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7. Cabin Three
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Lorna made her way back to her Cabin. She sighed the minute she entered the cabin. It was a low gray building hewn from sea stone, with shells and coral fossils imprinted in the rock. Inside, it was just as empty as always, except for her and Percy's bunk. A Minotaur horn hung on the wall next to Percy's pillow. His candy wrappers and chip bags still on his bunk, his armor for capture the flag lying in pieces all around his side of the cabin.
When they first arrived at camp, they had made an imaginary line that they could not cross. Percy's side was always dirty and Lorna's was relatively neat. It was always a trouble for cabin inspectors- they would have to endure the twin's fighting.
Lorna bit her lip and tried not to cry. She made her way towards Percy's bed. It wasn't made, the pillows were slanted and the blanket was on the floor. She sat on the bed. These few days she could sleep perfectly well. Percy and Lorna shared dreams, and recently, she never got any. Lorna didn't know whether it was a good or bad sign. She hated that everyone thought she didn't care for Percy. Sure, she knew Percy wasn't in danger but she still missed him. Terribly.
Lorna didn't realize it but she fell asleep on her brother's bed. She woke up and got ready for the quest. She packed nectar, ambrosia and extra change of clothing. She wore her usual orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, a pair of thin sweatpants and a windbreaker. She got her backpack and headed out.
Lorna made her way to the dining pavilion, everyone was shouting 'it's back'. Lorna didn't know what they were talking about until she saw the dragon swooping down from the sky.
Piper ran up next to Lorna. "Leo?" She yelled.
Sure enough, there he was, sitting atop a giant bronze death machine and grinning like a lunatic. Even before he landed, the camp alarm went up. A conch horn blew. All the satyrs started screaming, "Don't kill me!" Half the camp ran outside in a mixture of pajamas and armor.
The dragon set down right in the middle of the green, and Leo yelled, "It's cool! Don't shoot!"
Hesitantly, the archers lowered their bows. The warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. They made a loose wide ring around the metal monster. Other demigods hid behind their cabin doors or peeped out the windows. Nobody seemed anxious to get close. Lorna couldn't blame them. The dragon was huge. It glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture —different shades of copper and bronze—a sixty-foot-long serpent with steel talons and drill-bit teeth and glowing ruby eyes. It had bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic sails, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.
"It's wow," Lorna muttered.
The other demigods stared at her like she was insane. The dragon reared its head and shot a column of fire into the sky. Lorna got ready to douse it with water as campers scrambled away and hefted their weapons, but Leo slid calmly off the dragon's back. He held up his hands like he was surrendering, except he still had that crazy grin on his face.
"People of Earth, I come in peace!" he shouted.
He looked like he'd been rolling around in the campfire. His army coat and his face were smeared with soot. His hands were grease-stained, and he wore a new tool belt around his waist. His eyes were bloodshot. His curly hair was so oily it stuck up in porcupine quills, and he smelled strangely of Tabasco sauce. But he looked absolutely delighted.
"Festus is just saying hello!"
"That thing is dangerous!" an Ares girl shouted, brandishing her spear. "Kill it now!"
"Stand down!" someone ordered. To Lorna's surprise, it was Jason. He pushed through the crowd, flanked by Annabeth and Nyssa. Jason gazed up at the dragon and shook his head in amazement.
"Leo, what have you done?"
"Found a ride!" Leo beamed. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"
"It—has wings," Nyssa stammered. Her jaw looked like it might drop off her face.
"Yeah!" Leo said. "I found them and reattached them."
"But it never had wings. Where did you find them?"
Leo hesitated, and Lorna could tell he was hiding something.
"In ... the woods," he said. "Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire."
"Mostly?" Nyssa asked.
The dragon's head twitched. It tilted to one side and a stream of black liquid—maybe oil, hopefully just oil—poured out of its ear, all over Leo.
"Just a few kinks to work out," Leo said.
"But how did you survive ... ?" Nyssa was still staring at the creature in awe. "I mean, the fire breath ..."
"I'm quick," Leo said. "And lucky. Now, am I on this quest, or what?"
Jason scratched his head. "You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, 'festus' means 'happy'? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?"
The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped his wings.
"That's a yes, bro!" Leo said. "Now, um, I'd really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the —um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous."
"Festus is literally a weapon itself." Lorna shouted.
Jason frowned. "We haven't planned anything yet. We can't just—"
"Go," Annabeth said. She and Lorna were the only ones who didn't look nervous at all. Annabeth's expression was sad and wistful, like this reminded her of better times. "Jason, you've only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!"
Jason nodded. Then he smiled at Piper. "You ready?"
"You bet," she said.
Jason faced Lorna and raised his eyebrows. Lorna sighed. "Just like old times."
Lorna looked at the bronze dragon wings shining against the sky, and those talons that could've shredded her to pieces.
Flying on the dragon was the worst experience ever, Lorna thought. Up high, the air was freezing cold; but the dragon's metal hide generated so much heat, it was like they were flying in a protective bubble. Talk about seat warmers! And the grooves in the dragon's back were designed like high-tech saddles, so they weren't uncomfortable at all. Leo showed them how to hook their feet in the chinks of the armor, like in stirrups, and use the leather safety harnesses cleverly concealed under the exterior plating. They sat single file: Leo in front, then Piper, then Lorna, then Jason, and Lorna was very aware of Jason right behind her.
Leo used the reins to steer the dragon into the sky like he'd been doing it all his life. The metal wings worked perfectly, and soon the coast of Long Island was just a hazy line behind them. They shot over Connecticut and climbed into the gray winter clouds. Leo grinned back at them.
"Cool, right?"
"No. No, not cool." Lorna shut her eyes and muttered prayers.
"Why so tense, Marlin."
"Marlin? Are you serious? I'm going to die."
"Fine, Bonito."
"That's a fish."
"It also means beautiful in spanish." Leo said and Festus suddenly surged forward, making Lorna scream.
"What if we get spotted?" Piper asked.
"The Mist," Jason said. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."
"You sure about that?" Piper asked.
"No," he admitted.
I looked back and saw he was clutching a photo in his hand—a picture of Thalia.
"Thalia?" Lorna asked.
"Oh, um. . . I found this in my cabin. . . Annabeth said she's my half sister."
Lorna whistled. "Sure is. She's a hunter of Artemis now. They're so cool. I wanted to join but I had a stupid prophecy."
Jason gave Lorna a quizzical look.
"Percy and I were the twins mentioned in the last great prophecy. Long story. I'm too lazy to explain."
Jason nodded. "We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight."
"Where are we heading?" Piper asked.
"To find the god of the North Wind," Jason said. "And chase some storm spirits."