Revenge of The Gods (The Titan's Saga Book 3) Read online

  Excuse me?

  “What? Why? What's wrong with it? It's touching my vagina right now, so you better not tell me anything is going to wither and die from this shit…”

  Yeah, I was panicked and frantic, but for fuck's sake, you couldn't just give a warning like that and not tell me why.

  “It's too dark,” Hyperion said, freaking me out even more. I didn’t know if he meant the lack of light or the water that was trying to cop a feel. The entire realm seemed … flooded.

  “We should not have resurrected them all.”

  This part I understood … maybe. It sounded like he was talking about bringing all the Titans back. Poor old man was mumbling to himself though, so nothing was too clear.

  “You had no choice,” I reminded him. “If this world, to some degree, reflects the human world, then letting the sins loose would have destroyed both lands eventually. You did what you had to at the time to survive, and now we will do the same here. Starting with you telling me what's up with this creepy water.”

  Hyperion smiled. I saw it even in the dim light. “This level should not be flooded, so that tells me this is from the deep, a system of primordial ooze that lives far below this realm, kind of like that demon you destroyed. It all comes from the same place. The same goo that the Erynomus was born in. It's not going to wither your—” he cleared his throat “—any of your parts off, but it can be poisonous when consumed. It's probably best we don't linger too long in it either way.”

  He started to move through the dark water, and as I followed, I noticed it was obviously thicker than water, giving the goo theory a lot more credence. When I lifted some in my hands, it clung for a few seconds, dark but still opaque somehow.

  When it dropped back down, there was a small splash and Hyperion glared at me. I shot him a sheepish smile. “Sorry. It's just super weird and I’m curious by nature.”

  Somehow, he didn't look like he believed me. “Be curious about something else, Maisey.”

  #GrumpyGramps #I’mTheOneWithTheExposedVagina

  We continued to wade through it, and thankfully it got no deeper, so it was never in any danger of coming close to my mouth. “So, how large is the sixth level?” I asked when I couldn't handle the silence any longer. “And if we could just use portals, how come Cronus didn't use them to get between the levels?”

  Hyperion didn't look back and I stayed right behind him in his wake. The water was well below his waist, lucky long-legged bastard.

  “The portals don't work back the other way without the coin,” he said shortly, reminding me of the three coins Thanatos had given us so that we could pass freely through the underworld without dying. “So, if Cronus ended up in the seventh, his only option of returning is to walk in a continuous spiral, and that would take longer than a human lifetime. I've walked these lands many times, and I promise, it's further than it looks.”

  Of course it was. Thanatos was like a real estate agent or a used car salesman, trying to tell us it was only five minutes to town, or the mileage was low as fuck. #LiarLiar

  But I was grateful he’d given us the coins so that we could use the portals. It sounded like if Cronus had to walk his way to the upper level, I’d be a ninety-year-old woman on my death bed.

  “With this black water goo, will the next portal still be there?” My voice was low and I sounded a little defeated—not the way I wanted to sound, but it was also hard when I was still so far from Cronus.

  “I'll find it,” Hyperion said, and unlike me he sounded sure and determined.

  Unexpectedly, tears sprang to my eyes. “I'm so glad you're here with me,” I choked out.

  Why was I so emotional lately? Oh yeah, I’d seen the Sin of Death kill the love of my life and now I was in the underworld trying to bring him back.

  #NoBigDeal #Hormones

  He stopped, turning back to see me. “You okay? Were you thinking about Cronus? I promise he'll be fine.”

  “I'm always thinking about him,” I said, sniffling. I made a move to wipe my nose, but he stopped me before I could.

  “You've touched the water,” he warned me. “Be careful.”

  Oh, right. Yeah, I was definitely going to get myself killed here.

  We started out again and I thankfully got myself under control, the wave of sadness disappearing as quickly as it came. Unfortunately, the water didn't vanish as fast, and I found myself dreaming of dry land as we continued to wade through it.

  It was fucking cold too; my teeth started to chatter after some time.

  “I'm going to get sick from this,” I muttered, trying my best not to let it turn into a whine. “Boiling hot level five, freezing cold level six. What the fuck is level seven going to be?”

  Hyperion laughed. “Whatever it is, you'll survive it. You're tougher than you look, Maisey. I’m almost certain there's nothing you can't endure and conquer.”

  Again with the warm fuzzy feelings, and on cue … waterworks.

  This whole Cronus thing had broken me. #Legit

  The longer we walked, the worse I felt, until my legs were numb and tingling, my stomach churning, my head pounding, and I was actually convinced that I was about to come down with the worst fucking flu ever.

  “The portal should be around here,” Hyperion said, pausing. I almost ran straight into his back, as the surge of agony in my brain increased, just momentarily, before it backed off again. It was strong enough that I had to reach out and grab the Titan's shirt.

  He looked down at me in the low light. “You okay, Maisey?”

  I swallowed hard. “I don't feel great right now. Does the underworld have its own special version of the flu? Because I think I'm about to get hit with a doozy.”

  His eyes were super wide, and it was clear my question gave him cause for concern. “What exactly are your symptoms?” he asked in a harsh bark.

  Shaking my head to try to brush off the fatigue—hello, new symptom—I was just opening my mouth to reply, but before I could, he yelled the same question again.

  #ExcuseMe #BedsideManner #YourVoiceIsHurtingMe

  “I'm nauseous, my head is pounding with what feels like it might be the headache of the century. I'm starving, my skin is super dry and needs a good exfoliation, and I'm suddenly a little dizzy … which is probably part of the starving thing.”

  His eyes darted down to the waist-deep water. “Did any get in your mouth?”

  I shook my head. “No. I mean, I'm almost certain none did. The only time it was possible is when we first landed, and I wasn't aware it was poisonous then.”

  “You're about to touch your face again,” he said dryly, and I jerked my hand back down.

  “Okay, so there is a small possibility I accidentally touched my face when pushing my hair back or something,” I finally admitted. Speaking of, this water had better not destroy any of the hair that was trailing behind me in its murky depths. I was hoping to come out of this shithole with my Instagram account intact, and for that I need my hair to survive.

  Hyperion shook his head, but he didn't roll his eyes, so that was an improvement. “I need to get you back in Cronus’ care,” he muttered. “This is too much responsibility for me.”

  He wasn't the first being to think that about me and he probably wouldn't be the last. I wasn't even offended, because he had a point. “How are we going to find this portal in the water, though?” I asked, trying to get us back on track. He wasn't the only one who wanted me back in Cronus’ care.

  Hyperion actually smiled. “The water is drying up.”

  What…?

  I blinked at the very obvious signs I hadn't noticed while Hyperion had been acting all drill-sergeant over my current state of health. The water that had been at my waist before was now at my knees. Within minutes, it had dropped as low as our ankles until, eventually, it was bone-dry ground again.

  Turning back around, I blinked at the lack of water anywhere.

  “This place is fucked up,” I said, trying to wrap my poor fragile mind around
the insanity of what had just happened. “But as long as we're able to find the portal, I don't even care.”

  “I can see it!” Hyperion all but shouted, sounding both relieved and excited. “As soon as we hit level seven, we should be able to sense Cronus.”

  We were so close, and I felt like a puppy that was being taken for a walk. My entire body quivered with excitement, my heart squeezing in anticipation at finally having my love back.

  Hyperion moved fast, and I stayed right with him. Like a miracle, all of my previous symptoms had vanished—weird and convenient—but I was totally not questioning that because my sole focus was on finding my Titan.

  The landscape in this area, now that the water was gone, was rocky with a steady incline that hadn't been there before. It was brighter without the water, but no visible sun was above, and the bone-crushing heat from the previous level was also absent.

  Thank the Titans, because the last thing I needed was that heat beating down on me again.

  Hyperion appeared to be leading us toward a small peak on the hill we were ascending, and I noticed a few more of those drink plants scattered about. “You thirsty?” he asked when we passed a rather large one. “The portal should be at the top of this rise, so we’re close, but I know you aren't feeling well.”

  I shook my head. “No, I'm okay at the moment. I just want to get to Cronus.”

  It was clear from the sympathetic expression that he understood, and once again resumed his trek up the hill, looking back more than once to determine that I was okay. I was about to reassure him for the second time that I was fine, when a shadow broke over the top of us, blocking out whatever caused the new light across level six.

  Hyperion spun around, eyes wide. I followed his line of sight, tilting back so I could take in the full picture before me.

  “The Erynomus,” Hyperion breathed, and I really got the concerned expression now.

  #HolyUglyBalls

  I don’t know what I’d expected, but it wasn’t … this creature.

  First of all, he was a giant. At least twelve feet tall. With the head and torso of a man and the lower half of a bull or something. Its face was gnarled and bony, giving it a grotesque look, not to mention the set of horns protruding from its ugly face. All down its arms were black feathers that branched out into giant wings hanging off its back. The creature was like a fucking chimera that had been hit with the ugly stick.

  I shrank behind Hyperion. “Can you kill it?”

  The creature sniffed the air and then his head snapped in our direction.

  Oh shit.

  #ImTooYoungToDie

  “Not on my own,” Hyperion said, “but with Cronus’ help, and maybe Rhea, we might be able to take him out and restore some sanity to this realm.”

  Thanks for reminding me that my boyfriend was down here with his ex-wife. Yeesh. What were they doing right now? I didn't want to think about it and I certainly didn’t want to add killing this ugly prick to our to do list but it looked like I might have no choice in the matter.

  The creature started to scratch his hind legs on the ground, kicking up dust behind him. As I squinted at the dusty air, I saw that he stood directly in front of the next portal we needed to get to level seven and my man.

  “He’s protecting the portal!” I hissed.

  Hyperion looked at me with shock. “You see that one too?”

  Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “We’ve been over this.”

  Hyperion straightened, letting out a long huff. “Alright, fair enough. You’re blessed by vision or something. Let’s go with that.”

  See, I knew he’d come around to the fantasy life. Once you go delusional, you can’t go back.

  #Facts

  “Maisey, are you even listening to me?”

  I nodded, and actually did listen as he went over his plan. “You distract him,” Hyperion started, “and I’ll get into a better position to blind him with my light. This should move him away from the portal, and once that happens, we’ll meet there and just slide right through.”

  #AwfulPlan #SomethingWasGoingToGoWrong

  “Okay,” I said, putting on my big girl pants.

  In all honesty, I had no choice and no other options. I wanted to get to Cronus, so as long as this was a quick plan and no one died, I would do whatever Hyperion suggested.

  “Distraction. No problem.”

  I looked around for something to throw at the beast, before reaching down to pick up a few rocks. They were palm sized, nothing that would actually hurt this dude, but hopefully it would be enough so that Hyperion could do his light thingy.

  Walking a little to the left, I waved my arms. “Hey, fucker! Over here.” I tossed the handful of rocks in its general direction and one landed on his hoof.

  #BullsEye #OrMoreAccuratelyHoof

  Its head snapped in my direction and I wondered how intelligent it was. Hyperion acted like it was basically mindless, so I didn’t expect much reaction.

  “You’re dead, bitch,” it snarled at me.

  My head reeled back. #ItTalks #OhShit #NotFuckingMindless

  The beast launched off the ground and barreled right for me. A shriek tore from my lungs as I darted in a random zigzag pattern to try and confuse him. Okay, in reality all that happened was me twisting both ankles and collapsing hard to the ground. As my face nearly ate sand, I splayed my palms out to catch my fall, before flipping over on my back to face the oncoming threat.

  The Ery’s wings were snapped out as he lunged for me, but in a blur of movement Hyperion was there, sunlight exploding from his palms, blinding the creature and me all at once. I knew what was about to happen, so I was able to pull my dusty and scratched arm over my eyes to shield most of the light.

  A hissing screech rang out, and the light died down just in time for me to pull my arm back and see the creature stumble backward, temporarily without sight.

  “You call that a distraction?” Hyperion reached down and pulled me up into his arms. “You nearly got killed.”

  I shrugged as he set me upright. “Underworld flu got me all disoriented.” The damn symptoms kept coming and going, and I was probably dying. #GoogleDoctorMePlease

  Hyperion grabbed my upper arm and coaxed me toward the portal, but as we got closer we both froze in horror. The Erynomus, flapping wildly and blind, stumbled backward right into the shimmering swirl and disappeared into level seven.

  #Oops #WasThatInThePlan

  “So, what exactly does that mean?” I asked Gramps.

  Hype shook his head. “We just sent the Erynomus to level seven.”

  Fuck. Cronus was on level seven.

  “Well, let’s go!” I pushed forward, ready to run into the portal and save my man, sprained ankles and all.

  Hyperion reached out and yanked my arm, pulling me back. “We just blinded the most powerful demon in the underworld after you called it a fucker. Let’s wait a few minutes until it moves on.”

  Fair enough. “I didn’t know it could talk, for the record. You said it was mindless.”

  Hyperion shook his head, walking over to that water tree thing. “It didn’t used to be so switched on. A lot has apparently changed this time around.” He waved me along. “Come on. If you really feel flu-ish, it could be dehydration.”

  Once again, my stupid human body was holding us back. Limping over, I took the twig he offered, gulping the liquid down my throat. As it sloshed in my stomach, my gut let out a loud growl. Apparently, we were hungry. “Any fruit trees around here?”

  Hype frowned. “No human food until level four, and they're mostly for looks, apple trees and all that. You should be able to go a few days without food though…”

  A. Few. Days? Did he have any idea what he just said? “Don’t ever say something that horrible to me again,” I choked out, while my grandpa just shook his head at me again.

  “Come on, we should be good now,” he said.

  With that, Hyperion waved me over to the spinning portal, our departure kickin
g up a bit of dust.

  Chapter 3

  The second we landed on level seven, the oppressive heat from five was back again. I gazed at our immediate surroundings, hoping the Ery demon wasn’t about to take our heads off. But other than a few hoofprints in the black rocky sand, there was no visible sign of the demon.

  The stench of sulfur hit my nose as I took my first step and a pool of lava bubbled up near our feet. This wasn’t the only lava either; I could see shoots of red in the distance, some as high as a hundred feet in the air. The oppressive heat was starting to make a lot of sense.

  “Gods, this is exactly what I imagine hell is really like,” I muttered to Hyperion.

  He nodded. “This is Hades’ masterpiece, depicted in most retellings of the underworld. It’s a truly vile place.”

  #UnderstatementOfTheYear #BackAlleysOfNewYorkCityWereVile #ThisWasHell

  Out of the corner of my eye, a ghostly apparition of a humanoid figure floated out from behind a tree. My head snapped in her direction and I shivered at the spectral vision. She had her arms out, hair trailing behind her in clumps as she wide-eyed dead-stared at Hyperion and me. “Help me,” she trilled, sounding all echoey and creeptastic.

  Hyperion aimed his palm at the woman and shot a beam of light right through her. Her blank expression faded and she turned all dark and angry, hissing before bursting into nothing.

  My breath seemed to be caught in my lungs and I had to gasp in and out a few times to get everything moving again. “What was that? This is like a horror movie!”

  “Lost souls. Come on. We shouldn’t linger, they’ll be attracted to our life energy.”

  Attracted to my life energy was something I never ever wanted to hear again. Like … ever.

  As we walked deeper into the dead wood forest that seemed to be made up of thousands of tree trunks, and not a single leaf in sight, I heard a snapping branch behind us and yelped, white light shooting from my palms.

  The light hit a tree and it exploded into a dozen pieces.

  “What was that?” Hyperion spun, getting all up in my face.