by Mary Ting
“Yes. You did it. I’m so proud of you.” Mason kissed my forehead and helped me to stand.
Poseidon and Zeus were on the ground. A light blanket that Zara brought with her covered their bodies to keep them warm. Everyone stared in awe, waiting. How long would it take for them to recover? Zara had told me that the gods would bounce back quickly, but she didn’t know the time frame. As I held my breath, I watched their bodies tremble under the blanket and recalled my dad doing the same thing. I prayed they would be on their feet soon. I didn’t mean to be insensitive, but time wasn’t on our side.
After what seemed like an eternity, Zeus dropped his blanket. Although I had drenched him, his clothes were perfectly dry. Looking dazed and confused, he used his staff to help him stand up, and glanced around at each and every one of us. The silence said it all. We were god struck. With his muscular, broad shoulders and godly build, his presence demanded attention. A head taller than Mason, with perfect porcelain skin and a good-looking face, he was a majestic sight. Silly of me, but I had imagined Zeus with long white hair and a white beard, but that wasn’t the case. His dark brown hair looked silky…it actually looked softer than mine.
“Zara?” he asked, as his dull blue eyes started to become brighter.
“Zeus.” Zara lowered her head.
Zeus raked his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “What happened?”
Before Zara had a chance to explain, Zeus turned and noticed Hades and Cara helping Poseidon to stand. His eyes grew wider, his body stiffened, and the tightness in his chiseled jaw told me he was not happy.
“What’s going on? Who released Hades? I demand to know.” Zeus’s words boomed loudly. His tone alone commanded authority.
After Poseidon was on his feet, Zara introduced us to Zeus and explained all that had happened. Hades and Cara had dropped to the ground in front of Zeus and Poseidon. The two gods standing side-by-side were overwhelming. Poseidon’s physique and stance were just as stunning and powerful-looking as Zeus’s. Each had on a long, white cloth decorated with gold trimmings, which clung to their chests. I could see the ripples of their muscular arms under their cloaks, which flowed like Superman’s cape.
“My brothers,” Hades sighed. “We have a chance to mend our hurt, to forgive, and to start over again. I beg you to accept my apologies. I know what I have done wrong, and I have learned a new way. I am not the same god that I was before. Let’s take back what is ours, renew our home, and let the world know the gods are back. Together we are strong. Together we will bring back our people. And together we will bring Hephaestus down.”
“I’ve always known there was good in you,” Poseidon said, peering down to Hades with a look of compassion. “You were too stubborn to see what was tearing us apart, your greed and selfishness. I do believe you are regretful; I can see it in your eyes.”
With a gentle smile, Hades peered up to Zeus. “Can you forgive me as Poseidon has?”
Zeus’s lack of words was killing my patience. Hades would be back in the underworld if Zeus would not forgive his brother. As much as I didn’t like Hades before, I’d grown to trust and respect him. And I, for one, did not wish for him to return to that hellhole he had been stuck in for centuries.
“I will release you. You will be pardoned; however, if there is ever any doubt, you will be sent back. I do wish, my brother, that we can be a family again. I will not lie. I have missed you. I was sorrowful from your absence, but you have to know, I did it for the good of our people. Do not make me regret this decision. Now…rise.”
If I wasn’t mistaken, I was pretty sure I had witnessed Hades drop a few tears. Standing up with a warm, genuine smile on his face, he received hugs from his brothers. It was a heartfelt, touching moment. Afterward, Zeus turned to me.
“Skylar, I want to thank you for releasing Poseidon and me. That was honorable and brave of you. For that reason, I will not charge you with treason against the gods for releasing Hades without my permission.”
I could have explained my reasons, or even told him off for his insensitive comment. But I had to keep in mind that Zara had already explained the situation, and no matter what I said, being a god, he would only look at it from one angle…the angle he wanted to see it from. He was still locked up in his olden ways. The laws were straightforward. And I could now understand what Hades meant when he said Zeus was too stubborn.
“Thank you,” I said, and squeezed Mason’s hand tightly. It was a gesture to tell him to keep his mouth closed. Mason was about to tell Zeus off. I knew this because I felt his energy pulsing against my hand.
“Zeus,” Zara called softly. “How about my sister, Cara? She is still on the ground, waiting for you to speak to her.”
I’d wondered why she hadn’t spoken up, but then I recalled that no one was to speak to the gods unless spoken to first.
Zeus looked down. “Speak up, Cara.”
“Please forgive me. Just like Hades, I too was overpowered by greed and selfishness. I miss my sisters. I miss what we had once. Please, Zeus, let me come home. I have changed. I will prove to you that I am good.”
“Just like Hades, I will give you this one last chance. After you have proven yourself worthy, I will change you back to yourself. But for now, your appearance will remain.”
“Thank you, Zeus. I will prove worthy,” she said, planting a kiss on the back of his and Poseidon’s hands, then backing away.
“Hurry, we must go,” my dad reminded.
“What about the others?” Hades asked. “Are you not to free everyone?”
Zeus stopped following my dad, then turned to Hades. “Not yet. We need to ensure it is safe to release them. Hephaestus might have another plan we’re not aware of. However…if we are going to war…Skylar, I need to ask you a favor.”
“Yes?” I said, tilting my head up to meet his radiating blue eyes. They were a lot brighter than when he first opened them. Looking into his eyes was like looking up at the bright sky. Still awestruck, my body had turned to Jell-O standing in front of him.
“I need your help releasing Ares and Athena. I’m not strong enough to do it myself, but when I’m back in full force I can release everyone else. Will you help me?”
This was going to be beyond awesome. I could hardly hold my excitement in. To be surrounded by the gods…not one, or two, but five…was thrilling. “Yes. I will help you.”
“This way,” Cara directed, hobbling. “Create the portal here to direct us to where we must go.” She pointed between two adjacent trees with her cane.
I thought it was my imagination when light flashed before my eyes and the wind slapped against me. Then one lightning bolt cracked down to the ground, revealing a kneeling body.
“Hermes,” Zeus cheered happily. “It’s good to see you.”
“Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Ares, and Athena, I’m honored to see you again.”
“Stand up. Let me see you,” Zeus said.
Hermes stood up, smiling and looking content. The wings all over him were fluttering, I assumed mimicking the way he felt, overwhelmed with excitement to see the gods.
“You look well. It’s good to know you have not been affected by the Blood Moon Day,” Zeus continued. “You’ve done well. I see you found a way to bring a message to Sky. Do you have any messages for me?”
Hermes lost the grin. “I do. Hephaestus and his army are in New Olympus.”
“Where is New Olympus?” Zeus asked.
Zara didn’t waste any time; she raised her arm. “We had to build a new home. You’ll see soon enough.”
We were about to take a step to go through when Tara appeared. “Zara. Hurry. We are being attacked. The vultures have breached the shield.”
“We’re on our way.” Zara opened the portal.
“What are vultures?” Zeus asked.
“I’ll explain when we get there. Hurry. Everyone pass through.”
Every time we passed through the portal, the breeze was strong, brushing my hair away from my face. My muscles became rig
id, and the air was sucked from my lungs. I hated the feeling, like my body was being dropped from a roller coaster.
We landed on the sand, and what I saw in front of me was a jaw-dropping moment. Black ashes from the vultures and wounded bodies spread across the beach. Most of them were vultures that had turned back to human. The portals never stayed open, but this one did.
“Hephaestus has turned humans into vultures,” my dad informed Zeus.
“I cannot believe how far he’s gone.” Zeus shook his head, looking disgusted.
Zara bent down, checking a wounded girl’s pulse. When she opened her eyes, Zara asked, “What happened?”
“Hephaestus broke through the barrier. There were too many of them. We couldn’t hold them back. Many are still in New Olympus.” The girl coughed, then closed her eyes.
I knew life had left her when her face turned pale and blood seeped down the corner of her lips. She looked cold and greyish, like a statue. Riding with the soft breeze, her body turned to ashes and floated with the wind.
“Let’s go.” Mason grabbed my hand and broke me away. “They need our help.”
“Hold on a minute.” Ares placed his shield out to stop us from going any further. “We need a plan. Athena will help us. Gather around.”
Athena came up with plans A and B. I just hoped either one of them would play in our favor.
What we saw after going through the portal was no different. Bodies and ashes were everywhere. Grief struck me hard, as my hand clutched tightly into a fist. I was sickened by what Hephaestus had done. If I felt like this, I could only image how my dad and Zara felt. This was their home. These were their people.
“To the castle,” my dad hollered, running toward it.
As soon as the vultures saw us, some of them came charging toward us. Using our powers and Amanda and Everett using their swords, we fought back.
“Where are Kayla and her mom?” Nick asked Tara, sizzling a vulture in front of him.
“Don’t worry. They’re inside the castle basement. They’re safe. The children and the ones that were able to escape when the vultures attacked have retreated there,” Tara explained, raising her hand to toss a vulture against a tree.
Before Tara could finish, Nick had fought his way to the door. He needed to check on Kayla, and I was glad he was going to do so. I needed to know too. As much as I wanted to see her, it had to wait until this was over because we were running out of time.
It was cool to watch Zeus twirl his staff to knock the vultures down like a ninja and shoot lightning bolts out from his staff. Poseidon motioned his hand in circles and shot out sharp, solid icicles. They fired out faster than a machine gun from his hands. Noah and Tim were awestruck as they fought beside him.
Seeing fire blast from the corner of my eye, I turned to see Hades. I could tell by the intensity of the flames that he was not up to his full capacity, but it was enough to turn the vultures into ashes. It was nice to see him really smile for the first time since I had released him. For reasons unknown, I favored Hades. Maybe it was the change in him, that he had the courage to be better. Or perhaps it was the bad-boy charisma that reminded me of Mason. Or the fact that I had spent some time with him in the underworld and understood him better.
“Up there.” Ares pointed. “They’re climbing the tower wall.”
“I’m going after them,” I shouted, and took off as others followed.
We ran toward the back and encountered more of our friends. Just as many vultures were there as there were in front, if not more, which was probably the reason we kept seeing more of them when I thought we were at the end of the battle.
Ares ducked and swung his shield to decapitate several of the vultures. Sometimes he bent low and knocked them down, and finished them off with his sword. Athena was just as skilled and graceful. Like a pro gymnast, she flipped over a vulture to confuse it and stabbed it with the sword from behind.
Lightning, fire, sharp objects turned from water, and even arrows were shot to the vultures climbing the tower, while we fought with the ones below. Knowing we needed to get to Hephaestus, I was just about to do something drastic when I saw Mason in action. Gracefully, he bounced on top of a vulture’s head, then jumped to the one on a higher level and shot the one below. He repeated this all the way to the top, and Nick—who had just come back from checking on Kayla—followed Mason, fighting in the same way.
“Move out of the way,” Mason hollered, and blasted his light. Nick did the same beside him. It traveled downward, expanding like a waterfall. The whole tower illuminated and sparks shot out, especially when it touched the vultures. Black ashes fell like rain as the vultures met their doom.
“They’re from my line of the family,” Zeus commented proudly, knocking out the two vultures that came at him. “Do you not know who I am, idiots?” He stepped on top of one and shot out lightning from his staff. The light rippled, hitting not just the one in front of him, but the others behind him and so on.
With the help of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Ares, and Athena, most of the vultures were dead, except for the few lingering ones trying to escape.
“Where’s Hephaestus?” Zara asked Tara.
“He was here when he opened the portal, but I don’t know where he is now.” Tara blinked her eyes, finally realizing that Cara was by her sister’s side. “Cara?”
Cara dipped her head low, hiding her face. “Yes, it’s me. The gods and Zara have forgiven me; can you?”
Tara reached down and stroked Cara’s long white hair. “I always have forgiven you. We just needed for you to come home.”
Tears formed in Cara’s eyes, and also in mine. Just like with Hades, my heart had softened for Cara. “I want to be home with my sisters.” Cara sobbed in Tara’s arms.
“There, there. Everything will be just fine.” Tara tried to comfort Cara.
“Mason. Nick,” Zeus called, breaking my gaze. When they stood before Zeus, Zeus looked upon them with pride. “I am amazed by your courage and your strength.”
“We are not the only ones,” Mason said. “Everyone you see has fought many battles. They are also brave and courageous.”
Zeus looked upon everyone. “We shall have a feast in honor of all the descendants. Now…where do we find my son, the one that betrayed me?”
“Hephaestus told me to meet him at my house,” I answered. “But I don’t think he’s there. I’m sure he’s aware you have been released. He has my mom. He wants Medusa’s head.”
“I believe he’s in Mt. Hem,” Cara said. “He came to see me before you came to Olympus. He wanted me to project his body to Skylar’s house. I only did it because he couldn’t hurt you being transparent; and he also threatened my life. He said even if he didn’t have Medusa’s head, he could still defeat the gods. I have no idea what he plans to do. He’s gone mad.”
“We need to stick with plan B, the plan I had set up in case we had to go to Mt. Hem,” Athena reminded, fixing her hair and pulling it back into a ponytail.
“We can’t all go,” Nick said, dusting the black ashes off his shirt. “Some of us have to stay and help protect the people in New Olympus.”
“Sarah, Aaron, and I will stay behind.” Colin stepped forward. “This is our home. We will defend it.”
“Cara and I will stay,” Tara said, looking at Cara for confirmation. Since she didn’t disagree, Tara spoke again. “They will need our guidance.”
“Then, Zara and I will go.” Dad shifted the bag he carefully guarded.
Zara waved her hand. “There. Now the bag is invisible.”
It was weird to see my dad’s arms out in front of him, holding an empty space.
“To Mt. Hem,” Ares exclaimed, lifting his sword.
Zeus blue eyes turned to the color of coal. His fists tightened together as if to make a point. “Hephaestus is mine,” Zeus huffed under his breath. “I’m coming for you, boy.”
After passing through the portal, we landed at the opening of the cave. Immediately, I felt war
mth beneath my shoes. The ground shook in waves, making it unsteady, as we trudged forward in the heat. When the sound of fire blasting bounced off the walls, dirt, dust, and pebbles fell from above.
“I feel like I’m inside a volcano that’s about to erupt. Where is everyone?” Everett asked, placing his sword in front. “I don’t remember it being this hot the last time we were here.” He wiped the beaded moisture off his forehead with the back of his hand.
Everett’s question was answered when we entered. Seeing fire everywhere I looked, I felt like I was in hell. What scared me the most was the lava painting the ground, seeping out into thin streaks that flowed like little rivers. Some even cascaded down, like waterfalls. The ground had a split in the center that wasn’t there before. The split was large, but I could jump across it. I wondered how Hephaestus had done this, and if that was the source of the fire, since hot lava shot up from the opening.
“Great. I’m back in my own world,” Hades sighed. “Let’s go get my nephew and get the hell out of here.”
“Hephaestus!” When Zeus called his son’s name, we had to brace ourselves. The ground rumbled with the intensity of Zeus’ anger. “Show yourself to me. Do not be a coward and hide behind the flames.”
There was no answer as the fire seemed to draw closer and the temperature was getting unbearable.
Amanda placed her arms to cover her face. “Put out the flames, Poseidon.”
With a nod of confirmation from Zeus, Poseidon placed out his hand, drawing out the moisture from the walls of the rocky cave. Like the waves of the ocean, his grew taller than the flame, then fell on top of it. The fire died, and the blistering steam shot out into the air.
“That was easy,” Nick remarked under his breath, but he’d spoke too soon. Fire erupted again, as if it was never put out.
“What the hell?” Everett murmured.
Zeus’s eyes became dark and cold. “Hephaestus. I command thee to come forth. Do not disrespect me. You shall obey me or face my wrath.”
“I’m here, Father.” A voice so cunning and uncaring spoke, humming through the flame as if the flames were talking. “I would like to say it’s nice to see you, but then I would be lying. Have you come to bring me the head of Medusa?”