by Alane Adams
“You’re Apollo,” I said, awestruck by the power that radiated from him.
His smile widened as he helped Athena up to sit on the fallen column. “So I am. And you’re the one I’ve heard so much about. For the destroyer of Olympus, you look harmless enough.”
“You have a son,” I blurted out. “A really cool, amazing kid named Macario. He’s done everything he can to impress you. He helped slay the Nemean lion and got us out of the underworld by trading his sun power to Hades.”
Apollo blinked as the meaning hit home. “His mother was a tree nymph. Without his sun power—”
“He turns into a tree,” I said.
Apollo looked guilt-stricken.
I turned to my sister. “Athena, I have to stop that monster.”
Her eyes darkened. “Zeus wouldn’t approve—”
“He would. He knows I’m here. I swear to you. Ares misread the prophecy. I am going to take him down. I just need a little help.”
“How? Typhon is immortal. The only monster to ever defeat Zeus. What can you do to stop him?”
“I usually do something like this.” I turned. “Damian, ideas?”
Everyone turned to stare at poor Damian. His face was red and raw, but his eyes were open.
He cleared his throat. “Right, you said this Typhon is immortal. That means we can’t kill him. So we need to contain him.”
Contain him. I liked the sound of that.
“There is no prison that can hold a monster like that,” Athena scoffed. “And the Eye of Zeus is destroyed.”
“No, wait.” I had a thought. “Damian, remember what sun-brain said about the swamps where the hydra lived?”
“They’re fed from Lake Lerna.”
“Which he said was—”
“Bottomless.” His eyes lit up. “Yes, that could work.”
“What could work?” Athena asked.
“We lure Typhon to the lake, weigh him down, and sink him to the bottom,” I said.
“There is no bottom,” she said, confused.
“Exactly. Which means he would sink forever. Problem solved.”
Hephaestus stepped forward. “The child has a good idea. I can make a snare if my lab isn’t destroyed. I’ll need Athena’s help and Apollo’s sun power to forge the metal quickly. Someone will have to lure Typhon there.”
“We’ll get him there,” I said confidently.
“Phoebe, you can’t do this alone,” Athena said.
I smiled. “I won’t be alone. I’ve got friends.” I nodded at Damian and Angie. “You and Apollo go make the trap. After we take Ares down, we’ll lead the monster to the lake. Meet us there at sunrise. Don’t be late,” I added. “I have a feeling we’ll be short on time.”
Athena looked slightly awestruck. “I never realized how much like Father you are. We won’t be late, sister, I promise you.” She lifted her bronzed helmet off and placed it on my head. “To help give you wisdom in battle.” She unstrapped her chest armor and slipped it over Angie’s shoulders. “This will protect you from the sharpest blade.” To Damian, she gave her gleaming golden shield. “This is Aegis. It will defend you against many sorts of dangers.”
This time, we led our pegasuses up the hill, leaving them outside the building for a quick exit.
“Ready?” I looked at Angie.
With her headband and Athena’s armor, she looked like a warrior princess. She gripped the Nemean sword in one hand. “Oh, yeah. I’m ready to teach Typhon a lesson in manners.”
“Ready for your job, D?”
Damian nodded, looking small behind the shield Athena had given him. “I’m ready. Just don’t do anything too foolish.”
“Foolish?” I flexed my fingers and called up a lightning bolt. “You know I can’t promise that.”
We huddled inside the entrance. Zeus lay facedown, his hands and legs splayed out, bound by the chains. Ares stood over him. In his hand he held the lightning scepter, the source of Zeus’s great power according to Athena. It glowed like a living thing, as tall as Ares and tipped with a ball of energy. He jabbed the scepter in Zeus’s back, causing the god to spasm as electrical current flowed through the staff.
The twins lounged feet up in a pair of thrones, looking bored. Typhon watched Zeus, his slitted eyes glowing with satisfaction.
Ares laughed. “Isn’t this fun, Father? Typhon is enjoying watching you suffer. I’ve promised when I’ve finished, he can tear you limb from limb and scatter you across the world while I take your scepter and conquer every kingdom under me.”
He raised the scepter again, prepared to jab Zeus with it, when we stepped through the pillars.
“Ares, your time is up.”
I cocked my arm back and flung the lightning bolt forward, hoping to catch him off guard. He swung the end of the scepter up, batting my lightning away like a baseball. It exploded against the ceiling, sending sparks flying.
Typhon was on his feet, his tail crashing against a pillar. An ominous crack rang out.
“Angie, you and Damian—”
“On it,” she said. “Here, monster, monster, come and eat me.”
Typhon’s tongue forked out at Angie as he crawled after her. She dodged between columns as Damian called out to the twins. “Hey, Phobos and Deimos, you don’t scare me.”
At Ares’s nod, the pair stalked off toward Damian.
My odious half-brother paced in front of me, shaking his head. “Phoebe, you had your chance to let this go. Why don’t you demigods ever learn? You’re not the true heroes. It’s the gods like me that live on forever.”
“From now on, I’m pretty sure you’re going to be living in Tartarus, or whatever dark hole Zeus sends you to.”
He jumped forward, stabbing the scepter at me. Pure bolts of electricity shot out, aimed straight for my heart. I hit the ground, and the blast ricocheted off Athena’s helmet, leaving me dazed but alive.
I rolled onto my feet, throwing another bolt at him. He swatted it away again and then blazed electric fire at the ceiling, knocking the iron chandelier down. I dove to the side, just missing being flattened. Before I could move, Ares stood over me, scepter pointed at my heart.
“Foolish child, you have no business trying to be a hero.”
He thrust the scepter into my chest. It was as if I’d stuck my finger in the world’s largest light socket. Pain radiated through every pore. I couldn’t breathe. My heart rate slowed to a near stop. My strength faded. This is it, I thought. Ares wins.
His eyes were wild with anticipation as he thrust harder.
But some part of me resisted. I had been fighting for the right to live since the day I was born. No way Ares was going to be the one to take that away.
With a stubborn force of will, I raised first my right hand and then my left from the stone floor. Slowly, I brought them toward the scepter.
Ares smirked. “Give it up, sister. Even now your life drains away. You are not immortal like I am. You can die.”
Maybe so. But not today.
I clenched the scepter tight, taking in all the energy it put out. The shock arched me upward, but I refused to loosen my grip. Pulsating electricity ran through my veins. My teeth went numb as if I’d been dosed with Novocain. I had no feeling in my limbs. I felt my heart lock in my chest.
My head rolled to the side. My eyes met the blue eyes of Zeus across the room, where he lay in chains.
You are my daughter. Fight.
His lips didn’t move, but it was as if he’d shouted them directly into my brain. Energy began to flow back into me. With a painful kick, my heart started to beat again.
I looked back up at Ares.
I was a child of Zeus.
My father had gifted me with the power to wield lightning.
Lighting couldn’t kill me.
Ares caught on too late. He pulled back on the scepter, but it wouldn’t budge.
He tugged harder, but I held it easily. I raised my knee and kicked him in the chest, shoving him backward and breaking his grip o
n the scepter.
I leaped to my feet and spun the scepter in a circle. “I may not be immortal, but I am gonna knock that silly crown off your head.”
I swung the scepter, aiming for the fences. He grimaced as the glowing tip made contact. His crown went flying, spinning across the floor.
Ares wasn’t finished though. He drew his sword and brought it down on the scepter, splitting it in two, sending half of it head over tail across the room to embed in a column.
I held the broken end as we warily faced off.
“This can only end one way, Phoebe. With me victorious. You cannot kill me, so give it up. Your friends are about to be eaten by Typhon or destroyed by terror and fear. I have a date with my army. Are you going to chase me or save them?”
Angie’s cries registered. I shot a quick glance her way. Typhon had her pinned down behind the thrones. I couldn’t see Damian, but his moans were getting louder.
With my attention divided, Ares pounced. The tip of his sword pierced my rib cage and went in deep. The breath went out of me as pain blossomed.
I gasped, looking down in horror.
His eyes glinted as he drew the blade out, dragging agony through me. “See you later, sister.” He whistled shrilly, and a black pegasus with a white diamond on its forehead landed with a clatter of hooves.
I stumbled. One hand went to the wound. My fingers felt slippery. A dizzy spell hit me as I looked at the crimson stain on them.
Ares leaped on his pegasus and took flight, circling overhead with a triumphant grin before winging into the sky.
I forced myself to move, picking up the broken scepter and searching for the other piece. There. Stuck in the pillar. I tugged it out, holding the pieces in each hand.
Damian first.
I followed the sound of his moans. Damian was crouched behind Athena’s shield, using it to ward off the fear and terror sent his way by the twins. It had sounded like a good idea on our walk up here, but he was clearly losing. His face was sweaty and pale, his eyes unfocused as a keening moan escaped his lips.
I staggered behind the twins. They were so focused on destroying Damian’s mind, they didn’t hear me. I stuck the broken ends of the scepter into their backs, digging them in hard and firm. They jerked, trying to turn, but I kicked out the backs of their knees, taking them down to the ground, forcing the raw, blistering power deep into their sides.
As they writhed and twisted, Damian stood, taking an unsteady step forward. He smashed Athena’s shield down on one head and then the other, knocking the twins out cold.
“Nice work,” I said, fighting a wave of lightheadedness.
“A little help here, Katzy,” Angie yelled.
I looked at the glowing broken pieces in my hands. I brought the ends together, holding tight as the two ends mended. A dazzling light flared, making me blink, and the scepter was whole again.
Typhon was wrecking columns left and right as he chased after Angie. She was like a mouse, avoiding capture because she was so small and fast, but she was running out of hiding spots. Cracks in the ceiling were spreading. The whole place might come down if Typhon took out any more columns.
I blinked away the black spots behind my eyes. “Hey!” I called out. “Come and get me, you butt-ugly dinosaur.”
Typhon swiveled its scaly green head toward me, belching out a blazing trail of fire that burned straight for us. Damian knelt in front of me, holding up Athena’s shield.
We crouched behind it, feeling the searing heat of the flames roll over us.
When it stopped, Angie raced to our side. “How do we lead this dinosaur to the bottomless lake?”
“We need it to follow us,” I said. “And I know the perfect bait. Damian, get the pegasuses ready. Angie, distract Typhon. I’ll get Zeus. On the count of three …”
Damian gave Angie his shield and made a run for the exit. Angie charged, holding the shield up to fend off the flames Typhon roared at her. She got close enough to stab Typhon in the foot. The beast roared in pain, sending her flying backward as he swept his paw at her.
My turn.
With a swing of the scepter, I cut the chains binding Zeus and put my arms underneath him, helping him to his feet.
“Leave me here,” he groaned.
“Nope, sorry, you’re the bait this time.” I helped him outside, where Damian waited. Argenta lowered her head and he climbed on. I hauled myself up as Angie came running.
“Time to go,” she said, leaping on Nero’s back.
The temple exploded in a shower of crumbled rock as Typhon broke free from the palace, tearing down the last of the pillars so that the ceiling crumpled into dust. We took to the sky, winging away as Typhon gave pursuit.
I held on to Argenta’s mane, wondering if I was crazy.
“Yes, probably,” Zeus said, as if I had spoken aloud. “You just destroyed my palace. But then, you are my daughter.”
I caught a sense of pride in his voice. It made me forget for a moment the cold spreading through my veins from the wound in my side.
Typhon screeched, belching fire. Warm flames rolled toward us. I searched for a flicker of my power, but it was spent. Zeus swung his leg over Argenta and turned around backward. With his powerful lungs, he blew the stream of fire backward so that it engulfed Typhon, making the monster scream in rage.
“You’ll feel much worse before I’m through with you,” Zeus taunted. He turned back around. “So, daughter, where are we headed?”
I quickly gasped out our plan—we had to give Athena time to get to Lerna with the chains that would bind Typhon, which meant we would have to fly all night and keep Typhon close. But not too close.
“Head south,” Zeus said. “I don’t have my full strength yet, but I’ll keep him engaged.”
Our agile pegasuses flew hard, staying just out of reach, leading Typhon on a merry chase over the dark countryside. Zeus guided me, sending bolts of lightning at Typhon when he got too close, taunting him with threats and jeers. It worked to keep Typhon enraged and furiously giving chase.
The moon was a beacon in the sky, casting a white glow over us. I passed out at one point, opening my eyes to see the pink edges of the sun begin to crawl over the horizon. A murky bog came into view below. We passed over the hulking carcass of the hydra. And then we zoomed over a wide body of blue water.
The bottomless lake.
I gripped the glowing scepter in hands that had grown cold.
We had to hope Athena was waiting. That she had the trap ready.
I pressed a hand to my side, looking down at the sticky blood on my fingers.
We needed a miracle.
CHAPTER 40
A mist clung to the surface of the lake as we flew over it. A small trail of smoke made its way up through the trees at the shore. Fingers crossed that was our signal.
“Stay clear,” I shouted, waving Angie and Damian off. They peeled away as I urged Argenta lower. The moment I shifted course, Typhon followed. Argenta panted heavily, her body streaked with sweaty foam. “Just a few more minutes, girl,” I whispered, rubbing her neck.
Athena stepped out of the trees. A strange weapon sat on the shore—some kind of giant crossbow mounted on a stand. Where were the chains to bind Typhon? Did Athena think a spear was going to bring this beast down?
She moved behind the weapon and drew back on the bow.
As we passed over, she let the bow loose. I twisted around to see. The spear whistled through the air aimed straight at the monster. Typhon saw the danger and rolled on his side. The spear flew harmlessly past him. But it made the beast angry enough to give up on Zeus.
He landed with a large splash on the lake’s shore and bellowed his rage, blanketing the shore with scorching fire.
Athena!
I looked on in horror as flames engulfed the spot where she had been standing.
And then over the treetops, two massive griffins soared, carrying a net between their beaks made of metal mesh and barbed hooks. The oversized eag
les dropped the net over Typhon. The beast launched itself in the air, but its wings were tangled, and it crashed on the shore.
Athena rose unscathed from behind the charred crossbow, shedding a heavy cloak. A battalion of men began dragging a thick chain from out of the trees. As Typhon thrashed, they hooked the chain to the net, cinching it tighter around him.
“Turn back,” Zeus said. “We have to drag Typhon into the center of the lake.”
Given that the monster must weigh two tons, I didn’t see how we were going to manage that, but I turned Argenta. Athena stood on shore, swinging the chain. She let it loose and it soared into the air. Zeus snatched the end, wrapping it around his fist. It snapped tight, nearly unseating us both. Argenta struggled to fly forward but she didn’t have the strength. The griffins landed on Typhon, gripping the netting with their claws, and flapped their broad wings.
Still not enough.
Angie flew past on Nero, reaching a hand out to grasp Athena’s arm. She pulled her up behind her. Damian followed suit, and Apollo leaped onto the back of Albert. Each of them held a section of chain.
Typhon roared, fighting at the mesh binding him.
“Use your wind, child,” Zeus commanded. “The scepter will give it a boost.”
I gathered my powers, head dizzy as I conjured the word. What was it? My mind was fuzzy.
Then I remembered.
“Anemos!”
I thrust the scepter in the air. A massive gust of wind lifted the pegasuses’ wings, sending us forward. Typhon roared and thrashed, knocking us every which way as we headed for the center of the lake. Wind roared in my ears. My hand grew numb holding the staff as its power throbbed through me.
The water was a deep blue below when Zeus gave the signal to drop the chain. The griffins peeled away, as did the other two pegasuses.
Typhon flailed, trying to free his wings, but the hooks dug deeper into his flesh as he struggled. He hit the water with an enormous splash that sent a wave of water into the air. He lunged upward, snatching at us with his jaws, but the weight of the chains pulled him back. He lunged again, belching out fire. I rolled Argenta to the side, narrowly avoiding the flames.
And then Typhon began to sink, lower and lower until only his snout remained. The water churned and frothed, and then the last bit of him disappeared from view.
