The Navel of the World

by P. J. Hoover

  Lulu started up the tube in the Ruling Hall. “No.”

  Benjamin started after her. “But I really—“

  Lulu stopped moving and turned back to face him. “Jack already did it. I was supposed to tell you that.”

  “So why didn’t you?” Benjamin asked, and they started up the tube again.

  “I forgot,” Lulu said. “Anyway, have a nice time in Delphi.” Then she laughed and teleported away, leaving Benjamin there in the tube in the Ruling Hall of ancient Geros.

  By the time Benjamin finally teleported to Delphi, Iva looked like she’d claw his eyes out if they didn’t go into the city immediately.

  And not surprising, as soon as they did enter the city border, Iva walked away from the group and closed her eyes. They walked over to join her. And then Benjamin felt his mouth fall open. Though he’d seen the vision of Delphi in the past—the vision in which he’d seen Iva—he wasn’t expecting this. Delphi was a bustling metropolis. And then he caught sight of it—right where he knew it would be. The Navel of the World.

  Behind it sat a blindfolded woman—no scratch that—a blindfolded girl. She couldn’t have been any older than they were.

  “I sense a familiar presence,” Iva said at last, not yet opening her eyes.

  “Kronos?” Andy guessed.

  Iva shook her head and opened her eyes. “No, not yet. Though he could still show up before this is done. No, it’s someone else.”

  “Nathan?” Benjamin asked, gritting his teeth.

  “Not evil. Not like Nathan Nyx.” Iva took a deep breath and looked down to the oracle girl. “And as for a TPT, there’s only one thing in this entire place that has any power at all.”

  “The Navel of the World,” Heidi said.

  “Exactly. It’s bursting with telenergetic power.” Iva looked like she might burst with excitement when she said it.

  Cory narrowed his eyes. “We need to be careful. Delphi is not as it may seem. And getting to the Navel may not be a simple matter.”

  “Why don’t we split up and look around?” Andy said.

  Iva nodded “That’s a good idea. But I don’t think any of us should go near the oracle. Or near the Navel of the World. Not just yet.”

  “Iva, Heidi, and I will go look down the hill,” Andy said.

  Benjamin almost objected. Why did Andy want to be paired off with Iva and Heidi? But then he stopped himself. He hardly knew Cory—his brother—and it might be nice to have a few minutes alone with him.

  “Just use telepathy to contact us if you need to,” Heidi said.

  They split up, and Benjamin and Cory started walking.

  Delphi was a city. This might seem kind of obvious, but Benjamin had just never thought about it before. It was in fact a large city. Seeing the ancient world in a ruined state had tainted his perspective.

  “The colors on everything are so bright.” Benjamin tried to make conversation with his ten-years-older-than-him twin brother.

  Cory laughed and put a hand on his shoulder. “Did you expect them to be dull?”

  “When we visited here a while back, there was no color. Just plain white stone,” Benjamin said. “But that’s how all the archaeological sites are.”

  Cory glanced over at the nearest building—bright gold and blue. “So the buildings never get repainted?”

  “Actually, most of the buildings are falling down,” Benjamin said.

  “How come people don’t take better care of it?” Cory asked.

  “Lots of reasons,” Benjamin said. “War—that’s a big one.”

  “Yes, war.” Cory shook his head. “It should be averted at all costs. You know the war has been going on for ten years now. Sometimes I think it will never end.”

  “It will,” Benjamin said. “In fact, it must end pretty soon. It only lasts about ten years.”

  “Do the Spartans win?” Cory stopped walking and looked at Benjamin.

  “Yeah, they destroy Troy and either enslave or kill everyone.”

  Cory sighed. “It’s brutal business, war. So much death and destruction. And all caused by telegens.”

  “Have you actually met any of them?” Benjamin asked. “The false gods or goddesses?”

  “I’ve met Athena,” Cory said. “And I’ve seen Aphrodite.”

  “What were they like?” Benjamin asked.

  “Aphrodite was beautiful.” Cory’s eyes glassed over. “But Athena was the one who made the lasting impression. And not just her brilliance; she was kind and loving and caring.”

  Benjamin laughed. “It almost sounds like you were in love with her.”

  Cory shook his head and the dreamy look in his eyes started to fade. “I wasn’t the one in love with her. That was Hexer.”

  “Hexer and Athena were in love?”

  “From the first moment they met.”

  “So what happened?” It’s not that romance was so interesting to Benjamin. But they were talking ancient gods here.

  “Responsibility got in the way,” Cory said. “I think I was the reason Hexer and Athena never married. For years they saw each other, on and off. She was like a mother to me. But thanks to the war, I don’t think Hexer has seen Athena in over five years.”

  “Wow. I never would have guessed,” Benjamin said.

  “Hexer doesn’t talk about himself very much,” Cory said. “He rarely mentions his parents or his youth. I know he never knew his father and saw very little of his mother.” Cory shifted.

  Benjamin figured maybe the conversation reminded him he might never see Hexer again.

  “You mentioned the Spartans win the war,” Cory said.

  Benjamin nodded.

  “Do you know how?” Cory asked.

  “You’ve never heard the story of the Trojan Horse!” Benjamin said. “Of course not.”

  “A horse from Troy causes the war to be won?”

  “No. A great deception from Sparta wins the war,” Benjamin said. “The Spartans pretend to give up. They move all their ships away from port. They pack up their camps. And they build a giant wooden horse which they leave outside the city walls as a gift before leaving.”

  “The Spartans give the Trojans a gift?” Cory asked.

  “Uh huh. So the Trojans wake up to find this giant horse outside the wall and the whole Spartan army gone. They open the gates and wheel the horse inside. Then, later that night, there’s a big party. The Trojans eat and drink until they pass out.”

  “Sounds just like the Trojans. They’re a worthless bunch.” Cory shook his head. “So then what happened? Did they forget to lock the city gates?”

  “No. Once the Trojans pass out, a secret door on the side of the horse opens, and ten Spartan warriors climb out. They unlock the gates and set the city on fire.”

  “Amazing,” Cory said. “I’m impressed that we actually came up with that. I wonder whose idea it is.”

  “A warrior named Odysseus,” Benjamin said. “Have you heard of him?”

  “Are you kidding? Everyone’s heard of Odysseus. If people aren’t talking about Achilles, they’re talking about Odysseus. He can’t stand the war. He just wants to get home.”

  “Yeah, but it takes him ten years even after the war is over to get home,” Benjamin said.

  Cory shook his head. “I’m just happy to be getting out of there.” But then he stopped walking.

  “What is it?” Benjamin asked and then followed Cory’s gaze.

  It was Ananya, dressed in a green silk sari, sitting on the ground. Chaos, her tiny monkey, clung to the long dark braid hanging over her shoulder.

  Benjamin stared at the woman he had seen only hours before in present day India.

  “Ananya!”

  Benjamin looked as he and Cory said the name at exactly the same time.

  “You know each other?” he asked Cory.

  “You know each other?” Cory asked in return.

  “I see you two have been reunited.” Ananya stood up, and Chaos jumped to her shoulder and screeched.
<
br />   “What are you doing back here?” Benjamin tried to get a grasp on what was going on—unsuccessfully.

  Ananya smiled. “Time is not the same in the world of Xanadu as it is for the rest of the Earth.”

  “What does that mean? I just saw you in India a few hours ago,” Benjamin replied.

  “Did you? Then I will have that to look forward to. What am I doing in India?”

  “You were in the temple of Kronos—I mean Shaneeswara—trying to warn us not to use the TPT there to travel back to now,” Benjamin said.

  Ananya laughed. “So I guess you didn’t listen?”

  Benjamin shook his head. “No, we didn’t listen, and now we’re stuck.”

  “Ah, yes—we. Where are Heidi, Andy, and Iva now?”

  “They’re trying to find a way to use The Navel of the World,” Cory said.

  “It will be nearly impossible,” Ananya said.

  “Why?” Benjamin asked. “I thought Kronos likes when people use his telemagnifiers.”

  “You forget. This is not a temple of Kronos. This is a city founded by Apollo, who maintains control with an iron fist. And Apollo and Kronos don’t always see eye to eye.”

  “But the Navel of the World is here,” Benjamin said. “How come Apollo lets that stay?”

  “You forget what the Navel actually is,” Ananya said.

  “The Navel of the World is the stone Kronos’ wife fed to him in place of Zeus. It caused him to throw up the children he’d eaten,” Cory said. “And Apollo is none other than one of the sons of Zeus.”

  “So Apollo is Kronos’s grandson?” Benjamin asked.

  “Yes, though there is no love lost between the two,” Ananya said. “The Navel represents a victory over Kronos.”

  “But it’s a telemagnifier,” Benjamin said. “I can sense its power.”

  “It is a very powerful telemagnifier—especially for temporal phasing,” Ananya said, “for it was once inside Kronos.”

  “So can’t we just sneak over and use it to time travel back to our time?” Benjamin asked.

  “It’s not that easy,” Ananya said. “None but the oracles are allowed near the Navel. And Apollo keeps a tight rein on them.”

  “So what do we do?” Cory asked. “From what Benjamin has been telling me, we really need to get back to his time. And Nathan Nyx could show up at any time.”

  “You’re right. But I believe I have a plan. Let’s find your friends, and then I’ll explain it.” Ananya didn’t wait for a reply. She walked toward a small temple with an altar in the center, and when she got there, she stopped. “We’ll wait here until they arrive.”

  CHAPTER 29

  Ananya Calls in a Favor

  In less than five minutes, Heidi, Iva, and Andy crested the hill. Heidi ran up to Ananya and embraced her. “It’s you. It’s really you.”

  “Yes, it’s me,” Ananya said. “Benjamin tells me I saw you a few hours ago, though I have yet to experience that moment in time.”

  “You were in a temple arguing with Kronos,” Heidi said. “And then you vanished.”

  “But now I’m here, and I have an idea how to get the five of you back to the present,” Ananya said. “Follow me inside the temple.”

  They walked in, single file, through the small entrance then circled around the altar in the center.

  “This is a temple to Apollo,” Iva stated it more than asked it.

  Ananya nodded her head. “Yes, though not nearly as popular as those closer to the oracle. I come here when I need to talk directly to his holiness.” She gave a sideways grin as she said it.

  “Does he listen?” Andy asked.

  “To me? Always. Apollo has had need to seek refuge in Xanadu from time to time. Let’s just say Apollo owes me a favor or two.” Chaos jumped to the altar and perched in the center, and Ananya placed her hands palm down on the altar. “Apollo, would you please do me the courtesy of a visit? There’s something I need to speak with you about.”

  And then they waited less than a minute.

  “Ah, lovely Ananya. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

  Benjamin turned to see a handsome, though familiar, man with shining golden hair walking toward them and the temple. The sun glinted off his bronzed skin and blond hair, creating a glowing aura around him. Benjamin heard a sharp intake of breath and turned to see both Heidi and Iva staring. Benjamin couldn’t place where he’d seen the man before, but he knew this wasn’t the first time they’d met.

  “Apollo.” Ananya moved her lips into a flicker of a smile. “You’re looking well.”

  “The sun will do that to you,” Apollo said. “Did you know it’s the most plentiful source of energy anywhere near our small little planet?”

  “I believe you mentioned that to me once or twice before,” Ananya said. “Apollo, I’d like you to meet a few of my friends.”

  She introduced them with first names only. Did Cory even have a last name? And then it dawned on Benjamin where he’d met Apollo before.

  “You were in Xanadu,” Benjamin said.

  Apollo flashed his gleaming smile and laughed. “Many times.”

  “I knew I’d met you before.” Benjamin turned to Heidi. “Remember?”

  Heidi nodded. “But I had no idea you were a god when we met before.” Her eyes were still a bit glazed over which kind of irked Benjamin.

  “For me that time hasn’t come,” Apollo said. “Though now I will anxiously await it.” He spread his arms wide. “Friends of Ananya are friends of mine. Welcome to Delphi. How do you like my city?”

  “It’s the loveliest place I’ve ever been.” Iva could hardly take her eyes off the man.

  Though it pained him, Benjamin had to admit that Apollo was a perfect specimen. His physique looked chiseled, each muscle sized just right. His golden hair topped his head like a crown. And his teeth shone as his smile lit up the world around him.

  “Would the young ladies like a tour?” Apollo extended each arm; it wasn’t a request.

  Benjamin felt a strong urge to say, “No, the young ladies would not like a tour,” but held back when he saw the look on Ananya’s face. And then he felt Andy’s rage in the Alliance bond. Andy was furious. And jealous.

  “Nathan could show up at any time,” Andy said.

  Apollo turned to look at Andy. “Nathan Nyx? Oh, I don’t think so.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Andy said.

  Apollo laughed and walked closer to Iva and Heidi. “Nathan Nyx is banned from Delphi. If he comes here, I will kill him myself.”

  Andy opened his mouth to say something else, but Ananya shot him a glance to silence him. And so Heidi and Iva walked over and each interlaced an arm with Apollo.

  “I won’t take long,” Apollo said. “But I must extend proper courtesy to my beautiful young guests. When I return, we can speak.” Leaving no room for argument, Apollo turned, with Heidi on his left arm and Iva on his right, and walked away from the temple.

  Benjamin looked to Ananya.

  She sighed. “Though he does owe me favors, we need his help, so I dare not dispute. At least not just yet. Apollo likes to feel he is king of Delphi—which I suppose he is. They shouldn’t be gone longer than an hour or two.”

  “An hour or two!” Andy said.

  “Delphi is a large city,” Ananya said. “And Apollo knows I need something. He will give it to me. But he’ll also make me wait.”

  Benjamin shrugged and sat down. Now seemed like as good a time as any. He formed a mental image of the disk he’d traded with Achilles in his mind.

  “There’s something you need to give me when we’re in India,” he said to Ananya, and he shared the image with her.

  Ananya sucked in her breath. “That’s not possible.”

  Benjamin looked at her. “Why not?”

  “Do you even know what that is?” she asked.

  “Not really,” Benjamin said. “I mean I know it’s a life force disk.”

  “It’s dangerous,” Ananya said. “You shou
ld not own one.”

  “It’s not for me,” Benjamin said. “I need it to trade with Achilles.”

  But Ananya shook her head. “Even if I wanted to give you one, I’m not sure where I’d get it. They’re rumored to be made in the workshop of Hephaestus.”

  “Ananya gave it to you?” Andy said. “When?”

  “Back when we were in the temple,” Benjamin said. “And now it’s hidden safely in Geros.” He looked back to Ananya. “But if you don’t give it to me, then I’ll never be able to hide it and find it and trade for our freedom.”

  “And Achilles could kill us,” Andy said.

  Ananya shook her head slowly back and forth. “I’ll see what I can do. It may involve calling in more favors, and I’m not making any promises.”

  Benjamin smiled. “It’ll work. It has to. Otherwise we’d never be here right now.”

  By the time Benjamin heard laughter four hours later, he’d run out of things to say. After unsuccessfully trying to pry information from Ananya about the life force disk, they’d spent the time asking everything they could think of, then catching up, and then just sitting there saying nothing. Four hours is a long time to spend with anyone, even a brother you’ve just met.

  Heidi and Iva were arm in arm with Apollo when they crested the hill, but they didn’t have the Indian saris on they’d started in. Now they had on golden togas which tied around their necks and showed plenty of leg above the knee with golden sandals that laced around their legs and reached all the way up to those knees. Benjamin tried to force himself to look away, but his eyes kept taking control and roving back over to Iva and Heidi. He couldn’t believe girls in ancient Greece had worn stuff so short.

  “What was wrong with your other clothes?” Andy asked in a super calm voice though Benjamin was sure he could hear Andy’s heart beating. Or maybe it was his own heart; he couldn’t be sure.

  The girls giggled.

  Andy frowned.

  “They were soaked,” Heidi said. “We fell in the fountain down on the lower level of the city.”

  “Well, not quite fell in,” Iva said. “Apollo pushed us in.”

  “Really, Apollo, isn’t that a bit childish, even for you?” Ananya said. “Pushing young ladies into fountains?”