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Thank you soo much for your lovely reviews, they make me so happy and give me the
motivation to continue with this story! I'm really grateful for every single reader I have, like
seriously, you guys are wonderful!
I still haven't transformed into Rick Riordan, but I hope you enjoy
this chapter nevertheless!
* hugs you all *

Chapter fifty-two: Banishing Al Basti
~Leo's POV~

After experiencing the same dream again, the one where the red demon lady chased him and whispered horrible things, Leo thought he had an idea how to get rid of the monster and thus hopefully be able to get down those cliffs.
When the first rays of sunshine lit up the world around him, Leo started to work, summoning
different tools from his belt, fixing them together. When he finished, there was a small nozzle
in his hand, which he could fix onto his water flask and which enabled him to spray a thin sheen
of water into the air. He looked for the best spot, somewhere where there was a lot of sunshine,
and then got out a golden drachma from his pocket.
Please let this work he prayed to whatever god would hear him, and with a deep breath, threw the coin into the rainbow mist. "Oh goddess, accept my offering and show me Callister Abernath at Camp Half-Blood."
The coin disappeared, but nothing happened. For one moment Leo feared it hadn't worked, but then a grainy image of a pale blond boy appeared before him.
"Cal!" Leo cried, happy for the first time in his life to see this head.
The boy turned around, obviously shocked. He was in his cabin, pouring over ancient looking books.
"Valdez?" he asked, disbelief on his face.
"Yeah. Listen, Cal, I need a favour."
"And why would I do anything for you?" the son of Hecate sneered, and Leo couldn't believe how anybody could be so unpleasant. But he wouldn't be fazed. He didn't have a lot of water left, and
he knew this was his only chance.
"You should help me because I'm trying to rescue your sister. Now listen: You have to tell me
what you know about a Turkish red demon lady monster. You studied Turkish history, didn't you? That time you used that old spell book but you translated the Arabian wrong, and we all ended up in pink-"
"Yes, yes Valdez I know what you mean." Cal snapped.
"Good. You have to tell me everything you know about it. And quick!"
For one moment, Leo thought Callister would simply cut the call short. He looked at Leo, and through the grainy image, Leo couldn't exactly make out his expression. It might have been disinterest, but it could also have been weariness.
Then, Cal opened his mouth. "The monster you are referring to is the Al Basti, I believe. A female demon, rumoured to live in western Turkish areas, the Al Basti feeds on guilt, and is drawn to those filled with regret. It will suck your strength, enter your dreams, and leave you feeling feverish in the morning. If you do not come to terms with your guilt, the Al Basti will eventually suck you dry."
Cal finished, looking grave. "I hope this information is what you where looking for?"
"Yes!" Leo cried, pushing away the queasiness that had entered his stomach. "Thank you Cal, you just saved my life."
The pale boy didn't respond, and for a moment Leo thought he saw a flicker of something that could have been hope pass over Callister's face.
But Leo's time was up, the water flask could barely produce a last squirt of drops.
"Valdez?" Cal asked, obviously sensing their call was almost over. "Yeah?"
"I hope...I hope you save my s-"
The image disappeared, leaving Leo feeling oddly sympathetic with the boy he usually found so creepy. Leo was sure Cal had been about to say sister, and he answered, although the connection to Camp Half-Blood was no longer there, "I promise to do my best, Cal."
For a minute, Leo sat there, letting the sun warm his face, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. Then, firmly, he got up and walked back towards the ledge, stopping a few feet away from the drop.
"It wasn't my fault." he said, loudly and clearly, so that everyone could hear. Not that there was anybody there, except for a little black bird which swooped from the sky, hovered in the air for a second, and then took back off.
Nothing happened, the cliffs looked as unmanageable as ever, and the minutes were ticking by, bringing Leo closer to the deadline that was noon.
Clearing his throat, Leo tried picturing the guilt he felt, instead of denying it. Cal had said the demon was attracted by guilt and regret, and Leo had plenty of that.
If he could draw the demon to him, maybe he could fight it. In his minds eye, he saw his mother, the ruined city of New Rome, Percy and Annabeth, Echo, the crew of the Argo II, and most painful of all, Penelope. He pictured everything he felt guilty for doing, and every person he thought he'd let down. It caused him so much pain, Leo almost fell to the ground, but he fought and stood his ground.
And then the images in his mind started to move, transforming from mere pictures to full length movies.
His mother was caught in a burning room, desperately trying to get out. "Leo, mi hijo, why didn't you control your fire?! Why are you burning me?!" she screamed, looking at him accusingly. "Mum!" Leo called, stepping forward.
The scene changed, and Leo saw a burnt city before him, and an army marching on Camp Half-Blood. "We're all going to die because of you!" his friends back home called, and they pushed him away, before being attacked by a vault of Roman arrows.
Another shift: Percy and Annabeth, surrounded by monsters in a dark cavern reeking of death. "Leo!" Annabeth yelled, while Percy brought out Riptide and slashed it towards Leo. "You made us fall! You broke open the cookie!" "No!" Leo cried, trying to duck. He couldn't, and the bronze blade flew towards him, but before it connected, the scene changed again and there was an echo, echoing a million times around him "Didn't save me, didn't save me, didn't save me, didn't save me" And now the crew was there, adding to the din. "Left us! Left us! Lefts us!"
"Stop!" Leo yelled, covering his hands with his ears. Yet the sound wasn't just around him, it was inside his head, filling his brain, making it feel ready to explode.
For a moment Leo thought it had, as everything turned black. Complete silence filled the air, there wasn't even a sound of breath, though Leo felt his own chest rising and sinking heavily.
He thought for a moment he was safe, but then he saw her. Right there in front of him, ghostly pale, floating with her face turned towards him, her eyes closed. She was unmistakably dead, and it was his fault. This made him hurt worse than anything else, except maybe his mother's death. They were both dead because of him. He should die too, he should run forward right now, so he could fall down that cliff and end his misery.
"Stop!" A voice cried, and Penelope's eyes flew open. They weren't their normal shade of bright turquoise however, but glowed a shining white instead, like the spirit Leo had met before.
"Hero, You must realise these things were beyond your control. You couldn't have changed them. You must banish the Al Basti, give it no more guilt to feast upon."
Leo heard the voice, but couldn't react. He was so empty, so miserable. Please let this end...
"Fight!" Penelope cried, sounding for a second like herself, and Leo saw a flash of
piercing turquoise.
Penelope. He remembered. He was fighting for Penelope. And that was all that mattered.
"It wasn't my fault." Leo said, and his voice came out quieter than he'd intended it to. Again, images started, but he ignored them.
"Gaia killed my mother. The eidolon possessed me and fired on New Rome. Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus, and maybe because of my fortune cookie, but I will save them. Echo chose to stay. The crew will be fine without me for a while." With each sentence he uttered, the scenes grew fainter, and his conscience cleared. "And I am going to bring Penelope back. We're going to be together again." This last sentence came out so forcefully and full of conviction, that it made the darkness around him shatter, a million little fragments dissolving in a fresh wind.
With sudden strength, Leo opened his eyes again, half expecting to see the demon that had planted the images in his mind. But it was nowhere to be found, and when Leo looked straight ahead, he saw that he was no longer standing at the top of the deadly cliffs, but in front of a marble gate.
He had made it, he had banished the monster Al Basti and overcome his guilt.
Maybe the cliffs had been an illusion all along, but it didn't matter. Leo felt stronger than ever,
and his heart filled with new hope as he took in the sight of the ruins before him.
Only they weren't ruins any more.
Folding out in front of Leo was an ancient Greek temple sight, with beautiful little buildings and arches and pillars, all gleaming a snowy white in the sunshine.

All except for one, right at the end.
The magnificent temple stood on an elevated platform, and was perfectly round.
It's fascade glinted, not white, but the deepest, most darkest black, as black as the night.
His heart beating fast, Leo stepped through the welcoming arch and towards the building which he knew he must enter.
All he could do now was pray, and hope that Hecate would not kill him for coming to take her daughter away.