Avenging (The Rising Series Book 3) Page 14

  Petros nodded. “Thank you, brother. I am pleased.”

  “I am glad, My King.”

  A woman came next. Her majestic demeanor melted away at the sight of the child. “Oh, My Queen!” She rushed forward and knelt down at Tyche’s feet. “She’s beautiful.”

  Nicole’s mother beamed. “Thank you, Hera. She is, isn’t she?”

  A tear leaked from the woman’s eye as she caressed the babe’s cheek. “Oh, how I wish…how I wish I had a babe…” Her words choked off, filled with emotion.

  “Someday…” Tyche began.

  Hera stood and lifted her head high—once again regal, her eyes sad. Then her eyes widened as a wrenching wail tore from her lips. She collapsed in on herself, sinking to the marble floor.

  Nicole’s mother leapt up amidst sudden commotion and screamed. “Hera! What’s wrong? Please, gods. Someone help her!” The whole Olympus court rushed in to watch. But no one approached the goddess writhing in pain on the floor. All around her stood petrified gods and goddesses, looking on in horror. Nicole’s mother turned to her husband. “Here, take Nikoleta.” She shoved her into his arms and flew to Hera’s side.

  “Hera.” She knelt down. “What is wrong? How can I help?” She put her arm around her.

  “It hurts!” Hera screamed as she curled up on the floor. “Something is tearing out from within me!”

  At those words, her wail turned to a scream so loud that Nicole’s ears rang. Then there was a popping and gushing sound as a flood of fluid drenched Hera’s dress watery red. And then—silence.

  The quiet sound of rustling fabric and gurgling breaths came from Hera. The folds of her skirt moved. Something lay beneath it. A squeaky cry wailed out like the cawing of a crow. Hera screamed and tried to scramble away.

  “No!” Tyche yelled. “Don’t move.” She lifted Hera’s skirt and reached underneath.

  No one dared breathe.

  “What’s wrong?” a man called out from behind the crowd. “Where’s my wife?” The crowd parted, and Zeus came through just as Tyche lifted up a wet, squirming baby from under Hera’s dress.

  Hera took in a ragged breath. “That’s… that’s my child?”

  Tyche sniffed, choking back tears as she nodded.

  “But, but… I was not pregnant.”

  “Of course you were,” Tyche answered.

  Hera shook her head, frowning. “I wasn’t.”

  The babe didn’t seem to like being held up in the cold. He wailed long and shrill.

  Tyche placed the baby into Hera’s lap. Hera’s hands shook and her arms lay loose around the child. Her eyes darted from god to goddess around the room. The babe’s cries softened when he shoved his thumb in his mouth and tucked his head against Hera’s stomach. She looked down and relaxed into a smile. “My baby?” She sighed as she tightened her grip and pulled the babe against her chest. “My boy.”

  Nicole’s mother smiled and sighed. She searched the crowd for Zeus. His eyes were icy-cold as he glared in hatred at the child.

  The vision around her faded, and another materialized into view. Nicole found herself in a lavish bedchamber.

  “But I don’t understand, Petros. Why can no one else see our baby?” Her mother paced around the spires of their golden, four-poster bed. Her slippered feet padded across the white marble floor.

  “Don’t you think it odd?” he said. “Hera gave birth to a baby she didn’t even know she was pregnant with and this happened just after she wished she had a child?

  “Well, yes, maybe… I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”

  “Each of us discovers our god powers in different ways.” He looked at Tyche and then the child playing in her cradle.

  “You think our daughter did that?” Her mother trembled. “How? She’s but a babe, far from her twenty-first birthday. How could she have the power?”

  “My powers showed when I was a child too.”

  “But you’re the most powerful god on Olympus, and your powers didn’t manifest until you were nearly ten years old.”

  “Perhaps Nikoleta is more powerful than I am. Let’s see what she can do. Wish for something. Let’s start with something small and insignificant.”

  “You have to be kidding.”

  “Okay, I will. I wish I had a glass of wine.”

  They sat waiting. Lying in her cradle, the baby kicked her legs and swatted at a hummingbird.

  “Nothing happened,” her mother said.

  “Wait a minute,” her father said. “Hera was touching Nikoleta when she made the wish, wasn’t she?”

  “I… I don’t remember.”

  He quietly approached her. The baby grabbed his finger and attempted to pull it into her mouth. “I wish for a glass of wine.” He held his hand out as if he expected one to appear in it.

  Tyche looked at her husband and then looked at his hand. No glass of wine appeared. But then a flash from the corner of her vision caught her attention. She turned and gasped.

  The king’s brows pinched in confusion until he followed her eyes.

  Sitting on his bedside table was a silver goblet filled with red wine. “That wasn’t… it wasn’t there before, was it?” she asked.

  “No,” Petros answered, shaking his head.

  From Nicole’s vantage, overlooking the scene, she noticed a shadow pass across under the closed door. Someone was out there.

  “Let me try again,” the king said. “I wish for a bowl of pomegranates.”

  Nicole held her breath as she waited for the bowl to appear. But there was nothing.

  “Hmm. I don’t understand,” her father said.

  “Perhaps you only get one wish,” Tyche answered.

  “You may be right.”

  “I’ll wish for something this time.” Tyche touched her baby’s cheek and opened her mouth to speak.

  “Wait!” Petros shouted. “Be careful what you wish for. No one can know what our daughter can do. Do you see how dangerous that could be for her?”

  Tyche bit her lip and nodded. And then she made her wish.

  Triton sat in the midst of the Order of Pelagi. They were at an all-time low membership number of fifty-two. A man named Baccus was now leading them. Perhaps Triton should have taken time to visit them more often. He and Nicole could have used the help of more. But as it was, this small group was all they had.

  “In the short time I had my power back,” Triton said to the crowd, “I was given a glimpse of something extremely troubling. The earth is in turmoil. I’ve never in my ten thousand years felt anything like it. The sea creatures are in confusion, and the sea floor is groaning and straining against pressure—threatening to shift. If it does shift, it will start a chain reaction. No human along the shoreline will be safe. The waves will reach unprecedented heights, destroying every costal city in the world.”

  “What can we do to help?” An older man with a sun-baked face and an eye that wandered asked the question.

  Triton sighed. “I’m afraid there isn’t much you can do. The coastal cities should be evacuated.”

  “I can help with that.” A middle-aged man with silver at his temples raised his hand. “I’m Georgios; I work for the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre. We’ve been tracking an increase in seismic activity all over the Mediterranean. Actually, it’s much bigger than that. There is an increase all over the world. Scientists are baffled. Evacuations are already being discussed. I will do what I can to expedite evacuations.”

  Triton nodded. “Thank you.”

  A young, scrawny man raised his shaky hand. “Is this happening because you’ve lost your powers?”

  Triton shook his head. “Me losing my power can’t be helping the situation, but I’m afraid whatever is happening is far beyond my power to control it.”

  “I think we should summon Poseidon,” Baccus said. “I’m sure he could help.”

  Triton shook his head. “If he were capable of helping, he would have already. Besides, I know him. He’s well aware of th
e situation. He’s got to be angry and frantic. I doubt he would hear your summons, and even if he did, it would certainly end in your death. No, all we can do right now is warn family and friends. I will do what I can to get my power returned to me. If I can get it back, I can offer some protection for you, but I must admit as powerful as I am, I’m too weak to be much good against the destruction that threatens the world.

  “I do think given the circumstances,” Triton continued, “we should leave these caves. If there’s to be any more earthquakes, this would be a bad place to be.”

  “We have another location we can go to,” Baccus said. “It’s located at the base of Mt. Olympus.”

  “Ty!” Nicole called him from the tunnel. He could hear her bare feet padding against the stone floor, coming toward them fast.

  “Do what you need to do,” Triton said softly. “This meeting is over.”

  “I… uh,” Nicole said. “Am I missing something?” Her hair was flattened against the side of her head, her cheeks were flushed, and she was standing with her hand propped on her hip with an accusing glare on her face. Gods, he loved this woman.

  “Not at all.” Triton smiled warmly at her.

  “Ty, I have something important to tell you.”

  “I’m sorry, love. We don’t have time. We need to evacuate the tunnels.”

  “Evacuate? Why?”

  “There has been another earthquake warning issued. We don’t want to be caught under millions of tons of rubble, do we?”

  “No, of course not, just let me… oh. I don’t have anything here to retrieve, do I?”

  “Not anything you’d want.”

  She looked down at the rough, cotton pullover she was wearing and frowned. “I really wish I didn’t have to be seen in this.”

  “You look stunning as always.”

  “Right.” She frowned, looking doubtful.

  ***

  The seat in front of Nicole pressed against her knees—an uncomfortable way to ride. It wasn’t like she was really that tall; she was a normal height of five foot eight. But with Ty standing nearly six and a half feet tall, her discomfort would be nothing compared to his if he had to endure riding in the backseat. As it were, he had to slide the front seat all the way back until it was touching the empty seat next to hers. Nicole really wished they had a nice, roomy, American car. The cars in Greece were more like mobile tin cans. Baccus, on the other hand, was at the wheel with plenty of legroom.

  They bumped around the town’s cobble street roads, squeezing down narrow lanes that couldn’t possibly be made for cars. It seemed the buildings were separated by sidewalks instead of streets. She could see the ocean down at the end of one street. This town must be right up against the shoreline.

  “Oh my gosh,” she gasped quietly when they almost hit a man. He had to literally jump out of their way. “Baccus, are you sure these are roads?”

  He nodded his head. “Of course I am.”

  Nicole tried to get her mind off the frequent near-auto/pedestrian collisions and instead focus on the dream she’d had. Was it a dream or a memory? It seemed so real, and it hit her with such power that she was certain it was real. But what did that mean? If Petros really existed, and Zeus once called him king, where was he now? And this king was her father? The whole thing sounded too far-fetched to be true, but still, she was sure it was. She wanted to talk to Ty about it now, but the car was making such a clatter that she’d have to shout. And this seemed too personal, too important to be shouting out in a car with a near stranger. Instead, she focused on remembering her father’s face—every line, every detail.

  The car came to a quick stop, and Nicole smacked her head against the headrest in front of her.

  “Idiot!” Baccus shouted. “Get out of the road!” A small woman with hair in rollers sneered at him, shook her fists, and shouted profanities back at him.

  Nicole shook her head. Baccus had been so polite and unassuming, but put him behind the wheel and a whole new side of him emerged. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. That hit on the head was giving her a headache—or perhaps it was the brain slosh from the ride. The sound of a hundred shouts echoed in her ears. She threw her hands against her head at the deafening sound, and then it was gone.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  Ty turned toward her and asked, “What was what?”

  “That sound?”

  “You mean the woman with a mouth fouler than an Ichthyocentaur?”

  “I… have no idea what that is, but no. It wasn’t the woman. It sounded like shouts. Really loud ones.”

  “I didn’t hear anything.”

  “What under Olympus is that?” the driver shouted and pointed down the narrow street.

  In the distance, there was a haze. A fog perhaps? It encroached on the road. But Nicole had never seen fog like this—it was lit with orange, flickering light. Out of the fog exploded a crowd of people pouring like a flood through the street—heading straight toward them.

  “Great gods of Olympus!” Baccus shouted.

  Forget a three-point turn with these narrow roads; this man executed a ten-point turn in less than a minute. And then they were bumping down the street, trying to avoid the people poking their heads out to see what the commotion was.

  “What’s going on?” Nicole asked, looking at Ty.

  His entire face was pinched with worry and irritation. “I don’t know. Hades, I would give anything to get my powers back.”

  His powers back? Perhaps she knew how to do it this time. There was only one way to find out. Nicole reached forward, grabbed the driver’s shoulder, and shouted. “Baccus, I need you to repeat exactly what I say.”

  “What? Are you crazy? I don’t have time for distractions. I have to get us out of here.”

  “Just do it,” she shouted so loud that he flinched.

  “Alright, just make it quick,” he snapped.

  “What are you doing?” Ty asked.

  She shook her head and glanced at him for a moment before giving her full attention to the driver. “Say, I wish Sypher was free to come and go as she pleased from any mind without the threat of death.”

  “I wish… who?”

  “Sypher!”

  “I wish Sypher could come and go as she pleased from any mind without the threat of death.”

  “We already tried that, Nikki. I—” His voice cut short as his eyes went wide.

  Sypher’s ghostly form flashed before her eyes, smiling. “Thank you, Nicole. I’ll miss you.”

  Tears burned in her eyes when she said, “I’ll miss you too.” And then Sypher was gone.

  Triton’s eyes widened as he pressed his fingers against his temple. His hand dropped away, and he examined his hand—clenching and unclenching his fists. A smile stretched across his face. “Gods of Olympus, I’m back!” He turned to Nicole. “Wait for me.”

  The next thing she knew, she and Baccus were standing on the shore.

  “Where’s Ty?” she asked.

  “What happened?” he asked at the same time.

  She looked around at the surf and then over at the town above. “Oh my gosh, look at that!” She pointed to the mountain above the town. Orange, glowing streaks of light branched like veins oozing from the top of the mountain and down the sides. Fires lit up the rest of the mountain as smoke billowed into the air, making the sky look orange. Ash fell like snow.

  “What is going on?” she gasped, gaping at the sight.

  “Well, well,” an eerily familiar voice said. “You finally used enough power for me to find you.”

  Nicole turned to see a towering man smiling at her. He was dressed in a leather jacket and worn jeans. His dark hair hung over his shoulders. He looked human, but she knew better. “You… you’re the one who visited me in the hospital.”

  “I’ve visited you many times.”

  “You’re not my father, are you?”

  “No, Nicole, I’m not.”

  “You’re Ares.”

&nb
sp; His eyes widened in surprise, and then he relaxed. “How did you figure it out?”

  She shrugged. “I’m smarter than I look.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “That you are.”

  “What business do you have with Nicole?” Baccus spoke up. Nicole grabbed his arm, pulling him back. She wanted to ask him if he had a death wish, but she was afraid to make the situation worse. She needed less attention on Baccus, not more.

  “Oh, Nicole and I have a long history. But of course, she couldn’t have told you that. You see, I took her memories. It’s a pity. Some of those memories were …” he raised his eyebrow and licked his lips, “mutually satisfying.”

  “You’re lying,” she said, stepping in front of Baccus. He put his hand on her shoulder, letting her know he was ready to intercede.

  “Am I?” He smiled as he raised a hand. Baccus flew several yards away and slammed into the sandy ground. Ares stepped forward, grabbed Nicole by the wrist, and roughly pulled her to his chest. In a flash, the scene around them disappeared.

  Triton transported himself to the rooftop of the tallest building and took in the view below. People were running like rivers through the streets. “Great gods of Olympus,” he whispered. Lava poured down the sides of Mount Olympus and ran through the streets of the town.

  The sea wasn’t far from the mountain; he could bring in a tidal wave to cool the lava. But that would wash everyone out to sea. And rain wouldn’t be enough to cool the hot, flowing lava. It would evaporate on contact. He needed help. But who could he call?

  Lea, Nicole’s friend, mentioned Pele.

  Lea, he called in his mind.

  It’s not safe for you to communicate with me, sea-god. Zeus was just here. He’s looking for Nicole.

  Triton tensed at her words. Tracing Nicole’s location was one step away from locating Sara. Perhaps distancing themselves from their daughter was a mistake. He should try to contact Xanthus. His daughter’s husband might need to take extra precautions to protect her.