104 the house of hades rick riordan

“You most definitely did not.”

“I’m not gonna leave you here! After you helped me and everything? Of course I’m coming back.

Once I rebuild Festus, he’ll be able to handle an improved guidance system. There’s this astrolabe that I, uh…” He stopped, deciding it was best not to mention that it had been built by one of Calypso’s old flames. “…that I found in Bologna. Anyway, I think with that crystal you gave me—” “You can’t come back,” Calypso insisted.

Leo’s heart went clunk. “Because I’m not welcome?”

“Because you can’t. It’s impossible. No man finds Ogygia twice. That is the rule.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, you might’ve noticed I’m not good at following rules. I’m coming back here with my dragon, and we’ll spring you. Take you wherever you want to go. It’s only fair.”

“Fair…” Calypso’s voice was barely audible.

In the firelight, her eyes looked so sad, Leo couldn’t stand it. Did she think he was lying to her just to make her feel better? He considered it a given that he would come back and free her from this island. How could he not?

“You didn’t really think I could start Leo and Calypso’s Auto Repair without Calypso, did you?” he asked. “I can’t make cider and stew, and I sure can’t sing.”

She stared at the sand.

“Well, anyway,” Leo said, “tomorrow I’ll start on the lumber. And in a few days…”

He looked out over the water. Something was bobbing on the waves. Leo watched in disbelief as a large wooden raft floated in on the tide and slid to a stop on the beach.

Leo was too dazed to move, but Calypso sprang to her feet.

“Hurry!” She sprinted across the beach, grabbed some supply bags, and ran them to the raft. “I don’t know how long it will stay!”

“But…” Leo stood. His legs felt like they’d turned to rock. He had just convinced himself he had another week on Ogygia. Now he didn’t have time to finish dinner. “That’s the magic raft?”

“Duh!” Calypso yelled. “It might work like it’s supposed to and take you where you want to go.

But we can’t be sure. The island’s magic is obviously unstable. You must rig up your guidance device to navigate.”

She snatched up the console and ran toward the raft, which got Leo moving. He helped her fasten it to the raft and run wires to the small rudder in the back. The raft was already fitted with a mast, so Leo and Calypso hauled their sail aboard and started on the rigging.

They worked side by side in perfect harmony. Even among the Hephaestus campers, Leo had never worked with anyone as intuitive as this immortal gardener girl. In no time, they had the sail in place and all the supplies aboard. Leo hit the buttons on the Archimedes sphere, muttered a prayer to his dad, Hephaestus, and the Celestial bronze console hummed to life.

The rigging tightened. The sail turned. The raft began scraping against the sand, straining to reach the waves.

“Go,” Calypso said.

Leo turned. She was so close he couldn’t stand it. She smelled like cinnamon and wood smoke,