The Eye of Zeus

by Alane Adams

  “Oh, good, you’re awake. Drink some juice. You’ve had a nasty shock.” She handed me a small cup filled with amber liquid.

  I swallowed it, surprised by the sweet taste.

  Her silvery eyes watched me closely. “All better now?”

  It took a moment, and then a rush of coolness washed over me, extinguishing the burning pain in my leg. Strength flowed back into me, and I sat up, nodding at her. “Much.”

  “The bathroom was quite a mess,” she went on. “You’re lucky you didn’t get seriously injured when those … er … pipes exploded.”

  No kidding. That hydra could have bitten my head off.

  “I pulled this piece of tile out of your leg. I thought you might want to keep it.” She dropped a triangle-shaped chunk of porcelain onto my palm.

  I stared at it, glad my hand didn’t shake, because it wasn’t a piece of tile.

  It was a hydra’s tooth.

  I slipped it into my pocket, relieved when my fingers touched my mirror. “Thanks. Can I go to class now?”

  Her eyebrows raised. “School’s almost over, dear. You should probably go home and start packing.”

  “Packing?”

  “Didn’t you hear? Your transfer paperwork came in. You will be moving tomorrow to a new foster home. A lovely farm in Nebraska.”

  Shock nailed me to the floor. “So soon?”

  She shrugged, holding her hands out. “Circumstances beyond my control. I’m sure Carl meant to tell you. He was supposed to be here. I can’t imagine where he’s gotten to.”

  As I limped to the door, my eyes slid over to Leonard’s cage. The glass had a big crack, and the basilisk lizard was nowhere to be seen.

  I stopped. An image of the hydra’s last head came back to me. That’s why its eyes had looked familiar—they were the same amber color as Leonard’s.

  “Where’s Leonard?”

  Miss Carole waved a hand. “Oh, he wasn’t himself today. Quite lost his head, I’m afraid. Run along now.”

  I stumbled out into the hallway and was immediately tackled by Angie and Damian.

  “You all right, Katzy?” Angie grabbed my shoulders, then crushed me in a hug.

  “Miss Carole wouldn’t let us see you,” Damian said, adding his arms to hers. “We were so worried.”

  “It was just a scratch. I’m fine.”

  I wriggled free, needing air. My head was still a little woozy.

  “Just a scratch?” Damian’s voice cracked, the way it did when he was upset. “Hydra bites are quite poisonous. You could have died.”

  Odd. Ever since Miss Carole had given me that apple juice, I’d been better than ever. Except for the fact I was leaving tomorrow for some gawd-awful corn state in the middle of nowheresville. I shrugged. “Still here.”

  “Good, because we have bigger problems,” Angie said. “Come on, there’s something you have to see.”

  They dragged me down the hall to where a crowd of students had gathered, whispering and pointing at a message scribbled on the wall in red paint.

  Daughter of Zeus, come out, come out!

  The hydra was just the beginning

  Meet in the cafeteria after school

  “Someone knows who you are,” Angie whispered. “You think it could be Ares?”

  “Who else could have sent that hydra?” I said. “Which means there’s no way I’m showing up. After tomorrow, he’ll never find me.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Damian asked.

  “I’m shipping out. Athena wasn’t joking. I’m off to Nebraska.”

  “But they can’t do that,” Angie wailed. “You belong here. With us.”

  “No, I’m property of the state,” I said bitterly. “Zeus might be my father on Olympus, but here, no one gives two rats about me.”

  “I give five rats, at least,” Damian said quietly. “Big ones, you know, like the ones you see by the subway tracks.”

  We looked at Damian in surprise. He was always so serious—but his attempt at humor worked. I laughed, and Angie joined in.

  “We could, you know, check it out,” I said, turning toward the cafeteria. “One last adventure.”

  Angie hooked arms and we started walking. “I’ve always wanted to meet a Greek god. I hear they’re gorgeous.”

  “You’re both certifiable,” Damian protested after us. “If Ares is there, we’re walking into a trap.”

  “It sounds more fun than Nebraska,” I said over my shoulder. I was pleased when he sighed, shook his head, and followed.

  We peered in through the window notched in the door. One of the scuzzo lunch ladies was pushing a mop across the floor. The other was stacking chairs.

  “Looks safe enough,” I said. “The lunch ladies may smell bad, but they’re harmless.”

  Angie nodded. “I say we go in, check it out, and then order the biggest pizza my dad has to celebrate your last night.”

  Sounded like a plan to me.

  We stepped inside, letting the door close behind us, and stood there, not sure what to do. The lunch ladies came to a halt, staring at us with their usual hostility.

  “Just looking around,” I said cheerfully.

  The two sisters looked at each other, and then Ilsa let her mop clatter to the ground. She cracked her neck to the side, then flexed her shoulders up and down in a weird stretching motion.

  “Uh, Phoebe, we should go,” Damian said.

  No kidding. We started to back away.

  Ilsa stopped flexing, and then something even stranger than a two-headed dog happened. A set of leathery wings sprouted from her back and fanned out. Her fingers curved into hooked talons. She hissed, revealing a pair of pointy fangs.

  “What the—” I stepped back and bumped into someone.

  I turned to find Elsa crouched behind us. She, too, had sprouted wings that flared outward. Her eyes rolled in a circle as she glared at us.

  “What are they?” I whispered to Damian.

  “I think they … um … I’m not positive … but I think the lunch ladies just turned into harpies.”

  “Stay back,” Angie said, making her hands into fists.

  “Or what?” Elsa clawed at the air with her yellowed talons as Ilsa snarled at us, baring wickedly sharp teeth.

  “Or I’ll fry your brains,” I said, deciding to take matters in hand by calling up a fat lightning bolt. I stepped in front of my two friends and raised the bolt over my shoulder.

  The sound of clapping echoed through the room.

  “Bravo, Phoebe, bravo.”

  A tall fair-haired man stepped out of the kitchen dressed in a knee-length white tunic. A golden breastplate was strapped across his chest. Leather sandals laced up to his knees, and a gilded sword hung in a sheath at his side.

  “Back off, whoever you are,” I said, keeping the lightning bolt in a firm grip.

  He gave a short bow. “Allow me to make introductions. I am Ares, god of war, at your service. And you are Phoebe of Argos, daughter of Zeus. You can put the fireworks away. I’m not here to harm you.”

  I gripped the bolt tighter. “Could have fooled me. That hydra nearly killed us all.”

  He laughed. “Sorry about that, but I had to be sure it was you. If I wanted you dead, you would be.” His eyes glinted with a sudden power that quickly cooled. “Honestly, I’m your biggest fan. You see, you’re going to help me topple Zeus from his reign over Olympus. The Oracle of Delphi told me herself.”

  He took a step closer, but I waved the bolt, warning him off.

  He held his hands up. “I speak the truth. I went to the oracle and asked her what would happen if I attempted to knock Daddy off his throne.”

  “Daddy?”

  “Zeus, dear, we’re related.”

  Yuck. I’d rather be related to a cockroach.

  “Do you know, she had the most awful look on her face?” Ares mused. “As if she had swallowed hydra guts. Shall I tell you what she said?” He went on without waiting for my answer. “It was so delightful, I
can recite it by heart:

  If you battle your father to take it all,

  A mighty god will surely fall.

  A child of Zeus will be the difference.

  Daughter of Danae and sister to Perseus.

  She alone will hold the key

  To reach that final victory.

  “Sister, now you understand? You are the game-winning piece. Come, give your brother a hug.” Ares threw his arms out.

  I stared at him with disgust. “If you think I’m going to help you, you’re missing a brain.”

  His voice lost its charm. “Oh, you’ll help me, Phoebe, or lose the one thing you love the most.”

  I almost laughed in his face. “No problem. I don’t love anything.”

  “No?”

  Ares snapped his fingers, and the harpy lunch ladies dragged a familiar figure out from the kitchen.

  Carl. Bound and gagged and looking terrified.

  Ares drew his sword and held it to Carl’s throat.

  “Then you don’t mind if I kill him?”

  CHAPTER 10

  “No!” The word was wrenched from me. Not Carl. Anything but that.

  Ares lowered his sword. “Good. Then you’ll do exactly as I say.”

  He stepped up into the double windows and flung them open. Outside, a golden chariot awaited, floating in thin air. It was pulled by a pair of gleaming black horses with wings, each with a single white mark on their forehead.

  The two harpies lifted Carl out the window, dropping him into the chariot.

  Ares paused in the opening. “Return home, Phoebe, and see the oracle. She will confirm what I say. It is your destiny. You cannot escape it.”

  “I’ll never help you,” I said, trying to think of a way to stop this while my brain went in circles around one thought: He has Carl. My Carl.

  “Never is a very long time. We are not enemies, sister. The sooner you realize that, the sooner we can finish what is inevitable.” He leaped into the chariot and disappeared in a blaze of light.

  Panicked, I whirled on my friends. “I have to go after him. I have to get Carl back.”

  “We need to think this through,” Damian said. “You were sent away for a reason. Going back could mean something worse happens.”

  “Worse than losing Carl? There isn’t anything. I’m going and that’s that.”

  “Okay, Katzy, chill. How do we do it?” Angie asked.

  “We? You guys are coming?”

  “Try to stop us.” She folded her arms, and Damian folded his, matching her stance.

  Relief made my knees wobble. “Okay, good, because I would probably mess everything up in the first five minutes. Damian, ideas?”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “How to get to Ancient Greece? Sure, Phoebes, I have, like, ten a day.”

  “Come on, Damian, use that giant brain of yours.”

  He sighed and began pacing. “Ares flew on a chariot pulled by winged horses known as pegasuses.”

  “Which we don’t have,” Angie noted.

  “Right, but we do have something.” Damian stopped to look at me.

  “What?”

  “You. Or rather, your lightning.”

  I blinked. “Okaaay, what good is lightning?”

  “The magic of Olympus turned an ordinary dog into a two-headed one, and our lunch ladies into harpies, right?”

  A light went off as I caught his meaning. “So maybe with a little jolt, I can turn a plain horse into a winged one?”

  He shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”

  The bell rang, signaling the end of school, and the sound of shouts and lockers banging filled the hall.

  “Where are we going to find a horse in Manhattan?” Angie asked.

  I snapped my fingers. “Central Park. They sell carriage rides to tourists.”

  We bolted out of the cafeteria headed for the front door, when a stodgy figure stepped into view.

  “Miss Katz, a word!”

  Principal Arnold’s beetle brows bristled as he marched toward us. “Someone destroyed that bathroom today. I don’t believe it was an accident. I told you behavior like that wouldn’t be tolerated.”

  I tried to think of an excuse, but my mind was blank, and besides, Ares already knew where I was. I didn’t need to hide my powers anymore.

  But before I could call up a lightning bolt, Angie shouted, “Fire!” and pulled the fire alarm on the wall. Water started spraying from the overhead sprinklers, and the alarm bells clanged in the hallway, sending everyone running in a panic. We dodged out in the chaos and didn’t stop running until we were close to the park.

  “Are you guys sure about this?” I asked as we caught our breath. Across the street, carriages lined up, ready to haul tourists around the park. “Aren’t your parents going to freak out if you disappear?”

  Damian shrugged. “My parents are in the middle of a three-month-long research trip studying migration patterns in whales somewhere in the Antarctic. They call once a week. If they have a signal.”

  “And Pops is out of town,” Angie said, scrolling through her phone. “Business trip. I’ll text his secretary I have a school thing and have her call Damian’s housekeeper.” Her fingers flew on the screen. “Ma’s in Florida working on her tan. No one will worry about me for a few days.”

  “Seriously?” I shook my head. “If I don’t text I’m going to be five minutes late, my foster parents think I’ve been kidnapped.”

  We crossed the street and walked along the row of carriages, eyeing the horses.

  “What are we looking for?” I asked.

  Damian shrugged. “A horse that looks like it can fly.”

  A gray mare caught my eye. I wandered over and ran a hand over her velvety nose. She whickered softly, pushing against my palm. Her owner was off having a smoke with some other drivers.

  “She’s a beaut,” Damian said. “And the carriage looks sturdy. I’d say she’s a winner.”

  “So what do I do?”

  He nodded at the horse. “Give it a zap with a lightning bolt. You know, like a super charge.”

  “Seriously? What if I incinerate her like that dog?”

  “Uh, you better do something,” Angie said. “Because we got company.”

  A whistle blew shrilly. Mr. Arnold was at the corner with two police officers, pointing toward us.

  “Okay, here goes nothing.”

  I clenched and unclenched my fingers, feeling the energy flow through me until I held a shiny silver bolt.

  “Sorry about this,” I whispered before touching the tip against the side of the horse. The mare jolted as a glowing shimmer encased it. But she didn’t turn into a pile of ash. Encouraged, I pushed harder until the length of the bolt disappeared inside her, and then I stepped back.

  A ripple ran along her flanks, as if the flesh was shifting and changing under her coat. She neighed sharply, tossing her head back, and then a glorious pair of feathery gray wings emerged, unfurling and spreading outward.

  “No way,” Angie whispered.

  I looked at my hands and back at the winged horse. “Did I really just do that?”

  “Come on, time to go.” Damian pushed us into the carriage.

  I took the reins and flicked them hard. The horse pitched forward, running along the street.

  “Stop now, Miss Katz, or you will regret this,” Arnold puffed, jogging up alongside.

  He reached one meaty fist out and grabbed the side of the carriage. I flicked the reins again, shouting at the horse to hurry.

  The carriage jerked upward, lifting a few feet off the ground until Arnold dangled, blustering away at us.

  Angie pried his fingers off, waving as he tumbled back onto the lawn with a thud.

  “Hold on!” I cried.

  The wind whipped our faces as we climbed higher and higher until blinding light ripped the sky open in front of us. Then everything went quiet.

  CHAPTER 11

  Whatever wormhole had sucked us in knocked us out cold. When I finally pried
my eyes open, bright sunlight made me wince. My bones ached as if I’d been dropped from a three-story building. Had we really traveled to Ancient Greece? Or more likely, crashed into the ground and destroyed an expensive carriage? Principal Arnold was probably sending the NYPD to arrest us. I cautiously sat up, ready to make a run for it, and gasped.

  The New York City skyline was gone, replaced by stands of fig trees bursting with purple fruit. A faint breeze brought the smell of salt from the sea. Red poppies carpeted rolling hills under a vivid blue sky. A rutted road stretched out in both directions, one end pointing toward a distant mountain rimmed with clouds.

  “Where are we?” Angie asked woozily, sitting up next to me.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Isn’t it obvious? We did it! We’re in Ancient Greece.” Damian pointed excitedly overhead. “Look, that’s a griffin. They pull Zeus’s chariot.”

  The lumbering creature looked like an eagle that had been mashed onto a lion’s body. It turned its head, gazing serenely at us, before winging on.

  “That can’t be real.” I was beginning to wonder if I had been run over by a taxi and was dreaming all this. “Angie, punch me in the arm.”

  Angie knuckled me hard enough to make me yelp. “This ain’t a dream,” she said. “That griffin thing was real.”

  “Of course it’s real. Which means—” Damian turned and pointed at the distant mountain—“over there is Mount Olympus. Home to the city of the gods.”

  A shiver ran through me. My dad lived there, according to Athena.

  We climbed down from the carriage. I patted the mare’s nose, reading the name etched into her bridle. “Hey, Pepper, nice work back there.”

  Pepper whinnied, turning her head to study her new wings with wide eyes.

  “So now what?” Angie asked.

  “Ares said Phoebe had to see the oracle,” Damian said. “Maybe she can tell us how to stop him.”

  “You don’t really believe that gasbag, do you?” I asked, kicking at the dirt. “That I’m going to help him?”

  “Phoebe, he could have killed you back there,” Damian said. “Why take Carl? Why drag you back here unless he believes it’s true?”

  “Damian’s got a point,” Angie said. “This oracle’s bound to know something. It’s their job, right? All we gotta do is find her.”