by A P Mobley
A wave of dizziness crashed through her. “You know, I’m not sure.”
“We need to get to Diana, and fast,” Darko said. He’d retrieved his pack and the bags from the alleyway, but he grimaced as he leaned down to grab the group’s weapons. “I’m not feeling so good either.”
“Do you want me to help you walk?” Andy asked Zoey, and she nodded. He kept one arm wrapped around her. “We need to hurry. You and Darko are seriously hurt, and like Prometheus said—we don’t have all night.” He looked to Darko. “Let me help you with our stuff.”
“No, I can do this,” Darko said, although the look on his face said otherwise. There were only a few items left to retrieve, but the satyr’s arms trembled as if they’d been thrust into a snowstorm.
Prometheus stepped forward and grabbed the group’s things off the ground. He snatched the bags from Darko’s back, stuffed the items inside, and slung it all over his shoulder. “I’ve got it. Just take it easy, kid.” The Titan took Darko’s hand, as if to help the satyr walk. “Let’s go.”
Prometheus began leading the group out of Aphrodite City, toward Diana and Kali, his chains dragging behind him along the way.
*~*~*~
Since Ivy had left Karter alone earlier that evening—after cleaning and disinfecting his wounds, rebandaging them, and bringing him dinner—he’d finally been able to examine his reflection through the glass of the grandfather clock in his room in the Hephaestus City Healing Shrine.
The scar which usually twisted up the right side of his face like the branches of a brittle tree had been smoothed out, his once gaunt, pale, and almost-gray face now pink and plump like it had been when he was younger. His shaggy black hair had turned yellow and was cropped short, his golden irises a pale blue, just as his mother’s were when she was still alive.
Now he lay awake, staring at the room’s metallic ceiling, a sliver of moonlight peeking through his window. He wondered how long Asteria’s disguise for him would last. Would he be “Erick” for the rest of his life, or would this new identity fade away in time? A part of him prayed it wouldn’t. Maybe then he could properly grieve for the loss of his two best friends; maybe then he could start his life over and have peace.
“Hello, Karter,” said the familiar voice of Asteria. He looked over, and there she was, standing in his room with her burgundy hair and silver eyes, twinkling constellations dotting her midnight-black dress from top to bottom.
Karter shot up, his injuries groaning in protest at the quick movement. “Asteria—my face—”
“My powers are not limitless, and thus the disguise is only temporary,” Asteria answered, as though reading his mind, and he dropped his head. “You must allow yourself to heal as much as possible before it fades away,” she continued. “You must prepare yourself to fight and run. Once your true looks are restored, the people here will know who you are, and they will turn you in to Violet, Layla, and Xander.”
“Those three are hunting me down, aren’t they?”
“They are trying to, yes. You know as well as I their glory depends on bringing you to Zeus.”
“If the disguise doesn’t last forever, then what am I supposed to do when it wears off? What other choice do I have, other than to face my punishment? I can’t fight and run forever. My father will catch me eventually.”
Asteria took Karter’s hands. “Oh, no, my dear. Your destined greatness awaits you now, in the next part of your journey. You must keep going.”
Karter yanked himself away from the Titan goddess. “What’s the point of greatness if everyone I love is gone? What’s the point of greatness if I’ve betrayed my father, if I’ve betrayed the gods?” He put his face in his hands, trying to hide the hot tears filling his eyes. “Spencer and Syrena are dead. My mother has been dead for years. All of them are gone because of me, and my father is going to kill me for what I’ve done, or maybe something worse. I’ve spoiled my greatness. I’ve spoiled my destiny. I’ve ruined everything. If I had just reached Spencer sooner, if I had just protected Syrena . . .” He gulped down a cry. “If I had just never been born.”
“It pains me to hear you speak this way,” Asteria said, and Karter looked up at her. The goddess brushed a finger against his cheek, wiping away a few of his tears. “Even though there are many possible outcomes to everyone’s destiny, the universe sometimes allows certain things to happen in order for others to take place. And, although I saw many different outcomes to Spencer’s fate, the universe chose the scenario in which he was killed to unfold. But just because fate did not favor you that time, it does not mean hope is lost.”
Karter’s lip quivered. “What do you want to achieve by telling me that? It doesn’t change anything.”
“Your destined greatness awaits, Karter,” Asteria said. “Whether you seize it or not, whether you fall into despair or rise above your sadness— Well, the universe has given you a choice. I suggest you pick wisely.”
She kissed his cheek, then disintegrated into thousands of stars, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
CHAPTER SEVEN
DECEIT
For the whole trip out of Aphrodite City and back to Diana and Kali, Andy’s head throbbed. However, it was nothing compared to the pain that still plagued his back muscles since he’d finished seeing those strange visions in the temple with the statue of Anteros.
A pitch-black sky loomed over them, their only guiding light that of the moon and stars, but thankfully the walk didn’t take near as long as the one earlier that day had. The group only encountered a couple of astynomia along the way, whom Prometheus swiftly strangled with his chains before they could even try to arrest anyone. After death, they transformed into various plants, much like the others had earlier.
When the group finally reached the spot in the forest where Diana, Kali, and the pegasi awaited them, Diana immediately began tending to Zoey’s injuries, as she said they were more severe than Andy’s and Darko’s.
While Diana healed Zoey’s wounds, Andy, Zoey, and Darko took turns telling Diana and Kali what had transpired in the city. Darko started by explaining how he’d gone off by himself and snuck into one of the astynomia quarters in order to steal the group more weapons.
The satyr pulled out a ball of brown thread from one of the bags. “After I snuck out of the quarters, I stumbled across a weaver’s shop and was able to take this while the owner wasn’t looking, too.”
“Darko, we shouldn’t steal anything unless our survival depends on it,” Andy said. “Why would we need a ball of thread?”
“Because we need to know where we’ve been as we’re walking through the Labyrinth,” Darko replied.
“That’s right,” Diana said. “In the old days, Theseus used a ball of thread as a trail behind him so he could find his way to the center, then followed the thread back out to escape after he’d slain the Minotaur.”
“Ohhhhhh,” Andy replied. “I must’ve forgotten that detail, but it makes sense.”
Once Darko finished his version of events, Andy and Zoey talked about going to the bakery with Prometheus and meeting Jasmine, then later encountering the astynomia.
Zoey made no mention of Prometheus abandoning the group, as Andy had suspected the Titan had done since Zoey seemed shocked when the Titan rescued them earlier, and given the fact that the Titan hadn’t been with Zoey and Darko when Andy found them. Andy didn’t mention to Diana and Kali how he’d run off on Zoey to go to the temple, either.
Once Diana finished with Zoey, she gestured for Andy to come next, but before she started healing him, she pointed to his face. “Whoa, where’d your glasses go?”
He sighed, shooting Zoey a dispirited glance when he caught her raising her eyebrows expectantly at him, arms crossed. “I’ll explain later, maybe after we’re all feeling better,” he said. “It’s a really, really weird story.”
This answer seemed to be enough for Diana,
as she began healing him. He hoped that after she did so the pains in his back would go away, but to his dismay, they remained. He didn’t want to say anything just yet, though—Darko was in a lot of pain. Andy wanted Diana to heal the satyr before Andy addressed the pain in his back to her. Plus, he still had to explain to Zoey why he’d run off.
While Diana healed Darko, and Kali asked Prometheus more about Jasmine, Andy took a seat next to Zoey on a fallen log a ways from everyone else. “So, about earlier . . .” he began.
“Uh, yeah, care to explain why you left me alone with Prometheus in the bakery?” Zoey interrupted. “You scared the crap out of me, just so you know.”
Andy nibbled on his thumbnail, guilt creeping through him. “This weird feeling just came over me, okay? There was this buzzing in my chest, and later the feeling spread all through my body. I kept getting visions of a temple, and like, it was so weird—I knew the temple was in Aphrodite City, and I knew I needed to go to it. I didn’t know why. But then I went there, and the buzzing feeling stopped. And there was this statue, and I touched it, and I got these visions of some of the gods . . .” He paused, hardly believing what came out of his mouth, although he knew it to be true. “I know it sounds crazy. But I swear, all of it happened.”
“I believe you. Go on.”
“Well, after the visions ended, I wasn’t brought back to the temple. It was like I was trapped inside of clouds. And then the worst pain I’ve ever felt started up in my back. It seemed to last forever, and when it finally stopped, I was back in the temple. I looked outside. The sun was setting, and I knew I needed to get back to you and Darko fast. But the pain in my back never went away. It’s still here, even after Diana healed me.”
“We’ll have to ask Diana what all of that could mean. Maybe there’s a reason you had the visions. Maybe someone was trying to give you an important message or something like that. Is that when you lost your glasses, too?”
Andy put his head in his hands. “Oh my God, that’s the craziest part about all this. When the visions were over, my eyesight was super blurry, and I thought my glasses fell off. But then I realized they were on my face. I took them off, and I could see everything perfect. I’ve never had perfect eyesight. I’ve always needed glasses.”
Zoey went quiet for a few moments, a puzzled expression on her face. “This is weird. I’m not sure what to think.”
“Maybe I was bitten by a radioactive spider?”
Zoey snorted. “Maybe. Anyway, when Diana is finished healing Darko, we need to bring what happened up to her. She usually has the all answers about this kind of stuff.”
The sound of crunching grass and pine needles approached the pair, and Andy looked over. It was Diana. She walked toward Andy and Zoey, and once she grew close to them, she stopped and put her hands on her hips. It looked as though she’d finished healing Darko, who’d joined in with Kali and Prometheus’s conversation.
Diana’s breaths were labored, sweat seeping from her pores, surely from all the healing she’d just done. “Did I hear you say that I have all the answers?” The demigod winked despite her condition, then took a seat on Andy’s other side. “Because if you did, you’d be correct. What can I help you with, O Chosen Two of the Dreaded Prophecy?”
Andy explained to Diana everything he’d just told Zoey, and Diana narrowed her eyes. “Hmm. Do you know who the statue was of? Did you get a chance to look, or did you just head out after you got the visions?”
“Oh, I looked. There was a plaque that said the statue was of Anteros. It said he’s the God of Love, I think.”
Diana knit her brow. “Anteros isn’t the God of Love. He’s the God of Requited Love, so, like, he’s the god of love being returned, if that makes sense. He’s a Son of Aphrodite and Ares. Well, at least, he was—back in the day, before he faded into nothingness since no one worshipped or remembered him anymore. What did you see in the visions, exactly?”
Andy explained each vision in the best detail he could: first of Anteros and Calliope in the garden, then of Zeus telling the gods about his plan to destroy humanity, and finally of Anteros promising Calliope that he’d see her again, no matter what it took.
For a while Diana fiddled with a few strands of her yellow waves, her expression thoughtful, until finally she spoke. “When I still lived on Olympus, and me and the rest of the Warriors of the Gods were taught about history and all that, we learned a little bit about the gods who faded away years before the Storm. We were told that when Anteros disappeared, Aphrodite was pretty upset about it. I mean, she doesn’t have much of a heart for a lot of people, but figuring out her son was gone forever really messed her up, I guess. It’s possible that she constructed that temple in his honor, probably in an attempt to bring him back into existence through worship, but from everything I’ve learned about when gods die, that just isn’t possible. But through the temple—through people remembering him—it might be possible that bits and pieces of who he was are trapped there now, almost like a ghost or spirit.”
“That would explain the visions since all of them involved him,” Andy said. “But that doesn’t explain the buzzing feeling I had and why I felt like I needed to go to the temple.”
“It also doesn’t explain how you knew where the temple was, why your back hurts now, or why you don’t need glasses anymore,” Zoey added.
Diana brushed her hair behind her ears. Her expression was that of worry, but she forced a smile regardless. “You know what? Don’t worry about it. I’ll think on it, and I’m sure once I pick my brain a little, I’ll be able to come up with something logical.” She climbed to her feet, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. “Anyway, now that everyone’s healed and I’m feeling a little stronger, we should get going. Since you guys killed so many astynomia, everyone in the city is going to be looking for the murderer, and one of the first places they’ll look is in the forest surrounding the city.”
“Where’ll we go next?” Zoey asked. “We only have two days to get the chains off of Prometheus, or he’s not helping us into the palace.”
Diana smiled mischievously. “While you guys were gone, Kali and I had a lot of time to talk about that—”
“Did you, now?” Andy asked. “And how’d that go?”
He shared a knowing look with Zoey, and a smirk formed on her lips. “Did you guys bicker the entire time, or did you finally decide to get along?”
Diana rolled her eyes. “We’re never going to get along, so don’t get your hopes up.”
“For sure,” Andy replied, chuckling.
“As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted,” the demigod continued. “While you guys were gone, Kali and I had a lot of time to talk about how to get Prometheus’s chains off. And I think we came up with something.” She paused as if for dramatic effect. “We need to go to Hephaestus City.”
“Hephaestus City?” Zoey asked, eyebrow raised. “What’s in Hephaestus City?”
“And why would we go into another city after we just had to straight up kill a bunch of astynomia in the last one?” Andy added.
“Hephaestus is the Blacksmith of the Gods and the God of Fire and Metalworking,” Diana said. “There are forges in his city—forges he built, similar to the ones where Prometheus’s chains were created—and if the chains were made in a place similar to the forges in his city, I’ll bet they can be broken there. I can’t soften them with my light, but maybe they can be softened enough to break in the fire of those forges. Plus, since Hephaestus and Aphrodite are married, their cities are super close to each other. It’ll only take around half a day to get there from here, which in theory should leave enough time to accomplish our task.”
“Okay, makes sense—but I have a question. Why would Hephaestus teach other blacksmiths his skills?” Zoey asked. “Wouldn’t that put the gods at risk for the citizens to revolt? Wouldn’t that give them the tools to make their o
wn weapons and stuff?”
“Not exactly,” Diana replied. “Weapons aren’t all the blacksmiths there make, and any weapons that are made are shipped straight to New Mount Olympus or to the city’s astynomia. Besides, even if the citizens attained weapons and found the will to fight, the gods would squash them, no problem. The only chance anyone has at defeating the gods once and for all is by stealing their three main objects of power, like what we’re doing.”
“Okay,” Zoey started. “This could work.”
“But what if it doesn’t?” Andy asked.
“Honestly, it might not,” Diana replied. “But I can’t think of anything else. And if I can’t think of anything else, I’m pretty sure you guys can’t either. No offense.”
Andy shrugged. “None taken.”
“It’s settled then,” Diana said. “Let’s go.”
While Andy and Zoey packed the group’s things and prepared to leave, Diana explained the plan she’d concocted with Kali to Darko and Prometheus. They agreed it was most likely their best bet at freeing the Titan from his chains, and with that, the group headed northeast toward Hephaestus City.
After a few hours passed, Diana instructed the group to land and make camp, reasoning that they’d traveled far enough from Aphrodite City so that no astynomia would be able to find them. Andy, sure he wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway because of the pain in his back, offered to watch for monsters while everyone else rested.
Within half an hour, the group had made camp and was sound asleep. Andy stared into the black of night and gritted his teeth, willing the spasms of discomfort in his back to go away. Memories of the visions he’d seen in the temple flashed across his mind. He wondered why they’d come to him, and if they meant anything.
“Andy?” Darko said from behind him.
Andy turned around slowly, trying not to agitate his back but grimacing as more pain arced up it. “Hey, Darko. What’s up? Are you having trouble sleeping?”
