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She stood about twenty feet from him now, next to the cooking fire. Her fists were clenched, her teeth<br />
bared. She looked ridiculous in her chain mail muumuu and her greasy pigtails—but given the murderous glare<br />
in her huge red eye and the fact that she was twelve feet tall, Leo wasn‘t laughing.<br />
―Any more tricks, demigod?‖ Ma Gasket demanded.<br />
Leo glanced up. <strong>The</strong> engine block suspended on the chain—if only he‘d had time to rig it. If only he could<br />
get Ma Gasket to take one step forward. <strong>The</strong> chain itself … that one link … Leo shouldn‘t have been able to see<br />
it, especially from so far down, but his senses told him there was metal fatigue.<br />
―Heck, yeah, I got tricks!‖ Leo raised his remote control. ―Take one more step, and I‘ll destroy you with<br />
fire!‖<br />
Ma Gasket laughed. ―Would you? Cyclopes are immune to fire, you idiot. But if you wish to play with<br />
flames, let me help!‖<br />
She scooped red-hot coals into her bare hands and flung them at Leo. <strong>The</strong>y landed all around his feet.<br />
―You missed,‖ he said incredulously. <strong>The</strong>n Ma Gasket grinned and picked up a barrel next to the truck.<br />
Leo just had time to read the stenciled word on the side—kerosene —before Ma Gasket threw it. <strong>The</strong> barrel<br />
split on the floor in front of him, spilling lighter fluid everywhere.<br />
Coals sparked. Leo closed his eyes, and Piper screamed, ―No!‖<br />
A firestorm erupted around him. When Leo opened his eyes he was bathed in flames swirling twenty feet<br />
into the air.<br />
Ma Gasket shrieked with delight, but Leo didn‘t offer the fire any good fuel. <strong>The</strong> kerosene burned off,<br />
dying down to small fiery patches on the floor.<br />
Piper gasped. ―Leo?‖<br />
Ma Gasket looked astonished. ―You live?‖ <strong>The</strong>n she took that extra step forward, which put her right<br />
where Leo wanted. ―What are you?‖<br />
―<strong>The</strong> son of Hephaestus,‖ Leo said. ―And I warned you I‘d destroy you with fire.‖<br />
He pointed one finger in the air and summoned all his will. He‘d never tried to do anything so focused and<br />
intense—but he shot a bolt of white-hot flames at the chain suspending the engine block above the Cyclops‘s<br />
head—aiming for the link that looked weaker than rest.<br />
<strong>The</strong> flames died. Nothing happened. Ma Gasket laughed. ―An impressive try, son of Hephaestus. It‘s been<br />
many centuries since I saw a fire user. You‘ll make a spicy appetizer!‖<br />
<strong>The</strong> chain snapped—that single link heated beyond its tolerance point—and the engine block fell, deadly<br />
and silent.<br />
―I don‘t think so,‖ Leo said.<br />
Ma Gasket didn‘t even have time to look up.<br />
Smash! No more Cyclops—just a pile of dust under a five-ton engine block.<br />
―Not immune to engines, huh?‖ Leo said. ―Boo-yah!‖<br />
<strong>The</strong>n he fell to his knees, his head buzzing. After a few minutes he realized Piper was calling his name.<br />
―Leo! Are you all right? Can you move?‖<br />
He stumbled to his feet. He‘d never tried to summon such an intense fire before, and it had left him<br />
completely drained.<br />
It took him a long time to get Piper down from her chains. <strong>The</strong>n together they lowered Jason, who was still<br />
unconscious. Piper managed to trickle a little nectar into his mouth, and he groaned. <strong>The</strong> welt on his head<br />
started to shrink. His color came back a little.<br />
―Yeah, he‘s got a nice thick skull,‖ Leo said. ―I think he‘s gonna be fine.‖<br />
―Thank god,‖ Piper sighed. <strong>The</strong>n she looked at Leo with something like fear. ―How did you—the fire—have<br />
you always … ?‖<br />
Leo looked down. ―Always,‖ he said. ―I‘m a freaking menace. Sorry, I should‘ve told you guys sooner but—<br />
‖<br />
―Sorry?‖ Piper punched his arm. When he looked up, she was grinning. ―That was amazing, Valdez! You<br />
saved our lives. What are you sorry about?‖<br />
Leo blinked. He started to smile, but his sense of relief was ruined when he noticed something next to<br />
Piper‘s foot.<br />
Yellow dust—the powdered remains of one of the Cyclopes, maybe Torque—was shifting across the floor<br />
like an invisible wind was pushing it back together.<br />
―<strong>The</strong>y‘re forming again,‖ Leo said. ―Look.‖<br />
Piper stepped away from the dust. ―That‘s not possible. Annabeth told me monsters dissipate when<br />
they‘re killed. <strong>The</strong>y go back to Tartarus and can‘t return for a long time.‖<br />
―Well, nobody told the dust that.‖ Leo watched as it collected into a pile, then very slowly spread out,<br />
forming a shape with arms and legs.
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