LEO'S POV

Tour groups came and went.

Most ignored the three of us. A few people glanced at us apprehensively and kept walking. Maybe the tourists thought we would ask for tips.

For some reason, I could unnerve people when I grinned.

The three American manatees were still hanging out in the middle of the room. One of them wore a T-shirt that said ROMA, as if he'd forget what city he was in if he didn't wear it. Every once in a while, he would glance over at our trio like he found our presence distasteful.

Something about that dude bothered me. I wished Hazel would hurry up.

"She talked to me earlier," Frank said abruptly. "Hazel told me you figured out about my lifeline."

I felt Peri stiffen beside me.

My eyes unglazed, and I stirred from people watching. I had almost forgotten that Frank was standing there too.

"Your lifeline…oh, the burning stick. Right." I resisted the urge to set my hand ablaze and yell: Bwah ha ha! The idea was sort of funny, but I wasn't that cruel.

"Look, man," I said. "It's cool. I'd never do anything to put you in danger. We're on the same team."

Frank fiddled with his centurion badge. "I always knew fire could kill me, but since my grandmother's mansion burned down in Vancouver…it seems a lot more real."

I nodded. I felt sympathy for Frank, but the guy didn't make it easy when he talked about his family mansion. Sort of like saying, I crashed my Lamborghini, and waiting for people to say, Oh, you poor baby!

Of course I didn't tell him that. "Your grandmother—did she die in that fire? You didn't say."

"I—I don't know. She was sick, and pretty old. She said she would die in her own time, in her own way. But I think she made it out of the fire. I saw this bird flying up from the flames."

Peri had been relatively quiet up to this point, but then she asked, "So your whole family has the shape-changing thing?"

"I guess," Frank said. "My mom did. Grandmother thought that's what got her killed in Afghanistan, in the war. Mom tried to help some of her buddies, and…I don't know exactly what happened. There was a firebomb."

I winced with sympathy. "So we both lost our moms to fire."

I hadn't been planning on it, but I told Frank the whole story of the night at the workshop when Gaea had appeared to me, and my mother had died. Peri slid her hand into mine as I spoke, and I squeezed it appreciatively.

Frank's eyes got watery. "I never like it when people tell me, Sorry about your mom."

"It never feels genuine," I agreed.

"But I'm sorry about your mom."

"Thanks."

There was still no sign of Hazel.

The American tourists continued milling around the Pantheon. They seemed to be circling closer, like they were trying to sneak up on Raphael's tomb without it noticing.

"Back at Camp Jupiter," Frank said, "our cabin Lar, Reticulus, told me I have more power than most demigods, being a son of Mars, plus having the shape-changing ability from my mom's side. He said that's why my life is tied to a burning stick. It's such a huge weakness that it kind of balances things out."

Peri nodded gravely. She had been gazing into an Imperial Gold shield with a lion's face carved on the front decorated with all kinds of jewels. If I shifted side to side I could see her face reflected there. It looked deadly serious.

"I have more fatal flaws than anyone else. Since I'm the Omega-Blood or whatever," she idly traced the omega tattoo on the inside of her arm. "The sea, the earth, children of Aphrodite... and who knows what else."

I remembered my conversation with Nemesis the revenge goddess at the Great Salt Lake. She'd said something similar about wanting the scales to balance. Good luck is a sham. True success requires sacrifice.

Her fortune cookie was still in my tool belt, waiting to be opened.

Soon you will face a problem you cannot solve, though I could help you…for a price.

I wished I could pluck that memory out of my head and shove it in my tool belt. It was taking up too much space.

"We've all got weaknesses," I said finally. "Me, for instance. I'm tragically funny and good-looking."

Peri and Frank both snorted, but I saw smiles cross their faces, even if for an instant.

"At least your life doesn't depend on a piece of firewood."

"You got me there, Frankie boy," Peri admitted.

I started thinking: if Frank's problem were my problem, how would I solve it? Almost every design flaw could be fixed. "I wonder…"

I looked across the room and my voice died in my throat. The three American tourists were coming our way; no more circling or sneaking. They were making a straight line for Raphael's tomb, and all three were glaring at me.

"Uh, guys?" I asked. "Has it been ten minutes yet?"

The pair followed my gaze.

The Americans' faces were angry and confused, like they were sleepwalking through a very annoying nightmare.

"Leo Valdez," called the guy in the ROMA shirt. His voice had changed. It was hollow and metallic. He spoke English as if it was a second language. "We meet again."

All three tourists blinked, and their eyes turned solid gold.

Peri yelped. "Eidolons!"

The manatees clenched their beefy fists. Normally, I wouldn't have worried about getting murdered by overweight guys in floppy hats, but I suspected the eidolons were dangerous even in those bodies, especially since the spirits wouldn't care whether their hosts survived or not.

"They can't fit down the hole," I said quickly.

"Right," Frank said. "Underground is sounding really good."

He turned into a snake and slithered over the edge.

"Frank, that was badass!" Peri squealed.

I pushed her in to the hole then jumped in after while the spirits began to wail above, "Valdez! Kill Valdez!"