From Titans (Book 4) (12 page)

“
I loved My Little
Ponies,”
Amanda
squealed.
“I used to collect them when I
was a little girl. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Double Diamond.” She
clasped her hands, recalling her childhood with sparkle in her
eyes. “They
’
re so cute. I used to play with
them all the time.”

Zeus cleared his throat,
cutting our conversation short. “Silenus, you better give me some
answers, or I promise you I will turn you into a real pony or a
dead one. They won
’
t be calling you My Little Pony.
They
’
ll call you My Dead Pony,” Zeus warned, gripping his staff
tighter. “What in the world is going on? Who is the watcher of this
place?”

Silenus twitched his nose and dragged his
hooves across the pebbled ground. “I am.”

Hades
’
s fingers knotted around
Silenus
’
s neck in a split second. It happened so fast, even Zeus
couldn
’
t have stopped Hades. Flames glowed in his eyes, and the
other free hand lit on fire. “You put us through hell for what
reason? You almost got these two little ones killed. Why
didn
’
t you come sooner?”

Silenus
couldn
’
t answer, but anger flared in his eyes. His tail lashed from
side to side, and his hind legs kicked in distress.

Hades let Silenus go when
Poseidon splashed water on them. “Cool down. If you kill him, then
we
’
ll get no answers.”

Hades released his hand with a grunt.

Silenus coughed
relentlessly. When settled, he glared at Hades. “I am not your
enemy. You came to the Land of Reverse to seek an old tale for your
purpose. Dionysus
’
s rare gift was only given to
worthy men. King Midas was worthy, but he was a fool. No one else
has made it this far. They were all swallowed up by the sand. And
do you know why? I
’
ll tell you why. They were not
worthy. Most of the dead are the humans who searched for the gold
King Midas washed away. Many of them were from his kingdom. They
couldn
’
t pass the sand test, the first test. You passed the test
because you are not humans. The sand is only breakable if you work
together. And just to clear the air, I didn
’
t make these obstacles.
Dionysus did.”

“
Where is he?”
Zeus
’
s fingers drummed against his staff. “The gods went their
separate ways when they had been released from the iron
cast.”

Silenus shrugged.
“
I don’
t know. But he left me in charge of the river.
I
’
m
not here to guide or serve anyone. I
’
m here only to answer
questions.”

“
Liar!” Hades spat, still
unable to control his rage.

Silenus
’
s eyebrows arched and
his lips pinched together. “It
’
s the truth. And if I were you, I
would hurry. If you pass the next test, it will lead you to the
gold. Soon, the land will flip, and you
’
ll be standing on clouds
again. When that happens, the gold water will not be available to
you. The land chooses when it wants to turn. I have no
control.”

“
How many tests are
there?” Everett shoved his hands in his back pockets.

“
Two.
” Silenus replied.

Everett
sighed in relief.
“Last one.”

“
I
wouldn
’
t celebrate just yet. Those who made it through test one
didn
’
t make it through test two.”

I rubbed my head in confusion. Had I heard
him right? “You just said no one made it past test one?” I
scoffed.

Silenus wiggled his lips
and opened his mouth. “Did I?” His laughed painfully pricked my
eardrums. It sounded like a dying donkey. “Either
I
’
m
getting old or it
’
s from all that wine last night.
Anyway, I must be on my way. Goodbye and good luck.”

“
Wait,
” I cried.
“I
’
m
running out of time. This is an urgent matter.
Can
’
t you give me some gold water?”

Silenus slowly turned his
ahead to me. “Urgent matter? Getting gold water is not urgent,
especially when you
’
ll be handing it over to
Eris.”

“
How do you know this?”
Zeus asked.

“
Eris has come to this
land many times before. She has even sent some of her people, or
shall I say human prisoners, but they…” he shook his head.
“It
’
s a shame so many had to die. So, she must have something or
someone you care about.”

“
Yes, please help me,” I
begged. My hand reached out to touch him, but he
recoiled.

His green eyes stared at me. “You have a
good heart, and I would love to.”

My heart burst with hope,
but quickly deflated when he spoke again. “But I
’
m sorry.
It
’
s
not my place to get you the gold. I too am unable to capture it. I
would drown in the river. It
’
s too bad my legs are not made
with fins. I
’
m made for land and not
water.”

Amanda
’
s body tensed. “I say,
let
’
s tie him up and cook him. Maybe then he
’
ll do as we
asked.”

Hade
’
s lifted his scorching
hands. “I
’
ll do the honors.”

“
Wait, wait, wait.”
Silenus backed away, kicking dirt in the process.

“
What do you mean you
would drown?” Nick came closer. He had rested by the tree during
the conversation.

“
Nothing. I have to go.
I
’
ve
said too much.” Silenus made an odd noise through his nose.
Stomping his hind legs, he backed away.

“
Silenus,
answer!
” Zeus demanded. His voice shook
the ground.

When I turned back to Silenus, he had
disappeared, leaving no trace behind but a cloud of dust large
enough to mask him.

Chapter
12

Mason

Something caressed the
side of my face, soothing me. When it happened again, I knew the
hand belonged to a woman I despised. She locked me in a prison
within my own mind. I couldn
’
t move. I
couldn
’
t speak. But at least I had my own thoughts, or at least I
hoped they were. They had to be. Memories of Sky kept me going,
gave me hope, and kept me alive.

Eris stroked my hair. “I
wonder what
’
s taking Skylar so
long?”

I rested my head on her
lap and my body sprawled on her bed. I wanted to tell her to get
her hands off me, but like before, I couldn
’
t. But I, too, wondered what
took Skylar so long. I knew she was doing everything she could, so
maybe something went wrong. The realization had me spinning with
worries. Then I remembered she would be with my family and the
gods. She would be safe.

“
Oh, I hope she
isn
’
t dead. That would be awful. She was my last chance. Everyone
else died in the process,” she rambled.

Everyone else died in the
process? Where did Sky go? Where did Hermes lead her? It
didn
’
t matter where they went. Everything came with a price,
especially when dealing with the gods. Nick, Everett, and the three
powerful gods were with her. Either way the thought of her being in
danger sickened me. How I wanted to zap Eris.
I
’
m fighting, Sky, to get back to you.

“
Anyway,
I
’
m
sure they
’
re fine. When they bring me the gold water. I can turn all my
apples into gold.” A disgusting sound of giggles grated against my
ear. “Then, I can turn my whole palace into gold. Oh…” She let out
a horrendous laugh again. “I can bring chaos into the human world.
That would be so much fun. Gold apples will be everywhere. Oh, you
know what would be even better? Skylar thinks I
’
m going to release you
when she brings me what I want; however, I have fun plans.
It
’
s
going to be one massive entertaining party. The Titans will love my
idea. When all the gods are dead, I
’
ll be standing by the
Titans
’
side and rule not just Old and New Olympus, but the whole
world. I
’
ve offered Skylar to be sacrificed first to the Titans. Of
course you
’
ll be by my side.”

My head bounced on the
mattress when she sprung off. “I
’
m going to be the queen of the
world, and you will be my king.” I couldn
’
t see her anymore, unable to
move my head, but her words alone told me she had gone over the
edge.

Hurry up, my love. We have much to do.

Skylar

“
Coward,” Hades growled
when Silenus disappeared.

“
Now what? Are we free to
get the water?” Nick asked, tossing a pebble to the
river.

“
Let
’
s try it.” With the
bottle open, I carefully walked toward the bank of the river while
everyone followed behind. Stepping onto the pebbled ground was no
problem this time around. I was just about to dip the bottle inside
when someone yanked me back.

“
Watch out,
Skylar!”

Not again!

Water lashed out of the river like a long
whip. It tried to get me, but Hades pulled me out of the way in
time.

“
What is that thing?”
Everett hissed.

“
Looks like a giant
tentacle to me,” Nick said.

“
I
don’
t think so.” Amanda stared at the
location where it had popped out.

“
I
don’
t know.” Poseidon stood in front of us
and held out his hand. “I command you to stop.”

Water from the river poured onto Poseidon,
drenching him from head to toe. Then like before, it lashed out,
like a long whip.

“
Back away—” Poseidon
didn
’
t get a chance to finish. Countless water whips slithered out
of the river like snakes, crawling, making it too difficult to run.
One curled around Poseidon
’
s ankles and took him
in.

“
Poseidon!” Zeus
bellowed.

Noah stepped in front and
created a temporary impenetrable barrier when more came at us. It
didn
’
t help. Water went through the barrier. Hades and I blasted
fire while Nick zapped it, but to no avail.