The Eye of Zeus

by Alane Adams

  I tucked it safely away in my pocket. “That’s three. We’re halfway there.”

  A loud voice rang out. “King Lycurgus demands an audience.” A soldier flanked by three more holding pointed lances stood waiting. “You will follow me.”

  “We really don’t have time,” I began, then seeing the set look on their faces, I smiled. “But we’ll make time for the king, right, guys?”

  They marched us down a street crowded with cheering spectators that threw flowers at our feet. Hands reached out to pat us on the back, thanking us for saving their prince and killing the beast.

  It was kind of nice to be the hero for once.

  Tall columns marked the entrance to the palace. The king waited outside in the shadowed columns of the steps, pacing restlessly. His eyes lit up as he spied us.

  “There you are. Nemea’s saviors.” He hurried over and gave a short bow. “I am King Lycurgus. To whom do I owe a lifetime of gratitude?”

  “No thanks necessary,” I said. “We’re no one special.”

  “I think not. You two are demigods,” he pointed at me and Macario. “Who are your parents?”

  “I am a son of Apollo,” Macario said proudly.

  “And you?” He looked at me.

  “Daughter of Zeus.”

  He looked pleased. “We built a temple in honor of Zeus. I knew he would not abandon Nemea in our time of need.” The doors to the palace swung open, and a woman hurried forward. He turned with a smile. “Meet my wife, Queen Thea.”

  She wrapped us in a hug. “You saved the life of my only son. I can never repay you. Please, you must stay and attend a banquet in your honor.”

  “Uh, we really can’t stay—” I began.

  Angie elbowed me aside. “Banquet? As in one of them all-you-can-eat shindigs? Sure, we’d be delighted.”

  “Wonderful.” The queen clapped her hands and servants appeared. “Take these children to their rooms to freshen up. Tonight will be a celebration to end all celebrations.”

  CHAPTER 25

  The palace was the biggest crib I’d ever been in. Think one of those artsy-fartsy museums you go to on field trips, only the artifacts on display were just part of the decor. Acres of marbled floors opened up to rooms filled with expensive-looking gilded furniture. We climbed a broad set of stairs. The boys were led off to their room while Angie and I followed a blushing serving girl named Mira. She threw open a set of double doors.

  A steaming pool of water with lotus flowers floating on top greeted us. A bay window overlooked the valley. Two comfy beds piled high with pillows awaited our aching bodies.

  “Last one in is a rotten hydra’s egg,” Angie said, eyeing the steamy water.

  Mira left us to bathe in private. We stripped down to our underclothes, glad to be rid of the tattered clothes we’d been wearing, and stepped into the water. It smelled like roses and felt heavenly.

  “Now, this is the life, Katzy.” Angie stared up at the ceiling as she floated, dipping her hand into a plate of frosted dates.

  “Do you think the boys have it as good?”

  “Knowing Damian, he’s thinking of all the reasons not to enjoy it, while Macario is stealing everything that’s not bolted down.” She sat upright, wet hair plastered to her head. “Why do you put up with that kid? He’s nothing but—”

  “A rat, I know.” I sighed. “I guess he reminds me of me, or me if I hadn’t had Carl.”

  His mustached face swam before my eyes, and I blinked back tears.

  “Hey, Katzy, I didn’t mean to make you sad. Carl’s from Brooklyn. They make them tough.”

  “Yeah. I’m sure you’re right.”

  I climbed out of the tub and dried off. Mira reappeared with two young women in tow, a stack of clean clothes in her arms. “For you, courtesy of the queen,” she said, bowing low.

  She held out a tunic made of a heavy, soft fabric. On the chest, a yellow lightning bolt was outlined in thick gold thread.

  “Thanks!” I slipped it on, enjoying the cool, soft feel of it.

  “And for the prince’s savior.” She held up a tunic for Angie. The front had the Nemean lion crest woven in red. There were new shoes as well, soft boots that came to our knees, inlaid with fine swirls of bronze.

  Angie looked longingly over at her prized Doc Martens. They had a gash in them from the lion’s claws, and the left heel was falling off. She sighed and accepted the new boots.

  “Another gift, from the king,” Mira said, beckoning the first girl forward. She held a tray in her hands. Mira lifted a towel off, revealing two small golden headbands. One had a triangle pointing up in the center; the other had a lightning bolt carved into the band.

  She slipped them over our heads. The metal fit my forehead as if it were molded to me. Angie couldn’t wipe that silly grin off her face.

  “And from the prince.” She waved the second girl forward. Across her arms lay a sword on top of a shield. “To replace the one you lost,” she explained, lifting the sword and handing it to Angie.

  Angie’s eyes practically bugged out of her head. “Tell the prince thank you very much.” She drew the sword out of its sheath and slashed the air with it. The shield was small and round, carved with the Nemean lion in the center.

  The servant girls helped us with our hair, giggling as they braided it and wove in flowers. Finally, they left us alone, promising to return when it was time to go to the banquet.

  “I could really get used to this.” Angie sighed, stretching out on the feather bed.

  I wandered over to the window, hopping up on the ledge. I had a clear view of the temple of Zeus perched on the hill, the golden sun setting behind it. I had a sudden urge to see it up close.

  “Hey, Angie, wanna go check out the temple?”

  A rattling snore was my only answer.

  Taking a hooded cloak off a hook, I slipped it over my head and opened the door. No one paid me any attention. The servants were too busy carrying flowers and platters of food into a great hall.

  I raced down the steps of the palace and hurried through the city. With my hood up, none of the crowds recognized me as the day’s hero. It was easy enough to find the way to the temple. It was always in sight, overlooking Nemea, as if the god kept an eye on the city.

  I hiked up the hill, thrusting through tall grass that itched at my legs. At the top, I flung the hood back and paused to catch my breath. The temple had a domed marbled roof held up by a circle of columns, open on all sides. Purple silk banners hung down from the ceiling, stirred by the breeze.

  A white marble basin sat in the middle on a raised dais. Piles of flowers—some wilted, some still fresh—littered the floor. A woman brushed past, glancing briefly at me before hurrying to the altar. She dropped her flowers, curtsied, then left.

  A flicker of disappointment ran through me. I had expected an over-the-top statue of my father, like the one at the Lincoln Memorial. I waded through the piles of flowers and made my way to the basin. I had to step up on the dais to look down into it. Green algae slicked the inside. An insect skimmed across the surface.

  I hadn’t brought any flowers, but I had some in my hair. I untwisted a few petals and dropped them in, watching them drift lazily. I didn’t know what I’d expected, but I guess part of me was hoping my father would just appear like magic.

  Which was pretty dumb, even for me. When had my father ever shown up when I needed him? I was just about to turn away, eager to get back to the palace and the banquet in my honor, when a sudden ripple wrinkled the surface.

  I hesitated, staring down into the bowl.

  The water swirled as if something were moving. I leaned in closer, then yelped as a familiar face swam into view.

  “Athena!”

  “Phoebe, what are you doing here?” Her angry image glared up at me.

  “Nothing.” My cheeks flamed with embarrassment. I wasn’t about to admit I had been hoping to catch a glimpse of my father.

  “You used your powers to slay the Nemean l
ion. The Erinyes have tracked you there. You must leave at once.”

  “The Erinyes are here?”

  “Yes, even now they circle the palace. You can’t go back there.”

  “But I have to. My friends are there.”

  Her eyes glowered at me from the reflection. “You dare defy Athena? Do you remember what is at stake?”

  “Yes, I do. All of Olympus. Boohoo. I’m starting to think destroying that place isn’t the worst idea. The gods live up there behind golden gates while down here the people suffer from all kinds of monsters, and you do nothing.”

  “You don’t mean that. Phoebe, I beg you—do the right thing.”

  “I am doing the right thing. I’m going after my friends. I only wish you were the kind of sister that understood.” I dashed my hand in the water, erasing her image.

  I ran all the way back to the palace, rushing up the steps and into the hall. It was easy to find the banquet with all the noise of the people dining and laughing. I burst in, half expecting to find my friends in chains with the Erinyes standing over them, but they were happily stuffing their faces.

  The boys hovered around a table holding plates stacked with food, looking uncomfortable in their new tunics. They each wore a red sash across their chest. Angie stood next to them, gnawing on a chicken leg. Her shield was strapped to her back, her new sword dangling from her side.

  I clapped Angie and Damian on the shoulders. “Party’s over. It’s a trap.”

  Damian paled. “The Erinyes?”

  Angie dropped the chicken on her plate. “Here?”

  I nodded. “Yup. Just had a chat with Athena in a fountain. She was pleasant as ever.”

  “Then we’d better go,” Damian said. “Now.”

  “What about our feast?” Macario longingly eyed his heaping plate of food.

  “No time.” I scanned the room, suspecting every person. The guests were all eating and drinking. The king and queen sat at the head table. They raised their glass to me. The prince sat next to them; his arm wrapped in a sling. He tilted his head at me with a smile.

  Everything appeared fine. Still, Athena might be annoying, but she hadn’t steered me wrong.

  “If you want to stay, go ahead,” I said to Macario, “but we’re leaving.”

  He sighed, adding another hunk of meat to his towering plate. “I’m coming, but I’m taking this with me.”

  We were hurrying for the door when a figure stepped out from behind some long curtains, threw back her cloak, and drew a bow holding a flaming silver arrow.

  “Daughter of Zeus, you have betrayed the laws of Olympus.” Alekto shot the arrow straight at me.

  I didn’t have time to react. The arrow would have gone straight through my heart, only Macario stuck his plate up, and the arrow plonked into his pile of meat and mashed potatoes. The plate dropped with a clatter as we bolted for the door.

  Another of the Erinyes stepped out, blocking our way.

  Crud.

  The king and queen stood, calling for their guards.

  I drew a lightning bolt and threw it at the closest winged-nuisance. She leaped into the air, dodging it, and the bolt embedded in the long curtains behind her, which promptly caught fire. Guests began screaming as the silk Nemean banners hanging in the rafters also caught fire. Flames shot up, licking across the ceiling. Chaos ensued as everyone scrambled for the exits, overturning tables as they fled.

  Guards hurried the royal family out. I ducked behind an overturned table, yanking Macario down as silver-tipped arrows flew past.

  “Phoebe of Argos, come out or your friends will perish.”

  I peeked over the top of the table. Angie and Damian were being held by two of the winged avengers. Alekto waited, a silver arrow notched in her bow.

  I stood, raising my hands.

  “Don’t do it, Katzy—run!” Angie shouted.

  “They’ll be dead before you take two steps out of the room,” Alekto said. “Come willingly and you may serve out your days in the underworld prison of Tartarus. Resist and you leave us no choice but to terminate your life and that of your companions. Choose now.”

  Smoke billowed in thick clouds. The curtains burned brighter, sending chunks of burning ash into the air. Alekto wanted me to choose? What kind of choice was death today or a lifetime in an underworld prison?

  “I choose neither.”

  I didn’t have a plan, at least not much of one. My thoughts swirled in my head, spinning and spinning as my frustration grew. I hated being helpless. I hated not being able to change my fate.

  “Then you will die now,” Alekto said, drawing back on her bow and gazing steadily at me over the clasp of her fist. “Last chance. Surrender now or die.”

  I did the only thing I could think of.

  I created a tornado.

  Clenching and unclenching my hands, I felt the power build in me. I sifted through my mind, searching for the right word. When I had it, I thrust my hands upward and shouted, “Sifounas!”

  Alekto released her arrow. The shiny silver flaming tip headed squarely for my chest, but a sudden gust of wind took hold of the arrow, spinning it wildly before sending it into the flaming curtains, scattering embers.

  A whipping wind lifted chairs and tables into the air, spinning them in a circle as the vortex grew bigger and stronger. Alekto took flight, only to be caught in the maelstrom and spun in a circle as she fought against it.

  Angie elbowed her captor, breaking her grip, while Damian wriggled free and dropped to his knees as my swirling tornado swept toward them. The three Erinyes struggled valiantly to reach me, but the wind tossed and turned their winged figures away.

  We crawled out on our hands and knees as smoke, fire, and flames danced together in a giant fiery cone. The ceiling cracked, and the flames leaped onto the roof as the freed tornado rose into the sky.

  “I need to stop it,” I said, hardly believing I had caused yet another disaster.

  Angie tugged on me. “If you do, they’ll be on you before you can say death sentence. We have to go.”

  She dragged me off as I stared behind at the destruction I’d caused. Flames jumped from building to building as my tornado continued unabated, painting the evening sky orange.

  We didn’t stop until we were free of the city gates and a ways down the road.

  Damian looked back at the burning skyline, letting out a whistle. “You do realize you just burned down the entire city of Nemea?”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “So?” Damian raised his eyebrows. “That’s the third place you’ve wrecked. You look a lot like someone who is destroying Olympus.”

  “Hey, I didn’t do anything to Crommyon or Agatha!” I shouted. “So maybe give me a break. I’m doing the best I can.”

  I spun away and stomped off down the road. Did Damian not appreciate how hard this was for me? How hard I was trying?

  “Phoebe, I’m sorry,” he called as my three friends trotted after me.

  “Drop it.” I wanted to get as far from Nemea as I could and forget this day ever happened.

  The last light was fading from the sky when a young man swaggered into view, whistling softly as he made his way toward the burning city. He had long hair tied in a ponytail. His chest was bare and muscled, as if he spent his life at the gym pumping iron.

  “Greetings, travelers. Have you come from Nemea?” he asked in a deep baritone voice.

  “Yeah, what’s left of it,” I said.

  “I am Hercules. I am on my way to slay the Nemean lion. It’s one of my twelve labors to prove my valor and strength.” He rolled his shoulders back, flexing his biceps into impressive camel humps.

  Angie sputtered with laughter. She tried to stop it, but it caught on, and Damian let out a snort. Macario followed, and the three of them bent over laughing. Hercules stared at my friends as if they had lost their minds.

  “Good luck with that,” I said. “I hear he’s hard to kill.”

  Hercules raised his hand in goodbye and s
auntered off.

  “Do you think he’s going to be bummed when he finds out we handled it?” Angie asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

  “Naw, he’ll probably send a thank-you card,” I said.

  Macario grinned. “Wait till he hears we killed the hydra of Lerna.”

  “We haven’t done it yet,” I reminded him.

  “But we will,” Damian said. “Knowing you, we will, and I’ll be the bait.”

  Macario added, “You do know the hydra has nine heads and—”

  “Regrows two when you cut one off? Yeah, been there, done that, got the souvenir scar.” I lifted the hem of my tunic and showed him the jagged scar on my leg. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “Its bite is poisonous.”

  “And yet I survived.”

  “How?”

  I shrugged. “Dunno. Miss Carole gave me something to drink. Like extra sweet apple juice.”

  Macario shook his head. “Then that is a miracle, because without ambrosia to cure you, its poison can kill the strongest of mortals, even demigods.”

  “I wish we could have stayed in Nemea longer,” Angie sighed. “I really wanted a night in that feather bed.”

  “I don’t miss the Erinyes trying to kill us,” I said.

  “There is that.” She grinned, and we burst into another bout of laughter as we walked away from the flaming skyline.

  CHAPTER 26

  After torching Nemea, we made good time on foot heading south toward the swamps of Lerna. None of us were particularly excited about facing a hydra again. The first one had nearly bitten off our heads and poisoned me half to death. And it had been a cheap imitation.

  Macario proved useful, finding a place to camp near a stream and keeping spirits up with his tall tales. In the light of the campfire, he rambled on about a bottomless lake that fed the swamps and hid monstrous creatures we couldn’t imagine.

  When the hour grew late, we burrowed into nests of leaves, staring at the stars as Damian pointed out the names. I tried to stay awake, but my lids grew too heavy to keep open.