From Origins (Descendant Prophecies Book 3) (19 page)

“Thank you,” I said, and squeezed Mason’s hand tightly. It was a gesture to tell him to keep his mouth closed. Mason was about to tell Zeus off. I knew this because I felt his energy pulsing against my hand.

“Zeus,” Zara called softly. “How about my sister, Cara? She is still on the ground, waiting for you to speak to her.”

I’d wondered why she hadn’t spoken up, but then I recalled that no one was to speak to the gods unless spoken to first.

Zeus looked down. “Speak up, Cara.”

“Please forgive me. Just like Hades, I too was overpowered by greed and selfishness. I miss my sisters. I miss what we had once. Please, Zeus, let me come home. I have changed. I will prove to you that I am good.”

“Just like Hades, I will give you this one last chance. After you have proven yourself worthy, I will change you back to yourself. But for now, your appearance will remain.”

“Thank you, Zeus. I will prove worthy,” she said, planting a kiss on the back of his and Poseidon’s hands, then backing away.

“Hurry, we must go,” my dad reminded.

“What about the others?” Hades asked. “Are you not to free everyone?”

Zeus stopped following my dad, then turned to Hades. “Not yet. We need to ensure it is safe to release them. Hephaestus might have another plan we’re not aware of. However…if we are going to war…Skylar, I need to ask you a favor.”

“Yes?” I said, tilting my head up to meet his radiating blue eyes. They were a lot brighter than when he first opened them. Looking into his eyes was like looking up at the bright sky. Still awestruck, my body had turned to Jell-O standing in front of him.

“I need your help releasing Ares and Athena. I’m not strong enough to do it myself, but when I’m back in full force I can release everyone else. Will you help me?”

This was going to be beyond awesome. I could hardly hold my excitement in. To be surrounded by the gods…not one, or two, but five…was thrilling. “Yes. I will help you.”

“This way,” Cara
directed, hobbling. “Create the portal here to direct us to where we must go.” She pointed between two adjacent trees with her cane.

I thought it was my imagination when light flashed before my eyes and the wind slapped against me. Then one lightning bolt cracked down to the ground, revealing a kneeling body.

“Hermes,” Zeus cheered happily. “It’s good to see you.”

“Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Ares, and Athena, I’m honored to see you again.”

“Stand up. Let me see you,” Zeus said.

Hermes stood up, smiling and looking content. The wings all over him were fluttering, I assumed mimicking the way he felt, overwhelmed with excitement to see the gods.

“You look well. It’s good to know you have not been affected by the Blood Moon Day,” Zeus continued. “You’ve done well. I see you found a way to bring a message to Sky. Do you have any messages for me?”

Hermes lost the grin. “I do. Hephaestus and his army are in New Olympus.”

“Where is New Olympus?” Zeus asked.

Zara didn’t waste any time; she raised her arm. “We had to build a new home. You’ll see soon enough.”

We were about to take a step to go through when Tara appeared. “Zara. Hurry. We are being attacked. The vultures have breached the shield.”

“We’re on our way.” Zara opened the portal.

“What are vultures?” Zeus asked.

“I’ll explain when we get there. Hurry. Everyone pass through.”

Every time we passed through the portal, the breeze was strong, brushing my hair away from my face. My muscles became rigid, and the air was sucked from my lungs. I hated the feeling, like my body was being dropped from a roller coaster.

We landed on the sand, and what I saw in front of me was a jaw-dropping moment. Black ashes from the vultures and wounded bodies spread across the beach. Most of them were vultures that had turned back to human. The portals never stayed open, but this one did.

“Hephaestus has turned humans into vultures,” my dad informed Zeus.

“I cannot believe how far he’s gone.” Zeus shook his head, looking disgusted.

Zara bent down, checking a wounded girl’s pulse. When she opened her eyes, Zara asked, “What happened?”

“Hephaestus broke through the barrier. There were too many of them. We couldn’t hold them back. Many are still in New Olympus.” The girl coughed, then closed her eyes.

I knew life had left her when her face turned pale and blood seeped down the corner of her lips. She looked cold and greyish, like a statue. Riding with the soft breeze, her body turned to ashes and floated with the wind.

“Let’s go.” Mason grabbed my hand and broke me away. “They need our help.”

“Hold on a minute.” Ares placed his shield out to stop us from going any further. “We need a plan. Athena will help us. Gather around.”

Athena came up with plans A and B. I just hoped either one of them would play in our favor.

What we saw after going through the portal was no different. Bodies and ashes were everywhere. Grief struck me hard, as my hand clutched tightly into a fist. I was sickened by what Hephaestus had done. If I felt like this, I could only image how my dad and Zara felt. This was their home. These were their people.

“To the castle,” my dad hollered, running toward it.

As soon as the vultures saw us, some of them came charging toward us. Using our powers and Amanda and Everett using their swords, we fought back.

“Where are Kayla and her mom?” Nick asked Tara, sizzling a vulture in front of him.

“Don’t worry. They’re inside the castle basement. They’re safe. The children and the ones that were able to escape when the vultures attacked have retreated there,” Tara explained, raising her hand to toss a vulture against a tree.

Before Tara could finish, Nick had fought his way to the door. He needed to check on Kayla, and I was glad he was going to do so. I needed to know too. As much as I wanted to see her, it had to wait until this was over because we were running out of time.

It was cool to watch Zeus twirl his staff to knock the vultures down like a ninja and shoot lightning bolts out from his staff. Poseidon motioned his hand in circles and shot out sharp, solid icicles. They fired out faster than a machine gun from his hands. Noah and Tim were awestruck as they fought beside him.

Seeing fire blast from the corner of my eye, I turned to see Hades. I could tell by the intensity of the flames that he was not up to his full capacity, but it was enough to turn the vultures into ashes. It was nice to see him really smile for the first time since I had released him. For reasons unknown, I favored Hades. Maybe it was the change in him, that he had the courage to be better. Or perhaps it was the bad-boy charisma that reminded me of Mason. Or the fact that I had spent some time with him in the underworld and understood him better.

“Up there.” Ares pointed. “They’re climbing the tower wall.”

“I’m going after them,” I shouted, and took off as others followed.

We ran toward the back and encountered more of our friends. Just as many vultures were there as there were in front, if not more, which was probably the reason we kept seeing more of them when I thought we were at the end of the battle.

Ares ducked and swung his shield to decapitate several of the vultures. Sometimes he bent low and knocked them down, and finished them off with his sword. Athena was just as skilled and graceful. Like a pro gymnast, she flipped over a vulture to confuse it and stabbed it with the sword from behind.

Lightning, fire, sharp objects turned from water, and even arrows were shot to the vultures climbing the tower, while we fought with the ones below. Knowing we needed to get to Hephaestus, I was just about to do something drastic when I saw Mason in action. Gracefully, he bounced on top of a vulture’s head, then jumped to the one on a higher level and shot the one below. He repeated this all the way to the top, and Nick—who had just come back from checking on Kayla—followed Mason, fighting in the same way.

“Move out of the way,” Mason hollered, and blasted his light. Nick did the same beside him. It traveled downward, expanding like a waterfall. The whole tower illuminated and sparks shot out, especially when it touched the vultures. Black ashes fell like rain as the vultures met their doom.

“They’re from my line of the family,” Zeus commented proudly, knocking out the two vultures that came at him. “Do you not know who I am, idiots?” He stepped on top of one and shot out lightning from his staff. The light rippled, hitting not just the one in front of him, but the others behind him and so on.

With the help of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Ares, and Athena, most of the vultures were dead, except for the few lingering ones trying to escape.

“Where’s Hephaestus?” Zara asked Tara.

“He was here when he opened the portal, but I don’t know where he is now.” Tara blinked her eyes, finally realizing that Cara was by her sister’s side. “Cara?”

Cara dipped her head low, hiding her face. “Yes, it’s me. The gods and Zara have forgiven me; can you?”

Tara reached down and stroked Cara’s long white hair. “I always have forgiven you. We just needed for you to come home.”

Tears formed in Cara’s eyes, and also in mine. Just like with Hades, my heart had softened for Cara. “I want to be home with my sisters.” Cara sobbed in Tara’s arms.

“There, there. Everything will be just fine.” Tara tried to comfort Cara.

“Mason. Nick,” Zeus called, breaking my gaze. When they stood before Zeus, Zeus looked upon them with pride. “I am amazed by your courage and your strength.”

“We are not the only ones,” Mason said. “Everyone you see has fought many battles. They are also brave and courageous.”

Zeus looked upon everyone. “We shall have a feast in honor of all the descendants. Now…where do we find my son, the one that betrayed me?”

“Hephaestus told me to meet him at my house,” I answered. “But I don’t think he’s there. I’m sure he’s aware you have been released. He has my mom. He wants Medusa’s head.”

“I believe he’s in Mt. Hem,” Cara said. “He came to see me before you came to Olympus. He wanted me to project his body to Skylar’s house. I only did it because he couldn’t hurt you being transparent; and he also threatened my life. He said even if he didn’t have Medusa’s head, he could still defeat the gods. I have no idea what he plans to do. He’s gone mad.”

“We need to stick with plan B, the plan I had set up in case we had to go to Mt. Hem,” Athena reminded, fixing her hair and pulling it back into a ponytail.

“We can’t all go,” Nick said, dusting the black ashes off his shirt. “Some of us have to stay and help protect the people in New Olympus.”

“Sarah, Aaron, and I will stay behind.” Colin stepped forward. “This is our home. We will defend it.”

“Cara and I will stay,” Tara said, looking at Cara for confirmation. Since she didn’t disagree, Tara spoke again. “They will need our guidance.”

“Then, Zara and I will go.” Dad shifted the bag he carefully guarded.

Zara waved her hand. “There. Now the bag is invisible.”

It was weird to see my dad’s arms out in front of him, holding an empty space.

“To Mt. Hem,” Ares exclaimed, lifting his sword.

Zeus blue eyes turned to the color of coal. His fists tightened together as if to make a point. “Hephaestus is mine,” Zeus huffed under his breath. “I’m coming for you, boy.”

After passing through
the portal, we landed at the opening of the cave. Immediately, I felt warmth beneath my shoes. The ground shook in waves, making it unsteady, as we trudged forward in the heat. When the sound of fire blasting bounced off the walls, dirt, dust, and pebbles fell from above.

“I feel like I’m inside a volcano that’s about to erupt. Where is everyone?” Everett asked, placing his sword in front. “I don’t remember it being this hot the last time we were here.” He wiped the beaded moisture off his forehead with the back of his hand.

Everett’s question was answered when we entered. Seeing fire everywhere I looked, I felt like I was in hell. What scared me the most was the lava painting the ground, seeping out into thin streaks that flowed like little rivers. Some even cascaded down, like waterfalls. The ground had a split in the center that wasn’t there before. The split was large, but I could jump across it. I wondered how Hephaestus had done this, and if that was the source of the fire, since hot lava shot up from the opening.

“Great. I’m back in my own world,” Hades sighed. “Let’s go get my nephew and get the hell out of here.”

“Hephaestus!” When Zeus called his son’s name, we had to brace ourselves. The ground rumbled with the intensity of Zeus’ anger. “Show yourself to me. Do not be a coward and hide behind the flames.”

There was no answer as the fire seemed to draw closer and the temperature was getting unbearable.

Amanda placed her arms to cover her face. “Put out the flames, Poseidon.”

With a nod of confirmation from Zeus, Poseidon placed out his hand, drawing out the moisture from the walls of the rocky cave. Like the waves of the ocean, his grew taller than the flame, then fell on top of it. The fire died, and the blistering steam shot out into the air.

“That was easy,” Nick remarked under his breath, but he’d spoke too soon. Fire erupted again, as if it was never put out.

“What the hell?” Everett murmured.

Zeus’s eyes became dark and cold. “Hephaestus. I command thee to come forth. Do not disrespect me. You shall obey me or face my wrath.”

“I’m here, Father.” A voice so cunning and uncaring spoke, humming through the flame as if the flames were talking. “I would like to say it’s nice to see you, but then I would be lying. Have you come to bring me the head of Medusa?”

Zeus glanced around, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. “Hand yourself over. I will make sure your punishment is to a lesser degree. I’m very disappointed in you. Have you no shame? You are a god. We build, not destroy.”

“You destroyed me. You did me wrong by sending me to Mt. Hem. I was alone.” The fire around us burst up and down with his words. “You hid me because you were too embarrassed by the way I looked. You wanted to toss me to death when I was born; aren’t I right, Father?”

Zeus blinked his eyes in surprise and looked down for a second. “We are not perfect, but I’ve never mistreated you. You don’t remember, but when you were a child, you would cry to me, beg me to make you better looking. You would tell me other gods laughed at you, and that no women would love you. You wanted to kill yourself, so I needed to end the misery for you.”

“Liar!” The fire engulfed us. We had to duck to escape the momentary explosion. From instinct, I formed a barrier of water that turned to ice, thick enough to protect us if Hephaestus lost control. When the fired leveled, I sighed with relief.

“I did what I thought was best for you, as I’m doing now,” Zeus continued, as if nothing had happened. “You were sent to Mt. Hem because you were skilled with craftsmanship, with iron, with making swords. You loved being here. When I saw you were the happiest here, I knew I had done right by you. But then you became obsessed with creating, building, and making new weapons and trinkets for others, because you loved their attention. We are mostly weakened by greed, but you were starving for attention. It claimed your entity. It sucked you in and never let you out. You were consumed with the idea of others worshipping you.”

“No, I just wanted your attention.” The fire parted along the trail and across the bridge like the Red Sea did for Moses, and then Hephaestus appeared. I was relieved, and hope sparked again when the intensity of the fire lessened. The hood of a long black cape covered his head, and there was only darkness where his face should have been. Though I couldn’t see his face, I saw his disfigured hands. They were covered with bumps that looked like chicken pox, and two of his fingers were bent, as if he was afflicted with severe arthritis.

Zeus started walking toward him with a tight grip on his staff. “This is my fault. I should have locked you away back then. But instead, I looked the other way, hoping it would pass. Never would I have thought that when we were the weakest, my own flesh and blood would find a way to betray us.”

“Never would I ever thought my father would throw me away in shame.” Hephaestus’s tone was soft and sorrowful. A tiny part of me almost felt sorry for him. That tiny part understood him, having thought my dad had left us because he didn’t love us anymore. Then I thought about who’d caused it all. I had no sympathy left for him.

“You’re not hearing what I have said.” Zeus kept his distance, but was close enough to make a move on him.

“Because it’s all lies.” A pair of red lights where his eyes were flared like fire, then died down.

“Ask your mother. She loved you more than anything in life.”

“Mama?” Hephaestus sounded like a wounded child, dipping his head down as if to recall a memory. “Mama is…gone.”

“I can bring her back for you. We can be a family again. Release Skylar’s mother. She wants her mom back too. Can you do that?”

Hephaestus raised his head slowly and backed away. “Never.”

Zeus raised his staff, pointing it right at Hephaestus. Its blue light sizzled with electricity.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Father.”

“Stop!” I screamed, hoping I’d said it fast enough. Behind Hephaestus was a vulture, holding my mom captive with a knife across her throat.

“Skylar,” my mom breathed, as tears fell down her cheeks.

My heart pounded faster, and the calmness I’d tried to keep on the surface vanished. I was panicking from seeing her pale face, and her stomach…a lump. How? I recalled Hephaestus saying that my mom was pregnant, but I’d thought he was lying. How could this be? My poor dad. He was beyond shocked. At least I was forewarned, but for him, it was a slap in the face. There were no words. And if that wasn’t bad enough, another surprise was added to our nightmare.

“Mother?” the three gods said in accord.

Who were they calling Mother?

“It can’t be.” Poseidon moved closer.

“Rhae. Is that you?” Zeus asked.

“It is,” Hades assured him. “Can’t you feel her entity?”

Dad slid his hand down his face. “How? Is it another trick? She can’t…I don’t understand how it could….” Dad shook his head, looking astonished.

Hephaestus’s cunning laugh pierced my ears. “Tell them…Rhae.”

The anticipation filled me as I patiently waited for answers. The vulture holding my mom brought her in front of Hephaestus and backed away. Instead of allowing her to speak, he began.

“I knew there was something special about Sky’s mom when I tested Sky’s blood. She couldn’t be born great just from human DNA and a useless father, whose bloodline is an unknown mix. So, I had been searching for answers, and when I asked Cara about how the Titans had been overcome by their children, I put two and two together. Why don’t you tell them how it happened…Rhae?”

My mom shifted and struggled to release herself, but to no avail. She rubbed the hem of her shirt and the rope tied around her wrist to dab the sweat along her forehead and began. “I couldn’t remember at first. When Hephaestus tried to turn me into one of his hideous creatures by forcing me to drink the vulture’s blood, I didn’t turn.”

“You can imagine how surprised I was,” Hephaestus added casually with a nasty smirk. I hated that he made it sound like this was some kind of friendly chat.

Mom gave Hephaestus the evil eye she used to give me when I would disagree with her. It was good to see her do something familiar. Whether or not it was true that she was one of the Titans, mother of the gods, to me, she was just my mom. But then…if it was true…Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades would be my half-brothers. Mom continued. “But when he gave me Skylar’s blood, it all came back to me. I escaped during the war…I didn’t want to be in the middle. I was torn between my love for my people and my children. Cronus, my brother, and the other Titans were dethroned and sent to Tartarus while I hid in the mountains. On the day of the doom, I left my entity and jumped into the nearest human body.”

Hades’s eyes softened. “We would have never sent you to Tartarus.”

“You say that now, but you can’t say it for sure,” Mom continued, fidgeting with the rope. “I jumped from body to body. Just as one body took its last breath, I would remember who I was and what I needed to do to survive. I would jump to the nearest one. Sometimes, I was a male, a child, and even a dog. I had been a teacher, doctor, lawyer, you name it…I was many different faces. I had affairs, was married, and sometimes had children. I lived a normal happy life. But in between stages, while I was claiming a body, when I could recall who I was, I’d wish that one day I could remember and be just me.”

Mom caught my eyes and I could feel her love pouring from her. “But my own child has given me that. Skylar did that for me. Her blood was a gift I never thought would be possible.” Her eyes were welling with tears, pouring down her cheeks. “I’m so happy that I’m able to see my children for the last time. As you can see…I’m with child. When Hephaestus realized who I was, he forced himself upon me. It only takes one time for me. I wasn’t known as Titaness of fertility for nothing.”

“I’ll kill him for what he did to you.” Zeus jabbed his staff on the ground, making us lose our balance.

“You may do as you will with your own son, but I will do what I must with mine.” She began to rub her lump in front.

Her words and action made me nervous. I tried to anticipate what she would do, but I couldn’t. Panic struck me to the point I couldn’t think, I couldn’t move. Would she try to save Hephaestus for the sake of her child? Would she fight alongside him? These thoughts ran frantically in my mind, hoping she would come to her senses. After all, she had been with him all this time. Who knew what he did to her, or said to her, to insure she would stay with him. But when I saw that ugly smirk that made me cringe so hard on Hephaestus’s face, I had no doubt I had lost my mom.

Mom’s tears poured even more as she kept her eyes on me. “It’s time to say goodbye, Skylar. I love you very much, and I’m so sorry I won’t be there for you, to watch you grow, to get married, and have children of your own.” Her eyes shifted to Dad. “Victor, I wish we’d had more time together. I want you to know that I’m still the person you married. I loved you then and I still do now.”

Dad blinked in disbelief; he was still in shock. “Let her go, Hephaestus!” he demanded with fury in his eyes.

Hephaestus gloated, moving in front of my mom. “She’s mine.”

What happened next had never crossed my mind. Mom ran for the nearest flame.

“Nooo!” I bellowed in torment.