The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus #1)(39)

A total psycho, that lady. Leo was so glad he was on a quest to rescue her.

Tía Callida would’ve loved this vat, because it was way worse than jalapeño juice. Leo looked for a trigger—something that would disable the net. He didn’t see anything.

He had a moment of panic. Nyssa had said there were several traps like this in the woods, and they were planning more. What if the dragon had already stepped into another one? How could Leo possibly find them all?

He continued to search, but he didn’t see any release mechanism. No large button labeled off. It occurred to him that there might not be one. He started to despair—and then he heard the sound.

It was more of a tremor—the deep sort of rumbling you hear in your gut rather than your ears. It gave him the jitters, but he didn’t look around for the source. He just kept examining the trap, thinking, Must be a long way off. It’s pounding its way through the woods. I gotta hurry.

Then he heard a grinding snort, like steam forced out of a metal barrel.

His neck tingled. He turned slowly. At the edge of the pit, fifty feet away, two glowing red eyes were staring at him. The creature gleamed in the moonlight, and Leo couldn’t believe something that huge had sneaked up on him so fast. Too late, he realized its gaze was fixed on the fire in his hand, and he extinguished the flames.

He could still see the dragon just fine. It was about sixty feet long, snout to tail, its body made of interlocking bronze plates. Its claws were the size of butcher knives, and its mouth was lined with hundreds of dagger-sharp metal teeth. Steam came out of its nostrils. It snarled like a chain saw cutting through a tree. It could’ve bitten Leo in half, easy, or stomped him flat. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, except for one problem that completely ruined Leo’s plan.

“You don’t have wings,” Leo said.

The dragon’s snarl died. It tilted its head as if to say, Why aren’t you running away in terror?

“Hey, no offense,” Leo said. “You’re amazing! Good god, who made you? Are you hydraulic or nuclear-powered or what? But if it was me, I would’ve put wings on you. What kind of dragon doesn’t have wings? I guess maybe you’re too heavy to fly? I should’ve thought of that.”

The dragon snorted, more confused now. It was supposed to trample Leo. This conversation thing wasn’t part of the plan. It took a step forward, and Leo shouted, “No!”

The dragon snarled again.

“It’s a trap, bronze brain,” Leo said. “They’re trying to catch you.”

The dragon opened its mouth and blew fire. A column of white-hot flames billowed over Leo, more than he’d ever tried to endure before. He felt as if he were being hosed down with a powerful, very hot fire hose. It stung a little, but he stood his ground. When the flames died, he was perfectly fine. Even his clothes were okay, which Leo didn’t understand, but for which he was grateful. He liked his army jacket, and having his pants seared off would’ve been pretty embarrassing.

The dragon stared at Leo. Its face didn’t actually change, being made of metal and all, but Leo thought he could read its expression: Why no crispy critter? A spark flew out of its neck like it was about to short-circuit.

“You can’t burn me,” Leo said, trying to sound stern and calm. He’d never had a dog before, but he talked to the dragon the way he thought you’d talk to a dog. “Stay, boy. Don’t come any closer. I don’t want you to get caught. See, they think you’re broken and have to be scrapped. But I don’t believe that. I can fix you if you’ll let me—”

The dragon creaked, roared, and charged. The trap sprang. The floor of the crater erupted with a sound like a thousand trash can lids banging together. Dirt and leaves flew, metal net flashing. Leo was knocked off his feet, turned upside down, and doused in Tabasco sauce and oil. He found himself sandwiched between the vat and the dragon as it thrashed, trying to free itself from the net that had wrapped around them both.

The dragon blew flames in every direction, lighting up the sky and setting trees on fire. Oil and sauce burned all over them. It didn’t hurt Leo, but it left a nasty taste in his mouth.

“Will you stop that!” he yelled.

The dragon kept squirming. Leo realized he would get crushed if he didn’t move. It wasn’t easy, but he managed to wriggle out from between the dragon and the vat. He squirmed his way through the net. Fortunately the holes were plenty big enough for a skinny kid.

He ran to the dragon’s head. It tried to snap at him, but its teeth were tangled in the mesh. It blew fire again, but seemed to be running out of energy. This time the flames were only orange. They sputtered before they even reached Leo’s face.

“Listen, man,” Leo said, “you’re just going to show them where you are. Then they’ll come and break out the acid and the metal cutters. Is that what you want?”

The dragon’s jaw made a creaking sound, like it was trying to talk.

“Okay, then,” Leo said. “You’ll have to trust me.”

And Leo set to work.

It took him almost an hour to find the control panel. It was right behind the dragon’s head, which made sense. He’d elected to keep the dragon in the net, because it was easier to work with the dragon constrained, but the dragon didn’t like it.

“Hold still!” Leo scolded.