“Mason!”
Her voice boomed over the whole land as if on loudspeaker in my ear. Eris had awakened.
Crap! I ran faster, but the roads seemed to get longer and longer.
“Mason!”
She sounded closer, too close for comfort.
I kept running. There seemed to be no end.
“Mason. I see you. You can’t run away from me, silly. This is my world. I am a goddess, and you are merely a puny descendant.”
My legs weakened too fast, and my lungs ran out of air, but I had to keep moving. I wasn’t going back to the prison, and I would not be traded.
“Mason.”
Her voice murmured right beside me. After I glanced over my shoulder, I turned back when there was no sight of her. Then, bam! I fell back and smacked the ground. I hit a tree? A wall? How? Impossible. I’d had a clear path. When I peered up, a shape of a giant shoe came to view. I tilted my head way back to see legs…then torso, arms, and a head. I cursed under my breath. Two steel-blue eyes glowered down at me.
“Cronus, I told you I would bring Mason to you. What are you doing here?” Eris barked.
Too busy assessing Cronus’s face, I hadn’t realized Eris helped me up until I saw her standing beside me.
Cronus? I’d read many myths about him. Some said his face was a mix of human and beast. Others said he wasn’t as tall, as presumed, but rather small. One myth said he wasn’t real. But he was real and standing in front of me, massive as a mountain. If he had been imprisoned by Zeus, how did he get out? How many Titans escaped? He appeared nothing like I’d imagined he would. With dark hair and the perfect facial structure of the gods, he was just a good-looking giant, about three of me tall, with a normal face.
“Go!” she huffed. “It’s not time.”
“What’s wrong with your hair?” Cronus boomed.
I had to cover my mouth to keep from busting out in a laugh. Eris’s hair stuck out like she had put her finger in a socket, fried and frizzy. She looked worse than before. She could have passed as Medusa, only her snakes were dead.
She scowled at me and laced her fingers through her hair. “Nothing. It’s my new style.” She didn’t want to admit I had zapped her and escaped.
“You look crazy.” A strange sound escaped his mouth. Was it a snort?
“Stop calling me crazy. Why does everyone call me crazy?” She stomped her feet.
Cronus furrowed his brow and growled. “Why was he running?”
“We were playing the cat and mouse game.” She stifled a fake laugh. “If you don’t do as I say, I’m not going to hold my end of the bargain. If you don’t have Mason, you won’t have Zeus.”
“I’m running out of patience.” His foul breath brushed against me.
“And I’m running out of mine. I need him to show Zeus. I need proof. After you get rid of your children, you’ll have the whole world to conquer. Getting rid of your children will be the hardest part. Humans are gullible and stupid. They can be easily taken. I will bring chaos to the world, and then you and the other Titans can do as you wish. Just make sure to keep Olympus in one piece. Is our deal still on?”
“As long as you keep your word. Don’t do anything to make me upset,” he growled. “And where is Rhea? You promised me her too.”
“All in due time, my Cronus. Everything has its time.”
I rose off the ground. “Put me down,” I snapped. Cronus had picked me up by the back of my shirt.
He assessed me, studying every inch of me. “He’s so little. He kind of looks like Zeus.”
“Of course he does. He’s one of Zeus’s descendants. Now, put him down. I don’t want him to be harmed. He’s my favorite toy.”
I scowled at her. I’m nobody’s toy.
With my shirt still pinched between the tips of his fingers, my body swayed to the side when he let out a breath. “Why would Zeus save this one? What does Mason mean to Zeus when he has so many? I had many children, and not one stood out from the rest. My children mean nothing to me. I can easily kill them or create more.”
Eris shook her head. “The reason we feel no loyalty to our parents. Zeus doesn’t care about Mason. It’s Skylar that does. I’ve already explained it to you, moron.”
The ground shook. Cronus stomped his feet in anger. “Do not insult me. I can crush you.”
Eris backed away, raising her hands in the air as if to apologize. “Okay, okay. Skylar is the one who had awakened the gods from Hephaestus’s iron cast. She has the power of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. She’s special. There’s no one like her, at least that I know of. She’s in love with my toy. And she’ll do anything to save him. She’s getting me the gold water from the Land of Reverse as we speak. She thinks I’m going to release Mason when she gives me what I want, but I have other plans. They don’t call me the goddess of chaos for nothing.” She gigged like a schoolgirl, sickening me.
“Then I shall destroy Skylar. I can’t have someone like her alive. She might want to de-throne me once I take over the human world.”
Still in Cronus’s hold, my body swung as he spoke. Tired of his crap, I sent an electric bolt up his finger. It lit up the length of his arm. He released me with a yelp and growled.
“Don’t touch him.” Eris stood in front of me protectively. It was the first and only time I felt grateful to her. Cronus could have crushed me just by lifting his feet. “We need him alive.”
He snarled. As he stomped away, our bodies bounced from the impact of his steps. When he halted, chills ran down my spine. What did he want now? Getting down on his knee, he huffed out air, as if to blow out candles. Eris and I flipped, tumbled from his cold breath.
“Cron-ass!” I roared in pain when the moving earth tossed me aside, grinding my shoulder against the pebbled road.
“His name is Cronus.” She grunted and landed flat on her stomach while I bounced on my back almost on top of her.
“It’s Cronass now,” I groaned.
Dust lingered around us. The clouds above spun. I closed my eyes in defeat and listened to Eris’s rampage.
“You’re going to get it, Cronus. You want Zeus? You’re going to have to work for it. I have plans for you. One will come out alive and the other one will die, or maybe both of you will die and I will rule the human world.” Her pitch rose and her laughter shrieked in madness.
Cronus was far too gone to hear any of Eris’s threats. I wished I were far gone too.
Chapter 15
Skylar
After Eris forced us out of her world, we decided to re-group at my house. Nick and Everett went to Bella Amore and came back with dinner. Mom and Dad were already at my place, taking care of the dogs as promised. The dogs had just been groomed by a traveling groomer. I nuzzled their scented fur and thanked my parents. I hadn’t known how I was going take a dozen dogs to get their nails cut and their hair trimmed and washed. They’d get dirty anyway from rolling in our backyard.
“Skylar, please eat something.” Mom handed me a plate of food. Mason and I had been cuddling on the sofa while the other dogs stared with begging eyes for scraps.
“I like Hades,” Hades snorted. “He’s a good dog.” He dropped his hand on purpose to give Hades a piece of chicken.
“I saw that,” Mom squealed. “No playing favorites just because his name is Hades.”
Hades grumbled under his breath. “Yes, mother.”
“Pass me the bread,” Zeus announced.
“Say please, Zeus,” Mom reminded, passing a container to him.
Zeus arched his eyebrows. “Please.” He paused. “I’m not used to saying please.”
“Maybe you should, especially if you plan to live among the humans,” Dad said, taking a sip of his drink. “They won’t know who you are. As rude as humans can be, they don’t tolerate rude people.”
Poseidon twirled spaghetti noodles with his fork. “Our world is so much simpler.” He took a bite. “Never mind. Come to think of it, I’m wrong. The gods lie, cheat, steal, kill, see
k revenge, sleep with everyone. Shall I go on with a list inside my head?”
“Sounds like humans are no different.” Dad shrugged. “Pass me the rice, please. If you listen to the news, that’s what the stories are about.”
Our dinner conversation—whether gods or humans were more screwed—turned out to be quite an interesting topic; however, I tuned out as I attempted to eat my meal. I couldn’t help myself. Mason wagging his tail and staring at me with those begging eyes, I gave in and gave him some chicken. At least he enjoyed it.
“That meal is for you,” Mom reminded me.
“I’m not hungry.” I attempted a smile.
“You’ll need your strength. If you’re not going to do it for yourself, then do it for Mason.”
I nodded, knowing Mom was right. In two days, the hunt would begin, whatever Eris meant by hunt. Recalling Eris’s last words right before I crossed over, I went to my room to get my laptop and came back down and set it on the cherry wood dining table between Hades and Zeus. Mason and I bought that table together. We’d spent long hours at the furniture stores, shopping for the best quality.
I punched in my password and pulled up a web browser. “What do you know about The Minotaur and the Labyrinth of Crete? Eris told me she would send me a message in two days when it was time for the hunt.”
Hades opened his mouth to take a bite of his drumstick, but instead clamped his mouth shut. “Were those her exact words?”
“Pretty much.”
“She’s insane. How is she going to get away with that?” Poseidon shook his head and stopped eating too.
Nick placed his fork down. “What does that story have to do with finding Mason?”
“A lot.” Mom’s face paled.
Silence fell around the table and everyone stiffened.
“Can someone tell me the story, or do I have to look it up?” I had already started clicking on my keypad.
Zeus placed his hand over mine to stop me from punching in more keys. “I’ll tell you, but you’re not going to like what I have to say.” He sighed as if he had a ton of bricks on his shoulders.
I closed the laptop and sat on the sofa, bracing myself for the story. Zeus’s warning gave me anxiety. Mason jumped and sat next to me, licking my hand. He was such a happy, affectionate dog.
Zeus dipped his head low as if to prepare himself and then lifted his chin back up. “The Minotaur was the son of Pasiphae, wife of King Minos of Crete. I’m afraid this creature was created by my doing. Queen Pasiphae slept with a bull that I sent and later gave birth to Minotaur—half man and half bull. Ashamed, King Minos hid the Minotaur in the Labyrinth constructed by Daedalus at the Minoan Palace of Knossos. The Labyrinth was constructed so that no one could ever find the way out alive. Minos imprisoned his enemies in the Labyrinth so the Minotaur would eat them.”
Everett’s glass clinked on the table. “That’s crazy.”
Zeus ran his hand down his face. “It gets worse. The bull that impregnated Pasiphae killed her son Androgeus when he participated in the Panathenaic Games in Athens. Because of this, Minos demanded that Aegeus, the king of Athens, send seven men and women every year to the Minotaur.”
“They all die, of course,” Hades cut in, holding a fork in his hand and pointed at Zeus. “It all started because Zeus wanted to punish King Minos of Crete for hurting his ego. No good deeds come from actions driven by hurt ego or revenge.”
Nick pushed his plate forward and leaned back. “So, what you’re saying is that the crazy bitch is going to put us in the Labyrinth? We have to find Mason before the Minotaur or the Titans kills or eat us or him?” His tone rose in anger.
“Pretty much.” Hades sounded nonchalant about the situation.
“It won’t be the Minotaur. He’s dead,” Zeus said. “In the third year of the tributes, Theseus, son of Aegeus, volunteered. Theseus wanted to slay the Minotaur, and he did.”
Amanda furrowed her brow. “So, then, how did Theseus get out if the Labyrinth is inescapable?”
“It gets a little strange. It has been told that Princess Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, fell madly in love with Theseus. She gave him a thread and told him to unravel it as he traveled through the Labyrinth. He took her advice and managed to retrace his steps out.” Zeus leaned back into his chair.
Poseidon opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m not sure if that thread method worked or if it was even true. Supposedly, King Aegeus committed suicide when his son never came back.”
Hades raised his hand as if to ask permission to speak, but he spoke anyway. “I heard a different tale where the King of Athens made a bargain with King Minos that if King Minos didn’t attack Athens for nine years, he would send seven boys and seven girls every year to be eaten by his ugly pet. Supposedly, King Minos loved the Minotaur, and he only attacked Athens when he was bored.”
Everett clenched his jaw. “Either way, it’s awful. How do you decide which children go?”
“Lottery,” Father said matter-of-factly. “It’s the only fair way.”
“We don’t have a choice.” I pointed out the obvious. “We don’t even know what the Labyrinth looks like or what’s inside there.”
Nick frowned. “Even if we did find out, knowing Eris, it wouldn’t be the same.”
“It’s going to be hellishly chaotic and…” Noah began, but stopped.
“It’s a game to her. Eris, the goddess of chaos.” Amanda jabbed her fork through her salad. “This is her specialty. This is who she is. She’s loving this. How do we stop her?” Amanda’s eyes filled with terror. “If we win this and bring Mason home, she’ll be pissed. Who’s to say she won’t do something else? She’ll always bring chaos to our world. We have to stop her—not just this time, but for good.”
Nick placed his elbow on the table and leaned his chin on his fist. “I have to agree with Amanda. I don’t mean that we will kill her. It’s not who we are. But we have to ensure our safety.”
Noah’s blue eyes glistened when he looked at Amanda. He placed a hand over hers, which was resting on the table. “I agree with Amanda too. Who knows who Eris will attack next. If we bring…” He stopped and swallowed. “When we bring Mason home and win this stupid game of hers, she’s going to go after all of us.”
“It’s not just us.” Hades sighed and rubbed his temples. “She might go after the humans.”
Dad stopped cutting into his steak. “I might have an idea. If Eris can bring chaos, then someone else can bring harmony. If you have a yin and a yang, there can be balance.”
“Say what?” Nick mumbled.
Mom’s eyes lit up, and she squeezed Dad’s arm. “You’re right. That’s brilliant. But first we have to find our yang. How many days do we have, Skylar?”
“She said two days,” I grumbled.
“We’ll have to make do with two days,” Dad murmured to himself.
“I’ll help you,” Mom said to Dad.
“Anyone know what they are talking about?” Amanda snorted.
“Eat,” Mom ordered, surprising us with her sharp tone. Then her tone softened when she spoke to me. “Dad and I will do everything we can on our end. I can’t explain. You’ll have to trust me.”
When Mom got up, so did Dad, and then she shifted her attention to us again. “Meanwhile, I suggest you ask the Oracle to make this thread special, magically. You’ll need it to get back. If you don’t hear from me before you go into the Labyrinth, please be careful and look after each other.” She turned to the gods. “No bickering, and turn off your egos. You’re going to need each other to make it out alive.”
“Ready?” Dad asked Mom, locking eyes with her.
“Yes. Baby and I had enough to eat. Let’s not waste precious time.”
After Mom and Dad gave me a kiss and said their goodbyes to everyone, they left, leaving us baffled. Since I had other things to worry about, I didn’t ask any more questions. I trusted my parents. They knew more about the gods than I
did.
Shortly after, everyone else left after they helped me clean up. I told them I would let them know as soon as I’d heard from Eris. Meanwhile, we all agreed to do some research on our own regarding The Minotaur and King Minos of Crete. The more we learned about the Labyrinth, the better our chances.
Before heading to bed, I let the dogs out, except for Mason. After I washed up, we climbed in bed together. Mason sat on the edge protectively while I researched on my laptop. There wasn’t much on the internet about King Minos, his Minotaur, and the Labyrinth, at least from what I could find. Hopefully others had better luck than I had. As I continued to search, hoping the next link would tell me more, I found myself drifting away. My heavy eyelids closed, and I relaxed into calmness, recalling the moment when Mason and I were alone in his cabin.
Mason and I had just shared an intimate, loving moment. Our bodies tangled together, and a blanket had been wrapped around us as we lay by the fire. Mason had a perfect engagement dinner set for us, and then he had proposed to me afterward. It couldn’t have been a more magnificent night.
“I think I’m jealous of the ring I gave you.” Mason chuckled.
I turned my gaze from the ring to his eyes and snorted. “I can’t help it. It’s so beautiful. It’s your fault for giving me such a huge rock. I mean, look at this thing. It’s so shiny.”
He caressed my arm. “I know. I picked it out. I had to get the best for my girl. You only get married once if you’re lucky. And there’s no doubt I’m lucky.”
I held it up to see the diamond sparkling against the fire light again. “I’m lucky, too.”
I lazily draped my arm around him and seductively rubbed his leg with mine under the blanket. Being completely naked produced another wave of heat and lust. “Don’t worry, Mason. I love you more than the ring.” I giggled.
Mason chuckled lightly. “Well I hope so. I didn’t peg you as the materialistic type.”
I frowned. “What type did you categorize me as?”