Titan_Kingdom of the Dead_An Epic Novel of Urban Fantasy and Greek Mythology

by Daniel Mignault

  “There are reasons beyond reasons. After the destruction of most of the Earth in the Gods War, the scheme to suspend the power of Death was necessary in order to ration the remaining human population.”

  “And now?”

  “Humanity is rebuilding, but I grow weary of the same food. I hunger for new tastes in new worlds! You can give me that, Andrus. You will give me that!”

  “Or else what?”

  “Or else what, indeed!” The greedy lips peel back, revealing row after row of fangs, like the mouth of a shark. “Do not test my patience. Go now, go forth on your quest, but know that you do so at my pleasure, and my command! Once you see what Hades is really like… once you see how badly you have been used by the Gods, then you will come to Cronus. You shall come freely, and I will be here, where I always am: Inside you. Waiting. Watching. Now go!”

  With a wave of his hand, I’m gone.

  Part II

  TO FREE A GOD

  19

  BORN TO POWER

  I wake, heart hammering. Hannah is asleep, but at least one of Cerberus’ heads isn’t. The muzzle raises, the red eyes slowly open.

  “Good boy,” I whisper.

  Cerberus stares at me, then yawns. I get a good look inside his fanged mouth before he’s done. The head lowers, the eyes close.I walk out of the cave onto the hillside, the dream still fresh in my mind. I look out over the weird forest below, arms crossed against the chill sense of dread crawling up my spine. I have no doubt some of what Cronus said was lies, but some of it felt true.

  The offer felt true.

  Cronus wants me to free Hades so he can kill him… and Hannah, and Ares. With no Gods left to fight or imprison, the war would be over then. The Titans would be free. Free to rule, free to reign forever.

  I can save my foster parents. I can save Mark and Lucy… And I can have power! Power in a new world where I decide what’s right and wrong. Where I control who lives and dies. Except I wouldn’t, not really. Cronus would, and he’s got a pretty poor track record valuing life—human or otherwise. But maybe I can find a way to make it work, to shut him out. But how can I keep the King of the Titans out of my world when I can’t even keep him out of my dreams?

  I’m so lost in my thoughts, I don’t even hear Hannah creep up on me until she’s at my side. “Couldn’t sleep?”

  I shake my head. “Bad dream.”

  “You get those a lot?”

  “Sometimes. More lately.”

  “What was it about?” Hannah asks, her eyes intense.

  “Cronus.”

  She nods. “The barriers are less restrictive here.”

  “The barriers to what?”

  “To telepathy, astral projection. Dream manipulation.”

  I don’t say anything.

  Hannah shrugs. “He made you an offer, didn’t he?”

  “Yes.”

  “Look, Andrus, you said ‘no more secrets,’ remember?”

  “Yeah, I remember. Only I guess it’s not so easy when they’re mine.”

  She smiles, not unkindly. “Now you know how I feel. Our fathers are… complicated. They expect us to keep their secrets, yet keep none of our own.”

  “Yeah, it sucks. In the dream, Cronus told me some things… things about myself.”

  “Do you want to tell me?”

  “I don’t know. Can I trust you?”

  Her dark eyes find mine. “Can I trust you?”

  I heave a sigh out over the ledge and in that moment, I make my decision. “Cronus says he wants us to free Hades so he can kill him.”

  She laughs, and that’s not the reaction I expect.

  “What’s so funny? I just told you he wants us to free your dad so he can murder him! So he can murder Ares and you.”

  “I know, but what choice do we have? Freeing my father is my only hope to stop Cronus. My only chance for any kind of…”

  “Normal life?”

  “My life is never going to be normal, Andrus. Neither is yours. It can’t. Like it or not, we were born to power. We were born to change the world.”

  Or bridge it, I think to myself, then shove the thought aside. It’s one thing to find out I’m a magic rock, and another to find out I’m an alien one, a meteor. The Bridge Between Worlds… I haven’t even had time to process the first revelation before Cronus hit me with another and another.

  Why? Why tell me now, or at all? To keep me reeling. Off-balance. And maybe to tip me over from Hannah’s side to his…

  “Gods and Titans,” I say. “Titans and Gods! Where does it end? When one side murders the other? Is that the only way we can have peace?”

  Hannah rests her hand on my shoulder. “No side is all good, Andrus, or all evil. Some of the Gods were just as bad as the Titans, and some of the Titans were as good as the best of the Gods.”

  “And me?” I ask.

  She grins. “The jury’s still out.”

  “Is it?” I’m painfully aware how close she is, how beautiful.

  “Yeah.” The word is a whisper, the silence that follows a promise.

  I am the Bridge Between Worlds. What if that doesn’t just mean to other worlds, but to other possibilities within our own? What if I am the bridge between Gods and Titans? What if that’s the reason Gaia plucked me from the stars and brought me to life? What if that’s the reason I’m here? What if, what if… My thoughts crumble, my reason flees, and for good reason.

  Hannah’s lips are on mine. It’s like a spell—a spell where I can’t think, only feel. There’s an energy between us, a connection that goes beyond the physical. Beyond boy and girl. The heat rises in me, the air between us steaming with more than our breath. It’s magic. We’re magic. And that scares me, but not enough to stop.

  20

  A BATTLE I CAN’T WIN

  I break away from the kiss. For something that felt so good, it hurts. It hurts to end it, and I’m tempted to go back for more. To stop the pain as much as to feel the pleasure, to renew the connection. Instead, I step back and say, “We can’t.” It doesn’t sound very convincing, not to her and not to me.

  “Do you mean can’t or shouldn’t?” Hannah closes the gap between us.

  I shake my head. “I don’t know. Both?”

  “Because of Lucy?”

  “Because of a lot of things. Us being together would only complicate things.”

  Hannah nods. “OK.”

  “You sure?”

  “I was only kissing you out of pity anyway,” she teases.

  “You sure about that?” I ask. “It felt pretty mutual to me.”

  “How many girls have you kissed, Andrus?”

  “I don’t know,” I lie. “A lot.”

  “Uh-huh. You’ve kissed exactly one in the time I’ve been watching you. Two now, counting me.”

  “I’ve never been good with people. I’m not sure I can be.”

  “Because you’re a Titan?”

  I shrug.

  “You wanna know a secret? I’ve never been very good with people either.”

  “Because you’re a Demigoddess?”

  She laughs. “No, Andrus, because I’m a bitch.”

  “I was going to say, ‘witch.’”

  “Yeah, well, that too. Magic never left me much time for anything else, or anyone…”

  “I was like that with sports, but I preferred the kind I could do alone.”

  “Rock climbing,” Hannah says. “Spelunking. That makes sense, considering what you are.”

  “What I am…” I echo, letting the words wander through my mind. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”

  “No one does, Andrus, but we get it anyway. Some of us more than others.”

  “Like you?”

  “Like us.” She kisses me again, pressing her slim body against mine. This time, I don’t push her away. This time, I let it happen. “After we free my father,” she whispers in my ear, “anything can happen… We could die, and I don’t want to die—not with regrets.” Her mouth works on m
ine, petal-soft, yet with the fierceness of a thousand lonely nights, a thousand lonely dreams.

  I match her passion. Hannah is a battle I can’t win, so I don’t even try.

  21

  GODS DON’T APOLOGIZE

  We’re interrupted by a crash of wings. At first, I think the harpies have found us, but it’s only Shadow. The raven flies between us, forcing me back. It lands on Hannah’s outstretched arm, cawing loudly.

  “What is he, jealous?” I ask.

  “No, it’s Ares,” she says. “Shadow found him. He’s on his way up.”

  An insistent scrabbling comes from below as we compose ourselves. A moment later, the God of War appears at the ledge. I offer him a hand as he climbs over the side. “This vessel wasn’t made for such exertion,” Ares complains. When Hannah and I don’t answer, but look at each other longingly, he barks short laughter. “Not interrupting anything, am I?”

  Hannah blushes, and I feel the color rush to my cheeks.

  “What happened?” I say to change the subject. “You all right?”

  Mark’s body is bloody and battered, covered in nasty scrapes and bruises. His clothes are torn, his hair hangs in greasy clumps. Ares pops his joints, then cracks his neck from side to side. When he’s satisfied, he says, “The vessel is intact. The cyclopes are dead.”

  “What about Gyges?” I ask.

  “I led the bastard on a merry chase, but with this vessel’s limitations, I regret I could not do more.”

  That’s about what I expected, and probably the best outcome we could have hoped for, all things considered. The important thing is Ares is OK, and so is Mark. “I wish you’d stop calling Mark your ‘vessel.’ He’s my friend.”

  “Understood,” the War God says. “And you’re right. Mark has served us well, and continues to serve. We trained his body well, you and I. If only we’d had more time, if only he hadn’t been so resistant in class…”

  “Mark was the kind of guy who always lived more in his head than his body.” I cringe, realizing I just referred to Mark in the past tense. “Anyway, Mark really isn’t so different from me. He was just more into thinking, while I was more into doing.”

  “There is a time for thought and a time for action,” Ares muses. “Both have their place in war. Not every man must be in the frontlines to attain glory; generals, engineers, and medics have their place as well.”

  “And priests,” I add.

  Ares grunts. “If you say so. I’ve always found them to be a necessary evil.”

  “That’s a funny thing to say coming from a God.”

  “Not really,” Hannah says. “Priests presume too much… They expect divine intervention in life, a place of honor at their deity’s side in death. My father had no use for priests. That’s why I’m a witch. I don’t depend on anyone to answer my prayers but me.”

  “Not that there’s anyone left to answer,” Ares says. “Your father was wise to train you in the use of magic.”

  Hannah nods. “He knew what was coming, but no one would listen, not until it was too late…”

  “And then the war,” Ares says grimly.

  “And then the war,” she agrees.

  “At least we’re still here,” I say to lighten the mood. “At least we’re still fighting. More glory for us, right?”

  “Well said, Andrus.” Ares draws his sword, raising it over our heads. “To us! To the fighters, and to victory! May it be swift and glorious.”

  “To victory!” Hannah and I echo, and we raise our blades to his, holding them there. Savoring the moment. Drawing strength from it.

  It’s a welcome thrill, good for morale, but it doesn’t last long. I wish I knew what to do about Cronus, about Hannah and Lucy and everything. But I don’t, so I fill Ares in on what I told Hannah about my dream.

  “I’m not surprised,” Ares says when I’m done. “I appreciate you telling me.”

  “There’s something else,” I say.

  Hannah frowns. “Something you didn’t mention before?”

  I sigh. “I wanted to, only it’s all so new, I was still processing it, and then… I, uh, had other things on my mind.”

  “We both did,” Hannah agrees. “So what weren’t you telling me?”

  Hearing the three of us, Cerberus pokes its heads out of the cave, then pads over to Ares and gives him a few experimental sniffs. Ares reaches out and ruffles the dog’s fur. It’s tongues loll in pleasure.

  “Andrus?” Hannah prods. “You were saying?”

  “Have you ever heard of something called the Bridge Between Worlds?”

  Ares stops petting the dog. Hannah looks at me, her raven adjusting its perch on her forearm. “We’ve heard of it,” she says.

  I shift uncomfortably. “What is it?”

  “It’s the end of the Titans,” Ares say. “A weapon. The Bridge is a way to bring peace and security to the remaining Gods, and by killing the Titans, the Bridge will have the power to open new worlds for us.”

  “Cronus said it was a way to do that, but for the Titans. For him, in particular, and that it would kill the Gods.”

  Ares and Hannah exchange a look. “It’s an old prophecy, Andrus, and subject to interpretation.”

  “So you both could be right? About the Bridge being able to kill one side to secure peace and prosperity for the other?”

  Ares scowls, his eyes flashing gold. “Gods are never wrong, Andrus.”

  Hannah steps between us. “Except when they are. Even you have made a few errors in your time, and don’t get me started on Zeus and Hera!”

  Ares scoffs and folds his arms across his chest, but makes no move to contradict her. The gesture would have been more impressive had the God still been possessing Mr. Cross. In Mark’s body, it looks slightly ridiculous, but I know better than to doubt the War God’s power.

  “Andrus,” Hannah says, “what exactly did Cronus tell you about the Bridge Between Worlds? Does he have it? Does he know where to find it? The Gods and Titans have been looking for the Bridge for thousands of years, but no one’s ever found it.”

  Neither of them know I am the Bridge. They think the Bridge is a place, or a thing, not a person. Not me. But I was born from rock, and a rock is a thing. And I come from a place—a place beyond the stars, one nobody could find until the time was right. So I tell them, “Cronus doesn’t have the Bridge. He knows where it is, though. He wants me to get it.”

  “Why can’t he get it himself?” Ares asks.

  “Because he needs me to do it.”

  “You?” Hannah asks. “Why you?”

  “I’m not sure… I guess because nobody else can access it.”

  Cerberus whines, and Ares absently pats the monster on its nearest head. “Andrus, if this is true, then the power to end this war rests with you.”

  “I thought it lay with Hades?”

  “Hades is part of it,” Hannah says. “Without him being free to loose Death on the world, maybe the Bridge can’t be accessed, or can’t be used. What do you think, cousin?”

  Ares frowns. “I think the Bridge must be bathed in the blood of the enemy. I’m not speaking poetically, either. I mean literally drenched in the juices of the dying.”

  Hannah’s dark eyes light up. “Releasing all that magic at once must open the Bridge.”

  “And then we go through,” Ares says. “We go through and reap the bounty of new worlds, young worlds unspoiled in their beauty. The home of a new Olympus!”

  “An Olympus without the mistakes of the past,” Hannah adds.

  “Wait a minute, you guys! What about Earth? I thought we were doing this for humanity?”

  “We are,” Hannah says, “but we’re also doing it for ourselves. There are millions of humans left, but only three Olympians: Hades, Ares, and myself.”

  “Half-Olympian,” Ares corrects her. “You had a human mother.”

  Hannah’s face darkens with anger. “Really, cousin? You think now is a good time to bring up my parentage? As if I haven’t done
at least as much as you to make our victory happen? Maybe more! And you, you’re only an avatar—a shadow of your former glory!”

  “It seems I struck a nerve,” Ares says. “Let us move on before the situation becomes disagreeable.”

  “You should apologize,” I tell him.

  Ares smirks. “Gods don’t apologize, Andrus. And even if they did, War never does.”

  Hannah rolls her eyes. “You can see why nobody likes him.”

  “Oh? As if they liked your father any better?”

  “Anyway,” Hannah says, loud enough to make her point, “Andrus, do you know where the Bridge is?”

  I don’t like the ugly way the conversation has turned, so I decide not to tell them I’m the Bridge. At least not yet. I don’t know if it’s paranoia or common sense. Maybe both.

  “Andrus?” Hannah asks again. “Well, do you know?”

  “No, but if the Bridge is a weapon that can destroy the remaining Gods or Titans, what if it could be used to kill just some of them?”

  Ares’ brow knits in confusion. “Some? Why would we only kill some? Half a victory is no victory at all. It is a defeat!”

  “I’m just saying… what if they’re not all bad?”

  Ares runs a bloody hand through his matted hair. “Not all bad? How would you know? How many Titans have you met besides Gyges and Cronus?”

  Hannah says, “I think he means Prometheus…”

  Ares groans. “What, him? Bah! That trickster had his uses, but he was nothing but trouble! Zeus was right to punish him.”

  “What about me?” I ask. “I have my uses, but what about after we free Hades?”

  Ares says, “You’ll help us secure the Bridge, and use it to wipe out the Titans.”

  “What if that wipes me out too?” I ask.

  The two Olympians exchange a look. Hannah says, “Then we wouldn’t use it.”

  Ares doesn’t seem so convinced. “War is sacrifice! I sacrificed the greater portion of my power, and the others… my father, my mother, my brothers and sisters… they gave everything.”