From Titans (Book 4) (11 page)

Amanda nudged Nick. “Oh, he got you
there.”

Nick tugged his lips into a mischievous
grin. I knew that look. He planned to do something wicked. Light
sizzled out of his fingertips, but it died.

I swayed, as if I were on
a rowboat. At first I figured it was due to lack of sleep, but when
everyone
’
s eyes grew and stared at Hermes, I knew it had to be from
the rumbling clouds.

“
What
’
s going on?” Poseidon
frowned.

Hermes rubbed the back of
his neck. “I
’
m not sure. The rumor never said
anything about rocking clouds.”

The clouds moved faster,
from side to side, as if to knock us off. They shifted, splitting
us apart. We each had our own clouds. As if the clouds had a mind
of their own, they took off. We took flight across the sky, only we
weren
’
t high, but low. It reminded me of a go-cart race, a racing
amusement ride, but one with no finish line.

“
Make it stop!” Amanda
bellowed.

“
Hermes, do something,”
Zeus commanded.

I screamed at the top of my lungs when the
clouds flipped and tumbled in circles. At one point, Hades was
above me, and seconds later, Nick glided above me, upside down. Our
heads almost touched. Then the world spun faster and faster which
each passing second. Nausea took over and the urge to vomit came
strong.

“
I
’
m going to get sick!”
Everett
’
s shout echoed from the distance.

After what seemed likely to be endless
spinning, we finally stopped. I sighed with relief, trying to keep
bile from rising to my throat. Then my body slammed against
something solid and hard. Pain rippled through me. Moans and groans
shot out from my friends.

I peeled my face off the ground and spit out
the dirt in my mouth. Hades helped me up. My body continued to
sway. The urge to throw up lessened. Dusting the dirt off my pants,
I realized we stood on the ground and the sky was in its right
place. Dizzy and dazed from spinning, I observed my
surroundings.

“
Does this happen often?”
Hades asked.

Hermes folded his wings
closed. “I believe so. Perhaps the reason why it
’
s called Land of
Reverse?”

“
No,” Amanda groaned. “I
can
’
t do this a—” She dropped to her knees by the tree and
released her stomach
’
s contents from her mouth. Noah
stood by her side, rubbing her back.

Hades stumbled and planted
a hand on the tree for support. “Let
’
s get this over with. Skylar, get
the water.”

“
How do we know
that
’
s the right water?” I pointed to the river.
“It
’
s not gold.”

Hades tilted his head. “I see your
point.”

“
I
won
’
t know unless I try.” I wanted to believe it would be easy,
but my gut told me otherwise, even though we saw no evidence of
danger.

“
I
’
ll come with you.” Nick
trailed behind me, followed by Everett and then Amanda and Noah.
Hades fell behind after them.

Easy enough. As I reached for the bottle in
my pocket, I cautiously, step by step, went down a small slope to
the river. Light beamed against the water, glistening across the
horizon, sparkling like crystals. The cloudless clear blue sky took
my breath away. Peace filled my soul and provided a sense of
serenity, reminding me everything was going to be fine.

I sank a little when my
feet reached the bank from where the sand, pebbles, and water
mixed. So close to getting Mason back. Somberness took over when I
thought about how much I missed him and what he had gone through.
But knowing he
’
d be home soon kept me on track.
Opening the cap, I moved to take another step. My body locked. What
the hell? The sand had glued me in place.

I gestured my hand out to stop Nick, but it
was too late. Everyone else stopped in time.

“
Skylar,
what
’
s wrong?” Hades asked.

“
I
’
m stuck.”

Chapter
11

Skylar

The sand slowly made its way up to my ankle.
Unable to move my legs, I froze in place. As the sand-like cement
moved farther up, its coldness stung my legs and restricted the
flow of my blood, tightening around my leg painfully.

“
Skylar, we need to get
out.” Nick fired his bolts, trying to break the hold, but to no
avail.

Since lightning
didn
’
t affect it, I sent out bursts of flames around
us.

Nick twisted his body and
covered his face with his hands. “Skylar, I can
’
t handle the
heat.”

“
Sorry, Nick.” When I
replaced the flame with water, the fire died, but it sped up the
process.

“
Do something,” Amanda
spat, sounding urgent.

“
What is that, Hermes?”
Zeus asked. “Is that quicksand?”

“
Technically
it
’
s
not. You sink in quicksand, but in this case, it
’
s creating a solid
cast around them. So I don
’
t—”

“
Hermes,” Zeus snapped,
sounding agitated. “Find a way to get them out.”

“
I
’
ll try my best.” The
flapping of Hermes
’
s wings gave me hope. Air from
Hermes
’
s wings brushed against my face. “Hold my hand.
I
’
ll
pull you out.”

I didn
’
t want to discourage
Hermes and had no idea what strength he possessed, but when I felt
like my body would split into two, I yanked my hand back and so did
Nick. My panic grew a bit more. Half our bodies were
covered.

“
I need someone to cut the
bottom,” Hermes said, floating in midair.

The gods stood closer, examining our
situation.

“
Wait. You
can’
t just cut us,” Nick said. “Our feet
have sunken in. You have to reach deeper within.
There
’
s just no way.”

“
I think this might work,
but Skylar, I need your help and the gods too.” Noah extended his
hand. Water from the river rippled, rose up, and settled around
them. “Let
’
s try freezing the water. Since
you can handle the freezing temperature and Nick
can
’
t, we have to have Hades use his power to warm up Nick.
We
’
ll have to play it by ear. I have no idea if this is going to
work.”

“
No, Noah,” I spat.
“You
’
ll make it worse. The water will only speed up the
process.”

“
Trust me, Skylar. When I
say now, turn the water into ice. Do you hear me?”

“
Yes,” I answered, ready
more than he would ever know.

“
Now.”

When Noah dropped his hands, the water did
the same. Poseidon also used his power to help me turn the water to
ice while Hades blasted flame around Nick to keep him warm.

“
This better work.” Zeus
stuck his staff between Nick and me and blasted electricity
bolts.

Thunder boomed and
lightning flashed against the sky, but in daylight it was hardly
noticeable. Everyone worked together; even Nick summoned all the
power he had left. Nick and I were weak, drained, and desperate. I
felt the flames from Hades, icy cold from Poseidon, and electricity
bolts from Zeus. If the gods couldn
’
t help us, we were
doomed.

Thoughts of Mason came to
the forefront of my mind. If I didn
’
t make it out alive, he would be
stuck with Eris forever. And if somehow he escaped to find out I
died trying to save him, he would never forgive himself.
Come on, come on, please let it work.
Since I had the power of all three, it
shouldn
’
t affect me, but my body couldn
’
t handle such intensity at the
same time.

My hammering heart slowed. Everyone blurred
around me, and the bolts from my fingertips stopped. I lost control
of my muscles, my eyes rolled back, and my body leaned forward
without my consent. A loud sound burst, humming through my ears.
Before my body gave out on me, I was tossed into the air.

I groggily opened my eyes. Everyone
surrounded me.

“
Skylar, can you hear us?”
Zeus asked.

“
Yes,” I groaned and tried
to get up, but I couldn
’
t. My body felt out of place, not
like my own. My muscles weighed a ton, heavy and sore.

“
Whoa.” A hand pushed me
back down. “Your body has been through some trauma; you have to get
some rest.” His pretty blond hair caught my eyes. I peered up to
see Hermes
’
s dashing blue eyes and his face
near mine.

I had no choice but to listen. “What
happened?”

“
We got you out,”
Hades said.
“If we couldn
’
t, then no one could.”

“
Except for me, of
course.”

I craned my head to a figure with horse-like
ears on his head. He looked half human and half horse. Glancing
lower, I noted a large stomach with two arms and two hoof legs and
a tail.

“
Silenus?” I questioned,
unsure of his identity.

“
In the flesh.” He trotted
a few steps and dipped his head just enough to show me a sign of
respect.

“
Where
’
s Nick?” I sat up.
Blood rushed to my head, and my vision spun for a second. I needed
to know he was fine.

Nick sat up, supported by
the tree behind him. “Right here, Skylar. I
’
m a little weak but My
Little Pony told me I would regain my strength.”

I glanced at Silenus and
wondered if he could handle being ridiculed. I also pondered if he
knew about My Little Pony. I assumed he had no idea since he
didn
’
t have a comeback.

Silenus leveled his eyes
at Nick and paused for a few long seconds. “
I don’
t know who My
Little Pony is, and he might be some kind of hero in your world,
but I
’
m not a pony,” Silenus gritted through his teeth.

“
You
’
re not,
that
’
s for sure,” Everett mumbled under his breath.

Amanda and Noah busted out
laughing. I couldn
’
t help doing the same. If only
Silenus knew that My Little Pony characters were cute and
fluffy.

“
Oh,
don’
t worry, My Little Pony is no hero,
and neither are you.” Nick rubbed his temples and shook his head as
if to come out of a daze. “However, I would watch your tone. I
might call you Spitfire.” He chuckled as he stood. “Maybe even
Pinky Pie, Twinkle Toes, or Rainbow Dash.”