by A P Mobley
“Why haven’t you been able to test them?” Zoey said.
“We can’t leave Hephaestus City,” Troy replied. “And there aren’t exactly any large bodies of water around that we could try them out in, so we’ve just kept them down here.”
“Thank you so much,” Zoey said.
Prometheus smiled. “Once we go through the portal to the palace, there’s no way to know if we’ll be able to make it back through. These could come in handy if we can’t.”
“That’s the goal,” Marina said. “There was one more thing we wanted to give you, though, and that would be our allegiance to your cause. After hearing about how the Daughter of Apollo and the Chosen Two of the Prophecy defeated Hades and Persephone, stole the Helm of Darkness, and survived it all, we swore to each other if the chance arose, we would join the army waging war on Olympus.”
“Not only did the gods murder our mother,” Troy added, “but they also murdered our father, because they found out he told us the truth about our mother. When we were kids, we had no idea what the gods did to her. But when we turned twelve years old, Father told us. The first chance we got, we asked our grandfather why he let it happen. Father was executed within the next week.”
Zoey swallowed hard. “Killed just for telling his children the truth.”
“I think Hephaestus didn’t want us to hate him for what happened,” Marina said. “He saw our potential, and he wanted us to be his good little workers. But he was too foolish to see that by telling Zeus that Father gave us the truth about our mother—by being the reason our father is dead—he was only solidifying our hate for him.”
“I’m sorry for your losses,” Diana said. “And I thank you for all the help you’ve given us today, but the sun should be setting soon, and I think we’ve been away from our friends for too long. We need to get back to them so we can start the next part of our journey.”
“Of course,” Troy said. The twins walked past Zoey, Diana, and Prometheus and pressed the button to summon an elevator. Within minutes one showed up. They climbed inside, Troy punched in a code, and they began their ascent. While they traveled up, Prometheus morphed back into his disguise.
“What will you do about the employees in that closet?” Zoey asked.
Marina pursed her lips. “Don’t you worry about us. We’ll figure something out.”
“They might make a good snack for the Cyclopes if they don’t keep their mouths shut,” Troy said, and Zoey stifled a laugh.
Soon they got so high in the elevator they could overlook the forges. Once it reached the building’s entrance it stopped, and then its barred door creaked open.
Zoey clutched her Pocket-Sized Submarine. “Thank you again for all your help, and I hope this isn’t goodbye forever. How will we find you later, when we need you?”
Marina winked at her. “We install tracking devices into all our inventions. When word reaches the city about how the Daughter of Apollo and the Chosen Two of the Prophecy stole Poseidon’s Trident right from under the Sea God’s nose, we’ll track you using the submarines.” Diana and Prometheus bowed to the siblings, and Zoey hugged each.
After finishing their farewells, Zoey, Diana, and Prometheus exited the elevator and walked across the platform. When they opened the entryway doors, stepped outside, and looked at the sky, Zoey sighed in relief. The sun was still high up.
“We have a while before sunset,” Diana said, pulling the hood of her cloak tightly to cover her face. “If we hurry, we can get out of here before curfew.”
The group hurried through the streets of the Agora, toward the edge of the city. No one recognized them; no one stopped them. In fact, hardly anyone spoke to them, except for a few merchants attempting to entice them with “deals they couldn’t resist.”
Soon they reached a more crowded area, where hundreds of people and satyr and centaur astynomia were gathered in the wide street and the sidewalks lining it. Cars were parked on either side of the mob or were making U-turns and hobbling back to where they’d come from—Zoey guessed the drivers couldn’t get past the people.
“What’s going on?” Zoey yelled to Diana and Prometheus, trying to be heard over the roar of the crowd.
“I don’t know,” Diana said, glancing around at the people and shops surrounding them. “Let’s cut through the buildings and get to another street. They can’t all be this busy.” The demigod jogged toward a shop to their right, holding her hood in place all the while, and Zoey and Prometheus followed suit.
“Let it be known,” a young woman cried from behind, her powerful voice commanding attention and projecting over everyone else’s, “that on this day in history, Layla, Daughter of Ares, and Xander, Son of Hermes, captured the treacherous Son of Zeus in the streets of Hephaestus City. He will not escape us again. We will take him to New Mount Olympus, and he will finally answer to his father for his crimes against the gods.”
The crowd cheered, but Zoey stopped dead and swung around. Treacherous Son of Zeus? Were they talking about Karter? The black-haired, golden-eyed demigod with the horrible scar on his face? The one who’d tried to get Spencer back on the gods’ side, had tried to kidnap Zoey, and had struck Diana with lightning—but had ultimately helped Zoey and Andy steal the Helm of Darkness and put Persephone in Tartarus in order to save Spencer’s life?
Zoey hadn’t seen him since the group’s trip to the Underworld, and she hadn’t given him much thought other than hoping he’d be okay, but that didn’t change the fact that without him, Zoey and Andy wouldn’t have been able to steal the Helm of Darkness and could have even died that day in Hades, regardless of the motives behind the Son of Zeus’s actions. If he was in trouble . . .
“Zoey,” Diana hissed through clenched teeth, seizing Zoey’s hand. “What are you doing? I know Layla. I was her friend and teammate. And I know Xander, too. If they see us, we’re done for. We have to get out of here.”
Zoey yanked her hand from Diana’s grasp. “Didn’t you hear her say they captured the Son of Zeus? Isn’t that Karter, or are there other children-of-Zeus that just so happen to have betrayed the gods?”
Prometheus stomped toward them. “What do you care?”
“Karter helped us! Without him, we wouldn’t have been able to steal the Helm, not to mention escape Hades alive.”
“Please don’t tell me you want to repay the favor,” Diana said, her expression full of fear.
“We can’t just leave him,” Zoey said. “The gods will have him executed or worse for helping us. There’s no doubt about it.”
“And that’s not our problem. He could have come with us. Don’t forget I gave him that option. But he chose not to.”
“Because he’d just watched his best friend die,” Zoey cried. “He didn’t want to leave Spencer. And I understand that, because I didn’t either, but you made me.”
Diana let out a cold laugh. “You know who else was his best friend? Syrena. Did you know he had no problem letting the gods kill her? Did you know he held Spencer back from saving her? Spencer himself told me so. Karter was fine to capture me right after his father executed her. He was fine with bringing me to Zeus. To have me suffer the same fate Syrena did. Forgive me if I’d rather just leave him to the mercy of the gods.”
“All that happened before he helped us,” Zoey retorted. “And before he’d redeemed himself so much in Spencer’s eyes that Spencer gave him the last golden apple from Eris and refused to take it back. Spencer was willing to die for him that day. We can’t let them take him after what happened in Hades. We just can’t.” She paused, looking back at the crowd. “And I won’t.” She darted into the crowd.
“No!” Diana cried from behind. “Zoey, stop!” But Zoey didn’t stop. She was already shoving through the horde.
She focused on what she could say to save Karter, focused on what to say to reach him, and her throat began tingling again. “Get out of my wa
y!” she screamed over the yells. “Get out of my way and let Karter go!”
Within moments the people surrounding Zoey quieted and stepped aside, clearing a path for her to walk. She ran down the path toward the center of the crowd, the citizens and astynomia staring at her blankly. “Let Karter go,” she said. “Let him go.”
The laugh of a young man pierced the air ahead. It was cruel, almost taunting. “What do we have here?”
Zoey reached a small clearing in the street at the center of the crowd. Karter lay on the ground there—Zoey recognized him. He looked exactly as she remembered. He was battered and bruised, struggling to keep his eyes open, his breathing labored.
On either side of Karter stood who Zoey assumed were the demigods who’d overtaken him today. The girl—she must have been Layla, Daughter of Ares—was several inches taller than Zoey, a bush of tight burgundy coils piled atop her head, the sweat on her medium-brown skin glinting in the sunlight. Lean muscle showed on her arms and legs. The boy—he had to be Xander, Son of Hermes—was around Zoey’s height. His frame was slender, his skin a dark-olive shade, his black hair slick and shiny, a crooked smirk plastered on his lips.
Layla brandished a sword in Zoey’s direction. “What do you think you’re doing, peasant girl?”
Zoey grabbed the dagger from her robes. “I’m saving Karter from you, that’s what. Now let him go!”
Layla and Xander shared looks and glanced at Zoey in amusement, but soon Diana and Prometheus appeared on either side of Zoey, and the demigods’ expressions shifted into that of confusion. A mixture of relief and determination flooded through Zoey at the sight of her companions.
Prometheus allowed his disguise to fade away, his manacles clanking as they reappeared. Diana stepped forward, still clutching the hood of her cloak so it wouldn’t come loose. “Just let the Son of Zeus go,” Diana said. “And no one will have to get hurt.”
Layla squinted. “Diana?”
Diana cursed under her breath, then let the hood of her cloak fall. Layla’s jaw dropped, and Xander burst into a fit of laughter. “Oh my gods,” Xander said. “It seems like fate is leading us to all our enemies today.” He looked to Zoey and Prometheus. “Is the pathetic little girl one of the Chosen Two from the Before? And you, with the chains—who are you? No matter, we’ll get both of you. Zeus will be pleased with this turn of events.”
“No,” Diana said, conjuring two spheres of light. “He won’t be pleased, because you’re not catching any of us today.”
Diana chucked the spheres at the demigods. One hit Layla square in the stomach, sending her flying backward, but Xander dodged the other with lightning speed, literally: as he ran, avoiding the attack, his body blurred he moved so fast. Within a quarter of a second, he was behind Zoey. He knocked the knife from her grasp and grabbed her arms with one hand. With the other, he held a dagger to her throat.
Prometheus turned to face Xander, swinging his chains. “You must be a very powerful demigod for Zeus to have sent you on such an important mission. Why would you waste your efforts on a fight against a regular mortal girl, when you could battle a Titan god?”
Xander pressed the cold metal of his knife against the upper corner of Zoey’s mouth and sliced it, dragging the blade all the way across her cheek. “Destroying a Titan god does sound like fun, but I think the most fun would be in mutilating you both.” Pain seared Zoey’s skin, a few drops of warm blood trickling into her mouth. She spit it out, but a metallic taste lingered on her tongue. The demigod shoved Zoey into the street and kicked her hard in the back, knocking the wind out of her. She gasped for breath.
Prometheus hurled his chains at Xander, but Xander dodged the attack with what seemed to be super-speed. At the same time, the crowd broke from their trance—some began yelling while others watched as if in fear as the fight raged on.
Zoey looked over to find the Daughter of Ares charging toward Diana, sword ready. Just as Layla reached Diana, the Daughter of Apollo leapt into the air like a ballerina and pitched a sphere of light at the Daughter of Ares. Layla swerved out of the way. The attack rammed into the street.
“Why?” Layla cried. “Why are you doing this? Why have you turned away from the gods? It didn’t have to be this way.”
Diana’s eyes blazed with fury. She conjured two more attacks. “How have you forgiven them so easily? They let Pearl die.” She launched the spheres at Layla. The Daughter of Ares somersaulted to the side, and the light exploded in the street.
Karter stumbled to Zoey’s side, his expression full of confusion. “W-what’s going on? What are you doing here? How did you find . . .” He looked around, his eyes going wide as if he’d finally realized what Zoey and her companions were trying to accomplish. He turned to Zoey, eyeing her cut, then offered his hand to help her up. “Are you okay?”
Zoey caught her breath and took his hand. He pulled her to her feet. She let go of him and retrieved her dagger. “I’m fine. Just help us defeat these guys so we can get outta here.”
Karter nodded and conjured a golden bolt. He launched it at Xander, who swiftly dodged the attack as he grabbed the end links of Prometheus’s chains. Prometheus wrenched his hands back as if trying to pull the chains out of Xander’s grasp. Xander held tight with a smirk, allowing Prometheus to pull him closer. When they were only a few feet apart, Xander raced circles around Prometheus faster than ever, links still in hand. Within seconds, the Titan was tangled in his own chains. Prometheus fell to the ground, squirming. Xander plunged his blade into Prometheus’s temple. The Titan went still.
“Prometheus!” Zoey cried.
Xander raised his eyebrows at Zoey and laughed. “Did you say Prometheus? Well, that would explain his size, and the chains. Don’t you worry about him though, girl. Immortals always regenerate after they’re killed. Save your concern for when Zeus finds out the traitor escaped his prison.”
Zoey snarled and lunged for Xander, dagger ready. The demigod ripped his weapon from the Titan’s head, jumped into the air, and kicked Zoey’s wrist. Her knife went flying. Xander landed, then punched Zoey so hard in the gut sour vomit rose in her throat. He punched her again, chuckling as he did so, as if he enjoyed this.
Karter tackled Xander into the street. They struggled against each other, kicking and punching. Karter snarled at the demigod as they fought, but Xander kept up his laughing. Finally, Karter pinned Xander down, one hand wrapped around the Son of Hermes’s throat.
Xander smiled. “What are you waiting for, coward? Snap my neck. You’re strong enough.” Karter’s expression hardened. He tightened his grip on Xander. The demigod began making choking noises. He spat out globs of saliva although his lips were still pulled back in a sneer.
Layla appeared behind Karter—across the clearing, Diana lay unconscious in the street. Layla balled a fist and reared it back, then slammed it into the back of Karter’s skull. Karter went limp and fell to the ground, his hand falling away from Xander’s neck.
“Hear me, citizens of Hephaestus City,” Layla shouted. “Today, Xander and I have not only captured Karter, Son of Zeus, but also Diana, Daughter of Apollo, the Titan god Prometheus, and one of the Chosen Two of the Dreaded Prophecy. We will need assistance to properly arrest these traitors.” At this, several satyr and centaur astynomia shoved through the crowd to help Layla and Xander. One seized Zoey by her hair. “But once we can be sure they are secured, we will rejoin our companion, the Daughter of Aphrodite, and bring these prisoners to New Mount Olympus together.”
Some of the people in the crowd clapped and cheered, while others slipped away in silence.
CHAPTER TEN
CELL
Karter’s chest ached.
He sat in the corner of a cell in the Hephaestus City jail, his wrists and ankles chained to the floor. After he’d awoken from being knocked out, he’d found himself being dragged to the jail by the demigods and several astynomia. Soon th
ey’d locked him up.
Through the dim light of a lantern hanging from the ceiling, he watched as the mortal girl, Zoey, sobbed next to the door, pounding her fist against it until her knuckles bled. The astynomia hadn’t put her in chains, so she was able to move freely in the space given to them, which wasn’t much—the cells could only hold up to two people, as they were about half the size of Karter’s closet back home. The cells were made of solid iron, and Karter couldn’t hear or see anything outside the cramped metal box. Somewhere else in this building, Diana and Prometheus were locked together in a separate cage.
Prometheus, Karter thought. It’s crazy to think Diana even got him in on her ridiculous scheme. How did she manage it? Think of it?
After a long while, Zoey seemed to give up on hitting the door. She let out a shaky breath and rested her bloodstained cheek against a wall. “This is all my fault.” Karter looked up at her and cocked his head. “I . . . I’m the one who wanted to save you from Layla and Xander,” she continued. “I was so stupid. I really thought we could just march up and—”
“You wanted to save me?” Karter blurted. “I mean, I knew it couldn’t have been Diana. But still, why?”
Zoey kept her gaze down. “Spencer was my friend. And I knew how much . . . how much he loved you, because of some visions he gave Andy and me during our training. Then because he tried to give you his golden apple, even though giving it to you would mean he’d die in Hades . . .” She gulped. “Not only that, but you helped us steal the Helm. And, I mean, if it weren’t for you, I’d be in Tartarus right now. You grabbed me from Persephone when she was dragging me in.”
She glanced up, and they locked eyes. Hers were red and puffy from crying, but the irises shone a brilliant blue like a clear midday sky. For a few moments neither of them said anything, only staring at each other.