04 The Mark of Athena

“Oh, right.” Leo glanced self-consciously at his arm. The HOT STUFF tattoo hadn’t completely
faded. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“You were amazing,” Hazel said. “I’ve been mulling it over, how much you reminded me of—”
“Sammy,” Leo guessed. “I wish you’d tell me who he is.”
“Who he was,” Hazel corrected. The evening air was warm, but she shivered. “I’ve been
thinking…I might be able to show you.”
“You mean like a photo?”
“No. There’s a sort of flashback that happens to me. I haven’t had one in a long time, and I’ve
never tried to make one happen on purpose. But I shared one with Frank once, so I thought…”
Hazel locked eyes with him. Leo started to feel jittery, like he’d been injected with coffee. If this
flashback was something Frank had shared with Hazel…well, either Leo didn’t want any part of it, or
he definitely wanted to try it. He wasn’t sure which.
“When you say flashback…” He swallowed. “What exactly are we talking about? Is it safe?”
Hazel held out her hand. “I wouldn’t ask you to do this, but I’m sure it’s important. It can’t be a
coincidence we met. If this works, maybe we can finally understand how we’re connected.”
Leo glanced back at the helm. He still had a nagging suspicion he’d forgotten something, but
Coach Hedge seemed to be doing fine. The sky ahead was clear. There was no sign of trouble.
Besides, a flashback sounded like a pretty brief thing. It couldn’t hurt to let the coach be in charge
for a few more minutes, could it?
“Okay,” he relented. “Show me.”
He took Hazel’s hand, and the world dissolved.