by Mary Ting
“Oh, Mom….” I picked up a picture frame from the floor and dusted off the broken glass. It was a picture of my mom and me. “I promise. I’ll find you.” It wasn’t fair. She was just a pawn being used. When I was fighting the vultures, I didn’t have time to feel or to think sentimental thoughts, but at moments like this, when all was quiet and still, was when I broke down.
As tears blurred my face, all I could do was pray that Hephaestus had a soft spot for my mom and wouldn’t change her into one of his monsters.
“Sky.” Mason embraced me, and that brought me to another level of pain. I let myself go in Mason’s arms and the tears I tried to keep at bay would not stop.
“It’s okay,” he whispered as he continued to hold me. “We’re going to find your mom. We won’t ever stop until she’s home with you. She’s alive, and that’s half the battle.”
Getting lost in Mason caressing my back, I didn’t say a word. He could have told me my face was blue and I would have agreed. He had a way of making me crumble when he held me like that. It wasn’t that he was using his powers; it was just because he was my Mason. I was drowning in his scent, his love, and the comfort he was providing me. When I lifted my head off his shoulder, Mason wiped my tears.
“You look beautiful to me, even when you’re crying,” he grinned, caressing my cheeks.
I couldn’t believe his sweet words. Not having enough sleep and not showering for a couple of days, I was pretty sure I looked like a mess and smelled like sweat.
“Thanks, but you’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“No, I’m not.” Mason’s eyes pierced through mine, hot and thick.
I couldn’t help the quiver jolting through me. It was the way he looked at me that made me nervous and excited. “Yes…I—”
Mason shut me up with his lips. His lips were soft, perfectly lining up with mine. The room spun when he kissed me deeper and his tongue…holy cow…let me know he wanted me. I closed my eyes and escaped into Mason’s world, but it was short lived.
“I need to stop, or I’m going to light up this whole house.” Mason pulled back, resting his hands on my shoulders. Looking dazed, he closed his eyes, then opened them to focus. “When this is over, I’m taking you away…alone.”
I beamed a smile, the kind of smile I only reserved for Mason, and that was my reply.
“Hello?” There was a small knock on the door.
“What do you want, Everett?” Mason asked. “You can come in. It’s dark in here. You can’t see Sky and me naked anyway.”
Everett either chuckled or almost choked on his saliva. “I actually came to see Skylar. I mean…not to see her naked…I mean, not that you don’t have clothes on…I mean….” Everett huffed with frustration. “We’re going to raid your fridge.” With that he left.
Mason and I laughed. It felt good to laugh and not worry about anything, even if it was just for a second.
“We should eat something too. Make sure to save me some lobster and steak.” Mason gestured with a flick of his head.
“We don’t have….” I stopped talking and curled my lips when I realized he was joking. “You’re not coming with me?” I pouted.
“I’m going to take a shower first, if you don’t mind me using your shower.”
“Of course I don’t mind. There should be towels in the bathroom cabinet. You can use my mom’s shower. It’s bigger than mine.”
“You better get going or else I might have to kidnap you to join me.” Mason’s words came out too hot, and I thought about actually getting in the shower with him…but of course, he was just flirting. We both knew it wasn’t the right time or place. But when Mason took of his sweater…damn. Temptation!
It didn’t matter how many times I’d seen him shirtless. It always felt like it was the first time. The six pack and the curve of his toned, hard biceps caused funny tingles through me. Hypnotized by his body, all I could do was stare, unable to look away or focus where I needed to be. My heart started to thump faster and my body wanted to gravitate toward his.
Mason unzipped his pants, then looked up at me, noticing I was still there. “Do you like what you see, Sky?” Mason’s tone came out low and too hot for me to handle. “Want to help me get undressed? If you don’t leave right now, I seriously won’t have the will power to keep from doing what I’ve been wanting to do to you.”
Warmth shot to my face. “I…I was just leaving.” What I really wanted to do was nod and help him with the rest, but I had to control my urge and focus on the reason why we were there. It was hard to look away, especially when he looked at me like he was going to come get me. With every ounce of my will power I closed the door. First thing I was going to do was gulp down some ice cold water.
I walked out of the hallway and all the lights were turned off, except for the one in the kitchen. They had helped themselves to whatever leftovers and frozen food there was. I didn’t mind it. We were beyond starving. We had been on the go with hardly any food and water, and it felt good to finally satisfy our needs.
I peeled a banana and took a bite. Knowing Mason would be out of the shower soon, I grabbed a plate. On the counter were plates of eggs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, yogurt, blue berries, apples, and some left over drumsticks.
“Hades. Stop it.” Amanda slapped his hand.
“I’m still hungry.” Hades kept opening and closing the refrigerator door. “How do you tell it to make more food? Tell it to make some chicken and wine.”
Amanda ran her hand down her face. “It’s not magic. It’s a place to store your food so it won’t go bad.” She opened the freezer and took out a container. “I’ll heat up some frozen burritos for you. Now go sit and just don’t get up. You’re making a mess.” She guided him to the seat next to me.
Hades plopped down, looking at me. “Burritos? Never heard of it.”
“I want one too, Amada.” I giggled. There were going to be a lot of things Hades had no clue about. I had to laugh when the opportunity presented itself. There was hardly anything to laugh about these days. I had to take in the moment.
I closed my eyes and took in the soothing warmth from the hot water that ran down my body. It felt so good just to escape from this madness, even if it was for ten minutes, but it would have been better with Sky next to me. I had almost lost self-control when Sky was watching me undress. Though she would disagree with me, she looked beautiful, even covered with dirt and looking exhausted.
There were times when I had no clue what I was doing or how to help Sky, but somehow we’d made it this far. I was so thankful for that. The best way to cope with this craziness was not to think about it and hope I was making the right decisions as situations unfolded, because no matter what I did, I couldn’t prepare for the worst.
I knew Sky knew this. Although she hadn’t said a word to me, I knew she was afraid her mom might have turned into one of the vultures. And if that thought hadn’t crossed her mind before, it was there now, thanks to Mia, who’d pretended to be Sky’s mom in vulture form. I was so glad we got rid of her. I couldn’t stand her.
After I washed up, I got out of the shower and got dressed. Just before I stepped out of Sky’s mom’s room, I had a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. When I thought I saw red, shiny lights through the window I rushed out the door, but when I checked it out, there was nothing there. Like I had thought before, you couldn’t prepare for the worst…but I wasn’t expecting this.
Hephaestus was standing with his back toward me. He had captured everyone’s attention and was talking away. Leaning my back against the wall and out of his view, I listened. If anything, he didn’t know I was there, and this was an advantage for me, just in case I needed to attack.
“What are we celebrating?” Hephaestus sounded so cheerful that it gave me goose bumps as I wondered what he had up his sleeve. “Surely, not my uncle’s return.”
“Hephaestus!” Hades roared. The forceful sound of his call shook the windows. I thought he was
going to blow off the roof, the way it rumbled.
I didn’t blame Hades; I hated Hephaestus’s tone. It made me feel so small and helpless. Standing there, everyone looked shocked. When no one responded, Hephaestus continued.
“Hello, uncle. Glad to see you out of jail. It took a little girl to do it, but whatever works, right? Don’t tell me you weren’t expecting me. After all, this place was like home to me. What belongs to Gina belongs to me. Oh, I forgot to mention that Sky’s mom and I got married. I brought her back here to pack her bags; actually, my vultures did it for her. After all, she’s going to be their mom, just as I am their dad.”
“You’re crazy. Your marriage is fake. You can’t force someone to marry you. I don’t care what you say. This is my house too, and you’re not welcome.” I could see veins protruding from Sky’s neck. Her eyes glowed with silvery lights and her fingertips cracked and sizzled. “Where’s my mom?”
“Since your mom and I are officially married, that means this house belongs to me. I want you out of here. And the next time I come back, I don’t want you in this house, or I will be forced to destroy it.”
Hephaestus started to pace the length of the sofa. “You see, Skylar, I had this all planned out. I was going to make your mom the queen of my kingdom and make you the princess, but you had to ruin my plan. I don’t like it when people get in the way. And. You. Got. In. My. Way.” His words came out so evil, I could feel chills down my spine.
“Bring back my mom and I will let you live. This is your last chance,” Sky demanded, but I could tell her words had no effect on Hephaestus when he gave her an evil eye.
“You want to see your mother? This is my demand. Go get me the head of Medusa. I will gladly exchange your mother for her head. This is the only way you’ll ever see her again.”
“Medusa’s head? Medusa is dead, you moron,” Amanda said irately. “How the hell are we supposed to kill someone who’s already dead?”
“Her head is in the deepest part of the ocean. Only the ones with the purest hearts can reach it.”
“That’s certainly not you or Hades,” Amanda commented.
Hades arched his brows. “I’ve changed. I’m different.”
“Have you, uncle? Wasn’t this our plan? To confuse them so Skylar would get you out of jail so you could help me? We can stop the charade now. They’ve caught onto us.”
“Silence!” The whole house quaked this time. “He’s feeding you lies.”
“Am I, Uncle? I might have altered the plan, but whose idea was it to trick them to trust you?”
“Don’t listen to him.” Hades was beyond rage. I knew it was impossible, but I thought I saw smoke coming out of his ears.
“Oh…but they already have. I’ve fed them only the truth. By the way, here is another truth for you to think about. Sky is going to be a big sister soon. That’s right. Your mom is pregnant. She is so happy about this. You know she wanted more kids, but poor Victor left the family. Now your mom can make her dreams come true with me.”
I flinched when Hades stopped Sky from attacking Hephaestus. I was ready to jump in, but when she backed away, I did too. But I wasn’t prepared for Everett’s speedy hand. He threw the knife, aiming for Hephaestus’s chest. That’s when I charged with all my lights glowing out from my body. I was ready to damage Hephaestus. Though I couldn’t kill him, at least I could stop him from retaliating. That knife should have penetrated his chest, but instead it stabbed the wall right behind him. And my hands, which should have sent volts through his body, ended up almost hitting my friends.
Hephaestus wasn’t there. I was now standing where he had been standing. His image blended through my body. Only an oracle could do this for him. Immediately I stepped aside. Already feeling repulsed, I didn’t want his image reflecting on me.
His laughter rang in the room. “Surprise. I’m here, but not really. I’m not stupid to just show up when I know you’re hunting me.” He laughed again. “This is so much fun. It’s going to be much better when I have Medusa’s head in my possession. You have three days to bring it to me at Mt. Hem, or your mom will be turned into a vulture.”
“But you said she’s pregnant,” Amanda reminded, looking disgusted. “How could you do this to the mother of your child?”
“Turning her into a vulture won’t affect her pregnancy.”
“How do we get to the bottom of the ocean?” Sky asked, looking like the world around her was falling apart. She took a step in front of her, as if to stop from falling. Blinking, she grabbed her head. I debated whether to go to her, but waited to see if whatever was happening was a temporary thing.
“Ask Zara. She’ll know.”
Like a dying light bulb, his image flickered, then disappeared. Blood drained from Sky’s face. I got to her before she had a chance to drop to the floor. This was too much for her, too much for all of us. When would this end?
“We should get going, somewhere safe,” I said, carrying Sky in my arms. My poor Sky was knocked out.
“Where are we?” Sky groaned, glancing around.
“We’re at the lake house. You’re on my bed,” I answered, shifting my position so she could have room to take her hand out from underneath the blanket.
“What happened?”
I took her hand in my mine and gently caressed her thumb with mine. Though I knew she would be fine, I was worried. Sky had been through so many changes in her body that I didn’t know if she was going through more changes. “You passed out.”
“I did?” She rubbed her head and ran her hand down her face.
“Do you remember seeing Hephaestus?”
Sky took a moment of silence, looking off to the distance. “Yes. I remember everything. How’s my dad?”
“He’s better than he was this morning. Actually, he’s up and walking around. He came upstairs to check on you many times. I told him that I would let him know the minute you were awake, but I think I’d like to have you all to myself for a little while longer.” Letting go of her hand, I ran my hand through her hair.
“I don’t mind it at all.” She gave me her sweet, sexy smile. Then her lips faded into a thin line. “Mason?” Panic struck her face. I could hear it in her tone and her facial expression. “My mom. We have to go.” Sky sat up, but just as I was about to stop her, she buried her face into the palm of her hands.
“You need your rest, Sky. You’ve overworked your body.” I helped her lay down. Keeping her eyes closed, she nodded in understanding.
“But…we—”
“Don’t worry. We still have two days. You need to rest, and so does everyone else.”
“Okay.” Sky agreed and fell asleep.
“Skylar.”
“Mom?” Heading upstairs in a house that was not familiar, someplace I’d never been before, I knew I was dreaming. I could tell it wasn’t my reality when the only thing I could see was what was in front of me. Everything else from my peripheral vision was muted and blurred.
“Skylar,” I heard again, as I continued to go up the winding stairs that seemed endless. Every time I’d thought I had reached the end, more appeared in my path. Finally, I stood before a dimmed hallway, but I couldn’t recall how I’d gotten there. It was difficult to locate where my mom’s voice was coming from when I heard her call me again. It sounded like it was coming from the ceiling, but I knew that was impossible...wasn’t it? When I tilted my head up, it was dark and there was no end to it, like a black hole. As I turned the corner, all the doors were closed. I couldn’t count how many rooms there were; they seemed to be endless, as the hallway stretched as I walked.
“Mom? Where are you?” I called desperately, hoping she would be in one of the rooms.
“Skylar.” This time it sounded like an echo vibrating against one of the rooms.
I opened the door to my right hoping to see her, since it sounded like the voice was coming from there. But when I opened it, there was nothing but a dark space. I couldn’t even see any part of the room. The door slamme
d shut without warning. Startled, I backed away and continued down the hall.
“Mom,” I called. “Where are you?” Feeling cold under my feet, I looked down to see that I was barefoot. Where were my shoes? “Mom,” I called again, but only heard the sound of the wind blowing. How was that possible? We were indoors.
“Skylar.” This time the tone was sharp and angry.
“Mom?” A figure of a woman appeared at the end of the hall, and when she turned, I saw her face. Happy to see that it was my mom, I ran to her. “Mom. I’m here.”
I was only a few feet away from her when her face and body changed in a blink of an eye into something hideous. “Hephaestus,” I murmured under my breath.
“Come give Mama a hug.”
His words pierced my ears like the sound coming from a blow horn. I tried to run away, but my legs were planted to the ground. Using every ounce of energy I could muster wasn’t good enough. A strong wind came out of nowhere, making it impossible to move. He was coming for me.
Moving in a swimming motion I tried to push through air, but to no avail. I was short of breath and my muscles squeezed. I had no choice but to slow down—until I opened my eyes…only they weren’t fully opened. They felt so heavy that I couldn’t open them all the way. I wanted to know where I was. I wanted to know if I was still dreaming. I needed to see Mason.
It felt so strange to be running away from Hephaestus one second, then the next second to be somewhere else…more familiar. I was able to see everyone around me, but not clearly. Mason, my dad, and Zara and Tara surrounded me, looking worried. I knew I was lying on the bed, but why couldn’t I fully awaken? Unless…was I dead?
“What do we do?” I heard my dad asked. His words passed through my ears hazy and slow. It sounded like he was speaking in slow motion.
“We do nothing,” Zara replied. She placed her hand on my forehead. I guessed she was checking to see if I had a fever. Then, I felt a tug on my eyelids.
