From Titans (Book 4) (21 page)

Ares and Athena blocked with their shields
and sliced through the branches with their swords. They moved with
grace and speed. Some flew to Zeus, but he blocked them with his
staff. When they snaked around his staff, he let the energy of his
powers electrify them. They dropped in ashes.

Whack! Whack!
Whack!
The branches whipped and slashed
like cobra snakes. Each came with purpose and determination, each
one more angered.

“
Stay behind me,” Noah
commanded Amanda.

“
I
’
m not weak.” Amanda readied
her dagger, sidestepping next to me.

“
Now is not the time to
argue, Amanda.” Everett cut the branch that thrashed above
them.

Everyone ducked, but one
slipped past us, and with one swipe, it knocked us down, except for
me. I jumped. I fired lightning bolts, protecting my friends to
give them time to get up. We gathered in circle formation, watching
each other
’
s backs. Lightning, water, fire,
and freezing them did no good. There were too many for us to
handle.

“
I
’
m not dying like this.”
Amanda swung her dagger like a mad woman.

“
None of us are, little
one.” Poseidon waved his hand, creating a water barrier. “Not the
gods at least.”

Noah and I joined him,
making it stronger and thicker. I frowned at
Poseidon
’
s comment. He didn
’
t need to point out what we all
knew: their immortality. One of us could lose our lives and that
thought caused me to hesitate.

The branches
couldn
’
t pass the barrier and my heart slowed to a steadier beat. We
were safe, but for how long? We needed to get going. Then to our
surprise, the branches stopped banging the protective shield and
froze. Holy Zeus! The tips of the branches had hardened into sharp
points.

Zara stepped out of formation. “When I count
to three, let go of the shield and use your powers to freeze
them.”

“
No way.” Hades spoke for
all us.

“
Trust me, Hades. I know
what I
’m doing.
One
…”

“
Are you sure about this?”
Hades asked.

“
Two
…I
’
m the Oracle.”

“
Yeah. I
haven
’
t been that impressed.”

Zara glared. “You better drop the shield,
Poseidon, if you want to live today. Three.”

Zara raised her hand and stopped the
branches in midair with her magic, creating a dome of branches.
Poseidon, Noah, and I froze them.

“
Fight magic with magic.”
Zara
’
s hands remained in the air. Then with a wave of her hands,
the branches snapped and plummeted to the ground. I jumped and
covered my head with my hands. Clouds of dust surrounded
us.

“
Where
’
s
Hades?
” I panicked.

“
Hades,
” Zeus called.

Then puff! Fire burst out in another clump
of bushes. Poseidon put out the fire, revealing Hades on the
ground, drenched. He sat up and shook his head like a dog did after
a bath. Magically, he dried himself and stood, dusting leaves and
dirt off his clothes.

“
I was thrown,” Hades
growled.

Relieved to see him, I released a breath.
“We need to get going.” I had taken a few steps when I spotted
flames from the corner of my eyes. That flame turned into a
full-blown fire. Poseidon put it out, but it came back again. So
Poseidon put it out again. Like before, it came back again, only
this time it spread before we could comprehend what was
happening.

“
Run.” Zara snapped us out
of our stupor.

We ran as a blaze followed us, flames
roaring to the sky, and smoke clouded around us. Poseidon, Noah,
and I lagged behind to tame the fire as much as we could.

“
Hades!
” Zeus roared. “This is your
making.”

“
I had to think of fire to
get the disgusting things off me,” he retorted.

We turned right, left, left, and right,
zig-zagging through the direction the Labyrinth led us, and
then…dead end. A brick wall blocked us. Zeus punched it.

Nothing happened.

Zeus pointed his staff. Blue and silver
lights sizzled around the wall, but to no avail.

“
Now what?” Amanda
shrieked.

“
Noah, Poseidon, I need
your help. Everyone stand behind us,” I directed.

Just before the fire reached us, with the
help from Poseidon and Noah, we created a bubble of water around
us. Red and orange light from fire hit us, beautiful yet so
dangerous. The blazing heat pushed us back, trying to break down
the barrier. Heat penetrated through, and sizzling steam started to
fill our bubble, making it harder to breathe.

“
We need more water, more
power.” I coughed.

Zeus stuck his staff through the ground.
Lightning split the earth. Then Zara mumbled a few words, wiggling
her hand. Water seeped through the cracks. I whirled my hand, and
extra water followed, twirling around faster and thicker, sucking
in the fire. The steam lessened, and finally the fire died. I
collapsed in exhaustion, and so did Noah. Zeus leaned on his
staff.

“
You okay, little sis?”
Hades asked. “That was a lot of energy you had to
expend.”

I inhaled fresh air and coughed. “Yes. I
just need a minute.”

I didn
’
t have a minute. The
brick wall exploded. I ducked and covered my head. When it cleared,
I looked through the big gap in the middle, leading to another
path. Mason popped in my head, hoping…perhaps the Labyrinth would
bring him to me just like it had brought those whipping branches
when Amanda thought of it and just like there was fire when Hades
thought of it.

I rubbed my eyes. No, it
couldn
’
t be. I jolted up.

“
Mason,” I whispered. Too
shocked to say his name, for fear he would disappear.

Everyone else seemed just as bewildered, but
then they turned their heads to me.

“
Mason,” I said again. “We
finally found him.”

It worked. My heart
soared. Couldn
’
t they see him? Mason sported a
long black cape; perhaps that threw them off? I
didn
’
t wait for their reaction. Throwing one leg over the
remaining broken bricks, I dashed for him.

Chapter
18

Mason

Eris jabbered about the
Minotaur and the Labyrinth. I had tuned her out for most of the
story until I heard Sky would be there and I would also be running
through the Labyrinth. I didn
’
t care about me, but I cared
about Sky and my family and friends, who would be running away from
Cronus and God knows what.

When we portaled through Crete, I had
expected to appear in front of the water, but instead we had landed
inside the Labyrinth. Glancing around, I sighed in disappointment.
Somehow, I hoped to find a way to escape. I would have a better
chance on the outskirts of the Labyrinth. Instead, tall bushes as
long as the colossal structure encased me. My long black cape
swayed with the chilly wind and I shivered, breaking me out of my
observation.

“
Don
’
t even think it,
Mason. You can jump, climb, zap your way with—” she wiggled her
fingers “—lightning, but you can
’
t escape. I suggest you save your
energy for what
’
s to come instead. Or…” She
paused. “You can come with me, and we can live together
forever.”

I was about to tell her
off when she spoke again, shaking her head. “Never mind. I need you
here as bait.” She opened a small portal. “It
’
s too bad you have to
die. You
’
re so handsome. A waste. Bye.”

Eris was so demanding and
clingy that when she left, my lungs expanded and fresh air passed
through me. I
’
d rather die trying to find Sky
than be with Eris.
Good
riddance!
My attention shifted to a brick
wall and thoughts of Sky entered my mind.
Strange,
it wasn
’
t there a second
ago
. I debated what to do, but seeing no
other option, and assuming it was my only way out, I sent a blast
of lightning.

The wall exploded, creating a big gap in the
middle, as if a giant bullet went through it. I blinked. Far in the
distance stood my Sky, looking straight back at me.

“
Sky?” My heart pounded in
elation. Without hesitation, I dashed with the speed of a
god
’
s descendant, my cape flapping behind me.

“
Sky.” I reached to wrap
my arms around her…but I ended up hugging myself. What the
hell?

An illusion?
“It
’
s never simple!” I roared at the top of my lungs, sick of
Eris
’
s games and so tired of being separated from Sky, all because
of her psycho revenge against Zeus. This wasn
’
t our fight. Why were
the descendants always stuck in the middle?

The illusion of Sky
appeared disappointed as she too tried to hug me. How in the world
did Eris conjure this up? I waved my hand through
Sky
’
s body. Watching her drop her shoulders and sigh
disconsolately broke my heart. With bags under her eyes, her cheeks
and clothes smudged with dirt, and some parts of her clothes burnt,
she clearly had gone through hell. I didn
’
t like her being in the
Labyrinth, but I also knew she wasn
’
t alone. My goal to find her gave
me that much more determination.

“
I
’
m coming for you, baby,” I
said to her as if she could hear me.

I groaned and strode ahead. Leaving behind
Sky drove the dagger already lodged in my heart deeper, even if it
was only an illusion of her.

Skylar

“
Mason.” I wrapped my arms
around him as butterflies danced in my stomach, but… “Mason?” I
dropped my shoulders and released a long, agitated sigh. He was an
illusion? Of course he was. I thought of him and he came to life,
only he wasn
’
t real. Damn it! I wanted to
punch something—anything. Anger boiled inside me.

Mason seemed so real. He
circled around me, watching me, as if he saw me, too. Could it be
possible he was there, and through magic, we were unable to touch?
Or simply, my mind played tricks on me. Under the hood of his black
cape, I saw the desperation in his eyes. Hopefully this was a sign
he hadn
’
t been brainwashed.
Oh Zeus!
I had to stop thinking.

By the time my team caught up to me, Mason
was long gone. Watching him leave, even though he was an illusion,
tore my heart out.

“
Did you see Mason?” I
asked hesitantly.

They all shook their heads.