by Maz Evans
SLAM!
His body hit the grass as a spirit made a dive for his feet and brought him crashing to the ground, sending the Herbs of Life flying across the grass – and a thousand lifeless hands tried to grab them.
24. Clash of the Titans
‘How long’s it been now?’ said Zeus for the second time in thirty seconds.
‘Relax,’ said Hypnos, fluttering overhead. ‘He’s got loads of time.’
Virgo held her breath as Zeus turned his angry blue eyes on the Daemon. Suddenly she didn’t feel like another burger. She handed it to the gorgon on her shoulder.
‘Plop,’ said Gorgy gratefully.
‘Relax?’ glowered Zeus. ‘The boy is dead! I can’t relax!’
‘He’ll be fine,’ said Hypnos. ‘Have some faith.’
‘I’ll give you faith,’ muttered Zeus, returning to Elliot’s side. ‘It’s all right, Elly. We’re here. How long?’
‘Twelve minutes,’ said Virgo, struggling to read her watch due to the curious shaking of her hand. She looked down at Elliot’s still, pale body. It made her feel more nauseous than the time Elliot had told her to wash her mouth out and she’d swallowed half a bottle of shampoo.
‘Er, chaps,’ said Hypnos, looking around the horizon. ‘Don’t want to be a drama Daemon, but I think we have company . . .’
‘Then get rid of them!’ said Zeus. ‘This is no time for busybodies – we need to keep Elliot safe.’
‘Bit of a tall order, chief,’ said Hypnos, as a huge shadow started to sprawl across the sunlit field. ‘A very, very tall order . . .’
Virgo’s heart drummed inside her chest when she saw two enormous figures stomping towards two overweight centaurs, munching burgers on the grass.
‘It’s true,’ whispered Zeus. ‘They’re . . . they’re . . .’
‘Titans?!’ squealed Hypnos. ‘Who let the Titans out?’
‘The bally Zodiac Council!’ said Zeus. ‘I locked them in the deepest pit of Tartarus for good reason – they’re monsters.’
They watched as the Titans approached the centaurs with their giant nets.
‘All Elementals are to come with us,’ said The Ram. ‘By order of the Zodiac Council.’
The centaurs tried to gallop away – but their girth and lack of fitness made it an easy chase for the Titans. They were bundled up in giant nets and the Titans lumbered on.
‘I’m guessing they’ll be thrilled to see you,’ Hypnos said to Zeus. ‘We need to get out of here.’
‘We can’t!’ cried Virgo. ‘We mustn’t move Elliot – he won’t be able to find his body again! And he’s only got . . . six minutes!’
‘Well, what else do you suggest, genius?’ said Hypnos. ‘It won’t be pretty, but we can survive a tussle with the Titans. You are going to end up in the Afterlife if we’re not careful.’
‘Zeus?’ said Virgo more frantically. ‘Zeus?’
‘ZEUS!’ bellowed The Ram, spying the King of the Gods from across the park. ‘Come here and fight! Or are you still a spineless coward?!’
‘I’ll fight you anytime!’ shouted Zeus, withdrawing a thunderbolt. ‘And I’ll beat you every time! I’ll have you back into Tartarus before the sun sets on another day! Take this!’
And with all his strength, Zeus launched the thunderbolt towards the mighty Titan. Virgo watched in horror as the useless weapon simply bounced off. If only he’d had the humility to make friends with his brother, he would have functioning weaponry. But Zeus strode towards the Titans anyway. She looked to Hypnos to take control, but he was clearly going to be as much use as a mortal teenager’s deodorant. And Elliot only had two minutes left.
‘Um, Zeus,’ called Virgo, chasing after him, regretting her fourth Maximus meal. ‘Your courage is commendable, but your timing is suboptimal.’
‘I’m no coward!’ roared Zeus.
‘Your Majesty – please!’ Virgo cried, grabbing his arm. ‘You are unarmed. And you’re my only protection. We – I – need you to stay with me. Please.’
‘No!’ declared Zeus. ‘I will defend you with everything I have. I will keep you—’
‘WATCH OUT!’ cried Hypnos, snatching Virgo out of the way just as a massive boulder smashed down where she had been standing a split second earlier.
‘Whoa – that was close,’ said Virgo. ‘Gorgy, are you—’
But her little gorgon was clearly not OK at all.
‘Pllllloppppp!’ growled Gorgy, trembling with rage on Virgo’s shoulder. ‘Bad plop man!’
‘Gorgy – no, don’t!’ screamed Virgo. But she was too late. Gorgy had already curled into a ball and leapt from her shoulder. He bowled towards the Titans, his snakes hissing angrily around his head.
‘Virgo – we need to get you out of here,’ said Zeus. ‘Come along.’
‘No!’ shrieked Virgo, as Gorgy threw himself at The Ram.
‘BAD PLOP MAN!’ Gorgy yelled at the gigantic Titan, focusing his snakes on the Titan’s sack.
‘Oh, look,’ said The Ram, grabbing Gorgy by his hair. ‘Takeaway.’
‘PLLLLLLOOOOOOPPPPPPP!’ squealed Gorgy, his snakes swamped in the Titan’s massive hand, robbing him of his powers.
‘Gorgy!’ Virgo cried, setting off after him.
‘He’s saving you!’ shouted Zeus. ‘So let him!’
And before she could protest any further, Zeus bundled Virgo over his shoulder and ran back towards Elliot’s body.
‘You see!’ crowed The Ram triumphantly, stuffing Gorgy into his sack. ‘A coward! Well, if you won’t come to us . . .’
‘Then we’ll just leave quietly!’ roared The Brain, but a slap from his brother turned him back to face Zeus.
The Ram let out a terrifying howl and the two Titans broke into a run, making the ground shake in their wake.
‘We have to get out of here!’ exclaimed Hypnos.
‘Hypnos – take Elliot and fly him to safety,’ said the King of the Gods, scooping Elliot gently into his arms and handing him to the Daemon.
‘But how will he find his body again?’ said Hypnos.
‘We need to make sure he has a body to come back to,’ said Zeus. ‘And, Virgo?’
‘Yes?’ said Virgo weakly, thinking of her scared little gorgon all alone in that dark sack.
‘RUN!’
25. Time’s Up
Before he knew which end was up, Elliot was surrounded by grabbing hands, pulling at his clothing, trying to find the herbs that would restore their lives. Elliot could see the white bag, lying in the grass just out of his reach. But what he couldn’t see was his body. There was the triangle of trees . . . Where had he gone?
He knew he didn’t have long. He tried to fight the growing panic rising in his throat – he had to get that cure to Mum. He was so, so close . . .
He kicked off the nearest soul clinging to his trouser leg and wrestled his body free of the others. The souls hadn’t yet found the bag of herbs concealed in the grass ahead. But it was only a matter of time.
‘You get back now!’ It was Nan’s voice – she was forcing her way through the crowd, hitting the desperate souls with a spatula.
‘Ow!’ cried one as he received a smack on the back of his knuckles.
‘You mind your manners!’ snapped Nan.
‘Sorry,’ mumbled the soul.
‘You should all be ashamed of yourselves – scaring a young boy like that with all your carrying on!’
‘We thought he had the Herbs of Life,’ whined another soul.
‘Herbs of Life!’ scoffed Nan. ‘Honestly! You’d believe anything, you lot. Herbs of Life indeed. I never heard such a load of old—’
‘Elliot – over here!’ shouted Grandad in the distance. ‘I’ve found your body! Get over here and take the Herbs of Life, sharpish!’
Nan rolled her eyes as the crowd of souls started to mutter angrily.
‘Wilfred!’ she cried. ‘When I get my hands on you, you’re a dead man. Again . . . Elliot – run! I love you, my darling . . .’
‘Here you go, my boy,’ said Grandad, receiving Elliot with a giant hug and pointing towards Elliot’s body with his stick. ‘Now, listen – I don’t have much time. Your Nan doesn’t want me to tell you this, but you need to know. Something’s not right at Home Farm.’
‘Mum?’ said Elliot.
‘Your dad,’ said Grandad sadly. ‘There’s something . . . wrong. He’s not the son I raised.’
‘What do you mean?’ said Elliot, looking at the approaching spirits. ‘I don’t understand . . .’
‘There’s no time,’ said Grandad, pulling his beloved grandson to him with a tear in his eye. ‘But you look after yourself.’
‘I will,’ said Elliot, feeling hot tears spill down his cheeks. ‘Grandad, I—’
‘I know,’ said Grandad, as the roar of the souls grew louder. ‘We love you too, boy. And we’re always with you. Remember that, Elliot. Now go!’
Lying back into his body, Elliot swallowed down the herbs. But as he did so, the arrivals board in the sky above him pinged. A new name, time and location appeared. And this one seared itself into Elliot’s heart.
‘No – wait!’ he said, trying to fight the magic of the herbs. ‘I need to—’
BANG!
He spluttered back to life with a gasp and sat bolt upright on the grass, just as Hypnos’s watch chimed twenty minutes.
‘Thank the Gods, you found us!’ said Zeus, rubbing Elliot’s back. ‘Thought we’d lost you for a moment there, old boy. Thought you’d lost you, come to think of it . . .’
‘What’s wrong?’ said Virgo, seeing the tears streaming down Elliot’s face. ‘Didn’t you get the potion?’
‘It’s – it’s . . .’ spluttered Elliot, struggling between the tears and the need to refill his lungs with air.
‘Steady there,’ said Zeus. ‘Take all the time you need. The Titans gave up on us when they caught a group of fairies too busy on Flitter to notice they were being kidnapped.’
‘We don’t have any time!’ said Elliot, scrambling to his feet. ‘We have to get home. Now! I saw . . . I saw . . .’
‘What?’ said Zeus. ‘What did you see?’
Elliot took a series of gasping breaths.
‘I-I . . . saw her name,’ he said shakily. ‘In the Afterlife.’
‘Wh-what are you—’ Virgo stuttered.
‘I saw her name on the arrivals board!’ Elliot screamed. ‘It’s Mum. She’s going to die at 11.17 tomorrow morning!’
26. True Lies
Thanatos looked on contentedly as the latest batch of terrified captives were shoved through the mighty bronze gates of Tartarus. Their pitiful pleas blended perfectly with the entreaties of the crowds of Elementals already herded into this hellish inferno. There were tearful mermaids, quivering gnomes, cursing centaurs. They were bewildered, scared and angry. Precisely how he needed them to be.
‘I CAN’T TALK!’ a fairy shouted down her mobile phone as she passed. ‘I’M BEING DETAINED AGAINST MY WILL!’
Thanatos watched as the once sparse plains of Tartarus now swarmed with creatures of all shapes, sizes and sensibilities. Pixies were nearly flattened by giants, unicorns avoided the hungry stares of vampires, werewolves howled at the light cast by glowfairies.
‘Will you PLEATH shift your butth!’ cried Sisyphus, as a cluster of wood nymphs took refuge on his hill. ‘Thith ith a rethricted thpathe!’
‘Oi!’ shouted Asteria as a group of centaurs drank from her massive urn. ‘This isn’t the water cooler! Move it!’
‘I’m not an all-you-can-eat buffet, you know!’ yelled Tantalus at the pixies picking his fruit.
‘No – that’th your thon!’ quipped Salmoneus, looking anxiously at the gathering of witches stirring their cauldron on his overhanging rock. ‘Theriouthly! Have you no thenthe of health and thafety!’
Thanatos smiled at the chaos. It was time.
‘Friends!’ he called across the scorched plain. ‘Lend me your ears!’
A nearby zombie obligingly threw his ears at Thanatos’s feet.
‘How kind,’ said the Daemon, taking a small step away. ‘Good citizens of the Earth! I am Thanatos, Daemon of Death!’
A gasp went up from the crowd.
‘I thought you were dead,’ said a gnome. ‘No offence, but whoever’s doing your publicity should be shot . . .’
‘There were times when I wished I were dead,’ said Thanatos mournfully. ‘Like you, I was falsely imprisoned, shut beneath the Earth for no greater crime than being myself.’
‘Uh – thorry, Thanatoth,’ groaned Sisyphus, manoeuvring his boulder around a sleeping wizard. ‘But in fairneth, you did theriouthly try to theige Zeuth.’
‘And now you can see why!’ roared Thanatos. ‘Even now, he is dizzy with power! The Zodiac Council are mere puppets. Zeus is still in charge. Zeus controls their every move. Zeus put you all here.’
‘But what can we do?’ sniffed a forlorn pixie. ‘We’re stuck down here.’
‘For now,’ said Thanatos. ‘But soon, my friends, soon I will have my Chaos Stones and I will free us all from this place. All I ask is that you join me, and you will be FREE!’
A fairy put her hand up.
‘Er, is there any kind of membership fee involved?’ she asked quietly. ‘It’s just my local gym made a similar offer and I’m still paying every month . . .’
‘Oh, don’t get me started,’ huffed a unicorn. ‘I signed up for a free trial of Vetflix – all the best animal dramas on one channel? Tried to take my left hoof when I wanted to unsubscribe . . .’
‘I ask for nothing but your loyalty,’ Thanatos continued. ‘For centuries, Elementals have been treated as second-class citizens. Follow me, and you will be first class!’
‘Does that mean we get extra legroom?’ asked a giant.
‘It means you can have whatever you want!’ cried Thanatos. ‘For too long, mortals have been allowed to overrun the Earth, pillaging its resources, filling it with toxic gases, polluting its oceans. And how long do they stay here? Mere decades, ruining the planet that we immortals have inhabited for millennia and will inhabit for ever.’
‘He’s got a point,’ muttered a vampire to a group of his friends. ‘They’re only guests, really. We’re the residents.’
‘Precisely!’ shouted Thanatos. ‘And how have they treated our home? Disgustingly. Dryads? Would you destroy acres of trees just to give the mortals a daily newspaper?’
‘Noooo!’ cried the Dryads, bursting into tears.
‘Nereids!’ Thanatos called. ‘Would you fill the oceans with waste until marine life is choking on plastic bags?’
‘Never!’ squealed the Nereids.
‘Centaurs!’ the Daemon yelled. ‘Would you hunt species to the verge of extinction just so a mortal can wear a piece of animal to display their wealth?’
‘It’s an outrage!’ shouted the centaurs, waving their spears.
‘Then who do you think should be running the Earth?!’ Thanatos roared. ‘Mortals, with their wasteful, hateful disregard for our home? Or immortals, who will protect and cherish the place we are bound to for ever?’
‘Immortals! Immortals! Immortals!’ the Elementals began to chant.
‘Then let us take our home back!’ Thanatos implored. ‘With me as your leader we can—’
‘Excuthe me, Thanatoth,’ said Sisyphus, leaning on his boulder to hold it in place near the top of the hill. ‘Thith ith hardly the motht democratic protheth. It’th all very well you thaying you’re the leader, but who thayth we want you?’
‘Fair enough,’ said Thanatos. ‘Then let us put it to a vote. A show of hands will do. All those who wish me to lead them from this hellhole to their rightful place in charge of the Earth?’
A sea of hands shot into the air.
‘And al
l those against?’
‘Well, I’m thorry to thay,’ said Sisyphus, letting go of his boulder to raise his hand. ‘That whiltht I’m sure you have thome of the prerequithite thkillth . . .’
Released from Sisyphus’s grasp, the boulder started to roll back down the hill.
‘Oh, RATTH!’ raged Sisyphus. ‘I’ll get you for thith!’
But as Sisyphus charged down the hill, chasing his boulder, his cries were drowned out by the mob of angry Elementals, cheering for their new leader.
‘Thanatos! Thanatos! Thanatos!’ they chanted.
And their new leader accepted their adulation with a gracious nod of his head. Everything was going precisely according to plan.
27. Reunited
‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!’ roared Zeus, slamming his hands down on Poseidon’s desk. ‘You give us back the Chaos Stones and you get us back to Home Farm. Now!’
Virgo winced at the King of the Gods and the God of the Sea staring each other down. She felt Proteus softly place a blanket around her dripping shoulders. She, Elliot and Hypnos had dived straight into the sea behind a determined Zeus and now they were all in Poseidon’s office, having been sucked back down to the Coral Cove. Elliot was standing in a daze as Proteus swathed him in a blanket too. Virgo was going to wrap Gorgy in the blanket with her, but then she remembered – he wasn’t there. She brought the blanket to her eyes. Some seawater must have got in . . .
‘Now listen here. I got no problem with the little landlubber and I’m sorry for his pains,’ said Poseidon. ‘I gave you me ship. I gave you me wind. Ye’ve managed to lose both. Me trident’s on the blink. There’s nothing else I can do for ye.’
‘You can give us the Chaos Stones!’ shouted Zeus.
‘I told ye, I can’t,’ said Poseidon. ‘That there booty is staying with me. I need to look after me own.’
‘You always were a stubborn, ridiculous old trout!’ snapped Zeus. ‘Don’t you realize that Thanatos is coming?’
‘Up there on Earth, maybe,’ said Poseidon. ‘He don’t stand a chance down here.’
‘You really believe that?’ said Zeus. ‘You really think that Thanatos will rest before he rules every last immortal, above the sea and below?’