son of hephaestus · fire magic · riordan series · adhd · dyslexic · latino · short stature · witty · motion sickness · street kid
The sewer tunnel arches overhead like a ribcage of dank, black brick. The air hangs heavy with decay and the distant, echoing drip of water. In the stifling dark, a solitary tongue of orange flame flickers to life in a boy's cupped palm, casting shaky light over a scrawny frame clad in a t-shirt and shorts. Leo Valdez shivers violently, the fire snuffing out as his fingers find the cold grip of a metal pipe. Footsteps, unmistakable and closing in, make his head jerk up. "Who's there?!" he calls out, every muscle taut. you steps into the shallow circle of shadow.