From Titans (Book 4) (9 page)

Mason

Sky
’
s eyes pooled with
tears. She wiped them before they fell. “
I promise I’
ll come back. And
when I do, you
’
ll come home with me. The dogs
are well. They miss you too. Mason sleeps with me.”

The word home hit me hard
to the core of my heart and I choked up. My words
wouldn
’
t leave my head, but I needed to say them for
me…
for her.
I hear you, baby. I know you
’
ll come back to me.
I
’
m
glad the dogs are keeping you busy. And Mason is one hell of a
lucky dog. When I come home, I
’
m the only Mason
you
’
ll hug at night in our bed
.

“
Oh, how sweet.
You
’
ve replaced Mason with a dog,” Eris said
sarcastically.

I wanted to hit her with
Zeus
’
s staff to shut her up. Sky
’
s eyes flickered with
electricity, and her hands blazed with fire.
That
’
s my girl. Give all your hateful
energy to her
. But she
couldn
’
t. The invisible wall would cause it to bounce back to her.
Hades lifted Sky, cutting her words.
No!
No! No! Sky, come back
.

As Hades took my Sky away, she became
smaller and smaller in my cloudy tunnel view. How I hated my
limited view. I hated being there. Anger coursed through me,
burning through my body, taking me over. I fought with every ounce
of will and strength to break the barrier, but it was too much to
handle. The trees, the only thing in my view, blurred and blended
together. Eris must have sensed my attempt to escape.

“
Now, now…I know
you
’
re upset.” She caressed my face. “If you fight your prison,
you
’
ll only hurt yourself. If Sky doesn
’
t bring me what I want,
we
’
ll be married forever. And I don
’
t want you hurting yourself.
You
’
re so perfect the way you are.”

I wanted to slap her hand away from my face
and give her a huge dose of my lightning. Hell would freeze before
I married her. No gods would marry us against my will. There had to
be some kind of law. Sky would come back for me. I put all my faith
in her and my family. Having Sky within reach broke me. My heart
burst out of my chest and left with her. Emptiness swallowed me
whole. I lost myself to the darkness, missing Sky.

Skylar

“
What happened?”
Amanda squealed.

“
Eris is…” Nick ran his
hand down his face and puffed out air.

“
Crazy,” Everett finished
for him, pressing his lips into a thin line.

“
My love.
It
’
s
so good to see you back safe and well.” Persephone ran into
Hades
’
s arms, making me miss Mason even more.

Mom wrapped her arms around me, holding me
steady from falling apart. I pressed my head against her shoulder
and breathed. Leaving Mason tore out my insides. At least he was
alive and well. I had to keep telling myself that.

“
So, Eris has Mason?” Zara
stood from her seat. “Did you see him?”

“
Yes,” Zeus confirmed. He
sat down next to Poseidon at the table.

“
And Cronus? Did other
Titans escape?” Tara
’
s soft voice came out shaky. Her
blue eyes filled with concern.

Hades leaned against the
table with folded arms. “Eris wouldn
’
t tell us anything about him or
others. She kept his whereabouts tight. I
’
m unable to verify if
she
’
s working with him, only that we would meet him later, so she
said. Who knows if she
’
s telling us the truth. She only
wanted to meet to get something from us.”

“
What does she want?” My
father arched his eyebrows.

Poseidon leaned back in his seat. “She wants
some gold water from Phoenix River.”

“
Why?” Amanda crossed her
arms.

“
To turn what she wants
into gold, just like Midas,” I explained.

“
You
can
’
t go there,” the Oracles warned. “Nobody comes back alive.
They all turn to gold.”

Mom held me tighter.

Poseidon waved a hand at
me. “It
’
s Skylar
’
s call. She got us out of our
hell, so I think we need to help her get out of hers.”

I took my
mom
’
s hand in mine. “I appreciate everyone wanting to help me,
but I can
’
t ask you to risk your life. I
’
m going alone.”

“
Sorry, hero, but
he
’
s
our brother. You don
’
t get to make that decision,”
Nick stated, crossing his arms and leaning back against the white
wall.

“
I second that,” Everett
added, slumped over the table next to Zeus.

“
I third that,” Amanda
chimed in.

“
I go where Amanda goes.”
Noah winked at Amanda, making her smile.

Dad swung his chair
around. “We
’
re all going, Skylar. We
don
’
t know what we
’
ll face. We
’
re stronger in greater
numbers.”

I gazed down at my
mom
’
s belly. “
You
can
’
t come, Dad. Mom needs you. She
’
s pregnant. She
shouldn
’
t face danger herself. And besides, she
’
s not feeling well. I
won
’
t feel right having you come when she needs you.”

“
I
’
m feeling
better,
” Mom claimed. “The morning
sickness comes in waves, but I
’
m more than capable.”

Zara
’
s eyes dropped to my
mom
’
s belly. “Skylar is right. It
’
s too dangerous for you, and
Victor needs to stay behind with you.”

Hades patted my head like
I was his pet. “Don
’
t worry. Skylar will be fine in
our hands. Three gods and little people.” He gazed at everyone.
“What could go wrong?”

“
Little people?” Nick
frowned. “Hades, we are not little.”

“
Are you not
Zeus
’s
descendant?
”

“
Yes.”

“
Then you are little.” He
smirked.

“
Are you making fun of my
descendants?” Zeus challenged, standing up, his big muscles
flexing.

Hades twitched his brows
in amusement. “Well, if I had any descendants, then I could call
them little people too, but I don
’
t, do I? So while you were
banging every human woman you could get your hands on to procreate,
you tossed me to the underworld. You didn
’
t even visit me. You
could
’
ve at least given me the same chance. Now I have no
descendants to pass down my name.”

Zeus
’
s eyes fired with
silvery lights and he
stood.
“I didn
’
t toss you to the
underworld. You volunteered to go.”

Hades moved with the speed
that belonged to gods. He stood inches away from Zeus. “You tricked
me, brother. You made me think I was going to be a god of
Paradise.” His finger jammed against Zeus
’
s rock hard
chest.

Poseidon pushed the two brothers away.
“Enough. I knew this would come out some day. This is old
history.”

Hades glared at Poseidon.
“Don
’
t play so innocent. You were in on it with Zeus.”

“
You were greedy. You had
to be taught a lesson. You still can create as many descendants as
you wish, but I don
’
t think Persephone would like
that.”

Hades slowly turned his head to Persephone,
whose eyes shot daggers at him. Then she headed for the door.

“
Persephone.” Hades ran
after her. “I didn
’
t mean I want to…” His voice
trailed off as he stepped out.

Zara sighed and raised an eyebrow. “I see
how this is going to go. Good luck, Skylar. When will you
leave?”

I glanced at Nick. “We
have three days. Zeus needs to get ahold of Hermes. Eris mentioned
Hermes might know where the Phoenix River is located. As soon as we
get the location, we
’
ll be on our way.”

Zara, Tara, and Cara
gathered in front of me. Zara reached inside her dress. A pocket?
She pulled out two small bottles the size of my middle finger.
“This may be small, but it
’
ll be easier to carry. One should
be enough, but I
’
m giving you two, just in case.
You can fill it much faster, and when you pour it out, it will be
enough for Eris.”

She reached in again and pulled out a clear
crystal, same size as the bottle. “This wards off evil spirits. I
have no idea what you will encounter at Phoenix River. If you hold
it in your hand, it will light up and protect you.”

Zara reached in for the
third time and in her hand was a small pouch. “This small pouch
holds unbreakable crackers and small crystal marbles. The cracker
will fill you up for days, and the crystal marble will quench your
thirst for days, too. It will be enough for everyone.
I
’
m sorry I won
’
t be going. If the gods are going
with you, I have to stay behind and keep an eye not only on New
Olympus but Olympus as well.”

“
Don
’
t worry about Olympus.
Hera is there,” Zeus cut in, dropping to his seat.
“She
’
s well capable of holding the fort there, along with other
gods.”

Zara furrowed her brow.
“They are still weak from being locked up inside the iron casts. If
I know this, then Eris does too. She
’
s cunning. You have to be a step
ahead of her. We don
’
t know where Cronus is or what
he
’
s
planning.”

“
I suppose
you
’
re right,” Zeus said in defeat.

“
It
’
s time to call or find
Hermes, Zeus, or whatever you do to get his attention.” My father
broke me out of my thoughts.

Zeus
’
s eyes lit before he
closed them. When he opened them, lightning struck in the middle of
the room from the ceiling. Hermes appeared.

“
You called, my Zeus?”
Hermes flashed a charming smile at me and then shifted his
attention to Zeus. The wings on his cap and shoes fluttered. He
floated a foot off the ground.

“
Do you know where Phoenix
River is?” Nick blurted.

Zeus narrowed his eyes at
Nick. “He said, ‘you called, my Zeus.
’
Are you Zeus?”

Nick raised his hands to surrender and
backed away. “Just trying to get answers.”

“
Hermes only speaks to
me.” He turned to Hermes. “Do you know where Phoenix River is
located? I was told by Eris that you might know such a
place.”

Hermes landed. His wings
tucked inward. He got down on one knee in front of Zeus.
“I
’
ve never seen it, my Zeus, but I
’
ve heard rumors of its
location. I
’
ve also heard that no one comes
back.”