by Kate O'Hearn
Emily found herself mesmerized by the way Jupiter combed his fingers through his thick, dark hair. As he flexed his arm muscles, Emily’s heart pounded until she had to look away.
“As it is,” Jupiter continued, “Saturn has used his new powers from the Flame to create an army of monsters and a fearsome race of fighters, the Shadow Titans. They are unlike anything we have ever encountered before. They have swarmed over parts of Earth and Olympus in a bid to defeat us and take the Flame.”
“I think we might have just met them,” Agent B said. “Some look like large blackbirds and some look like giant turtles.”
“That is them,” Jupiter said. “Though there are two more types out there as well.”
“But you can beat them, right?” Emily asked. She looked at Pluto. “Can’t you just wave your hand in the air and kill them?”
“You cannot kill that which is not alive,” Pluto said. “Believe me, I have tried.”
“What do you mean? I’m sure I killed a few.”
“No, Emily, you destroyed them,” Jupiter corrected. “The Shadow Titans are not living beings. That leathery armor of theirs is nothing more than an empty shell. They have eyes, but no body. They do not speak and do not feel pain. A Shadow Titan will not surrender when surrounded. They fight until there is nothing left to fight with.”
Agent B rubbed his newly healed arms. “So I’ve learned.”
Pluto continued. “The Shadow Titans are aptly named. They are merely the walking shadows of four original warriors: Aronder, the Minotaur; Mertik, the Turtle Warrior; Dythram, the Blackbird Warrior; and finally, Quinux, the Dragon Warrior. It sounds as though you have met the Blackbird and Turtle Shadows only.”
“The Minotaur is fighting with the Titans?” Emily cried. “How is that possible? He lived peacefully on Olympus until the disaster struck. He could be mean-tempered, but he wasn’t evil or bad.”
“None of them are evil,” Jupiter said. “The Four Warriors are prisoners, just as we once were. As long as they exist, Saturn can create a limitless supply of Shadow Titans that answer only to him. In time their numbers will swell to overthrow us. With or without father’s weapon, if we do not stop the Shadow Titans, we will be defeated.”
“Then it would seem logical to either free or destroy the originals before that happens,” Agent B said.
“True,” Jupiter agreed. “But they are kept locked away. We do not know where, though we have spies out searching for them.”
“What about the Hundred-handers?” Agent B asked.
Emily frowned. “The what?”
The CRU agent looked at her in exasperation. “Really, Emily, you must read those myths!”
“What about them?” Chiron asked impatiently. The centaur was pacing the chamber with his arms crossed over his chest. His hooves clopped noisily on the floor, and he appeared greatly agitated.
“I read all about the Titanomachy,” Agent B said. “It was written that the Hundred-handers helped you defeat the Titans.”
“That is madness!” Juno cried. “Saturn keeps them imprisoned deep in Tartarus. We could not free them when we escaped. They are trapped there forever.”
“Well, you’d better try again,” Agent B said, “because all the ancient myths say the same thing. They help you win the war.”
Jupiter stood before Emily and peered at Agent B. “Are you certain you can trust this man? I may not know everything about the CRU, only what Pegasus has shown me. But from what I saw, my instincts say I should not believe him.”
“Normally, I’d feel the same,” Emily agreed, “but Agent B wants to go home as much as I do. The only way that can happen is if we destroy that weapon and win the war. So if he says the Hundred-handers can help, I believe him.”
Chiron continued pacing the floor. “If this is so, how do we do it? How do we get into Tartarus to rescue them with all the Shadow Titans guarding the prison?”
“By destroying the Shadow Titans first,” Joel called as he entered the chamber. He was followed by Paelen on Brue and Stella being pushed by a satyr. The goat boy nodded respectfully to Jupiter and the others and left the chamber.
“Joel!” Emily ran and hugged him tightly. “Are you all right?”
Nike, the Winged Victory, was standing beside Joel. She was tall and elegant as she spoke softly to Jupiter in their language.
Jupiter approached. “Yes, Nike, thank you,” he answered in English. “These are the ones. You have done well.”
Paelen reached a wizened hand to Emily. His face was filled with relief at seeing her. “How did you get away from the village? There were so many of those things coming at us. They are here in Olympus, too. We tried to fight them, but they are too strong. I might have defeated them if I could only have stretched myself out again.”
Emily smiled at her old friend. “I’m sure you would have, Paelen. But those things are the Shadow Titans. We nearly didn’t get away from them. A couple of Turtle Shadows thought Agent B was a wishbone. They broke both his arms.”
“I’m fine,” Agent B said gruffly. “But what happened in Greece was just a preview. It seems Saturn has a limitless supply of them.”
“Finding that weapon and stopping the Shadow Titans must be our first priority before we attempt to free the Hundred-handers from Tartarus,” Jupiter said. “We must make our plans.”
“Who are you?” Joel demanded. He looked around the room. “Where’s Jupiter? We really need to speak with him.”
“Joel, this is Jupiter,” Emily said as she introduced the Olympians.
The shock on Joel’s face was mirrored by Paelen and Stella. “But you’re all so young!”
“So we have been told,” Jupiter said. “But that does not alter the situation.” He looked Joel up and down and pushed against his chest. “You look strong enough for a human, but can you fight? Have you been trained?”
Joel shrugged. “Not really.”
Jupiter turned to Agent B, Emily, and then Stella. “What about you? Have any of you been trained in warfare?”
Agent B raised his hand, but Stella shook her head.
Emily said, “Until now I’ve just been using my powers.”
“Powers are good,” Pluto said. “But they are not enough. Not against the Titans. You will need more.”
“You have done well.” Jupiter addressed Emily and her friends after days of intense weapons training. “Better than we could have hoped. Now it is time for you to join your regiments.”
“Regiments?” Emily repeated. “No, we’ve got to find that weapon. The whole future depends on it. We’ve got to go with the spies to try to find it.”
“I agree,” Agent B said. “These kids aren’t equipped to deal with war. We came back here for the weapon, that’s all. Winning the war is down to you and the Hundred-handers.”
Jupiter looked at his brothers. Pluto nudged him. “Go on, Jupe, tell them.”
“We are losing the war,” Jupiter said flatly. “Each day sees more Olympians wounded or captured and taken away while the number of Shadow Titans and monsters grows. Our spies have said there are no signs of the weapon being developed.”
“We believe,” Chiron added, “that Saturn does not feel the need to create the weapon because we are being defeated without it.”
“You can’t lose the war,” Joel said. “The myths said you won! You are the Big Three; you have amazing powers. All Olympians do. You can’t lose.”
“The myths were wrong,” Jupiter said sadly. “Unless we can find a way to turn the tide, it is only a matter of time before we are forced to surrender.”
“Surrender?” Joel cried. “You can’t!”
“Can you offer another solution?” Neptune asked.
Jupiter reached for Emily’s hands. “There is only one way to change our fate. We need you to fight with us, Emily. You are Xan. You have the powe
r to defeat the Shadow Titans with the wave of your hand. From what I have learned from Pegasus, you cannot be hurt, and you have the power to heal.”
Emily heard the words and her blood ran cold. Jupiter was saying the exact same thing that Agent B had said to her. That she was the ultimate weapon.
“Jupiter, please,” Emily begged. “Don’t ask me to do this. I am not a weapon.”
Jupiter shook his head. “I did not call you a weapon. But you are Xan. You can turn the tide. If we can show Saturn that you are with us, he may stop this insane war.”
“Saturn can’t know that Emily is Xan,” Agent B said. “No one can know what she is.”
Chiron joined Jupiter. “He will not know you are Xan, but unless you join us on the battlefield, we will lose this war without that weapon ever being created. When that happens, there will be no future for any of us.”
26
EMILY NEEDED TIME TO COLLECT her thoughts—there was so much to think about. But after a full day of weighing it up, she was no closer to any answers.
“Riza, where are you?” she called softly. “I need you to tell me what to do.”
But deep in her mind there was only silence. Could it be that Riza was gone forever? Emily had grown used to Riza being with her. Now she felt empty and alone.
She looked at Pegasus. Without the weapon around, his aging had stopped. But he was still very old and in pain. “What am I supposed to do, Pegs?” she asked. “If I join the war, I’ll become the weapon Agent B said I was. But if I don’t, the Olympians will lose.”
Pegasus nudged her and licked her hand. She already knew what he wanted her to do. He’d told them that an ancient power had joined the battle and helped them win. If that was true, it meant she was that ancient power and must join the war.
“Emily, are you all right?” Agent B approached and sat down on a broken pillar beside her.
“Not really,” Emily said without looking up.
He reached for her hand, and Emily looked up in surprise as he squeezed it gently. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, so I’m not going to tell you what to do. Ultimately, the decision is yours. But know this. If you decide to join the fight, Joel and I will be right beside you. This isn’t what any of us wanted, but in all honesty, fighting beside the Olympians may be the only way for us to go home.”
“So I become the ultimate weapon after all,” Emily said miserably.
Agent B shook his head. “I am so sorry I called you that. It was wrong of me. That night in the museum seems a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?”
Emily nodded.
He caught her chin and turned her face toward him. “Listen to me, Emily. You are not a weapon. I know that. So do you. And if you decide to join the battle, it will be as a skilled soldier, just like the rest of us, and not a weapon.”
“And if I don’t join the war?”
“Then we’ll take whatever comes. We could go back to Xanadu and live out the rest of our lives there.”
“With no more Olympus and no Earth?”
The CRU agent shrugged. “It’s a tough choice, but it’s your choice. None of us will tell you what to do.”
Emily looked at the agent. “Why are you being so nice?”
He shrugged again. “I guess I’m finally seeing life through your eyes, well away from the CRU.”
“What do you see?”
Agent B stood. “Someone who will make the right decision.”
War was ugly.
There were no other words to describe it. It was so much worse than Emily could have ever imagined. Days and nights blended together in a kind of frenzied exhaustion that no amount of rest could relieve.
Emily, Pegasus, Joel, and Agent B were kept together and served with Chiron. Paelen, Brue, and Stella were sent to work with Vulcan in his forge, making weapons.
Spending all day fighting beside the best Olympian warriors, Emily learned everything she could about the Shadow Titans. Using her powers, she managed to capture two Turtle Shadows and one Minotaur Shadow. But they weren’t prisoners for long. The creatures tore themselves apart, breaking out of their bonds. The Olympians learned nothing from the experience other than that the Shadow Titans were mindless creations designed solely to kill.
When they’d first arrived on Olympus, Emily had found an empty notebook in some building rubble. It was a beautifully bound book with a fine, engraved gold cover and clean white parchment pages. She had never kept a journal before, but with the war raging all around her, she wanted to start one.
Each day she recorded everything she experienced, including the losses the Olympians were suffering. She noted down the names of the fighters she’d known who had died before she could heal them or who had been captured by the Titans. It broke her heart the day she had to write down Vesta’s and Juno’s names. Though they weren’t necessarily dead, they joined the long list of the missing.
After another long day they returned to their shelter to rest and eat. Pegasus was lying down behind Emily, devouring a large supply of ambrosia cakes mixed with chocolate ice cream. At her feet, Mike was contentedly eating the meal that Emily had prepared for him.
While they ate, Emily scribbled notes in her journal. When she finished writing, she shuffled through the pages. There were no dates that she could record, as Olympians did not keep track of time, but she had named each day in numerical order, starting with their arrival to the present.
“We’ve been here one hundred and fifteen days,” she announced.
“Wow,” Joel said. “No wonder I’m tired. After all that time, it feels like we’re no further ahead.”
“I know,” Emily agreed, “but Chiron says we’re making advances. The Shadow Titans are being driven out of Olympus.”
Joel nodded. “I had hoped we could have attacked Titus before now. If we could capture Saturn, we could end this before the weapon is created.”
“They’ve tried. But Jupiter says Saturn’s gone into hiding. They can’t find him.”
Agent B arrived looking as tired as they felt. His CRU clothes were gone. He now dressed as an Olympian and had become stronger and more muscular due to all the training and fighting.
Emily and Joel’s feelings toward the CRU agent had changed. Agent B had proven himself time and time again with the Olympians. He kept up morale with a supply of ridiculous jokes, lifting their spirits at the end of a grueling day’s battling. Neither she nor Joel had ever expected the CRU agent to have a sense of humor.
His sensitive side also emerged; each night, after Joel had gone to bed, he would stay up with Emily while she and Pegasus walked through the camp, healing all the wounded. He said little, but would always offer his quiet support.
As he sat down wearily at their table, Emily pulled out her food pouch. “What would you like to eat?”
The agent shook his head. “Nothing, thanks. I’m too tired.”
“You’ve got to eat,” Joel said. “You’re the one always bugging me to do it.”
Agent B hid his head down in his hands. “It’s called, ‘Do as I say and not as I do,’ Joel,” he muttered. “I’m older than you; I can boss you around.”
“And I can force you to eat, remember?” Emily teased. “Now, what would you like?”
Agent B hid his head and leaned in to her. “Are you threatening me, young lady?”
Emily looked down at Mike. “Do you think I’m threatening him?”
The dog barked and wagged his tail.
Emily grinned at the CRU agent. “He says I am. So you’d better eat.”
Agent B finally surrendered and asked for a plate of ambrosia cakes and a cup of strong black coffee. After all their time there he had come to enjoy Olympian food, but he still hated nectar.
“We’ll be moving out again tonight,” he told them. “There are reports of a huge wave of Shadow T
itans and dragons arriving on Olympus. They’re heading this way.”
It had soon become apparent that Emily was the magnet that was drawing the most dangerous Titan warriors to them.
She had now become the bait.
As long as the Titans focused their most powerful warriors on capturing Emily, Jupiter and his fighters could command battles in other parts of Olympus. Pluto and Neptune with their fighters were separately engaging the Titans on Earth, while Minerva and her team of Harpies concentrated on getting spies to Titus to learn if they were starting to develop the weapon.
“Have you heard anything from Paelen?” Joel asked Agent B. “Is he okay?”
Agent B nodded. “We had a message this afternoon. They are all safe, but on the move. Right now Stella is working closely with Vulcan on a flame-sword based on Emily’s powers. All her idea. They are hoping to have a prototype ready soon. If it works, all our warriors will have a much better chance against the Shadow Titans.” Relief washed over Emily. She hated being separated from them. But with Paelen’s age and Stella’s disability, they were safer and more useful away from the main fighting. The arrangement worked perfectly, as Stella had come up with several successful weapon designs that were already in use.
Emily knelt down to Pegasus. She stroked his face and patted his neck. “You okay, Pegs?” she asked.
Pegasus nickered but turned away, refusing to look at her.
“Pegs?” Emily said in concern. “What’s the matter?”
“Em, what’s wrong?” Joel joined her by the stallion.
“I don’t know.”
She grasped the stallion’s muzzle and physically turned his head. When they looked into his eyes, they both gasped.
Agent B knelt down. “What is it?”
“Look at his eyes,” Emily cried. “They’re solid white!”
“Pegasus, can you see?” Joel asked.