Joshua and the Lightning Road

by Donna Galanti

  The bake kids looked on in surprise as we flew by them back to the tunnel, but no one tried to stop us. The girl with the chopped off hair stared at me, then gave me a slight nod as if saying ‘good luck.’ I looked behind me once to see the chef scramble up, only to roll on a potato and fall on his butt again. It would be funny if the terror of being caught wasn’t at our heels. I pulled out the orb, ready to battle. A bell gonged.

  “Joshua, catch!” Sam stole a hunk of steaming meat off a platter and threw it at me. Nothing to lose now. The slippery mass warmed my chest with its tempting juices. Sam grabbed a loaf of bread and a pie, balancing it as he ran. We tore through the first storage room and re-entered the cool tunnel. The orb lit the way.

  Faster we ran while the greasy meat tormented me with its smell, but we couldn’t stop. The bell screamed out our crime. Please let us get back to Leandro and Charlie.

  Shouts burst from behind us. My legs couldn’t move any faster and my chest felt cracked in two as my lungs ached with their effort. Finally, Sam pulled himself up the rungs to the world above.

  He pushed up on the hatch door. “It won’t open!”

  The thumping of feet behind us vibrated the rungs my shaking hands clung to in desperation. “Hurry, Sam!”

  “Got you, Reekers!” Guards stood a few feet away from us, torches in hand. One held something else as well. A vape. Pointed right at us. Hissing angrily.

  We were done for.

  Chapter Twenty

  Light splashed from above. Leandro hauled us out and slammed the hatch back down, turning the handle tight. The guards banged on it, yelling.

  “Run!” Leandro pulled us toward the waiting kernitians.

  “Finn?” Charlie clutched me.

  “No! Just run!”

  The cover to the tunnel shook with angry thumps. Muffled voices protested below. We leapt onto the kernitians and galloped into the air.

  Higher. Higher.

  The meat spread a greasy stain on my apron. Up to the trees we raced, and once we reached the tops, the kernitians slowed to a trot. The heat of the bakehouse left me as a soft breeze tickled my skin, and I breathed cold, soothing air.

  Sam ripped off a piece of bread, threw it at Charlie, and dug into the pie. “Finn wasn’t there, but we got food!”

  Leandro laughed. “By the gods! Good thinking, boys.”

  About time this meat was mine. I pulled off a chunk and threw it to Leandro. We tore into the food like a Thanksgiving feast and forgot about scary creatures attacking us and guards vaporizing us with snake heads. There was only good food going down into our empty stomachs. Poor Lo Chez couldn’t eat any of it.

  “The best agrius beast there is,” Sam mumbled, his mouth full of food, pointing at the mystery meat.

  Whatever agrius beast was, it sure tasted good. Better than gurgle soup. We ate until it was all gone, passing food back and forth in the sky. Charlie let out a huge burp that startled his kernitian, and it kicked its legs up. We all laughed, and even Leandro chuckled with his deep rumble. With our stomachs full, we glided along as if on a summer afternoon bike ride, except there was no yellow sun here to warm us, only a blue, frosted one.

  “So, where to next?” I said to Sam.

  “The castle. And the greenhouse is on its grounds. It’s not far, but our most dangerous stop. The Lost Realm guards have been training extra slaves to guard the king, and Finn might be one of those. The king has been paranoid about a takeover, and if that were to happen, my days would be numbered here, which is why I needed to escape now.”

  “Then the rumors are true,” Leandro said.

  “What rumors?” Charlie said.

  “Hekate’s plan to overthrow King Apollo. And the people of the Lost Realm are ready for change.”

  “Even an evil one?” I shook my head.

  “The Lost Realm is cursed, first by Zeus and now Hekate, and could soon be plummeted into the darkest of ages again,” Leandro said, spreading a hand out across the treetops. “You can already feel the chill in the air and inside folks.”

  “Even my father is afraid,” Sam said. “It’s why he’s had me working at the power mill and sending back reports. He was once a reasonable man, but now I fear him as much as I do Hekate.”

  “Because she’s an immortal evil?” Leandro said.

  “How do you know that?” Sam said.

  “As a prison guard, I heard things.”

  “It’s true,” Sam said softly.

  “Those old cave drawings looked like her,” I said. “But how can you know for sure?”

  “I watched her,” Sam said. “One night, I snuck outside her sleeping quarters and spied her through the keyhole. She removed her beauty and there was the ugly, old hag beneath.” He shuddered as if haunted by that vision. “I knew then, if I wanted to live, I had to do whatever she told me.”

  We were all silent for a long moment. The memory of her fingertips silencing Lo Chez with blue fire filled my head. “She doesn’t need a vape, does she? She is a vape.”

  Sam nodded solemnly. “The most deadly vape of all.”

  My kernitian suddenly dove down, and cold air rushed over me as it zoomed toward the ground. “What’s happening?”

  The others dove as well. Leandro wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “I’m not asking them to do this.”

  We landed on the forest floor and dismounted as whinnying came from far beyond the trees.

  Leandro translated for everyone. “They’ve signaled danger among themselves and are calling all to return to home.”

  My kernitian took off like a racehorse into the air with the others. Within seconds, they were gone from view. We stood, fog rolling around our feet in a blanket that offered no comfort.

  Leandro pulled out his knife. It shone in the mist. “We’ve got to get under cover inside the castle to find Finn. Quickly.”

  Sam shook his head. “There’s no way in except through the castle gate, which is nearby at the edge of the woods. All the underground tunnels have been blocked off, except the other bakehouse one that leads directly into the castle.”

  “You already got chased out of there,” Charlie said.

  “Then let’s take the road.” I pointed through the trees at the path that wound through the woods in the distance. We’d come upon it earlier and kept it in sight to maintain direction, watchful for unfriendly riders on it.

  “We’ll be caught for sure,” Sam said.

  “I have to agree,” Leandro said. “Too risky. We must find a way in through the castle’s bowels.”

  “They wouldn’t be expecting us on the road though,” I said.

  Charlie waved his hands in the air. “Zut Alors! So what do you suggest we do, Joshua? March on up, give a good knock, and say ‘Allo! We need to rescue a kid in there. Send him out so we can escape. And by the way, sorry about stealing your breakfast.’”

  Something dawned on me, and I nodded. “That’s exactly what we do.”

  Sam, Charlie, and Leandro looked at each other, and their faces told me I was crazy.

  “Leandro, you pretend you’re a Child Collector delivering some Reekers to the king as slaves,” I said, speaking faster with excitement, knowing this would work, would have to work. “You have a belt and gate key that proves it.”

  He thought about it, and then a half-smile crossed his face and he shot a finger at me. “Good thinking, Joshua! You boys will be my captives.”

  “What if something goes wrong? We need the gate key to get to Earth,” Sam said.

  “And we will,” Leandro said.

  We stood there, no one speaking, and finally I said to Sam, “We have to trust each other.”

  “Oui, Prince-man. Trust. It’s all we got,” Charlie said with a serious look on his face.

  At last, Sam nodded and Leandro took charge. “Once we get in the castle, we’ll find Finn, get the gate codes, use the orb to blast our way out, and with the element of surprise, run
like the wind to the Lightning Gate. I know the way.”

  “Me too, but I can’t go in the castle,” Sam said. “Everyone knows me. But I can tell you where the codes are.”

  “Wait in the woods for us then,” I said.

  A rush of anticipated success filled me with the bigger picture of our mission. “What about the others?” I looked at Leandro. Charlie and Sam both appeared puzzled. I explained. “Rescuing all the kids stuck here.”

  “First we must get your friend, young Joshua.” Leandro said. “There’s no time to waste.”

  He was right. We ran after him. This time, we had energy to burn. And it wasn’t far. We ran around rocks, over water holes with scaly things flopping in their murky depths, and under the drooping wizard trees. They looked tired and sad to me now, bearing witness to our adventure unfolding. Then we stopped. We could go no further.

  A raging creek roared across our path and there was no way around it. We had to cross. Tusks poked up through the churning waters.

  Hydriads.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Water tumbled past us in a mad flood, angry as it raced to its final destination. Two fat boulders sat in the middle of the creek.

  Charlie looked around. “There must be a bridge not far from the path.”

  “It’s further downstream,” Sam said.

  “And we’re here now,” Leandro said.

  “There.” I pointed. “We can jump across.”

  Leandro agreed, but Charlie backed up. “These … things will get us like Leandro said.”

  “Not if we don’t fall in,” I said.

  Tusks sailed back and forth in the turbulence like sharks under the water, cruising the creek floor for their next meal. They swam in wait for victims like us.

  “They seem hungry,” Sam said, tensing his shoulders.

  “What if we do fall in?” Charlie’s eyes darted back and forth between the monster fish.

  There was no answer to that.

  “I’m not afraid of hydriads.” Leandro pulled out his knife. “I’ll slice their tusks off before they get you.”

  I wasn’t sure if he could be that quick, but we had to cross. Vapor lay heavy on the water, hiding the full horror of what swam beneath.

  “Follow me,” Leandro said. “I’ll go first and get you each across, one at a time.”

  He leapt from the bank to the first boulder. It was wide enough at the top for two. Spray jetted up, wetting his cloak. He steadied himself on the rock, then reached out his hand. Watching the tusks circle his boulder, I went first and backed up a few steps, took a running start, and jumped, landing hard. Leandro steadied me. The water banged against the boulder, as if it too wanted to pull us in.

  It got its chance. I lost my balance following Leandro to the next boulder, and one foot slipped into the cold water. The tusks headed for me and something rammed against my shoe. A snout quivered above the water. Sam and Charlie yelled at me to get up on the rock.

  Leandro hoisted me up just before a tusk lanced my leg. “Come now, Joshua, we can make the last leap together.” Could my shaking legs make it? But he took my hand in his rough one and we sailed through the air to land on the muddy bank.

  Safe.

  Leandro leapt back across the creek to help the others. First Sam came across, then Charlie. He flew through the air, his face scrunched up in terror and his skinny arms and legs spewing in all directions.

  Then he missed.

  He hit the last boulder off center and dropped up to his hips into the seething foam.

  “Leandro!” Sam and I both yelled at the same time. Leandro looked back as he soared onto the bank ahead of Charlie. He slammed into the ground in front of us, then dashed back into the creek, and I followed. His cloak flew behind him like a flame as tusks raced toward Charlie. Leandro waded through the waves with me right behind, and we pulled Charlie up with one hand while Leandro sliced through the water with his knife.

  “Joshua, part the waters,” Leandro commanded.

  “I can’t—”

  “Try!”

  I pushed the waves aside, not sure how to do what Leandro wanted me to do, but the water held me greedily in its arctic grasp. Sam yelled something, but the water was a roar. Its icy spray shocked me, blasting up my nose and in my mouth with a salty, foul taste. I forced the water away, but couldn’t move faster through it.

  “Believe it, Joshua,” Leandro yelled. You can do it!”

  But I couldn’t.

  The water dragged me down into its glacial realm. A tusk raced toward me. Sam yelled louder. Brackish water filled my mouth, and I began to slip under.

  Leandro pushed Charlie toward the bank, then swung around and hoisted me up. He flung himself about in the freezing water as tusks encircled us, moving like a boxer to dodge the spears his enemy launched at him.

  Slice. Slice.

  The foam bled red. Then the tusks were gone. Leandro hauled me through the water toward Charlie and Sam. We climbed up on the bank, dripping. His hair glistened against his cloak that now hung heavy on him, and he hurled down seven tusks. Sliced, jagged, and bloody.

  I shivered in wet clothes, gasping for breath, and never so glad to be back on land in all my life.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  We stood dripping on the mossy ground, recovering from the hydriads’ attack.

  “Sensationnel,” Charlie said in a shaky voice and pushed his wet hair off his forehead in spikes.

  “Not the word I’d use,” I said.

  “It means ‘wow’ to you Americans,” Charlie said tightly.

  “Sensationnel all right. Or more like–”

  Leandro cut me off, pushing his face into mine. “Joshua, you can’t command water.”

  “N-no,” I stammered, my heart still knocking about in my chest. The slimy feel in my mouth made me gag, and I spat to get the taste out, but it stuck to my tongue.

  His breaths slowed and his shoulders caved in. “I’m sorry. I almost got you killed. I’d hoped you’d have Poseidon’s ancient power … and be the one.”

  The one what? I’d let Leandro down, but didn’t understand how. Sam wouldn’t look at me, as if he didn’t want to explain. I shook all over, my fingers white with cold, and stuck them under my armpits.

  “Poseidon the sea god?” I racked my brain for facts on Poseidon.

  “Yes,” Leandro said. “He was god of many things, but he was most known as the Olympian god of the seas, protector and commander of all waters and its creatures. His heir rules the Sea Realm.”

  “Wasn’t he Zeus’s brother?” Mythology class quickly came back to me.

  “Yes, and to Hades, god of the Underworld. But Poseidon fought often with his brothers, and it was said that you didn’t want to cross him, as he could wreak destruction through his earthquakes and tidal waves.”

  “A real nice god,” Charlie said, rolling his eyes with a snort as he resorted back to knuckle chewing, taking turns with them.

  “Well, he is long gone and now his heir, King Poseidon, seeks out those with ancient powers. He trains them as soldiers to enforce his laws and battle anyone who defies him. Just like Zeus. Just like Artemis. It’s why, being a malumpus-tongue, I was drafted as a guard and hunter to lure the beasts to their death.” Leandro paced angrily before us, shaking out his wet hair and cloak and muttering to himself. “Powerless gods. They force those who exhibit the ancient powers to be servants for life. They act as absolute rulers when they should be pooling the resources of their own and raising them up to live a better life.” He punched his fist into his palm, then said with renewed force, “It’s time.”

  “Time for what?” I wrung out my sopping wet shirt and squirmed in jeans that clung uncomfortably.

  “Time for our world to be redeemed, and someone must rise up to lead us.” He stopped pacing and looked at me with eyebrows drawn together. “I wanted to believe you were that redeemer—and help me find my family.”

 
Was that the only reason he stuck around? He gazed off into the woods, his mouth in a hard line. His disappointment about who I was weighed on me. I sat down and hugged my knees to draw some warmth into my body, and Sam knelt down beside me.

  “I never knew if the myth was true before,” Sam said, tapping his hands on his knees.

  “What myth?” I said.

  “The Oracle,” Sam said, and stopped tapping, his fingers now bunching up his pants.

  That’s what the korax chanted.

  Charlie spouted out a squeaky laugh. “C’est quoi?”

  Leandro strode to me and grabbed my hand, pulling me up, his fingers covering mine. “Do you have any marks that might reveal you’re the prophesied one?”

  I snatched my hand away and took a step back, tripping on a root. He reached out to steady me, but I shoved him off. The waters, the animals, the eyes of my friends, and even the nearby trees seemed to want something from me. “I don’t have any mark!”

  “What are you saying? Joshua is some kind of Olympian god?” Charlie looked me up and down as if I were about to start spitting light from my fingers like Hekate.

  Leandro paced back and forth like a caged animal, his boots snapping dead branches as he stirred up the fog in angry wisps. “Joshua here has the ancient Arrow Realm power of malumpus-tongue to speak to animals. And he has a lightning orb from Sky Realm, which could provide him with other powers here. These things add up.” He stopped pacing and thrust his hand out, serving me up. “Yes, Joshua may be the Oracle destined to bring back Olympian powers to their heirs, restore right on our world, and shut down the Lightning Road forever. Every one hundred years one is prophesied to arise … if he is found.”

  My scalp prickled and I inhaled sharply, glancing at Charlie. His knuckle was frozen in his mouth as he stared at me. I just shook my head back and forth, wishing their stares away, wishing I could melt away in the mist and just be anonymous Joshua again in a world that made sense. Back home, in each new town, I was the invisible kid who blended in. Here, in taking risks, I was noticed at every painful moment.