From Titans (Book 4) (10 page)

Zeus rubbed his chin.
“We
’
re going to have to change that rumor, won
’
t
we?
” His arrogant tone came off somehow
charming. And I felt grateful for his commitment and
determination.

“
Yes, my Zeus.”

“
Will you take us there?
And where is it that we
’
re headed?”

“
Yes, of course.
It
’
s
rumored to be close by the great city of Sardis, a place called
Land of Reverse.”

“
Land of Reverse?”
Poseidon tensed. “Isn
’
t that—”

Zeus pounded his staff on
the ground. “Let
’
s not scare the little ones.
Let
’
s go. Lead the way, Hermes.” He paused. “Wait. Can someone
get Hades? I swear, Persephone will be the death of
him.”

“
Correction.” Hades
entered with Persephone by his side. “She is the reason why I
survived all those centuries. She is the one who persuaded me to
forgive my brothers.”

“
Forgive?
” Zeus raised his
voice.

Poseidon bolted, appearing
in front of Zeus. “Later. We
’
re wasting time.”

Zara rolled her eyes.
“Skylar, if the gods don
’
t behave, zap them with the
crystal light I gave you. You
’
ll knock them to sleep or give
them a good kick in the butt. Be safe, my child.” Then she shifted
her attention to everyone else. We
’
ll re-group when
necessary.”

“
Be careful,” Mother
said.

I hugged my mom and dad, promising them I
would return as soon as possible and asked them to take care of the
dogs. Though we had hired workers to attend to their needs, I
wanted someone I trusted to be there.

We circled around Hermes.
Zeus
’
s power flashed from his staff. Poseidon protectively twirled
water around his, and Hades blasted fire on the ground we stood.
Then, everything blurred.

Chapter
10

Skylar

Something soft and spongy cushioned my feet.
When I took a step, my body lightly bounced. I let out a giggle,
but stopped when I realized why the place had been named Land of
Reverse. Clouds floated beneath our feet, and never-ending blue sky
plunged deep below them. Above us were trees and an endless running
stream of water. My shoulders tightened at the thought of the river
drowning us if somehow it dropped. I gulped. Strangely, light
illuminated the landscape, but no evidence of a sun existed.

I reached for the small pouch Zara had given
me, which was tied to the loop on my jeans. Then I shoved my hands
inside my pant pockets and felt for the bottle and the crystal.
Relieved they stayed in place, I eased a little.

“
I get why
it
’
s
called Land of Reverse, but what the hell?”
Nick spat.
“How are we
supposed to get the water?” He raked his hair back.

“
Can the clouds take us
there?” Amanda shrugged. “Or can we bounce off the
clouds?”

Noah tried, but he
didn
’
t get far.
“I guess
not.”

Everett scratched his
head. “
I
don’
t sense any danger here.”

Hades leaned closer to Everett. “You might
not want to say that out loud.”

Everett twitched.

“
What do we do, Hermes?”
Zeus asked, scanning the perimeter.

Curiosity got the best of Hermes. He poked
his finger through the clouds just as I did.

Zeus coughed. “Hermes.”

“
Oh, my Zeus.” Hermes
stood straight. “I was just testing—”

“
What do we do next? Do
you know?” Zeus seemed to have run out of patience.

“
We wait,”
Hermes said.

“
Wait for
what?”

“
The rumor says we wait
for Silenus.”

Hermes sat on the cloud. When Zeus did the
same, we followed. The clouds held our weight, but when I placed my
hand on it, it went right through. Such an odd place, but as long
as we were safe, I had no complaints.

“
Who is Silenus?” Hades
crossed his legs.

Hermes looked over his
shoulder and then back to us. “Silenus is the satyr.
He
’
s
also a friend of Dionysus, the god of wine. To make a long story
short, Silenus partied with Dionysus. They gathered with friends
for a wild, noisy, riotous party. Women of the woods accompanied
them. They
’
d dance and drink wine until the
sun came up. After a long night, Silenus stumbled into the palace
grounds of Midas, king of Phrygia. According to Dionysus, King
Midas took pity on the satyr, who in return gave Midas a
wish.”

“
The ability to turn
anything into gold.” Nick
’
s eyes widened with revelation.
“So that
’
s the true story of King Midas. There are so many different
versions.”

Hermes
continued.
“But after he accidently turned
his daughter into gold, he begged to be put back to the way he was.
King Midas had to plunge himself into the river. The gold flowed
down the river, where it eventually settled, and the banks and the
flowers turned golden. But I
’
m not sure where Phoenix River
is.” He pointed up to the water. “Maybe that
’
s it.”

“
Great, the blind leading
the blind.” Amanda rolled her eyes and rested her head on
Noah
’
s shoulder.

“
At least we made some
progress,” Noah muttered.

My stomach cramped,
letting me know it was time to eat. “Is anyone hungry?” I loosened
the pouch and took out an unbreakable cracker Zara had given me.
None of the crackers had cracked or crumbled as a cracker normally
would from my movements. “Wow, they really don
’
t break.” I passed one
to everyone.

“
This tastes like crap,”
Nick grumbled. His jaw worked as if he was chewing on hard
taffy.

Hades
chuckled.
“You know what crap tastes
like?”

“
It
’
s a figure of speech,
Hades.” Nick sighed with a hint of annoyance.

“
Your figure of speech
should be more grateful. You
’
ll be full for days.” Hades
placed his in his mouth. Seconds later, he spit it out. “How does
Zara expect us to eat this? She could
’
ve made it taste like chicken or
beef. It tastes like…crap.” He perked his lips, trying to contain
his laugh. “I think I
’
d rather starve.
I
’
m
a god. This is ridiculous.”

“
I agree.
I
’
m
not that hungry.” Poseidon handed his back to me and so did
Zeus.

“
Wow.” Noah sounded
astounded but somewhat sarcastic, too. “The gods finally agree on
something.”

I didn
’
t mind the taste. I
only cared about making the hunger pain go away. When I finished
it, I felt as satisfied as if I had eaten a banquet. “It
didn
’
t taste bad to me.” I shrugged.

“
Long as I
don
’
t feel hunger, I don
’
t care what I eat.” Amanda took
another small bite, grimacing.

“
So, how do you like
living among the humans?” Noah asked out of the blue.

Zeus arched his eyebrows. “Why do you want
to know?”

“
I
’
m just curious.”

Poseidon reached his hand
through the clouds and tried to hold it in his hand. When he
realized he couldn
’
t, he frowned.
“We
’
ve only been living with the humans for about a month,
part-time. It
’
s interesting. In some ways we
are alike, but in many ways, we aren
’
t. The humans have a rigid
schedule. Kids go to school. Parents go to work. They are
very
productive
.
I
’
m
not sure if I can fit in.”

Zeus rolled back his
shoulders. “We intended to learn their ways, but I
don
’
t think we have much to learn. Well…” He gave a smirk. “Maybe
our manners. Regardless, gods are superior, and we
don
’
t take orders well. I don
’
t think we can hold a job and be
bossed around. I
’
d probably cut off the
person
’
s head.” He grinned.

Hades stretched out his
legs and planted his arms behind him for support. When his arms
went right through, he sat up taller. “I kind of like the human
world. But I do agree with Zeus. We
’
re used to our ways. Having to
adapt to their technological advances and their way of thinking, we
won
’
t fit. There is no harmony, only chaos. But I
don
’
t want to be alienated from their world. They
don
’
t pray to the gods anymore, or believe we even exist, but I
would like to use that to my advantage and come and go as I please.
Since I
’
ve said a mouthful, I could use a drink. Want to pass out the
crystal marbles, Skylar?”

“
Sure. I was about to do
that next.” One by one, afraid that if dropped it would plunge down
to the endless who knew where, I passed them out carefully, as if
they were the most precious thing.

The crystal marble felt
cool and like hard candy in my mouth. When I crushed it with my
teeth, water squirted out. It was only a drop full, but as told, it
had been plenty. Knowing I wouldn
’
t need to drink water for several
days, eased my mind, but I prayed we wouldn
’
t be here that long.
Technically, we only had two days now.

Zeus sprawled out, gazing
above at rippling water. “Too bad it
’
s water and not wine.”

“
I have to agree with you
there.”
Poseidon
snorted.

“
I would give anything for
a glass of wine right now,” Hades chimed in and parted his lips.
“It would be nice if it would flow down to my mouth as I wished, a
drop at a time.”

When Poseidon opened his
mouth, I
’
d thought he had something to say. Instead, tiny bubbles
floated out of his mouth and swirled around him. Chuckling, he
said. “I
’
m bored. Just passing the time.” The bubbles gathered to form
the shape of a harp, and then it moved, directed by
Poseidon
’
s hand. It became the shape of a star, then a lion, and then
it moved again until…

One by one, the tiny bubbles popped, like
tiny fireworks. Hades flickered fire from his fingertips. “Why did
you do that?” Poseidon growled.

Hades shrugged.
“I
’
m
bored too.”

“
Play with your things,
not mine,” he spat.

Zeus ran his hand down the
rod of his staff. “I was enjoying the peace. Let
’
s not start an
argument here, in front of the little ones.”

Nick stood and adjusted his shirt. “Stop
calling us little people.”

“
Are you not a head
shorter than me?” Zeus challenged.

“
Maybe,” Nick answered
sheepishly and then squared his shoulders. “Head taller than me or
not doesn
’
t make us little people.”

Zeus chuckled. “Relax,
Nick. It
’
s called a figure of speech.”

We laughed at Zeus, giving Nick a taste of
his own medicine.