by Mary Ting
Zeus and Poseidon nodded in agreement.
“Don’t you even think about going alone, Skylar,” Nick scolded. “Mason is our family and so are you. We stick together come what may.”
“You should take Everett home. He’s shivering, and he isn’t well.” I pointed out.
“I’m fine.” Everett’s teeth chattered, his arms wrapped around himself. “I’m just freezing from the wet clothes.”
“I can fix that.” Hades placed his hands on Everett’s shoulders. Dim light intensified from Everett’s chest and traveled down to his leg.
Everett sighed as the warmth spread, dropping his hands to relax. He gazed down his body and touched his shirt and pants. “Now I’m ready. Hermes, lead the way.”
Zeus scowled. “Everett, only I get to tell Hermes what to do.”
“My bad, sorry.” Everett shrugged, arching his eyebrows.
“Hermes, lead the way,” Zeus said.
“Zeus has one hell of an ego,” Hades whispered so only I could hear.
I nodded, thinking they all did. Letting out a soft giggle, I humored him. “Right, and you don’t.”
Hades tilted his head and rolled back his shoulders. “Of course I do. With a handsome face and body like mine, it’s only natural.”
I would never admit it to him, but he was so right—the handsome face and a body only gods could possibly have.
Hermes looked up. I didn’t know why that made me nervous. “Ready?” he asked. “Hold tight.”
“Hold tight to wh—?” I never got to finish.
A tunnel of clouds swarmed around us, spinning like a tornado, faster and faster. We spun with the wind, until everyone blended into one, making me dizzy. Hermes was right. His words rang in my mind. You’re not going to like it. I wished portal traveling happened with a snap of a finger and something less dramatic.
“Zeus, do your thing,” Hermes hollered over the loud noise of the wind.
Lightning struck, followed by thunder, and then we disappeared.
“Oh, thank God.” Amada sounded relieved. “We weren’t dropped this time. We’re actually standing.” She slapped Hermes’s back. “Thank you. You’re awesome.”
“It’s, ‘Oh, thank Zeus,’” Zeus corrected. “And you’re welcome. Since I had control, I brought us here. Landing on your hands and knees like an animal is not my style.”
I bit my tongue to hold my laugh, and it looked like everyone else was, too. Every time Amanda would mention God, Zeus corrected her. I hoped he didn’t correct the humans whenever he heard that phrase.
“So, looks like you’re back in one piece.”
That awful squeaky tone shot to my ears. As I wondered how we would get Eris’s attention, she appeared. But of course she would know we were there. It was her world.
“Unfortunately, we are,” Hades concurred.
Eris glared. “Where is it?” Her tone was filled with demand and greed.
I slapped once on her invisible shield. We were back on the same long endless road, where we had landed when we touched the asinine invitation. “Where’s Mason? I want to see him. A deal is a deal.”
She sighed as if bored. “Very well. You humans are so…stick by the rule.” She turned her back on us. “Come on. Hurry up before I change my mind.”
We crossed through the invisible barrier into the garden with beautiful flowers and apple trees surrounding us. I had expected to see Mason standing by the fountain, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Mason?” Nick barked.
Eris’s beautiful, pink dress adorned with pearls swayed gracefully with the breeze. This time, a silver tiara with diamonds sparkled on her head. She was as gorgeous as any other goddess, but she looked hideous to me. Her personality made her ugly. Beauty came from inside out, not the other way around.
She extended her hand to me. “First, I need to see if you brought me the real thing. How do I know it isn’t fake? Then I would be left with nothing.”
I took it out of my pocket. “I’ll do it.”
She scoffed. “Why? I want to. It’s mine.”
I clicked my tongue. “No way. I may be younger than you, but I’m no fool. My way or forget it.” I sounded bold, but my insides shook. I prayed she would do as I asked.
“Fine.”
Eris and I locked eyes. Neither one of us moved for some time.
“You need to release this shield,” I reminded her.
She blinked. “Why can’t you turn something gold from there?”
“You’re going to eventually release it when I hand it over to you anyway.”
She waved her hand, muttered a few words, and backed away. “Don’t try anything and keep your distance.”
When I glanced at Hermes, he seemed to know what I was asking him to do without me saying a word. He picked me up and flew us to the apple on the nearby tree. I sprinkled the water, but it looked more like gold glitter. I watched as the red apple turned gold and Hermes put me down.
Eris clapped and giggled like a giddy child. “That’s wonderful.”
Zeus cleared his throat to get her attention. “Now, let’s do the exchange so we can leave.”
Eris zoned her eyes on the bottle. “But...it’s so small. It’s not enough for all my apples.”
“Don’t worry,” I assured. “The Oracle told me it’s pretty much endless.”
Her eyes lit up and clasped her hands together. “Brilliant.”
“Mason?” I began to have this ugly feeling in the pit of my stomach. This seemed too easy.
She turned, her dress dragging behind her as she inched her way to the nearby tree. “About Mason. We have a problem.”
“What!” everyone shouted.
I gripped my hair in frustration, holding all my will back to keep from shooting bolts to her. Pacing back and forth, I listened to her excuse.
“He…escaped. Isn’t that good news?” For the first time her bold voice sounded nervous.
“Explain.” Zeus’s voice boomed like thunder. “You had a hold on him. You’re lying. Skylar, put that away. We’re leaving.”
“No,” I breathed. Shocked from her words, I couldn’t move. I wasn’t going to leave without Mason. I’d waited so long. We were so close.
Hades’s long fingers wrapped around Eris’s throat and slammed her hard against the tree. “You better start talking.”
I winced from her impact, but why did I care about her pain?
“Hades, put her down so she can explain,” Poseidon demanded. He was the softy among the three.
Hades did as directed and walked away to tame his anger.
Eris rubbed her neck and fixed her tiara. “He zapped me,” she pouted. She dipped her head shamefully. Her nose twitched, and her eyes filled with anger. “So ungrateful, that one. I fed him applesauce, but of course it had been drugged. Either way, it was quite tasty. At least I fed him and gave him water.” She looked up at the clouds and then back to us. “I did shrink him and placed him in a big black box. Maybe he was mad at me for that?” She reached down by the tree and showed us a black box, little more than one foot cubed. “See. I locked him up in here and then made him bigger when you came the last time. I wanted to pet him so I let him lay on my bed. We fell asleep together. I should have put him back in the box. That was my big mistake.”
I couldn’t hear anymore. She had shrunk him and lost him. I had no idea what state he was in. Everyone dropped their jaw in shock. No words breathed out of anyone. Everything she’d said seemed unfathomable, but with gods, anything was possible.
I twitched at Zeus’s booming voice. “You’re lying, Eris! Where is he? There’s something you’re not telling us.”
Eris sauntered to Zeus and caressed his face. “I’m telling you almost the truth, my Zeus.”
Zeus seized her wrist, and with his other hand, he pointed the staff at her. “Almost?” he growled. “I will end you. Don’t tempt me.”
Eris burst into a giggle, and then it turned into a full on boisterous l
augh as she snatched her hand back and backed away. “I’m not scared of you, Zeus. You will no longer be our god when Cronus regains his strength. Olympus will be mine soon.”
“You want Olympus. I’ll give you Olympus. I’ll gladly give it up if you put Cronus back where he belongs. You know he’ll get rid of you. He’ll never give you Olympus.”
She laced her fingers through her hair. “I’ll think about it. I’ll see who can offer me more.”
Lightning flashed and Zeus’s staff lit up. I placed my hand on his shoulder to stop him. He could do whatever he wanted with Eris after we found out what she had done with Mason.
“Where’s Mason?” I roared.
The wind picked up, but Zeus had no hand in it. I knew this when he looked up at the sky and frowned.
“The bottle, Skylar,” Eris demanded.
The wind was in Eris’s favor. When I tried to lunge for her, the breeze held me in place. She was too powerful in her own domain.
“Tell me where Mason is?” I hollered as the wind picked up speed, pushing me back.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one being shoved backward. We were being pushed back to cross the invisible barrier. The wind had no effect on Eris. She stood comfortably and in command. Nick, Everett, Noah, and Amanda crossed over first, leaving the gods and me still fighting the wind.
Knowing it was my last chance, I took out the bottle and showed it to her. “This for Mason’s location.”
“Toss it to me. I’ll keep my word this time.”
“Don’t trust her,” Hades warned, still hanging on. Zeus and Poseidon had crossed. When Hades held on to a tree, Eris lifted her hand. The leaves shook in madness, and the apples pounded on Hades until he let go. With nothing to hold onto, he passed through.
I threw the bottle close to her on the ground. It killed me, but I gambled on the chance that she would tell me Mason’s whereabouts. “Tell me.”
She picked it up, greedily staring at it as if it were the most precious thing. “Do you know the story of The Minotaur and the Labyrinth of Crete? If you don’t know, you better find out soon if you want to save Mason. When Cronus offered me Olympus for Mason, I didn’t hesitate. But I love to play games. Let’s see…will you find Mason first or will Cronus? That is the question. The hunt starts in two days when you get a message from me. Tick tock. Time is running out. And it looks like you are too. Bye-bye, little girl. Too bad—”
That was the last I heard before the strong wind pushed me to the other side.
Chapter 14
Mason
I pretended to be asleep as Eris continued to stroke my hair. Actually, I didn’t have to pretend. My days and nights seemed to blur, leaving me unable to remember. She had forgotten to feed me that awful tasting applesauce. Eris seemed to be enjoying my company though I couldn’t say a word or move. I cringed when she started to sing a song I’d never heard before. I figured it was an old folk song, as old as her.
When her voice slowed and her strokes stopped, I figured she was either pondering something, maybe her latest scheme, or falling asleep. Could it be my lucky day? If I escaped, where would I run? I had no idea where I was. Hope rose in me as heat seared through my arm when I tried to light up my fingertips. If she could just fall asleep and give me time to wean off the drug, I’d find my way out.
Sky. I sighed. Her smile stayed with me. Picturing her face kept me going. We had so much to do, so much life to live. It couldn’t be the end. I tried to stay optimistic, but it was short lived when the ground shook.
My head on Eris’s lap jerked. She got up in a hurry and pushed me to my side. My body trembled, and my head pounded. I shivered as the warmth I felt a second before was replaced by icy cold. Unpleasant tingling sensations pricked through every fiber of my being as my bone and muscles ached like someone was crushing me. Everything around me grew in size, or—she shrunk me again?
That bitch shrunk me. Her giant hand grabbed me like a toy and shoved me in a box? Then she closed the lid. I had the answer to the question of where I had been held captive. Clever, crazy woman.
Darkness engulfed me like always. But for the first time I experienced the full torment. The other times I had been drugged. That explained so many things. I fell and jerked. She must’ve picked up the box and shoved it somewhere. Using my powers, I listened carefully.
“I will bring you Mason. Swear on your life Olympus will be mine,” Eris demanded.
Who was she talking to? As I listened, she answered some of my questions. Take me where? Olympus? Eris was trading me for the gold water from Sky. What the hell did she need the gold water for? The golden apple came to mind. The one she tossed just as the wall in Bella Amore closed.
“You can’t take Mason right now. I need time with him. Besides, he’s resting and I need to wean him off the drug. I’ll bring him tomorrow. I’ll let you know where. He’ll be ready for you, Cronus, I swear it on Zeus.” She paused. “Okay, okay. I swear it on you, Cronus. Zeus is still in charge of Olympus. You’ll have to overthrow him or eat him or whatever you need to do.” She giggled.
I hated that laugh.
Their conversation must have been over. Her voice was louder than before. “Mason, I’m back. Time to make you bigger. I’ll have my servants bathe you and make you smell nice.”
My arms and legs were stiff and slow, but I regained muscle coordination with time. Her helpers bathed me and dressed me in jeans and a sweater, the clothes I wore when I was taken, freshly laundered. Then they placed a long black cape around me. Though I could stand on my own, my speech and movement were sluggish.
“He’s perfect.” Eris walked in and circled around me. I felt like a display being examined to be bought or sold. She moved strands of my hair this way and that and then backed away. “Even better. It’s too bad I have to give you up. I would’ve loved to keep you forever.”
“Forever is way too long with you.” My words came out slow and wearily. “I’m not your toy.”
She glared at me. “I think I like you much better when you’re not talking.”
“I like it much better when you’re not here.” I wanted to stress the words to her, but it came out so soft.
“Mason. You don’t mean that. After all I’ve done for you.” She caressed my face and ran her hand down my chest. “So hard and so delicious.” Her eyes grew lustful.
I tried to push her away, but my arms swung in slow motion. She laughed and placed my hand on her chest, right in her cleavage.
“You make my heart race faster, and your body gives me naughty thoughts. I could have you, you know, but I want it of your own free will. I’m not crazy.”
I wanted to wring her neck and choke the life out of her. What the hell was she talking about, she wasn’t crazy? After all she had done for me? Seriously? I would be with my family if it wasn’t for her. I did what I’d been wanting to do to her since the second I got there. Take this, bitch!
Eris flew across space and collided with a chair next to the wall. If I could laugh out loud, I would’ve. I’d summoned all the energy within me and zapped her. She flattened on the floor. As she lay there, I backed away, which wasn’t far. Only if my super speed would return quickly.
Moaning, she pushed herself up and gave me the evilest stare. “For that, Skylar will be punished and so will you. And I have just the plan. It’s going to be so much fun.”
The thought of Sky gave me more strength, enough to move my feet faster. My arms and legs tingled, and my muscles twitched. The drug had just about worn off. My hope of escaping came back. I just needed a few more minutes. I needed to buy time.
“I’m sorry, Eris.” I cringed at my own words, but I had to make her believe me. “I have no control. When I get excited, I shock people.” My words came to me faster, but I purposely slowed the pace.
As she swayed her hips toward me, I had to hold in my laugh. Her dress clung from the static electricity, and parts of her dress continued to steam from the aftershock. Her hair frizzed out like she had
been struck by lightning. And she had…by me.
“Maybe we can have some fun before it’s time for me to do what I need to do?” She bit her lip, and her eyes twinkled with longing. “Whatever you did, Mason, oh my…” She ran her hand down the middle of her chest while her tongue glided across her bottom lip. “I felt it. I felt your excitement.” Her tone came out way too seductive and playful, which did nothing for me. It only sickened me, but again, I had to play along.
“I can do it again if you’d like. You have no idea how much pleasure I can give you. It will make you beg for more.”
She moaned while her hands roamed over her body, caressing herself over her dress as if her hands were mine.
My hands behind my back crackled, ready to throw out more energy at her. “I will do whatever you say if you tell me what you plan to do with me.”
Eris’s hands massaged my shoulders and her lips grazed my chin. “It’s a big…”
I jerked when her tongue touched my neck.
She narrowed her eyes angrily and finished her sentence. “Secret.” Eris breathed out an agitated breath. “I thought you were going to please me? Why aren’t you touching me?”
“Tell me first.”
Her brows angled, and her lips gathered at the center. “Skylar will never find you.”
That did it. Though I didn’t have my full strength power back, it would be enough. I gripped her neck and gave her all I had. She was lucky I only gave her half of what I could produce because I was ready to kill her.
Eris’s body shook and lightning covered her body. She lit up like the inside of the light bulb. When my energy consumed me to the point my own body trembled, I let go and ran.
The wind whipped my face, and I breathed in the fresh freedom air. I froze when I had no sense of direction. I had no idea which way to go. The vibrant colors of the flowers and countless apple trees surrounding me caught my eyes first and then the large fountain. No road or any clear exit existed. So I ran toward the path of trees lined up on either side, hoping it would lead me out or at least to a portal. Something, anything. As I ran, I couldn’t help but notice the beauty of the road, so peaceful with no one around.