“Since you’ve called the meeting, I can only conclude you have good news for us,” Hades said, his tone sounding hopeful.
Zara gingerly smoothed a hand over her red hair as if to buy some time. “I have both good and bad news.”
Mom placed her hand on my shoulder. She must have seen me stiffen and sit up straighter.
Zara paused to gape at Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. “You’re wearing human clothes. It’s very fitting.” Her lips slightly curled. Was that a smile?
“We’re trying.” Zeus arched his eyebrows.
“What’s the news?” my father asked, bringing us back to our purpose there.
Zara inhaled. “My people from New Olympus have been scouting everywhere, on Earth and in godly realms. As you already know, when Mount Hem crumbled under Hephaestus’s evil, there was motivation behind it. Hephaestus made sure to continuously give us grief should he fail. Destroying Mount Hem caused a ripple effect to neighboring Mount Othrys, where the battle took place between the Titans and gods, right where the Titans had been imprisoned in the underworld, Tartarus. The damage freed Cronus and who knows how many others.”
Nick curled his fingers into a tight ball. “Zara, we already know this.”
One thing about Zara, she enjoyed telling stories before the punch line. She glared at Nick and continued. “Eris, goddess of chaos, has joined Cronus. Cronus has not given us demands, but Eris has.”
“What is she demanding from us?” Poseidon leaned forward with his elbows on the table.
Again, she ignored the question. “Mason is well.”
As if there were finally air in the room, everyone sighed with relief.
“Where is he?” Everett asked softly, concern in his tone. “Why aren’t they letting him go? Obviously this is about Cronus and his revenge on his children.” He glanced at Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. “What do they want with Mason?”
“I don’t know, but we’ll find out soon.” Zara answered calmly, but from her creased brows, she was getting annoyed. “I have something to show you. When Zeus sent Hermes to search for Mason, word got around. Eris approached Hermes.”
“Where is Hermes? Why hasn’t he informed me of this?” Zeus growled, his ocean-blue eyes darkening in disapproval.
“Because I stopped him,” Zara said.
“Why would you do such a thing? Hermes is under my authority, not yours.” He slammed the table with his hand.
“Zeus, anger won’t get you anywhere. Calm down.”
“Calm down?” He huffed. “Remember who you are talking to, Zara. So where is he?”
Poseidon’s hand on Zeus’s shoulder seemed to tame his rage. Zeus’s shoulders relaxed somewhat.
Zara stood, ruffled her dress, and took several steps down from her throne. “Please, allow me to explain. I stopped Hermes from going to you so I could examine the authenticity of this ridiculous invitation. At first I thought it was a trap, but the rumor is spreading.” She rolled her eyes. “Eris started it first, and there is evidence this party will take place.”
“What invitation?” I gulped. My stomach twisted in knots. “I don’t doubt she started the rumors.”
“My child,” the Oracle said. “I’m sure Mason is not himself. I want to warn you, you’re not going to like what you see.”
“Please, Zara,” my mother begged, holding my hand. “My daughter is strong. We’re all supporting her. Let’s see so we can make a decision. We’ve been waiting so long for any news about Mason’s whereabouts.”
Zara nodded and clapped her hands twice. The door swung open, and Hermes walked in. No wings fluttered out of his hat or shoes, except for his blond hair peeking out. Instead of going to Zara, he glanced around as if to find someone. Finally he went straight to Zeus.
Hermes dropped to one knee and dipped his head low. “I didn’t recognize you in human clothes. I apologize for not reporting to you first, but Zara detained me. It was out of my hands.”
Zeus frowned. “Next time, you come to me first.”
“Yes, my king.”
“You’re excused. Get up and show us what you have.”
I thought Hermes held a large map, but when he placed it down on the table, my breath caught in my throat. I had to place my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming.
“What in the hell is this?” Nick cried out. “Mason wouldn’t agree to this. He’s engaged to Skylar. This is…” He gripped his hair and grunted in frustration.
Everyone had their opinion. As their voices echoed around me in shouts, I tuned them out to stare at the invitation. Gold rimmed the thick parchment and swirly lines curled at the bottom. Like Zara said, it was an invitation to a party. An engagement party for Mason and Eris.
The urge to rip up the invitation came fast and strong, but I strained to control my emotions. My muscles tensed, and every single fiber in me yearned to zap Eris extra crispy. Every second that passed, my mind battled the raw anger growing. One hand sparked with electricity, and the other blazed with flames. The ground underneath me tilted and the invitation blurred out of focus. Voices vibrated through my mind, faintly audible.
“We have to go,” Nick stated.
“We have to prepare ourselves. We could be walking into a trap,” Zara said.
“We’re not going. We can’t give her the satisfaction of thinking she bested us all,” Zeus countered fiercely.
“Don’t be ridiculous, brother,” Hades retorted, draping his arm around Persephone.
“Cronus could be waiting for us to take his revenge,” Poseidon added.
“Then let him,” my mom roared. “I have his sickle, the one he used to defeat his own father, Ouranus. And this time, I’ll end him for good.”
Then everyone’s shouts blended into one as the walls closed in on me.
“I’m going. No one is going to stop me,” Amanda muttered.
“Me too,” Everett said sternly.
The voices became nothing but murmurs lost in my head. As the room began to spin, white dots flashed before my eyes. Icy chills rushed through me, and everything went dark.
Chapter 6
Mason
“You did what?” I bellowed as I paced within my jail. If I walked forever, I would still end up at the same place I started.
“Let me repeat myself. Again. I’ve sent out our engagement invitation to our guests.” The nagging voice from nowhere spoke happily.
I growled, wanting to wring her neck. No, wanting to zap her with my light and fry her to a crisp. Torturing my enemies was not my forte, but I wanted to cause every possible bodily harm to my captor.
“I’m already engaged.” I shuffled my feet, but they made no sound, as if I were walking on air.
“You think you’re engaged to someone else, but you’re now engaged to me.”
“No. I didn’t ask you to marry me. So, we’re not engaged. Let me repeat myself. I’m engaged to Skylar.” I laughed, not because it was funny, but because it was absurd.
“You can think that all you want. Your heart may not belong to me, but your body will. You can’t stop me, Mason. I have power over you. You haven’t seen it yet. And when the time comes, you’ll know what I’m talking about.”
“You’re crazy!” I shouted, releasing my anger. Blistering heat rose in every inch of me. My energy crackled in the palm of my hands. “Let me go. Find someone crazy enough to fall in love with you.”
“Don’t worry, my love. When Skylar and your family see how happy we are together, they’ll move on. You’ll be forgotten, and I’ll have you all to myself.”
I dropped to sit on the ground, elbows propped on crossed legs, and shoved my hands into my face. Her threat to control me was the most frightening part. She held my life in her hands. I could do nothing to fight her. I would have to wait it out and fight the battles I could control. Only thinking of Sky kept me going.
Glancing around the perimeter of my spotlight, I spotted an empty bowl. Strange. I didn’t recall eating the applesauce. Was it even what she sa
id? My hunger pangs had gone and so had the need to quench my thirst. Had she fed me while I slept? Impossible. I would’ve felt it. I would’ve woken up. And I still had no knowledge of her identity and what power she possessed.
I concluded two things: She had to be a titan, and she was no doubt a lunatic. Thoughts of Sky no longer held me through the anger and darkness. Something was happening to me, but I couldn’t pinpoint what. It swelled in the pit of my gut, warning me. When I stood, I stumbled backward. My head spun, vision blurred, and I dropped to my knees. As I toppled over, a different kind of darkness engulfed me.
Skylar
“When do you think she’ll awake? Can’t you do something about it?”
My mother’s voice hummed from a distance. Hearing indistinct murmurs, I knew I was coming out of something. Had I fainted? A hand stroked my hair as I fluttered my eyes open.
“Skylar, can you hear me?”
“Mom?” My vision cleared, setting on her lovely face. Her cascading hair blocked my view so I had no idea who was still around.
“Let me help you up.”
“How long was I out?” I groggily stood, realizing we were still at the meeting room and everyone’s eyes pointed at me.
Hades patted my back. “So, when the going gets tough, Skylar takes a nap. We’re still here, little sis. It’s your call.”
“My call?” I swallowed. “What’s my call?”
Zara took a step forward to me, holding the invitation that was half the size of me. “We voted while you were…” She guested her head to the floor. “And we decided to leave the decision up to you.”
“Oh.” I brushed my hair back with my fingers. The surprise news had me in a spiral of dizziness. I didn’t have time to process it, let alone decide what to do. Obviously, the engagement was a hoax and could even be a trap. However, if we didn’t go, then I would never know where Mason was or how he was. I needed to see him. From there, we could devise a plan to help him escape.
“I say, we go. Mason needs us. And if it’s a trap, well, don’t you think we’re capable against any odds?” I asked.
“Good choice. I’m in.” Nick stood next to me.
All those in favor of my decision trickled one by one behind me, except for Zeus.
“Are you sure, Skylar?” Zeus asked. “I should’ve kept Eris locked in the iron cast. I also should’ve seen her revenge coming. After she was released, she fled quickly.”
Zeus had no way of knowing Eris’s plan, let alone of reading her thoughts. I didn’t blame him. I only cared about Mason. My heart fluttered. The thought of seeing Mason and bringing him home dominated my mind. We waited a month to get any clue or basically any word from the kidnappers. Was Zeus crazy to turn down the chance? My mind had been made up from the moment I read his name.
“Yes,” I said with conviction. “What do we do? How do we get there?”
Zara lifted the invitation. “All you have to do is press a finger to your name and you’ll be taken where you need to go.”
Tara, who’d been quiet, said, “I’m afraid not everyone can go.” She pointed at the fine words on the bottom, smaller than the other words. “Our names are not on there and neither are Skylar’s mom or Victor.”
“What?” My father groaned. “We need to be there.”
“My name is on there,” Nick said.
“And so is mine,” Everett added.
“I’m not on the list.” Noah sounded relieved.
“I won’t be going with Hades,” Persephone pouted, caressing Hades’s face. “But I’m not surprised.”
Hades kissed her hand. “Sorry, love. But I’m glad you’re not invited. It won’t be a pleasant journey, I can assure you.”
“Mine isn’t,” Amada hissed. “But at least Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades will be there to protect you.”
It didn’t matter who or how many people went. I would go by myself if I had to. “Then we shouldn’t waste any time. Let’s go.”
“Skylar, please be careful.” Mom embraced me, and then Dad did.
“I will.”
Zara pushed the invitation in front of me. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Nick, Everett, and I touched our names at the same time. The lettering glowed, and then it peeled off, floating in midair in gold. Then my name, letter by letter, started to swirl around my feet. As it snaked up, still illuminating, the parts of my body it swirled around disappeared. When I glanced down, half my body was gone. The same thing happened to the others, too.
“See you on the other side, sis.” Hades winked with complete composure. “I’ll see you soon.” He blew a kiss to Persephone as his arm vanished.
I’m coming, Mason. Hold on.
Chapter 7
Mason
My body drifted with a sea of clouds, floating endlessly, peacefully. I felt no pain, no sadness. Only emptiness. Memories of Sky and my family wove through my mind, and then…blank. I desperately held on to the memories, afraid they would disappear like me. I struggled, gripping tighter to the memory, but they were slipping…slipping…slipping.
Bam! I jerked, tumbling and swirling in emptiness. My body stretched out, pulling in every direction for what seemed like eternity. Then a light glowed. My vision tunneled ahead, as if I looked through binoculars. A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes stood before me, studying me, but everything about her blurred. Come to think of it, everything my eyes landed on was unclear.
“Hello. Can you hear me, Mason?”
I tried to answer, but I couldn’t move my lips. Why couldn’t I speak? Where was I? Who was she? Though her voice sounded muffled, it also sounded familiar. And the smell of apples…I wanted to throw up. My knees buckled. I struggled to stand steady, but it was too much effort when my vision spun. Finally, I held my stance.
The woman’s lips curled into a satisfied smirk. “I command you to stay right here. Don’t move.” Then she walked away.
“Wait.” My voice muffled in my mind, unable to say the word out loud. I tried to follow her, but my legs wouldn’t budge. What was wrong with me? Then I noted I couldn’t move my arms either.
The lady came back. “Follow me,” she ordered.
Her back came into my view, again unclear. Oddly, my body followed behind her without my consent. I tried to stop moving but couldn’t. Then I realized I had left one prison for another. And the smell of apples and the sight of long blonde curls crashed on me. She shrank? Or I grew into a giant?
“Stay by the tree until I command you to come out.” Her tone was light and fluffy, too excited. “Our guests will be here shortly.”
Skylar
We appeared the same gradual way we disappeared, but head first and at last our feet. I had counted six people on the invitation, and five people stood before me.
“Where are we?” Nick glanced around.
“I have no idea.” Poseidon’s eyes darted from left to right. “There are a lot of apple trees.”
Trees lined either side of an endless dirt road. Zeus held tightly to his staff, and Everett ruffled his hair and groaned.
“Now what?” Nick huffed in agitation and kicked a pebble. With a thud, it hit what seemed like an invisible wall in midflight and bounced off.
Hades said what I thought. “Invisible wall. At least we know there’s an end.”
When we reached the invisible wall, we waited for instructions, but none came.
“Are you trying to torture us, Eris?” Zeus waited for a reply. With no answer, he continued. “It’s rude to make your guests wait.”
“It’s rude not to invite a friend to a party,” a voice answered in my mind.
Zeus rolled his eyes. “You hold grudges way too long. It’s no way to live.”
“I can’t help myself. After all, I am the goddess of chaos.” Her tone was seductive, yet high pitched, and chills prickled down my spine.
“Show yourself. I’ve missed seeing your lovely face.”
“You’re still the same, Zeus. So flirtatious. But you’ve always had good taste in beauti
ful women. I’m surprised Hera hasn’t left you. Maybe she’ll find a real man this time.”
Zeus frowned and tightened his fists. “She doesn’t need a man when she has a god of Olympus by her side. Speaking of which, did you have to get engaged to one of my descendants? Oh, that’s right. You kidnapped him, and you’re forcing him to marry you. Doesn’t sound like you can find a man to love you. The only way you’ll ever have love is by force.”
“Shut up!” the same voice snapped.
A woman with long blonde hair, dressed in a red, flowy dress, materialized from thin air on the other side of the invisible wall.
“Hello,” she purred. “My name is Eris. It’s a pleasure to have you. I’m glad you all could make it.”
“We already know who you are, get on with it, Eris,” Zeus hissed.
Her friendly tone sent a jolt of anger through me. That lunatic thought she was engaged to my Mason. My eyes stung with rage, and my fingertips sizzled, ready to attack as soon as she dropped the shield, but I suppressed my anger. We needed answers first. No good would come from our visit if she refused to tell us where she hid Mason.
Nick sprang from behind and pounded on the invisible wall. “You crazy bitch! Let my brother go.”
Hades held him back. “You’ll have to excuse him. He’s been going a bit crazy looking for his brother. I’m sure you understand.”
Eris glared and hissed, showing her perfect white teeth. “Don’t be a fool, Nick, or you’ll never see your brother. But he’s not really your brother. Isn’t he just a half-brother? Anyway, I can’t wait to call you brother-in-law. We’ll become one happy family.” She showed off her white teeth but didn’t smile.
Nick covered his ears. “Over my dead body.”
“Now, now. Behave, little one,” she scolded, waving her finger. “Or I just might give you what you wish for. Death is permanent, you know…at least for your kind.”