From Titans (Book 4) (27 page)

“
This is just great. I
hate spiders,”
Nick
grumbled.

“
Oh, come on.” Everett
dropped his shoulders and let out a sigh.

“
Of all the things, it had
to be bugs. I hate bugs.” Amanda puffed out air, blowing her hair
out of her face.

I sympathized with Everett
and Amanda. Though they were descendants and had the
gods
’
blood in them. They weren
’
t as strong. They
didn
’
t have the power like Nick and I had.

“
Stay right here.” I
shoved Everett and Amanda toward a dome, a protective barrier
created by all the rocks and debris that had piled on top. “Noah,
stay with them. Guard and protect them.”

“
Where are you going?”
Everett spat.

I spread my lips into a
confident smirk. “We
’
ve got this.
We
’
re going to fry, zap, and turn some bugs into ice.
They
’
re brainless. This should be a piece of cake.” I took off to
the others already doing what I said we were going to
do.

It should have been a walk in the park, only
there were too many of them. Hades and Sky torched the ants, while
Zeus, Nick, and I fired our lightning powers and stung the flies.
The Oracles and Hermes took care of the earthworms and other bugs I
had no name for.

“
Watch
out!
” Nick bellowed.

A massive gut spurted out
from a fly
’
s belly. The impact from
Nick
’
s bolt blasted the fly in half. Yellow, brown, reddish liquid
dropped to the ground and some splashed on Everett and Amanda. They
would have been submerged had it not been for
Noah
’
s ice barrier, but it was a little bit too late.

“
Sorry.” Noah
shrugged.

Knowing they were safe, I
attended to the spiders. I never studied spiders, but I knew enough
to know when their fangs stuck out, they were ready to sting prey.
I froze one of the fly
’
s wings flying close by. It
dropped in front of me just as the spider scurried toward me. The
spider turned its attention on the fly and started to do its
instinctive thing. Absolutely gross. Venom squirted out from the
spider. I sprinted away.

More spiders came at me.
My image reflected against their giant, black, marble-like eyes.
Their enormous long legs like sharp knives stabbed around me as
they missed me by hair
’
s breadth. I gutted one with my
power. It split in half and greenish bile dropped like buckets of
rain. I hit another one as I ran, and then I dodged and hid. When I
got a clear view, I sent my bolt of electricity to zap it extra
crispy.

Ares and Athena swung their shields like
boomerangs; they decapitated bugs and came back while they fought
off the others with their swords. Graceful and skilled, they were
awesome to watch, like an action-packed movie.

Hades and Sky lit the bugs
on fire and the arena with them. The blazing bugs squealed in pain.
I held my breath at the pungent odor of dead burning bugs. Smoke
filled the air and so did the webs. If we didn
’
t leave soon, we too
would become the spiders
’
meals.

The Oracles raised their hands, lifted a
humongous worm and aimed it at the spider webs. They did it again
and again, until most of them were tangled and stuck. The spiders
scrambled like mad, stomping over one another, and now they were
fighting each other.

“
We can
’
t let them escape the
Labyrinth, and we need to get out,” I said as we re-grouped toward
the entrance, where Noah, Everett, and Amanda stayed
hidden.

“
I have a plan.”
Sky
’
s eyes lit up. “Zara and Tara will have to use their magic
and keep us together in a bubble. Noah and—” She paused. Sky was
about to say Poseidon. Sadness filled her eyes, but she pushed her
shoulders back and continued. My brave girl. “Noah can do this.
Zeus, Nick, and Mason will zap their power all around the arena.
And Hades and I will burn everything in sight. This might cause an
earthquake and the fire will spread throughout the Labyrinth, but
this will ensure that no one will be placed here ever again. Sound
like a plan?”

Everyone nodded.

I mouthed, my eyes sparkling with love. “I
love you.”

Sly blushed. “I love you,”
she said back. Then she shifted her attention to everyone else.
“Let
’
s do this.”

Fire and smoke reached to
the sky, burning everything in its path. I had no sympathy for
Eris
’
s creations, even though they were innocent, as screeching
painful sounds vibrated in my ears from the insects. Die suckers,
die!

Chapter
24

Skylar

We decided to head to New Olympus and
strategize, but before we began, we gave Mason a proper welcome
home greeting. In the Labyrinth, we fought for our lives; once we
were safe, grateful smiles spread over our lips, tears were shed,
and long hugs were exchanged with Mason.

Colin, Sarah, and Aaron dashed in, struck
with panic. Interrupting the peaceful moment, they rambled on and
on about what we had missed.

“
We need to save the
humans,” Sarah said frantically. “Giants are crushing the towns.”
She paused to take in the scene. “Oh, Mason. It
’
s good to see
you.”

“
Thank you.
It
’
s
good to be back.”

“
I
’
m glad
you
’
re all right.” Colin shook Mason
’
s hand and continued.
“That
’
s not all. Hurricanes and tornadoes are everywhere.
It
’
s
not only hailing icicles but fire balls too.”

Aaron tapped Mason on the
shoulder with a quick smile, but his expression changed to all
business-like. “It
’
s like the end of the world. You
haven
’
t seen it?” He stared at us with wide eyes, as if unable to
grasp our ignorance.

Amanda sneered. Her eyes
glowed angrily. “Do we look like we
’
ve been partying? Look at us.”
She shook her head, looking at the gods, who
hadn
’
t worked up a sweat. “Look at me and Everett.
We
’
ve been through hell, so don
’
t look at us like
we
’
re idiots.” Then she smiled unexpectedly. “However, it was
worth it all. We got Mason back.”

Noah placed his hands on
Amanda
’
s shoulders from behind. “He
’
s just sacred.
Let
’
s all try to calm down.”

“
It
’
s good to have you
back, Mason.” Cara smiled, walking in. Her long dress swayed as she
came forth.

“
Thank you.” Mason dipped
his head.

“
But Aaron is right,” Cara
continued, and her tone rose in horror. “I
’
m sorry to cut
Mason
’
s reunion so short, but humans are being slaughtered. Homes,
businesses, and whatever those monsters can get their hands and
feet on are being smashed to the ground.”

Cara rarely spoke. I
didn
’
t know if she had nothing to say or allowed Zara to be the
leader. Had it always been that way? Ever since her sisters had
forgiven her, she dove into her role as one of the Oracles—prim and
proper and respectful. Once upon a time, I loathed her, but she
became someone to admire. She had changed for the better. I guessed
anyone could change when given circumstances played in their favor,
if they were willing.

“
Where are they?” Mason
rolled back his shoulders as if to ease the muscles and tension,
but his hand on my waist never left. “Do you have their
location?”

Colin gazed at the grand
window, as if he could see what he had described. “Its origin point
is Kayla
’
s hometown, but it
’
s slowly spreading. We have to
hurry.”

I gasped. Thoughts of the diner, my aunt,
Kayla, Mona, and Jack came to mind. The rush of adrenaline spiked.
I had to know they were safe. We had to get there fast. As
expected, Nick took out his cell and called Kayla.

Hades stretched and flexed his arms as if he
was getting ready to fight. “At least we know where they are.”

“
How are we going to stop
them?” Colin narrowed his eyes. “We
’
re not…”

“
Giants
or
…” Sarah chimed in, unable to finish.
Inhaling a deep breath, her shoulders dropped in defeat.

Hermes appeared, sounding
confident with his chin up, behind Zeus. “We can. We have the
Cyclopes on our side. They want their revenge and have agreed to
aid us if and when we
’
re ready for them.”

“
You
’
ve released the
Cyclopes?” Zeus raised an eyebrow. “Are you mad,
Hermes?”

He didn
’
t get a chance to
answer, Tara stepped in. “He
’
s not mad, Zeus. They
haven
’
t been released to the human world, yet.” There was a hint of
mischief in her tone. Her glistening eyes told me she was excited
about the plan Hermes had mentioned.

Hades crossed his arms and cleared his
throat. “First things first, how did Eris shrink the Titans?”

“
I would like to know
too.” Mason cocked a brow with disgust. “She did the same thing to
me, many times. I was afraid I would become like a stretch man or
something weird.”

Zara placed an elbow on
the arm of her marble throne and rested her head on her fist with a
sigh. Strands of her neat, braided hair stuck out like long
spider
’
s legs. Though she didn
’
t drop a bead of sweat, she
looked drained.

“
I know how she did it,”
Zara answered, locking her eyes on Athena. “It
’
s a long story, and
there are many different versions, but I
’
m confident Athena will
share her story.” Zara
’
s hard stare urged Athena to do
so, as if to threaten her that Zara would tell it if Athena
didn
’
t.

Athena fidgeted with her
hair tied into a ponytail and threw her hands up with a roll of her
eyes. “A mortal named Arachne bragged how she weaved better than
me. So I disguised myself as an old woman and warned her to plead
for forgiveness for her sharp tongue and pray that Athena would
spare her soul. I
’
m a goddess, so I
couldn
’
t help myself. When Arachne challenged me to a weaving
contest, I took off my disguise and accepted the
contest.”

Ares
’
s brows creased in
confusion. “
You
can
’
t spare souls.”

“
She
didn
’
t know that,” Athena spat. “Anyway, the mortal won the
contest,” she mumbled so softly that it was difficult to hear. “My
weaving portrayed battles in which the gods punished mortals for
setting themselves as equals to the gods.
Arachne
’
s weaving depicted ways that the gods had misled and abused
mortals. So when her weaving insulted the gods, and I hate to admit
it, it was better than mine, I did what any goddess would do. I
ripped her work into shreds.”

Our jaws dropped. Athena
fought beside us. All along, I
’
d never guessed her to be such
a…

“
Bitch.” Nick took the
word out of my mouth, but it was hardly audible. In fact, I thought
I was the only one who heard him.