brainwashed zombie," Leo answered, avoiding looking behind him. "Thanks for saving us back there, beauty queen. If you hadn't talked me out of that spell—"
"Don't worry about it," Piper said.
Estella sighed. She hated what she had told Leo. She didn't even believe those words to be true—those were just words that Estella herself hated to hear, things she thought she was. Annoying. Useless. And, did Jason really mean what he said about Estella? Estella bit her lip, nerves overcoming her, the urge to forget her worries by making herself bleed was too strong.
"We're going to have to put down soon," Leo warned Jason, Estella and Piper. "Couple more hours, maybe, to make sure Medea's not following us. I don't think Festus can fly much longer than that."
"Yeah," Piper agreed. "Coach Hedge probably wants to get out of his canary cage, too."
"Where are we going?" Estella asked.
"The Bay Area," Leo said."Didn't Medea say something about Oakland?"
Piper didn't respond.
"Piper's dad," Jason put in. "Something's happened to your dad, right? He got lured into some kind of trap."
Piper let out a shaky breath. "Look, Medea said you would all die in the Bay Area. And besides ... even if we went there, the Bay Area is huge! First we need to find Aeolus and drop off the storm spirits. Boreas said Aeolus was the only one who could tell us exactly where to go."
Leo grunted. "So how do we find Aeolus?"
Jason leaned forward. "You mean you don't see it?" He pointed ahead of them, but Estella didn't see anything except clouds and the lights of a few towns glowing in the dusk.
"What?" Leo asked.
"That ... whatever it is," Jason said. "In the air."
Leo and Piper both seemed as confused as Estella felt.
"Right," Leo said. "Could you be more specific on the 'whatever-it-is' part?"
"Like a vapor trail," Jason said. "Except it's glowing. Really faint, but it's definitely there. We've been following it since Chicago, so I figured you saw it."
Leo shook his head. "Maybe Festus can sense it. You think Aeolus made it?"
"Well, it's a magic trail in the wind," Jason said. "Aeolus is the wind god. I think he knows we've got prisoners for him. He's telling us where to fly."
"Or it's another trap," Piper said.
Her tone worried Estella even more. Piper didn't just sound nervous. She sounded broken with despair, like they'd already sealed their fate, and like it was her fault.
"Are you alright, Piper?" Estella asked.
Piper stayed silent.
"If your dad's in trouble, and we could help." Leo started.
"You can't," she said, her voice getting shakier. "Look, I'm tired. If you don't mind ..."
She leaned back against Jason and closed her eyes.
Jealously bubbled in the pit of Estella's stomach. She was sitting just in front of Piper, behind Leo. Being the shortest certainly had its disadvantages—when Piper is leaning against Estella's crush.
What is wrong with you?
Estella let out a shaky breath—now was not the time for jealousy.
Leo glanced back at Estella. Estella was making a sour face so she forced a smile, but Leo didn't seem to care about that part.
"Stell, back in the sewers... you seemed to have been hiding something, is everything okay?" he asked.
This time, it was Estella's turn to stay silent. She was desperately hoping that that was long forgotten, but of course with her luck, forgetful Leo remembers.
"That's right," Jason said, leaning up a bit, careful not to disturb Piper's sleep. "Estella, did you get hurt? I saw like—a cut or something—red. I'm worried."
Estella bit her lip, her heart thudding practically out of her chest. Why is he so concerned? It's clearly not fatal if she's still alive. There's more important pressing matters.
"I'm fine," Estella told them. Why are they being so goddamn nosy? Estella forced a smile, which didn't reach her eyes. She wanted to stop being questioned.
"Estella, can you just lift up your sleeve?" Jason asked.
No. No. No.
Tears prickled at Estella's eyes, probably from pure pressure. She felt trapped and helpless. No one is supposed to know about her deepest, darkest secret, let alone her friends. What would they think of her?
A burden.
Annoying.
Pathetic.
A mistake.
Stupid.
Estella was scared. So scared. What was she supposed to do in this type of situation? She couldn't just exactly run away, not while being hundreds of feet in the air on a dragon, in between Leo and Jason, both staring at her, waiting for any type of response.
"Are you... crying?" Leo questioned.
Estella realized that tears were full on streaming down her face at this point, her breathing was heavier and shallow.
"Estella, what's wrong?" Jason asked, his voice soft and caring.
It won't be if he knew.
"I-I'm sorry..."
Estella wasn't sure what she was apologizing on. Being herself? For hurting herself? Maybe for being their friend? She wanted to pull a Piper and just dodge them by falling sleeping.
"Why are you sorry?" Jason asked.
"Estella," Leo said, in a tone that was very un Leo like, "what did you do?"
That question. That tone. Does he know?
Estella shrugged. "I-I'm tired. I want to sleep."
Jason and Leo glanced at one another, and Estella could feel a heated blush on her cheeks. Gods, she was so embarrassed and they haven't even found anything out yet.
"Get some rest, Stella," Jason just gently, and Estella sighed, leaning against Leo's back as she drifted off to sleep.
•••
Estella ran.
Her breathing was heavy but she was filled with so much adrenaline and fear, as she heard her stepfather's booming voice call after her.
She went into her room and closed the door, pressing her body against it—she didn't have a lock. Tears threatened to spill from the girl's eyes as her stepfather started banging on the door.
Estella couldn't keep him out forever. She was weak. "Bitch," he growled from outside the door, causing Estella to let out a terrified whimper.
Then the door was kicked open, causing Estella to fall backwards onto the ground. She wanted to call for her mom, as she stared up at her stepfather's angered face. But Estella knew that her mother wouldn't care.
Her stepfather scowled. And then the beating started.
Kicks and punches. Pain erupted all over Estella's body, and once her stepfather stopped beating on her, he lifted her up and threw her on her bed.
Estella started crying, knowing what was next, but that simply earned her a slap, and then he got on top of her, a smirk on his cruel, twisted face.
Estella tightened her eyes together, just wanting it to be over—and then her shirt was ripped off of her.
•••
Estella's eyes snapped open to Jason and Piper screaming, Leo screaming a bit after—having had woken up from his sleep after Estella.
Estella soon realized that they were spiraling through the dark in a free fall, still on the dragon's back, but Festus's hide was cold and his ruby eyes were dimmed.
"Not again!" Leo yelled. "You can't fall again!"
Estella clutched tightly onto Leo, who was grasping his dragon. Estella closed her eyes tightly, the wind burning, as Leo tried fixing Festus in mid air—but they were going to crash any minute.
"Jason!" Leo screamed. "Take Piper and Stell and fly out of here!"
"What?" Jason screamed back, as Estella's eyes widened. They couldn't just leave Leo.
"We need to lighten the load! I might be able to reboot Festus, but he's carrying too much weight!" Leo says.
"What about you?" Piper cried. "If you can't reboot him—"
"I'll be fine," Leo yelled. "Just follow me to the ground. Go!"
Jason grabbed Piper and Estella, with both his arms and they all unbuckled their harnesses, and in a flash they were gone—shooting into the air.
•••
"Now," Leo said. "Just you and me, Festus—and two heavy cages. You can do it, boy!"
Leo talked to the dragon while he worked, falling at terminal velocity. He could see the city lights below him, getting closer and closer. He summoned fire in his hand so he could see what he was doing, but the wind kept extinguishing it.
He pulled a wire that he thought connected the dragon's nerve center to its head, hoping for a little wake-up jolt.
Festus groaned—metal creaking inside his neck. His eyes flickered weakly to life, and he spread his wings. Their fall turned into a steep glide.
"Good!" Leo said. "Come on, big boy. Come on!"
They were still flying in way too hot, and the ground was too close. Leo needed a place to land—fast.
There was a big river—no. Not good for a fire-breathing dragon. He'd never get Festus out from the bottom if he sank, especially in freezing temperatures. Then, on the riverbanks, Leo spotted a white mansion with a huge snowy lawn inside a tall brick perimeter fence—like some rich person's private compound, all of it blazing with light. A perfect landing field. He did his best to steer the dragon toward it, and Festus seemed to come back to life. They could make this!
Then everything went wrong. As they approached the lawn, spotlights along the fence fixed on them, blinding Leo. He heard bursts like tracer fire, the sound of metal being cut to shreds—and BOOM.
When Leo came to his senses, Jason, Estella and Piper were leaning over him. He was lying in the snow, covered in mud and grease. He spit a clump of frozen grass out of his mouth.
"Where—"
"Lie still." Piper had tears in her eyes. "You rolled pretty hard when—when Festus—"
"Where is he?" Leo sat up, but his head felt like it was floating. They'd landed inside the compound. Something had happened on the way in—gunfire?
"Seriously, Leo," Jason said. "You could be hurt. You shouldn't—"
Leo pushed himself to his feet, causing Estella to yell out a, "Be careful!" Then he saw the wreckage. Festus must have dropped the big canary cages as he came over the fence, because they'd rolled in different directions and landed on their sides, perfectly undamaged.
Festus hadn't been so lucky.
The dragon had disintegrated. His limbs were scattered across the lawn. His tail hung on the fence. The main section of his body had plowed a trench twenty feet wide and fifty feet long across the mansion's yard before breaking apart. What remained of his hide was a charred, smoking pile of scraps. Only his neck and head were somewhat intact, resting across a row of frozen rosebushes like a pillow.
"No," Leo sobbed. He ran to the dragon's head and stroked its snout. The dragon's eyes flickered weakly. Oil leaked out of his ear.
"You can't go," Leo pleaded. "You're the best thing I ever fixed."
The dragon's head whirred its gears, as if it were purring. Jason, Estella and Piper stood next to him, but Leo kept his eyes fixed on the dragon.
He remembered what Hephaestus had said in the dream he had before that abrupt awakening: That isn't your fault, Leo. Nothing lasts forever, not even the best machines.
His dad had been trying to warn him.
"It's not fair," he said.
The dragon clicked. Long creak. Two short clicks. Creak. Creak. Almost like a pattern ... triggering an old memory in Leo's mind. Leo realized Festus was trying to say something. He was using Morse code—just like Leo's mom had taught him years ago. Leo listened more intently, translating the clicks into letters: a simple message repeating over and over.
"Yeah," Leo said. "I understand. I will. I promise."
The dragon's eyes went dark. Festus was gone.
Leo cried. He wasn't even embarrassed. His friends stood on either side, patting his shoulders, saying comforting things; but the buzzing in Leo's ears drowned out their words.
Finally Jason said, "I'm so sorry, man. What did you promise Festus?"
Leo sniffled. He opened the dragon's head panel, just to be sure, but the control disk was cracked and burned beyond repair.
"Something my dad told me," Leo said. "Everything can be reused."
"Your dad talked to you?" Jason asked.
"When was this?" Estella questioned.
Leo didn't answer. He worked at the dragon's neck hinges until the head was detached. It weighed about a hundred pounds, but Leo managed to hold it in his arms. He looked up at the starry sky and said, "Take him back to the bunker, Dad. Please, until I can reuse him. I've never asked you for anything."
The wind picked up, and the dragon's head floated out of Leo's arms like it weighed nothing. It flew into the sky and disappeared.
Piper looked at him in amazement. "He answered you?"
"I had a dream," Leo managed. "Tell you later."
He knew he owed his friends a better explanation, but Leo could barely speak. He felt like a broken machine himself—like someone had removed one little part of him, and now he'd never be complete. He might move, he might talk, he might keep going and do his job. But he'd always be off balance, never calibrated exactly right.
Still, he couldn't afford to break down completely. Otherwise, Festus had died for nothing. He had to finish this quest—for his friends, for his mom, for his dragon.
He looked around. The large white mansion glowed in the center of the grounds. Tall brick walls with lights and security cameras surrounded the perimeter, but now Leo could see—or rather sense—just how well those walls were defended.
"Where are we?" he asked. "I mean, what city?"
"Omaha, Nebraska," Piper said. "I saw a billboard as we flew in. But I don't know what this mansion is. We came in right behind you, but as you were landing, Leo, I swear it looked like—I don't know—"
"Lasers," Leo said. He picked up a piece of dragon wreckage and threw it toward the top of the fence. Immediately a turret popped up from the brick wall and a beam of pure heat incinerated the bronze plating to ashes.
Jason whistled. "Some defense system."
"How is it possible that we all survived that?" Estella wondered.
"Festus," Leo said miserably. "He took the fire. The lasers sliced him to bits as he came in so they didn't focus on you. I led him into a death trap."
"You couldn't have known," Piper said. "He saved our lives again."
"But what now?" Jason said. "The main gates are locked, and I'm guessing I can't fly us out of here without getting shot down."
Leo looked up the walkway at the big white mansion. "Since we can't go out, we'll have to go in."