Poseidon and the Sea of Fury

by Joan Holub

  And then they began to see the shipwrecks. Dozens of them. Ships, dinghies, sailboats—all dashed upon the rocky islands they passed. The sea’s fury had done this!

  “Tell me about the other Olympians,” Zeus suggested. He wanted to keep them all from thinking about the possibility that they might accidentally wind up wrecked too. “The ones that were with you in King Cronus’s belly. What were their names again?”

  “Hestia, Demeter, and Hades,” said Hera. “Girl, girl, boy,” she added in case the names were unfamiliar to him.

  Zeus nodded. “I still don’t get why Cronus swallowed all of you, though.”

  “Duh. To keep us imprisoned,” said Poseidon.

  “Because he fears your magic powers?” Zeus asked. “But why does he think they’re dangerous to him? I mean, you don’t even know what they are, much less how to use them.”

  Hera and Poseidon exchanged a guarded look.

  “All right,” Zeus said. “What’s the big secret?” Before they’d started their journey, Hera had said she had one, but she wouldn’t tell him what it was. Because she suspected he might be one of Cronus’s spies!

  “Look,” he said. “I helped you escape. What more proof do you need that I’m on your side?”

  “The trident,” Hera said stubbornly.

  Poseidon nodded.

  Zeus opened his mouth to argue.

  “Shh!” Poseidon interrupted. “Do you hear that?”

  Zeus and Hera cocked their heads to listen too. The sound of harp music and beautiful singing filled the air.

  “I wonder where it’s coming from,” Zeus said. He peered through the veil of steam.

  “Over there!” Poseidon said excitedly. He pointed toward a tiny island surrounded by jagged rocks and cliffs.

  Suddenly Zeus didn’t care about finding the trident anymore. He just wanted to get near the music.

  “Let’s go in for a closer look,” Poseidon suggested.

  “Great idea,” said Zeus. He shifted the tiller, turning the ship toward the island. The arrow on the chip amulet was pointing in the opposite direction, but he ignored it.

  The steam slowly lifted. There were three women perched on the rocks! They were dressed in flowing robes and had wings.

  As the three women strummed their harps and sang, Zeus was filled with an intense longing for family. For the parents he’d never known. They’d abandoned him in the cave. Why?

  Somehow he felt that these women could tell him. We have all the answers, their song seemed to say.

  Hera pointed to Zeus’s amulet. “Stop! Chip wants us to turn around.”

  Zeus looked down. The amulet’s arrow was glowing red now. It flashed on and off pointing them away from the island. Still Zeus ignored it and steered directly for the rocks.

  “Got to get closer,” he murmured.

  “Must. Listen. Forever,” Poseidon added in a dreamy voice.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Hera asked, looking between them worriedly. She snapped her fingers in Zeus’s face, but he didn’t even blink. And Poseidon seemed just as far gone.

  “I think those women and their rock music have put you both under a magic spell!” she said. “Only, for some reason it’s not affecting me.”

  As if in a trance, Zeus steered the Stinker even closer. “Anger-dip!” shrieked the chip. Which meant “danger.” But Zeus paid no attention. His head was full of music.

  All at once the song changed and sounded more sinister. A huge wave swelled behind them. It began pushing the ship straight for the jagged rocks.

  The song ended. The women started cackling.

  “Look out!” screamed Hera. “We’re going to crash!”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Sea Serpents and Merpeople

  SUDDENLY THE BOAT GAVE A HARD JERK. Zeus and Poseidon bumped heads. “Ow!” They exclaimed at the same time. Freed from the song’s spell, Zeus shook his head dizzily. He felt like he’d just awakened from a dream. One that had turned into a nightmare!

  He and Poseidon sprang into action, trying to help Hera get control of the ship. It creaked and groaned as the giant wave pushed it. The rocks loomed closer. And closer.

  Just as the Stinker was about to be splintered into toothpicks, two sea serpents rose from the water. They were as big as half-giants and had tails twice the length of the sailboat.

  One of the serpents curled its scaly blue-green tail under the ship and tossed it high. The other did an expert twist. With a flip of his tail, he batted the boat away from the rocks.

  “Hold on!” yelled Zeus as the Stinker went whirling through the air. Seconds later it splashed down so hard that it nearly fell apart. But somehow it landed upright and intact, with the three of them still safely inside.

  Hera got up from the bottom of the boat where she’d fallen. “Why did you listen to those singers?” she demanded.

  “Um,” Zeus said.

  “Uh, well,” said Poseidon.

  The two sea serpents overheard and swam up to them. “Don’t blame yourselves. Those were Sirens,” one of them said. “Their beautiful music lures sailors to their deaths. Boy sailors, that is.”

  “So there,” Poseidon said to Hera. “They put us under a magic spell.”

  “Yeah, we couldn’t help it,” said Zeus.

  “Whatever.” Hera’s eyes flicked to the sea serpents. Before anyone could thank them for their good deed, they dipped their heads in a farewell bow. Then they turned and glided off.

  “Did you see how those serpents were staring at me?” Poseidon asked. “It was like they knew me or something.”

  “What? You’re crazy,” scoffed Hera. “They were looking at all of us.”

  “Maybe,” said Zeus. But it seemed to him that they really might’ve been staring extra hard at Poseidon. Strange.

  Poseidon shivered. “Well, the sooner we find that trident thing and get out of this creepy sea, the better.”

  “Agreed.” Zeus checked the chip’s arrow, which was black again. Then he moved the tiller to take them in the right direction.

  Night fell and they sailed on. Two more sunless days and starless nights passed. They took turns sleeping and manning the tiller and the sail.

  When it rained, they collected fresh water in a bucket they’d found onboard. And every time they grew hungry, Poseidon had only to say, “I wish for fish.” Immediately a fish would leap into his arms.

  “Why don’t you try wishing for something else to leap into your arms next time?” Hera suggested to him one morning. “Like a trident.”

  Poseidon nodded. “I already thought of that. Only it didn’t work.” His eyes got big as he stared at something beyond Zeus. “Flipping fish-heads! Who are they?”

  Zeus looked in the direction Poseidon was gazing. Three heads were peeking up over the ship’s stern. They giggled in what sounded like children’s voices. But they weren’t children. One had a beard. And they all had turquoise eyes like Poseidon’s.

  “So it’s true,” the bearded one said. He was staring at Poseidon in awe. “The sea serpents told us you would come one day. We’ve waited a long time. Have you come to rescue the sea?”

  Poseidon blinked. “Who, me?”

  “Who are you?” Hera asked them.

  “Not exactly,” Zeus answered. They’d all spoken at the same time.

  “We’re merpeople,” replied one of the creatures. The three of them were now swimming gracefully around the ship.

  “Well, we’re here to search for a trident,” Zeus told him. “Have you seen one?”

  “Sure. Got one right here.” The bearded merman held up a three-pronged spear. It looked sort of like a pitchfork, only cooler.

  Zeus’s eyes lit up. Could it be this easy? Had they already found the magic trident?

  But then the other two held up tridents of their own. “Every merperson has one,” said a mergirl with long pink hair.

  “Is there a special one somewhere, though?” Zeus asked.

  All three merpeople nodded.
“Oceanus has the mightiest of them all,” said the merman. “Fearsome what it can do!”

  “Where can we find him?” Zeus asked quickly.

  The merpeople huddled close, looking scared at the very idea. “You must not get around much. Where are you from?” the merman asked.

  “Belly,” Hera and Poseidon said together before Zeus could answer.

  The merpeople glanced at Poseidon, appearing intrigued.

  Zeus shrugged. “Cave,” he said. It was hard to learn much when you were raised in places like that, but they were trying to make up for lost time.

  The merman zoomed backward on his tail, then dove with a splash. When he came up again, he said, “Oceanus pretty much rules the sea. He could be anywhere in it.”

  “Is he a friend of King Cronus’s?” asked Hera.

  The merpeople looked even more fearful at the mention of the king. “Probably,” the mergirl told them. “Those twelve Titans usually stick together.”

  “Oceanus is a Titan?” gasped Hera.

  “Twelve!” Zeus echoed. He’d only seen six Titans that night he’d met Cronus.

  It seemed pretty clear to him that Oceanus’s trident must be the one they sought. But just how they were going to get it from a Titan, he had no idea. If they told him Pythia wanted them to have it, would he just hand it over? Not likely!

  “Where can we find him?” Zeus asked again.

  “You don’t find him,” the merman said. “He finds you. If you’re very unlucky, that is.”

  The younger green-haired mergirl nodded. “Instead of looking for him, you should turn around and sail as far south as possible.”

  “Because that’s where he lives?” asked Poseidon.

  The merpeople sent him another strange look. Then they giggled again.

  “No,” said the merman. “Because it’s the best way to avoid being buried at sea.”

  Hera glared at Poseidon. “I think they mean we go north to find him, Doofus-eidon.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Trident Trouble

  HOW DO WE KNOW FOR SURE IT’S Oceanus’s trident we’re after?” Hera argued as Zeus steered their boat north.

  He tacked left and their boat sped over the waves. “You heard what the merman said. It’s fearsome and mighty. It must be magic.”

  If he didn’t know any better, he’d think Hera was scared to meet Oceanus. But then, why wouldn’t she be? Titans were bad news. Still, getting the trident was the whole point of their quest!

  Hera frowned. “Pythia didn’t actually say that the trident is magical. She just said it will point the way to those we seek.‘To the lost Olympians’ is what she meant.”

  Or to my parents, Zeus thought. Finding them was his constant hope, even though he had no idea who or where his parents were.

  “Maybe one trident is as good as another,” Hera went on. “I think we should go back and find those merpeople again. They seemed friendly. I bet one of them would let us borrow a trident.”

  Poseidon grinned at Hera. “Cluck, cluck,” he said, flapping his arms like wings. “I think someone’s chickening out.”

  “Am not!” Hera protested hotly. Balling her hands into fists, she stomped toward Poseidon, rocking the ship.

  “Stop! I told you I’ll melt if I fall into the water!” he squealed.

  “Promise?” Hera countered with a too-sweet smile. But she left him alone and sat down.

  “Let’s think this out,” Zeus said, hoping to stop their fighting. “Pythia said the trident has the power to defeat the first of the king’s Creatures of Chaos. Don’t you think a trident powerful enough to do that would have to be magical?”

  “I’d think so,” Poseidon said smugly.

  “Maybe,” said Hera. “But she said the trident only has power if it’s in the right hands. What if my hands are the right ones? Maybe I can use one of the merpeople’s tridents to defeat these so-called Creatures of Chaos—whatever they are.”

  “So go back,” suggested Poseidon. He grinned at Zeus. “We won’t stop her, will we?”

  “It’s Oceanus’s trident we want,” Zeus said. “I’m almost sure of it.”

  Hera crossed her arms. “Look, Mr. Bossy Thunderpants. I demand that you turn this boat around and go find those merpeople.”

  Zeus couldn’t believe her nerve. And she thought he was bossy! “We’ll lose time if we backtrack now,” he told her. The wind was blowing steadily, and they’d already left the merpeople far behind. “I say we go on.”

  Hera glared at him. “And I say—”

  “Look! Dolphins!” interrupted Poseidon, pointing off to the right. A pod of them were leaping in the waves. Their slick silver sides flashed as they dove and then resurfaced.

  He sent Hera a mischievous look. “I think you should catch a ride back with one of them. Then Zeus and I could have some peace.” No sooner had the words left his mouth, than one of the dolphins headed toward them.

  Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon watched in amazement as it drew up alongside the ship. Fixing an eye on Hera, it chattered at her as if inviting her onto its back.

  “See?” said Hera. “This proves I’m right to go back. Even that dolphin knows it!”

  The dolphin kept on chattering, but now it was eyeing Poseidon. “Don’t look at me,” he said, sitting down. “I’m staying put.”

  But Hera climbed over the side of the boat and straddled the dolphin’s back. “As soon as I have the trident, I’ll come find you,” she told the boys. “If Oceanus doesn’t find you first. I mean, you might be hard to locate if you’re fish food at the bottom of the sea.”

  “Gee, thanks,” said Poseidon.

  “And what if you’re wrong?” Zeus asked. “What if it turns out that the merpeople’s tridents have no powers at all?”

  Hera shrugged. “What if it turns out Oceanus’s trident doesn’t have any? I guess we’ll find out who’s right soon enough.” She clutched the dolphin’s dorsal fin with one hand and sent them a confident wave of farewell. Obviously she figured she was going to be right.

  “Bye, then,” said Zeus.

  “Later,” said Poseidon. “Lots of cluck—I mean luck.”

  Before the dolphin zipped off across the water, it looked up at Poseidon and winked.

  “Whoa!” said Poseidon as it swam off. “Did you see that?”

  Zeus nodded. “First the sea serpents, then the merpeople. And now the dolphin. For someone who’s scared of the sea, you have an odd effect on its creatures.”

  “What did you see when those Sirens called to us?” Poseidon asked out of the blue.

  “What did you see?” Zeus hedged, embarrassed to say.

  Poseidon’s eyes shifted away. He looked a little embarrassed too. “Nothing. It was dumb. Let’s just go.”

  With the wind filling the ship’s sails, they sped north. It was more peaceful now that Hera was gone. Zeus’s ears enjoyed the quiet, but he kind of missed her.

  Still, he was pretty sure he and Poseidon were on the right track. And that Hera was on the wrong one. After all, the arrow on his stone amulet had pointed steadily north all day. Chip wanted them to go that way.

  As they sailed on, the sea grew even angrier, rocking them from side to side. Huge bubbles broke the surface of the water as it roiled and boiled. The surf sizzled and splashed against the rocky shores of islands they passed. Shores with even more shipwrecks.

  Zeus checked his amulet. The arrow had changed from black to red and was spinning around in circles. Huh?

  “I think we’re here,” he said.

  Poseidon looked around nervously. “So where’s Oceanus?”

  Without warning, a giant golden claw-hand rose from the sea. It lifted the Stinker above the water. Then it flung the boat away in a high arc.

  One minute they were zooming through the air. The next, they were falling!

  “Hang on!” Zeus yelled. Thinking fast, he grabbed the thunderbolt from his belt. If it fell into the sea, he and Poseidon could fry.

  With all hi
s strength Zeus hurled the bolt. “Fly to the closest island!” he commanded. Bolt zoomed off.

  In the very next instant Zeus and Poseidon were dashed under the waves of an angry sea.

  CHAPTER SIX

  In Hot Water

  ZEUS, WHERE ARE YOU?” IT WAS Poseidon’s voice.

  Treading deep underwater, Zeus could barely hear him. He looked up. Their ship was directly above him. It hadn’t sunk! He kicked his feet and shot to the surface of the water. Poseidon was sitting on the boat, which was now floating upside down.

  “Here I am,” Zeus gasped. “And you didn’t melt after all!”

  “Yeah, well, I could’ve drowned, though,” Poseidon said. Quickly he changed the subject. “Think that was Oceanus just now?”

  “If it was, he’s in a bad mood. Let’s get to land,” Zeus said, pointing toward the nearest island. “I have to find Bolt. And I think the boat might need repairs.”

  One of their oars came floating by, and he nabbed it. Then Poseidon reached out an arm and helped pull him from the water.

  Sitting atop the overturned Stinker, Zeus rowed toward shore. The wild, boiling sea fought them all the way, tossing them about. At any moment they might sink.

  “We’re going nowhere fast,” Poseidon said. He slid into the water behind the boat. With powerful kicks he propelled it forward faster than Zeus could even paddle.

  “Thought you said you couldn’t swim!” Zeus said in surprise.

  “Guess I was wrong,” Poseidon said, sounding surprised too.

  They’d only gone a dozen yards when Zeus heard an odd clacking noise. Thinking he had water in his ears, he tilted his head to one side.

  From behind him Poseidon asked, “Um, Zeus? Do you think that, besides his clawed hands, Oceanus has lots of muscles? And maybe a long beard?”

  “How would I know?” asked Zeus. “I’ve never seen him. Unless he was in the forest with the other Titans the night I rescued you from King Cronus.”