The Battle for Sanctuary: The Titan's Legacy: Vol: 2 (Volume 2) (15 page)

“
This is amazing!”
Aaron said with wide eyes. Maria simply stared, while Dominic and the
others emitted gasps of wonder.

It's an oasis, Justin thought. There
was no other word for it.

“
Welcome to my little
retreat,” Prometheus said with an impish grin.

He was standing next to a pool of
clear water surrounded by ferns and small bushes. The grass-covered
ground smelled richly of earth and the room, at least a hundred feet
across, looked more like a hidden glade in some forest than a room
underground. The light reminded Justin of the artificial daylight
from the water level below in Sanctuary. Even the air was cooler and
smelled fresh and clean. The walls around the room were painted in
great detail with trees, valleys and far-off mountains. It created
the illusion that the space was much larger than it was.

“
How did you do this,
sir?” Julia spoke up breathlessly, a broad smile on her face.

“
The mechanics aren't
important. It has helped to keep me relatively sane over the years.”
The Titan gestured to the far side of the room. Justin glanced in
that direction and saw a strangely shaped stone cabinet covered with
many doors. “Join me, please,” he invited them and he
walked over to the large piece of furniture.

The group slowly made their way
across the room, enjoying a break from the heat and dryness of the
main level. All of them were breathing deeply, as though storing the
invigorating smells in their memories.

When they all stood next to
Prometheus, he looked at them and his expression became serious. “I
want you to make it to the very top of Sanctuary,” he said
gravely. “But I have a feeling that forces unknown may stop you
before you reach your goal.” He looked intently at Justin.
“You, Justin, have the potential to be a power to be reckoned
with, once you learn to use your ingrown talent.” He looked
over at Aaron, who shifted nervously. “And you, Aaron, have a
bracelet to channel your Titan powers, once you know the proper
runes.”

Prometheus looked around at the other
teens, an affectionate expression in his eyes. “And you, my
fellow Titans, would be formidable if you had the proper tools and
skills to use your Titan abilities.” He looked piercingly at
Dominic. “In you especially, Dominic, I sense a warrior born.”
Dominic smiled broadly and then blushed as the Titan continued “If
you learn to curb your tongue.”

The others laughed and Prometheus
grinned broadly, then sobered again.

“
And so, I have gifts for
all of you.” He opened a door in the cabinet and removed a
beautifully tooled metal box. He put it on a low bench and opened the
box gently. He reached in, pulled out a handful of shiny objects and
turned to display them to the teens. All of them gasped and Dominic
said “Whoa.”

Bracelets, a pile of them, rested in
his huge hands. “Take one, all who need them,” he urged
them and they all eagerly stepped forward and grabbed one each. The
Titan nodded at their reactions.

“
Now, choose your
off-hand, the one which you do not write with, and just slide the
bracelet on to your wrist.”

Justin watched as they all put on the
bracelets. He recalled the sense of excitement when he had done the
same and stood back and enjoyed watching his new friends reaction.
Then he frowned as he recalled something else that happened when he
and Aaron had gotten their bracelets.

“
Sir? I just remembered
something,” he said to the Titan.

“
Indeed?”

“
Yes sir. When Aaron and
I first got our bracelets, we had to, well, bleed on them before we
could put them on. We were also told that it would be fatal if they
were ever removed. Why don't these guys have to do the same?”
Several of the teens looked at Justin with alarm.

Prometheus shook his head.
“Superstitious nonsense,” he muttered. “Apparently,
the knowledge of using runes and bracelets has become a bit corrupted
since my time.” He looked both irritated and amused as he
stared at Justin. “There is no need for blood. And, if a Titan
has their bracelet removed, they won't die. I honestly don't know
where this idiocy comes from.”

Justin nodded and the others looked
relieved.

“
And to think we had to
bleed for ours, Just,” Aaron said quietly as he rolled his
eyes. Justin chuckled at his friend's dry tone.

All of the teens were showing off the
bracelets to each other. Dominic was rolling his on his arm,
apparently enjoying the way it gleamed in the light.

“
Momentarily,”
Prometheus said and the teens quieted down to listen, “the
bracelets will adjust themselves and fit snugly to your wrists. You
will not be able to remove them, as I'm sure Aaron or Justin has told
you. I would like to speak to Justin privately for a moment, please.
Enjoy the room and return to me when the bracelets have finished
fitting themselves to your arms.”

With a few curious looks, the group
spread out, wandering off into the room, chatting quietly amongst
themselves. Aaron hesitated, then shrugged and walked over and sat
down next to the pool.

“
Is something wrong,
Prometheus?” Justin asked anxiously. The Titan smiled.

“
You are the only one of
your peers who use my name. I appreciate that.” Then he lowered
his voice and glanced around. “Nothing is wrong, Justin. But we
must get you ready to face what may be coming on your journey.”
He took Justin's right hand and looked at the mark on his palm. “You
have been using a surgeon's scalpel like a hammer,” Prometheus
said bluntly and Justin reddened.

“
I've been using it the
only way I know how,” he said defensively.

The old Titan shook his massive head.
“I'm am not criticizing, Justin. Just observing. But your
run-ins with your, with our, enemies have been singular and you have
had some luck on your side. Do you agree?”

“
That I've been lucky?”
Justin smiled wryly. “Absolutely. To be honest, I've never said
this to Aaron but,” he lowered his voice as well, “I'm
surprised I'm still alive.”

Prometheus' grim smile seemed to
indicate his agreement. “But from this time forward, you will
in all probability run into multiple enemies. So I am going to give
you a gift that will, perhaps, help you to face them.” He
paused and looked searchingly at Justin. “When power is given
to an individual, it takes time to learn to use it properly. You
understand?” Justin simply nodded, wondering what the Titan was
talking about.

“
Good.” Prometheus
opened his right hand and Justin looked down at his huge palm. For a
moment, it was simply bare skin. And then, shimmering like a mirage,
a silver rune slowly appeared in the center.

Justin gasped and looked closer at
the silvery mark. It was not the same as his own. Instead of a
central circle intersected by three smaller circles, it took the form
of a cross or plus sign, with four circles, one at each of the four
tips.

“
You have one too!”
Justin said in a breathless whisper.

“
We all had one, my
friend. All of the Elders. Why you carry one while Aaron does not, is
significant. I believe,” He paused. “I believe it marks
you as having all of my brother's power, not just the powers of a
hybrid.”

Justin stared at Prometheus in
confusion. “I don't understand. What does that mean, all of his
power?”

Prometheus sighed and ran his fingers
through his thin gray hair. “Justin, Cronus was the most
powerful of us all, probably the most powerful creature to ever walk
on two legs. He withheld that power most of his life, until the very
end when it was too late. Do you know how Atlantis was destroyed?
Remember, Hyperion was already dead when the island sank beneath the
waves.”

Justin was thrown by the Titan's
sudden change of topic and took a moment to gather his thoughts.

“
Well, yeah. I guess.
According to the reports I read, there was fighting between the two
rival factions; those on the side of Cronus and those backing
Hyperion. They used advanced weapons in the battle and things got out
of hand and, boom, that was it.”

“
Ah I see,”
Prometheus sounded both sad and amused at the same time. “Did
you not wonder why two sides would fight so vigorously, even to the
death and the destruction of their homes, when both of their leaders
were dead? No? I don't blame you for that. It's an easy oversight.
But it was not the factions, Justin. It was Cronus.”

“
Cronus?” Justin
was even more confused. He looked away for a moment and watched the
other teens sitting around in the grass talking, or walking slowly
through the bushes. He noticed Aaron watching him and Prometheus
talking and smiled at his friend before turning back to the Titan.

“
But Cronus was dead by
that time, wasn't he?”

“
Yes, my brother was
dead. But when he was discovered, dying by the traitor's hand, he
called for me. He told me of Hyperion's treachery. And as he lay back
to die, satisfied that I would avenge him and stop our brother, he
committed his last and greatest act of power.” Prometheus
swallowed, his eyes misting over. He cleared his throat before
continuing and Justin could see that he was reliving those final
moments.

“
Cronus raised his hand
off of the floor and called forth his mark.” The Titan grabbed
Justin's hand and pointed at his palm. “This mark. And then he
gently pressed the rune against the stone floor. And died.”

Prometheus dashed the tears from his
eyes impatiently and stared at Justin.

“
But, what happened?”
Justin asked. “He died and that was it, right?”

The Titan shook his head. “Oh
no, my friend. It was only the beginning. Cronus was the master of
Atlantis. Its ruler. The head of the Council. His power was such that
the very earth beneath his feet would answer his will at need. As his
palm touched the floor, the stone began to melt away, to disintegrate
at his touch. I felt a rush of fear as I saw it, for I knew what he
had done. He had dissolved the very structure of the ground at a
molecular level. And this disintegration was feeding on itself,
spreading like a disease into the rock upon which Atlantis was
built.” He looked at Justin with something like wonder in his
eyes. “He had sealed our doom,” he ended simply.

Justin was flabbergasted. “Why
would he do that? For revenge? I didn't think he was that kind of
person.”

“
He was not, Justin.
Believe me. He was not. We'll never know his true motives, but my
belief is that he did not want to risk Atlantis falling into the
hands of either Hyperion or the humans. For either to get control of
the weapons and technology of the Titans would have doomed the Earth.
That, I know he believed. And so he sacrificed his people to save the
world.”

Prometheus closed his eyes, looking
very tired and said quietly, “I miss him.”

A wave of pity threatened to engulf
Justin. This Titan, this old man, alone for countless years, no
family, no friends, locked up for killing a traitor. The unfairness
of his situation was beyond belief. And yet the Titan seemed to feel
that he was being justly punished. Justin couldn't understand it. To
take Prometheus' mind off of his old sorrows, Justin spoke up.

“
You said you were going
to help me, sir?” he asked gently.

“
What? Oh yes, of
course.” Prometheus blinked rapidly, seeming to recall where he
was. “Yes. You need to be able to do more than disrupt a
servitor or activate a Sentinel by touch. You must access your powers
more fully to be able to use them. So, first things first. Let's
dispense with this bauble, shall we?”

The Titan reached out and laid his
palm on Justin's bracelet. With a sharp metallic click, the titanium
band broke into two pieces and fell to the ground.

Justin stared at Prometheus in shock.
“What did you do? Why? I needed that to use runes!”

“
No Justin, you did not.
I told you earlier that the rune in your hand will channel your
powers. You not only did not need that bracelet, it was actually
inhibiting your ability to access your powers.”

Justin took a deep breath. He
realized that his hands were shaking at the sudden panic of seeing
the bracelet drop off. His left wrist felt naked somehow.

“
Okay, I guess you know
best, sir. But what now?”

“
Now? Now we will...”

“
Hey sir? Sir!”

Justin and the Titan looked over at
the pool. Dominic was waving at them. “Is it okay to take a
swim?” he called. “I mean, this isn't your drinking water
or anything, is it?”

“
Certainly,”
Prometheus answered. “The water is continually replenished.
Please enjoy it in any way you see fit.”

“
Woo-hoo!” Dominic
yelled, and stripping down to his underwear, he jumped into the
water. After some embarrassed fumbling with their clothes, the other
teens joined him; laughing and splashing in the bright water. Aaron
sat on the grass near the pool and continued to watch Justin and the
Titan.

Prometheus turned back to Justin and
looked at him seriously. “Watch that one,” he said.

Confused, Justin looked over at
Dominic laughing with the others. “Dominic? What do you mean,
watch him?”

“
Watch him, I said. I
have a feeling about that one. Something isn't right with him.”
He raised a hand as Justin began to protest. “I may be wrong,
but be on your guard, that's all.”