by A P Mobley
He groaned, wanting to scream out a volley of curses from the pain, but held them back and gritted his teeth. “I’ll be okay.”
“I’ll heal you after these two,” Diana said, sweat already running down her face. She let her light fade, and Kali opened her eyes.
Kali glanced around, her expression morphing from confusion to shock as she spotted Luna beside her. “Oh no.” She rested a hand on the pegasus’s stomach. “Diana? Can you—”
“Uh, guys?” Zoey interrupted. “I think we need to go.”
Andy looked over his shoulder, and his breath caught in his throat. The Chimera’s attacks had started several trees on fire during their fight. Now the crackling flames slithered along the grass and onto other trees, spreading like a viral infection through the forest around them.
Ajax and Aladdin galloped toward Diana and Kali, whinnying frantically as though saying, If we don’t get going, we’ll be barbecued!
“Zoey, Darko, and Kali, grab the Helm and as much of our supplies as you can,” Diana said, rushing toward the unconscious pegasus. She lit her hands. “I have to heal these guys, and then we need to get out of here.”
“What about Medusa’s head?” Darko asked. “Should I look for it?”
“It’s too late to worry about that now,” Diana said, placing her hands on Luna’s stomach. The glowing golden light expanded through Diana’s and Luna’s bodies. “Just grab what you can, and hurry.”
Zoey gathered the Helm and tucked it under her arm. Darko ripped arrows out of the monster’s body and threw them into the quiver slung over his shoulder, while Kali retrieved their fallen spears and stuffed them into the nearest bag.
Diana pulled away from Luna, and with the demigod’s help, the pegasus wearily climbed to her hooves. The wing that had been crushed under her body remained mangled, hanging limp at her side.
“What’s wrong with her wing?” Kali asked.
“Because all her weight was on it while I was healing her, it must not have healed properly,” Diana said, gasping for breath. “I’ll have to try again.”
Andy looked over his shoulder. The flames crept closer to them. Blistering heat cooked his skin, smoke choking his lungs. “I don’t think we have enough time.”
Zoey and Darko joined the rest of the group, and Zoey put the Helm in Kali’s pack. “Luna can’t fly like this,” Kali said.
“And I can’t direct Ajax with burnt hands,” Andy added, coughing.
A tree behind them split with a loud crack. It groaned and crashed to the forest floor, sending the group stumbling back. Sparks and ash rained over their heads. Ajax and Aladdin flapped their wings, bolting into the sky.
“Run!” Diana cried.
The group splashed into the stream, Luna behind them. Cold, fast-moving water tugged on their feet, but they pressed on.
They reached the bank, but still had not escaped the fire. More burning trees collapsed, two toward the stream. As they fell, the flames engulfing them spread to the vegetation on the other side of the water.
The group dashed through the forest, zigzagging around roots and logs, fire on their heels. Andy’s throat grew drier every second. His heart felt as if it might burst.
As the group ran farther, the trees grew sparser, and soon they approached what looked like a clearing stretching for miles. For a moment, relief flooded Andy. Surely once they reached it, they could get a head start on the fire and maybe get some fresh air.
Crippling dread replaced relief as the group entered the clearing and halted at the edge of a jagged cliff. Nearly a hundred feet below, a wide dark lake beckoned them.
Andy clenched his jaw and cursed. He looked over his shoulder. The forest fire roared, closing in on them. “We have to jump.” He seized Zoey’s arm with one stinging hand, Darko’s with the other, then threw himself off the edge of the cliff.
As they fell at lightning speed, questions raced through Andy’s mind. What if there were rocks close enough to the top of the lake that they’d be injured or killed after breaking the surface? What if the impact alone was enough to render them unconscious, and they drowned? Or what if, even if they survived the fall, new monsters awaited them in the water’s black depths?
We had to get away from the fire, he thought. This was our only chance.
They crashed into the lake feet-first, and Andy felt as if hundreds of icy rubber bands were snapping his skin. Murky water swallowed him, liquid swirling in his ears. His hands stung even worse than before, but he held tight to Zoey and Darko and kicked his feet, tugging them up with him.
He broke the surface and gasped for breath. Next to him, Zoey did the same, then Darko.
Zoey swung her head from side to side, her expression drawn in concern. “Where’re Diana and Kali?”
As if to answer the question, Diana burst from the water ten feet to the right, Kali close behind. Kali’s eyes were wide with panic. “L-Luna,” she sputtered. “We can’t pull her up.”
Diana lit her hands with golden light as though she were about to heal someone. “C’mon, all of us together can save her.” She sucked in a breath and dove back under. The rest of them followed suit.
As the group swam down, fish scattered. Far below, the blurry outlines of sharp rocks and floating algae awaited them.
Diana led them farther down, and finally they spotted Luna. She floated through the water, her legs twisted at odd angles. Her eyes were closed, bubbles floating from her parted lips. Andy stroked and kicked, using all his might to reach the pegasus’s side as fast as he could despite the pain in his hands.
Finally, they reached her. Andy, Zoey, and Darko each grabbed her by a leg, while Kali and Diana swam underneath her and pressed their hands against her belly. Together, the group pushed.
Every muscle in Andy’s body burned. Within moments he felt as if his lungs were about to shrivel up. I need to breathe, he thought, and fought back the urge to gasp. Diana’s light seemed to grow dimmer and dimmer. I need to breathe.
Andy opened his mouth and sucked in a breath of the lake. His lungs filled with water. He kicked harder, trying to keep hold of Luna, but she slipped from his grasp. He tried to snatch her again, but something wrapped itself around him—something slippery, and even colder than the lake—and pulled him backward.
He shoved against whatever it was, jamming his elbow into it, but it only held onto him tighter. Shit, he thought. It’s a lake monster. It’s a lake monster, and we’re all dead. He imagined the creature that must have captured him: it was probably large enough to stomach a house and had rows of sharp teeth, with fifty-foot-long tentacles snaking around it . . .
Andy gasped, sucking in another breath of water, and Diana’s light went out completely.
*~*~*~
Silence. It surrounded Karter, suffocating him with sinister claws. He had no one. Not a soul. No reason to fight. No reason to live.
His muscles ached, chills bolting through his veins, but he ran anyway. Ran through pitch-black caverns, unable to see even his hands when he held them up to his face.
“Karter,” called the familiar voice of a young man. “Karter, where are you?”
Karter’s eyes filled with tears. It sounded like . . . “Spencer?” His knees trembled, his legs burning from the effort of it all. He was in so much pain, but if Spencer was still alive, if Spencer was looking for him, it didn’t matter. He would press on.
The walls turned and twisted, his head spinning.
“Karter?”
He kept running, sandals pounding against the rocky floors.
“Where are you?”
White light began flickering far ahead, illuminating the cavern. A short walk forward, a tall young man with deep-brown skin and a beautiful young woman with hazel eyes held their arms wide open, out to him.
Karter’s body filled with soothing warmth. It was Spencer and Syrena, his t
wo best friends, both back from the dead.
He had a reason to fight again. Had a reason to live.
He leapt toward them and fell into their arms.
“Spencer—Syrena—you’re alive.”
“Spencer?” a young man who was not Spencer said.
“Syrena?” a young woman who couldn’t be Syrena said.
Karter’s heart sank. He looked up to find himself in the arms of two people who were familiar to him, but who certainly weren’t his best friends.
The first was a scrawny boy with youthful features and short brown hair. The second, a pretty girl with eyes the color of a clear summer sky and a mess of long curls hanging from her head.
It was Andy and Zoey. The two mortals Karter had helped in the Underworld in a desperate attempt to save Spencer’s life after Persephone had stabbed Spencer in the gut.
Karter pulled away from them. “What’s going on?”
Andy’s and Zoey’s expressions fell.
“How could you?” Zoey asked Karter, her tone accusatory.
“How could I what?”
The white light faded, sucking the heat from Karter’s body as it disappeared. He hugged his sides and shot them a glare, his teeth chattering. “What’s going on?”
The cavern shook. The ground beneath Karter’s feet split in two and opened into a black abyss. He scrambled to the side, tried to fly into the air, but it seemed as though he’d been stripped of his powers. He couldn’t escape.
He fell into the abyss.
As the darkness swallowed him whole, he screamed. All around him, the familiar voice of a woman, the familiar voice of Asteria, the Titan goddess who’d told him Spencer needed his help in Hades, said, “You must be strong. Your destined greatness awaits.”
Karter gasped, his eyes fluttering open.
There was thick forest overhead, the sun rising slowly. The smell of pine filled his nostrils, and sticky sweat soaked his skin. His head pounded, his throat parched, his stomach churning. The knife wounds on his side and thigh throbbed with hot pain.
He went to stretch, to climb to his feet and find some water, but thick rope bound his body tight. He cursed under his breath, remembering that Violet, Layla, and Xander had captured him for the crime of helping Andy and Zoey steal the Helm of Darkness and were taking him back to Olympus, where he’d face the punishment for his unforgivable sins.
He tried to move again, tried to conjure his inherited child-of-Zeus strength and break apart the rope, but a burning sensation shot through his chest. He cried out. His wounds were weakening him. How long would it take for them to kill him?
A low chuckle sounded beside him, and he jerked his head toward it, catching a glimpse of slick black hair and a crooked smile.
“Xander,” Karter said, his voice hoarse.
The Son of Hermes kneeled beside Karter. “Good morning, traitor.”
“Where are we?”
“Just a week or so away from Olympus. Don’t worry, you’ll see your father soon enough”—Xander sneered, then kicked Karter hard in the gut—“and finally get what you deserve. May I say, I cannot wait to watch?”
Karter caught his breath and prepared to snap back, but before he could say a word, the searing pain ripped through him again. I’m dead, he thought. Whether I make it home or escape them, this is it for me.
Violet, Daughter of Aphrodite, and Layla, Daughter of Ares, stepped into sight. Violet fluffed her blonde hair, batting her eyelashes. “Now, now, Xander,” she said. “We still don’t know what it is Zeus wants to do with poor, ugly Karter. No need to fill his head with horrors that will make him want to escape us.”
Xander stood. “Zeus executed Syrena just for trying to bring the prophecy to fruition. Karter helped the mortals from the Before Time navigate the Underworld, steal the Helm of Darkness, and put Hades and Persephone in Tartarus. Don’t think for a second Zeus would hesitate to kill even his own son for betraying the gods.”
Violet placed a slender hand on her hip. “You’re not wrong.” She leaned over Karter, her opalescent eyes flashing. Karter avoided her gaze. If one stared too long into Violet’s eyes, and they didn’t have strong feelings for anyone else, they’d fall madly in love with her, which was the last thing he needed to happen right now. “However, Zeus has let him live this long, and it takes a special kind of power to do everything he’s done. Perhaps the gods have something interesting planned.”
Karter groaned. What was Violet thinking? Xander was right; Zeus wouldn’t hesitate to kill Karter after everything he’d done.
The demigod trio gathered their things and threw Karter onto the back of a pegasus, then mounted their own and flew in the direction of Olympus.
*~*~*~
When Andy opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Diana kneeling over him as though she’d just finished healing his injuries. However, she didn’t look near as sharp as usual; she looked fuzzy, like a low-quality photo. He reached up to his face and found his glasses were gone.
“Don’t worry,” Diana said. “Here you go.” She pulled them out from behind herself and handed them to Andy.
He took them and shoved them back on, several scratches and a crack riddling them now. It didn’t matter, though, because he was lucky they hadn’t yet been lost. He had no idea how they’d survived the group’s adventures thus far. “Thanks.”
He held his hands up, flexing them and wiggling his fingers. They no longer stung, nor were they sore, and although the last thing he remembered was drowning while also being attacked by a lake monster, he was perfectly dry. What had happened? How much time had passed? And where were they?
He sat up and took in his surroundings. He was inside a two-story cabin he thought looked like the kind of place a fairy would make its home. Vines and orange lilies poked out and wrapped around the logs making up the walls and ceiling, sunlight pouring through the cabin’s multiple windows. Instead of wood, tile, or carpet, the floor consisted of lush grass that tickled his skin, and the furniture looked to be made of oversized speckled mushrooms.
On either side of him, Kali and Darko sat. Luna stood next to Darko, her wing and legs looking good as new. Kali grinned. “Good morning.”
Andy jumped to his feet. They were missing an important member of their group. “Where’s Zoey? Is she okay?”
Someone tapped his shoulder, and he swung around to find Zoey. She looked beautiful as ever despite all she’d endured, her eyes bright. “I’m fine, but thanks for the concern.”
“What’s going on?” Andy asked. “We were trying to save Luna, and then . . .” Before he could finish his sentence, he caught sight of three girls standing behind Zoey. They were all short, about the height of Diana, and had to be around Andy’s age. They wore flowing forest-green dresses. Wildflowers adorned their necks, wrists, and ankles.
The girl in the middle smiled and bowed. Her hair, long and auburn, hung in a braid over her shoulder. The soft curves of her body were pronounced, her cheeks plump. “Hello, Andy, one of the Chosen Two of the Prophecy,” she said, her voice sweeter than vanilla ice-cream with chocolate syrup drizzled on top. “My name is Eugenia, and I am head of the Dryads in this division of the forest.”
Andy raised an eyebrow. “Dryads? What’s going on?”
The second girl hopped forward. Her skin and coiled locks were both deep shades of brown, and she wore a smile so cheerful it reminded Andy of daisies blooming on a spring day. “Dryads are nymphs of the trees and forests,” she chirped. “My name’s Harmony, by the way. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Nymphs?” Andy said. “Those are kind of like gods, right?”
The third girl nodded, brushing back the wispy pieces of black hair that framed her sharp, pale face. “We are divine spirits who care for the plants and animals of our domain,” she said. “I am Narcissa. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to meet you guys,” Andy began. “But if you’re like gods, why haven’t you killed us already? You mentioned the prophecy, so you know who we are. And what we’re planning to do, I’m assuming. So what in the hell is going on? Why haven’t you killed us or something?”
Eugenia clicked her tongue. “How wonderful it is that our Chosen Two are both so clever. Both so full of questions. Allow us to explain ourselves, and surely that will clear the air.”
The Dryads walked past the group toward the door on the other side of the cabin. “Please, follow us,” Narcissa said, then opened the door. The Dryads stepped outside.
Andy shot the rest of the group a quizzical look, but they only shrugged in response. Luna sighed, blowing puffs of air out her nostrils. “We’re as much in the dark as you are,” Diana said. “They didn’t want to say exactly what was going on until everyone woke up and was fully healed. They only told me they had ‘pure intentions’ and that we ‘would be smart to trust them.’”
“Oh, and that they rounded up Ajax and Aladdin for us,” Darko added.
Andy shrugged. “All right, sounds legit.”
The group followed the Dryads out the door onto the cabin’s deck, and when Andy stepped outside, his jaw dropped.
The cabin was one of many—Andy guessed there were at least thirty—clustered in the forest. Bushes and gardens full of flowers, fruits, and vegetables consumed the space between the homes. Unlike Deltama Village, this place had no gates or walls to protect it, and Andy guessed that because the inhabitants were Dryads and probably had special abilities like the gods, they didn’t need protection from monsters; or maybe they had cast some sort of cloaking spell to keep themselves hidden.
Dozens more young girls dressed almost identically to Eugenia, Harmony, and Narcissa, whom Andy assumed were also Dryads, began gathering toward the group. Some slipped out from behind trees, some pulled themselves out of large bushes, and some seemed to appear from thin air.
