by Mary Ting
“Hurry.” Zeus ran to Cronus. Cronus shook his head as if trying to come out of a daze. “We need to get Poseidon out before Cronus gets up.” Zeus stopped and kicked a piece of broken cement in anger when Cronus pushed himself halfway. “I need my staff.” He growled. “The staff is the only thing that can cut his stomach open.”
“We have to find another way.” Hades pushed Zeus from Cronus’s reach.
Instead of getting up, Cronus started pounding his fist, faster and faster and faster, and then crawling to catch us. He had realized his hands were swifter than his feet.
Mason zapped his light at Cronus’s face. Cronus craned his neck in time to dodge the light, but Ares’s boomerang-like shield collided with his cheek. Again, it only nicked him. The other Titans joined him and created crater-like holes. They were coming from all directions, north, south, east, west, surrounding us. We pushed them back with fire, lightning, and everything we had, but somehow, the Titans bounced back with resilience. With Eris on their side, chaos seemed to have no end.
“Cronus!”
Mom? My mother’s voice vibrated in the air, sounding like it was coming from all directions. Where was she?
Everyone froze, even the Titans.
“Rhea, my love. How have you been?” Cronus’s tone sounded loving, but there was no sincerity in it.
With no sight of my mom, I glanced around until I saw Mason’s head tilt up. Holy Cow! Mom was just as big as Cronus, and her clothes had grown with her.
“I’ve had better days,” Mom replied. “But today will be even better. I’m giving you one last chance, only because I loved you once. Surrender to your children, let Poseidon out, and go back to Tartarus where you belong.”
“Or what?” Cronus gritted through his teeth.
“I’ll crush you.” Mom raised her fist to emphasize her point.
Cronus’s boisterous laugh blew the surrounding clouds away. “We have chaos on our side. You can’t win. This time, I will succeed. I’m going to get rid of our children and the descendants. And even the one growing in your belly. The fetus is the most delicious of all.”
Mom glared at Cronus but kept her cool. “You’re not eating anyone today.”
Cronus let out a loud burp. I wasn’t sure if he did it on purpose, but it was disgusting. “I ate Poseidon. One down and so many more to go.”
Mom gasped.
“Sky.” My dad startled me. “Move back.” He guided Mason and me away from Mom. Perhaps he was afraid she might accidently step on me.
“Dad, how did…Mom…she’s so…”
“I know. It’s surreal. We’ll explain later.”
Eris’s voice broke our conversation. She gloated, sitting on Cronus’s shoulder. “Rhea…” she said my mom’s name as if she was a good friend. “I wish I could say it’s good to see you, but I won’t lie.” She snarled. “Looks like this time I’m going to win.” She clapped her hands and giggled. “I’m the goddess of chaos, and chaos loves to follow me. What can I say? I love what I can do.”
“Looks like your human giants are where they belong again and so will be the Titans. Sorry to tell you, Eris, you won’t have a chance,” Mom retorted.
Too busy gaping between my giant mom and Cronus, I hadn’t realized the human giants were in control. The Monkshead really worked.
“Oh, Rhea. You have much to learn.” Eris examined her fingernails, looking bored. “You’d been trapped in a human body for so long, it’s no wonder you forgot what it’s like to be around real gods. Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon will soon be gone…and so will you. So go away while you can or follow your children’s tragic destiny.”
Mom raised her hand. Her intention was to hit Eris, but that never happened. Cronus seized her wrist. Mom yanked her arm, but she couldn’t release from his grip. Mom used her free hand and pushed Cronus. He finally let go, taking a step back.
“How dare you?” Eris spat. “You were going to hit me?” Her tone rose. “Just for that, let there be a storm.” She raised her hands in the air. “Let it drown the land and wash away everything in sight.”
The thunder boomed and lightning flashed across the darkened sky. Rain poured like a bucket of water from the belly of the clouds. Drenched from the sudden outpour, we had no choice but to take cover. Mason held my hand, guiding me to a dry-cleaner store still intact. Everyone followed behind. Hades and Zeus stayed to hold their ground next to my mom. With our backs to the wall, we waited.
“What do we do now?” Amanda shivered. The temperature dropped drastically.
“If we don’t stop her, the town will flood,” Nick stated the obvious.
“Is there anything else we can do?” Colin fidgeted with his sword and shield.
“I don’t think we can.” Sarah wrung her hair into a twist, allowing the water to drip.
Aaron rubbed water from his eyes. “There are too many giants.”
Tara and Hermes stood beside us. I was just about to ask where Zara was when she appeared. She took off Hades’s helm to make her visible again. They looked like they had taken a shower with their clothes on. I guessed in a way we all had.
“Where are the Cyclopes?” I asked when none were to be seen.
“We sent them back to Tartarus as planned through a portal I created. They knew they were going back there,” Tara answered. “They were satisfied with the agreement, not to be behind bars, but to have the freedom to roam in Tartarus as before. They helped us with the human giants, but I can’t have them creating more damage. We already have enough giants to deal with. Besides, I don’t want Cronus to have a chance to make a deal with Polyphemus. He would be stupid enough to take the offer Cronus would never keep.”
“You made the right decision, Tara. But don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine.” Zara smiled. I’d never seen her smile so big before.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She didn’t answer. The rain stopped, and the sun peeked through the layers of the clearing sky.
“Impossible?” Eris sneered. “Who dares to stop the chaos?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Let the land split in two and swallow everything in its path.”
The earth rumbled, and like an endless spider’s long leg that seemed to have no end, the ground cracked open so fast, the houses, trees, the cars, commercial building, debris, and everything near the opening dropped into the hole.
“What do we do?” I panicked, watching the ground dividing toward us.
Mason gripped my hand, ready to bolt out of there.
“Wait.” Zara stuck out her hand, gesturing for us to stay put. “She will fix it.”
Who was she talking about?
Sure enough Zara was right. The ground knitted back together as if someone had pushed a rewind button. Who had done this?
“What the hell is going on?” Nick rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’d like to know the same.” Everett’s jaw dropped, mimicking our stunned expression.
“Who are you talking about?” Noah asked.
Zara kept quiet.
Eris stomped on Cronus’s shoulder like a spoiled brat who didn’t get her toy. “Impossible. Who is undermining my authority? I am goddess of chaos. Show yourself coward.”
When no one answered, Eris opened up her arms and twirled them once. “Let there be wind that will devour everything in the monster’s path.”
We held onto the nearby pole for dear life as the wind picked up top speed. It happened so fast I had no idea where the tornado came from. It sucked debris inside the wind storm first and then the cars, building structures, lampposts. Everything nearby zapped into the tunnel of wind like a magnet to its pole. Then like before, whatever Eris caused, it was quickly tamed. The wind died, dropping whatever it swallowed. I wished she had stopped it before it even began.
“No, no, no,” Eris huffed. “Show yourself. Are you afraid to confront me?” She pounded her foot. Then her eyes shifted lower to my mom’s right jacket pocket. Her eyes narrowed, her body shuddered. “Har
monia!”
Chapter 27
Skylar
“Hello there Eris,” Harmonia’s sweet, angelic voice sang.
Mom held Harmonia on the palm of her hand. Harmonia’s long golden hair and her long purple dress fluttered with the soft breeze like angel’s wings.
“Why are you here? You have no business here,” Eris snapped. “Go away.”
“Wherever there is chaos, I follow to bring harmony. No matter what you do, I will fix it. Your glory is over. Surrender and your punishment will be lessened.”
Eris snarled. “You will surrender, not I.” She swung her arm across her chest. Blue light flashed from her hand. Energy darted across. Harmonia ducked. The light hit Mom and pushed her back. Harmonia fired the same type of energy back, but hers was violet. It missed and pushed Cronus back. Blue and violet lights zapped across space, causing electric sparks. The energy swung back and forth.
The clouds rumbled and darkened, and then Harmonia caused the sun to appear through the clouds. The wind would pick up speed and then die. The ground shook, and then the next second it stilled. Whatever chaos Eris created, Harmonia stopped it before it got worse.
“Harmonia, of course. Your mom is a genius,” Zara exclaimed, snapping us back to focus on the conversation. We were mesmerized by what was happening between the two goddesses. “Harmonia is the goddess of harmony. She is the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares. She will bring order to chaos. Quickly, we must shrink the other Titans while we have this chance.”
“We’ll keep them distracted. You and Tara do your thing.” Ares banged his sword on the shield.
“We need to pick teams,” Mason suggested. “Each team is responsible for distracting a specific titan, or we’ll end up confused.”
Noah stopped Amanda from taking off. “Good idea, Mason. I agree.”
“Me too.” Colin placed his shield in front.
“I’m with Colin and Aaron,” Sarah stated. “We’ll take Phoebe. She pissed me off.”
“Fine,” Everett said. “I’m going with Nick. We’ve got Themis. He pissed me off to.”
“Skylar, Victor, and I will take care of Oceanus,” Mason added.
“How about Theia and Coeus?” Nick asked.
“Ares and Athena can take Theia, and Amanda, Noah, and Hades can take Coeus,” Mason replied.
“I’ve got this.” Hermes took the helm from Hades. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring it back to you.” Then he took a handful of Monkshead from Tara. Then he placed the helm on his head to become invisible.
A light breeze tickled my cheeks. I know it was from Hermes’s wings flapping to take flight. As Eris and Harmonia continued to argue and battle with chaos and the calm, we scurried to the Titans, who seemed confused and oblivious we were below.
“That’s enough!” Cronus roared. He swatted Eris off his shoulder and pounced on my mom.
Dad pushed me out of the way. “She’s strong. We can help her by doing our part quickly.”
I nodded and headed to Oceanus, while the others headed to the other titans. Hopefully Hermes fluttered nearby and Oceanus would be his first target.
“Down here, you giant shit.”
While Mason got our target’s attention verbally, I lit fire to his feet. Oceanus sniffed and then gazed down. His eyes turned the darkest of the ocean blue and growled. He lifted his leg to crush us and also to put out the fire traveling up his leg. I didn’t want to hurt him anymore than necessary, even though he deserved to be killed. I wasn’t a killer, so I put out the fire. I knew Hermes did his job when Oceanus started to shrink. Zara picked him up and placed him in a special magic pouch. I couldn’t help but laugh to hear Oceanus’s squeaky voice. He threw a tantrum on his way inside Zara’s bag.
Zara moved onward to the next titan. She caught Theia, Coeus, and Themis. All went according to our plan. We had Phoebe left and then finally Cronus. Mom and Cronus were still at each other. I worried for the baby, but there was nothing I could do about it at that point.
Phoebe seemed the most difficult. She was practically bald from her hair catching fire at the arena. She had anticipated the attack as she witnessed her siblings go down. She was the smarter one. Instead of attacking us, she blew us out of her path, avoiding combat. We stumbled and rolled in different directions. With a fierce look in her eyes, she came for us.
What the heck was Hermes doing? My question was answered when I spotted him getting up, supporting his hand on the tree. He must have taken a hit from Phoebe somehow. When Hermes put on the helm, I assumed he was back on track.
Phoebe’s hands twirled like an automatic fan, moving in a circular formation, swatting anything in her path. She didn’t care what she smacked. Then she tried to crush us with her feet. We ran in circles around her and to the nearby shelter, but she came for us in a rage.
“Get back here you little piece of shit,” Phoebe roared. Then she started to stomp her feet in a crushing action.
“No!” Sarah bellowed, tumbling. Colin had pushed her out of the way.
“Watch out!” I shouted, but it was too late. I gasped in horror.
Phoebe slammed her foot on top of Colin and Aaron. Just then she began to shrink, giving us a clear path to help Colin and Aaron. Zara grabbed Phoebe and placed her in safekeeping while Tara felt for a pulse. Shaking her head, she peered up at Zara. “We need to take them to New Olympus and heal them quickly. We can’t help them here.”
Sarah dropped down to her knees. It was the first time I’d seen tears in her eyes. “Colin shoved me out of the way. He saved me.”
Though thankfully Colin and Aaron were not dead, their bodies took a tremendous beating.
“Go take care of Cronus. I’ll take them back with me,” Tara said, waving her magical hands around them.
I didn’t have a chance to watch them disappear. Something wrapped around my body and yanked me up.
“Sky!”
Mason became smaller and smaller. Everyone’s eyes grew as round as saucers in concern. Cronus had me. I sent shock waves through Cronus’s hand, but it didn’t do any good. Too busy attending to Colin and Aaron, we had our guards down. I assumed Mom had him in control.
“Put my daughter down, Cronus,” Mom ordered.
“I’ve never eaten a demi-god before. I wonder what she’ll taste like?” Cronus raised his other hand, gesturing for Mom to stop. “I wouldn’t come any closer if I were you.”
I stared into Cronus’s blue eyes, too beautiful to be on a monster like him. “I dare you to try it. Bring me closer to you so you can smell me.”
Down below, everyone engaged their powers, but Cronus was too strong. He would kick them when they approached. I had no idea if Eris had performed a strength power spell on him or had done something else to him; either way, he had more power than expected.
Mason swung around Cronus’s back and raised himself up, floating in midair, so close yet keeping his distance. Mason looked god-like with all the lightning surging around him, so hot and sexy. Getting captured by Cronus was a blessing in disguise. Although I hadn’t discussed my plan with anyone, it unfolded anyway.
“You stink. You smell like my dog’s shit,” I spat.
“You are just like your mother, arrogant and stupid.” As he brought me closer, he opened his mouth.
“Do you know what happens when you mess with the Rome and Grand families?”
Cronus scowled and stopped from taking a bite of me. “Stop talking. I don’t care.”
“But you should.”
I held up my hand and showed him the crystal Zara had given me before we entered the Labyrinth. I had taken it out of my pocket, thinking my plan would be impossible to see to fruition, but instead, I had been given this opportunity. I had needed to be captured by Cronus, and there I was. Light glowed, illuminating us brighter and brighter. Cronus roared and covered his eyes.
“Put it away,” he barked.
I did. Mason flung his hand toward Cronus. His energy enveloped Cronus’s head, causing him to freeze. I t
hrew the crystal into his mouth. I knew he swallowed it when his eyes shot wide, expressing terror. Then as I hoped, a few long seconds later, light emerged from his belly—a straight glowing light from his belly button to below. The crystal would awaken Poseidon with the energy it carried. I was sure of it. Then he would use Zeus’s staff Cronus had swallowed as well and open him up.
“No!” Cronus touched his stomach, watching the light shine brighter every second. “I don’t want to go back to Tartarus.” He lunged forward. His body thrashed and twisted awkwardly. Cronus roared in pain. He dropped to the ground on his knees.
“Don’t worry. We’re not taking you to Tartarus. We have a better place for you,” I said.
Out popped Poseidon through the blinding light. He dropped to the floor with the staff. Hades and Zeus pulled him away. Off to the side, Eris stood on what was left of the roof with Harmonia by her side. Harmonia had wrapped magical energy around her so she couldn’t move.
“No, no, no!” Eris cried. “This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. Everyone takes everything from me. I have nothing.”
Her words faded when she became smaller. Hermes must have spread Monkshead on her too. Cronus too became small. Zara had been gentle with the other Titans when she had placed them inside her bag, but with Cronus and Eris, she threw them in.
It was over! The war was finally over.
“Sky.” Standing a few feet from me, Mason offered me a huge grin.
“Mason,” I breathed.
Our bodies collided. He kissed me as our friends and family gathered around us. We hugged and high fived each other. Even the gods joined us.
“It’s good to see you well, Poseidon,” I said.
Poseidon lifted me up and placed me down. “Thank you for saving me. That crystal woke me up. When I saw Zeus’s staff, I knew how to escape.”
Zeus slapped Poseidon on the back and gazed to his staff. “I didn’t think to have Cronus swallow it. It just happened. Glad to have both of you back.”
“Everything worked out,” Hades added and shifted his attention to Hermes. “I’ll take that back, and good job by the way.”
