by A P Mobley
Ajax and Aladdin trotted out of the trees and past the Dryads, whinnying with glee as they made their way to Kali and Luna. Kali smiled and hugged their necks, and Luna nuzzled their noses.
“Soooo,” Andy began, turning toward Eugenia, Harmony, and Narcissa. “How did you guys save us from the lake monster?”
Harmony giggled. “Oh, humans are silly. There are no lake monsters around here, and we didn’t save you from drowning. That was the Naiads.”
Andy raised his eyebrows. “Naiads?”
“That would be us,” a girl from the crowd said. Andy glanced over to see several young women waving at him. Although the young women appeared to be the same age as the Dryads, that was where their similarities stopped. These girls looked as if they’d just stepped out of a swimming pool, water dripping off them and creating puddles at their feet. They wore dresses woven from seaweed, their skin tinged with iridescent blue-and-green hues.
“Naiads are freshwater nymphs,” Harmony said. “The lake you jumped in is full of them.”
“Yes,” Eugenia said. “Last night, when I saw our forest was ablaze, I rushed to the lake and asked the Naiads to put it out as quickly as possible. They can direct water with their hands, you see—and they sprayed water over the fire to stop it from destroying any more of our forest than it already had. Once they had finished their task, they discovered the five of you struggling to save your pegasus. We’d all heard rumors of the Chosen Two of the Prophecy storming into the Underworld and stealing Hades’s Helm of Darkness, and when the Naiads found the Helm in your pack, they knew who you were at once, and that the rumors were true. They carried you to the bank and made sure to direct the water out from your lungs, and after gathering her strength, the Daughter of Apollo healed your ailments. A few hours later, your other two pegasi came back, and we told them we would keep them safe if they would allow it.”
“Thank you for putting out the fire and for saving us,” Zoey said, giving the Naiads a quick nod of gratitude. She turned back to Eugenia. “From everything you’ve told us, I’m assuming you aren’t too fond of the gods?”
“None of the nymphs in this division of the forest agree with what the gods have done to humanity,” Eugenia said. “Nor what they have done to anyone else, really. Many of the world’s inhabitants suffer at their hands. In a small act to fight against them, we are part of an underground association where nymphs and astynomia unite for the greater good, founded by a Dryad who, long ago, lost the love of her life to the gods’ cruelty: a satyr astynomia. We help members of the astynomia who crave freedom escape the cities and reach Alikan Village.” She gestured at the cabins. “Hence the houses. The forest is our true home, as fresh water is home to the Naiads. But we constructed these houses for any satyrs passing through, so they may have a safe place to rest before continuing their journey.”
At the mention of astynomia and Alikan Village, Andy’s heart sank, and he glanced at Darko, who stared down at his hooves. The satyr sniffled and rubbed his eyes. “That’s right,” he said. “My brother and I— Well, a couple weeks after we escaped Hermes City to get to Alikan Village, we stayed in a place like this. And the association you’re a part of—someone else you work with, I mean—told us about Alikan Village and helped us get out of the city. But you guys don’t look familiar, so I don’t think I’ve met any of you before.”
Harmony flashed Darko a smile. “You’ve never passed through here. I know for a fact. I would’ve remembered a satyr as cute as you.” Darko shot her a wide-eyed glance.
“You said you have a brother, but you are the only satyr here,” Narcissa said. “Where is he?”
Darko nibbled on his thumbnail. “Um—well, Phoenix is dead.”
Harmony put a hand on her heart. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“It’s—it’s okay,” Darko said. “Him and I—we’d nearly made it to Alikan Village, but Medusa turned him to stone. Andy and Zoey slayed her, and we had her head—but I—I lost it when we were fighting the Chimera. I’m pretty sure it got burned up in the fire.”
“It most definitely did,” Diana said, shaking her head. “And now everything will be harder. What with Zoey’s hand, Spencer’s death, the loss of my father’s help . . .”
At the mentions of Spencer’s passing and her hand, Zoey’s face fell, while the more Diana listed the group’s troubles, the more Darko looked as if he were going to be sick.
Andy shot Diana a quick glare, then rested a palm on Darko’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. It was an accident.” Darko continued chewing his nail, saying nothing and going back to staring at his hooves.
Diana cleared her throat. “Uh, anyway, I hate to bring this up, but you mentioned Alikan Village, so I have to. In case you didn’t know, Alikan Village is gone. Zeus sent some demigods—Violet, Layla, and Xander—to kill everyone there.”
Eugenia creased her brow and clasped her hands, and the rest of the nymphs in the crowd hung their heads. “Yes. We are aware of Alikan Village’s tragic annihilation, Daughter of Apollo. We helped many satyrs escape the cities and find their way there, and when we discovered what happened, we were both outraged and full of sorrow. Which is why, when the time comes for you to wage war on the gods, we’d like to pledge our loyalty to you—as members of your army.”
“We believe in your cause,” Narcissa added. “And we intend to help you defeat the gods in any way we can.”
Andy whistled. “Damn, that’s awesome. We’ll definitely need the help, thanks.”
“Yes, we will,” Diana said. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you,” Eugenia replied, bowing. She clapped her hands twice, and in a flash of white light, a small drawstring sack made of green vines and grass appeared in her hands. “Please, use the contents of this bag to get ahold of us when you have decided you need our help. I’d recommend contacting us a few days in advance, depending on how far from here you are, though.”
“What is it?” Zoey asked, taking the bag from her.
“An orange daylily,” Narcissa answered. “The officially appointed plant of our division of the forest.”
Harmony grinned. “It’s also my favorite flower. Except this one’s a lot sturdier than the rest.”
“How do we use a flower to get ahold of you?” Andy asked.
“Why, it’s not just any flower, Chosen One,” Eugenia said. “It’s one of our messenger flowers. To reach us, burn it and ask the flames to allow you to speak with the ones who gave it to you. Now, I believe it’s time for you to be on your way.”
Diana mounted Aladdin, Kali Luna. “You’re right,” Diana said. “The world isn’t going to save itself. Let’s go.”
“I’m not sure how we can ever repay you,” Zoey said, following suit of Diana.
“Give everyone back their free will, and that will be enough,” Eugenia said.
Darko climbed onto Ajax’s back, and Harmony gave him a quick glance. “We’ll see you again. Soon, I hope.”
“Yeah, sure,” the satyr squeaked, then swallowed hard. Andy stifled a chuckle. He knew all too well how hard it was to talk to a pretty girl; he’d had his fair share of awkward moments with Zoey, and he was sure there’d be more to come considering he still didn’t know if she reciprocated how he felt about her.
The group waved goodbye to the nymphs. The nymphs waved back, and the group took to the sky.
They flew northeast for most of the day, and a few hours before the sun began to set, Diana directed them to land in the shelter of the forest.
“All right, guys, we need to talk,” Diana said seriously as they climbed off the pegasi.
“Why?” Andy asked. “What’s wrong?”
Diana crossed her arms. “Our circumstances have changed. Things are more dire than ever before, for a couple of reasons.” Her gaze darted between Zoey and Darko.
“What do you mean by that, Princess?” Kali asked, h
ands on her hips. “I thought things were looking pretty good for us since we talked to the Fates.”
“First of all,” Diana began, “we’re down a ton of magical resources. My father is Zeus’s captive and is going to be put in Tartarus, and Spencer is . . .” She paused, her expression falling. “Well, you know. He’s gone—alongside Syrena. Second off, we lost Medusa’s head. Because of that, we’re going to have to fight every monster we come across rather than just turning them to stone. And third, Zoey’s hand got chopped off in Hades. I think that point is self-explanatory.”
At Diana’s words, Darko seemed to shrink in on himself with shame, while Zoey did so with sadness, and Andy balled his fists. “Is all this stuff such a big deal that we need to bring it up like this?” he said. “I mean, I’m really sorry about Apollo. I think we’re all sorry about him. I know it’s been hard for you that Syrena is dead, and it’s hard for all of us to accept that Spencer is gone.” A lump formed in his throat as he spoke Spencer’s name. He gulped it down. “But—well, I think Zoey and Darko already feel bad enough about their stuff already. Can’t we just drop it?”
Diana sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad. I’m not mad about Zoey’s hand or the head. I’m just trying to emphasize the fact that things are going to be more difficult than before. We need to be aware of that, and we need to at the very least double the amount of time we’re training every day, starting today, so we’re prepared for anything regardless of our drawbacks.”
“Is that it?” Andy asked.
“Well, yeah,” Diana said.
“And did you have to make such a big deal about it?”
Diana opened her mouth as if she was about to argue, and Kali stepped between them. “Okay, quit, you two,” Kali said. “We get it. Andy doesn’t want anyone to have hurt feelings, and Diana thinks we need to train longer so we don’t, you know, die. Is this really cause for a fight, or are you both just being touchy?”
Andy and Diana shared a look. He didn’t want to fight with her; he just didn’t want Zoey and Darko to feel any worse than they already did. Then again, he thought, she isn’t wrong. Things are about to become way more difficult with everything we have up against us . . . Maybe she was right to bring it up.
“I’m sorry,” Andy finally said. “You’re right, Diana. This stuff might be hard to talk about, but we need to. More than anything else, though, we need to keep training for what’s to come.”
“Then let’s begin,” Diana replied.
CHAPTER THREE
PROMETHEUS
Zoey cursed and threw down her spear.
While she was getting her butt kicked by Diana, each fight between them more pathetic than the last, Andy, Darko, and Kali seemed to be having a grand old time a hundred feet away, laughing and joking as they battled each other. Any moment those three went unsupervised during training, they acted as if this were a spitting contest rather than incredibly important time when the group was supposed to prepare to take on the gods.
Zoey didn’t hate them for having fun. In fact, a part of her wished she could join in. But she felt as if she sucked at fighting now. Earlier that evening, Diana had even announced to the entire group how much of a liability Zoey was since she’d lost her hand and how they needed to train twice as long every night because of it.
Sure, Diana had attributed the longer training times to the fact that Darko lost Medusa’s head and the group’s other disadvantages as well. However, Zoey was pretty sure the demigod wouldn’t be making such a big deal about these things if Zoey weren’t so incapable of defending herself now, and Zoey hated it more than anything. Somehow, she had to get her fighting skills back to where they’d been before.
“What’s wrong?” Diana asked.
“When is this gonna be easier?” Zoey asked. “It seems like I’m doing worse than before I had any training at all.”
Diana brushed some dirt off her dress. “It’s not going to get easier for a long time. You lost a whole body part. Now you have to relearn things.”
“I feel like a little kid. I can hardly do anything. If a monster came after me and I was all by myself—”
“Quit being so hard on yourself,” Diana interrupted. “Things will get better with practice, which is why we’re doing more of it.” The demigod glanced over at the rest of the group as they goofed off. Kali knocked Andy over with the handle of her spear, and he face-planted into the forest floor. He sat up, blades of grass plastered to his cheeks, and Darko and Kali laughed and high-fived.
“Speaking of practice,” Diana continued. “I think we have time for some more sparring before dinner. Why don’t I get Andy over here to fight with you and I’ll take on Kali and Darko? Then at least we’ll know they aren’t getting distracted again. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear they weren’t above the age of ten.”
Zoey giggled. “You’re sure they aren’t?”
Diana gave Zoey a mischievous smile and ran toward Andy, Darko, and Kali, chucking two spheres of light at them. At the sight of the attacks hurtling toward them, Darko jumped to attention. He seized a couple of arrows from his quiver and loosed them one after the other at the spheres with incredible accuracy. As the projectiles whizzed through the spheres, their light dispersed into hundreds of golden sparks, then finally disappeared altogether.
“Holy gods of Olympus, Darko,” Diana said, stopping in her tracks. “That was amazing. You’re getting so much better!”
“Thanks,” Darko replied as he gathered up his arrows. “I think watching you with your bow has helped me the most.”
Diana stood up a little straighter at Darko’s words. “Glad to hear it.”
Kali poked the air in Diana’s direction with the tip of her spear and grinned. “You’re really choked up about this, aren’t you, Princess?”
“As a matter of fact, I am,” Diana said, then conjured another sphere of light, keeping her gaze on Kali’s the whole time. “Andy, go spar with Zoey while I teach these guys a thing or two.”
Andy scrambled out of the way as Diana began flinging attacks at Darko and Kali, then stood, wiped the grass off his face, and lowered his weapon.
“Get your spear ready,” Zoey said, picking up her own as Andy walked to her side. “We’re supposed to be sparring each other.”
“I know,” Andy replied. “But I was thinking, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Okay, what’s up?”
“I’ve been thinking that maybe from now on, whenever we’re fighting a monster—or anything, really—you should wear the Helm.”
“Okay. Why?”
“Well . . .” He scratched the back of his head. “Based on the stuff Diana brought up earlier, I think it would be safer for you if you stayed invisible to our opponents.”
Zoey averted her gaze from his, her heart sinking. “I don’t want to always have to rely on the Helm, though. Like, what if something happens, and I can’t get to it? I need to be able to defend myself if things go wrong.”
“I know,” Andy said, stepping forward and resting a hand on her shoulder. “But I really think you should for now. At least until you get used to fighting with one hand.”
Zoey laughed coldly and pulled away from him. “Look, I guess if it makes you feel better, I can use the Helm most of the time, okay? But I’m not going to improve any if we just keep standing around and talking about how much I suck instead of actually fighting, so could you please get your spear ready and fight me?”
“All right,” Andy said with a sigh. He raised his weapon and they began to spar. Tears battled to spring from Zoey’s eyes the entire time, but she held them back with all her might.
Later that night, when the sun had finally set, Diana caught several rabbits and made a fire. The rest of the group set up camp. When it came time to prepare their meal, just as Diana was about to cook the meat over the flame
s, Kali made her way to Diana’s side.
“Hey, mind if I take a crack at that?” Kali asked.
Diana raised a brow. “Take a crack at what?”
“Cooking the rabbit.”
“What’s wrong with the way I cook it?”
“Well . . .” Kali shared a knowing look with Zoey, who stood on the other side of the fire beside Andy and Darko, both of whom were chopping roots while the pegasi grazed nearby. “Nothing, really. I just thought it might be fun to try.”
“Making dinner for everyone is a huge responsibility,” Diana replied, shish-kebabbing the rabbits with a couple of sharp sticks. The rest of the group stifled laughter. “What’s so funny?” Diana asked. “I’m being serious.”
Kali took the sticks from Diana and began turning them over the flames. “I’ll be honest with you, Princess. You burn the meat every time. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but people like a little variety in their meals, and I think all of us are, quite frankly, sick of the taste of charred rabbit flesh. So, I’m taking the ‘huge responsibility’ of making dinner tonight. Because, well, I have skills.”
“You have skills?” Diana said.
“In cooking, yes. Why do you think the feast in my village was so delicious? The folks of Deltama Village know how to eat.”
Diana snorted and smiled mischievously. “I just hope you’re a better cook than you are a fighter. Otherwise, we’re all doomed.”
Kali chuckled and shook her head, turning the rabbits. “I’m no ‘Diana, Daughter of Apollo’ when it comes to battle, but I’ve been known to hold my own, at least in comparison to everyone else in my village.”
“Ha-ha,” Diana said, her tone laced with sarcasm. “Sure.”
When the meal was prepared and Zoey took a bite of what Kali had made the group, she quickly realized Kali wasn’t kidding about possessing great cooking skills. The meat was tender, moist, and flavorful. How Kali pulled it off, Zoey wasn’t sure, but she didn’t really care. She hadn’t eaten something this tasty since the feast in Deltama Village.
