CHAPTER ELEVEN
Leo's Rescue Mission, Part I
Leo coughed and spit an apple out of his mouth.
The Argo II had flattened five apple trees and he was still a little rattled by the sudden fall.
"What happened?" groaned Dakota, grabbing the back of her head as she got to her feet.
"We fell out of the sky," said Annabeth, who was hanging from a sail, "obviously!"
Dakota eyes narrowed angrily as Annabeth descended the sail. Leo got to his feet and immediately ran in between them.
"Look," he said, quickly, "I'm not a charmer like Piper, but you two need to stop fighting and trying to take each others heads off! Lo tengo…bueno! Now, we need to find where Jason and Piper landed."
"He flew away with the enemy," said Dakota, folding her arms.
"Whatever," said Leo. There was no convincing this girl that they were allies. He looked at Annabeth for answers. She had done this the longest in his opinion and she was daughter of the wisdom goddess…so she had to be pretty smart.
"It's dark," said Annabeth. "They would've gone to find shelter. That's what I would've done. Monsters could be crawling over this orchard and their two powerful demigods who are bound to attract attention."
"But where?" asked Leo. "This place is gigantic! They could be anywhere."
"No," said Dakota. She looked at the horrified. "I was afraid of this. Last night, before the quest, I had a dream."
"About what?" said Annabeth.
"It was so weird," said Dakota. "But it's-it's starting to make sense now. As a child of Apollo, I have a seeing eye. I can small glimpses of the future and I saw apples. Apples everywhere. And Jason was in terrible danger."
"What about Piper?" asked Leo.
"I don't know," said Dakota. "I only saw Jason."
"Well," said Annabeth, picking up an apple that had lodged itself in one of the mounted crossbows, "apples. And Jason and Piper are out there somewhere in trouble."
"What do we do?" asked Leo. "About the trouble, I mean."
"Ahoy matties!" said a voice from below them. The three of them looked down to see a old man with a kerosene lantern.
"He shouldn't be able to see the ship," said Annabeth.
"If he's mortal," shot Dakota.
"Shut up," she responded.
"Are you all gonna come down or are you gonna stay in that tree house all day?"
"Tree house," grinned Leo. He loved the Mist. It twisted mortal minds like puzzle pieces. "Come on. Let's see what he knows. He might've seen Jason and Piper."
Once off the Argo II, Leo got a closer look at the old man, with his silver hair and brown overalls. The kerosene lantern with its flickering flame glowed merrily behind the glass. Leo couldn't help but admire the lantern's craftsmanship, though he felt he could've built something way better. His lantern would've been cast iron, with cool attachments and a dial that intensified the heat and light of the flame.
"I'm Annabeth," Annabeth introduced herself. "This is Dakota and Leo. We're traveling and we're wondering if you saw anyone in your orchard."
"Oh yeah," said the old man, scratching his stubbly chin, thoughtfully. "I did. Their back at my shack now, getting comfortable for the night. I'm Busiris by the way. It's nice to meet you all. Please, follow me."
Busiris shuffled off through the night.
Annabeth hesitated.
"Oh, come on, Annabeth," said Leo. "He can't be all bad. He's a harmless old man."
"I know," she said, uneasily. "It's just…his name…it sounds familiar. Like I should know it."
"I agree with Annabeth," said Dakota, watching the old man, walk. "I don't trust him."
"Now, you two want to agree," said Leo, exasperatedly. "We don't have another choice, besides Dakota, your not gonna kill somebody's abuelo. That's just too wrong."
"Well, if we're going," said Dakota, "come on."
They followed Busiris through the orchard.
It wasn't a long walk from the Argo II and Leo thought it would be easy for them to retrace their steps if they needed to get back to the ship. Leo glanced ahead and saw the little shack with no visible light. It gave him an eerie chill. Once they got to the stairs, everything in Leo told him to run. Now, being a demigod, he has learned to act on his instincts…so he stopped.
"What is it, Leo?" asked Annabeth.
"Something's not-Dakota LOOK OUT!" he yelled.
Busiris had turned around and was about to deck Dakota with his lantern, but she had been trained a camp where they probably used whips to get their campers into shape so it wasn't a surprise the way she moved. She ducked and dodged the strike, rolling across the ground, pulling out her bow and arrow as she rolled. She came up on one knee, her arrow notched and she let it fly. Her arrow should've hit the old man dead on, but he was fast too. He raised the lantern just in time and knocked the arrow into a nearby apple tree.
Annabeth pulled out her bronze knife and Leo summoned his hammer from his magical tool belt.
"Busiris!" said Annabeth. "I know who you are now! You were an Egyptian king who sacrificed heroes! When Hercules journeyed through there, you kidnapped him while he was looking for golden apples. You were going to sacrifice him, but he killed you instead!"
"Blasted son of Zeus!" spat Busiris. "No worries. I was able to pull you down from the sky! My patron has restored me."
"The Doors of Death," said Annabeth.
"I shall continue to sacrifice heroes," continued Busiris. "So many of them have wandered through my orchard on their quests. I remember there was one, a purple shirt wearing twelve year-old lad. Son of Ceres."
"Ivory," said Dakota. And tears formed in her eyes. "You murderous fiend!" She readied another bow.
"Where is Jason and Piper?" demanded Annabeth, raising her knife, prepared to strike him down.
"The son of Jupiter and daughter of Aphrodite are tied up at the moment," said Busiris. "When she kills him, the demigods of Legion Camp will avenge him and lay waste to the Greeks of Camp Half-Blood. Demigods will not unite like the prophecy thinks. Yes, half-bloods, I know about your fabled prophecy from that blasted Oracle. My patron's plan has been put into full effect and you shall not stop her this time. My giant officer has made sure that his plan won't fail!"
"Giant officer?" said Leo. "So, your in league with the giants too. Buster, I'm gonna give you a good hammering!"
"Leo!" shot Annabeth. "Get Jason and Piper. Their crucial to the Great Prophecy and the quest. Dakota and I will handle him."
"Oh yeah," said Dakota. "I've been itching for a fight."
Leo was a little upset they didn't want him to fight with them. But he needed to save his friends. He nodded and headed off toward the shack while the girls advanced on Busiris.
Leo burst through the front door of the shack and lit a ball of fire in his hand. The one room shack was dirty with a bronze altar placed against the back wall where Jason lay unconscious tied down by a thick golden rope. He a nice soft lump on his forehead.
Piper was on the floor, her hands and feet, shackled by celestial bronze. She was struggling to get free of her bonds when Leo arrived.
"Leo!" cried Piper. "I've never been so happy to see you in my life."
"I bet," he said. He looked over at Jason and tried to wake up, but he mumbled something about grass and thunder. Leo pointed his finger at the ropes and a bullet of white fire appeared, flaring almost like a blow torch. The golden ropes began to slowly loosen as they heated up and they fell away from Jason. Suddenly, his eyes flicked open and he rose from the altar.
"Leo," Jason said, weakly.
"Sup man," said Leo, slapping him on the shoulder. "Almost got sacrificed, I see. What would you two do something me?"
"Nothing, obviously," said Piper, still struggling. "Now, get me out of these things!"
"I have the right tool for that," said Leo, pulling out a screwdriver from his tool belt. He went to work and in seconds, the shackles fell away, just as a scream rang out from outside the shack.
"Annabeth and Dakota!" he said, helping Piper to his feet.
"We have to help them," said Piper, pulling out Katoptris.
"Looks like we got some more rescuing to do," said Leo.
"I couldn't agree more," said Jason, raising his gladius.
The three of them charged out of the shack and out into the night for battle.