Steeds of the Gods

by Lucy Coats

  “Here,” said Eunice, pulling out a large bottle with a carved stone stopper from inside her robe. “You can put it in this.” She reached up and gave him a kiss on his hairy cheek. “Thanks, you’re the best dad in the world.”

  “You and your little tricks.” He chuckled, handing her the filled bottle. “Now get away with you, child, and give my love to your sisters. Tell them to come visit soon. Amphitrite keeps all of you too busy!”

  “I will,” said Eunice, pulling Demon out of the cave and toward the tethered Hippocamps. “I promise.” She put her finger to her lips as soon as they were around the corner and out of sight. “Don’t say anything. The walls have ears,” she whispered, nodding toward the angler fish lights.

  Eunice slipped out of the chariot as soon as they drove into the palace stables. “I’d better go and check on Amphitrite. She said I still had to do my duties for her, even if I was helping you. I’ll be down again as quick as I can—sorry to leave you with all the work.” Fumbling in the pocket of her robe, she thrust the bottle of swiftweed juice at him. “Hide this in a safe place, and DON’T use it till I can show you how.” Then she shot off before he could say a single word. Demon shoved the bottle under a bale of silver seaweed as the Hippocamps began to prance and dance with impatience to get to their mangers. He’d deal with it later.

  Demon felt a bit lonely once he’d finished seeing to the Hippocamps. They weren’t very good company—they only spoke in single words, and he missed the griffin’s snarky chat. He got out the bottle of swiftweed juice and looked over at the box, which was still on the high rocky shelf where he’d left it. “Box,” he said politely. “Would you mind keeping this safe for me? It’s pretty dangerous stuff, apparently, and I need to make sure that nobody but Eunice or me uses it.”

  The silver box shuddered and let out a couple of blue sparks, but eventually its lid opened with a cross-sounding creak. “Insert object,” it said, rather grudgingly. Demon placed the bottle inside, and immediately the lid snapped shut. The box began to hum busily. “Poison protocols in process,” it announced, just as a flashing red skull and crossbones appeared on each of its sides. Demon patted it, then yelped as a strange tingly shock passed through his hand.

  “Ouch!” he yelled.

  “Safety procedures present and correct.” The box glowed. “Item now password protected.”

  “Password?” asked Demon angrily, sucking his sore fingers. “What’s the password?”

  “Mother’s name plus father’s gift,” it whirred.

  Demon thought for a moment, puzzled. Then it suddenly came to him. “Er, that would be … er … Carys and Pan pipes,” he said.

  “Correct. Do you wish to retrieve item?”

  “No, not now. You keep it safe. Thanks, box. You’re the best.” The box glowed bright blue with pleasure.

  CHAPTER 9

  THE SWIFTWEED TEST

  The stables were spick and span; the Hippocamps were happy, polished, exercised, and fed. Demon wondered what to do next. He wasn’t used to having only one set of beasts to look after. Should he try to find Eunice? Should he report to Poseidon? Or should he find the kitchens? Since he was now hungrier than a pack of ravening manticores, and his stomach was in danger of sticking to his spine, he decided that finding the kitchens was pretty urgent.

  “I don’t suppose you know where the kitchens are,” he asked the Hippocamps.

  “KITCHENS! FOOD! YUM!” they squealed. Demon rolled his eyes.

  “You’re hopeless,” he sighed. “I guess I’ll have to find them myself.” But just then, Eunice came into the stables with five of her sisters. They were all riding dolphins, and Eunice had another one on a silver rein.

  “Come on, Demon,” she called. “I’ve brought Seawhistle for you to ride. Amphitrite wants us to collect some shells for decorating the banqueting hall. There’s a perfect beach on the island next door.” Unfortunately, Demon’s stomach gave an enormous gurgle right as she stopped talking, and the Nereids all giggled.

  “I think he’s hungry again,” said the one in the pink robe.

  “Poor boy,” said the one in yellow. “Haven’t you been feeding him, Eunice?” Demon felt his face getting redder than the setting sun as he climbed onto Seawhistle’s back.

  “I can perfectly well feed myself!” he snapped, wriggling himself into place behind the big back fin. “It’s just that I haven’t quite found out where the kitchens are yet.”

  Eunice laughed. “Well, that’s easy enough,” she said. “Let’s go there before we start on the shells.”

  The palace kitchens were amazing. Pots and pans full of delicious-looking things bounced and boiled on top of jets of scalding water, and piles of strange-looking sea vegetables were being chopped and shaped and stuffed, along with endless baskets of shellfish. There was even a huge cotton candy castle being decorated with edible shells and strands of seaweed. Poseidon’s cooks seemed to be preparing enough food to feed a thousand gods and goddesses, and Demon’s stomach was soon as full as it could be. Afterward, he found himself collecting shells on a little white sandy beach. The Nereids thought it was funny to pelt him with wet seaweed, but he soon repaid them by stuffing sand down the backs of their robes.

  After that, Demon quickly fell into a routine. What with exercising the Hippocamps in the morning, getting them ready for Poseidon’s daily inspection, then taking time off in the afternoons to ride Seawhistle and explore with Eunice and the other Nereids, the days before the race quickly passed. Despite what Eunice said about her sisters, they were fun to be with, always laughing and playing jokes as they showed him around the palace, challenged him to swimming races (which he always lost), and generally treated him like a long-lost younger brother. But the night before the race, he started to get a nasty sinking feeling of doom in his stomach.

  As he was giving the Hippocamps their last feed, he was surprised to see Eunice ride in on her dolphin, Seapetal, with Seawhistle swimming behind her. By that time he had rumpled his hair into a tangled bird’s nest.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, as nasty, wriggly worry things joined the feeling of doom. “Is-is-is something wrong?”

  “No, nothing’s wrong, except that my sisters are all fluffing and faffing and looking at stupid jewels,” she said. “Luckily, Amphitrite is too busy choosing which dress to wear tomorrow to notice I’m not there, so I thought I’d escape. Want to take Seawhistle for a night ride? There’s a lovely full moon, and the stars are much brighter than Halia’s silly old opals.” Then she frowned, looking at him. “What’s the matter, Demon? Why is your hair all sticky-uppy like that?”

  “What if the swiftweed juice doesn’t work?” he burst out. “What if it’s a bad batch or something? What if Poseidon and Helios find out? What if the effect runs out halfway through the race … ?” Eunice rode over and grabbed his shoulder, giving him a little shake.

  “You big silly,” she said. “Of course it’ll work—it lasts for a whole day, usually. And I’ll be there to help with the Hippocamps. You’ll see—it’ll all be fine. But if you’re really worried, we can try out a tiny drop on Seapetal and Seawhistle here. They won’t tell anyone, will you, boys?” The dolphins opened their mouths and grinned, shaking their heads violently.

  “Race you,” they whistled to each other. “Last one back’s a barnacle’s bottom!”

  Eunice was very impressed with the box’s security measures. “It’s better than a whole legion of those stupid Triton guards,” she said as the bottle of swiftweed appeared, making the box glow with pleasure again. Taking a tiny seagull-feather brush from her pocket, she dipped just the very tip into the bottle and painted a minuscule amount onto the dolphins’ front flippers and tails before putting everything back.

  “Now,” she said, jumping onto her dolphin’s back, “let’s race.” Demon hardly had time to scramble onto Seawhistle before Eunice and Seapetal shot out of the stables faster than Zeus’s lightning bolts. Seawhistle followed, streaking past his friend
as Demon clung on for dear life. Right out into the ocean they raced, following the silvery path of the full moon. The stars zipped past in a blur overhead as the dolphins whistled and clicked with glee, overtaking shoals of very surprised-looking fish, and jumping high in the air. By the time they turned back, Demon had no more worries about whether the swiftweed would work or not. It was fantastic stuff! But as they came into view of the palace, they saw an extraordinary sight. A column of rainbow-colored light streamed down from the moonlit heavens and into the palace, lighting up the sky. Demon reined Seawhistle to a halt, Eunice slowing beside him.

  “Whatever is THAT?” asked Eunice, shading her eyes.

  “Gods!” Seawhistle whistled, dancing among the waves.

  “Goddesses!” clicked Seapetal. “Lots of them.”

  Demon recognized the multicolored light. “It’s the Iris Express from Olympus. I’d better start getting the Hippocamps ready. Poseidon will be coming to get the chariot soon.” He gulped. “I-I just hope Helios doesn’t arrive at the same time.”

  “Oh no!” gasped Eunice. “I’ve got to get back to the queen. If the gods and goddesses are arriving already, Amphitrite will definitely notice that I’m not there. She’s bound to be fussing that Aphrodite has a better dress for the feast, or something stupid. Come on, Seapetal, quick! I’ll see you later, Demon—and DON’T WORRY!” Her voice faded into the distance as Demon headed more slowly to the stables.

  Even though Demon knew now that the swiftweed worked, he was still nervous. To keep himself occupied, he polished the sleepy Hippocamps over and over till their bronze scales shone. Even the fiercest one was used to him now, and it nuzzled his pockets for the purple seaberry treats he’d taken to bringing them from the kitchen. Just as he was going to get the harnesses ready, there was a blaze of light in the cave entrance.

  “Time to keep your promise, stable boy,” Helios said as he appeared through his door in the air, smiling his dangerously white smile. “I do hope you succeeded in getting what you needed from the Old Man of the Sea. It would be such a shame to turn you into a sunspot when it seems you’ve worked so hard polishing up those stupid sea steeds for his Foolish Fishiness.” He smirked. “It won’t help them go faster, though, will it?”

  “N-no, Your Sunshiny Superbness. It definitely won’t.” It wasn’t a lie, Demon thought. Shininess wouldn’t help the Hippocamps go faster. “I-I’ll just go g-g-get the magic juice.” Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he whispered the password to the box, got the swiftweed juice out, and put it safely inside his robe, together with the seagull-feather paintbrush. “Ready,” he said, scrambling up onto the rock, hoping that Poseidon wouldn’t come to the stables and find him gone. Helios grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door to the other side. Waiting just outside were the six golden-maned celestial horses, each with a nymph at its head. They were already harnessed to the gigantic Chariot of the Sun, which had a long braided rope snaking out behind it into the distance. Demon could see the top of a shining golden ball just poking over the horizon.

  “Hurry up, boy,” snapped Helios. “Dawn waits for no god, and she’ll be going to the starting line soon.” He seemed nervous, but not as nervous as Demon, whose hands were shaking as he brushed each shining golden hoof with a drop of swiftweed juice. Abraxas bent his head and brushed Demon comfortingly with his white muzzle, but he didn’t say anything. It was too dangerous with Helios so near. Finally Demon finished and stood up. The horses were now pawing restlessly at the ground, their skins rippling and shuddering.

  “All done, Your Celestial Cloudlessness,” he said, stuffing the bottle and brush back into his tunic. Helios stepped forward, leaning over him until they were nearly nose to nose. Demon could feel the heat of the sun god’s gaze singeing his eyebrows, but he didn’t dare move.

  “And can you swear to me that they’ll run faster than they ever have before, stable boy?” he asked softly, his voice as menacing as the giant scorpion’s sting.

  “Y-y-yes,” Demon stammered. “Faster than the North and South Winds together, I swear. You’ll notice the difference in them immediately.” He just hoped the Hippocamps would run equally as fast.

  “They’d better, or you’ll be a crispy sunspot by sundown!” With one last threatening glare, Helios pushed Demon back through the door.

  “I wish his own sun would burn him to a crisp,” Demon muttered angrily. “I’m fed up with gods pushing me around and bullying me.” He went to get the harnesses in a very grumpy mood.

  CHAPTER 10

  THE RACE OF SEA AND SUN

  As Demon finished polishing the very last buckle, Poseidon whirled into the cave, golden trident in hand, his beard bristling and crackling with energy.

  “Good, good,” he said. “Glad to see you’ve got everything in tip-top condition early, Pandemonius. We don’t want to be outshone by those celestial beasties, do we?”

  Demon shook his head. “Definitely not, Your Marine Magnificence,” he said.

  “You can bring the chariot around to the east side of the island now. Eos is going to start the race just as dawn breaks. We’re going to show that stupid Sun Boy show-off who’s fastest, aren’t we, my lovelies?” said the sea god as he visited each Hippocamp’s stall.

  “GO FAST! FAST! FAST! FAST!” they trumpeted, beginning to rear and plunge.

  “Calm down, calm down! Save your energy for the race!” Poseidon boomed, patting Demon on the shoulder. “I’ll see you there, stable boy. Now I’ve got to go and greet my fellow gods.” He frowned. “Not my kind of thing, but Amphitrite insists we do things properly. Says Olympus will look down on us if we don’t.” With that, he disappeared in a sparkling whoosh of seawater.

  Should he put the swiftweed juice on the Hippocamps now? Demon wondered. No. That wouldn’t do at all. Helios was bound to think it was suspicious if they galloped up to the starting line too fast. He’d have to sneak it on at the last minute without Helios seeing. His heart began to thunder like a whole herd of centaurs. However was he going to pull this off?

  With trembling fingers, he harnessed the excited Hippocamps to the chariot, then got in and headed for the east side of the island. Driving up onto a shallow beach in the gray light before the dawn, he jumped out and stood ready by the Hippocamps’ heads. Up on the cliff above was a huge crowd of gods and goddesses seated on a bank of seats covered in silken cushions. Craning his neck, he spotted Zeus’s crown of lightning bolts—and was that Hera beside him, waving a fan of peacock feathers and talking to Poseidon and Amphitrite? He scuttled around to the other side of the Hippocamps. He didn’t want her spotting him! Then he noticed something else. Making her way down the cliff path was a tall goddess dressed in palest pink. Eos, goddess of dawn, was on her way to start the race. He looked around him frantically. Where was Eunice? He couldn’t do this without her help, and time was running out!

  Luckily, just then, a breathless Eunice swam up on Seapetal. “Have you put it on them?” she hissed at him as she slid off the dolphin’s back.

  “No,” said Demon. “Helios’s horses are done, but I haven’t had a chance to do the Hippocamps yet. I was waiting for you. Quick! Hold on to them while I pretend to inspect their hooves and tails.” Working fast, and keeping a nervous eye out for Helios and his chariot, Demon daubed a drop of swiftweed juice onto each tail, fin, and hoof. Just as he’d finished the last Hippocamp, he saw Poseidon striding toward him across the sand. He shoved the bottle and brush back into his tunic as the Hippocamps beside him started to act even more like high-strung thoroughbreds than usual. Their front hooves were pawing at the sand, and their tails thrashed the water behind, making the chariot toss and sway in the waves. The swiftweed was definitely taking effect! Demon held the chariot steady as Poseidon climbed in.

  “Whoa!” he yelled as the Hippocamps plunged and reared with impatience to be off. “Whoa, you eager beasties!” He waved frantically to Eos as a tiny rim of light appeared on the horizon, six white horses silhouetted against its bright
ness. Helios had arrived! “Ready when you are, Sun Boy,” Poseidon shouted, voice booming across the waves as he raised his trident. “I can hardly hold mine back—you don’t have a chance with those celestial nags of yours!”

  The sun god laughed rudely. “Eat my spray, Fish Father!” he yelled back, cracking his starry whip so that his horses reared in their traces.

  “On your marks,” shouted Eos, raising her arms in the air. “Get set! GO!” Out of her fingers shot beams of pink radiance, which lit up the whole sky.

  The Hippocamps hurtled forward in a froth of foam, just as Helios’s team streaked away in the distance. Within seconds they were out of sight over the western horizon, roared on by a crowd of gods standing on the hill above the shore and a cheering mass of sea folk bobbing in the waves. The race was on!

  “Let’s go and find my sisters,” said Eunice. “You can’t do anything more now, and we might be able to see more from up there.” Together, they climbed the little path up the cliff, Eunice stumbling a bit on her flipper feet. Demon grabbed her arm as she nearly tripped on a rock.

  “Oops!” she said, wincing. “I’m not really used to walking on this stony stuff. It feels like knives digging into me.” Demon hadn’t really thought about that.

  “Do you want a piggyback ride?” he asked.

  “Yes, please!” she said gratefully. So Demon, wheezing and panting a bit, carried her up the cliff. She was a lot more solid than she looked, and he was quite glad to set her down on the soft grass at the top. Squeezing past a mass of nymphs and fauns who were chattering and shoving each other and standing on tiptoe to see something just in front of them, Eunice and Demon ended up by the crowd of seated gods and goddesses. Zeus was standing on a disk of air in front of them, his hands creating what looked like a picture in the air—a huge revolving blue globe, with white at the top and bottom, and lots of large, green, strangely shaped blobs set in the blue bits. Two fiery dots—one gold, one silver—were moving across it, leaving a trail behind them. The gold dot was slightly in front of the silver one, and the two trails led back to one flashing red beacon. All the gods and goddesses were yelling for their favorites.