From Titans (Book 4) (22 page)

“
It
’
s okay, Skylar. You
were thinking of Mason. The Labyrinth knew.” Zara tried to make me
feel better, but it only made me feel worse for succumbing to the
stupid mind trick.

“
Come on.
Let
’
s get going.” Hades tugged me beside him.

We walked until my leg muscles burned and
the need to quench my thirst grew unbearable. Even Ares and Athena,
fit for battle, looked tired and worn. Every so often, I gazed
behind me, and sure enough, the silvery light glowed. No one saw it
except for Zara and me.

“
I
’
ve brought the tiny crystal
balls to help you with your thirst.” Zara reached inside her
pocket.

“
I
’
m so thirsty. I wish—”
Amanda started to say.

“
No, no,
don’
t say it. Don
’
t think it,”
Nick spat.

“
Crap!” Everett murmured
under his breath. “Don
’
t tell us not to think it. We
will think it. It
’
s human nature to do the
opposite.”

“
Who thought what?” Hades
growled.

It was too late.

We froze, anticipating.

Nothing.

I held my breath.

Nothing.

I released my breath.

Something changed in the air. It became
cooler. One leaf turned to ice, rippling the effect to the other
leaves.

Zara passed out the water crystal balls,
ignoring the signs of the possible danger. “This should help.”

“
Not again.” Ares spun his
sword, as if to ready for battle.

“
Run!” Zara snapped us
alert.

The ice started to conquer the ground,
spreading toward us as we ran. The air became heavy, thick, and so
cold. Even as the puff of air left my mouth, it froze in midair in
a shape like a snowflake. Though it normally might be fascinating,
it turned deadly fast. The coldness sunk into my bones, turning my
fingertips blue. My skin tightened and pain seared through every
inch of me.

Like before, a wall blocked us in, of steel
instead of brick. Amanda banged on the wall to break it down, but
ended up hurting herself. Noah peeled her away.

“
Hurry, do something.”
Athena panicked.

Hades stood beside me,
locking his eyes straight ahead to the solid ice coming for us, as
it turned everything it touched to icicles. “I guess this is when
we find out who is stronger—hot or cold. Skylar,
it
’
s
you and me, little sis. Let
’
s do this.”

I was about to agree when the icicle leaves
flew at us like bullets.

Ares and Athena dropped their shields side
by side.

“
Get down behind us,” Ares
ordered.

“
Who thought of that? Stop
thinking!” Zeus scolded and raised his staff to shoot out bolts at
the frozen leaves heading for us.

“
I was only thinking of
shooting stars. Oh, crap!” Amanda grumbled.

I waved my hand up and down, creating a
thick ice wall. It temporarily helped, but the leaves eventually
broke through. Everyone else did the best they could to block. Then
Hades had an idea. Hades and I dropped to our knees and touched the
ground, spreading our fire. Hot met cold. There was beauty in the
elements of danger, red and blue, intertwining, fading in and out
of each other.

“
I
don’
t know how long we can stand this,”
Athena grunted.

The threat kept coming at us, pounding
fiercely like hail on glass. Then Poseidon stepped in front of us.
He appeared almost translucent, like ice. Spreading his arms, he
fanned them. His power pushed back the icicle leaves. Hades and I
melted the icicle bullets, and Poseidon froze them into a solid
mass instead. Genius.

Then, bam! The steel door fell back, and we
were free to move forward. But there was one problem. The melted
ice, turned water, came for us, swelling into a wave.

“
Run,” Zara said for the
third time.

Mason

The warm temperature
cooled down and a breeze came swiftly. Shivering, I hugged my cape
closer to my body. Every step seemed like I was walking through
snow, pushing against a stiff wind.
What
now?
My powers were limited to thunder and
lightning. It was the first time I
’
d wished I had the power of fire
like Hades. At least I could keep warm.

Hades had annoyed me at
first, especially when he paid extra attention to Sky. Not that I
was jealous, but I didn
’
t like the innocent kisses he
would plant on her cheek or the simple touch on her shoulder.
Knowing he was her half-brother put my mind at ease,
though.

I tensed and stiffened when the tall, brick
walls that seemed to reach the sky around me turned into icicles.
Even the ground started to freeze and became slippery. Rubbing my
hands together to produce heat, I trudged forward. Something sharp
and long, about five feet long, thrust up from the ground. I jumped
to dodge it, but more popped out, disorienting me as I ran.

Pain alerted me I had been
hit. Blood seeped out of my arm. One had nicked me and torn my
shirt. I had no time to assess it, for more sprouted faster and
faster. But I also knew I wasn
’
t badly injured, and it would
heal quickly. One of the perks of being a demi-god.

Pop! Pop! Pop! I weaved
around, and with my lightning bolts, I destroyed the ice shards
before they grew. Falling down a few times on the slippery ground,
I leaped back up. Then an idea came to me. Using my power, I called
upon the thunder. Not only would this give me more energy, I could
alert Sky where I was located in the Labyrinth. Why
hadn
’
t I thought of that before? No sense in being angry at
myself. I lifted my hands to the sky.

Thunder boomed and lightning sizzled. The
power surged around me and through me. My whole body fizzled and
tingled. I had been told many times before that I had more powers
than I imagined. It was as good a time as any to test that
theory.

Previously, I had been able to manipulate
objects to fly across the room or hold it in place in midair with
my energy; it was time to try it on myself. Concentrating, I willed
myself to float before the ground broke with more sharp icicles
right underneath me. The magic stilled the blasting wind, keeping
me protected, and a small grin crept onto my face.

It had been a while since
I had used this much power. I zoomed through the Labyrinth, turning
right and then left as more sharp icicles darted out of the ground.
I pushed higher, trying to get a better view. If only I could see
what the Labyrinth looked like from above, I could spot Sky and
find her location. Or my worst fear…if I could spot the Titans,
then I could get a head start. But I couldn
’
t do any of that.

Some kind of magic seeped
through the walls, preventing me from rising higher. When pebbled
roads replaced the ice trail again, I willed my power to stop,
lowering me to the ground. I had to save the rest of my energy for
other dangers ahead. After all, I was by myself. I was glad Sky
wasn
’
t alone…I hoped.

The twisted, turning
sectors of the Labyrinth had gone, and I stood in the middle of an
arena where a dozen boulders completed a circle, surrounded by
tiered concrete seating. Just when my erratic heartbeat eased, the
ground shook and I heard the loud, familiar voice.
Cronus!

Chapter
19

Skylar

We ran as fast as our legs
allowed as my thoughts ran wild. There had to be something we could
do to stop the water. When I looked over my shoulder to see how
much the water had grown, I gasped in shock. Not only did the water
tower over us, it had taken the shape of a shark
’
s mouth.

“
Who thought of a shark?”
Hades roared.

Nobody answered. We were too busy panting
from running and being scared out of our minds. I prepared to be
knocked out by the water, but instead, nothing. Everyone stopped
and turned. I dropped my jaw. The body of water completely
froze…all of it. Poseidon lowered his arms and fell to his knees
weakly with his shoulders slumped. I ran to him.

“
Are you okay?” I asked,
slowly tilting my head back to gaze at the frozen
shark
’
s mouth…so many sharp teeth. I imagined it eating us
alive.

“
Wow.” Amanda shivered.
“That was close.”

“
Great thinking,
Poseidon,” Hades praised.

“
Can you move?” Zeus
asked, looking concerned.

“
Yeah, I just need a
second. I
’
m feeling a little dizzy, but I
’
ll be okay,” Poseidon answered
wearily. His tone proved the amount of power he had used drained
him.

Not a minute passed when
thunder roared and lightning struck the sky. I gasped and flinched
from the closeness. It had to have happened someplace in the
Labyrinth. The only person that could call upon Mother Nature like
that besides Zeus was Mason. And somehow, it
wasn
’
t scary. In fact, it was the most beautiful sight I had seen
in a while.

“
Mason.” My eyes lit up,
and my heart found a blissful beat. “He
’
s here. That was
him.”

I became worried when the
lightning didn
’
t die soon after. It indicated
that he needed more energy. If we were going through hell, what was
he facing? And he was alone.

“
That was Mason,” Nick
said shortly. “He
’
s letting us know where
he
’
s
located.”

“
Then what are we waiting
for?” Everett started walking with a dagger held in front, glancing
side to side, watching out for possible danger. Ares and Athena
followed behind without a word.

“
Wait.
” Zeus placed out his hand,
gesturing for us to stop.

Everyone froze.

Zeus
didn
’
t move a muscle. His face strained, as if he were trying to
spy on a conversation from a distance.

“
What now,” Noah muttered
under his breath, always beside Amanda, protecting her.

Zeus shivered. His eyes
darkened and creases deepened on his brow. I had never seen him so
frightened before. “It
’
s Cronus. He
’
s close.” His tone
came out as a whisper, almost a whimper. “Hades, Poseidon, do you
feel it too?”

Hades nodded with a frown.

Poseidon dipped his head low in defeat but
raised his hand to confirm.

Fear had taken over the
nonchalant expressions on everyone
’
s faces at the reality that death
walked near. Cronus might as well be called Mr. Death. He wanted
the gods, and no doubt he wanted the descendants too.

She
’
d said Cronus would be
there, but not having seen him so far, I
’
d hoped Eris was messing
with our minds. Wishful thinking. Of course Cronus was there. I had
seen his hand puncture the wall and take Mason.