The Return of the Titans (10 page)

“Next to her is Crius,
brother to Cronus.” This figure looked like a young man, wearing
black leather armor and holding two daggers. “Beside him is
Mnemosyne.” A woman stood there also wearing leather, but it was
light brown. She held a staff.

“Coeus is next, called the
lord of intelligence.” This portrait showed an older man wearing
blue robes and, instead of a weapon, he held a scroll in one hand
and a quill in the other. “His sister,” Mr. Fitzgerald continued,
“stands next to him. Phoebe is her name.” A beautiful woman,
wearing bright white and lavender colored robes, smiled down at
them. She actually held what looked like the full moon in her
hand.

“The next one is Oceanus,
lord of the seas.” This one was surprising to Justin. The top half
of the figure was that of a handsome man wearing bronze armor and
wielding a huge axe. But the lower half was that of a serpent,
swimming through waves. “His wife, Tethys is beside him, lady of
lakes and streams.” The woman was wearing full bronze armor but
held a small axe and a shield.

“Iapetus is next, with his
wife Themis.” Both the man and woman had long black hair, tied back
and reaching their waists. Both wore iron armor and carried heavy
hammers.

“And last...” Mr.
Fitzgerald hesitated. He was staring at the portraits of the two
figures that had surprised Aaron and Justin. They still looked evil
and furious, Justin thought.

“These two are the most
interesting, in my opinion. The man is Hyperion. The woman is his
mate, Theia. In mythology, he is the god of light. She is
unassuming and non-threatening. Unfortunately, mythology doesn't
always get it right.” He sighed and shook his head.

“What do you mean, Mr.
Fitzgerald?” Gerry spoke up.

“I mean, Mr. Smithson,
that those two began the last war, the war that destroyed
Atlantis.” Gerry gasped and Justin and the others stared even more
intently at the portraits. “They wanted to rule the entire world.
They gathered other like-minded Titans. Cronus and the others did
their best to defend their people but, in the end...well, you know
what happened.”

“Atlantis sunk beneath the
waves,” Norm whispered. It echoed through the suddenly quiet
room.

“Exactly, Mr. Holden.
Exactly.” Mr. Fitzgerald looked at them all keenly. “But now,” he
continued on in a more brisk tone, “ you all have a small task to
do, in this room.”

“Task sir? What task?”
Justin asked.

“As I said, each of these
portraits represents one of the original Titans. Each one also
represents a family of Titans.”

The four teens looked at each other in
confusion. Justin looked back at Mr. Fitzgerald and waited for him
to explain.

“I know I'm dropping
things on you quickly, but as I told you all yesterday, we've had
to accelerate this process somewhat.” He walked over to the closest
portrait, the one of Oceanus. “As you can see here,” he pointed to
a round section of flat black metal that was inset on the wall
below the portrait, “there is a plate set in the wall below each
figure.” Justin looked around and saw that Mr. Fitzgerald was
right. He hadn't noticed them until now, since he'd been so caught
up in the portraits of the Titans. “I'd like each of you to pick a
portrait and lay your hand flat against this plate.”

“Um, why?” Aaron
asked.

“Each Titan family bears
certain gifts passed down from the original Titan. The plates were
created to test your DNA and see if it matches the family of the
Titan represented. If you decide to stay, part of your training
will be geared toward your strengths inherited from your
family.”

“No offense, Mr.
Fitzgerald, but that's just weird,” Gerry said. Justin could hear
the skepticism in his voice.

“It is, isn't it, Mr.
Smithson. But the writings preserved here tell us that this is true
and so far, they've been right.” He smiled. “If they hadn't been,
you would not even be here”

“Good point,” Aaron
whispered to Justin. He nodded.

“So what happens when we
touch the plates?” Gerry still sounded unsure.

“I'm not quite certain,”
Mr. Fitzgerald answered. “But I can show you what happens when an
ordinary human touches one.” He reached out and laid his hand palm
first on the plate. The boys watched anxiously. Nothing happened.
Mr. Fitzgerald shrugged and chuckled. “But then I'm not a
Titan.”

Justin found his gaze returning to the
portrait of Hyperion. “Mr. Fitzgerald?”

“Yes, Mr.
McLeod?”

“What if one of us is a
member of his family?” he nodded toward the portrait.

The man's smile faded. “I don't think you
have to worry about that.”

“Why not?”

“Because if you were a
member of that family, the Sentries would have killed you when you
first arrived.”

Chapter 6

“Killed us?” Norm gulped.
“As in dead?”

“As in dead, Mr. Holden.
They can recognize an enemy when they see one. That is why they are
here, after all.” Norm opened his mouth as though he wanted to ask
more about the Sentries, but Mr. Fitzgerald held up his hand. “I'm
not going to discuss the Sentries, Mr. Holden. We can save those
questions until after you've all decided whether to stay or
go.”

“Why?” Aaron asked
simply.

“Because our enemies don't
need any more information than they already have. Mr. Dalton. Now,
please pick a starting point, each of you and let's
begin.”

Justin and Aaron looked at each other, then
at the other two boys. Finally each one hesitantly moved toward a
portrait. Justin chose Crius. Not for any good reason, but he did
look less threatening than some of the others. He stood in front of
the black marble plate for a moment, then took a deep breath and
put his palm on it. It was cold, very cold. It felt almost frozen.
He held his hand on the plate for several seconds but nothing
happened.

Justin let out his breath, swallowed hard
and moved on to the portrait of Mnemosyne. Again he touched the
plate. And again, nothing happened. He began to move toward the
figure of Coeus when Norm yelled out “Hey!”

Justin turned quickly. Norm was standing
below the portrait of Iapetus. Where his hand was resting on the
plate, a line of vivid light, almost blindingly bright in the
torch-lit room, was forming a path up and around the picture. They
all watched in amazement as the bright line, which had outlined the
portrait, came together at the top of Iapetus' head and then moved
up to touch the symbol above it.

The symbol blazed with luminescence. Norm
stood looking up, his hand still on the plate and his mouth open.
Then he pulled his hand off the wall with a jerk. “Ouch, that
hurt!” he exclaimed and rubbed his hand on his shirt. The others
hurried over.

“What it is, bud? You
okay?” Gerry asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It
just got even colder for a second. Almost felt like I got burned.”
Norm stopped rubbing his hand and looked at it. “Hey, what the hell
is this?”

“What's wrong, Mr.
Holden?” Mr. Fitzgerald asked as he walked over to the
group.

Norm stuck his hand out for all of them to
see. On the palm was a small mark, no bigger than a thumbprint. It
was a copy of the large symbol over the portrait above them.

Mr. Fitzgerald stared at the mark and then
looked at Norm. “I had no idea, Mr. Holden. Nothing was mentioned
about a mark being given during the ritual.”

Norm looked from the mark to Mr. Fitzgerald
and back again. “Well, I don't want it,” he said angrily. “I'm too
young for a tattoo and if I ever got one, I wouldn't put it on my
palm!”

“I'm sorry, Mr. Holden,
but as I said, I had no idea that...”

“Hey wait a second,” Norm
said, still staring at his hand. “It's fading!” They all crowded
around to look at his palm. And the mark was fading. Justin
watched, fascinated, as the symbol slowly grew fainter and fainter
until it was gone. Norm's hand was unmarked once again.

“Wow,” he said. “That was
too weird.”

“Does it still hurt?”
Gerry asked.

Norm flexed his fingers. “Nope, no pain at
all. It's like it never happened.” He looked at the Commander. “You
have any idea why this happened, sir?”

“None,” Mr. Fitzgerald
said. “None at all. But I am relieved that it's gone. A mark like
that would make you too easily identified out in the
world.”

“Wow, yeah, I hadn't
thought of that,” Norm said. “Whew! Well, that's a relief. And that
means I am descended from, um...”

“Iapetus, Mr. Holden. Yes
indeed. You are of the family of Iapetus.” He looked at the boy for
a long moment. “Interesting,” he said and then went back to stand
beside the top of the staircase.

“Why interesting, sir?”
Justin asked.

“I can't say at the
moment, Mr. McLeod. As I've already explained. Carry on,
please.”

Now Justin was even more nervous than
before. He glanced over at Aaron and Gerry. They were also walking
very slowly toward the next plates. I'll bet they don't want to be
hurt either, he thought.

“Don't worry, guys,” Norm
called out. He had moved to stand next to Mr. Fitzgerald. “It
really didn't hurt that much. It's just that I haven't felt pain
for a while so it kind of surprised me, you know?”

Justin smiled weakly at Norm and walked over
to stand under the picture of Coeus. He looked up at the towering
figure. Somehow, the old man with his quill and parchment didn't
look as scary as the others. Justin placed his hand firmly on the
plate. Nothing happened. He sighed with resignation and moved over
yet again.

Phoebe was beautiful, he thought. She looked
almost like a teenager. And she was the only one of the figures
that was smiling. He looked at the plate, winced in anticipation
and planted his palm on to it. Nothing again.

Ah gee, he thought. This is going to drive
me crazy. He moved on again to stand under the portrait of Oceanus.
Then he heard a yell from Aaron to his left, followed by a similar
exclamation by Gerry across the room. He whipped around and saw the
same light show that he'd seen Norm go through earlier.

This time, Aaron was standing in front of
Coeus. Wow, thought Justin, he got the nice old man. Crap. And as
he looked across at Gerry, he saw the symbol light up over the
figure of Crius. And Gerry got the cool guy with the leather armor.
Justin sighed. Great.

“You okay, Aaron?” he
asked.

His friend smiled and waved his hand, palm
out, at Justin. “Yup, got a symbol like Norm. He was right, Justin.
It really doesn't hurt too badly at all.”

Justin tried to smile, although he felt a
little resentment. It's not Aaron's fault he was chosen by that
one, he thought. “That's great, Aaron. Now you get to watch me
sweat.”

Aaron laughed and walked over to stand by
the others. Gerry had already rejoined Norm. They were talking
quietly and comparing palms.

Just me left, Justin thought. Reminds me of
being picked last in gym. He shook his head and moved on. This is
nothing like gym, he told himself firmly. Now let's get on with
it!

He put his hand on the plate beneath
Oceanus. No reaction. The same thing happened with Tethys. Well, no
water for me, he thought whimsically. Next.

He looked at the grim Iapetus and his
equally somber wife. Not really eager to be in either family, he
reluctantly touched both plates in turn. And again there was no
reaction.

As he turned away from the figure of Themis,
he stopped short. The next portrait was of Hyperion. Justin looked
at Mr. Fitzgerald. “Should I even bother with these two,” he said,
indicating Hyperion and Theia.

The man shook his head. “I think you can
skip those, Mr. McLeod. If you were to react, your next meeting
with a Sentinel could have...unfortunate consequences.”

As if his words had conjured one of them,
the group heard the now familiar sound of metal on stone. Uh-oh,
Justin thought.

The heavy tread grew louder and then, from
the stairwell rose two sharp horns, followed by the massive torso
and shaggy animal legs of the minotaur. It reached the top of the
stairs, turned toward Justin and stopped, a statue once more.

The group had moved away from the staircase,
including Mr. Fitzgerald. Now they stared at the minotaur,
whispering among themselves.

“So what's with the
Sentinel, sir?” Aaron asked loudly.

Mr. Fitzgerald just shrugged. “I have no
idea. They patrol Sanctuary endlessly, wandering in and out of
rooms seemingly at random, although I personally think there is a
pattern in their movements. But why it is here now, I don't
know.”

Justin stared at the Sentinel. I wonder if
its the same one from yesterday, he thought. He still believed it
was the most beautiful of all the ones he'd seen. As he watched,
the burning glow in its eyes faded. He stared at it for another
minute but it showed no signs of waking up. So Justin turned back
and faced the portraits.

He walked slowly past Hyperion. There was
almost a tangible sense of menace emanating from the picture and
the eyes seemed to follow Justin as he moved past. He felt the same
as he bypassed Theia. Then he came to the portrait of Cronus.

Noble, he thought as he looked up at that
face. There was a definite sense of nobility in those features and,
Justin squinted slightly, a sense of sadness and loss. The beard
only seemed to heighten the feeling that here was a ruler, a king.
Justin felt a shiver run down his spine. Then he turned and looked
around again at all the portraits. What must they have been like?
Had they really been Titans, in the full sense of the word? Giants
striding across ancient Earth, living, breathing. He looked at
Hyperion. Fighting, dying? I wonder what it was like, he
thought.