“Bring Mason. It’s his turn.” I heard Steven gloat.
“No!” Nick bellowed, standing next to Everett and Amanda. At least they were standing together.
I snapped my head to Mason, feeling all sorts of energy running through me. There was no way in hell he was going to do this to Mason. My dad just gave up his life for all of us. “You’re supposed to let us go,” I said angrily. “You weren’t supposed to hurt Mason. You promised my dad.”
“That was until your dad told you to run.” Steven strode around the statue of my dad. “How do I know you won’t do as your dad asked? I need more incentives for you.”
“I swear on my life. I’ll get the stone and kill Hades. You already have my dad. You don’t need Mason.”
“But Mason is the one you love. We would do anything for the ones we love.” Steven turned to the vultures holding Mason. “Bring him.”
“You’re not getting another piece of us.” Nick’s eyes glowed in silvery lights and his hand bolted out lightning, and mine did the same. And my dad’s group, which seemed to be lost, found something to fight for again.
“Mason, damn it. Get out of there!” Amanda hollered, dodging a blow. “Stop being a chicken shit and get us out of here. Do that thing you did at the New Olympus, when you lit up the whole freakin’ place.”
Amanda didn’t have to say another word; Mason had heard her loud and clear. He was already lighting up so bright that he was blinding those around him. His lights extended and traveled to the vultures holding him hostage. They formed into a whip, wrapping around the vultures’ arms and ankles, just as they had done to him. It sparked against their bodies, making them “extra crispy,” as Nick had said once before.
Then, Mason disappeared into a tunnel of light. I had never seen him do this before. It was beautiful, yet frightening. The light shot up and started spreading along the ceiling, then crawling down the walls, creating a prison. It traveled and expanded like the way fire did. To my surprise, thunder boomed and lightning flashed. The lightning cracked against the boulders above. They started to teeter, and some started to fall to the ground. It got worse when the ground started to shake.
I had never lit up like this before; I didn’t even know that I could, but seeing Skylar in so much pain took me to another level. She had just been told that her dad was drugged to kill her. She, herself, had been drugged to absorb powers, which I thought was to her advantage, but it still it wasn’t right. Then to find out her future stepdad was Hephaestus, the one who had been scheming this plan all along, was devastating.
When Amanda reminded me of what I did before, I had to try, though she was rude about it. I didn’t blame her. I had to get us out of there. Hephaestus was going to imprison me in the iron cast and send Sky to the Underworld. No way in hell was I going to allow that if I could help it. Nick had told me before that my powers were unlimited, and that I just had to stretch that possibility, but it seemed like it only worked when I was in a dire situation.
As soon as I was free and the boulders broke from high above, I dashed to Skylar and her mom. The shaking ground made the vultures clumsy. Using this to our advantage, we all gathered to run toward where we had come in. There was such chaos that it was difficult to tell which way to go. Since Hephaestus was nowhere to be seen, I assumed he ran to safety. That coward!
Leading our escape, I halted when I heard someone. “This way.” It was Ian, standing next to Zara and Tara.
“Why should we trust the three of you?” I barked out angrily.
“Because I know this place better than anyone, and Zara and Tara are the only ones that can teleport you out of here faster than you can blink.”
Skylar squeezed my hand, letting me know I had no choice. “You better not be leading us into a trap, or so help the gods, you’re dead. I should just kill you right now for all of the trouble you’ve caused.”
“You can kick my ass after I tell you my side of the story. Hurry.”
I didn’t care what his excuse was or what his story was, but we had no choice. Holding Sky’s hand tightly while she held onto her mom’s with the other, we followed as quickly as possible. Since it was dark, Nick and I lit up and so did Ian. Crawling down one dark tunnel, then through another, was not easy when the ground continued to shake below us, and small boulders continued to fall above us. The structure of the tunnels reminded me of the design I had built for our restaurant.
“Sky, how long had you known your dad was back? How were you able to do all that back there? Why does lightning flash out of your hands? And Mason? Who are all these people?” Gina was out of breath, but managed to ask her questions. I was sure she had thousands of them coursing through her mind.
“I’ll tell you later, Mom,”
“Sky, please tell me that I’m dreaming.”
“Mom. I promise to tell you later. Shhh….”
At first I thought it was me, but when Sky gazed around in panic and hushed her mom, I knew she’d heard the evil hissing sounds, and the shadow figure of Hephaestus in his true hideous form flashed before us. The combination of both was enough to give me chills. I tried to ignore it, readying my hand to shoot just in case of an attack. As we trudged as fast as we could to the last tunnel, we had to slow down a bit because it got smaller, causing us to move in a single line formation.
“Jump.” Tara and Zara opened up a portal and she pushed her own sister in, so I figured it was safe.
“Go first,” I told everyone, waving my hand to get them to move faster.
“I’m not going through without you,” Sky demanded. She was being stubborn. I knew there was nothing I could do at this point so I let her wait with me.
The three of us jumped through just in time as the portal started to close. We were almost through when I felt a yank that pulled me back, like a slingshot, then let loose. I fell down on the sand with force.
The first thing I did was jump on Ian. That asshole deserved every one of my punches. After I gave him a few swings, Nick stopped me.
“What the hell was that for?” Ian asked, fuming in anger.
“You said I could kick your ass after we got out, didn’t you?” I smirked, but quickly turned when I heard Sky’s desperate cry.
She was banging on the portal that happened to still be open, about the size of a bowling ball. Oh crap! Her mom was on the other side. How did that happen?
“Mom!” Sky shouted. “Get out!”
I could see the frightened look on Gina’s face. She was pounding her fist, but it wouldn’t budge. Zara dashed to Sky’s side, trying to open the portal, but nothing was happening.
“Get my mom out!” Sky was in tears, begging, pleading Zara. Tara joined in, but it was useless.
“Skylar, you froze the portal. Why?” Zara asked, demanding an answer. She looked flabbergasted.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what I did. I lost my grip on my mom. I tried to bring her back, but the portal was closing. I had to stop it. Get her out!”
The three of them jerked back when Gina’s face was replaced by Steven’s face. “You can’t escape me, Skylar. I need to give you more incentive. I’m not sure how much you care for your dad, but I know how much you care for your mom. You want to see your parents again? Bring me Hades’s stone. You have three days.” His tone was wicked. I could feel the depth of his evil in my bones.
“I gave you my word, asshole. Let her go!” Sky pounded on the portal. “Let her go!” She did it again and again, releasing her anger, frustration, and rage. I let her do it until she was starting to weaken.
“Sky.” I wrapped her in my embrace. We dropped to the ground, and I let her cry in my arms. My poor Sky. She had been through so much.
The sun was bright, high in the sky, indicating it was noon. Three days? First, she needed to rest; we all needed to.
“Please, let me explain,” Zara said. “Getting my sister back was one motive. We need her in order to defeat Hephaestus. Our powers are stronger together. I promise you on my lif
e that I didn’t know he was going to do what he did. I had no idea he had the iron casts made. He told me he needed to talk to Skylar. He just wanted to talk.”
“You. Believed. Him?” I couldn’t believe I was saying these words. She was one of the Oracles, the ones we were supposed to respect. Perhaps she’d done it out of desperation, wanting to find the only sister she had left. I couldn’t judge her. If I were in her situation, I would have done the same to save one of ours.
“He had one made for each of us,” Sarah muttered through her teeth.
“The only way I’m going to believe you, is if you bring Victor back safely,” Noah said. “I can’t believe he is in there right now. I can’t believe he’s gone.”
“He’s like a father to us,” Tim added. His fists and shoulders were tight.
“He trusted you. We trusted you,” Colin said angrily. “You could have explained before we agreed to come on this mission.”
Even though it was clear how much Victor’s team was angered by the situation, they still respected Zara. And in a way, it seemed like they believed her, or at least they hoped she was telling the truth. For some strange reason, I felt she was telling the truth as well. I hoped we were right about her. Right now, Zara and Tara were the only ones that could help Sky travel to the Underworld. We needed their help and their guidance.
Zara seemed remorseful while nodding in understanding, but didn’t answer our questions. “Let’s get some rest.” Her face was long and pale; she looked like she had been through a war. Her cape had been burnt and was smudged with dirt. Her perfect hair, which had been in braids, was mangled and messy.
“Wait. What do we do with Ian?” I growled at him, my fist ready to punch him again.
“Ian was working for me. Nobody knew, not even Victor or the Elders. Now everyone knows. This is how I found out that Hephaestus was looking for the stone.”
“Double traitor,” Nick mumbled. “I don’t trust him.”
“Did you know what Steven was doing to Sky?” I asked Ian, horrified.
“Don’t misunderstand this, but it’s a good thing. If I knew she was in danger I would have stopped it. She is stronger and more capable of helping us defeat that evil monster.”
“You’re crazy,” I bellowed, still furious.
Ian flinched, possibly thinking I was going to jump on him again when I took a step toward him. “We all have someone to lose. He has my mother. I had no choice. And I know you can understand that.”
He was right. I did understand, but I didn’t agree. “Can Sky kill Hades? And how?” I asked Zara.
“Only she knows the answer. She’ll know what to do.”
“That’s absurd.”
“We’ll be with her. Don’t worry too much. It will all work out.”
That was easy for her to say. “Why does he want this stone so badly?”
Everyone stared in silence while waiting for the answer.
“The stone is called a lodestone and is known to heal. It’s mostly beneficial for asthma, blood and circulatory problems, skin, and hair.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” Noah spat.
“It makes perfect sense,” Tara added. Just like her sister, her voice was hypnotic, sensual. “Hephaestus wants to use this stone to heal himself. He wants to look human.”
“Will it work?” I asked.
“Yes.” Tara paused for a moment. “Lodestones are precious and very difficult to find. Though it has the element to heal, it wasn’t strong enough to heal a god. In order to make it stronger, a drop of blood from each of the three gods, along with our combined magic, created it.”
“How did they get ahold of this stone?” I asked, astounded that such a thing could be true.
“My sisters and I gifted it to the three gods when there was peace in Old Olympus,” Tara explained. “This was before Hades was thrown underground. There was a time when he was good. His heart was just as pure. When the three gods announced that the three of us would be their counselors, we gifted them the stone. However, in order to keep the balance and not have one more powerful than the other, the stone was divided in three, to symbolize equality and unity. After a while, Hades’s greed and jealousy brought about his own destruction. But Hephaestus needs all three of the stones to heal himself. Since Hades will not offer it to him, he would have to kill him.”
“I thought Hades and Hephaestus were working together?” Amanda commented.
“They were, but it seems like they each had their motives. Their main goal was to find all three stones. Hephaestus wants to heal his body and Hades wants out of the Underworld.”
“I don’t understand. Hephaestus can conceal himself to look like a human. He was Steven.”
“True, but only because I helped him. It doesn’t last forever, and that’s what he wants. It was the reason why he kept me alive.”
“Wait a minute. Kevin is able to conceal when he wants to. Why can’t Hephaestus?” Noah asked.
“Kevin was born in a different generation. He also has human blood in him. Hephaestus has two stones in his possession. He needs the last one from Hades.”
“I guess this all makes sense now,” Amanda said, looking astounded.
“I’ll bring Sky here tomorrow at this same time,” I stated, pulling her up to stand. “Be ready.” I didn’t look behind me, but I knew they were entering another portal to New Olympus. I wished we could just teleport to our home, too. If only it were that simple.
Cradling Sky in my arms, I became her anchor as we dragged our feet through the sand. My poor Sky. I had never seen her torn, broken, and beaten like this.
“We’ll do whatever we can to help, Sky,” Nick said, draping Sky’s other hand around his neck for support. “Let me help you.”
“We’re coming with you.” Everett walked beside me. His smile gave me comfort. I’d always looked up to him; I just didn’t know how much until now. I was beyond grateful to have him back home.
“I’m coming, too. And you can’t stop me.” Amanda was on the other side of Everett.
A month ago, I would have said no. A month ago, I would have found a way to do it myself. Now, I knew how much I needed them. They risked their lives to help me, to help Sky, and that meant the world to me. They were my family.
“Thank you,” I said.
The three of them flashed their eyes at me, not believing the words that came out of my mouth.
“Really?” Nick raised his brows. “I guess Mace the Ace finally realizes how much he loves us.”
“He really does,” Sky said weakly, leaning her head into my shoulder. She was steadier on her feet now, walking a bit faster. “And I love you guys, too. Thank you for risking your lives for my parents and me. I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”
“You made Mason finally wake up from the dead. I think that’s good enough,” Everett said.
“We’re so happy to have you back,” Skylar muttered.
“You have no idea how happy I am to be back. Hephaestus is one crazy dude. He thinks he’s God.”
As always, Nick liked to lighten the mood. “Why don’t we go out and celebrate right now? I bet people would get kick out of how we look.”
Amanda laughed out loud. “Look at us. Our clothes are torn. My hair looks like it was hit by lightning. In fact, I think I was struck by a bolt, but barely escaped by a hair. We’re smudged with dirt. Although,” she gazed at their chests, “I have to say, you boys are hot with your shirts and jeans torn. It shows off your six packs.”
“We always look hot,” Nick smirked. “Let’s get Sky home. I need to see Kayla and explain to her about my absence, and more to come.”
“There’s our car.” Sky looked somewhat relieved, but her eyes were still teary. I could feel her pain; her pain was my pain.
“Let’s go home,” I said, and we got in the car. I sat in the back with Sky, holding her tightly to let her know that everything was going to work out, but I had no words of comfort. There was dead silence as we drove away.
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“i’m not sure what I’m supposed to do.” I pulled back my hair as if the answers would suddenly appear in my mind. My eyes felt heavy and my muscles ached. My wounds healed faster than humans, but there were still lingering pains that took time to go away, especially the ones that affected my heart.
Mason shifted to a comfortable position, tucked his arm under his neck for support, and locked his eyes on mine. “I think you will know what to do when you get there. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“I’m scared, Mason. What if something bad happens to one of us? Maybe I should go alone.”
“Do you think you can take on Hades and his hell creatures by yourself?”
I turned my eyes to the floor and stared there for a bit.
“I didn’t think so.” Mason placed his fingers under my chin and forced me to meet his eyes. “Don’t do anything by yourself. We all have something to lose and something to gain by going to the Underworld. We need to stop Hephaestus from turning humans into vultures. Besides you, Victor’s team would like their leader back. And we need to find a way to get rid of Hephaestus for good.”
“Okay.” I nodded. A part of me couldn’t help thinking that this was my fight and not theirs, but I had to stop thinking that way. I had no idea what I would be up against, and I needed any help I could get. Having the power of lightning, being able to manipulate water, and now, according to Steven, supposedly I could tame fire. Whatever that meant. I had no clue, but I guessed it would happen when the time came. My body seemed to know. It always did.
“Good. I’m glad you agree.”
I jumped in with an idea I’d been meaning to tell him. “Hades isn’t dead.”
“Then maybe…neither are the other gods.” Mason sat up. We were on the same wavelength with this. I could tell that he knew what I was going to ask next. His eyes grew wide with elation.
“Do you think the statues at Old Olympus are the gods? I mean, Hephaestus said that over time, the iron casts turned the color of ivory, so do you think—”