"Anwen, she's alive!" Piper said. "Your mum is alive!"

I stood in silence, staring.

"No." I said. "No, she got killed by monsters."

Medea laughed. "Did you really think she would sacrifice herself for you?"

I frowned. "But she was my mum? She..." I trailed off. Would my mum sacrifice herself?

Medea was grinning. "Oh, you did? Oh dear. Well, I guess no one told you."

"Told me what?" I said.

"She ran." Medea said. I stared. "She was supposed to meet your satyr here-" Medea gestured to Coach Hedge, still frozen in his cage. "-but Gaia knew of you. How could she not? You're too much of a threat. So, she sent some monsters who had particularly... persuading voices. Your mother was easy to sway, I hear."

"She wouldn't... she wouldn't leave me?" I said it as more of a question.

Medea was smiling at me.

A tear ran down my cheek. "No." I said. "No, she was my mum... she said- she said it was us against the world- she... she wouldn't..."

"I guess we all get disappointed by our loved ones." Medea said.

I didn't want to believe it, but it made sense. Why I never found a body, why the monsters didn't even try and find me, why I never heard them fighting.

"The boy's mother was too difficult to persuade, however. She had to be killed." Medea said.

I let out a breath. "Piper," I said in a hollow voice. "Get the other two, we're leaving. Now."

Medea smiled even wider. "Oh, you aren't going anywhere."

"Is that so?" I said. "Piper get the other two."

Piper nodded. "Jason, Leo, she's tricking you, put down your weapons. We need to leave."

Medea laughed. "Please, girl. You're no match for me. I trained with my aunt, the immortal Circe –"

"Not so immortal, she was the one in the Sea of Monsters, right? Yeah, we got rid of her a while ago."

Medea shot me a murderous look. "Fine. This is a good trade-off then. Boys, kill each other."

"No!" Piper said. "Jason, Leo, listen to me! Medea is charming you. It's part of her magic. You're best friends. Don't fight each other. Fight her!" Piper's voice seemed magnified; it was louder, more confident, more powerful.

The boys hesitated. "Leo was I just about to stab you?" Jason said, looking confused.

"Something about my mother?" Leo frowned, then turned towards Medea. "You! You work for dirt woman! You sent her to the machine shop that night." He lifted his hammer. "Lady, I've got a three-pound hammer with your name on it."

"Bah!" Medea sneered. "I'll simply collect my payment another way."

She pressed one of the mosaic tiles on the floor, and the building rumbled. Jason swung his sword at Medea, but she dissolved into smoke and reappeared at the base of the escalator.

"You're slow, hero." She laughed. "Take your frustration out on my pets!"

The giant bronze sundials at either end of the fountain swung open. Two snarling gold beasts – flesh-and-blood winged dragons – crawled out from the pits below. Each the size of a camper van.

"So that's what the kennels are for." Leo said meekly.

The dragons spread their wings and hissed. I could feel the heat coming off their glittering skin. One turned to Piper.

"Don't look it in the eye!" Jason said. "It'll paralyse you."

"Indeed!" Medea was leisurely riding up the escalator, leaning against the handrail as she watched us in amusement. "These two dears have been with me a long time – sun dragons, you know, gifts from my grandfather Helios. They pulled my chariot when I left Corinth, and now they will be your destruction. Ta-ta!"

I rolled my eyes. "Even I don't say ta-ta." I muttered.

The dragons lunged. Leo and Jason charged to intercept.

I saw Piper go after Medea up the escalators, and I was left standing there, looking pretty stupid.

So, I did the only sensible thing in my situation. I got on top of one of the dragons.

Now you may be wondering. Anwen, I thought these were sun dragons, wouldn't you get burnt? And the answer: yes. It hurt. A lot.

I climbed up onto the dragon's head, as it kept trying to shake me off. I held a knife in one hand and with the other I held onto the dragon.

"Can't paralyse you if it doesn't have eyes." I muttered.

I plunged my knife into the dragons eye socket. Gold blood spurted from it's eye as it screeched in pain. Writhing and swinging me around more wildly. It's hide felt as if it was slowly getting hotter, my hand was steaming, my eyes streamed as hot fumes clouded around me.

I coughed and plunged my knife in the dragon's other eye. The dragon roared and swung itself to the side, and I was thrown off it.

Pain exploded in my chest as I hit one of the gold cages.

My sight blurred. My ears were ringing. I could faintly hear the others yelling as the ceiling shattered. Shards of glass rained down as Festus crashed through the roof.

I saw the blurry image of Piper's face before my vision faded to black.

Hi, so this was a pretty short chapter. I might delete it? I'm just not sure if I like it. If your reading this that means I kept it though.

The chapter name will most definitely change, this is kind of just a filler while a think of a better one, unless you guys like it, in which case tell me, or comment better ideas.

I'm going back to school in a few days, so at that point, my updates may be slower? So far I've been updating it every like day or two. So that might change, but if it does I will keep trying to make it at least weekly.

Btw just wanted to say that this will be a series. I'm having each Heroes of Olympus book probably as it's own book, however the downside of this is that the son of Neptune will not be part of it as it happens at the same time as this book (I think) and that would mean four books, and I don't like four (idk why). So I might have the last two books in one story, who knows.

Also, good news: I get the whole day to write. Bad news: It's because I'm ill.

Anyways, I'll carry on writing now. I hope you are having a good day, and if now then I hope reading this made you feel better, even just a tad.

Bye from Corgi :)

P.S. (feel free to skip) Just a reminder that all characters (apart from Anwen) belong to Rick Riordan, this is merely a fanfiction based off the Heroes of Olympus series.