Arges explained the process. “Hades, and others, who are muddy as to the manner by which reverse infusion occurs … first you must hold the post as if you are extracting energy, or hurling. And instead of siphoning energy from the post, you release your own energy signatures into the posts.”
Steropes further clarified, “This is the only way to develop weapons and armor for you specifically, that links to your own energy force.”
For the next several moments, we all huddled over our posts.
Rhea must’ve noticed confusion on our faces, and in our minds. “To make it easier and the energy transfer more complete, I will count down and everyone must focus. Take three deep, calming breaths.” She paused as we did so. “Now, here we go. Really focus intently. When I say the number one, push your energy into the post. Three … two … one …”
The rough iron molded to my palms. Suddenly, it felt as though a knife circled a fiery cut around my sternum. I gazed down at my chest and saw nothing unusual, but the agony nearly stole my breath. Radiating from that circle, energy sparks spewed angrily in hot flashes under my skin. Embers strung together into jagged tendrils, dragging like dagger points toward my shoulders. Ill-tempered energy strings pulsed from my neck and shoulders, and then revolved around my arms down to my hands. My yellowish-white hands spasmed atop the Hurler posts as thousands of needle points pushed through the palms. My hands shook as a solid torrent of my signature energy rushed down my arms, through my hands, and into the posts. Life might have been simpler at that moment if I could’ve hacked my arms off. That’s how bad they ached.
“Ouch! Triple Tartarus!” Shade yelled.
Meter jumped back as well. “Is it supposed to hurt this bad?”
“Umm yeah, Headmistress,” Hera echoed. “You could’ve warned us about the thrash. It feels worse than extracting energy. And that feels like soaking yourself in oil and having a dragon breathe fire on you.”
Rhea waved her arms. “Alright. Perhaps I should’ve warned you. It does sting a litt—”
“A little?” I asked.
“I just thought that after sitting on the throne,” Rhea began, “this would be a walk along the beach at sunset.”
“It’s a walk somewhere,” Metis chimed in.
Rhea came around and soothed each of us with a simple palm to the rear of our necks. We all found the inner strength and resolve to power through the remainder of the reverse infusion. When it was over, I stood slowly. My vision blurred. The two posts in front of me became four. And then eight. Headmistress split in half, then became three.
“W-w-what’s wrong with me?”
Arges’ voice rumbled behind me. “The infusion process does leave you slightly weakened. After all, instead of taking energy for sustenance, you’re giving of yourself, your own life force.”
“Rhea, make sure they take it easy for the rest of the night,” Steropes said. “They’ve been through a lot this evening.”
Hera sighed, then rushed to the tree line to vomit.
“Ewww, that mouth’s not very kissable,” Metis jeered.
Hera coughed and spit. “Maybe not, but my ass is. Come get some.”
“Ladies …” Rhea cautioned. “Let’s just get you all some nectar and then on to housing. You’ll be back to normal by tomorrow. Off you go now.” She waved her hands in a shooing motion. “After the Cy-bros gather the posts and head off to Limnos Lower Academy, I’ll meet you in the Andron for a little late-night snack before bed time.”
Don propped up Phi. Meter hobbled along with Shade. Tia offered to help Hera, but Hera waved her off. Tia then fell back to aid Aphro. We moved slowly back toward the Megaron. Though I struggled to keep my head up, I still managed to put my arm around Metis to help her along.
We arrived at the Andron, poured goblets full of nectar, and then sat at the tables nearest to the windows for fresh air and drank deep. Half of us rested our heads on our hands. I took several deep breaths and glanced at Metis. Then Tia. Then Shade. Everyone appeared to be ghostly versions of themselves. No one spoke.
I couldn’t be certain how long it had been. I thought sure that when I raised my head, sunlight would be greeting us outside again. My gaze trailed over to Metis. I shook her shoulder. She snorted herself awake from a certain energy drain-induced slumber.
Rhea joined us. “Alright, you all need to get back to housing,” she said. “That is an order. Let’s go.”
Tingles of circulation finally returned to my extremities. I shook out my limbs and pulled Metis to her feet. Her coloring had returned. We all appeared to be back to normal.
We exited the Megaron double doors, ambling along, crunching down the pebble and shale path. I draped Metis’ arm around my shoulder. She smiled up at me and then leaned into my side. My chest warmed at the thought of her being safe. Ahead of us, Hera turned around. She stared for several seconds, and then smirked.
Reveling in the warmth of Metis’ closeness, something odd registered in my peripheral vision.
“I know I’m still a bit woozy,” I said, “but what’s that over there? That red thing?”
Shade turned in circles. “Where? My night vision must be compromised.”
Tia grabbed Shade’s arm. “Stop twirling. You’re making me dizzy.”
Shade glared at her in the darkness.
“Well … dizzier. And besides, Zeus …” Tia quipped, gazing into the distance. “My new night vision works just fine. And I don’t see a thing.”
“You have night vision, too?” Shade asked.
“Some kind of something, I reckon,” Tia responded. “At the moment, it seems that I can pick up heat signatures. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.”
Unsure of my own possibly compromised eyesight, I snuck a peek at the hazy red thing in the trees above the sunken theater. Suddenly, two of them appeared, growing closer. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. I caught up to Tia, gripped the crown of her head and rotated it toward the theater.
“Look …” I pointed. “Just above the …”
KRA-BOOM!
“What the …” The ground quaked and the theater imploded. A mushroom cloud of dust plumed into the air. After reestablishing my shaky footing, I jumped back and grabbed Metis’ hand. We stared at the rubble with gaping mouths. Through the billowing dirt and debris cloud, not two, but four reddish-orange rectangles appeared.
“I-I see them now,” Tia stammered.
“Smite!” I thought back to the monster in the Caldron. “Those are eyes! Like the ones at the Caldron. That means two beasts.”
“Like the one we just fought?” Meter said.
Four gigantic hands slammed down on the ground again, crumbling the remainder of the theater structure, and barn behind it. The impact launched us all into the air. I stumbled backward again upon reconnecting with solid ground.
“The animals!” Tia yelled, moving forward. “We have to save the livestock back there!”
“And the greenhouse!” Meter added.
Hera grabbed Tia’s arm. “They might be gone. Look at what they did to the theater.”
Tia’s eyes filled with tears. “Dammit! Now what?”
We adopted aggressive stances, but I had no confidence in defeating two of what we fought before. We barely escaped that last one.
“Does anyone have offensive abilities?” I asked. The ache in my hands foreshadowed the pulsing, yellowish-white energy that suddenly engulfed them. “Anything new from sitting on the throne?”
Don thrust his chest forward. He then wound his arms in a circle and flexed his hands open and closed. “I got nothing.” He whipped a glare toward me. “Why in Tartarus did you get all the cool powers? Where’s mine?”
“Whining is so beneath you,” Hera said.
“Shut it! Both of you!” Metis stepped between us all with her hands raised. “We need to gauge exactly what we’re fighting here. Gotta get aerial intel. Who can fly?”
KRAAAACK!
One of the monsters broke off a piece of the theater wall and lifted it in the air.
“Zeus, can you dragon up again?” Metis asked. “Or the eagle?”
I shook my head. “I don’t have the energy for that.”
“Incoming!” Don yelled.
The section of theater wall sailed through the air toward us.
I pushed Metis out of the way. Pained gnawed up my back, spreading like tentacles. Everyone evaded the jagged wall turned projectile. It lodged into the middle of the quad courtyard.
The Muses and Phoebe jogged onto the quad from the housing area behind the gymnasium. Phoebe was paler than usual. Her mouth hung open upon seeing the shard of theater wall jutting out of the ground. Mnemosyne pulled Aoede and Melete close as they assessed the situation. Their white hooded cloaks whipped in the wind, almost glowing in the darkness. Then Pontus and Rhea ran from around the Megaron Hall.
“What in Tartarus is going on here?” Phoebe asked.
“This isn’t an accident!” Rhea said, her hands visibly clenching and unclenching the handle of her whip. “Those monsters must’ve been sent here. I don’t think we can win this without the Cyclopes. We need to retreat and regroup.”
“Where?”
“Limnos Lower Academy … to reunite with the Brontes and company.”
“But I thought Olympians never retreated?” I said.
“To retreat is wise when necessary.” Rhea looked in my eyes. “But never, ever … to surrender.”
“What about the school?”
More crunching and cracking sounds rose in the distance. The ground shuddered.
“It’s a mandatory evacuation for all students and faculty. Your safety is primary. We’ll worry about the school and classes later.”
“But—”
“Just do what I say. To the Cloudwell, now!”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Surrounding the Hurler post, we slammed our hands upon its crown.
“Wait!” I yelled. “I don’t know how to get to Limnos.”
Rhea said, “Hades you take all the students with you. Pontus and I will round up the rest of the faculty. Now go!”
Every student placed hands back on the Hurler. Shade’s hand was on bottom. I closed my eyes and held Metis close to my side. Flames raced through my limbs. For a split-moment the fire burned super intense. Then we liquefied and took flight. Similar to the Hurler voyage back to Crete that we took to visit Amalthea, this ride sailed through the thick, salty air over rough open sea.
We reformulated in the center of a large, stone-covered square. Limnos Lower Academy. Or at least, I hoped it was. I guess Shade knew where he was going. Panting, I checked myself over. Nothing was out of place. I felt my lower back and winced. The wounded spot felt hot enough to melt iron.
An arched doorway beckoned us. Two wall torches flanked the entry.
“Follow me,” Shade said.
Shade led us through the arch and into what seemed to be the main center of campus. Another blue Hurler post stood in the middle of a circular, sunken courtyard. Two short sets of stairs led away from the area, between academic buildings. Several students walked by in pairs, and then disappeared out of sight around a far bend.
In the distance through a set of two-story tall doors, a welcoming party of three approached in a march that accentuated every footstep. From appearance alone, they were Limnos faculty. No faculty from MO Prep had arrived yet, but certainly Shade could ease the tension. Maybe.
“Headmistress Eurynome,” Shade said as all three faculty neared. “Good to see you again.”
“Under different circumstances, I would say the same,” Eurynome said. “Yet my island home seems to be under siege tonight. So much activity after Hyperion’s retire. First, the Cyclopes, now a mass of MO Prep students? Is your school not suitable anymore?”
Just then, Rhea and the rest of our faculty hurled in outside the arch and walked up to greet Eurynome. Rhea gripped Eurynome’s shoulders and kissed both of her cheeks.
“Eurynome, I—”
“When the Cyclopes arrived this evening with enough Hurler posts to choke a sea monster and claimed to be performing top secret smithery in our forge … I admit, it gave me pause.”
“I know but—”
“But,” Eurynome interjected across Rhea again, “I acquiesced only because as former faculty here at the finest lower academy in the Hellas District, I would never dream of denying them access to the forge they helped build. Just as I would never imagine a scenario in which someone I trusted would steal them away to teach at Mount Olympus.”
“Wait … it was Ouranos who did that.” Rhea finally got a word in.
“So tragic, his death.” Eurynome shook her head slowly. “And equally so that you slithered your way into the headmaster’s office.”
“I beg your pardon.”
“You heard me.” Eurynome angrily got in Rhea’s face. “I should’ve gotten that job. I have run this school for ages. I was next in line for an Upper Academy Headmaster opening. Perhaps this trial will uncover secrets you’d rather stay buried … like the hatchet in my back.”
“Who knew you were so ambitious?” Rhea said in a slightly mocking tone. “If you had been prepared for the job, you’d have already been in my position as Headmistress … not me. But you weren’t, Eurynome. You weren’t in my position.” Rhea’s gaze held steady. “I will say this only once. I have been second-in-command since MO Prep was formed, stewarding the school through turbulent air and turmoil. We’ve faced challenges you could scarcely fathom. You are far older than I am. Which begs the question … how did I get the job over all other applicants?”
“Nepotism comes to mind.”
“Or competency.”
“Why are you darkening my square with the shadows of your entire student body? I didn’t summon you. I barely have room to accommodate you …” She gazed past Rhea at the rest of our professors. “… Or your faculty.”
“Acknowledging your authority, my request for shelter is a loosely veiled demand. One Hellas, yes?”
“Are we now?” Eurynome folded her arms. “One … Hellas?”
The fiery pain in my lower back sparked along a nerve straight to my head as I turned to yell at Eurynome. “You have no idea what we’ve just been through. The least you could do is be kind! Is that too difficult for you?”
“Stand down, Zeus,” Rhea admonished in the calmest tone imaginable.
Metis wrapped one arm around my waist, and cupped the other hand over my mouth, pulling me back ward. “Sorry, he’s not feeling well.”
“I feel fine!” I struggled against Metis’ tight grip. Unsuccessfully.
Eurynome turned to me in the slowest motion I’d ever seen. While piercing me with her gaze, she held her hand outstretched as if summoning someone. Or something. A swirling blue circle appeared in the palm of her hand. Within a breath’s time water droplets flew up the hill from the Aegean Sea below, over the ridge, and streaked toward her. Upon touching her hand, the collective water drops coagulated into the form of a spear.
“Am I going to have a problem with you while you’re here?” Eurynome asked.
I burst from Metis’ clutches, clenched my fists, and generated crackling spheres around my hands. “If you want to dance … I’ll lead.”
Before I could form my next thought, my head was surrounded by a watery amphora jug, filling with seawater to just below my nose. I couldn’t open my mouth.
“Say one more word, and I will drown you. Do you hear me?” Eurynome said. “I am not here for your games, Zeus. You can’t hurt me. I am made of seawater. I conduct energy. But you can’t breathe under water, can you? So you better listen to your little girlfriend. And Rhea.”
“Eurynome!” Rhea yelled. “Zeus is a student of this school district. I’ll have you brought up on charges—”
“Of what? Self-defense?” Eurynome smirked.
Rhea touched my bac
k and relieved me of my energy. And rage.
“Seems a civil war is coming,” Eurynome uttered.
“Who said anything about war?” Rhea shrugged.
“I certainly did not.”
“Wha … but you just …”
I had never witnessed a tongue-tied Rhea before. This Eurynome woman was off her chariot crazy.
“Soothe your tired tongue with my finest wine, my dear,” Eurynome said. “You and your kids may stay in the East Barracks. For now. It’s much too late for empty banter. We’ll have our fight on the morrow.” With that she turned, gathered her professors, and walked to the building from which she’d come.
Rhea turned back to us. “Listen, I know you’re shaken. For now, we’ve found safe harbor.” She glared at me. “Zeus, I’ll deal with you shortly.”
“Headmistress, you told me that MO Prep was safe!” I yelled. “When I first got there, you told me I was safe … that I was home. You lied!”
Rhea opened her mouth to say something then snapped it shut. She closed her eyes. Her lips pursed. After a deep inhale, she said, “I understand your anger. But do not mistake my calm exterior for lack of caring. No one in this entire cosmos is more distressed than I am that we were forced to leave our home.”
“But you—” I began, but Rhea raised her hand.
“Stand down, Zeus,” Rhea said calmly. “I hear all of your thoughts. I understand how you feel. I will fix this. I would give my life to fix this.” She sighed. “Now, Hades will show you all to East Barracks. We need to double up on rooms, so pick roommates amongst yourselves. We’ll sort everything else in the morning.”
“I hate to mention the obvious,” Don said. “But there are only three boys. May I room with Amphi—”
“Absolutely not!” Rhea glowered. “Do not try my patience, young man.”
“It was worth a try.”
“Don, you can bunk with Pontus.”
“But he snores.” Don threw his hands in the air.
Rhea turned. “Do you want to room with Zeus?”
“Snoring it is,” Don said.
Pontus laughed. “Just remember anything you say in your sleep gets transcribed.”
The High Court Page 12
