From Titans (Book 4) (28 page)

“
That
’
s not all. Is it,
Athena?” Tara tapped her fingers, urging Athena to move along. We
didn
’
t have all day.

Athena
’
s lips curled down. “I
sprinkled her body with the juice of an herb called Monkshead, also
known as Hecate
’
s Bane. I watched as Arachne
transformed into a spider. Her head shrunk, her hair fell out, and
her nimble fingers grew into long, thin legs.” Her eyes glistened
with pure satisfaction.

Mason glared at Athena, and his tone rose.
“So, you turned her into a spider?”

Athena shrugged and turned
her face away, unable to meet Mason
’
s gaze. She
didn
’
t answer at first. Gods were not only arrogant, but they
would never admit they were wrong. “She deserved it. Just like Eris
and the Titans will. I have some left.”

“
If we use this on the
Titans, will it turn them into spiders?” I questioned.

“
No.” Athena shook her
head. “Only the humans do. Those with a god
’
s blood just
shrink.”

Nick
’
s eyes grew in fury,
but his tone was calm. “You had something that could have helped
beat the Titans, and it didn
’
t occur to you to mention
it?”

Athena looked away,
fidgeting with her ponytail. “
I don’
t need to answer to this
little person. Besides, why didn
’
t the Oracles mention
it?”

Nick scoffed and inhaled a deep breath.

Silence.

Dead silence.

A sigh.

A cough.

Zara clapped once.

We jumped.

“
Well
…” Zara snapped us out of
whatever had rendered us speechless. “Either we stay here like
corpses or we go save the world. Skylar, have either of your
parents contacted you?”

“
No.”

Zara
’
s lips twitched, her
eyes focused. “Let
’
s hope they hurry. Do you know
where they went?”

“
No,” I answered. “Mom was
vague about her plans. She knows the urgency of our
situation.”

“
But she
doesn
’
t know how bad it is.”

I wasn
’
t sure what caused me
to get into a leadership role besides the fact my family was at the
dead center of the battle, but without hesitation, I took charge.
“Athena, bring the Monkshead and meet us there. Hermes, release the
Cyclopes. For everyone else, what are we waiting for?
Let
’
s go.”

Chapter
25

Skylar

We arrived at
Kelly
’
s diner through a portal. At first I wasn
’
t sure if we were at
the right place when smoke filled the air, but then a warning bell
rang in my head, reminding me the battle started here. It
wasn
’
t just the smoke; the ground shook, and loud angry roars
filled the air. Those sounds had to have come from the Titans.
Chills danced along my spine.

I coughed, and then everyone started to
cough from the toxic smoke, except for the gods. The coughing
continued as we covered our noses. Our steps were careful as we
fanned our hands to clear away the smoke. Zara perked her lips.
After a long inhale and exhale of her breath, guided by her magic,
the smoke vanished. Silently thanking Zara we could breathe again,
we paced forward, led by Ares in front. When Nick had called Kayla,
she informed him they were fine, but asked for us to hurry, for the
town was under siege.

“
Kayla,” Nick shouted.
“Are you here?” Nick rushed through the damage to the kitchen. We
followed. Only he knew where they were hiding.

Nick swung the storage room door. Kayla, my
aunt, Mona, and Jack sat to the back corner with knives in their
trembling hands.

Kayla beamed with recognition. “Nick.” She
dropped the knife and embraced him and then me, followed by my
aunt, Jack, and Mona.

“
Who are these people?” My
auntie Kelly looked either impressed or was in shock to see the
gods. Her eyes shifted from Zeus to Ares to Hades. She
couldn
’
t stop staring at Hades.

“
Pleasure to meet you.”
Zeus kissed my aunt
’
s
knuckles.

She blushed and then blushed even more after
Hades did the same.

“
What
’
s going on? When?
How?” I threw in questions.

“
We have no idea?” Mona
threw up her hands. “I
’
m going to assume they appeared
through a portal. Otherwise, I
’
m sure we
would
’
ve heard and felt Cronus
’
s steps before he got
here.”

“
You saw him?” Sarah
cringed.

Aaron
’
s eyes grew wider, and Colin held
fast to his sword and shield.

“
He crushed half of this
building with his stinking foot,” Jack spat, waving a spatula with
his other hand and then slamming it on the counter as if he could
crush Cronus with it. “We stayed behind to clear the fire. But they
ripped through this town. They
’
re not far. I suggested we stay
in the storage room, the only section that hadn
’
t been touched.
Besides, we couldn
’
t escape. Our cars were crushed,
too.”

The pots and pans rattled, the ground
trembled, and human screams filled the short peace we had.

“
Are your mom and dad
okay?” Kelly asked, quivering. “Do you know where

they are?” She leaned into
me. “What
’
s going on? I don
’
t understand. Who is
Cronus?”

“
My parents are safe,” I
reassured her, but it was a lie as I dismissed her last

question. I had no idea. Where did my
parents go? I wished they would hurry. Receiving no return texts or
calls from them had my stomach in knots.

Mona picked up a broom and started sweeping.
“Is this happening throughout the world? How did Cronus
escape?”

Zara waved her hands in a circular motion,
mumbling a few words. Everything around us, what was left, moved on
its own back to its original position. Even the broken chairs,
dishes, ceiling, cabinets, like when one rewinds a movie,
everything was whole again.

Aunt Kelly stumbled back, covering her mouth
from screaming.

Kayla dropped her jaw.
“
Shit. Mom
doesn
’
t know who—”

Before Kayla could finish,
Zeus placed his hands on my aunt
’
s temples and sent a dosage of
shock waves. When he left go, he let her fall into his
arms.

Zeus cradled her and
placed her down in the storage room. “She
’
ll forget this and what
we
’
ve discussed here. I don
’
t know when
she
’
ll wake up, but someone should stay with her, preferably
Kayla. Mona and Jack should stay behind to help Kayla, just in
case.”

Mona shrugged. “I was planning on it anyway.
Sure, why not?”

“
Just because we have no
powers…” Jack wiggled his fingers with his lips turned down. “We
miss all the fun.” He dropped his shoulders with a sigh. “But
I
’
ll
do whatever you ask of me.”

“
Good.
” Zeus cocked a brow,
expecting nothing less.

The ground shook again. The pots and pans
clanked together.

“
We better go,” Mason
said, not sounding thrilled. He kissed my forehead.

“
Stay in the storage
room.” Nick kissed Kayla and guided her gently back in.

“
Be careful,” Kayla
murmured.

“
We
’
ll be back soon.” I
caught Kayla
’
s eyes. “Stay here and
don
’
t come out unless you have to.” It was the safest place for
her. Right?

“
Wait,
” Zara, Nick, and I said at
the same time.

The three of us exchanged glances, surprised
we had said the same word.

I spoke first. “Zara should portal them back
home.”

“
I was going to say the
same thing,” Nick seconded.

“
And so was I.” Zara
opened her fist and lights glowed and swirled, dancing with the
wind. Then they were gone, safely back to my
aunt
’
s house.

The town had been rebuilt with the help from
the gods when Hephaestus and his monsters ripped through not too
long before in search of me. People were suffering much worse.
Sure, there were causalities before, but Cronus and Eris had begun
attacking the humans, too.

I had to cover my eyes and look the other
way. Countless dead bodies dotted along the streets. Some had
missing limbs and others had been decapitated. Blood painted the
windows, doors, and sidewalks.

The town was unrecognizable. Fire blazed and
flames reached the sky. The building structures were smashed, the
windows shattered, many of them beyond repair. Squashed cars
blocked the road, along with broken trees and street signs. Even
the homes I could see from the short distance had been damaged. A
truly devastating sight. My heart sank, and the knot in my stomach
tightened even more.

“
Cronus! Eris!” Zeus must
have felt the same ache as me. Even though he
didn
’
t care for the humans, the sight alone was cause for anger.
He raised his hands and called upon the thunder. The
already-ominous clouds darkened even more, twisting and turning.
“This should let them know our location. Bring the fight here,
where there has already been damage.”

Zeus was right. Why cause destruction
elsewhere? Boom! Boom! Boom! The ground pounded. Our balance got
worse when the ground rattled faster, closer together. They were
near.

“
Don
’
t let Eris take you.”
I turned to Mason and kissed him.

“
You stay by my side,” he
ordered with a kiss back. “We
’
re not losing this—”

“
Zeus!” Cronus’s voice
thundered over us, covering Mason
’
s words.

“
Holy Cronus,” Sarah
murmured with her head tilted back, gripping tighter to her
shield.

“
He looks so normal, just
big,” Colin commented with wide eyes.

Aaron
’
s hands blazed with fire. He
stood confident, but the expression on his face told me something
else.

I shivered and gulped down
my fear. Eris sat on Cronus
’
s shoulder. Behind Cronus were
his siblings and—No, it couldn
’
t be. She did. Giant humans were
under her spell, lined in perfect formation, ready to
attack.