by A P Mobley
Zoey set her gaze ahead. Even if Prometheus said they had plenty of time, she felt as though time were wasting away. However, she couldn’t let herself worry about it. She needed to stay positive. They’d reach the forges, break Prometheus’s chains, and get out of here. Then the Titan would help them. That had to be the way the situation would work out. At this point, there were no other options.
The group continued to pass through the Agora. Bronze-colored cars that looked as though they’d been plucked from 1920 puttered down the streets, while hundreds of citizens bustled in and out of shops and along the soot-smeared paths. Hundreds more worked away: some swept the streets, some shined shoes, and some stood next to carts full of a variety of items, insisting to every person strolling by that they needed to “take a look.”
Hours passed, and finally they reached the rectangular building near the center of the city: the one Diana had said the forges were located inside. The building looked as though it were carved from copper, with nine smoking, cylindrical towers stemming from it, most of them so tall they seemed to touch the clouds. The building possessed no windows, but the sounds of fires roaring, hammers slamming against metal, and voices booming could still be heard from outside of it.
“This is it,” Diana said, pausing in front of the building.
Zoey crossed her arms. “How’re we supposed to get in there without being caught and questioned by someone?”
“We’ll just say we lost our jobs,” Diana replied in a hushed voice. “We could pretend we want to apply for work here, at least until we can steal some uniforms or something. I know they wouldn’t like us snooping through their stuff if we hadn’t yet been hired, so I think disguising ourselves as employees—after we’re already in, of course—is our best bet at finding what we need.”
The group headed toward the building’s front entrance, where a ten-foot-tall bronze door loomed over them. “Do we just walk in, or what?” Zoey asked.
Diana grabbed a door handle and pried the massive entryway open. “Yup. Go ahead.” They stepped inside onto an iron platform, and Diana shut the entrance behind them. A rush of blistering heat slammed Zoey in the face and blew her hair backward, and after catching sight of what lay before them, she gasped.
The building seemed to go for miles belowground, all the way until it stopped at a pit at the very bottom, where several more forges resided. Working in the pit at these forges were mammoth-sized bald men clothed in rags. The men’s leathery skin was drawn tight over their veins and muscles, and instead of two eyes, they had one giant eye in the center of their sweaty, wrinkled foreheads.
“Cyclopes,” Diana said, pointing at the colossal one-eyed men. “The elder Cyclopes were the creatures who constructed the Helm of Darkness, Poseidon’s Trident, and the Master Lightning Bolt for the gods as a gift when Zeus freed them from the Titans. Centuries later, their descendants were known to herd sheep and eat men passing through their domains. Now some torment people in the forests along with the other monsters, while some live here.”
Above the group, hundreds of balcony-like structures were situated on all sides of the building’s walls, each one complete with its own personal flaming forge—however, these ones had regular people working at them instead of Cyclopes. Three to four people worked at each balcony-forge, wearing coats, gloves, and masks with dark goggles attached. Smoke and steam rose from the forges into the cylindrical towers high above.
“How do the workers get to their stations?” Zoey asked, and Diana pointed to the side of the platform at four barred doors which led to small chambers in the wall. Zoey squinted, looking around at the rest of the walls. Upon closer inspection, she realized there were dozens more of the barred-door chambers moving up and down and side to side within the walls, carrying people to and from their work stations, gears and cogs spinning to keep the machinery suspended.
“They’re elevators,” Zoey said. “We had the same kind of contraptions in the Before Time. They were a little different, but same idea. How do the Cyclopes get to their station? The elevators don’t look big enough for them.”
“They never leave,” Diana said. “They’re slaves. They’re given room and board here by Hephaestus, but he wants to keep them trapped their whole lives. That’s why they’re down in a pit.”
One of the Cyclopes let out a long wail, shaking the building and making everyone jump. Once the creature quieted, Zoey put her hand to her heart. “That’s so sad.”
“Don’t worry too much about it,” Diana replied. “Cyclopes are like most of the other monsters we’ve faced. They’d eat you the first chance they got.”
A tall man at the closest forge to the group paused his hammering and turned to them. He lifted his mask, then shouted over the commotion. “Hello, strangers, and welcome. How can I help you?”
Diana stepped forward and yelled back. “We’re looking for work.”
“Oh! Give me a minute, please.” He scurried past the other workers at his forge and slammed his hand down on a large button in the wall. Within moments, an elevator made its way to his station and creaked open. He stepped inside, and in no time it transported him to the platform the group stood on. He made his way toward them.
He was young, probably in his mid to late twenties, with skin and eyes a deep shade of brown, his black hair falling in waves over his shoulders. He had a large, pointed nose stained with soot, equally big ears sticking out on either side of his slender head.
The man gave the group a smile, his teeth straight and white. His eyes crinkled kindly around the edges. “You say you’re searching for work?”
“That’s right,” Diana said. “Could you take us to whoever is in charge here, so we can ask if there are any jobs available?”
“You’re looking at one of ’em,” the man said, and stuck out a gloved hand to Diana. She gingerly took it and gave it a shake. “The name’s Troy, Master Blacksmith of the Hephaestus City Forges. The other one in charge would be my twin sister, Marina, who I believe is in the break room now on lunch. I do think we have a few openings available, but Marina would be the one to talk to about it, as she does all the hiring. Would you like to speak with her?”
“Yes, please.”
Troy turned around and walked back into the elevator from which he’d come, gesturing for them to follow. “All right, c’mon then.”
Zoey and Prometheus looked to Diana, who set her jaw. “When we get to the break room, we’ll knock out anyone in there and steal their uniforms,” she whispered. “Then hurry to one of the forges, soften Prometheus’s chains, break them, and get out of here.” Zoey and Prometheus nodded, and the group followed the Master Blacksmith into the elevator.
There were rows of numbered buttons on the elevator’s left wall, and Troy punched several. The machine roared to life, then began traveling up, up, up. They passed dozens of forges where men and women alike worked on what looked like car and clock parts, weapons, and other various items. She gripped one of the door’s bars tight, not daring to glance at the pit where the Cyclopes worked below.
“Has anyone ever fallen off their forge and down . . . there?” Zoey asked, cocking her head in the pit’s direction.
“Only the stupid ones. The fall is big enough to kill them instantly, but they prove themselves useful still.”
“How can they be useful if they’re dead?” Zoey asked.
“Oh, they make good treats for the Cyclopes,” Troy answered. “Those guys never do stop whining, so even though it’s tragic when someone falls down there, at least the rest of us get a day or two of peace before they start it up again.”
Zoey gulped as another Cyclops let out a long, solemn wail. “Good to know.”
Finally, the elevator stopped at another platform. The door opened and they stepped out, another door waiting for them ten feet ahead. Troy swung the door open and held it for them. “C’mon then, head inside.”
&n
bsp; They did as he said, walking into the break room. This one was made of metal, too—lined with several long tables with meat, fruit, bread, and copper glasses scattered atop them. Six men and women sat together eating at one of the tables. They wore normal civilian clothes, their uniforms piled beside their feet.
A young woman with shoulder-length black hair turned around to face them, her brown skin smeared with soot. Her nose and ears were similar in size and shape to Troy’s, her eyes the same dark color as his.
The woman smiled, which made her look even more like the Master Blacksmith. “Hey there, strangers.”
“Marina, these fine folks here are searching for work,” Troy said to the woman, shutting the break-room door behind him. “I thought we had some openings, but I wanted to talk to you first before making any promises.”
Marina pursed her lips, eyeing each member of the group up and down. “We do have quite a few openings, yes, and these people look like they’ll make great additions to the team. I’m sure we can find something easy to do for the cripple.”
Zoey flinched at the word “cripple” but chose not to reply. Just keep up the act, and soon we’ll be out of here.
“We’ll go to my office and fill out the proper paperwork,” Marina said as she stood and crossed her arms. “You’ll all start your training tomorrow, so you can be working in the forges within the next few months.”
With one hand, Diana kept the cloak pulled tight around her face. With the other, she conjured a sphere of blazing sunlight. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m afraid we’re just stopping in for today.”
Diana launched the attack for Marina, and to Zoey’s surprise, Marina didn’t try to dodge it. Instead, she threw up her hands. From her palms, streams of flames erupted. The flames collided with Diana’s sphere of sunlight, and both disintegrated, the smell of smoke filling the air.
The rest of the men and women in the break room shot up and grabbed cutting-knives off the table. Behind the group, Troy blocked the door.
Marina chuckled. “For that little outburst, I’m going to need you folks to explain who you are and what exactly you’re doing here, unless you’d like to be burned to crisps.”
*~*~*~
Karter paced his healing shrine room, panic brewing in his chest.
The demigod trio hadn’t taken him away earlier that day when they’d burst into his refuge, as they hadn’t been able to see through his “Erick” disguise, but none of them had been convinced the Son of Zeus wasn’t in the city altogether.
Xander had laughed, almost maniacally. “He’s here, somewhere, and he’s going to be sorry for running off on us when I get my hands on him next.”
“We’ll stay in the city and watch for him,” Violet had said, her opalescent eyes glittering with malice. “He can’t hide from us forever.” And with that, they’d left Karter alone again. Ivy had brought him breakfast, and he’d pretended as though nothing were bothering him even after he refused her tour of the healing shrine.
He ran shaking hands through his hair. How much longer would this disguise last? What if it wore off while he was still in the city, and the demigod trio caught him? I’m dead anyway, he thought. Either way, Father will have me back eventually. Tears filled his eyes, anguish clawing at his insides and threatening to pull him into its black abyss. He knew if he allowed it to this time, he’d never escape again.
“Your destined greatness awaits,” Asteria had 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.”
Karter paused and tried to even his breathing. Perhaps Asteria was right: perhaps the universe had a greater plan for him than he’d expected. Although he blamed himself for the deaths of everyone he loved, although it felt as though he had no hope left for the future, maybe there was a reason he was still here after all this time.
A knock sounded at his door, and Ivy stepped inside. “Hello, Erick, I just wanted to check on y—” She stopped, her eyes going wide at the sight of him.
He turned to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Your—your hair. But that means . . . the Daughter of Aphrodite . . .”
He lunged toward the grandfather clock and looked into the glass. The reflection staring back at him made his blood turn cold. His hair, once yellow and short because of Asteria’s spell, had changed back to shaggy and black. The rest of my disguise is going to fade away soon, too, he thought.
He turned to Ivy. “I swear, this isn’t what it looks like.”
Ivy darted out of the room and down the hallway. “Guards! Guards, come quickly!”
Karter ran to the window, then balled a fist, conjured his inherited child-of-Zeus strength, and punched it. The glass shattered. He picked a few stray pieces from his stinging, bleeding knuckles, then jumped outside into the streets of Hephaestus City.
*~*~*~
“I think it’s my turn to teach you guys a game,” Kali said, scribbling away the latest three-by-three board Andy had drawn in the dirt.
While Andy, Darko, and Kali guarded the Helm and pegasi in the forest, they’d decided to pass the time by playing Axes and Arrows and Sword Fight. Kali hadn’t known how to play either, but the names had intrigued her, so Andy and Darko had explained the rules. At first, she’d lost every round, but once she’d gotten the hang of things, she’d beaten Andy and Darko at both games several times.
After the disaster Andy had created trying to express his feelings to Zoey, explaining the games to Kali and playing them with her and Darko had proved to be a good distraction to keep his mind off his embarrassment—and off the everlasting pain in his back.
Andy plucked up a pebble and flicked it into the air. “Okay, Kali, what’s this game of yours called?”
“Five Stones,” Kali said, climbing to her feet.
“And what do we need to play?” Andy asked.
Kali looked down at him and cocked her head. “Five . . . stones?”
Darko burst out laughing. “I thought the name gave it away.”
“Probably did,” Andy said, smiling.
Kali gathered five rocks around the same size, took a seat in front of Andy and Darko, laid the stones before them, and explained the rules. There were eight steps, and Andy understood the first few—something about throwing one stone, at the same time picking another one up, then catching the one that was thrown, and every round the amount of stones that were picked up increased—but Kali talked so fast he hardly caught the minor details, not to mention how one went about winning the game.
“I used to play Five Stones with my mother,” Kali said, once she’d finished explaining the rules. “Before, well, you know.”
Andy opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say a word, the unfamiliar but seductive voice of a young woman said from behind them, “My, my, what an interesting scene I’ve stumbled upon here. What do you peasant scum think you’re doing outside the city?”
Andy shot to his feet. Sharp pain arced down his back. It hadn’t stopped hurting all day, but he couldn’t let that hold him back. Ignoring the sensation, he unsheathed his sword and swung around to catch sight of a tall and unbelievably beautiful girl who had to be only a few years older than himself. Her wavy blonde hair hung all the way to her hips, her eyes glittering pink, green, and silver—as though her irises were made of opals.
“Who’re you?” Andy asked.
The girl flipped her hair. “I am Violet, Daughter of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty.”
Andy’s nostrils flared. Hadn’t Violet been one of the demigods who’d destroyed Alikan Village and slain everyone there? Was this demigod one of the monsters who took away Darko’s last hope for a normal life?
The group’s three pegasi, who’d been quietly grazing a ways away from the group, reared back and squealed as they spotted Violet step
ping closer. With what seemed like minimal effort, Violet swiftly reached into her robes, pulled out three pink darts, and flung them one, two, three at the pegasi. The darts pierced the pegasi in the necks, sinking deep into their flesh.
“Ajax!” Kali cried. “Aladdin! Luna!” The winged horses calmed, dropping on all fours, then began to sway. Within moments, they toppled onto the forest floor.
Violet sneered and turned toward the group. “How curious that a satyr and two peasant scum would have pegasi in their dirty clutches. No matter, I suppose. I’ll have them back on New Mount Olympus in no time.”
Kali seized her spear and brandished it at Violet. “Over my dead body.”
Violet narrowed her eyes. “Even with that pathetic excuse for a weapon, death can be easily arranged for you.”
“Bull,” Andy said. “There are three of us and one of you. We’ll take you down easy.”
“Think again,” Violet said. “One of your friends has already fallen under my spell. Satyr, get ready to shoot them.”
Andy’s gut clenched. Beside him, Darko nocked an arrow. Andy looked over. Darko’s irises were shifting between brown and shimmering opalescent—an opalescent much like Violet’s eyes—until finally settling back to brown. His expression was blank, and he aimed his weapon straight for Andy.
“What the hell did you do to him?” Andy said.
Violet cackled. “The satyr looked into my eyes, as you all did, but because he is in love with no one, he has fallen deeply in love with me. So deeply, in fact, that he’s now under my control.”
CHAPTER NINE
CAPTURE
Andy swung his sword at Violet. “Let him go.”
“I’d rather not,” Violet said, twirling a blonde wave with her fingers. “Satyr, take your arrow and point the tip at your own throat. If either of your former companions try to hurt me, stop you, or run away, I want you to skewer yourself.”
