Poseidon and the Sea of Fury

by Joan Holub

  “I didn’t know you cared,” teased Zeus. But the thought that Cronus or his Cronies might’ve nabbed her had him worried too.

  “Just because I fight with her doesn’t mean I want her to get recaptured,” said Poseidon. He and Hera bickered a lot, but they did care about each other, Zeus realized. They’d grown up together and were both Olympians, after all. Whatever that meant.

  “I vote we keep going,” said Hades. “We can come back and search for her later.”

  “He’s right,” said Zeus. “We have to get Oceanus locked up. For everyone’s safety. Including Hera’s.”

  Once they were on land, Oceanus shed his serpent’s tail for a pair of legs so that he could walk. “Where are you taking me?” he demanded.

  “That’s for us to know and for you to . . . uh . . . not know,” said Poseidon. “Just march.” He prodded Oceanus with the trident.

  “Hey, watch it with that thing,” the Titan complained. But he picked up his pace.

  The boys continued to ride on his back, clinging to the net that covered his torso. Zeus checked the amulet now and then, making sure they stayed on course.

  At the top of a winding road, they began to drop down through a thick forest. Eventually the forest gave way to an open valley.

  “We should have waited for Hera,” said Poseidon.

  Zeus wondered if he was right. What if their decision to go on without Hera had been a bad one? On the other hand, she might never have shown up. He really hoped she was okay. Even if she did think he was one of Cronus’s spies!

  With that on his mind he turned toward Poseidon. “We have the trident now. So what was the big secret she was going to tell me once we got it?”

  Poseidon shrugged. “I promised not to say. You’ll have to ask her. If we ever see her again, that is.”

  “Hush,” Hades hissed. With a finger to his lips he nodded across the valley to the hills on the other side. “Something’s moving up there.”

  Overhearing, Oceanus halted. “He’s right.”

  “Where?” asked Poseidon, shading his eyes.

  Hades pointed, and Zeus’s eyes followed his finger. Seconds later they all saw someone—or something—dart from behind a rock to the cover of a tree.

  “Cronies?” Poseidon wondered aloud. He squinted at the place where the figure had been.

  “Unfortunately, not,” grumped Oceanus, who actually liked Cronies. “They wear armor.”

  “Then, what?” Zeus asked. The figure had moved so quickly, he hadn’t had time to see it clearly. He was about to suggest they find a place to hide, just in case, when bloodcurdling yells filled the air.

  “YAAAH!” All at once the hillside came alive with dozens of strange creatures. Strange because they had no heads. Instead their faces were smack in the middle of their chests!

  Oceanus’s eyes widened. “Cronus has let loose the first of the Creatures of Chaos! We’re doomed!” His voice was a horrified wail.

  “Creatures of Chaos?” Zeus echoed. “I remember that the king was talking about unleashing them, when I overheard him at his meeting in the forest with the other Titans.” And Pythia had mentioned them in her prophecy. Hadn’t she said the trident could defeat them?

  “Don’t you get it?” bellowed Oceanus. “Those are Androphagoi coming at us. They’re monsters! Man-eaters!” He shuddered. “They’ll eat us alive!”

  “YAAAH!” screamed the mouths in the middle of the monsters’ chests. They had long, sharp teeth. Bone-crunching teeth! Brandishing clubs and spears, the beasts streamed downhill to the valley like big ants from an enormous anthill.

  “It’s an ambush!” shrieked Poseidon.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The Androphagoi

  OCEANUS TURNED AND RAN BACK THE way they’d come. No need to prod him with the trident to get him to move this time!

  Soon they were back in the forest. The Androphagoi were gaining on them. Zeus and Poseidon had weapons, of course. But would Poseidon’s trident and Bolt really be a match against an entire army of monsters? Zeus had his doubts, despite the oracle’s words.

  As Oceanus passed a tree, Zeus leaped from his back, grabbing on to a limb. “Spread out and climb!” he called to the others. “We can pick them off one by one from high in the trees.”

  One of the monsters blew a dart. It zoomed past Zeus’s shoulder as he scrambled up the tree trunk.

  Poseidon and Hades followed his lead, also leaping onto trees. But Oceanus was much too big and heavy for any tree to hold him. And he couldn’t have climbed very easily while wrapped in his net, anyway.

  “Hide somewhere. But don’t try to escape,” Poseidon warned him.

  Pulling Bolt from his belt, Zeus shouted “Large!” Sparking and sizzling with electricity, the zigzag bolt lengthened in midair.

  “After them!” he commanded. “The Androphagoi, I mean,” he added quickly.

  Bolt flew toward the ground, then zipped through the forest. Soon high-pitched yips and unearthly grunts rang out as the thunderbolt struck one monster after another. Once they’d been zapped, the Androphagoi vanished into thin air. Pop! Pop! Pop!

  They must be under some kind of enchantment, Zeus realized. Unfortunately, the remaining monsters didn’t retreat. They just kept coming, one after another.

  In a nearby tree Poseidon extended his trident downward. He speared the Androphagoi as they ran by. The trident’s prongs flashed golden as they jabbed the beasts in their behinds. Pop! Pop! Pop! The creatures burst like bubbles.

  But their numbers were huge and they continued to swarm through the forest. Things were looking bad.

  Whack! Something shook the tree Zeus was in. His foot slipped. He had to grab at a branch to keep from falling.

  When he looked down, he saw one of the headless monsters on the ground directly below him. “YAAAH!” The face on its chest grinned up at him. Its jaws were slobbering. It swung its club again. Whack!

  The tree trembled, but Zeus held on tight. The monster kept whacking, but the tree didn’t fall. Good thing the Androphagoi don’t have saws, Zeus thought. But, unfortunately, they did have legs. Abandoning his club, the monster below began to climb.

  “Back off!” yelled Zeus. He went higher. But the Androphagos didn’t give up. Putting two fingers to his lips, Zeus gave a loud whistle. “Here, Bolt. Come here, boy!” he called frantically.

  Zeus could see the thunderbolt flashing here and there at the edge of the forest as it popped other monsters. But it must not have heard him. Looked like it was up to Zeus to save himself this time.

  The monster was close now. Its razor-sharp teeth gleamed as it opened its mouth wide. “YAAAH!” it yelled. The Androphagoi sure did have a limited vocabulary.

  By now Zeus had climbed to the top of the tree. There was no place to go except down. If he jumped, he’d only break his legs. Then he’d be boy meat for sure!

  He felt hot breath on his ankle. The Androphagos snapped its jaws, trying to bite him. Why did practically everyone he’d met since leaving his cave in Crete want to eat him? Zeus wondered.

  Sharp teeth clamped around the heel of his sandal. As the creature tugged on it, Zeus tried to kick it off. He lost his balance. His arms flailed in midair. Suddenly he and the monster were both falling.

  Whump! The Androphagos landed on the ground on its back. Thump! Zeus landed on top of it. The monster had cushioned his fall!

  Pop! It vanished, leaving Zeus sprawled on the ground alone.

  Just then Bolt zoomed back. Zeus leaped up and brushed himself off. Bolt hovered in front of him. “About time you got here,” he scolded. “I was almost mincemeat.”

  Bolt’s glow dimmed. It stopped sparking. Zeus sighed. “Sorry. That wasn’t fair. I know you were busy.”

  Looking around, he realized that the Androphagoi were completely gone. All of them. Vanished.

  He smiled. “Good work, Bolt.” At his praise the thunderbolt glowed brightly again. Making itself as small as a dagger, it slid under the belt at Zeus’s wai
st.

  Zeus gave it a little pat. “You’re better than any old golden trident,” he murmured. “I’ll miss you when you go back to that Goose guy.”

  “We defeated them!” he called out to the others. Hades and Poseidon climbed down from their trees and joined him.

  Having helped defeat the Androphagoi, Poseidon’s trident now glowed with pride. It seemed as happy to be in Poseidon’s possession as Bolt was in Zeus’s.

  The difference was that the trident really did belong to Poseidon now. Or so it seemed. The thunderbolt was only on loan to Zeus till Goose turned up to claim it.

  “Wait! Where’s Oceanus?” Poseidon asked, looking around.

  Zeus had half-expected the Titan to slip away while the battle raged. But they found him caught on a thorny branch, tangled up in his net.

  After scrambling onto Oceanus’s back, Poseidon used the sharp tips of the trident to cut Oceanus loose from the thorns. Zeus helped, using the thunderbolt to burn through the net’s fibers.

  “Cut my arms free while you’re at it,” Oceanus commanded in a sugary-sweet voice. “My claws are useless on it. I promise I won’t try to escape.”

  “Don’t believe him,” Hades said, glancing at the Titan’s clawed hands. “He’s crossing his claws.”

  Poseidon glowered at Oceanus. “Swear on the trident.”

  The Titan glanced warily between Poseidon and the trident. Then he uncrossed his claws. “FINE!” he snarled, rolling his eyes. “I swear I won’t escape.” But no one noticed he was now crossing the claws on top of his head.

  When they finished their work, the Titan’s arms were free. The rest of the net still draped him like a cape, though. The boys clung to it as Oceanus began walking down into the valley again. They were all quiet for a time, just relieved to be alive.

  “I never thought I’d say this about a fellow Titan,” Oceanus muttered. “But it seems Cronus can’t be trusted.”

  “We knew that a long time ago,” muttered Zeus. “You just now figured it out?”

  “Yeah, you’ve been following his orders!” Poseidon exclaimed.

  “Like keeping me captive,” Hades added.

  “I had my reasons,” Oceanus told them. “For one thing, Cronus is my king. I owe him allegiance. Besides, he told me you were plotting to overthrow him.”

  They were walking through a meadow now. It was dotted with clumps of purple crocuses and other flowers. Ahead was a rocky hill they’d soon have to climb.

  “Me?” said Hades. “I don’t know how to overthrow anybody.”

  “Yeah, me either,” said Poseidon. One of his arms was hooked through the net. With his free hand he twirled the golden trident like a baton.

  Oceanus winced when Poseidon tossed the trident up into the air and almost missed it on the way down. “Careful! If you drop my trident, I’ll—”

  Poseidon’s turquoise eyes flashed. “It’s not yours now. It never really was. You stole it, didn’t you!”

  Zeus’s ears pricked up. Was this true? How could Poseidon know that?

  “Did not,” Oceanus protested. “Cronus gave it to me years ago!”

  “But he shouldn’t have,” Poseidon insisted. “It’s mine.” He glanced at Zeus. “When the sirens sang to us, I saw a vision of myself as a baby playing with this very trident. But it wasn’t until I held it again that I knew it was truly mine.”

  Aha! thought Zeus. That explained Oceanus’s wary glances at Poseidon. The Titan had known all along that the trident belonged to Poseidon!

  “Did Cronus threaten to take back the trident if you didn’t imprison me?” Hades guessed suddenly.

  They’d reached the base of the hill. As Oceanus started to climb, he hung his head, then nodded. “To tell you the truth, he’s always been sort of a bad apple. When we were young, he’d lie to get me in trouble. Just for fun.” He clacked his crab claw hands. “He was always telling our parents I pinched him.”

  The three boys stared at the Titan in surprise. “Your parents?” Zeus said. “Does that mean you’re—”

  Oceanus nodded. “Brothers. Cronus is my little brother, to be exact.” He paused before adding, “My spoiled, bratty little brother.”

  Whoa, thought Zeus. He’d often wished he had brothers and sisters, in addition to parents. But maybe being an “only” wasn’t so bad!

  Oceanus went on. “And now that he’s unleashed the Creatures of Chaos, we’re all doomed. Mortals and gods alike. He wants to rule over everyone. And Olympians are the only threat to his plan.”

  “Why are they a threat?” Zeus knew Hera and Poseidon suspected it had to do with magical powers. But maybe there was more to it than that.

  “Because of the prophecy,” Oceanus replied.

  “What prophecy?” Zeus asked.

  “The prophecy that an Olympian will rise up and lead other Olympians to defeat Cronus,” Oceanus explained.

  Before Zeus could get his mind around that, the ground below them began to rumble and shake.

  “What now?” he wondered aloud.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The Oracle

  QUICKLY THE BOYS SLID FROM THE NET to the ground. Zeus looked around wildly. Were more Androphagoi coming? Or an army of Cronies? Fortunately, he saw neither. He and the others jumped back in surprise as the earth split open in front of them.

  “Pythia!” Zeus exclaimed as a cloud of glittery mist appeared. His companions gaped at her. It probably wasn’t every day that they saw magic this powerful. The boys were so intent on the oracle that they didn’t notice when Oceanus began backing away.

  The oracle’s face, framed by long black hair, glowed within the mist. It was hard to see her eyes, though. Her glasses were fogged over as usual.

  “Congratulations.” The oracle smiled at the three boys. “The trident is now in the right hands—”

  “Yes!” interrupted Poseidon. He pumped the trident up and down. “I knew it was mine!”

  “Shh,” said Zeus. “Let her finish.”

  “—and if used wisely, it will bring untold power, honor, and glory to the true god of the sea.” She paused here, turning her foggy gaze on Poseidon.

  “Stupefying starfish,” he murmured in shock. “I’m the god of the sea!”

  Well, that explains a lot, thought Zeus. Including why Oceanus seemed so afraid of Poseidon. It wasn’t just to do with the trident. If Poseidon was god of the sea, then Oceanus was beneath him in rank.

  “You have also defeated the first of the king’s Creatures of Chaos,” the oracle went on. Her gaze moved back to Zeus. “Well done. But your quest is not yet ended.”

  Excitement rose in Zeus at the possibility of more adventure. He leaned forward, listening intently. So did Poseidon and Hades.

  “Next you must find the Helm of Darkness,” Pythia informed them. “It rightfully belongs to the one who is lord of the Underworld. Find it and you will also find more of the persons you seek. Only, beware of the second of the king’s Creatures of Chaos. For they are far more dangerous than the Androphagoi.”

  The second she stopped speaking, the mist vanished. So did she.

  “Wait!” Zeus called out. “What’s a Helm of Darkness? Who’s the lord of the Underworld?”

  But Pythia was long gone. Even the crack in the earth through which she’d appeared had vanished.

  Hades frowned, mumbling worriedly. “More Creatures of Chaos? I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “Me neither,” said Poseidon. Then he looked around. “Hey! Oceanus is gone!” While their attention had been on the oracle, none of them had noticed the Titan slip away. So much for promises. Maybe no Titan could be trusted! thought Zeus.

  As tall as Oceanus was, they still couldn’t spot him anywhere. So they climbed to the top of the hill and gazed out across the valley. The Titan was nowhere to be seen.

  “So much for trusting his word,” said Hades. “I guess he’s escaped.”

  “Do you think he heard Pythia?” Poseidon wondered. “Will he tell the king what s
he said?”

  “I hope not. But there’s no reason to go to Tartarus now,” said Zeus. “Let’s head for the Underworld instead. Fast. Before those half-giant Cronies can beat us there. Because if the Helm of Darkness belongs to the lord the Underworld, that’s probably where we’ll find it.”

  He checked Chip, figuring it would chart a new course. “Funny. It’s still pointing the same way as before.” He thumped it. No change.

  Hades looked over his shoulder at the chip. “Maybe Tartarus is near the Underworld.”

  Zeus peered in the direction the arrow wanted them to go. In the distance he made out a huge marsh. A muddy, brown river snaked through it. “All I know for sure is that we should head for that river,” he said, pointing.

  “Looks gloomy,” said Poseidon. “And I bet it smells bad too.”

  Hades’s face lit up. “Sounds perfect.”

  “Huh?” Zeus asked in surprise.

  “He likes gloomy and stinky,” Poseidon explained. “Like the inside of the king’s belly.”

  Hades smiled dreamily. “Yeah.”

  What a weirdo, thought Zeus. He wondered what the other Olympians he hadn’t yet met were like. And that made him think about Hera again. If all the Olympians were gods, then she’d be a goddess.

  But goddess of what? Of being annoying, maybe?

  That thought made him smile. She could be a pain at times. Still, he hoped she hadn’t been eaten by the Androphagoi before they’d popped them all. Why, oh why, hadn’t she waited for them like she’d said she would? Where was she now?

  He should’ve asked Pythia when he’d had the chance. Not that she would’ve given him a straight answer. Oracles rarely did. But the next time Pythia appeared, he was going to get more out of her. Including why she was sending them on all these quests!

  Still, crazy as it seemed, he looked forward to this new one. And one day soon perhaps all would be revealed.

  Feeling destiny beckon, he started downhill toward the distant, gloomy river. “Follow me,” he called to the other boys. And with that, they embarked on their next quest, heading for the Underworld. Together they would face whatever surprises and dangers awaited them there.