by Maz Evans
“I thought you’d be interested in this,” said Elliot, trying to keep the fear from his voice. He couldn’t quite believe what he was about to do. It was so risky. But he had no choice. He had to do it for Mom. She couldn’t carry on like this. And neither could he.
“You have gone to great lengths to get the Earth Stone before me and now you are simply going to hand it over?” said Thanatos with a raised eyebrow.
“I need something in return,” said Elliot. “Something only you can do.”
“Your mother.” Thanatos smiled knowingly. “You want me to cure your mother.”
“You said at Stonehenge that you can do things the Gods cannot,” said Elliot. “Was that true?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” said Thanatos. “Why do you think Zeus is so afraid of me? Because he knows I’m more powerful than him. And you could be too … ”
“What do you mean?” asked Elliot.
“He hasn’t told you?” said Thanatos.
“Told me what?” said Elliot.
“How interesting.” Thanatos leaned back in his bone throne. “But tell me—since you have stolen the Earth Stone, why not keep it for yourself? You could be a very rich young man, never work a day. You could afford the best doctors mortal money can buy.”
“She doesn’t need a doctor,” said Elliot. “She needs herself. Can you give her that back?”
Thanatos stared deep into Elliot’s eyes. “If you give me that,” he said at last, gesturing to the Earth Stone. “And its three companions.”
Elliot turned the diamond over in his hand. It was a high price. What would this mean for the world? But Mom was his world. He needed her back.
“Swear it,” said Elliot.
“I swear on the Styx,” said Thanatos solemnly. “Bring me my Chaos Stones and I will give you your mother back.”
“Then it’s a deal,” said Elliot quietly, his stomach in knots.
Thanatos poured two glasses of water from a black stone jug on the table.
“Let us drink a toast,” he said. “Here’s to a fresh start. Time to forget the past.”
Elliot hesitated as he looked down at his water. It was so clear it was as if there were nothing there at all. But life was teaching him to be suspicious.
“It’s not poisoned,” laughed Thanatos, draining his glass in a single gulp. “I swear on the Styx. Take it or leave it.”
Elliot looked thirstily at the water. The oppressive air of the cave was making him sleepy. A cool drink was just what he needed. And if it wasn’t deadly … He drank.
“I need to go,” he said, putting the Earth Stone back in his pocket and standing up shakily. He held the table for balance. Everything was swimming. “Everyone will be wondering where I am.”
He walked unsteadily to the cave’s entrance.
“Er—Elliot,” said Thanatos, settling back onto his throne. “Aren’t we forgetting something? My Earth Stone?”
“You’ll get it with the rest,” said Elliot, suddenly afraid at the thought of losing the diamond. “I need it. I need to buy a new house. You’ll get it soon enough … ”
Elliot teetered toward the exit. At a click of Thanatos’s fingers, the poppies at the cave’s mouth suddenly grew taller and thicker, tangling over the entrance to form a thick wall, blocking Elliot’s only way out.
“Oh, I think I’ll have it now,” said Thanatos, rising from the throne and walking slowly toward him.
Elliot felt the dark fear rising through him. He stamped it down. He was in control here.
“No,” he said as firmly as he was able.
“Then I’ll just have to take it,” said Thanatos.
Elliot flinched as Thanatos lunged toward him. But as soon as he got close to Elliot’s body, the Daemon was knocked away by the same invisible force as beneath Stonehenge.
“You can’t touch me,” Elliot realized aloud.
“So it seems,” drawled Thanatos. “It would appear we are at a stalemate.”
Elliot waited for the cave entrance to open. It didn’t. His head started to feel strangely fuzzy, and another yawn escaped his lips.
“I fear that you and I got off on the wrong foot, young Elliot,” said Thanatos, returning to his throne. “I’m sure that your … friends have told you all manner of lies. But I assure you, my motives are entirely honorable.”
His words swarmed in Elliot’s head. It was difficult to concentrate through this tiredness. His eyes wandered around the cave, up to the roof covered in enormous stalactites. They were the ones that hung from the ceiling. Mom had taught him that.
“Honorable?” said Elliot. “You want to kill mortals.”
“Not all of them,” said Thanatos. “I intend to keep some. The place will need looking after. Besides, no point in ruling the world if no one is there. Look at your realm, Elliot. The Earth is overrun. Millions of mortals without homes, not enough food, no clean water, sanitation, education. All I want to do is balance the books.”
“By murdering?” asked Elliot, unable to stifle a yawn.
“Murder is premeditated and deliberate,” said Thanatos. “I would use the Chaos Stones for more of a … cull. A necessary evil to control the species. It isn’t personal. After all, what is more impartial than death? An earthquake can’t see the color of your skin. A tsunami doesn’t know your religion. A hurricane doesn’t care about your money. Which makes me about the fairest individual you’ll ever meet. It’s for your own good.”
“What about the Gods?” said Elliot, his eyelids sagging.
“Ah,” said Thanatos. “Now, that is personal. Zeus killed my father and locked me away for two thousand years like a dirty little secret. I’m not proud to admit it; I want revenge.”
The oppressively warm air of the cave was making Elliot feel unbearably heavy. He stumbled forward as his body started to droop.
“Gracious, Elliot, you are weary,” said Thanatos. “Are you quite all right?”
“What?” said Elliot. “Yes, yes, I’m fine. Just a bit … tired.”
“Of course,” said Thanatos. “And look—here is a lovely warm bed. Wouldn’t that be so comfortable?”
Elliot looked at the corner of the cave where Hypnos’s opulent bed was calling him. Perhaps if he could just lay his head down for a moment … No. He had to leave.
“Let me go … er … ”
“Thanatos,” said the Daemon of Death. “You seem to be struggling with your memory.”
“Nothing wrong with my memory,” said Elliot through half-closed eyes.
“Remind me of your name again?”
“It’s … well, it’s … it’s … of course I know my … what did you say?”
“Oh, silly me,” gasped Thanatos, picking up the glass that Elliot had dropped on the floor. “What a terrible host. It appears I’ve served you water from the river Lethe outside. Like I said, it can’t kill you. Packed with natural minerals, in fact. It just has the one unfortunate side effect. You’re going to forget everything. Everything you know, who you are—you’ll even forget how to stay awake. In one hour, that water will be absorbed into your blood forever. You will spend the rest of your life in unconscious oblivion.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” yawned Elliot. “If I just have a quick nap, I’ll be … ”
“What a marvelous idea,” said Thanatos. “Why don’t you lie down and have a lovely sleep? And while you’re lying there, sleeping until you die, I can take that Earth Stone from you. Gods can’t travel to the Underworld. There’s no one to rescue you.”
The Earth Stone? Elliot knew that was really important. He just wasn’t entirely sure why. He stumbled over to the bed and lay down. That felt so good …
“Perhaps next time, you’ll think twice before presuming to negotiate with me,” sneered Thanatos from his throne. “Except there won’t be a next time. Go to sleep.”
Sleep. Yes. That’s what Elliot needed. A nice long sleep …
“As if I need a mortal child to find my Chaos Stones,” sco
ffed Thanatos. “They will be mine. I will have my revenge. And with you eternally asleep, I’m also free of my oath to your mother.”
Mother. The word pierced Elliot’s last drop of consciousness like a spear.
“Mother,” Elliot repeated.
“Shhhhh,” said Thanatos. “Go to sleep, Elliot. Go to sleep. Forever.”
Mother. Mom. The words tumbled around Elliot’s mind, fighting back the encroaching oblivion.
“Mom,” he said more loudly, his mind searching for the answer to the question on his lips. He had a mom. His mom. He couldn’t stay here. He needed to get back to her. He needed to get home. He tried to stand.
“No, no, no,” said Thanatos with a smirk. “Don’t fight it.”
Elliot raised his leaden eyes over Thanatos’s pale head, to the field of stalactites that clung to the roof above him.
“Drop,” he said in the quietest whisper, a faint image of Josie’s smile forcing its way into his mind. He looked at the ceiling, but the stalactites stayed firmly in place. “Drop.”
“Oh, do shut up,” sighed Thanatos. “Epic poems have ended faster … ”
“Drop,” said Elliot more firmly, feeling the warmth of his mother’s arms around him and her laughter singing in his ears.
“What’s that?” said Thanatos, leaning from his throne. “What are you doing?”
Elliot felt his love for his mom shoot up inside him like volcanic lava. The sensation radiated from his heart into every corner of his body, giving him a surge of power for one last effort.
“I said, DROP!” he roared with every last bit of strength he had, holding up the Earth Stone. The light from the diamond exploded into the cave.
“What the—?”
As Thanatos leapt up from his throne, an enormous stalactite came loose with a deafening crack and dropped to the floor, sinking deep into the ground directly in front of the Death Daemon, barring his path.
“Too little, too late,” he snarled. “You’re still going to—”
Another massive rock cracked from the ceiling, holding Thanatos back once again. He moved to avoid a third falling on him, but every way he turned, an enormous stalactite fell to block his way.
“This won’t save you!” he screamed at Elliot. “You’ll rot here anyway!”
But his curses were futile—the stalactites kept falling all around his throne, creating a solid stone circle around the livid Daemon, who raged at the mortal who had cheated him of his Earth Stone.
“This won’t hold me!” yelled Thanatos. “I will find you! I will find the stones! You cannot defeat me!”
“Oh, do shut up,” murmured Elliot, holding the Earth Stone high above his head to send a final shower of stalactites down onto Thanatos, silencing the Daemon beneath the rockfall.
Elliot flopped off the bed and dragged his heavy body across the floor of the cave to where the poppies were wilting as Thanatos’s spell weakened. He held one of Charon’s cards between his fingers, desperate to summon the ferryman at the riverbank. He was nearly there. But he was just so, so tired.
Elliot reached his trembling fingers toward the river and stretched his arms as far as he could, dropping the card with a whispered prayer. It landed on the blade of grass nearest to the water. He had missed. Elliot’s head slumped to the ground. He could go no farther. He’d failed. He’d failed the Gods. He’d failed himself. He’d failed Mom.
He let out an anguished sigh. So this was it. He took one last look at the lonely grave around him before closing his leaden eyes for the final time.
“I don’t understand—he was here before … ” said Virgo.
“He’s not in the house,” said Aphrodite, running back to the circle of worried immortals. “And I can’t find Josie either. The back door was open.”
“Athene and Hephaestus—search the farm for Josie,” ordered Zeus. “The gate was shut, she can’t have gone far.”
The two Gods nodded and ran off in opposite directions across the fields.
“It’s been hours,” said Virgo, looking gravely at Zeus. “It’s all my fault, I should have stayed with him. The jacuzzi isn’t even that comfortable. I can’t tell you where the bubbles went … ”
“I’m sure it’ll all be fine,” said Zeus unconvincingly. “Where could he be?”
“Look at me!” Virgo shouted suddenly.
“It’s not about you right now, babe … ” said Hermes.
“No—your app,” said Virgo, returning the forgotten iGod to Hermes. “You put Elliot on it, remember? You can find him!”
“MEGA BOSH!” cheered Hermes, his fingers punching at the iGod with lightning speed. “Where are you, mate … ?”
“Josie!” Zeus exclaimed.
The immortals ran over to where Athene was escorting a shaking Josie in her arms. Aphrodite rubbed Josie’s frozen hands in hers while Zeus put his jacket around her shoulders.
“I found her roaming around the fields,” said Athene. “Along with this … ”
Athene handed her father the discarded Imperial Crown—minus the Earth Stone. They exchanged a worried glance.
“I don’t … I don’t … What have I done?” cried Josie, pulling at her hair as the tears ran down her face. In her other hand was the contract of sale for Home Farm. “It says I’ve … Where’s Elly? I can’t find him … ”
“It’s okay, Josie, we’re here now,” soothed Athene as Zeus gently took the papers from Josie’s trembling hands. “We’ll find him. I promise.”
“Oh, no,” said Zeus, riffling through the contract. “Poor Elliot! Why didn’t he tell us?”
“Let me see,” said Athene, reading the document aghast. “No! That awful woman! How could she—?”
“Not being funny,” said Hermes, hitting his iGod with his palm. “Look@Me isn’t working.”
“No signal?” said Aphrodite.
“It’s not that, babe—it says it’s found Elliot,” said Hermes. “But it says he’s in the Underworld. That can’t be right … ”
“Let me see!” said Virgo, grabbing the iGod.
“It’s insisting,” said Hermes, as Virgo threw the device back to him. “Why would he go down there?”
“Thanatos,” said Zeus grimly. “Elliot’s desperate. I should have seen the signs … We have to get him out of there.”
“Seriously,” said Hermes. “But how? We can’t go to the Underworld.”
“The wishing pearl!” cried Aphrodite. “We can wish him home!”
“It’s already been used once today,” said Athene. “You said Thanatos can’t kill him.”
“But there are plenty of other things he can do,” said Zeus. “Virgo, you’re the only one of us who can travel to the Underworld. You’re going to have to—”
“I think she already has,” said Athene, looking at the open gate and the silver dot on the horizon that was sprinting toward the river.
“Can’t you go any faster?” Virgo yelled at Charon.
“Listen, it ain’t my fault there were river works all along the Acheron,” said Charon as he rowed along the gloomy river Lethe. “And that two-knot average speed check is doing my head in; you need to have a word with the council … Anyway, you don’t need me, you could just whiz down here in your star-ball.”
“It’s a CONSTELLATION!” screamed Virgo. “And I can’t unless I want to lose my kardia and spend the rest of my shortened days as a mortal! What were you thinking, taking Elliot to Thanatos?”
“I just take the jobs, mate—none of my business who’s doing what to whom,” said Charon. “All I ask is that you pay your fare, specify your preferred route, and don’t be sick in me boat. It’s a nightmare when someone vomits on me floorboards … ”
“Fine—just … hurry up!” hissed Virgo, looking along the banks of the Lethe for any sign of her lost mortal friend.
“Next stop—Cave of Sleep and Death,” announced Charon.
“Elliot! Elliot! Where are you?” shouted Virgo along the murky riverbank. “Oh, this is no good, I
can’t see a thing. If only I could use my glow … ”
Virgo’s mind wrestled with itself. Would that count as breaking the rules? Her face screwed up with indecision.
“I know that feeling,” said Charon softly.
“You do?” said Virgo. “What should I do?”
“Get yourself some concentrated prune juice,” said Charon brightly. “Clears out constipation like Daedalus’s dynamite … ”
“You’re no help,” huffed Virgo. “Look. It’s only a tiny power and there are no mortals to see … ”
She cautiously pulled her palms apart to illuminate her body and cast a ray of starlight over the riverbank.
“Where are you?” she moaned.
Suddenly, her glow caught a glimmer on the riverbank, sending tiny rainbows bursting through the darkness. It was the Earth Stone. And just beyond it lay Elliot’s comatose body …
“There he is!” shouted Virgo. “Over there!”
Charon steered the boat to the shore and Virgo bounded to Elliot’s side.
“Elliot!” she screamed, shaking his body. “Elliot, wake up!”
She looked around for any sign of Thanatos or his twin, but the unconscious boy was the only life there. Although it didn’t look as though he had much life in him. Virgo turned Elliot over and slapped his pale cheeks, but he lay motionless in her arms. She put her face to his chest, an unpleasant sensation fluttering around her own. Her nose caught a scent and she sniffed Elliot’s face.
“Lethe water!” she cried. “I can smell it on his breath. We have to get it out of him before it’s too late—how fast can you get back to Earth?”
“You saw the state of the traffic, darlin’—could take an hour or more,” said Charon.
“He doesn’t have an hour!” cried Virgo. “If the water gets into his blood … I don’t know what to do! Elliot! Come on, Elliot, you have to wake up!”
But Elliot didn’t flicker. He needed the Gods. If Virgo was going to save him, she had only one option. It must be the right thing to do. Surely the council would understand … ?
“Oh, SNORDLESNOT!” yelled Virgo.
Throwing her arms wide, she transformed into her constellation, scooped Elliot up in her starry glow, whizzed past Charon in his boat, and raced through the realms at top speed.