orenda [leo valdez]

lxvii. A Magic Trainstation

❝he was her warmth

she was his peace❞

⤷ the better man project

△△△

Truthfully, Kira was tired of surprises.

The gray-haired woman jumped from the top of the fountain. She landed gracefully and strolled toward them, her bow at her side.

Leo scrambled to Kira's side to make sure she was okay, but she had only gained a few scratches from landing on the hard pavement.

Wrinkles were etched across her face. The skin under her chin had begun to sag. Liver spots dotted the backs of her hands. Nevertheless, she held herself with the regal confidence of a woman who had nothing left to prove to anyone. Her eyes flashed like moonlight on water.

She studied the group for a count of five, then shook her head in amazement. "So it's true. You're Apollo."

"H-have we met?"

"You don't remember me," she said. "No, I don't suppose you would. Call me Emmie. And the ghost you saw—that was Agamethus. He led you to our doorstep."

Emmie glanced at Leo. "Why are you in your underwear?"

Leo sighed. "Been a long morning, abuela, but thanks for the assist. Those crossbow turrets are the bomb-diggity."

"Thank you....I think."

"Yeah, so maybe you could help us with Cal here?" Leo continued. "She's not doing so well."

Emmie crouched next to Calypso, whose complexion had turned the color of cement. The girl's eyes were shut, her breathing ragged. No matter how much Kira despised her, she didn't want her to die.

"She's badly hurt." Emmie frowned as she studied Calypso's face. "You said her name was Cal?"

Kira frowned at the girls nickname, but she knew better to grow jealous. Leo was just being friendly. Cal was a bad nickname, however. Kira remembered Calais, and his sad story.

"Calypso," Leo said.

"Ah." Emmie's worry lines deepened. "That explains it. She looks so much like Zoë."

"Zoë Nightshade?"

In her feverish state, Calypso muttered something she couldn't make out...perhaps the name Nightshade.

"I know that name," Kira said. "Percy told me about her."

"If you knew Zoë, then you must be one of my sister's Hunters. But you can't be. You're..." Apollo trailed off.

Hunters neither aged nor died, unless they were killed in combat. This woman was quite obviously mortal.

In the distance, emergency sirens wailed.