The older guys tossed a ratty baseball back and forth. A few of the girls began playing jump rope with an old piece of clothesline. Some had holes in the knees of their trousers, or shoes with the heels coming apart. Their clothes were clean, but worn and faded. The boys wore white collared shirts and pants held up by suspenders. Leo could tell this was in the past, because all the girls wore dresses and buckled leather shoes. They were mostly African American, with a sprinkling of Hispanic-looking kids, as young as kindergartners and as old as high schoolers. Look, here we come.” “We?” From every door, dozens of children spilled into the courtyard, yelling and jostling each other. “This is a memory,” Hazel said, “so no one will see us. Before he could ask questions, a bell rang inside: not a modern electronic sound, but the old-fashioned buzz of a hammer on metal. After having been possessed by an eidolon three days ago, he didn’t appreciate the feeling. Everything around him seemed solid and real, but he was a spirit. Leo looked down and realized his own body had turned to mist too. She was a ghost-just a vaporous silhouette in the steamy air. Agnes Academy for Colored Children and Indians.” “What kind of name-?” He turned toward Hazel and yelped. He saw no sign of air conditioning, which meant it must have been a thousand degrees in there. Leo could see flickers of movement inside, but it was eerily quiet. Along the sides of the buildings, windows were open. An old deflated football sat in one corner, at the base of a Virgin Mary statue. The courtyard was about the size of a basketball court. Overhead, the cloud cover was low and gray, striped like a tiger’s pelt. Somewhere nearby, Leo smelled fish frying. The sun beat down, and the humidity was about two hundred percent, even stickier than in Houston. Big magnolia trees had cracked the pavement.

Red brick walls were overgrown with vines. Chapter 22 They stood in the courtyard of an old compound, like a monastery.

“Show me.” He took Hazel’s hand, and the world dissolved. It couldn’t hurt to let the coach be in charge for a few more minutes, could it? “Okay,” he relented. Besides, a flashback sounded like a pretty brief thing. He still had a nagging suspicion he’d forgotten something, but Coach Hedge seemed to be doing fine. If this works, maybe we can finally understand how we’re connected.” Leo glanced back at the helm. “I wouldn’t ask you to do this, but I’m sure it’s important. “What exactly are we talking about? Is it safe?” Hazel held out her hand. If this flashback was something Frank had shared with Hazel…well, either Leo didn’t want any part of it, or he definitely wanted to try it. Leo started to feel jittery, like he’d been injected with coffee.

The mark of athena by rick riordan