Peri's snoring ended up rousing me from my slumber, but I didn't mind too much since it was pretty cute.
Her drooling was slightly less cute, but I couldn't fault her for that. I was more concerned with the raging hard on in my pants. Typically morning wood wasn't a big deal, but typically I wasn't laying down pressed against a cute girl— especially a girl who I got to second base with. The memories of last night came rushing back and another electric surge went through my body straight to my nether regions. If anymore blood went south I'd be lightheaded for sure.
As if on cue, Peri shifted in her sleep, and her soft body rubbed against mine. The delicious friction coupled with the gentle moan she uttered as she readjusted made me rock up even harder. I knew she was just innocently trying to snuggle up into my warmth, but there was nothing but sin running through my mind.
No, Valdez! You're stronger than this. Think unsexy thoughts... Puppies, kittens, sweet old ladies who call you sugar—
"Ngh... Leoooo," Peri murmured in her sleep before wetting her lips. "Leo... mmm."
"You're fucking killing me, girl," I groaned as my meat twitched in my pants.
Her sexy sleep-ridden voice was speaking directly to that monster begging to be freed from my boxers. At this point I'd swelled so much that it was growing painful. Maybe I could just unzip my pants and give the guy some room to breathe. That wouldn't be so bad, right?
"Mmmnnn... Leo," Peri groaned my name again then commenced snoring.
"Fuck it," I carefully untangled myself from her embrace enough to free myself from the restrictive prison that is pants.
I sighed in relief and grasped the base of my manhood, squeezing slightly. I bit my lip. There was no way this one was going away on its own. I spared a glance at Peri. Even in a deep sleep she looked so pretty; peaceful and serene with those perfect lips parted. Before I realized what was happening, my hand was moving on its own, slowly stroking up and down. Somehow, the idea of Peri waking up and catching me in such an act turned me on even more, and it didn't take long for my breath to start hitching in my throat. It also didn't hurt that Peri's sweet fruity scent was wafting over me, bringing me closer to climax.
"Leo... please, Leo," Peri purred suddenly, and the sound of my name on her lips sent me over the edge.
My body trembled, and a guttural groan reverberated from my chest as I came. Fuck, I hadn't came so fast or so hard in a long while. Once my vision came back into focus, I realized that I had stupidly made a huge mess all over my nice clothes. The white stains would be difficult to explain away, so I pried myself away from Peri's sleeping form as carefully as I could (she still stirred slightly and whined my name) and stripped as I made my way to my room. After a quick shower, I'd head up to the deck and check on our progress along our journey. There was nothing worse than Coach Hedge being left at the helm for too long.
PERI'S POV
What began as a blissful dream, transformed into a hellish nightmare in the blink of an eye.
Things started off peacefully enough. I was at Camp Jupiter around a roaring campfire with all my friends on a gorgeous starry night. There was joy and laughter in the air, and we were roasting marshmallows, singing songs, and dancing happily around the open flames. Greeks and Romans, all getting along together. Deep down, I hoped that it would be possible one day. The warmth from the campfire was so gentle and kind, like a hug from an old friend. A joke was told. I laughed so hard that my eyes shut. But when I reopened my eyes, the scene had changed completely.
I was aboard the Argo, floating high in the sky. The night was quiet, but the heat from before remained. In fact, it intensified like an open, roaring flame, but there were no fires in sight. Only...
"Leo?"
"Of course," he grinned, that lovable toothy smile that set my heart alight.
"Where is everyone?" I asked, the stillness on the ship's deck so unfamiliar to me.
"Everyone?" Leo took my hands in his own, his warmth quickly enveloping my palms. "There's just you and me."
Before I could respond, he brought me in for a kiss that made my head spin. Seriously, when his lips met mine, I was hit with a wave of vertigo and struggled to stay on my feet. Leo didn't seem to mind, his arms wrapping around my waist to steady my sudden imbalance. The kiss was more rough and animalistic than any he'd ever given me before. It was like he was trying to devour me. I tried to pull away, my lungs were burning for air, but Leo's grip on my waist only got tighter and more restrictive. I started to panic, and black spots danced in the corners of my vision.
Was it possible to suffocate in a dream?
Just when I thought I'd pass out from lack of oxygen, Leo pulled back just enough to flash a wicked grin, nothing like his usual playful expression.
"What's wrong, Omega-Blood?" His voice was layered with another one, that of the earth goddess. "Don't you want to be consumed by the flames of your love?"
As Leo/Gaea spoke, the warmth that surrounded me increased to a concentrated heat. Sweat pooled on my forehead, back, upper lip, everywhere. Then to my horror and astonishment, flames grew from his fingertips, setting my skin ablaze. I could smell smoke and the stench of singed flesh.
"Leo, please!" I tried to wrench myself free from his grasp, but he had me in a death grip. "Leo, you're hurting me! You're gonna kill me!"
"Yes!" Gaea's voice had fully overtaken Leo's, and his eyes were hollow and devoid of any emotion. "You'll burn alive, Omega-Blood, and then I will kill your father. I will rise as your ashes blow away in the wind."
Leo's entire body burst into roaring flames, and he hugged me tightly despite my desperate pleas for him to let me go. Tears pressed at my eyes, but they turned to steam amongst the inferno before they could fall. Red and orange hues were all that I could see as overwhelming heat flooded all of my senses. The putrid smell of my own burning flesh. The crackling sounds of the Argo II burning underneath our feet somehow cutting through my own frantic screams. The flames licking every inch of my body, the unbearable heat eventually giving way to a whole new sensation.
Ice cold.
I woke up in the engine room, shaking violently from the cold but in a full blown sweat. When I reached out for a warm body, I found none. What troubled me most is that I felt so lonely... yet relieved. I didn't know if it was good or bad that I wasn't waking up in Leo's arms.
That coupled with Gaea creeping her peepers all up in my dreams was really getting my brain fried and scrambled. I could almost hear the sizzling of my brain cells now. Crap, I can't lose my sanity yet! We have to save Percy and Annabeth and seal the Doors of Death. Then, and only then, am I permitted to lose my shit.
I took a deep breath in, inhaling the sweet magical metals around me in order to relax my irregular heartbeat. It was unusually quiet in the engine room. I deduced that the Argo II must've come to a stop. Hopefully we weren't under attack just quite yet.
I couldn't stand being in the cold any longer, so I made my way to the bathroom and did my best to push my nightmare from my mind. The weather had warmed up, but I couldn't shake the cold, nagging feeling perpetually snaking up my spine— even after a hot shower. I supposed I just had to accept that never sleeping soundly was just part of the whole demigod deal. Though I was slowly realizing that was easier said than done.
As I was brushing my hair up into my trademark sleek high ponytail, I noticed a few bruises on my neck and gasped. My fingertips brushed over the purplish marks in disbelief. It seemed that for once, I hadn't healed overnight. Coach Hedge would surely tear me a whole new asshole if he saw the hickeys, so I donned a thin black turtleneck to cover them up. I paired it with a plaid pink pleated skirt, black thigh high socks, and Doc Martens.
I was really starting to find my own style among Piper's extensive wardrobe. Back at St. Mary's I always wore the same uniform every day for years, (save for slight seasonal changes) so at first it was a bit overwhelming having to pick outfits for myself each day. However, I've grown to enjoy this little bit of "me time" spent choosing my look of the day. It helped to center and ground me. Well, figuratively ground me. After last night, I wasn't eager to touch down on the earth.
I stared at my reflection in the vanity mirror. Though the bruises were hidden from sight, I still panicked at the idea of losing my healing abilities. That was one of the best cards up my sleeve, and I couldn't shake the feeling that it was another sign that I was growing weaker by the day. A sensation of dread washed over me, and I subconsciously found myself fiddling with the Celestial Bronze ring on my finger. Yeah, that was definitely becoming a nervous tick. My mind struggled with something to busy my hands with until a shiny glint reflecting the early light caught my eye. I grabbed the Imperial Gold dagger by my bed frame and strapped it to my thigh.
As I prepared to leave the room, I couldn't help but worry about my father and the torture he was likely enduring. I hated feeling so confused and helpless. My eyes fell to the Imperial Gold key sitting on my dresser, staring back at me mockingly. I had no idea what it could be for, but I slipped it into my skirt pocket nonetheless before heading out the door and up the stairs to the deck. The sound of my chunky boots on the floorboards was quickly overtaken by the ruckus coming from the rest of the crew.
"How can they stand the sight of them?" Piper cringed.
"They don't seem to mind them at all," Hazel replied. "But what are they?"
The Argo II was docked at a busy wharf. On one side stretched a shipping channel about half a kilometer wide. On the other spread the city of Venice—red-tiled roofs, metal church domes, steepled towers, and sun-bleached buildings in all the colors of Valentine candy hearts—red, white, ochre, pink, and orange. Everywhere there were statues of lions—on top of pedestals, over doorways, on the porticoes of the largest buildings. There were so many, I figured the lion must be the city's mascot.
Where streets should have been, green canals etched their way through the neighborhoods, each one jammed with motorboats. Along the docks, the sidewalks were mobbed with tourists shopping at the T-shirt kiosks, overflowing from stores, and lounging across acres of outdoor café tables, like pods of sea lions. I had thought Rome was full of tourists. This place was insane.
Leo and the rest of my friends weren't paying attention to any of that, though. They had gathered at the starboard rail to stare at the dozens of weird shaggy monsters milling through the crowds.
Each monster was about the size of a cow, with a bowed back like a broken-down horse, matted gray fur, skinny legs, and black cloven hooves. The creatures' heads seemed much too heavy for their necks. Their long, anteater-like snouts drooped to the ground. Their overgrown gray manes completely covered their eyes.
I watched as one of the creatures lumbered across the promenade, snuffling and licking the pavement with its long tongue. The tourists parted around it, unconcerned. A few even petted it. I wondered how the mortals could be so calm. Then the monster's appearance flickered. For a moment it turned into an old, fat beagle.
Jason grunted. "The mortals think they're stray dogs."
"Or pets roaming around," Piper said. "My dad shot a film in Venice once. I remember him telling me there were dogs everywhere. Venetians love dogs."
I frowned. I kept forgetting that Piper's dad was Tristan McLean, A-list movie star. I knew she was rich, but she didn't talk about her father much. She seemed pretty down-to-earth for a kid raised in Hollywood. Although she had gifted me countless bags of designer clothes, she always seemed to dress casually herself. Today she was wearing a simple pair of denim overalls with a scalloped hem white blouse and red converse.
"But what are they?" I repeated Hazel's question. "They look like... starving, shaggy cows with sheepdog hair."
"Maybe they're harmless," Leo suggested. "They're ignoring the mortals."
The sound of his voice gave me goosebumps. I had half expected to hear Gaea's voice come from his mouth. But that was ridiculous.
"Harmless!" Gleeson Hedge laughed. The satyr wore his usual gym shorts, sports shirt, and coach's whistle. His expression was as gruff as ever, but he still had one pink rubber band stuck in his hair from the prankster dwarfs in Bologna. "Valdez, how many harmless monsters have we met? We should just aim the ballistae and see what happens!"
"Uh, no," Leo and I said in unison.
Our eyes met, and my hand subconsciously flew up to cover the hickeys that dotted my neckline. I shook my head internally and reminded myself that my turtleneck was successfully hiding the love marks. I tried to play it off by tossing my ponytail over my shoulder, but my long hair slapped me in the face. I spit out a few stray hairs from my mouth.
Real smooth, Peri.
"We'll have to walk through those creatures and hope they're peaceful," Frank said, but his face made it seem like he was hating the idea already. "It's the only way we're going to track down the owner of that book."
Leo recovered quickly and pulled the leather-bound manual from underneath his arm. He'd slapped a sticky note on the cover with the address the dwarfs in Bologna had given him.
"La Casa Nera," he read. "Calle Frezzeria."
"The Black House," Nico di Angelo translated. "Calle Frezzeria is the street."
Frank visibly flinched when he realized Nico was at his side. I couldn't blame him too much considering how quiet and brooding di Angelo was— when the son of Hades wasn't speaking, it was almost like he dematerialized from this plane of existence. Perhaps that had something to do with how he was able to shadow travel. I wondered if there would ever be a good time for me to ask him about that.
"You speak Italian?" Frank asked.
Nico shot him a warning look, like: Watch the questions. He spoke calmly, though. "Frank is right. We have to find that address. The only way to do it is to walk the city. Venice is a maze. We'll have to risk the crowds and those…whatever they are."
Thunder rumbled in the clear summer sky. We'd passed through some storms the night before. I had thought they were over, but now I wasn't so sure. The air felt as thick and warm as sauna steam. The heat gave me flashbacks of my nightmare, and I couldn't shake the vision of being burned alive right on this very deck by my... love? That's what Gaea had called him, but was it really true?
Stop letting that dirt queen get in your head!
Jason frowned at the horizon. "Maybe I should stay on board. Lots of venti in that storm last night. If they decide to attack the ship again…"
He didn't need to finish. We'd all had experiences with angry wind spirits. Jason was the only one who had much luck fighting them.
Coach Hedge grunted. "Well, I'm out, too. If you softhearted cupcakes are going to stroll through Venice without even whacking those furry animals on the head, forget it. I don't like boring expeditions."
"It's okay, Coach." Leo grinned. "We still have to repair the foremast. Then I need your help in the engine room, Peri. I've got an idea for a new installation."
"Oh?" I smiled and told myself it shouldn't feel so forced on my face. "Yeah, of course. You can count on me."
"Well…" Piper shifted her feet. "Whoever goes should be good with animals. I, uh…I'll admit I'm not great with cows."
"I'll go," Frank said suddenly.
I nodded in approval. "Frankie boy, taking the initiative! I like it."
Leo patted him on the shoulder and handed him the leather-bound book. "Awesome. If you pass a hardware store, could you get me some two-by-fours and a gallon of tar?"
"Leo," Hazel chided, "it's not a shopping trip."
"I'll go with Frank," Nico offered.
Frank's eye twitched. "Uh…you're good with animals?"
Nico smiled without humor. "Actually, most animals hate me. They can sense death. But there's something about this city.…" His expression turned grim. "Lots of death. Restless spirits. If I go, I may be able to keep them at bay. Besides, as you noticed, I speak Italian."
Leo scratched his head. "Lots of death, huh? Personally, I'm trying to avoid lots of death, but you guys have fun!"
"I'll go too." Hazel slipped her arm through Frank's. "Three is the best number for a demigod quest, right?"
A weight seemed to lift off Frank's shoulders then, and I had feeling I could guess why. The three of them should have enough deadly power to make it back in one piece. I was confident in the son of the war god at least.
Nico stared at the canals, as if wondering what new and interesting forms of evil spirits might be lurking there. "All right, then. Let's go find the owner of that book."