From Titans (Book 4) (29 page)

“
Well, Father and
Eris,”
Zeus mocked.
“You don
’
t look happy to see me. Surprised
that we
’
re still alive?
”

“
You!” Eris gritted
through her teeth, jumped down, and stood in front of Cronus. “How
is that possible?”

“
I have good news and bad
news for you,” Zeus stated, not answering her question. “The bad
news is that the Labyrinth of Crete is gone, burnt to the ground so
you can never use it on anyone to play your stupid silly
games.”

Eris frowned.

“
The good news
is…we
’
re here.”

The cool breeze became colder and more
vicious, tossing everything in its path. Though it seemed
impossible, the day turned darker still. Water dripped on my face,
slow at first, then gradually worse.

“
Mason?” My voice
quivered, my throat parched, and my gut feeling told me to
run.

Mason felt it too. He squeezed my hand.

“
Surrender and your
punishment will be the same,” Zara belted through the wind. “Or
face death.”

“
Punishment?” Eris laughed
like she’d heard a joke. “Don
’
t be ridiculous, Zara, you old
fool. I may not have magic like yours, but I am the goddess of
chaos, and chaos follows me wherever I go. So it
’
s my turn to spit out
demands.” Her eyes darkened with a glower. “You surrender, or
everything the poor little pathetic humans built will be destroyed.
And the hundreds and hundreds of the giants I have behind me, I
know you won
’
t hurt them. For they do not know
what they are.” She sounded almost sympathetic.

“
We do not surrender to a
lowly goddess who thinks she
’
s one of us.” Zeus pounded his
staff on the ground, striking Eris. Her body went tumbling across
space. I wished I could have done that, but it gave me great
satisfaction to know she had been struck.

Then the battle began.

Chapter
26

Skylar

Eris controlled the humans turned giants,
who stomped and stormed through what was left of the town. There
were so many of them. Not only did we have to worry about the
Titans, but the human giants as well.

We ran like mice away from the cats. And in
some ways we were back in the Labyrinth as we climbed over crushed
cars, jump over enormous potholes, and weaved around ruined
structures while trying to bring the Titans down.

“
Don
’
t hurt the humans.
They don
’
t know what they
’re
doing,
”
I hollered, releasing Mason
’
s hand. We were forced to
separate when a beat-up car flew at us.

I jumped, shaking off
concrete debris, and searched for Mason. I didn
’
t have to look long
because Mason was up, looking for me. Then a giant human foot
landed between us.

“
We can
’
t lose
Cronus,
” Hades shouted as he sped by. “We
need to get Poseidon first. That
’
s our first priority.

“
On my way.” Ares jumped
over the broken cars to catch up to Cronus. Ares threw his shield
and nicked Cronus
’
s leg, but Cronus never
flinched.

Mason and I ran, following Hades who was
following Cronus. Everywhere the giants stepped was another home
smashed. Hopefully the people were smart enough to have gotten out.
I assumed so. The town seemed dead, except for us. And the screams
and cries for help from the people had faded out.

“
Cronus, stop running and
fight like a god!” Zeus growled. Lightning sizzled around his body
and staff.

Cronus halted. Mason and I dove away from
the falling tree Cronus nudged with his feet.

“
You want your brother
back, Zeus?” Cronus spread his lips wickedly. “The only way to save
him is for me to eat you. And you know as well as I do,
you
’
re not willing to make that sacrifice. You
’
re all selfish and
unworthy of god powers. You
’
re no better than a
cockroach.”

Zeus
’
s eyes flashed like
lightning. The lightning around him grew bigger and more intense.
“You dare to compare me to a cockroach when—”

An arm swung from our
blind spot. We had no time to warn Zeus. Oceanus got shocked by
Zeus when he grabbed him and fell to the ground, but just before,
he threw Zeus like a tennis ball to Cronus. Cronus held Zeus
tightly, squeezing him. Cronus had taken Zeus
’
s staff with the other
hand and swallowed it.

“
No!” Hades cried,
blasting his fire as Aaron and I did the same on
Cronus
’
s other foot. At the same time, Zara, Nick, and Mason did all
they could, zapping the Titans with their powers.

Cronus blew out the fire
with one long exhale and kicked his feet to make it difficult to
have anyone near him. He parted his lips to swallow Zeus and then
stopped. A shiny circular portal opened from behind Cronus. When
Cronus turned, Zeus was taken and a fist punched
Cronus
’
s face. Cronus’s body twisted and fell to the ground.
Cyclopes—not one or two, or three, but a dozen of them—had passed
through the portal with Hermes and Tara.

Thank
God!

“
Well,
it
’
s
about time, Polyphemus,” Zeus said.

“
Zeus,” Polyphemus
chuckled. The funny sound of his laughter stung my ears.

“
What are they doing
here?” Eris appeared. Her victory smile faded, replaced by clenched
teeth and rounded fists. “Polyphemus, do as I say or
I
’
ll
put you back in prison.” Her weakened tone did not carry her
threat.

Polyphemus snarled, his one eye blinked and
glared.

Eris stumbled and collided into a house when
a Cyclops behind her flicked her. I had to laugh. This whole
situation was no laughing matter, but it felt good for Eris to get
what she deserved.

“
Hurry, sprinkle this on
them.” Athena gave Tara and Hermes a small bag filled with
Monkshead flowers. “Crush the flowers on their foreheads or as
close to their noses as you can. It will go into their systems when
they breathe.”

Athena must have come at
the same time. I hadn
’
t seen her before. After Tara
handed Polyphemus some on his giant hand, he passed them out to the
Cyclopes while the human giants attacked them. Hermes flapped his
wings, flying close to the human giants and sprinkled the crushed
Monkshead over their heads along with the
Oracles
’
help. While they were handling the human giants, the rest of
us battled the Titans.

“
Hurry.” Zeus ran to
Cronus. Cronus shook his head as if trying to come out of a daze.
“We need to get Poseidon out before Cronus gets up.” Zeus stopped
and kicked a piece of broken cement in anger when Cronus pushed
himself halfway. “I need my staff.” He growled. “The staff is the
only thing that can cut his stomach open.”

“
We have to find another
way.” Hades pushed Zeus from Cronus
’
s reach.

Instead of getting up, Cronus started
pounding his fist, faster and faster and faster, and then crawling
to catch us. He had realized his hands were swifter than his
feet.

Mason zapped his light at
Cronus
’
s face. Cronus craned his neck in time to dodge the light,
but Ares
’
s boomerang-like shield collided with his cheek. Again, it
only nicked him. The other Titans joined him and created
crater-like holes. They were coming from all directions, north,
south, east, west, surrounding us. We pushed them back with fire,
lightning, and everything we had, but somehow, the Titans bounced
back with resilience. With Eris on their side, chaos seemed to have
no end.

“
Cronus!”

Mom?
My mother
’
s voice vibrated in the air,
sounding like it was coming from all directions. Where was
she?

Everyone froze, even the Titans.

“
Rhea, my love. How have
you been?” Cronus
’
s tone sounded loving, but there
was no sincerity in it.

With no sight of my mom, I
glanced around until I saw Mason
’
s head tilt up. Holy Cow! Mom was
just as big as Cronus, and her clothes had grown with
her.

“
I
’
ve had better days,” Mom
replied. “But today will be even better. I
’
m giving you one last
chance, only because I loved you once. Surrender to your children,
let Poseidon out, and go back to Tartarus where you
belong.”

“
Or what?” Cronus gritted
through his teeth.

“
I
’
ll crush you.” Mom raised
her fist to emphasize her point.

Cronus
’
s boisterous laugh
blew the surrounding clouds away. “We have chaos on our side. You
can
’
t win. This time, I will succeed. I
’
m going to get rid of our
children and the descendants. And even the one growing in your
belly. The fetus is the most delicious of all.”

Mom glared at Cronus but
kept her cool. “You
’
re not eating anyone
today.”

Cronus let out a loud
burp. I wasn
’
t sure if he did it on purpose,
but it was disgusting. “I ate Poseidon. One down and so many more
to go.”

Mom gasped.

“
Sky.”
My dad startled me.
“Move back.” He guided Mason and me away from Mom. Perhaps he
was afraid she might accidently step on me.

“
Dad, how
did…Mom…she
’
s so…”

“
I know.
It
’s surreal.
We’
ll explain
later.
”

Eris
’
s voice broke our
conversation. She gloated, sitting on Cronus
’
s shoulder.
“
Rhea
…” she said my mom
’
s name as if she was a good
friend. “I wish I could say it
’
s good to see you, but I
won
’t lie.
” She snarled. “Looks like this time I
’
m going to win.” She
clapped her hands and giggled. “I
’
m the goddess of chaos, and chaos
loves to follow me. What can I say? I love what I can
do.”

“
Looks like your human
giants are where they belong again and so will be the Titans. Sorry
to tell you, Eris, you won
’
t have a chance,” Mom
retorted.

Too busy gaping between my
giant mom and Cronus, I hadn
’
t realized the human giants were
in control. The Monkshead really worked.

“
Oh, Rhea. You have much
to learn.” Eris examined her fingernails, looking bored.
“You
’
d been trapped in a human body for so long,
it
’
s
no wonder you forgot what it
’
s like to be around real gods.
Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon will soon be gone…and so will you. So go
away while you can or follow your children
’
s tragic
destiny.”

Mom raised her hand. Her
intention was to hit Eris, but that never happened. Cronus seized
her wrist. Mom yanked her arm, but she couldn
’
t release from his
grip. Mom used her free hand and pushed Cronus. He finally let go,
taking a step back.

“
How dare you?” Eris spat.
“You were going to hit me?” Her tone rose. “Just for that, let
there be a storm.” She raised her hands in the air. “Let it drown
the land and wash away everything in sight.”