CHAPTER SIXTEEN
My thoughts shot through my brain at super speed. Apollo traveled through a similar orb of light. But Apollo’s orb was yellow, not red. Whoever this was had to be similar to Apollo, and Helios and Apollo were both gods of the sun.
Before the god fully materialized, my hand was on my necklace. I called to Apollo for help, sending him a mental image of the scene in front of me.
The man stepped out of the orb, the light fading behind him. He was tall and muscular, with auburn hair and bronzed skin. Like all the gods, I would have thought he was attractive—if he wasn’t looking at us as if he wanted to kill us.
Then the cave glowed with a soft yellow light, lightning cracked down right beside us, a boom that sounded like a bomb exploded, and the smell of sweet perfume drifted through the air. Five gods stood in front of the one who I assumed was Helios—Apollo, Zeus, and three others I hadn’t met yet. One was male and two were female. The man had dark hair and dark eyes, and he wore a leather jacket similar to the one Blake always wore. The women looked like total opposites. One resembled a Barbie doll in a tight red dress, stilettos, and her blonde hair styled to perfection. Her eyes were bright blue—nearly the same shade as Danielle’s. The other woman was much more low-key in jeans and a t-shirt, her hair held back in a practical ponytail. She wore no makeup, but was still stunningly beautiful.
“Helios.” Apollo addressed the god who had appeared in the fiery orb, confirming that my guess about his identity was correct. “You’ve done quite the job of hiding from us. If you hadn’t come here in a rage to kill my daughter and her friends, we might not have found you so quickly.”
“I have a right to be here,” Helios growled. “Or have you already forgotten about how these four Elementals killed one of my immortal cows when they visited my island? Now, to add insult to injury, they destroyed the demigod that I ventured into the Underworld to bring back to Earth. Luck was on my side that Hades was too distracted by the upcoming war to notice, and I was quite proud of my accomplishment. But mortals cannot thwart the gods like that and live to tell the tale.”
Zeus stepped forward, each step booming through the cave like thunder. “The demigod you speak of is my daughter,” he said. “And since you didn’t have Hades’s permission to leave with her, you returned her soul to her corpse. You made her into an abomination. She may not have survived the apotheosis process, but I’m grateful that her soul has returned to the Underworld, where it belongs.”
“The question now is what we’re going to do with you.” The god in the leather jacket cracked his knuckles and stepped closer to Helios. I assumed he was Ares, the god of war. He held a baseball bat with chains around it, looking at the sun god with rage in his eyes.
Helios grunted, and then his eyes darted around the cave, as if he were trapped.
“Trying to leave?” Zeus laughed and raised an eyebrow, not waiting for Helios to answer. “You won’t succeed. I created an electrical shield around the area, blocking your powers and your ability to teleport out of here. You’re trapped with us. Which is just our luck, since we were all just meeting on Olympus discussing your fate.”
“Don’t waste your time.” Helios sneered. “Once Typhon rises and the portal is fully open, my fate won’t be in your hands for much longer. And no matter how powerful you are, you don’t hold the power to seal that portal. If you did, you would have done it already.”
“You always were such a pessimist.” The goddess who looked like a Barbie frowned and shook her head. “We might not be able to close the portal, but the Elementals can. In the past few months, they’ve proven to be as brave as the most noteworthy heroes to have ever lived. We have faith that they will succeed.”
“Oh, Aphrodite.” Helios scoffed and crossed his arms. “How about you do what you do best and find another guy to screw, and leave matters of war to the men equipped to handle it. Or is your mind so shallow that you’ve already forgotten about the war you caused in Troy…?”
“You arrogant fool,” Aphrodite snarled back at him. “You’ll pay for that.” She raised her arms as if preparing to demolish Helios, but Ares wrapped a hand around her wrist, stopping her.
“Wait, my love.” He looked at her sternly, and she made no move to try to escape from his hold. In fact, her lips curved upward, as if she enjoyed it. “I’m sure you have a wonderfully torturous plan in mind for Helios, but we all want to decide what happens to him. Don’t take the thrill of doling out the punishment all for yourself.”
“Fine.” She huffed, reigning her arms back in. “But only because you asked so nicely. And I expect you to properly thank me for listening to you when we get back to your bedroom in Olympus.” She raised her eyebrows at him, practically purring as she said the last part, and then she kissed him on the mouth—tongue and all.
I looked away from them, wishing they would tone it down a notch. I did not need this graphic demonstration of what was going on behind the curtains at Olympus.
“I also want to remind you, Helios, that it’s not only the men who are equipped to handle battles and war.” The goddess in the casual clothing stepped forward, her cool gray eyes daring Helios to contradict her. “Or have you forgotten who you’re speaking to?”
“Of course not, Athena,” he said her name with a mocking smile. “How could I forget when you’re here to remind me?”
“We are in charge of your fate,” she said, not miffed by him in the slightest. “It would be in your best interest to grovel at our feet right now—not to irk us further by mocking us to our faces.”
“It doesn’t matter what I do,” Helios said. “Once the Titans rise again, they will free us from your dictatorship at last, and they’ll remove whatever punishment you choose to dole upon me.”
“Dictatorship?” Apollo repeated, laughing. “Have you been spending time in Kerberos without telling us? Because you’ve clearly gone mad.”
“That’s perfect coming from you,” Helios said. “Or have you forgotten that I was the god of the sun?” He pointed to himself, the tendons in his neck popping out as he spoke. “I sided with the lot of you during the Second Rebellion, only to have my job taken over and to be reduced to practically nothing!”
“You sided with us to save your own ass.” Ares sneered. “Don’t think you can convince us otherwise. You should have been grateful that we didn’t toss you into Kerberos along with the rest of them, given that you’re a Titan yourself.”
“We’ll figure out a worse punishment for him,” Apollo said, turning his gaze to Helios. “You’ll regret ever having crossed us by going after our children and our descendants.”
“And by trying to assist the Titans in the upcoming battle,” Athena added. “Let’s not forget about that.”
“You all act so high and mighty now,” Helios said, glaring at them. “I can’t wait to see how the Titans punish you after they return. And I can’t wait to get my job back, too. I wonder what corner of hell the Titans will send you to once they’re back in power? But before they send you off, I’ll request for them to let Aphrodite stay behind for a bit, so she can finally kneel down to me and suck my—”
“Enough!” Zeus yelled, bolts of lightning striking the ground around Helios.
Aphrodite’s hand was wrapped tightly around Ares’s wrist, and if looks could kill, Helios would be dead by now.
After Zeus’s outburst, everyone was silent. I looked around at the gods—Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Ares, and Aphrodite—and while I dared not to say it, I was surprised by their behavior. I’d expected them to be more… dignified. Instead, they were bickering like children. Powerful, immortal children.
Apparently, even the gods were far from perfect.
“We’re here to determine Helios’s fate.” Athena was the first to speak up. “As we all know, time is of the essence right now, so we need to stop getting distracted. And since Helios was attempting to kill the mortals in this cave right now—” She paused to glanced over at me, Blake, Danielle, and C
hris. “Then it’s only fitting that they’re here to listen to our ideas and let us know which one they prefer.”
Ares rolled his eyes, leading me to think he disagreed, but he said nothing.
“Bring it on,” Helios said. “Tell me how you plan on punishing me for the next three months. Because that’s as long as you have until that portal fully opens again and the Titans return.”
“The portal will not be opening, as I have faith that these mortals will seal it in time,” Athena said calmly. “Your punishment will last for as long as we deem fit.”
“Precisely.” Zeus nodded at Athena, and he stepped in front of the other gods, so he was directly facing Helios. “We are currently undecided between turning you into a human slave for the next century or casting you into the depths of Tartarus. Either punishment would be fitting.”
“He should be turned into a human and enslaved to someone who would truly make him pay,” Aphrodite mused. “Given his earlier comment to me, I think that making him the consort to an ugly, smelly old hag would be fitting. She’ll make him put his mouth where it belongs—twice a day, for the next century.” She curved her hand like a cat’s and snarled at him, chuckling at her implication. Helios scrunched his nose in disgust.
“That’s not a bad suggestion.” Zeus nodded and ran his thumb along his jawline. “But what if we turned him into a tree instead? I haven’t turned anyone into a tree for a while. Then I could infest the tree with termites, and they would consume the bark for the next century, making sure Helios feels the pain of being slowly eaten alive…” He smiled, clearly proud of himself for coming up with such a plan. “I like that idea,” he said brightly, turning to the other gods. “Should I do it?”
“From experience, I can vouch that being turned into a human is the worst punishment possible,” Apollo said. “I’m with Aphrodite on this one. Although, I think he should be made ugly and weak, and forced to do hard labor in the burning sun for the next century.”
“You’re all wrong,” Ares growled. “We should throw him into Tartarus and get it over with. Nothing’s worse than the pit of Tartarus itself.”
“Except for Kerberos,” Athena reminded him. “But since gods cannot travel through the portal until it’s fully opened—and we have to hope that circumstances will never reach that point—Tartarus is our best option. However,” she continued, holding her hand up so the other gods didn’t interrupt her. “Since we all have varying opinions on what should be done to Helios, and since Helios has caused so much trouble for the Elementals, I think it would be fitting for Nicole—as the only demigod of their group—to decide his fate.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Me?” I swallowed, unsure that I’d heard her right. “You want me to decide how to punish a god?”
“I think that it would be fitting,” Athena said. “You heard all of our ideas. You can choose the punishment that you feel would best make Helios pay for his crimes, or suggest one of your own.”
“I don’t even get a fair trial on Olympus?” Helios asked. “Instead, I get only five of the twelve Olympians, and this mortal will decide my fate?” He spat out the word “mortal” as if it were the equivalent to vermin.
A lightning bolt cracked down next to Zeus, and he gripped it in his hand. “The other Olympians are dealing with issues caused by the weakening portal and the threat of the Titans’ return.” His anger pulsated through the bolt of lightning and flashed through the cave. “I am King of the gods, so what I say is what will happen. And I say that the mortal will decide your fate, as long as the other gods here and I agree that her decision is an appropriate punishment.” He turned to me, and despite how intimidating he was with the lightning bolt, I stood strong under his gaze. “What have you decided?” he asked.
“I would like to discuss this with the other Elementals,” I said. “If you don’t mind.”
“Wise girl,” Athena said, and Apollo smiled, as if proud that I was his daughter. “Of course you should discuss your decision with them, but we have a limited amount of time, so make haste.”
I nodded and glanced at the others, nervous and unsure where to begin. It didn’t help that the Olympians were watching. “Can we discuss this alone?” I asked. “Please?”
“I will create a diplomatic dome for you,” Athena agreed. “You will have complete privacy when inside—no one will be able to hear or see you. The dome will remain in tact for ten minutes. Afterward, you will emerge and inform us of your decision.”
She waved her hand, and a building that resembled a large igloo appeared nearby—except instead of being made of ice, it was a solid, metallic material. We walked through the doorway, and once the last one of us was through, it sealed behind us. The inside of the sphere was cloudy and perfectly smooth—it was like we were inside an opaque, human-sized snow globe. Curious, I pressed a hand against the wall. It was sturdy and cool to the touch, like glass.
Could the gods really not hear us when we were inside here? There was no way to know for sure, but since we didn’t have another option, we would have to trust them.
“We should get on with this, since we don’t have much time,” I said, looking around at each of them. “What are you all thinking?”
“We should throw Helios into Tartarus,” Blake spoke up first. “It’s the worst part of the Underworld, and once he’s trapped down there, we’ll be rid of him for the rest of our lives. He’ll never give us another problem again.”
“I liked Zeus’s idea,” Chris chimed in. “Turning him into a tree and infesting the tree with termites. But really, I’m fine with any of the options.”
“I vote human,” Danielle said. “Aphrodite’s idea about forcing him to be a male consort was pretty amusing.”
I couldn’t help noticing that they were each supporting the punishment proposed by their godly ancestor. Especially because I was about to do the same. Sort of. I planned on putting my own spin on the punishment, too.
“I also think that Helios should be turned into a human,” I said, glancing at Danielle to acknowledge that I agreed with the first part of her plan. “But only after we seal the portal to Kerberos. He’s too dangerous to have around before the portal is sealed, especially as a human, since then he could stroll right into Kerberos and make a deal with the Titans. So I’m thinking we should throw him into Tartarus, but only temporarily. Once we’ve sealed the portal, I would like to have him brought back to Earth as a human for a century. But instead of being bound in servitude to a stranger, I want him bound in servitude to us—the Elementals.”
“I like it,” Blake said, smiling. “I’m behind you one hundred percent.”
“I’m impressed,” Danielle chimed in. “It’s a better idea than any of the gods had.”
“Thanks,” I said, taking a second to let it sink in that Danielle had complimented me. “But we should be humble about it when we tell them our decision. We don’t want to risk accidentally insulting them by not choosing one of their ideas.”
“They asked for your opinion,” Chris reminded me. “And your decision is pretty kick-ass, if you ask me. It’ll be fun to boss Helios around for the next century.”
“We’re all in agreement?” I asked.
They all said yes, and I breathed easier, glad I had their support.
“Okay.” I stood straighter and walked to where the door to the dome had been. “Let’s tell the gods what we decided.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“I like it,” Zeus said after we told him our idea for Helios’s punishment. “But there’s one major problem with it.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Helios’s punishment is to last for an entire century. As mortals, it’s unlikely that any of you will live for that long.”
I frowned, since I hadn’t thought about that. It was a good point. And I had no idea what the solution could be.
“We located the ambrosia for a reason,” Danielle chimed in. “We want to transform Kate into a goddess. If it works, K
ate will be immortal, and she can be Helios’s master after the rest of us have passed away.”
“Very well.” Athena nodded. “And if Kate’s apotheosis is unsuccessful, what will become of Helios then?”
“I hope it works,” I said. “But if it doesn’t, perhaps it’s best to keep Helios in Tartarus.”
“So, Apollo’s spawn has some sense after all,” Ares said.
“I accept your proposition.” Zeus waved his hand, and a lightning bolt struck Helios.
Helios screamed, his body lit up and buzzing with electricity. Then he was gone. All that remained was a charred spot on the ground where he’d been standing, and the smell of burnt flesh lingering in the air.
“Did you just disintegrate Helios?” Chris asked, his eyes wide.
“No, I didn’t disintegrate anything.” Zeus chuckled. “I can assure you that Helios is completely intact. I sent him straight to Tartarus, which is where he’ll remain until we know the results of Kate’s apotheosis, and the portal to Kerberos is sealed.”
“No pressure or anything,” Chris muttered.
“You’ve done well so far,” Athena said. “Especially since you had some added help from the gods.” She glanced at Zeus and Apollo after saying that part—she didn’t look thrilled that they’d helped us, but she didn’t seem angry about it, either. “And I’m grateful that you’re going forth with Kate’s apotheosis. As her godly ancestor, you have my blessing with the process.”
“Does that mean the apotheosis will definitely be successful?” I asked.
“There are some things in this universe that not even the gods can control,” Athena said. “Especially since apotheosis has never been attempted on someone in Kate’s… condition. But with the gods on her side, the chance of it being successful is far more likely.”
“Thank you.” I lowered my head in respect. “It means a lot.”
“And now, we must be on our way,” Apollo said. “Remember—even though we won’t be with you physically, we believe in you. The primordial deities wouldn’t have given you your powers if you didn’t have what it takes to save the world.”
Elementals 5: The Hands of Time Page 5