CHAPTER TWELVE:
RED RIGHT HAND

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THE SECOND HE GOT close enough, Kit's hand latched onto the back of Leo's shirt and dragged him around to the other side of a rack of what looked to be strange hats. Leo frowned at him, obviously annoyed, but Kit couldn't bring himself to give a shit as he cast a wary glance in the direction of the Princess, whom Piper had cornered just out of hearing distance.

"Alright, Valdez, you need to listen up," Kit declared not a second later. They didn't have time to waste. "The Princess is charm-speaking you, and you and Jason are falling for it like the idiots you are."

At that, Leo frowned, looking ridiculously offended. "Hey, I'm not an idiot--"

"Look at you," Kit scoffed and gestured at the enchanted raccoon fur of the hat Leo was trying on. "Is this really what it takes to distract you? Some woman, who isn't even that pretty, bats her eyelashes and suddenly you're putty in her hands? Have some control over yourself, jesus--"

Suddenly, an amused smirk tugged at Leo's lips. Kit didn't like it one bit. "You're just jealous my attention isn't on you."

Kit didn't think it was possible to hate someone so much, but Leo always managed to prove him wrong. "You know what? Screw you and Jason. If you can't see the 'Princess' is charm-speaking you--"

"She isn't," Leo frowned in protest. "I'd know."

"Leo, you've been a demigod for, like, a day--"

"Jealous," Leo cut him off then, his voice stubborn like a toddler who hadn't gotten his way. "You're jealous."

"I'm not--"

"You want me so bad."

"You're insufferable."

"And yet you're attracted to me."

"I think I'd rather die."

On the other side of the rack, Kit heard Jason gasp then shout, "Hey, check it out."

Pinching the bridge of his nose in sheer frustration, Kit turned his back on Leo and stormed around to stand at Jason's side. He initially thought it would be something stupid, but was rather surprised to find Jason holding up a familiar purple T-shirt, one that looked just like the shirt Jason had been wearing the day he arrived at Camp Half-Blood. Only this one looked completely bludgeoned, like a tiger had torn it to shreds...

"Why does this look so familiar?" Jason frowned at him, then Piper as she rushed over to them with wide eyes.

"Jason, it's like yours," she informed him, sharing a grim look with Kit. They needed to get out of there, and fast. "Now we really have to leave."

"Oh, nonsense," the Princess laughed as she wandered over to them. She didn't look the least bit concerned by Piper's attempt at charm-speak, nor at Kit's dangerous glare as he held up his weapon. She trusted her own powers too much, so much that she overlooked theirs. Kit hoped to use that to their advantage. Just not yet. "The boys aren't done, are they? And yes, my dear. Those shirts are very popular. Trade-ins from previous customers. It suits you."

Feeling a gentle pressure on his shoulder, Kit subconsciously stepped aside to let Leo through. When he saw what the boy held in his hands, Kit swore his heart stopped.

An orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. One that had a gaping hole right where one's heart would be. From the looks of it, the weapon had been a javelin. There was still a bright red stain around the hole, tidelines of blood soaking the fraying material. Kit wanted to be sick.

"Leo, put that down," he snapped, struggling to control the anger that shot through his veins like fire. When the boy didn't listen to him, Kit snatched the shirt from his hands and threw it to the floor, stubbornly ignoring the Princess' stare on the side of his head. It didn't matter. The sight of Leo holding that shirt in front of him made him furious in a way that few things managed to.

Meanwhile, at his side, Piper was doing the same for Jason, struggling to keep her voice even as she addressed the monster prowling around them, "Your Highness, why don't you tell the boys how you betrayed your family? I'm sure they'd like to hear that story."

Like clockwork, Leo and Jason whirled around to face the Princess, shooting her giddy smiles as she stared at Piper impassively.

"More story?" Leo echoed dreamily.

"I like more story," added Jason.

Gods, they sounded just like cave-men.

At last, a smither of irritation had appeared in the Princess' scowl. Kit smirked. "Oh, one will do strange things for love. You should know that, Piper. I fell for that young hero, in fact, because your mother, Aphrodite, had me under a spell. If it wasn't for her..." She trailed off then, like even she, a monster, knew it was stupid to test a Goddess' patience. "But I can't hold a grudge against a Goddess, can I?"

"You could," Kit muttered, though went ignored as Piper continued over him.

"But that hero took you with him when he fled Colchis," she recalled, trying her best to put the pieces together. They needed something, anything, to show Leo and Jason that she wasn't what they thought, something gruesome and bloody, cruel... "Didn't he, Your Highness? He married you just as he promised."

With great strength, the Princess calmed herself down. "At first, it seemed he would keep his word," she agreed, voice taut. "But even after I helped him steal my father's treasure, he still needed my help. As we fled, my brother's fleet came after us. His warships overtook us. He would have destroyed us, but I convinced my brother to come aboard our ship first and talk under a flag of truce. He trusted me."

Much like Piper, a sense of realisation struck Kit then. He knew who this was. Her story was infamous in Camp Half-Blood, but for all the wrong reasons. If he could just show this to Leo and Jason...

"You killed your brother, didn't you?" he said, grinning a sickly sweet smile that looked wrong on his face. Piper made a sound of disgust at his side, but seemed relieved when she saw the horror creeping onto Jason's own face.

"What? You killed your own--"

"No," the Princess snapped, and just like that, he and Leo were back under. "Those stories are lies. It was my new husband and his men who killed my brother, though they couldn't have done it without my deception. They threw his body into the sea, and the pursuing fleet had to stop and search for it so they could give my brother a proper burial. This gave us time to get away. All this, I did for my husband. And he forgot our bargain. He betrayed me in the end."

Kit scoffed. "You probably deserved it."

Jason, at least, had the strength to look uncomfortable. "What did he do?" he asked, though it didn't seem like he wanted to know the answer.

For a moment, Medea merely analysed him, taking in his wavy blonde hair and the cerulean blue of his eyes. Eventually, she spoke, her words careful but dangerous. "Don't you know the story, my boy? You of all people should. You were named for him."

"Jason," Piper echoed the age-old name. One more puzzle piece. One more knife in the back. "The original Jason. But then you're... you should be dead."

Medea smiled, looking thoroughly amused. "As I said, a new life in a new country. Certainly, I made mistakes. I turned my back on my own people. I was called a traitor, a thief, a liar, a murderer. But I acted out of love." Scraping her eyes past Kit and towards Jason and Leo, she put on her best pout, fluttering her eyelashes in a way that dragged them even deeper beneath the depths. "Wouldn't you do the same for someone you loved, my dears?"

Both boys nodded in agreement, prompting Kit to smack them both on the back of the head. Neither of them seemed to notice, they just continued to nod like perfect little soldiers. The familiarity of it made Kit uneasy.

"Guys, don't you see who she is?" Piper exclaimed with evident frustration. "Don't you--"

She was interrupted by a harsh laugh from Medea, who looked her up and down once, as if to dismiss her before she turned her back on her. "Let's continue, shall we?" she said as her hands returned to the boys' shoulders. "I believe you wanted to talk about a price for the storm spirits and your satyr."

The topic of conversation didn't last long when Leo noticed something on the second floor and broke away from her side. Despite Kit's warning shout, he disappeared onto the escalator all the while muttering something about an armoured forge. Kit had no choice but to follow him, shoving past Medea as he caught up to Leo and yanked him back by the wrist.

"Leo, you have to snap out of it," he hissed, despite knowing it was useless. He was no Piper, no Medea. "Please--"

Medea, like usual, appeared at just the wrong time. "You have good taste, Leo. This is the H-2000, designed by Hephaestus himself. Hot enough to melt celestial bronze or imperial gold."

Jason visibly flinched as he and Piper appeared beside her. "Imperial gold?" he repeated the words like he knew them.

Medea looked at him for a second, then nodded, slow like a lioness assessing its prey. "Yes, my dear," she confirmed at last. "Like that weapon so cleverly concealed in your pocket. To be properly forged, imperial gold had to be consecrated in the Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill in Rome. Quite a powerful and rare metal, but like the Roman Emperors, quite volatile. Be sure never to break that blade..." She smiled then, oblivious to Kit's wide-eyed look of realisation and Jason's sheer confusion. "Rome was after my time, of course, but I do hear stories. And now over here, this golden throne is one of my finest luxury items. Hephaestus made it as a punishment for his mother, Hera. Sit in it and you'll be immediately trapped."

Kit wanted to hang onto Medea's words about Rome, to draw more information out of her about the possibility of another Camp existing out there somewhere. But the second Leo stepped towards the death trap, he was distracted.

"Leo, don't," Piper snapped, just as Kit grabbed him and pretty much crushed him to his chest to stop him.

Even then, his eyes remained on Medea beseechingly. "How much for both?"

Medea giggled like the question amused her. "Oh, the seat I could let you have for five great deeds. The forge, seven years of servitude. And for only a bit of your strength..."

With that, she guided him away from Kit, leaving Kit no choice but to let him go. Instead, he took to trailing after him like a knight would guard his king, obviously hovering but not enough to anger the monster that stuck to Leo like glue. After all, someone had to watch him with Jason being Piper's main focus. One wrong move and they'd be down a key quest member...

But it wasn't long before Medea realised that Leo and Kit were the only ones following her. In an instant, she turned back, one hand remaining curled around the back of Leo's neck as she called for Jason and Piper.

"Children. If you please, we will now see what you came for. That is what you want, yes?"

When Jason just shrugged, unphased by the question, Kit assumed that Piper's attempts had once again been futile. He caught her gaze, foolishly hopeful. She just shook her head, eyes glassy with frustrated tears.

And so they had no choice but to follow them down the escalator to where the fountain was still spitting up water. Upon closer glance, he noticed the changing hue of the frothing liquid. As the sun continued to set outside, the coloured mosaic tiles began to cast an array of different shadows down on them. From some corners of the room, the water almost looked blood red, like a river of sin and death.

Once again, Kit wanted to be sick.

"Hey," Leo gasped, leading the way towards Gleeson Hedge's cage. "Coach Hedge looks okay."

Despite, you know, being frozen in time and everything, Kit realised he was right.

Medea smiled with what looked to be pride, but Kit didn't trust it. "Yes," she said. "I always keep my wares in good condition. We can certainly barter for the storm spirits and the satyr. A package deal. If we come to terms, I'll even throw in the vial of healing potion, and you can go in peace." She gave Piper a shrewd look, then glowered at Kit and his sword. "That's better than starting unpleasantness, isn't it, dear? And you, boy, with that weapon of yours..."

Kit said nothing as Piper, with her nose in the air, muttered, "We can negotiate."

"Oh, totally," Leo piped up, seeming eager to please the Princess. "Just name your price."

If looks could kill, Leo Valdez would be six feet under, Kit Dempsey his murderer.

Medea chuckled in amusement. "Name my price? Perhaps not the best haggling strategy, my boy, but at least you know a thing's value. Freedom is very valuable indeed. You would ask me to release this satyr, who attacked my storm winds--"

"Who attacked us," Piper couldn't resist interjecting.

Medea merely shrugged like the details meant nothing to her. "As I said, my patron asks me for small favours from time to time. Sending the storm spirits to abduct you, that was one. I assure you it was nothing personal. And no harm done, as you came here, in the end, of your own free will."

Kit snorted, gesturing to Leo and Jason. "You call this free will?"

Medea merely glared. Details. "At any rate, you want the satyr freed, and you want my storm spirits -- who are very valuable servants, by the way -- so you can hand them over to that tyrant, Aeolus. Doesn't seem quite fair, does it? The price will be high."

"Of course it will be," Kit rolled his eyes. "Why should we expect anything different?"

Looking ready to retort, Piper played her last card. Combined with Medea's increasing anger (Kit was proud to take credit for that) and the history behind her name, Piper's last plea for Leo and Jason seemed to work. Jason was quick to step away from the sorceress, looking sick to his stomach. Leo backed up into Kit's chest, pale-faced and scratching his head like the nightmare was only just hitting him. Kit placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, squeezing once before letting go.

Medea, frantic, gasped, "Boys! It's true, I'm Medea. But I'm so misunderstood. Oh, Piper, my dear, you don't know what it was like for women in the old days. We had no power, no leverage. Often, we couldn't even choose our own husbands. But I was different. I chose my own destiny by becoming a sorceress. Is that so wrong? I made a pact with Jason; my help to win the fleece, in exchange for his love. A fair deal. He became a famous hero! Without me, he would've died unknown on the shores of Colchis."

Jason scowled, looking -- for once -- displeased with her. "Then, you really did die three thousand years ago? You came back from the Underworld?"

"Death no longer holds me, young hero," she sighed. "Thanks to my patron, I am flesh and blood again."

"You... re-formed?" Leo mumbled, as if he was testing the heavy weight of the word on his tongue. "Like a monster?"

Kit smirked. "Finally, you see sense, Valdez."

Now that everything was out in the open, Medea had no use for pretty smiles or seductive glances. Instead, she held her hands out wide, glaring at them with fearsome intent. "You have no idea what's happening, do you, my dears?" There was a sense of condescending amusement to her words that made Kit think of Kronos, of Luke. He hated it. "It is so much worse than the stirring of monsters from Tartarus. My patron knows that giants and monsters are not her greatest servants. I am mortal. I learn from my mistakes. And now that I have returned to the living, I will not be cheated again. Now, here is my price for what you ask."

Piper, riding the high of her previous success, continued on stubbornly. "Guys, the original Jason left Medea because she was crazy and bloodthirsty."

"Lies," she hissed.

"On the way back from Colchis, Jason's ship landed at another kingdom, and Jason agreed to dump Medea and marry the king's daughter."

"After I bore him two children! Still he broke his promise! I ask you, was that right?"

"It may not have been right," Piper conceded. "But neither was Medea's revenge. She murdered her own children to get back at Jason. She poisoned his new wife and fled the kingdom."

Medea bared her teeth like she wanted to rip Piper to shreds. "An invention to ruin my reputation! The people of the Corinth -- that unruly mob -- killed my children and drove me out. Jason did nothing to protect me. He robbed me of everything. So yes, I sneaked back into the palace and poisoned his lovely new bride. It was only fair, a suitable price."

"You're insane," Kit scoffed at her. "And that's coming from me."

Medea clutched at the sides of her head and wailed. "I am the victim," she near-sobbed, with what looked like crocodile tears shining in her eyes, "I died with my dreams shattered, but no longer. I know now not to trust heroes. When they come asking for treasures, they will pay a heavy price. Especially when the one asking has the name of Jason!"

Suddenly, as if sensing her anger, the water in the fountain completely shifted to a vibrant shade of red. Kit was quick to raise his word and Piper drew her dagger, but her hands were trembling so visibly that only Kit looked even remotely threatening.

"Jason, Leo, it's time to go. Now."

"Before you've closed the deal?" Medea cackled. "What of your quest, boys? And my price is so easy. Did you know this fountain is magic? If a dead man were to be thrown into it, even if he was chopped to pieces, he would pop back out fully formed, stronger and more powerful than ever."

"Seriously?" Leo gasped.

"Leo, don't you dare--"

"She's lying," added Piper. "She did that trick with somebody before -- a king. Right, Kit?" He nodded. At least that was one thing he remembered from Annabeth. "She convinced his daughters to cut him to pieces so he could come out of the water young and healthy again, but it just killed him."

"Ridiculous," Medea dismissed.

For a second, just one moment of weakness, Kit found himself doubting Piper and trusting in Medea. Sickly sweet power lulled over him in waves. But the loss of control, the dazed feel of his brain turning to mush had Kit quickly snapping back into consciousness.

Kronos. Kronos. Kronos.

Luke. Luke. Luke.

Kit returned with a whole new level of rage. In that instant of time, Medea had managed to convince Jason and Leo they were enemies, and that they needed to fight each other.

"Oh, fuck."

"Guys, no," Piper cried, glancing between the glowering boys and Kit with a sense of desperation. She wouldn't have the strength to fight them, but he would. For once, Kit had the chance to play hero.

"Jason's always the star. He always gets the attention and takes me for granted."

"You're annoying, Leo," Jason retorted, spitting the words like venom. "You never take anything seriously. You can't even fix a dragon."

"Piper?" Kit waited for her go-ahead, but Piper hesitated, glancing between the blade of Kit's sword and the unsteady swaying bodies of her friends.

"Let them go, Piper," Medea urged. "I'm doing you a favour. Let it happen now, and it will make Piper's choice so much easier. Enceladus will be pleased. You could have your father back today. Yes, you'll have to deal with the traitor, but that should be easy enough."

Medea's taunts went through one ear and out the other. Father? What did she mean by that?

Suddenly, Piper struggled to meet Kit's eyes. Something had happened to her father, and it involved Enceladus. Perhaps she and Kit were more alike than they thought.

"You work for Enceladus," she said, barely louder than a whisper.

Medea scoffed in disgust. "Serve a giant? No. But we all serve the same greater cause, a patron you cannot begin to challenge. Walk away, child of Aphrodite, traitorous son of Ares. This does not have to be your death, too. Save yourself, and Piper's father can go free. The snake can live a little longer. Perhaps, you'll even find a place within the greater cause, where you know deep down you belong."

Kit sneered, all violence and bloodshed. "Say one more word about treachery and I'll slit your throat."

"I'd like to see you try," she challenged, plucking a diamond from one of her bracelets and throwing into a spray of water from the nearby fountain. The reflection off the stone created a rainbow, allowing Medea to say, "O Iris, Goddess of the rainbow, show me the office of Tristan McLean."

Kit's sword hesitated in its arc towards her as the mist shimmered and formed an unfamiliar study. Almost immediately, Piper faltered, breath hitching in dismay as a blonde-haired woman rose from behind the desk.

"Hello, Jane," Medea greeted her.

The woman, Jane, nodded her head with a blank, unseeing stare. "How can I help you, ma'am?" Then, as an afterthought when she noticed the girl beside her, "Hello, Piper."

Piper was so angry that words failed her. Medea smirked in her direction. "Yes, child. Your father's assistant. Quite easy to manipulate. An organised mind for a mortal, but incredibly weak."

"Thank you, ma'am," Jane sighed like Medea was giving her a compliment.

Medea was ridiculously pleased with the way things were unfolding, comfortable in her place of power. "Don't mention it. I just wanted to congratulate you, Jane. Getting Mr McLean to leave town so suddenly, take his jet to Oakland without alerting the press or the police... oh, well done. No one seems to know where he's gone. And telling him his daughter's life was on the line; now that was a nice touch to get his cooperation."

"Yes," Jane gave another nod. "He was quite cooperative when he believed Piper was in danger."

At that moment, Kit felt for Piper. Her father's actions reminded him a lot of his mother, of the lengths she went to just to protect him. She died for him, and now Piper's father was preparing to die for her.

If they somehow got out of this, Kit decided he'd keep her secret. Not just for Piper and Mr McLean, but for the mother who, while ashamed of who he became, had died an untimely death for a selfish boy she had for a son.

"I may have new orders for you, Jane," Medea informed the mortal woman. "If the girl cooperates, it may be time for Mr McLean to come home. Would you arrange a suitable cover story for his absence, just in case? And I imagine the poor man will need some time in a psychiatric hospital."

"Yes, ma'am," Jane confirmed. "I will stand by."

With that, the image of her faded into nothing. Piper keeled over the second she disappeared and reality settled in, uncaring of Medea's demeaning stare.

"There, you see?" the monster cooed.

Kit scoffed at her. "You're despicable."

His disgust only excited her. She grinned as Piper finally pushed herself up and hissed, "You lured my dad into a trap. You helped the giant--"

"Oh, please, dear, you'll work yourself into a fit," she rolled her eyes. "I've been preparing for this war for years, even before I was brought back to life. I'm a seer, as I said. I can tell the future as well as your little oracle. Years ago, still suffering in the Fields of Punishment, I had a vision of the eight in your so-called Great Prophecy. I saw your friend Leo here, and saw that he would be an important enemy someday. I stirred the consciousness of my patron, gave her this information, and she managed to wake just a little, just enough to visit him."

For what felt like the hundredth time that night, cold realisation settled over Kit like a blanket. "Leo's mother..." he muttered, his jaw clenched. "You're the reason she's dead."

Medea smirked. "Perhaps."

Quickly, Piper whirled around to face the boy. He was standing opposite Jason, both boys eager for bloodshed but awaiting command from Medea. "Leo, listen to this," Piper pleaded with him. "She helped get your mother killed."

Leo merely shrugged, as if the words didn't bother him, which Kit knew wasn't the case. Leo would be heartbroken the second he came to, if he came to...

"So, I just attack Jason?" he turned to Medea with a sense of impatience. "And that's okay?"

"Perfectly safe," she nodded, then turned to the other boy. "And Jason, strike him hard. Show me you are worthy of your namesake."

"No," Piper exclaimed desperately. "Jason, Leo, she's tricking you. Put down your weapons."

Medea rolled her eyes. "Please, girl. You're no match for me. I trained with my aunt, the immortal Circe. I can drive men mad or heal them with my voice. What hope do these puny young heroes have against me? Now, boys, kill each other."

But Piper wasn't done. With Kit at her side, she approached the boys, near shouting the words that fell past her lips. "Jason, Leo, listen to me. Medea is charming you. It's part of her magic. You guys are best friends. Don't fight each other, help Kit in fighting her."

For a second, they hesitated, but that second was enough for the hold she had over them to completely shatter. Medea's eyes blew wide as Jason blinked away her command and Leo dropped his mallet with a clatter.

"Leo, was I just about to stab you?" Jason exclaimed in horror.

Leo shrugged, too focused on the previous conversation as he muttered, "Something about my mother ... You ... you're working for Dirt Woman. You sent her to the machine shop." Quickly grabbing his weapon from the floor, he turned to Medea with a fearsome glare, fist clenched around the arm of the weapon. "Lady, I got a three-pound hammer with your name on it."

But Medea merely looked down on both of them with a sneer. "I'll simply collect payment another way."

Kit didn't like the sound of that, and rightfully so.

As Medea dissolved into smoke and appeared on the escalator leading to the second floor, the giant bronze sundials that Kit only just noticed on either side of the fountain swung open to reveal two golden dragons. They roared as they scrambled out of their cages, eager for the bloodshed their ruler desired. Even Kit was weary of them, sharing a grim glance with Leo at his side.

"So that's what's in the kennels," the other boy breathed out.

"I think I would've preferred not knowing," Kit said, to which Leo gave a frantic nod of agreement.

When the dragons spread their wings and hissed, Jason shouted in warning, "Don't look them in the eye. They'll paralyse you."

Naturally, Kit then wanted to look them in the eye, but he resisted the urge.

Meanwhile, Medea was leaning against the edge of the escalator, jewels glittering in the evening sun as she cackled with laughter. She knew what was to come and couldn't wait.

"These two dears have been with me a long time; sun dragons, you know, gifts from my grandfather, Helios. They pulled my chariot when I left Corinth, and now they are going to be your destruction. Ta-ta!"

Then, with a final wave from Medea, the dragons lunged. Kit met them head-on, surprised to find Jason and Leo were quick to have his back. He spotted Piper following up the stairs, leaving them to the dragons while she took on Medea.

But despite the assistance from Leo and Jason, Kit and both the other boys were easily overpowered by the ancient beings. Kit managed to get a few good hits in, a spray of blood showering from one dragon's leg as his sword grazed through golden skin. But much to his dismay, the monster was quick to shake off the pain, lashing out with his uninjured leg and sending him sprawling. Kit groaned as his head slammed into the marble, a throbbing ache echoing through his temple as he raised a finger to the spot. When he pulled back, his skin was tainted with blood. The dragon's or Kit's? He couldn't be sure.

"You alright?" Leo shouted, Festus' safety whistle hanging from his lips when he jumped in front of Kit to distract the animal. Jason was already taking the other one on alone, stretching them thin as Kit clutched his head between trembling hands.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he said back, to which Leo's eyes immediately narrowed with concern.

It was this moment of weakness that cost him. While Leo's back was turned, the dragon struck, drowning out Kit's cry of warning with a roar, forcing him to watch Leo then crumble to the ground. The monster was quick to pin him down, baring its fangs just a mere inch away from Leo's face.

"Jason, help," he cried out, seeing as Kit could barely move an inch to pick up his sword.

Jason spared him a desperate glance but the three boys knew he wouldn't get from one side of the room to the other in time. It was up to Kit, head injury and everything.

Smoke began to pool around his ankles from somewhere above, but Kit forced himself not to think of Piper up there alone with Medea. Leo's life was hanging on a wire in front of him. He needed to act fast.

So he did. Pushing back the urge to close his eyes and welcome the darkness waiting behind them, Kit lurched forward and stabbed his sword hard into the dragon's side. At the same time, the mosaic ceiling splintered into shards of glass that rained down as Festus went straight for the monster. With a roar and a slash of bronze claws, one monster went down, then another as Festus turned to the one that had been cornering a panicking Jason.

Kit, with blood dripping off his face, swayed over Leo but forced himself to hold out a hand to him.

"You alright?" he asked in repetition of Leo's earlier words.

The familiar nature of it had concern returning to the other boy's eyes. "I should be asking you that," he said, gentle fingers reaching up to ghost over Kit's temple. Kit winced and instinctively leaned away. "Kit..."

"Don't worry about me," he insisted, which didn't do much to convince Leo. "We need to get out of here."

It was then they remembered the fiery inferno picking up speed. By then, the fourth floor was engulfed by flames. In a blink, embers had started to rain down on them, catching nearby pieces of furniture ablaze.

"Oh, shit," Leo cursed, then shouted for Festus and blew the safety whistle again.

One-by-one, the boys filed onto Festus' back, holding on tight as the bronze machine snatched up the cages holding the storm spirits and Gleeson in his claws. Quickly, he began to ascend, Kit's lungs filling up with smoke the higher they got.

"Where's Piper?" Jason coughed from behind him. "We need to find her now."

Fortunately, Leo managed to spot her cornered by the fourth floor railing with Medea in front of her. Piper spied them from the corner of her eye and spat something at the monster, ignoring her desperate pleas as she flung herself over the edge and dropped down to where Leo had moved Festus. Kit and the others were quick to latch onto her, dragging her up between Kit and Jason. She barely had time to adjust before Leo urged Festus further up.

"Hold on tight," he warned them. "This is about to get bumpy."

Not a moment later, the rest of the mosaic ceiling exploded as Festus tore through it like tissue paper. The fresh air outside billowed with a dark cloud of smoke. Just as they reached the skyscraper opposite them, the department store exploded into a fiery inferno.

Kit swore he heard one last scream from Medea before she went up with it. The thought made him laugh in glee.