Chapter Text
I
LEO
There were only three things Leo Valdez knew for certain. First, his name was Leo Valdez. Second, he had a vague memory of a boy named Jason Grace. Third, he was pretty sure he was about to die. That was all he could remember.
Leo had woken up with no memories beyond his own name and a blurry image of a blond kid called Jason. Every attempt to remember anything else felt like reaching into a fog bank. There was nothing there. The dying part came a few hours later. At the moment, he was more concerned with figuring out where he was.
According to every sign he passed, the answer was Drogheda. Which would have been useful information if Leo had the slightest clue where Drogheda was. He couldn't even pronounce it. Was it Drogg-heeda? Dro-heeda? Dro-ga-da? Whatever. The point was, he was lost. Very lost. And if the increasingly dark clouds overhead were any indication, things were about to get worse.
Leo tried not to think about that. Unfortunately, when your entire memory consisted of a name and half a face, there wasn't much else to think about. The face belonged to Jason Grace. At least, Leo assumed it did. Blond hair. Blue eyes. A crooked smile that felt familiar in a way nothing else did. Leo's head pounded as he attempted to recall more. He was aware of Jason's significance. He was very certain about that. It was unclear why Jason was significant.
His brother? Leo glanced down at his tan skin, then remembered the boy with the pale skin, blue eyes and blond hair. Most likely not. Friend? Perhaps. A boyfriend? Leo's heart fluttered. Hopefully. However, he was unable to recall what he had eaten for breakfast. or whether he had ever eaten breakfast. Who knew, then? The existence of Jason Grace was crucial. He was out there. Somewhere. Would he be trying to find him? But, for all Leo knew, Jason could've been a cashier he'd met once. The thought made him irrationally annoyed.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. The jacket, annoyingly, wasn't helping. The weather had taken a turn sometime during the last hour. The sky overhead had become a sheet of heavy grey clouds. A cold wind whipped through the streets. Rain threatened in the distance. If Leo was going to suffer from mysterious amnesia, the universe could at least provide decent weather. He rounded another corner. And was met with yet another sign. It seemed worn down. It was tilting, probably about the fall over. Leo could fix it, probably. Wait, could he?
Leo stared at the sign. The letters were in black, and its font was in bold, impossible to miss. WELCOME TO DROGHEDA. Underneath was another sign. Something written in Irish. Leo squinted at it. Nope. Not a clue. He wasn't entirely sure English was his first language either. It felt natural enough. But he felt his mother language on the tip of his tongue. It didn't come to him. His mind was purely blank. Like a computer waiting to be programmed. It was like somebody had reached into his brain and selectively snipped the wires that carried the important parts.
Thunder rumbled overhead. The first drop of rain landed on his nose. Then another. And another. Within seconds the heavens opened.
"Oh, come on!" Rain hammered the streets. People hurried for cover. Leo joined them. Mostly because he didn't want to seem like a lunatic standing in the rain. He sprinted toward the nearest shelter, skidding beneath the awning of a small shop. Water dripped from his hair. His jacket was soaked. His shoes made unpleasant squelching noises. Perfect. Just perfect. A shiver ran down his spine. Not from the cold. Well, not entirely from the cold. Something felt... off. Leo peered out from beneath the awning. Rain poured from the sky in silver sheets, turning the street into a blur of umbrellas and headlights. People hurried past with their heads down, eager to escape the storm.
Everything looked normal. Yet the uneasy feeling remained. It settled somewhere between his ribs. Something told him this wasn't the first time he had this feeling. His fingers twitched. For some reason, he found himself checking the alley beside the shop. Nothing. Just bins. Wet pavement. And a ginger cat eating a dead mouse. Leo grimaced slightly. Yuck. Though, he had seen worse, at least he assumed. A movement caught his eye. Across the street, somebody was standing beneath a bus stop shelter.
A girl stood beneath the shelter. Around his age. Dark curls spilled from beneath her hood in every direction, refusing to be contained. Two pale blonde streaks framed her face. She was staring directly at him. Leo couldn't exactly read it, but it creeped him out. The girl fumbled for something in her pocket. A phone.
"Nope." Leo immediately turned around. He had no evidence she was dangerous. No evidence she was looking at him. No evidence she wasn't simply texting a friend. But considering he couldn't remember his own birthday, Leo felt justified in being cautious. Very cautious. Suspiciously cautious. The kind of cautiousness that involved leaving immediately. He stepped away from the awning. The rain instantly attacked him.
"Wonderful." Head down, hands shoved into his pockets, Leo started walking. Fast. Not running. Running looked suspicious. Fast walking was perfectly normal. People fast-walked all the time. Probably. A car splashed through a puddle beside him. Freezing water soaked the leg of his jeans. Leo groaned. The universe clearly hated him. He turned another corner. Then another. Leo didn't know where he was going, but he was going somewhere. Maybe there was some form of B&B. How was Leo going to pay for a B&B? Simple, he wasn't! By the time he reached the edge of town, he was soaked through skin and bone. His body shook with cold tremors.
He took shaky breaths, a soft whistle escaping between his tooth gaps. He patted down his jeans, when he felt something in his back pocket that definitely wasn't there before, however, the lightning split the sky before he could investigate. For a fraction of a second, the world flashed white. It took a while for Leo's eyes to readjust, but when he felt his back pocket, whatever had once been in it vanished. Had he imagined it? Leo gulped. The rain kept pouring, not stopping for Leo's crisis.
Let's review. What does Leo know? Well, he knows his name, and a guy named Jason. Yup. This was going perfectly. Leo heard footsteps behind him, he swung around on his heels only to come face-to-face with the girl that had been at the bus stop.
She stared at him inquisitively. Leo stared back. "Uhm, can I help you‐" Up close, Leo caught a blur of freckles, rain-soaked curls, and tired hazel eyes before she slammed him into the pavement. Leo landed. Landed hard. Before he could process what had happened, a sickening blast flew over him, crashing into the building beside him. Its wall was now covered in a thick, black sooth. Blackened cracks spiderwebbed up from its foundation.
"Abhartach." the curly haired girl muttered with about the same amount of enthusiasm as when you realise your sibling ate your left overs that were clearly labeled as yours. Leo hadn't noticed it before, but she was holding a dagger. She stayed crouched beside him, she was staring at someone. And Leo, being Leo, made the mistake of looking too. At first glance, it looked human. That illusion lasted about half a second. Its skin was grey. Not pale. Grey. Like wet stone left at the bottom of a river. Its eyes glowed. A deep red. Almost blood-like. The sight was enough to make Leo's stomach drop.
The creature smiled. Rows of pointed teeth revealed themselves. Holy shit, go to a dentist, my guy. The girl rose smoothly to her feet. The dagger in her hand shimmered with silver runes. The creature hissed. Its voice sounded like gravel being crushed beneath a tyre.
"Daughter of Macha.."
The girl's expression darkened.
"You know who I am."
"Your blood smells of horses."
"Fecks sake." The girl rolled her eyes. "It's one of those."
One of those? One of what? Leo felt like he'd missed approximately twenty years of context. Which, considering his memory situation, was entirely possible. The creature's gaze shifted. Directly onto him. Its grin widened. Yup, this is where the death part comes in.