He pushed that thought away. He didn’t like painful memories. Keep moving—that was his motto. Don’t dwell on things. Don’t stay in one place too long. It was the only way to stay ahead of the sadness.
He picked a long implement from the wall. “A weed whacker? What’s the god of fire want with a weed whacker?”
A voice in the shadows said, “You’d be surprised. ”
At the back of the room, one of the bunk beds was occupied. A curtain of dark camouflage material retracted, and Leo could see the guy who’d been invisible a second before. It was hard to tell much about him because he was covered in a body cast. His head was wrapped in gauze except for his face, which was puffy and bruised. He looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy after a beat-down.
“I’m Jake Mason,” the guy said. “I’d shake your hand, but …”
“Yeah,” Leo said. “Don’t get up. ”
The guy cracked a smile, then winced like it hurt to move his face. Leo wondered what had happened to him, but he was afraid to ask.
“Welcome to Cabin Nine,” Jake said. “Been almost a year since we had any new kids. I’m head counselor for now. ”
“For now?” Leo asked.
Will Solace cleared his throat. “So where is everybody, Jake?”
“Down at the forges,” Jake said wistfully. “They’re working on … you know, that problem. ”
“Oh. ” Will changed the subject. “So, you got a spare bed for Leo?”
Jake studied Leo, sizing him up. “You believe in curses, Leo? Or ghosts?”
I just saw my evil babysitter Tía Callida, Leo thought. She’s got to be dead after all these years. And I can’t go a day without remembering my mom in that machine shop fire. Don’t talk to me about ghosts, doughboy.
But aloud, he said, “Ghosts? Pfft. Nah. I’m cool. A storm spirit chucked me down the Grand Canyon this morning, but you know, all in a day’s work, right?
”
Jake nodded. “That’s good. Because I’ll give you the best bed in the cabin—Beckendorf’s. ”
“Whoa, Jake,” Will said. “You sure?”
Jake called out: “Bunk 1-A, please. ”
The whole cabin rumbled. A circular section of the floor spiraled open like a camera lens, and a full-size bed popped up. The bronze frame had a built-in game station at the footboard, a stereo system in the headboard, a glass-door refrigerator mounted into the base, and a whole bunch of control panels running down the side.
Leo jumped right in and lay back with arms behind his head. “I can handle this. ”
“It retracts into a private room below,” Jake said.
“Oh, heck, yes,” Leo said. “See y’all. I’ll be down in the Leo Cave. Which button do I press?”
“Hold on,” Will Solace protested. “You guys have private underground rooms?”
Jake probably would’ve smiled if it didn’t hurt so much. “We got lots of secrets, Will. You Apollo guys can’t have all the fun. Our campers have been excavating the tunnel system under Cabin Nine for almost a century. We still haven’t found the end. Anyway, Leo, if you don’t mind sleeping in a dead man’s bed, it’s yours. ”
Suddenly Leo didn’t feel like kicking back. He sat up, careful not to touch any of the buttons. “The counselor who died—this was his bed?”
“Yeah,” Jake said. “Charles Beckendorf. ”
Leo imagined saw blades coming through the mattress, or maybe a grenade sewn inside the pillows. “He didn’t, like, die in this bed, did he?”
“No,” Jake said. “In the Titan War, last summer. ”
“The Titan War,” Leo repeated, “which has nothing to do with this very fine bed?”
“The Titans,” Will said, like Leo was an idiot. “The big powerful guys that ruled the world before the gods. They tried to make a comeback last summer. Their leader, Kronos, built a new palace on top of Mount Tam in California. Their armies came to New York and almost destroyed Mount Olympus. A lot of demigods died trying to stop them. ”
“I’m guessing this wasn’t on the news?” Leo said.
It seemed like a fair question, but Will shook his head in disbelief. “You didn’t hear about Mount St. Helens erupting, or the freak storms across the country, or that building collapsing in St. Louis?”
Leo shrugged. Last summer, he’d been on the run from another foster home. Then a truancy officer caught him in New Mexico, and the court sentenced him to the nearest correctional facility—the Wilderness School. “Guess I was busy. ”
“Doesn’t matter,” Jake said. “You were lucky to miss it. The thing is, Beckendorf was one of the first casualties, and ever since then—”
“Your cabin’s been cursed,” Leo guessed.
Jake didn’t answer. Then again, the dude was in a body cast. That was an answer. Leo started noticing little things that he hadn’t seen before—an explosion mark on the wall, a stain on the floor that might’ve been oil … or blood. Broken swords and smashed machines kicked into the corners of the room, maybe out of frustration. The place did feel unlucky.