From Titans (Book 4) (23 page)

“
Are you sure?” Nick asked
softly.

The gods
didn
’
t have to answer. Our bodies slightly bounced on the ground
from the vibration. That was our answer. We stood in silence. So
still…so very still…and again the ground shook.

“
Where
’
s Hermes?” Zara
snapped us out of our daze. “He should
’
ve been here by now. Can you
locate him? You can
’
t defeat Cronus without the three
items.”

What was Zara talking
about? Though I was curious, I didn
’
t ask.

Zeus rolled back his
shoulder. “I trust him. I
’m
sure he’
s doing the best he can. He must
get the items from Tara. So…” he drawled. “Do you know if your
sister did her part?” His eyes narrowed at her.

“
She
hasn
’
t.” She took a step back.

“
What do we do?” I asked
Zeus.

All was too calm. No
breeze, no sound. Just everyone
’
s eyes staring at Zeus for
direction. Another rumble in the ground made me quiver.

Zeus inhaled a deep
breath. “We didn
’
t come here to hide, did we? The
Titans are bigger, not smarter. We, on the other hand, can work as
a team. We can move faster, and together we
’
re stronger. I have a plan.
I
’
m
glad Zara remembered the gifts the Cyclopes gave before. If Hermes
brings them to us in time, we can use them; if not, then we have to
have a plan B.”

“
What were these gifts?”
Nick asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked tired and worn,
like everyone else. We were the descendants and more powerful than
humans, but our bodies could only tolerate so much.

Zeus focused his eyes on
his staff. “Let
’
s start walking. We can take our
time heading toward Cronus.”

Everyone walked beside Zeus as he spoke
again. “Our battle with the Titans was long and bloody. We traveled
into Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes, who had been imprisoned by
Cronus. They wanted revenge, so they helped us. They forged three
weapons. Hades received a magical helm, which rendered him
invisible while he wore it. They gave Poseidon a trident. And for
me, a thunderbolt.” He held up his staff.

Nick
’
s finger
flickered.
“Refresh my memory? Why did
Cronus try to kill you?”

Zeus sighed, releasing a breath as if he was
bored. “Because of a prophecy that one of his children would
overthrow him. So the simple solution was to eat his children.”

“
Gross.
That
’
s so twisted and sick,” Amanda grumbled.

“
How did you defeat
Cronus?” Everett asked.

“
Hades sneaked up to
Cronus invisibly and distracted him while Poseidon used his trident
to paralyze him. Then that
’
s when I knocked him out with my
thunderbolt. With Cronus taken, the other Titans bowed
down.”

“
Pretty impressive. Great
strategizing. What happened to Hades
’
s helm and
Poseidon
’
s trident?” I asked, surveying carefully as we
paced.

Ares and Athena seemed
less interested in Zeus
’
s story, keeping their shields
and swords in front, sometimes walking behind us and sometimes in
front. They
’
d probably heard that story many
times before.

“
I lost it during the
battle,” Hades murmured, shrugging. “It was
pandemonium.”

“
I have to agree with
Hades,” Poseidon added. “
I
don’
t remember how I lost mine, but we
suspect the Cyclopes have them. We never bothered to look since we
defeated Cronus, our biggest threat.”

“
I still have
mine.
” Zeus shrugged with a smug
grin.

Hades raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, and you
still have your ego.”

“
My thunderbolt
won
’
t hesitate to shake you up,”
Zeus warned.

Hades parted his lips to speak, but a loud
roar stopped him, followed by the ground quaking. We were getting
closer.

Zara halted and looked at
Zeus. “Tell us plan A and B. It
’
s time.”

I didn
’
t realize how far
we
’
d
come. We had turned right, right, left, left, and right again. Then
the Labyrinth was no longer filled with zig-zag paths. We entered
an open arena. I gasped and shuddered in utter fear at the sight
before me.

Chapter
20

Hermes

I took Tara to Tartarus, adjacent to Mount
Hem, where Hephaestus had lived. Mount Hem was completely
destroyed. Only rocky terrain survived the bomb blasts. As for
Tartarus, where the Titans had been imprisoned, half the mountain
had been demolished by the blast too. That was how the Titans had
escaped, with help from Eris, of course.

Tara fidgeted with her
cape. With her eyes flickering to the direction of any sound and
her lips sealed tight, she wasn
’
t a talker like Zara, we headed
forward into the belly of whatever was left of Tartarus.

Tara
’
s little rock crystal
in her hand glowed, giving us plenty of light to see in the dark.
“Do you know where the Cyclopes are? Why would they still be in
here? I thought they were guarding the Titans?” Though she
whispered, her anxiety bled through her questions.

“
Rumors said they were
locked up again.”

The path was rough and rocky, and
occasionally hot steam would burst through to relieve the pressure
from the gathered rocks. Giant boulders looked oddly out of place.
Some were even piled on top of each other. I assumed they had been
tossed about from the blast. Sometimes, we had to duck and walk
with our backs hunched. When we headed down a slope, it became
slippery from the gentle water flowing over the bumps and curves of
the rocky surface.

“
Watch
out.
” I grabbed Tara
’
s arm just before she
slipped, almost knocking the rock crystal out of her hand. Besides
the lava snaking in the distance, the rock crystal was the only
light we had. As we continued to trudge forward, a rotting stench
replaced the fresh air. The smell disappeared after a long
distance.

“
What is that?” Tara
rounded her fingers into a fist, and the light disappeared. We
didn
’
t need it anymore. Bright light gave way to even a larger
cavern, tall enough for giants. I had to tilt my head way back to
see sunlight through the cracks. Thank goodness there were plenty
of cracks.

“
Who goes there?” A loud
voice boomed to my right.

Tara and I exchanged glances. I had never
been so happy in my entire existence, and I have lived a very long
life.

Tara gasped and steadied
herself. “It
’
s me, Tara!” She had to raise her
voice to project as far as she could. They were so tall, I
didn
’
t know if they could hear us.

I figured
I
’
d
let her do the talking. It was easier to welcome a sweet voice than
a low, threatening one like mine. I had encountered only a few
Cyclopes in my lifetime. They were all the same—oversized, stinky
breath, stupid, clumsy, talked like children, and of course had one
eye. And the one in front of me was no different. Another came to
view and then a few more. They fidgeted behind thick iron bars.
Seeing so many, my heart pounded, and I gulped down
fear.

“
Who
’
s in charge?” Tara
took a step forward, though it must
’
ve been like tiny steps in
Cyclops
’
s eyes, or none at all.

“
Me,” the one gripping the
iron rod said. Though he didn
’
t yell, it sounded like that in
my ear.

“
What
’
s your name?” Tara
approached even closer, extending her hands out to gesture
we
’
d
come in peace.

As for me, I stayed rooted
in my place. Not because I was scared, but I
didn
’
t want to give any sudden movement that would cause them to
react.

“
I
’
m Polyphemus. The leader of
Cyclopes.”

I got a whiff of his breath and cringed.
“You were assigned by Zeus to watch over the Titans. Can you tell
me what happened?”

“
Titans did it.”
Polyphemus pushed and pulled on the rods as if he could throw all
his frustration at it.

“
Stop!” I hollered,
dodging the pebbles and dirt falling.

One boulder barely missed Tara as it
plummeted down at her. I pushed her away, and she used her magic to
stop the smaller ones from hitting us. Polyphemus stopped. His
expression softened, almost apologetic.

“
Tell us about the Titans.
What happened?” I said slowly. “Try not to get upset.” I rolled my
eyes.

Polyphemus blinked his dark giant eye. “When
Mount Hem was destroyed, the blast shook Tartarus, too. Eris was
here when that happened.”

“
Eris,” I growled. Though
I
’
d
known she had a hand in the plotting, her name left a bitter taste
in my mouth.

Polyphemus continued. “She tricked us.”

“
How?” Tara, who was
always calm, seemed to run out of patience. Her eyes narrowed at
him and her cheeks puffed out.

I let out a snort.
Polyphemus couldn
’
t see her expression, but it was
kind of amusing.

“
I
don’
t remember.” Polyphemus shook his
head. “I remember an apple…so shiny…so pretty…so delicious.” He
spoke as if he were hypnotized, sounding like a child who’d just
received a Christmas present. “Then I blinked.” He blinked. “And
Titans and we switched places.” He growled, shaking more debris.
“We were behind the bars. How? I don
’
t
understand.
”

Tara
’
s tone softened. “You
were tricked. She must
’
ve drugged you with the apple and
put you to sleep. She freed the Titans and got their help to carry
you to the other side of the bars. Or she shrank you. You would be
easier to handle.”

“
Shrank?” He sounded
confused.

“
You know…to make you
little.” I put my hands a foot apart to show him what I
meant.

He dipped his head down and pounded his head
against the rod over and over again. Tara and I backed away…far
back.

“
Stop! Polyphemus
stop!”
Tara
hollered.

Polyphemus kept banging. Stupid idiot. I
felt sorry for him, but I was annoyed with his childish mind. Tara
took out her rock crystal and raised it toward him. The light
blinded his eye, stopping him. He covered his eye with his hands.
The other Cyclopes backed away, groaning.

“
I can get you out.” Tara
ruffled her hair and her cape to brush off the debris.

His lips twitched at the corners and then
parted to show his yellow, rotting, uneven teeth. “How?”

Tara moved around a boulder and followed.
“Do you remember the gifts you gave the gods to defeat Cronus?”

“
Yes,” he nodded
eagerly.

“
Hades and Poseidon lost
theirs during the war. By any chance, do you know where they
are?”

“
Yes.” He nodded. “I found
these after the war and kept them. The gods told me to keep watch
over the Titans, that it was our duty. We
’
ve been here ever since.
We
’
ve been waiting a very long time for the gods to let us go,
but they never came.”