Poseidon's Trident

by A P Mobley

  “Well, kinda. I just— I mean . . .” The satyr sighed, and Andy knit his brow. Was something wrong? Had something bad happened when they’d been separated, and Darko hadn’t come out and told the group? “Yeah, I’m restless. Watching those astynomia die earlier, and talking about Phoenix and everything . . .”

  Andy was suddenly reminded of a time before the world had ended. It had been a hot summer night, and his mother had just finished a long day working a ten-hour shift at her retail job and completing her college homework. She’d fallen asleep in her room right after dinner, and neither Andy nor his little sister, Melissa, ever bothered their mother more than what was necessary when she’d had a day like that.

  “Andy?” Melissa had whispered while she stood in his doorway a few hours after he’d tucked her in for bed. “I can’t sleep.”

  At this, Andy had immediately logged out of his computer game with Mark, texted his friend that he’d be on later, and turned his attention toward his sister. “Well, that’s no good, Mel-Mel. You’ve gotta get your rest. Maybe there’s a way we can tire you out. Should we try watching cartoons, reading a book, playing games, or all of the above?”

  Melissa had squealed in glee at his proposition. “All of the above!”

  And with that, Andy remembered, they’d done those things together. They’d watched a couple of episodes of Melissa’s favorite princess cartoon, they’d read several chapters of The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, and they’d played board games until Melissa grew tired and fell asleep in her brother’s embrace.

  A thought came to Andy’s mind. He didn’t have a TV to watch shows on, nor did he have any books or board games, but there were other ways he and Darko could entertain themselves. Long before Andy’s dad had died, when Andy was just a little kid, the man had taught Andy some of the games he’d played when he was younger that didn’t require many materials.

  “You ever play tic-tac-toe? Or thumb war?” Andy asked, and Darko shook his head. “All right, get comfortable. You’re about to learn.” Darko took a seat next to Andy, and Andy drew a three-by-three grid for tic-tac-toe in the dirt and explained the rules.

  Darko’s eyes lit with excitement as Andy told him how to play. “Hey, it’s just like the game Phoenix and I used to play when I was little! We’d use white cloth and some ink. The higher-ups always scolded us for it. Yeah, it was just like tic-tac-toe, except instead of X’s and O’s, we drew axes and arrows.” The satyr laughed. “I don’t remember what Phoenix called the game, but that’s what I always called it. Axes and Arrows, I mean.”

  “Okay, so you’ve played tic-tac-toe then, basically,” Andy said. “But what about thumb war?” Darko raised his eyebrows, and Andy chuckled. “I’ll take that as a no.”

  Andy quickly explained the rules of thumb war, and again, Darko recognized the game. “We used to play that one too,” the satyr said. “Usually before bed. Except we pretended our thumbs were swords, and we called it Sword Fight.”

  “Okay, we can either play Axes and Arrows first, or we can play Sword Fight first. It’s up to you.”

  “Let’s do Sword Fight, then Axes and Arrows.”

  Andy grinned. “You’re on.”

  And so, until Darko grew tired enough to sleep, the two of them alternated between playing Sword Fight and Axes and Arrows, laughing and joking all the while.

  *~*~*~

  Karter awoke to soft knocks on his door.

  He sat up and Ivy stepped into the room, a bucket of water and a rag in hand. “Good morning, Erick. How are you feeling today?”

  Karter yawned, rubbing his eyes. After Asteria had left him the night before, it had taken him hours to fall asleep. He stretched and, to his surprise, none of his injuries hurt as he did so. “Uh, I’m feeling great, honestly.”

  Ivy set the bucket next to the bed and wet the rag in it. “I’m pleased to hear our treatments are doing their job so well. We have to keep you healing, though, so it’s time to clean up. Strip down.”

  The first time Ivy had said “strip down” to Karter, his cheeks had practically lit on fire, and he’d had to ask her what she’d meant by it exactly. To his relief, she’d only meant to strip down to his undergarments so she could clean and rebandage his wounds. Not that Karter had never been naked in front of a girl before; he’d taken off his clothes for Violet and a few other young women plenty of times in his life. The difference was that because Ivy was so young, the command had caught him off guard. However, Ivy had tended his wounds several times now. He knew the drill.

  He pulled off his robes, leaving only his undergarments. Ivy unwrapped his bandages and began cleaning his injuries with the wet rag, humming a happy tune.

  Karter cleared his throat. “So, uh, how long have you worked here? In this healing shrine?”

  Ivy stopped humming. “Oh, well, let’s see”—she pulled away from Karter and wrung out the wet rag over her bucket of water—“I suppose since the day I could walk. I can’t remember a time I wasn’t caring for patients here. And how long have you been a farmer?”

  A farmer. That must be what Asteria told them I was. “Uh, the same time as you. Since I could walk, I think.”

  “Well, isn’t that wonderful?” She wiped away the last of the dried blood caked around Karter’s stitches, then dropped the rag into the bucket and stood. “I must say, you’re one of my most pleasant patients, Erick. In fact, you’ve already healed so much and in such a short time that I’d say you might have a little divine blood in you!” She chuckled, and Karter laughed awkwardly. If only you knew, he thought. “Anyway, I’ll have your breakfast ready in the next half hour. Since you’re feeling so good, perhaps later I can take you on a tour of the healing shrine.”

  Karter halfway smiled. “Perhaps.” He’d never been inside one of the healing shrines in any of the cities; all injuries he or the other demigods had ever suffered from were healed by Apollo, or if a demigod was too far from Olympus and the gods did not answer their prayers, they would have to work through it on their own, lest they’d die.

  Ivy smiled sweetly and gathered the bucket. She slipped out of the room, leaving Karter there and closing the door behind her.

  Karter yawned and rested his head against his pillow, pulling his blanket up to his chin. Until Ivy returned with breakfast, he would rest.

  After a while of sleep, Karter awoke to banging on his door. “Yes?” he called. “Ivy, is that you?”

  “It sounds like him,” hissed the familiar voice of a young woman on the other side of the door, sending chills down Karter’s spine. “Let us in there, you filthy peasant.”

  “I can assure you,” a voice that could only be Ivy said, “the Son of Zeus isn’t here. He isn’t one of my patients.”

  “Then prove it and open the gods-damned door!”

  Someone—Karter guessed Ivy—pushed open the door, revealing three familiar figures standing with her in the entryway.

  Karter froze. It was Violet, Layla, and Xander.

  *~*~*~

  The group landed their pegasi outside of Hephaestus City and overlooked it while hidden in the trees atop a hill, the sun rising at a steady pace. Even from this distance, Zoey could tell it was one of the most fascinating places she’d ever traveled to.

  The layout of the city was nearly identical to Aphrodite City’s, with farmland, neighborhoods, marketplaces, and temples. However, it was clear Hephaestus City’s constructions and inner workings were far different. Instead of glistening gold-and-white buildings, its buildings, although they had similar shapes and pillars as Aphrodite City’s, appeared as though they were forged with bronze and smeared with black soot. Citizens walked on stone paths which lined the twisting streets, where old-fashioned-looking cars hobbled along, spurting what had to be some sort of gas from their backsides. However, most interesting of all was what had been constructed near the center of the city: a rectangular copper-colore
d building with nine cylindrical towers of varying heights, all reaching for the sky and filling it with clouds of thick smoke which hovered over the city like a blanket of smog.

  Diana pointed in the direction of the smoking building. “The forges.”

  Andy traipsed next to Zoey and whistled. “Whoa.” Zoey nodded slowly.

  “So, who’s going in this time?” Darko asked. “And who’s staying with the pegasi?”

  Diana turned to the satyr. “Maybe this time you and Andy could stay out with the pegasi.”

  Andy and Darko shared mischievous grins. “When they leave, I’m totally annihilating you in Sword Fight,” Andy said. Darko raised an eyebrow as if he was skeptical of Andy’s words.

  Diana rolled her eyes at the boys and continued giving directions. “Anyway, I’ll go into the city and use the cloak you guys stole yesterday to hide my face so no one recognizes me; otherwise, it might take whoever goes in forever to find the forges, and we don’t have that kind of time. We need to leave the Helm out here, too, in case we have any sort of run-in with astynomia like last time. It’s best we do everything we can to make sure they don’t know who we are and that they don’t get ahold of our stuff.”

  “You think it’ll be okay leaving only two people out here with the pegasi and the Helm?” Kali asked, putting her hands on her hips as she faced Diana. “What if they cross paths with a monster and they aren’t able to fight it off or something? Maybe if it was you and someone else it would be okay, since you’re a demigod, but they don’t have powers or anything like that.”

  “You’re right,” Diana said, then smirked. “Would you be willing to do the honors of staying out here with Andy and Darko and assisting them in protecting the pegasi and Helm?”

  Kali did a little curtsy. “Anything for you, Princess.”

  “Thank you,” Diana said, winking. She turned to Zoey and Prometheus. “All right, you two, it’s up to us. We need to get ready and go quickly. We don’t have any time to waste.”

  Zoey, Diana, and Prometheus began sorting through their supplies, discussing what could be brought into the city and what couldn’t. Diana decided they may be able to conceal a few daggers in her cloak, but other than that, she didn’t think it would be smart to take in any weapons. At least this way we have a little more protection than last time, Zoey thought.

  Someone tapped Zoey’s shoulder. She swung around to find Andy there, nibbling on his thumbnail. “Zoey—before you guys go in there—could I talk to you? In private?”

  Her stomach flipped. “Yeah. Sure.”

  Andy turned, putting his hands at his sides, and walked farther into the trees. She followed, her mind buzzing with questions. What did Andy want to talk to her about? Why did it have to be done in private?

  She thought back to the time at Deltama Village when Diana had told her that Andy was “practically in love” with her. Was Diana right—did Andy have feelings for her? Was he about to tell her that? If he did, what was she supposed to say?

  How about, “I don’t think about you that way”? she thought. At least, I don’t think I do. Right?

  She shook her head. It had taken forever to get over what Jet did to her, and the first guy she’d been attracted to since Jet was Spencer, who had not only been totally in love with someone else, but had also just died. She wasn’t ready to start liking someone else—especially not someone she loved deeply as a friend.

  If Andy did in fact have romantic feelings for her, how badly would it hurt him if she told him she couldn’t reciprocate those feelings?

  Finally, when the two of them were out of earshot of the rest of the group, Andy took a seat on a fallen log and gestured at the spot next to him. She plopped down at his side, brushing tangled curls behind her ears.

  Andy cleared his throat. “Zoey—there’s something I—there’s something I wanted to tell you.”

  “What is it?” she asked, trying to mask her nervousness.

  “Back before we—I mean—before we were brought here, you didn’t seem to know who I was when you stood up to Jet for me. You asked me for my name and all that. I pretended not to know who you were, but I did. I’d known your name for a long time. Ever since the first day I saw you . . . I guess you could say I always really admired you.”

  Zoey’s heart raced. “Admired me? For what?”

  “Well . . .” His cheeks turned pink. “You’re—beautiful.” Heat rushed into Zoey’s face. She knew now her suspicions had to be correct, and she still had no idea what she’d say when Andy told her he liked her. “But I didn’t just admire you because you’re pretty. People always talked about you. They always said you did some messed-up stuff when you were younger, and it seemed like you didn’t have a lot of friends because of it. But it also always seemed like you didn’t let it bother you. It seemed like you always chose to rise above the gossip—above the lies people told about you. It took me a long time to learn how to do that, and I still couldn’t ignore Jet when he insulted my mom. But the fact that you ignored the stuff people said about you was really admirable.”

  Suddenly the fact Andy might have romantic feelings for her didn’t matter so much. Zoey looked down at her feet. He thinks they were rumors. She recalled the day she’d stood up to Jet for him, led him out to her truck, and given him a ride to his car. He’d said he didn’t believe the “rumors” surrounding her then, too. Back in Deltama Village, she’d wondered whether or not if he knew the truth, he’d still want to be her friend—even if he knew why she did what she did—and now she wondered so again.

  “What if they weren’t rumors?” Zoey asked. “What if it was all true?”

  “But it’s not,” Andy said. “You’re not that kind of person. You’re an amazing person. You’re strong, and smart, and selfless, and . . .” They locked eyes. “After all that’s happened, you mean so much to me. You’re the last normal thing left in my life.”

  “Would you still feel that way if the rumors were true?”

  “Are you saying they are?”

  “Just answer the question.”

  Andy turned from her and furrowed his brow. “I guess I don’t know. Those things just don’t sound like you. You’re not like that.”

  Zoey stood, balling her fist at her side. “Like what? A slut? Say what you want. I’ve heard it all.” Tears burned her eyes, threatening to run down her cheeks at any moment. Don’t cry, she thought. No one deserves your tears. Their opinions don’t matter. They don’t matter.

  Andy stared at her with wide eyes, and she clenched her jaw, willing herself to shut him out. She’d done it before to people she’d loved, and she could do it again. Shutting people out was something she’d grown accustomed to before the end of the world.

  Wait, no. She didn’t want to shut Andy out. She wanted to be his friend. She wanted him to know the truth about her, understand why she’d done what she’d done, and not judge her for it.

  However, from the look on his face now, that would probably never happen. Could she backpedal and repair the damage she’d surely just inflicted on their friendship?

  “I would never call you something like that,” Andy said. “I wouldn’t call anyone that. But—what everyone said about you is true, isn’t it? Why didn’t you just come out and say so?”

  Zoey bit her lip. She had to convince him it was all gossip. Rumors. Lies. She had to make her past go away. She had to escape it, like she thought she had when the world had ended.

  She closed her eyes and focused on what she could say to make Andy believe her. Her throat began to tingle, as if her vocal cords were gently vibrating, and the words spilled from her mouth without a second thought. “Andy, of course none of what they used to say is true. You don’t really believe I’d ever do something like that, do you?”

  Opening her eyes to look at him, she rested her hand on his shoulder, and a shock—like static electricity—passed through h
er hand and up her arm. She flinched, pulling back, but Andy only smiled as though nothing had happened. “You’re right, Zoey. Sorry. That was crazy rude of me to say.”

  Zoey blinked a few times. What the hell?

  She backed away from him, ready to head toward the rest of the group and travel into Hephaestus City. As she spoke her last words to Andy, her throat began tingling again. “Well, I better get going. We gotta get those chains off Prometheus.”

  “You do, but there was something I needed to tell y—”

  “You can tell me later, Andy.”

  And with that, she hurried back to the group to start their next mission. Andy followed her, saying nothing, and before she knew it, she, Diana, and Prometheus were walking through the forest toward Hephaestus City.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  FORGES

  Smoke from the sky snaked into the streets and curled into Zoey’s throat.

  She broke into a fit of coughing for what seemed like the hundredth time and looked to Diana—who had disguised her appearance with the long cloak Zoey and Andy had stolen from Aphrodite City—as the three of them walked along winding paths toward the forges of Hephaestus City. “How much longer do you think it’ll take to get there?” Zoey asked.

  The group had already trekked through some farmland and several neighborhoods, and were now marching through the city’s Agora, which seemed to go on forever.

  Diana pulled the cloak tighter around herself. “It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

  “I hope not,” Zoey remarked. “I don’t wanna be out past curfew after what happened last time.”

  Prometheus chuckled. The Titan had disguised himself again, much as he had before entering Aphrodite City. His chains were now bracelets, and he’d shrunk down considerably. “We have plenty of time until then. The sun hasn’t even hit its highest point in the sky yet.”