Cronus and the Threads of Dread
Page 5
“Why did you think I would ever want to join the Titans anyway?” Zeus asked as he struggled to get out of Cronus’s grasp. “You guys are all huge jerks!”
A wicked grin spread across the Titan’s face. “Maybe because you are my son!” Cronus announced.
The words hit Zeus like a ton of bricks. They took his breath away. “That’s a lie!” he screamed.
Suddenly he felt something wrap around his waist. The Thread of Cleverness! He saw Cronus’s eyes grow wide. Then that thread yanked him right out of the Titan king’s grasp!
Zeus’s stomach flipped as he felt himself falling . . . and falling. Then . . . Thud! He landed on a thick, fluffy cloud. Jumping to his feet, he saw Athena standing right next to him, holding the Thread of Cleverness. “Thanks!” he told her. But inside he was still shaken by what Cronus said. Was it true?
“We’ve got to get out of here,” she replied. “Let’s go!”
Zeus nodded. They ran, quickly catching up to the other Olympians. Some of them had already started climbing down a strand of spiderweb. Zeus couldn’t help noticing that the clouds were now littered with fallen Cronies.
“Nice job, everyone,” he said.
Hera grinned. “We worked together,” she explained. “But I don’t think we can take down Cronus, even working together. Let’s go. Hurry!”
The clouds shook as Cronus angrily stomped toward the Olympians. Athena started down the dangling web strands, with Zeus right behind her. Weakened from the battle, the web that remained began to crumble under them.
“Quick! Touch objects!” Zeus yelled. “We can make an energy bubble!”
The others quickly scrambled to stand together on the now flimsy web, holding out their objects.
“Oh no!” Demeter yelled. “Poseidon, you just poked a hole in my bag with your trident!”
“Never mind. Put the objects all together,” Zeus urged. Once they did, he cried out, “Massive energy bubble!”
White light shot out from the touching magical weapons. It formed a bubble, surrounding them as the last strand of web broke away. Instead of crashing to the ground, the nine Olympians floated safely inside the bubble. Once on the ground, it popped.
“Will Cronus come after us?” Hera wondered, staring up worriedly.
“I’m not sure,” Zeus said. “He might have a hard time getting down from the clouds with the web gone. But let’s run, just in case.”
Hearts pounding, they raced away from the temple in the clouds. The land around them looked different from how it had before. Rows and rows of olive trees were growing all around them.
Athena was amazed. “How did this happen?” she asked as they ran.
“One of my magic seeds must have fallen out and somehow mixed with your olives to plant trees,” Demeter said, clutching her damaged bag.
Athena nodded. “Wow, impressive!”
“Indeed it is!” The voice came from a foggy mist in front of them. The Olympians slowed to a stop. They had all seen that mist before.
The figure of a dark-haired woman appeared in the mist.
“Pythia!” Apollo cried.
The oracle smiled at them. She took off her glasses and rubbed the mist’s steam from them with the edge of her cloak.
“Ah, there you are,” she said. “All nine of you. Excellent! You have done well.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Zeus said. “We were supposed to defeat Cronus, and we failed!”
“I said you would face Cronus soon, and you did,” Pythia said. “Bravely. And now Athena has her Thread of Cleverness. Hera is reunited with her Feather of Eyes.”
“I can use it to spy on things,” Hera said, and Pythia nodded.
“Yes, that is one of its helpful powers,” she said.
“So, what’s next?” Zeus asked.
Pythia closed her eyes. “I see that this place will become a great city . . . a city full of liver trees.”
“Do you mean olive trees?” Athena asked.
Pythia opened her eyes. “Right. Olives. Sorry, the mist somehow fogs my glasses. Anyway, the people of this city will learn how to use the olives. They will honor you by naming the city Athens.”
Athena beamed. “Cool!”
Pythia closed her eyes again. “I also see King Cronus gathering the Titans together in the future. There will be a battle. But not just yet. You are not ready to defeat them. You will need help still from other Olympians.”
Pythia looked at Apollo. “Before the battle, you must find your twin sister, Artemis.”
Apollo laughed with glee. “I hope we find my sister, for I have surely missed her,” he sang.
Pythia nodded. “She is being held by the Titan Crius on an island far away. You must get there and rescue her before continuing on your quest.”
“But where exactly is she?” Zeus asked.
Pythia squinted. “She is in the land of triplets. Wait. Sorry. These things are fogging up again!” Pythia wiped her glasses. “Ah, that’s better. She is in Tripoli. Go there and find her—and she will help you battle Cronus and his army.”
As usual, when she finished speaking, Pythia started to slowly disappear into the mist. As she faded away, Zeus remembered she hadn’t let them know of a new magical object to seek. But it was too late now.
“Well, looks like we’ve got some more walking to do,” Poseidon sighed. “What a surprise!”
“We should pick some olives to take with us,” Athena suggested.
They filled their packs with olives before they headed down the road. As they walked, Apollo started to write a song about the battle in the clouds. And Ares was swinging his spear around, bragging about how many Cronies he had taken down.
Meanwhile, Zeus was deep in thought.
Was Cronus really his father? He didn’t want to believe it, but deep down he feared it might be true. That would explain why his mother, Rhea, couldn’t be with him and his brothers and sisters.
Cronus is an evil jerk, he thought. I hate the idea of him and the Titans ruling everyone from the sky. The Olympians should take over that cloud temple!
Suddenly Hera stopped in her tracks, staring hard at her feather.
“Um, bad news, guys. We have company already. A Crony army is behind us!”
They had been followed! Like on all of their quests, it looked like they would have to either hide or fight another battle before rescuing their next Olympian.
We will find the other Olympians, Zeus vowed as the Olympians picked up their pace to widen their lead. And together, one day we will storm Mount Titan. We will claim it for ourselves. And we’ll call it . . . Mount Olympus!
Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated over 140 children’s books, including the New York Times bestselling picture book Mighty Dads (illustrated by James Dean) and Little Red Writing (illustrated by Melissa Sweet). She lives in North Carolina and at www.joanholub.com.
Suzanne Williams is the author of over fifty books for children, including the award-winning picture book Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg). She lives outside Seattle, WA, and is online at www.suzanne-williams.com.
Together, Joan and Suzanne write the Goddess Girls, Heroes in Training, and Grimmtastic Girls series.
ALADDIN
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DON’T MISS THE OTHER ADVENTURES IN THE HEROES IN TRAINING SERIES!
Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom
Poseidon and the Sea of Fury
Hades and the Helm of Darkness
Hyperion and the Great Balls of Fire
Typhon and the Winds of Destruction
Apollo and the Battle of the Birds
Ares and the Spear of Fear
COMING SOON:
Crius and
the Night of Fright
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the authors’ imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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First Aladdin hardcover edition December 2014
Text copyright © 2014 by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Craig Phillips
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Library of Congress Control Number 2014943703
ISBN 978-1-4424-8852-6 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4424-8851-9 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4424-8853-3 (eBook)