CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
THROUGH THE SMOKE

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KIT SWORE HE COULD smell the smoke even after they left Medea and her department store behind. The stench clung to Leo's blood-stained jacket as Kit tried in vain to rub the red marks off his face and neck. In the end, he gave up, sitting back with a frustrated scowl that furrowed his brows. The marks were violent, like whatever monster he had bested fought to the very end. It was something straight out of a horror movie, so much so that Kit found Piper and Jason struggling to meet his eyes.

"So what now?" he asked, turning his gaze to the setting sun as the busy Chicago streets faded into once-distant snowy fields. There was barely any sign of life below, just barren land not yet transformed.

Piper breathed out a shaky sigh. "I've got no idea," she admitted, gaze slipping past Kit to land on Leo. The boy in question was muttering something to Festus, nodding along when the dragon made mechanical sounds in response. Piper frowned uneasily. "Hey, Leo, are you feeling okay?"

At that particular question, Leo's face flushed an obvious shade of red. No one had mentioned what happened with him and Jason. It was out of their control, but Kit had the feeling Leo didn't see it that way. Still, he shrugged off Piper's hand, trying his best to seem upbeat.

"Not bad for a brainwashed zombie," he chuckled, but the sound was hollow, empty to Kit's ears. "Thanks for saving us back there, Beauty Queen. If you hadn't talked me out of that spell..."

Piper merely waved him away with a somewhat bashful smile. "Don't worry about it," she insisted.

Leo looked ready to protest, but then he noticed Kit. Almost immediately, he glanced at the blood on Kit's skin. He pretended not to notice when his eyes softened. "And Kit, thanks for... you know... helping me out with that dragon. I knew you liked me somewhere in that cold, dead heart of yours, even though I did give you a bit of a hard time back there..."

Kit scoffed at that, but couldn't resist the smirk that tugged at the corner of his mouth. "It's no problem, Leo. But the next time you say I'm attracted to you, expect me to leave you to the monster."

At that, Leo let out an awkward chuckle, painfully aware of Piper and Jason listening to them. Fortunately, Jason seemed entirely oblivious to why Leo was blushing, but Piper was smirking like she could see right through him. "Noted..."

For a while, the conversation came to an end, leaving them to fly through the air in contemplative silence. Kit could feel his eyes growing heavy with the familiar ache of exhaustion, but he fought off the urge to sleep as Leo finally turned back to face him, any remnants of light fading into seriousness in the tight set of his jaw.

"We're going to have to put down soon," he warned them. "Couple more hours, maybe, to make sure that Medea's not following us. I don't think Festus can fly much longer than that."

"Okay," Piper muttered in agreement -- that was, after looking at Jason then at Kit for confirmation. Kit merely shrugged while Jason thought about it for a moment then nodded. "Coach Hedge probably wants to get out of his canary cage, too. But the question is; where are we going?"

Leo frowned, like he was struggling to search through a haze of memories. "The Bay Area," he said at last, to which Kit shot Piper a look. The girl in question froze with terror. "Didn't Medea say something about Oakland?"

Kit's stance hadn't changed. So long as Piper wanted to keep things about her dad to herself, he wasn't going to say anything. It wasn't his place, regardless of whether or not Jason and Leo agreed with him. So Kit stayed silent, waiting for Piper to make the next move.

He knew what it was like to be a traitor. The only difference was, Piper didn't have a choice. He did.

"Piper's dad," Jason muttered when she didn't say anything. "Something's happened to your dad, right? He got lured into some kind of trap."

With trembling hands, Piper reached up to smooth back her hair from her face. She was deathly pale, and obviously afraid. "Look, Medea said you would both die in the Bay Area. She didn't mention Kit but I'm going to assume she meant him, too. And besides... even if we went there, the Bay Area is huge. First, we need to find Aeolus and drop off the storm spirits. Boreas said Aeolus was the only one who could tell us exactly where to go."

At that, Leo let out a sigh. "So how do we find Aeolus?"

Fortunately for them, Jason seemed to be something out of a superhero movie. At Leo's question, his eyebrows furrowed, prompting him to lean forward and point at the empty air ahead of them. "You mean you don't see it? Whatever it is..."

Kit scoffed. "If you're seeing things, I don't know how I feel about being on a flying dragon with you."

Upon Jason's incredulous stare, Leo added, "Could you be more specific on the 'whatever-it-is' part?"

"It's like a vapour trail," Jason insisted. He seemed completely serious, but perhaps their altercation with Medea had messed with his brain or something. There was nothing in front of them, let alone anywhere near them for miles. "Except it's glowing. Really faint, but it's definitely there. We've been following it since Chicago, so I figured you saw it."

Leo had the good sense to look freaked out. "Maybe Festus can sense it," he said after a moment's deliberation. "You think Aeolus made it?"

"Well, it's a magic trail in the wind," Jason pointed out. "Aeolus is the wind God... I think he knows we've got prisoners for him. He's telling us where to fly."

"And that's not disturbing in the slightest," Kit deadpanned.

Piper seemed to agree. In fact, she looked ready to cry as she stared desperately at Kit, as though she was pleading for an answer on what to do next. "It could be another trap."

Kit wasn't the only one to notice her frazzled state. Leo frowned as he glanced over his shoulder at her. "Pipes, you alright?"

"Don't call me that."

Leo rolled his eyes, probably assuming it wasn't that serious if she could tell him off for his nicknames. Kit knew better, though. "Okay, fine. You don't like any of the names I made up for you. But if your dad's in trouble and we can help--"

"Piper," Kit spoke up, voice unusually soft. "If you want--"

But Piper was quick to interrupt him with a shake of her head. She couldn't. "Look, you can't do anything," she told Leo, who didn't seem pleased that Kit knew something he didn't. "I'm tired. If you don't mind..."

She didn't wait for an answer. Shuffling backwards, she leaned her body into Jason's startled arms and closed her eyes. Kit knew she wasn't really sleeping but didn't say anything as the three boys settled into uncomfortable silence. He could feel Jason's stare on the side of his head, the tension bunched in Leo's shoulders, but refused to say anything when Piper wasn't there to defend herself. At last, with an annoyed huff, Jason turned from Kit to look at Leo.

"You should catch a few Z's," Jason suggested. Kit himself turned to Leo then, finally noticing as his eyes fluttered, struggling to stay open for longer than a second. "It's cool, Leo. Hand me the reins."

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm okay--"

Jason cut him off with a pointed look, hands already reaching to take the reins away from him. "Leo, you're not a machine. Besides, I'm the only one who can see Aeolus' vapour trail. I'll make sure we stay on course."

Slowly but surely, Kit could see Leo was beginning to give in. At long last, he shoved the reins into Kit's hands, then slumped back into his arms and almost immediately began to snore. Kit would've pushed him off had he not been so tired himself. Instead, he settled his arms on either side of Leo's torso, nails digging half-moon crescents into the leather strap used as Festus' reins.

"Kit, why don't you hand me the reins?" Jason suggested then. "Sleep, too, while you have the time."

He doesn't trust you, a smooth voice whispered in Kit's ear. With a blink of his eyes, Kit saw Luke slinking through the darkness, using Kit's sleep-deprived brain to smile sadistically at him. Not even with something as simple as this. Doesn't that anger you, Kit?

"You don't trust me," Kit echoed the ghost boy's words. "Really, Jason?"

Jason sighed at that. He hadn't been looking for a fight, but Kit Dempsey always seemed to be on the attack, ready and waiting when it came to him. "Just give me the reins, Kit. I don't want to argue."

You should push him off the dragon instead, ghost-Luke suggested despite Kit trying to shove him out. See how quick his instincts are.

I'm not going to do that, Kit thought with a frown.

Why not? ghost-Luke laughed. Give him, give them, a proper reason to fear you.

Kit shuddered and handed Jason the reins. Ignoring the blonde boy's curious stare, he leaned forward and rested his head in the crook of Leo's shoulder. He didn't want to sleep, not when he knew Luke would be waiting for him, but found his eyes slipping shut despite his best attempts to keep them open.

However, much to his surprise, Luke was long gone by the time Kit fell asleep. Instead, a smiling Leo Valdez lingered in the darkness, his freckles standing out like constellations along his skin. Subconsciously, Kit reached out to trace them, one hand curling around Leo's neck to pull him in close while the other counted freckles and committed them to memory.

That was the first time Kit dreamed of Leo.

As much as he hated it, he knew it wouldn't be the last.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

THE NEXT TIME KIT opened his eyes, he was falling hundreds of feet through the air screaming at the top of his lungs. Even in sleep, his body had recognised the sensation of Festus fading beneath him and the others. He woke himself up with his own terrified yelps.

"Not again," he heard Leo shout as he struggled to rip open the panel on the dragon's neck. "You can't fall again."

But there was no denying it. Festus just couldn't keep up with what was expected of him, and any second now, they would crash and burn. There was no saying if they'd be as lucky as they were last time. Perhaps, Kit would have to meet the fire head-on.

"Jason," Leo screamed to the blonde boy after taking a moment to analyse whatever he saw in Festus' wires. "Jason, take Piper and Kit, and fly out of here!"

Jason's eyes widened with disbelief. "What?"

"We need to lighten the load," he explained. "I might be able to reboot Festus, but he's carrying too much weight."

"What about you?" Piper cried, voicing the concerned question that was also on Kit's mind. "If you can't reboot him--"

Kit didn't even want to think of it.

"I'll be fine," Leo insisted. "Just follow me to the ground."

"Leo--"

"Go, Kit," the boy shouted before he could get the words out. When Kit just frowned, his expression turned pleading. "Please."

This time, when Jason reached for his arm, he didn't fight against him. Instead, he held on tight to the blonde boy as Festus' back disappeared beneath them, leaving the trio to hover as Leo and Festus shot to the ground like lightning.

"We need to help him," was the first thing on Kit's mind. He turned to Jason and Piper, who were sharing a look through the heavy darkness. "Guys, come on."

Quickly, reality seemed to come crashing back. Piper clung to Jason's waist while Kit wrapped one arm around his neck. They descended through the sky shakily, Jason only just managing to keep them upright as they followed Leo down to what looked like a mansion or sorts.

It was then that everything went wrong. Kit didn't know what he'd been expecting, but a fiery inferno as Festus was shot by a laser definitely wasn't it. The last of the light in the dragon's ruby red eyes dimmed into nothing, sending him sprawling into pieces along the lawn with Leo lost somewhere in the mix.

Kit swore his heart almost stopped from fear.

He was the first to let go of Jason as the three of them touched down on the ground. The sky was pitch black, making it difficult to find Leo in the grass, but the hulking frame of Festus' dying body narrowed down Kit's search.

"Leo?" he called out the boy in question's name. He tried not to shout in fear of who, or what, lingered in the mansion to their right, but his voice carried far in a distant echo. The sound made Jason hiss out his name in warning, prompting Kit to whirl on him with a glower. "What, Jason? What?"

Jason went to retort but was cut off by a sharp nudge to the ribs. He winced and frowned at Piper, but she merely shot him a pointed look before wandering over to Kit to help him search.

Forever and a day seemed to pass before, at last, they heard a groan from somewhere in the mess of metal. Kit was quick to climb over it, hissing as his palm scraped against a particularly sharp bit of bronze. He wiped the drops of blood away on his jeans as he dropped to his knees beside a half-conscious Leo Valdez.

"Leo," he murmured down to him, hands pressing down on his shoulders. He shook him once, prompting Leo to groan, one dazed fist curling around Kit's wrist as his teeth clenched from the pain. "Leo, wake up."

Slowly, Leo did as he was asked, almost immediately spitting a clump of frozen grass out of his mouth. "Where--"

He tried to sit up, ignoring Piper's cry of fear, "Lie back down," she exclaimed, a stray tear trailing down her face that she hastily wiped away. "You rolled pretty hard when -- when Festus..."

Cruel reality hit Leo in waves. As his senses returned, he pushed himself up on his hands and knees, muttering with a frantic edge to his voice, "Where is he?"

"Seriously, Leo," Jason added from where he stood behind Kit and Piper. Blonde hair a mere blur in the darkness, he reached out a steadying hand towards the boy. "You could be hurt. You shouldn't--"

But Leo was stubborn, and everyone knew it. Kit sat back with an annoyed sigh as Leo nudged his way past him. The second he saw Festus' dented body, he dropped back to his knees, letting out a whimper that tugged at even Kit's heart strings. He clenched his jaw and turned away.

"No," Leo's voice sobbed. "You can't go. You're the best thing I've ever fixed."

Festus made a faint sound then, like a battery draining of life, which seemed to only encourage Leo's tears. Kit forced himself to look at the boy, hunched over with his hand stroking Festus' head. He reached out slowly, his touch careful on Leo's shoulder, like he was giving Leo the chance to push him away if he wanted to. On the contrary, Leo whirled around, surprising Kit by throwing his arms around his neck, holding on tight.

"It's not fair," he whimpered into his chest.

"I know," sighed Kit. "I'm sorry."

After a moment, Festus made another clicking sound, prompting Leo to draw back and turn to him like he was a patient on a deathbed. Slowly, he nodded, committing the sounds to his memories. "I will," he promised the dragon, his companion. "I understand. I promise."

With the reassurance that his last words weren't lost, Festus' eyes dimmed for one last time. They wouldn't light again, no matter how many hours Leo wasted working on him. The thought seemed to occur in Leo's head too, for he let out another sob and threw himself back onto Kit. Slowly, Jason kneeled on his other side, patting his shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

"I'm so sorry, man," he said, eyes briefly catching on Kit's glowering ones before turning away. "What did you promise Festus?"

The question seemed to remind Leo of something. He pulled back from Kit, refusing to meet his gaze as he bent over Festus' head and pushed open the wire panel. With a sniffle, he muttered, "Something my dad told me. Everything can be reused."

Surprise ran hot through Kit's veins. Hephaestus had reached out to Leo? That was certainly news to him.

And from the looks of it, the others too.

"Your dad talked to you?" Jason frowned. "When was this?"

Leo let the question hang instead of responding. For a while, he messed around with Festus' neck hinges, muttering to himself when things went wrong. Kit wanted to head up to the mansion, to see what they were contending with, but forced himself to kneel in the snow until Leo was done. Then, he got up, standing back with the others as Leo held Festus' head in his arms.

"Take him back to the bunker, Dad. Please, until I can reuse him." At first, nothing happened. Kit didn't want to disappoint Leo, but he knew firsthand what this felt like, the betrayal of a father always breaking his heart.

"Leo..."

But Leo was beyond desperate, and refused to give in, even when the odds weren't in his favour. "I've never asked you for anything," he shouted up at the sky, the sheer anger behind his words stunning Kit and the others into silence.

For another long moment, they stood waiting for something, anything to show them that Hephaestus had heard his son. Then, as Leo's tears began to fall again, the breeze picked up and the dragon's head floated out of his arms like a feather in the wind. Gaining momentum, it wasn't long before it disappeared completely, a sight that left Kit reeling.

"He answered you?" he breathed out, like what had just happened was a miracle.

Clearing his throat, Leo murmured back, "I had a dream. Tell you later."

It was pathetic, immature, but completely and utterly Kit Dempsey to feel jealous over Leo's budding relationship with his father. Kit wanted that, so much that he'd kill for it, but every desperate move seemed to push Ares further and further away from him, until his existence was nothing but a ghost. It made Kit angry. For an instant, he thought about lashing out at Leo, hitting him right where it hurt. But he forced himself to turn away, to press his nails into his palms hard enough to draw blood.

If Leo noticed, he didn't say anything.

"Where are we?" was what he ended up focusing on instead. "I mean, what city?"

"Omaha, Nebraska," Piper replied. She was watching Kit like she knew every single sinful thought that ran through his brain. Kit scowled at her until she turned away. "I saw a billboard as we flew in. But I don't know what this mansion is. We came in right behind you, but as you were landing, Leo, I swear it looked like... I don't know..."

"Lasers?" Leo filled in for her.

Jason let out a shocked breath as the pieces began to fall into place. "That's some defence system. How are we even alive?"

Leo's answer was miserable, the woes of a man who had lost something he loved so dearly. "Festus. He took the fire. The lasers sliced him to bits as he came in so they didn't focus on you. I lead him into a death trap."

He turned to Kit like he was expecting some sort of comfort again, but Kit couldn't bring himself to look at him just yet. Instead, it was Piper who stepped up, laying a gentle hand on his arm. "You couldn't have known," she insisted. "He saved our lives again."

"But what now?" Jason asked, before Leo could respond. "The main gates are locked, and I'm guessing I can't fly us out of here without getting shot down."

With determined eyes, Kit turned towards the mansion. From the looks of it, they only had one option left.

"Well, since we can't go out," he began, capturing the others' attention. "We'll have to go in."

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

BY THE TIME THEY got inside the mansion, it almost didn't seem worth it. If it hadn't been for Leo disabling every trap on the way to the door, Kit was almost sure that he, Jason and Piper would've ended up just like Festus; their limbs scattered across the yard in burning pieces.

"You're amazing, man," Jason commented as they waited by the door for Leo to examine the lock.

Kit expected Leo to preen with happiness from the praise, but the words only seemed to anger him. He whirled around to face Jason with a glare, snapping, "Yeah, amazing. I can't fix a dragon, but I'm amazing."

Jason frowned at him. "Hey, that wasn't your--"

But Leo wasn't having it. With a scoff, he turned his back on Jason, declaring to Kit and Piper, "The front door's already unlocked."

Kit would have laughed had the air between them not been so painfully awkward. Of course it was, after everything they had gone through to get there.

Piper seemed to be thinking the same thing. "All those traps, and the door's unlocked?"

"I guess whoever owns this place didn't expect someone like Leo," commented Kit with what could've been a fond smile, had his eyes not been so mocking.

Leo scoffed and turned the door knob, disappearing inside without so much as a glance back. Kit wanted to grab his arms, to turn him around and shake some sense into him, but forced himself to stay quiet as he followed after him. Then came Piper and Jason after a moment's hesitation where they whispered to each other on the doorstep. Kit didn't even want to think about the lovey-dovey bullshit they were probably whispering.

So he turned to face the entry hall, a cavernous kind of space that seemed to echo with the hisses of monsters creeping through shadows. Vaguely, Kit was able to make out the shape of a sofa along one wall, with a claw-footed coffee table and an armchair sitting opposite. The glistening diamonds of a chandelier hung just over his head. The unlit candles did nothing to provide the room with light. If Kit had to guess, he'd say the chandelier was more for show than anything, same with the rich velvet curtains and the floor-to-ceiling windows shrouded behind them.

"Where's the light switch?" Jason's voice echoed as he and Piper finally made an appearance.

"Don't see one," Leo called back from somewhere in front of Kit.

"Fire?" Piper suggested.

Leo made a sound of frustration. "It's not working."

Concern settled in Kit's stomach, brows tugging into a frown. "That shouldn't be possible... Do you feel like something is wrong?"

"How should I know?" he scoffed. "I'm not an expert with this stuff."

Almost as quickly as it came, Kit's concern was washed away by annoyance. Noticing the clench of his jaw, Piper was quick to intervene, "Okay, okay. What do we do now? Explore?"

Leo huffed at the sound of her voice, turning his frustration on her instead. "After all those traps outside? Bad idea."

Kit would've agreed with him had he not been so fucking annoying.

Fortunately, Jason was there to be the level head of the group. "Leo's right," he agreed with the grieving boy. "We're not separating again, not like in Detroit."

"Oh, thank you for reminding me of the Cyclopes," Piper groaned, whirling around to peer into the darkness like she expected Ma Gasket to come running out. "I definitely needed that right now."

"Look, it's a few hours until dawn," he said. "Too cold to wait outside. So let's bring the cages in and make camp in this room. We'll wait for daylight, then decide what to do from there."

When nobody could offer something better, they got to work. Kit helped Jason drag in the cages holding Coach Hedge and the storm spirits, setting them down in a corner where no one could get to them but them. Leo scoured over the living room settee before declaring that the space was trap-free. With that knowledge in mind, Piper settled down on one end of the couch, kicking her feet up onto one of the silk cushions with a sigh. Kit settled down on the other end, leaving his boots on just in case they needed to make a quick exit.

For a while, no one spoke. From his spot on the ground beside Kit, Leo served up cold rations that everyone pretty much left untouched. Kit didn't feel like stomaching anything with the scent of blood and smoke still clinging to him like a bad omen. Piper was pretty shaken from the altercation with Medea, and Jason was too busy planning some hero bullshit to even think about eating. As for Leo... well, Leo was grieving. Any room in his stomach was taken up by the urge to avenge his lost friend.

At some point, he moved across the room to try and open Coach Hedge's cage, but the lock seemed to be shut tight. Kit would've offered to help him if he wasn't feeling in a petty mood.

"Get some sleep," Leo said at last. Kit was unsure who he was referring to. "It's your turn, Jason."

But Jason was too busy thinking to even consider it yet. Inhaling sharply, he turned to face the boy head-on. "Leo, I'm sorry about that stuff I said in Chicago," he began. Suddenly, Kit felt mighty uncomfortable, like he was intruding on something personal to the both of them. "That wasn't me. You're not annoying and you do take stuff seriously, especially your work. I wish I could do half the things you can do."

Slowly, he lowered his screwdriver, gaping at Jason like he'd grown a second head.

"I try very hard to be annoying," he frowned like Jason's words had offended him. A faint smirk of amusement tugged at Kit's lips. "Don't insult my ability to annoy. And how am I supposed to resent you if you keep on apologising? I'm a lowly mechanic. You're, like, the prince of the sky, son of the Lord of the Universe. I'm supposed to resent you."

"Lord of the Universe?" Jason repeated, nose scrunching up in distaste.

Kit snorted. "It suits you, Superman."

Jason rolled his eyes, turning his deadpan expression back to Leo as the boy grinned and exclaimed, "Sure, you're all bam! Lightning man. And 'watch me fly, I'm the eagle that sores--'"

This time, when Kit had the urge to laugh, he didn't fight it off. This seemed to encourage Leo, for he smirked while Jason grumbled, "Shut up, Valdez. And you too, Dempsey."

Hey, at least they weren't arguing.

Leo smiled like his mission had been completed. "See. I do annoy you."

"Then I apologise for apologising."

"Thank you."

This time, the silence was welcomed, comfortable even. Leo's grief hadn't faded in a second, but it didn't rule his emotions quite as much as it had when they first broke their way inside. Instead, it seemed to transform into a new level of stubbornness that Leo wielded to convince Jason to listen to him.

"Go to sleep, Jason," he demanded, voice leaving no room for an argument. "It's gonna take a few hours to get this goat man free. Then, I still have to figure out how to make the winds a smaller holding cell, 'cause I am not lugging that canary cage to California."

Jason, being the idiot he was, didn't let go just yet. "You did fix Festus, you know," he assured the boy, who rolled his eyes but stayed quiet for him to continue. "You gave him a purpose again. I think this quest was the high point of his life."

Kit was easily able to move on in Festus' absence, but even he acknowledged the weight behind Jason's words. When Leo found that bronze hunk of metal, he was uncontrollable, untamed by anyone else. But Leo had made a friend out of him, and Kit knew what it was like to lose friends.

"Sleep, man," Leo said, for what he hoped was the last time. "I want some time without you organic life forms."

"Even me?" Kit's voice quipped, croaky from lack of use.

Leo shrugged, a non-committal kind of gesture. "You, I don't mind."

Nothing else was said as Jason eventually drifted off to sleep. Soon enough, his snores filled the room like an engine, prompting Kit and Leo to share a look of amusement, the whites of their eyes glistening in the shadows. Kit leaned down to rest his hand on Leo's shoulder, the only comfort he was willing to give as he watched the boy's expression waver.

"I might not have liked Festus at first," he said, finding it in him to be open with Leo. Kit Dempsey wasn't completely heartless, he just liked to act like he was. "But he wasn't so bad in the end."

Leo smiled, looking at Kit with so much... emotion that Kit had to look away. "Some might say that about you, Kit."

With what could've been a blush but definitely wasn't one (Kit Dempsey didn't blush!) Kit turned to Leo and smiled. "Thanks, Valdez. Wish I could say the same for you."

Leo scoffed at that. "And the moment's over. Good going."

"There was no moment--"

And so, for the rest of the night, the two boys sat up working on freeing Gleeson Hedge. Kit found that, despite the ache of tiredness behind his eyes, he didn't mind it one bit.

But that was something he'd rather take to his grave than admit.