by Raine, Eliza
Find the cliffs of abandon. You must make a leap of faith, I read. I turned the sword so that everybody could read it, then with a nod, we all began to head back to the surface.
‘I’m not loving the words cliffs and leap in the same sentence,’ said Arketa, as soon as we all had our heads above the waves.
‘Yeah, sounds a bit ominous,’ agreed Zali.
‘Do you know where these cliffs are?’ I asked my mom, feeling a stab of emotion as I looked at her. A massive part of me wanted to hug her, but I was pretty sure I would freak her out.
‘No, although the name is familiar.’
‘Icarus might know. He’s read everything,’ said Zali. ‘I’m going to stay in the water a bit longer, if that’s OK,’ she added.
‘As am I,’ said my mom.
‘No problem,’ I answered. I could do with some time to talk to Icarus, and Nix. I concentrated on the water, calling up a jet to lift me from the waves. I rose up, higher and higher until I was level with the railings. Icarus was there, and he grabbed my hand as I wobbled towards the deck. Another jet shot up beside mine, with Arketa atop it, looking alarmed.
‘Thanks!’ she shouted. I assumed my mom had made the jet for her.
‘How did it go?’ asked Icarus, as Thom helped Arketa back on-board.
‘There’s an inscription on the blade. It says Find the cliffs of abandon. You must make a leap of faith,’ I told him.
‘The cliffs of abandon?’ he repeated disbelievingly.
‘You know them?’
‘They’re in Capricorn,’ he said, his face falling. My stomach sank. ‘Which is a forbidden realm.’
22
Capricorn was Artemis’s realm, and strictly forbidden to almost everybody on Olympus. The young chaste goddess kept her realm exclusive to few races, including the elusive centaurs, I remembered clearly from Chiron’s classes. I’d asked the ship to take us to the cliffs of abandon in Capricorn, and the Tethys had dutifully started moving, at speed, but I had no idea if we were actually going to the right place. Capricorn was at least a two day trip from where we were though, so we had time to work out what we would do when we got there.
Thom’s suggestion was just to turn up and hope the goddess didn’t notice. I had a feeling that wouldn’t work. If Artemis had gone to the trouble of forbidding most of the world from her realm, then she had to have a way of knowing if anyone was trespassing.
Since the incident with Vronti, Thom seemed significantly more cheerful. He had proved to himself that he could be useful in his manticore form, and he and Zali spent most of our first day’s travel practicing shifting and trying to fly as a manticore. Over dinner in the galley he sent a barrage of questions at Icarus about flying, like how to control height with your wings and what happened when gusts of air caught you. It was good to see them talking. And it was always good to watch Icarus speak about flying. His face lit up, those piercing green eyes sparkling. I forced down a stab of jealousy as I spooned rice into my mouth. I would never be able to enjoy my power like he could. Not now that I was waiting for it to destroy me. Icarus and I had still not spoken about what my mom had said, and I wanted to keep it that way. I knew he would deny its truth, or try to work out a way around it, and I couldn’t bring myself to sit and explain to him how I knew it was true. How I knew down to my very core that the two powers churning through me couldn’t co-exist. I guess I wasn’t ready to admit it out loud. There was one person I wanted to talk to about it though. And it didn’t require speaking out loud.
‘Hey Nix,’ I said, flopping down on my bed with the delicate phoenix feather.
‘You kept me waiting! Did you find Alifthoros?’
‘Yup, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Apart from maybe this ship.’ The bird humpfed in my mind. ‘And your feather,’ I added quickly.
‘Did you put the stone in it?’
‘Yes, two of them actually.’ I told him about finding the other gem and what had happened with Vronti. I figured he didn’t need to know that I had formed a tentative truce with Arketa, or that my mom had never actually abandoned me at the academy like I thought. I needed to work how I felt about that on my own. ‘So then we took the sword into the ocean, like the seahorses wanted us to, and an inscription appeared saying we had to take a leap of faith at the cliffs of abandon.’ I finished. Nix said nothing for what seemed like an age. ‘Are you still there?’ I asked him.
‘Yes, Pandora,’ he said, his voice heavy and full of more emotion than I’d heard it before. He hardly ever called me by my name. Sadness pulled at me.
‘You’ve realized the same thing as my mom, haven’t you,’ I said quietly. ‘My powers are too strong.’
‘She told you?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m afraid it’s true. If you can wield Oceanus’s own sword, then your water power is too strong to exist in the same body as another elemental power.’
‘Is there anything I can do?’ I asked, closing my eyes and praying he knew something my mom didn’t.
‘Other than finding a new body, no. I’m sorry.’
‘A new body?’
‘Yes. An immortal one. No human form will survive your powers.’
‘Could... Could Oceanus make me immortal?’ Nix paused.
‘Pandora, immortality is not a thing to be taken lightly. Speaking as one who is reborn, I would wish it upon nobody.’ I didn’t answer him, thinking about that. Would I want to live forever without my friends or family, or Icarus? ‘Besides which, the Olympians have very few rules, but one is that they may not make people immortal. The gods bore quickly, and they do not want whomever they fancy as their favorite at a point in time hanging around for eternity. I know Oceanus is not an Olympian, but he always obeyed Zeus’s rules, until his disappearance. If he wants peace, he will likely not make his first act one of such defiance.’
I let out a long breath.
‘Do you think he’ll grant me the power to see my dad and sister before... Before I blow up?’ I asked quietly. Nix gave a snort.
‘Don’t be so dramatic,’ he chided. ‘You’re not going to blow up.’
‘Really?’
‘I hope not,’ he said, sounding less than sure. ‘You know, you’re planning to ask him a lot of favors. You might find that he’s not pleased to see you at all.’
‘Yeah, mom said he might not be impressed by the whole fire thing,’ I sighed.
‘Nonsense, everyone is impressed by fire,’ the bird said haughtily.
‘You would say that, you’re a fire bird.’ I rolled my eyes.
‘Humpf. I meant, you don’t know why he went missing in the first place. He may not want to be found.’
‘He does,’ I said. ‘Why leave all the clues, the trail only his descendant can follow? And the poem? But for the hero who can handle the gore, Is finally a chance to end this bloody war.’ I recited the last line of the poem.
‘You forget. I actually knew him. I’m not sure he’ll be happy about those demons you let out.’
‘But how else would we have found the vial?’ Nix fell silent.
‘I’ll admit, it doesn’t all make sense,’ he said eventually. ‘For what it’s worth, Pandora, I hope he can help you. Both to save the souls of your friends and to see your family again.’
‘Thanks Nix,’ I said, my eyes tearing up for the first time since the torrent of information and emotions had started that day. ‘How long will it take before my powers... kill me?’
‘I expect it will not be any time soon,’ he said gently. ‘If they don’t get any stronger, then it might be a long time.’
‘What if I hurt someone with them? Like what happened to Arketa’s sister, and in my dreams?’
‘I’ve already told you, you’re not going to blow up,’ he said.
‘Good. Nix, if Oceanus is pleased to see us, I won’t forget to ask him to give you a new body,’ I said.
‘Thank you, Pandora.’
23
It took another
day and a half to reach Capricorn, and when the Tethys finally sailed low over the west coast we were no closer to working out how we should go about reaching the cliffs.
‘Are you sure we can’t just sneak in?’ asked Thom again.
‘Pretty sure, yeah,’ answered Icarus.
‘Artemis isn’t the worst of the gods though, right?’
‘Are you kidding? She killed a guy just for seeing her bathing. And not in a merciful way either, she set her fifty hounds on him.’
‘Oh. Maybe we shouldn’t sneak in after all,’ Thom said, paling slightly.
‘We’re just going to have to ask her,’ I said. Nobody spoke so I stood up. I’d brought Alifthoros up to the quarterdeck with me, and I lifted it high in the air. As soon as my fingers wrapped around the hilt the little water seahorses darted out of the gems and began bouncing around the blade. Here goes nothing, I thought, and cleared my throat.
‘Mighty Artemis, if you can hear me, please know we mean no harm. We are on a quest and we seek the cliffs of abandon, and no more.’
Nothing happened. Not even the wind stirred.
‘Well that was pointless,’ said Arketa.
‘Is that Oceanus’s sword?’ a woman’s voice asked, and I yelped in surprise as a girl shimmered into existence in front of me.
‘Y-y-y-yes,’ I stammered.
‘Well. Who’d have thought? I assumed that was lost at the bottom of the ocean.’
‘Artemis?’
‘Yes. How did you get that sword? Why are you looking for the cliffs?’ I dropped to one knee immediately, as did everyone around me.
‘I am descended from Oceanus,’ I said, my head bowed.
‘Are you trying to find him?’
‘Yes,’ I said, after a moment’s hesitation. There was no point lying to her. She was an Olympian goddess.
‘Look at me, please,’ she said, her girlish voice suddenly carrying the weight of a command I couldn’t refuse. I raised my head. She looked no older than me, with similar pale blonde hair, only hers was much longer and weaved in intricate plaits. She was wearing a short white toga and had an enormous gold bow strapped over her shoulder.
‘You’re Pandora, aren’t you? And this must be Icarus.’ She looked at Icarus and his pale skin flushed as he bowed lower.
‘How do you know-’ I started to ask but she waved her hand, frowning.
‘Chiron seeks council with me often. Capricorn is the land of the centaurs,’ she said dismissively. ‘He is unsure whether to trust you two. He doesn’t think awakening a Titan is a very good idea.’ Her pretty brown eyes bore into mine.
‘Awakening?’ I asked timidly.
‘Yes. Oceanus has been slumbering for a long time.’
‘Do you know where he is?’
‘Of course I do. All the gods do. You’re the first mortal who has looked for him in the right place though.’ She glanced around at the ship. ‘And definitely the first to find his ship and sword. I’m impressed.’ She quirked one eyebrow at me. ‘You know, Zeus and Oceanus didn’t really get on at the end. Are you sure this is something you want to do?’
‘I don’t have a choice,’ I said.
‘Oh? And why is that?’
‘I made a mistake, and it resulted in five of my classmates losing their souls to a Keres demon. Zeus refused to ask Hades for them back.’
‘And you believe Oceanus will get these souls back for you?’
‘I hope so, yes.’
Artemis gave a tinkling laugh.
‘You understand that he is incredibly ancient and supremely powerful? Only Zeus even comes close to his power. Why would he help five children he doesn’t know?’
‘In return for us freeing him,’ I said quietly. I was starting to feel very small and very silly. The sword thrummed in my hand and the seahorses danced up to my face, as though trying to remind me who I was. ‘And because I am his descendant,’ I added, a little more confidently. Artemis regarded me a moment, running a finger down her cheek thoughtfully.
‘I tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. If I get the stolen souls back for you, will you leave Oceanus slumbering?’ My mouth fell open as her words sank in. I turned to Icarus, his face a mask of dismay.
‘Dora, what about your powers? Oceanus might be the only one who will help you,’ he said desperately.
‘That doesn’t matter, Icarus. Number one priority is the souls, remember?’
‘But you’ve come all this way,’ my mom said, her voice strained. She was right, we had come a long way. And a huge part of me was desperate to meet the mighty ocean god, the being I had so much connection to, whom I had bonded with without ever meeting.
‘The poem said you were to bring about an age of peace,’ said Zali. Peace between Titans and Olympians. No more Titan kids being bullied at the academies. The thought pulled at me hard. And what about Nix’s new body and... And getting back to see my dad. To see Mandy. My eyes began to burn and I let out a shaky breath. Oceanus was the best chance I’d ever get to see them again. But I knew I couldn’t take it.
‘We don’t know for sure that Oceanus will help us,’ I said, louder than I intended, trying to force away the image of my dad’s face. ‘If he says no, Tak and Kiko and the others are lost forever. I can’t risk that. Not if Artemis can guarantee their safe return now.’
‘Even if it means your own powers will eventually kill you?’ I looked into Icarus’s tear-filled, desperate eyes.
‘Yes. I have to pay for my mistakes Icarus. I’m sorry.’ I looked at Artemis, my mind made up as a single hot tear escaped my eye. ‘I’ll take your gracious offer,’ I said. Icarus made a strangled sound and my mom let out a hiss. ‘Please, return our friends to us. We have the Keres demon to offer Hades in return.’
‘Well,’ Artemis said, a smile on her lips. ‘Now I really am impressed. You may go to the cliffs. And I wish you luck.’
‘What?’
‘Hades won’t do a thing I ask him, we’re not exactly friends. He was very friendly with Oceanus though, so I reckon you’ve got a good chance of getting your souls back.’
‘I don’t understand,’ I said, staring at the goddess, gripped with confusion.
‘It was a test!’ barked Icarus, angrier than I’d ever heard him.
‘Now, now, little boy. You don’t want to lose your temper with a goddess,’ Artemis said, the girly accent dropping away as she began to grow in front of us. A white glow was emanating from her skin and I felt a strong impulse to run and hide. ‘Yes, it was a test. I wanted to find out what sort of person she was, whether she would put the lives of others before her own. And she passed. So you may go and find Oceanus, but go now, before I change my mind.’
Icarus dropped to his knees again.
‘I’m sorry, mighty Artemis,’ he said quietly. She immediately began to shrink back down again.
‘He cares deeply for you. You are lucky,’ she said to me, then with a blinding flash of white light, she vanished.
Before anyone had a chance to say a word, the Tethys lurched forwards. I cried out, pushing my mind out to the ship, but it was in a frenzy, speeding towards something that was far more important than anything I could offer. Oceanus. In mere seconds we were racing low over Capricorn, grassy plains stretching for miles around us. I ran to the railings at the front of the ship and the others followed. The Tethys was moving so fast that my hair was flying back from my face, and if anyone was speaking, I couldn’t hear them over the roaring wind. And I was glad. My emotions were all over the place, the temporary relief I had felt at the confirmation that the stolen souls would be returned now leaving a hollow hole in my gut. The pain on Icarus’s face when I’d given up my chance to save myself caused fresh tears to spring to my eyes, but the wind whipped them away instantly. He believed that Oceanus could help me with my powers. But I knew he was wrong. I knew the fire and the water couldn’t exist inside me together, whatever else happened. I knew I couldn’t be helped.
Suddenly the ship began to tilt, and
I wasn’t the only one to let out a cry of fear as the ground we were pelting over ran out abruptly and the Tethys dropped into a nose dive. My cry turned into a full on scream as we hurtled over the earthy cliff at what felt like a million miles an hour. I tried to squint through my now streaming eyes as I gasped for breath. It wasn’t water we were headed for at the bottom of the cliff, I realized. It was solid earth.
I braced myself as the massive expanse of brown dirt approached, ready for the ship to be smashed into a thousand pieces, us with it. But to my astonishment, we passed straight through the ground like it wasn’t even there. The air around us shimmered and shone like a bubble made from solar sails, then we burst free, the Tethys leveling out. I panted as I loosened my white knuckle grip on the railings and looked frantically around. We were hovering in clear blue skies, over a calm and gentle ocean. It was completely at odds with my pounding heart and shaking limbs.
‘Is everyone OK?’ I gasped.
‘No,’ choked Thom, then heaved over the side of the railings. I scanned the group quickly. Everybody was still there, and nobody looked injured, although they all looked as shaken up as I felt.
‘Do you think this is it? Where Oceanus is?’ said Icarus, his breathing shallow. I looked down at Alifthoros, mercifully still clutched in my trembling grip. It was glowing bright blue, the seahorses whizzing around in a frenzy.
