by A P Mobley
A few moments later, the Trojan Cetus rose again, this time next to Zoey and just barely out of the water. Andy lay on its head, eyes closed, cheeks pale, completely still.
Zoey gasped and pulled herself up onto the creature, scrambling to Andy’s side. “Andy,” she said, shaking him. “Andy, wake up.”
He didn’t respond. She pressed her fingers against his neck. A pulse throbbed ever so faintly. However, his chest wasn’t rising and falling. It didn’t seem like he was breathing. Was there water trapped in his lungs? In his air passageways? How could she fix it?
She lifted him into a sitting position. She had no idea what she was doing, but she had to do something, anything to save him. He couldn’t die. Not like this.
Water spilled from his mouth and nose. He began hacking, more liquid flying out, and she swallowed back tears. He was okay. It was okay. Everything was okay.
When he finally stopped coughing and caught his breath, he turned to her, confusion in his eyes. Beneath the storm clouds, they looked even more gray than usual. “What happened?”
“Poseidon and Triton are dead for now,” Zoey said. “Kali, Darko, and I took care of Triton. And I, uh, convinced our new friend here it was in his best interest to help us instead of the gods, and he ate Poseidon in one swallow. Didn’t even chew. I don’t know how long it will take for Poseidon to regenerate now, but I’m guessing we at least have time to escape.”
Andy looked down, sucking in a sharp breath when he saw he sat atop the Trojan Cetus. “Uh, okay, that’s badass. And the Trident?”
Zoey had nearly forgotten about the Trident, but now that she’d used her powers to get the sea monster on their side, she had no doubt it would help them.
“Trojan Cetus?” she said, her throat tingling. “Would you finish your mission today by bringing the Trident to me, so Poseidon can never use it to control you or any other sea creature again?”
The Trojan Cetus rose a bit more out of the water, revealing the Trident as it lay farther down its back. Andy grinned, making his way toward it and grabbing it. “Uh, thanks, man. For, you know, helping out and not eating us and stuff.”
Zoey and Andy hopped off the sea monster and splashed into the water. As it stared at them now, completely calm and not out to eat anyone, it almost seemed cute—at least, in a weird, monster-y way. If Zoey had been able to get it on their side without the use of magic, she would have considered bringing it with them, at least until they got to land, but she wasn’t sure how long her magic would last, and if the creature would realize she’d convinced it to betray its master.
“I promise to repay you for what you’ve done today,” Zoey said, unsure of how to say goodbye. “Your name will go down in history. You know, as a hero.”
The sea monster slipped beneath the surface and disappeared.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
JOURNEY
“Uh, where’re Darko and Kali?” Andy asked.
As if it weren’t confusing enough to wake up after getting totally owned by Poseidon and have Zoey tell him she’d single-handedly taken care of the god and his crazy pet sea monster with her new mystical voice-powers, when Andy looked around, Darko, Kali, and their Not-So-Pocket-Sized-Submarine were nowhere in sight, miles of ocean before them.
“Oh no,” Zoey said beside him. She pointed farther out. “They were right over there when I last saw them. They wouldn’t have just left. What if the Trojan Cetus—”
Before she could finish her sentence, something shiny and bronze rose from the water several yards away. Andy grinned.
Their submarine’s top door popped open, and Darko and Kali poked their heads out.
“Ahoy there, mateys,” Andy said in his best pirate voice. When he’d first seen the nautical-styled steering wheel in the submarine he’d wanted to say something silly like that, but they’d been running for their lives, so it wasn’t exactly the right time.
Zoey giggled, while Darko and Kali raised eyebrows at Andy. “Is that some kind of secret code, or did you hit your head when Poseidon smashed you with that wave?” Kali asked, her tone laced with sarcasm. Now it was Darko’s turn to laugh.
Andy chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Wow, I knew there’d be a warm welcoming committee when I got back from the biggest battle of my life, but I didn’t realize it was going to be this awesome. Thanks, Kali.”
“You’re welcome,” Kali replied sweetly.
Andy and Zoey swam to the sub. Darko and Kali helped pull them inside, and soon they were safe, secure, and soaked.
Kali shut the door and sealed it. “What now?”
“Well, we need to get to land,” Darko said. “That’s west of us. Then we have to start in the direction of New Mount Olympus to meet up with the nymphs.”
“Let’s start with ‘west,’” Andy said, setting the Trident on the floor. “I can figure out which way we need to go by looking at the sun when it starts to set. Then, after we get together with the nymphs, we can save Diana and the others.”
“You make it sound so easy when you say it like that,” Zoey said. “But you know it’s going to be a more complicated journey than that, right?” She gave him a dazzling smile, her blue eyes shining.
He recalled the talk he and Zoey had before going into the Labyrinth. How he’d told her about his feelings for her, and in turn how she’d told him the truth about her past—then the way he’d reacted.
He wanted to tell her he was sorry, that he wasn’t being fair to her when he’d reacted that way. He wanted to tell her none of those things mattered, because in the end it didn’t change who she was. And it didn’t change the fact that he loved her. Yes, he loved her.
An image of Anteros and Calliope dancing in the garden flashed across his mind. Was he really Anteros, and Zoey Calliope, like Zoey had suggested? How did that work, anyway? And if it was true, was that why he had feelings for Zoey? Was it some sort of freaky past-life phenomenon, and why he’d always been drawn to her?
He smiled back at Zoey, pushing thoughts like those away. There was time to figure out his questions later. Besides, even if there was some god inside him or he was a god or whatever the hell was going on, it didn’t change the way he felt about her, and it didn’t change the fact that he needed to apologize to her for what happened before. He couldn’t do it now, not in front of Darko and Kali, but he’d do it soon.
When the time is right, he thought. I’ll tell her I’m sorry.
Soon the sun began to set, and Andy steered them west.
*~*~*~
Zeus stood atop the sprawling balcony outside his bedchamber, overlooking the Garden of Olympus as night fell.
There were only a few days left until the Daughter of Apollo would arrive; he knew this from the visions he had received recently. From there, Karter would execute her.
“My son,” Zeus whispered, a sneer on his lips. “You have always been an important pawn of the game. My game.”
The King of the Gods chuckled, satisfied. Soon the war would be over, the Dreaded Prophecy diminished to nothing, just as destiny had always intended for the Greek pantheon. Finally, they would never have to worry about being forgotten and fading away again.
Of course, a few complications had arisen. Something always did. First there was the fact that Apollo had betrayed Zeus: his own son, and a fellow Olympian! Yes, it was time Apollo be cast into Tartarus. The deed could not be postponed any longer. Zeus would have to appoint someone else to take over Apollo’s duties, but it would not be hard to do. Any god or goddess would gladly volunteer for the opportunity to take Apollo’s title.
Not only that, but Hephaestus’s insufferable twin grandchildren, Troy and Marina, had been captured alongside the Daughter of Apollo. Apparently, they were guilty of aiding the enemy. After Zeus had allowed them to live in such a privileged manner after the lies their mother spat, this was how they chose to repay him? They would die for
it. In fact, they would be struck with green lightning as soon as they arrived on Olympus.
But the complications did not stop there. Prometheus—the cockroach—and the Chosen Two of the Prophecy—may they burn in Tartarus for all eternity—had escaped capture. Zeus had already decided Prometheus would pay for his insolence with a punishment far more severe than the last, and the Chosen Two would suffer so greatly they would beg for Zeus to stop their hearts.
Oh, Zeus wished he could kill those wretched, mortal nuisances. He wished more than anything he could drain the life from them, watch their faces twist with horror and anguish—but he could not. The visions had brought him more knowledge than just how the war would end with the Daughter of Apollo’s execution. He could not risk the development of a second prophecy after all the trouble this one had caused him.
Purple light flashed from behind, illuminating Zeus’s surroundings. The god swung around to find another one of his Olympian sons, Hermes, stepping through a shimmering oval-shaped portal and onto the balcony. The Messenger of the Gods usually held a cunning expression, his mouth turned in a crooked smile and his eyes glittering with mischief. However, tonight his face was drawn into a frown of concern. His black hair—always slicked back with cosmetic oils—was tousled and uncombed.
“What is it?” Zeus asked, immediately aware that something else must have gone wrong. If Karter and the rest of Zeus’s demigod warriors had lost the Daughter of Apollo, Zeus swore on the River Styx they would regret ever being born.
“It’s Poseidon,” Hermes said, almost frantically. “There was an attack on his palace. The Trident was stolen.”
“By the mortals from the Before?”
“Yes—Triton and Amphitrite saw them. We still haven’t found Poseidon, but—”
Zeus held up a hand to silence Hermes, electricity crackling along his fingertips. This was a dilemma, yes, but it would not take long to resolve. Even without the Helm of Darkness and Poseidon’s Trident, the gods were unstoppable. They still had the Master Lightning Bolt, which dwarfed all other magical items with its power. Besides, Zeus had seen in his visions that the death of the Daughter of Apollo would bring a new era of peace to the gods. This was a minor inconvenience, nothing more. Zeus was sure of it.
“There is no need to worry,” the King of the Gods said. “No need at all. Those two have only gotten this far through fantastical strokes of luck, which end now. I already sent Artemis and her Huntresses to search for those filthy insects, and have you ever known Artemis to lose a hunt?”
To be continued in the final installment of the War on the Gods trilogy . . .
The Master
Lightning
Bolt
A. P. Mobley is a young-adult fantasy author with an undying love for Greek mythology and epic, magical tales. She grew up in Wyoming and currently lives there, working part-time as a substitute teacher and studying to earn her degree in English. She considers herself a huge nerd, loves chocolate a little too much, and can be found snuggling with one of her pets into late hours of the night.
Follow her on Twitter and Instagram:
@author_apmobley.
If you liked Poseidon’s Trident, make sure to leave it a review on Amazon and Goodreads! Reviews help authors, and if you’d like to see more stories from A. P. Mobley, reviewing her books is the best way to support her.
Acknowledgements
There are several people who had a hand in the production of this book that I want to thank.
First, my editor, Nikki Mentges at NAM Editorial. You help me so much in improving my work, and I learn something every time we work together. I hope that as time goes on, I will only continue learning from you.
Next, my illustrator, Gabrielle Ragusi. You make the most incredible art and I can’t imagine anyone else working on the illustrations for this project.
Third, my formatters, Megan and Josh at Cloud Kitten Publishing. You guys work so hard and are just beyond stellar in everything you do.
Last, Jenna Moreci, one of my favorite authors and biggest inspirations. Even though this book is technically my third published work, I still found myself watching your YouTube videos to make it the best I could.