From Titans (Book 4) (20 page)

“
Yes. Humans do have quite
the imagination. Before I let you go, please tell Zeus, he must
defeat his father the way he once did. Free the
Cyclopes.”

“
The Cyclopes?” I raised
my voice. “We have no time. It
’
s tomorrow.”

Zara wrinkled her nose.
“On second thought. Tell him I
’
ll bargain with the Cyclopes and
win back what were once gifts to the gods for freeing them. The
Cyclopes might be very angry with the gods. Zeus freed them, and
once they defeated the Titans, he put them back in prison in
Tartarus. In the process, the Cyclopes stole
Hades
’
s helm and Poseidon
’
s trident but were unsuccessful
with Zeus
’
s staff, Thunderbolt. I will have to offer them something in
return. I don
’
t know what that will be, but I
have to give it a try, or the Titans will have the upper
hand.”

Another worry seeped into
me, but I brushed it away. I couldn
’
t think about the Cyclopes and
Cronus while I was in the Labyrinth. The last thing I needed was
for some version of a Cyclops to appear.

“
Are we good,
Skylar?
” Zara broke me out of my
thoughts.

“
Yes.” I had no
choice.

Chapter
17

Skylar

The next day, a package arrived at the door
with one red apple and a note that read: Dead or alive, come meet
me at the Labyrinth of Crete. Tick tock, time is running out. By
the way, I have something extra special for you for tricking me.
Nobody brings chaos except for me.

I could hear her squeaky, annoying voice,
nagging at me.

My heart leaped, not only
because the time had arrived, and not only because we were about to
face the unknown in the Labyrinth, but I was close to being with
Mason. I prayed he would be himself and Eris
hadn
’
t done anything drastic to him, like brainwash him. Picking
up my phone, I texted everyone:
It
’
s time
.

Hermes took me to Mount
Olympus, where a portal would be ready for us. It had been a while
since I stepped in Olympus. Ever since the gods had reclaimed their
rightful ownership, they had rebuilt it bigger and better. Though I
hadn
’
t had a tour, I could tell the same pristine white marble had
been used as a foundation for the palace. The gardens, not only
filled with various vibrant flowers, were adorned with statues of
the gods. In the middle, a grand fountain and a huge metal ring
reflected the colors of the rainbow.

“
Are we all here? Have I
missed anyone?” Hermes asked, his wings still fluttering as if to
take flight.

We glanced around. I spotted Zeus, Hades,
Poseidon, Nick, Everett, Noah, Amanda and, to my surprise, Hera,
Persephone, Athena, and Ares.

“
Don
’
t forget to count me,”
a sweet, gentle voice sang behind me.

I swung around to see Zara wearing all
black, even her cape. She looked bad ass and ready to kick butt,
kind of steampunkish.

“
How do you like my new
outfit? I didn
’
t think I could be useful wearing
a dress. What? Why does everyone look so surprised?”

“
Zara.” I cleared my
throat. “I didn
’
t know you were coming. I mean,
I
’
m
grateful, but…”

Zara tilted her head to
the side. “
You
can
’
t fight magic without magic. I
’
ve assigned Tara to find the
Cyclopes, and Cara will be looking after New Olympus, so I took
this opportunity to pay my debt to you. After all, Skylar, if it
wasn
’
t for you, the gods wouldn
’
t be here. I
wouldn
’
t have my sisters back. Mason means the world to you, and he
is part of our family.”

“
I
don’
t know what to say.” I choked
up.

“
Ares and I are coming
too. We
’
re not standing here for the fun of it,” Athena announced,
dropping her shield by her side.

“
We are
Zeus
’
s trusted warriors. Where there is danger to him, we follow,”
Ares added, placing his fist on his chest to his heart.

Then I glanced at Hera and Persephone.

“
We
’
re not going, Skylar.
We
’
re not fit for battle,” Hera explained, placing a hand on
Zeus
’
s shoulder. “We
’
re here for moral support and
wish you all back home safely.”

I nodded;
I
’
d
never expected them to go with us. Actually, I was grateful. Having
them with us would be a distraction. Our energy would be spent on
protecting them. I assumed Hera and Persephone understood this.
Besides, who would
want
to go inside the Labyrinth?

When it looked like everyone was there, I
explained how we had to keep our minds clear of thoughts,
especially the bad ones. Whatever we thought of would come alive.
Zara reminded us to work as a team.

“
Great.” Nick threw up his
arms. “There are too many of us. We
’
re bound to have nightmare
thoughts.”

“
We
’
ll have to do our best
and trust each other.” Poseidon fidgeted with his cape, which
fluttered with the soft breeze.

“
We need to get going,” I
stressed, trying to overcome my pounding heart. “Eris
didn
’
t say a specific time, but knowing her, the hunt began even
before she sent the message. She isn
’
t the type to play
fair.”

“
Hermes, start the
portal,” Zeus commanded.

The ring in the center of the fountain
started to spin, faster and faster. The mist from the water blew in
the air, dampening my face.

“
We
’
re going through
there?” Amanda groaned. “How do you know it will take us to the
Island of Crete?”

“
It will. We can go
together.” Noah held her hand. As always, he lessened her
worries.

“
Be safe, my love. Keep
your ego at bay.” Hera planted a kiss on Zeus
’s lips.

“
Be careful. Watch your
back and be safe here. Don
’
t go anywhere alone.” He gave her
one hell of a kiss back.

One by one, everyone stood on the walkway to
the portal and jumped through. It was odd to see them with us one
second, and then disappear the next.

“
You go, Skylar.”
Hermes gave me a nudge.
“
I
won
’
t be going. I have to help Tara. When she retrieves the items
from the Cyclopes, I
’
ll bring them to
Zeus.”

“
What if you
can
’
t find us?
” My voice rose in
panic.

Hermes winked. “Zeus and I
are bonded. I know where he is always. A Labyrinth
won
’
t be able to keep me away from him. I can
’
t explain it. In
modern terms, I have an app in my brain that keeps track of Zeus
and his location. Now, hurry before the portal closes.” He gave me
a tender kiss on my forehead and then gave me the warmest heartfelt
grin. “For good luck. Now go kick ass.”

“
Hermes!”
I hollered.

He had tossed me through.

I landed, stumbling. Hades broke my
fall.

“
Hello there, little one.
Miss me that much?” Hades joked.

I ignored his comment.
“Where are we?” It was a stupid question. I knew where we were, but
I didn
’
t know what to expect. I only knew we would portal to the
Island of Crete, but I never expected the place to be beautiful and
serene. Water surrounded us, blue as the sky and crystal clear with
white sand. Standing on a hill gave us a great view. The only
things for miles were the gigantic wooden double doors in front of
us. I had to tilt my head way back to see their full
length.

Zeus held a red apple in his hand he had
picked off the ground by the door, and with the other hand, he held
a note. He read it out loud.

Dear Silly People,

Welcome to my Island of
Crete. Isn
’
t it beautiful? How ironic you
have to die here. Anyway, Zeus must place his hand on the door, and
it will open. Good luck. Bon appetit…and I meant those words for
Cronus. Well, don
’
t just stand there and gawk at my
beautiful penmanship. Go! Tick tock, time is running out. How I
love to say those words.

From your not-friend, not-crazy person
everyone thinks I am,

Eris

“
She
is
crazy.” Hades huffed, his
shoulders tensed. “Let
’
s get this over with. I
can
’
t wait to wring her neck.”

When Zeus placed his hand on the door, it
creaked open. We walked in silence, taking careful slow steps. I
reached inside my pocket and clicked the magical pen. Then I nodded
at Zara, who was staring at me, her way of reminding me what to do.
She smiled after she glanced over her shoulder to see the silvery
mist following us.

Tall bushes on either side of us pointed the
way. So far, all was calm and still; the only sound was pebbles
grinding under our footsteps. Ares and Athena held their swords and
shield in front, while Everett and Amanda held the daggers they
brought from home. The Labyrinth was so massive one could hide for
ages. Send in two people, one at the beginning and one at the end,
and those two people might never meet in a lifetime. That was how
complicated and ginormous the Labyrinth was.

Thump. Thump-thump. Thump. Thump-thump. My
heart beating faster replaced the sound of my footsteps. We took
ten steps when the bushes rustled, startling us.

“
The magic in the
Labyrinth is trying to confuse and scare us,” Zara warned. “Ignore
the sound.”

I looked behind me to ensure the silvery
mist followed us. After I confirmed, I paced a bit faster, eager to
get to Mason.

“
Mason!” Nick
yelled.

“
He can
’
t hear you, Nick,”
Zeus stated. “Don
’
t be stupid and draw unwanted
attention.”

A feeling in the pit of my stomach warned me
of danger. I felt it when a breeze blew sharply past us, tousling
my hair. Then the tall bushes began to shake faster, and the leaves
began to fall.

“
What the hell?” Noah
guided Amanda to the center.

“
Don
’
t think of anything,”
Zara warned. “Keep going. This is just the beginning.”

“
Crap!”
Amanda snapped.
“I didn
’
t mean to, but I saw this movie
and—”

Branches swung out from
the bushes like whips. One wrapped around
Everett
’
s waist. He cut free with his dagger, but more came at
him.

“
Seriously, Amanda,” Nick
growled, energy sizzling from his fingertips to the branches coming
for him. “Couldn
’
t you have thought of something
sweet?”

“
Watch
out!
” I shouted.

Countless vines darted at us. I ducked and
zapped one that headed for my neck. Another one wrapped around my
legs and arms, locking me still, and then flung me down. Pain
ripped through me as the branches dug into my skin. I shot my
powers, but I missed the targets. As the tree dragged me in, the
unpaved ground cut and scratched my back through the fabric. Pain
seared my back.

About halfway into the bushes, I managed to
send fire through the palm of my hands. It let go of me, and Nick
pulled me out and helped me up. He had been sucked in at the same
time and released when I had set the fire.