Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training) Read online

  For our editor goddess, Alyson Heller

  —J. H. and S. W.

  Contents

  Prologue

  1: Ten Years Later

  2: Good-bye, Crete!

  3: Trouble Ahoy!

  4: Harpies

  5: Bolt

  6: The Woman in the Mist

  7: Mysterious Symbols

  8: The Big Bad Bully King

  9: Gulp!

  10: Olympians

  Greetings, Mortal Readers,

  I am Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi, in Greece. I have the power to see the future. Hear my prophecy:

  Ahead I see dancers lurking. Wait—make that danger lurking. (The future can be blurry, especially when my eyeglasses are foggy.)

  Anyhoo, beware! Titan giants now rule all of Earth’s domains—oceans, mountains, forests, and the depths of the Underwear. Oops—make that Underworld. Led by King Cronus, they are out to destroy us all!

  Yet I foresee hope. A band of rightful rulers called Olympians will arise. Though their size and youth are no match for the Titans, they will be giant in heart, mind, and spirit. They await their leader—a very special, yet clueless godboy. One who is destined to become king of the gods and ruler of the heavens.

  If he is brave enough.

  For saving the world will not be greasy. Um—easy.

  Prologue

  OVER THE TEETH AND PAST THE GUMS, look out, belly, here Zeus comes!” King Cronus, the big bad king of the Titan giants, tossed up the object he held. It flew high above his head. As it arced downward, he caught it in his mouth. Then he swallowed. GULP!

  Far below, five Olympian childgods were being held captive deep inside his dark, giant belly. They heard squishy sounds. Something came whooshing down the Titan king’s throat like a snowball rolling down Mount Olympus. They all pressed back to avoid being squished by whatever was coming.

  Splat! The new arrival hit the bottom of Cronus’s stomach.

  “Hello?” Poseidon whispered into the darkness. “Are you one of us? Another Olympian?”

  No answer.

  “Maybe he’s dead,” Hades said in a gloomy voice.

  Just then Cronus burped big. As his mouth opened, light speared down his throat into his belly. The young childgods gasped.

  “That’s no Olympian. It’s a stone!” Demeter exclaimed.

  Hera ran her hand over the smooth cone-shaped stone. It was half as tall as she was. “This thing could be our ticket out of here!” she whispered in excitement. Feeling around, she found a sharp fish bone left over from Cronus’s supper last night. She began to blindly scratch a message on the stone: Help us! We are in Cronus.

  “Wait a sec,” Hades said when she told them what she’d written. “I’m not sure I want to leave. I mean, Cronus swallowed us as babies, and we haven’t been outside since. Who knows what dangers might be lurking out there? Besides, I like it in here.” For whatever reason, gloomy, smelly places didn’t bother him.

  “Then stay if you want to,” said Hestia. “But the rest of us want out!”

  Poseidon nodded. “Yeah. Do you want to be trapped in here forever? If we don’t get out, we’ll never age past ten. Cronus’s magic spell won’t let us.”

  Before Hades could answer, they heard Cronus bark out an order to his army. He was riding into battle in the town of Delphi. Soon they heard the clank of swords all around them. There were more shouts—and screams, too.

  The Olympians quickly made a slingshot out of an old Minotaur wishbone and a strip of elastic sinew. (There was all kinds of gross stuff lying around in Cronus’s belly.) After they set the inscribed stone into the slingshot, they pulled it back tight.

  On the count of three, they let it go. Boing! The cone-shaped stone shot up Cronus’s throat and burst out of his mouth. The fact that it knocked out one of his front teeth as it exited was just icing on the cake.

  Although they had no way of knowing it, the stone hit the ground rolling. It skittered and bumped its way down a hillside. Then it came to rest at the bottom of a set of marble steps that led up to a temple.

  Immediately a white-robed woman wearing eyeglasses hurried down the steps to pick it up. It was almost as if she’d been expecting the stone to arrive! Hugging it to her chest, she disappeared into the temple with it.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Ten Years Later

  FLASH! LIGHTNING ZIGZAGGED DOWN from the sky.

  Crack! It struck a hundred-year-old oak tree and split it in half. A tremendous clap of thunder boomed overhead.

  “Yikes!” shouted ten-year-old Zeus. He dropped the wooden sword he’d been practicing with. Leaping out of the way of the falling tree trunk, he took off running. He had a feeling the next bolt would be aimed at him. Why? Because he’d been struck by lightning dozens of times already in his short life.

  A wild wind whipped through his dark hair as he raced for safety. With his heart beating faster than a hummingbird’s wings, Zeus dove through the entrance of a cave. A new lightning bolt struck the dirt just outside it, barely missing his foot.

  Flash! Boom! The storm raged all around him as he cowered behind a boulder. This cave was his home—the only one he’d ever known. And as far back as he can remember, thunderstorms had been a daily event here in Crete.

  He was terrified of them. Who wanted to be hit by lightning after all? It tossed you into the air and rattled your brain. He ought to know!

  But that wasn’t the scariest part. Each time he’d been struck, he’d heard a voice murmuring to him, “You are the one.” What could it mean?

  Another flash of lightning sliced through the clouds, followed by rumbling thunder. Rain lashed the ground. It flattened the grasses in front of the cave and churned the dirt to mud. But then, as suddenly as it had begun, the thunderstorm moved off. Clouds lifted, the sun came out, and the earth began to dry again.

  Feeling braver now, Zeus stuck his thumbs in his ears and wiggled his fingers. “Nyah, nyah, you missed me,” he taunted toward the sound of distant thunder.

  Nearby he heard the clanking sound of a bell followed by a bleat. Maa! A goat trotted into view. “Amalthea!” He threw his arms around the goat’s neck, glad to see her unharmed.

  Moments later a nymph slipped free of a slender willow tree and scampered over to milk the goat. When she finished, she wordlessly handed Zeus a rich, creamy cup of milk. He drank it down in a single gulp, then nodded to her in thanks.

  Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! The ground beneath them began to shake. It sounded like a whole army was heading their way. The nymph’s eyes went wide.

  “Hide!” Zeus hissed. He fled to the cave again while she leaped into the willow. Merging with its trunk and branches, she went invisible. Peeking out from behind the boulder, Zeus was relieved to see that Amalthea was nowhere in sight. He hoped she would stay away until this new danger passed.

  Before long, three men marched into the clearing. Half-giants, by the look of them. They were so tall that their heads were even with the top of the nymph’s willow. Yet they weren’t as tall as a true Titan giant. True giants stood as tall as oaks!

  These half-giants wore polished helmets and carried spears. Two letters were carved on their iron helmets and armor: KC. Which stood for “King Cronus.” Which meant they were Cronies—soldiers working for the Titan king.

  Zeus shuddered. Cronies terrorized the countryside, stealing money and food from farmers and villagers. Anyone who resisted was dragged off to a dungeon—or worse. He cringed lower in his hiding place.

  One of the half-giants, a Crony with a double chin, scratched his big round belly. He gazed do
wn the mountainside. “Lots of apple orchards down there,” he said. “Should be easy pickings.”

  A black-bearded Crony laughed. “Especially since we can force the farmers to do the picking for us!”

  Zeus trembled with anger. Half of him was ready to tell those half-giants off. But the other half was too chicken. Besides, what could he do? He was only a kid. They’d crush him like a bug under their humongous sandals!

  He’d heard tales of others who’d tried to fight and had failed. Now everyone pretty much bowed down to the Cronies. It beat getting stomped.

  Maa! Maa! Suddenly he heard the faint ringing of Amalthea’s bell again. Oh no! She was coming back.

  As the clinking grew louder, the Cronies spotted her. “Mmm. I fancy goat meat for supper,” the double-chinned one said. He drew back his spear. Zeus opened his mouth to yell, Stop! But before he could, the half-giant dropped his weapon.

  “Yeowch!” Double Chin yelped, slapping the back of his neck. Meanwhile, Amalthea trotted downhill again, out of reach.

  The other two Cronies frowned at him. “What’s with you?” Blackbeard asked.

  “I got stung by a bee!” Double Chin grumped.

  Zeus grinned as he watched the bee buzz around the half-giant’s head and then fly off. It was Melissa.

  Ever since he’d mysteriously arrived at the cave as an orphaned baby ten years ago, she had kept watch over him along with the nymph and Amalthea. He was glad for their companionship. Still, he did often wonder who his parents were and why they’d abandoned him.

  The third half-giant, who sported a huge tattoo of a lion on his shoulder, looked around nervously. “We should go,” he said. “In case there are more bees.”

  Zeus almost laughed aloud to think of King Cronus’s fearsome soldiers being afraid of something as small as a bee. Normally Melissa wouldn’t even hurt a fly. But cruel half-giants deserved whatever she could dish out.

  “What’s that?” Double Chin asked, staring toward the cave. Zeus shivered. Had he been spotted? If so, he was doomed! But then he realized what the Crony was really staring at—Zeus’s drinking cup. He’d left it on the ground in full view!

  Lion Tattoo was first to reach the cup. Picking it up, he sniffed it curiously. Then he held it upside down over the palm of one hand. “Fresh milk,” he grunted as a few white drops trickled out. “Someone’s here.”

  All three Cronies looked toward the entrance to the cave. Ducking his head, Zeus tucked himself small. If only he could merge into the boulder like the nymph had merged with the tree.

  Footsteps pounded closer. Hot breath. Suddenly Zeus was plucked from his hiding place like a weed from a garden. His legs dangled helplessly in the air and his arms spun.

  Holding him by two fat fingers, Double Chin stared at him, eye-to-eye, licking his chops. Zeus squeezed his eyes shut, as if doing so might make the half-giants disappear. Didn’t work. And it didn’t drown out the terrible sound of Double Chin’s next words either.

  “Fee, fi, fo, fun. I smell boy. Gonna eat me one!”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Good-bye, Crete!

  PLEASE DON’T EAT ME! I’M PRETTY SURE I taste icky. Like . . . like cave scum or bat poop,” Zeus croaked out. “And I’m bony. I might get stuck in your throat.”

  Double Chin laughed. “Ha! Grease you up with a little garlic oil and I could swallow you whole, easy as pie!”

  “Yum, pie.” Blackbeard sighed longingly, like he was remembering pies he’d enjoyed in the past.

  “Or we could take you to King Cronus and he could swallow you whole!” Lion Tattoo said. He winked at his pals. “The boy would have plenty of company down in the king’s belly.”

  What’s that supposed to mean? Zeus wondered. He thought about trying to wrench himself free from Double Chin’s grasp. But the ground was a long way down.

  “How should we fix him?” Double Chin asked the other two. “Grilled?”

  “I vote mashed,” said Blackbeard.

  “Later,” said Lion Tattoo. “Lunch will have to wait. We need to hit the road.”

  He must be the leader of the three, thought Zeus.

  Double Chin set Zeus on the ground. Then he quickly whipped off his KC helmet. Bending down, he took it in both hands and stuffed it over Zeus’s head. It was so big that it slid all the way down over his shoulders to his wrists.

  Stunned, Zeus stared out between the bars of the grill in the front of the iron helmet. He was trapped in helmet jail!

  He couldn’t move his arms at all. The helmet was so tight, it pinned them to his sides. He tried running away but tripped and couldn’t get up again. He rolled around on the ground like a bug on its back, unable to right himself.

  Double Chin and Blackbeard shook with laughter. But Lion Tattoo roared, “Move it!”

  Instantly Double Chin set Zeus on his feet again. Then he poked the helmet with the tip of his spear. “You heard him. Move it!”

  Zeus moved it. What else could he do?

  As they started down the hillside, something swooped down at them. The nymph had flown out of the willow. She was trying to save him! But the half-giants brushed her aside as if she weighed less than a leaf.

  They’d gone only a few more steps when Amalthea appeared. The goat charged after them. When she caught up to Blackbeard, she leaped up and butted his behind.

  “Why, you—” he yelled. Whirling around, he grabbed the goat around the neck.

  “No!” Zeus gasped, sure that Amalthea was a goner. Suddenly he heard a buzzing sound above him. Melissa! She made a beeline for the half-giants.

  Zeus cheered. “You go, bee!”

  “Get away!” screeched Lion Tattoo, waving his hands in the air to fight her off.

  Double Chin reached out and backhanded the bee hard enough to send her tumbling into a bed of daisies. Zeus was relieved to see Melissa crawl under a toadstool, unharmed.

  Meanwhile, the wriggling goat slipped from Blackbeard’s big hands and ran off. Blackbeard took a few steps after her. But when she zigzagged to the top of a cliff, he gave up.

  “Guess that goat got your goat, huh?” Zeus teased him. “Guess I’m too much trouble to keep around. Maybe you should let me go.”

  Blackbeard just glared at him.

  “Not a chance,” said Lion Tattoo, starting off again. “Little snacks like you eventually grow up into fighting men. Who knows what trouble you could cause us then?”

  “Who? Me?” Zeus tried not to trip over his feet as he hurried to keep up with the giants. He was a ten-year-old boy. An orphan who lived in a cave. Although he liked to pretend to sword fight, he had no real skills. His parents, whoever they were, hadn’t stuck around to teach him any. And though he longed to see the world, he’d never traveled anywhere. What possible trouble could he cause? He was a nobody!

  Zeus forced out a giggle as he stumbled along. “Oh, ha-ha, hee-hee,” he said. “I get it. You were joking, right? ’Cause there’s no way you could be scared of me. That would be like being afraid of something as tiny as—” Cocking his head to one side, he pretended to think for a second. Then, brightening up, he glanced at Lion Tattoo through the grill: “—as tiny as a bee!”

  The other two Cronies snickered. Lion Tattoo scowled. “As soon as we find some garlic oil, you are toast!” he told Zeus.

  Blackbeard’s stomach growled, and he eyed Zeus longingly. “Yum—toast.”

  Uh-oh! He’d better not act too annoying, Zeus decided. Because his captors might decide to eat him right now!

  “Don’t listen to them. I like you, kid,” Double Chin said. “You’ve got spunk.”

  Zeus wasn’t sure what “spunk” was. But he hoped it wasn’t something half-giants found tasty. “Does that mean you’ll let me go?”

  “Naw.” Double Chin shook his head. “You’re coming with us. We could use a little entertainment.”

  “Yeah, let’s see how fast he can run,” Lion Tattoo said with a sinister smile. With that, the half-giants went crashing down the mountainside
. Because they’d made him march ahead of them, Zeus had to scramble to keep from being trampled. Tripping, he fell onto his side and rolled downhill.

  Thunk! He came to a stop when he crashed into a tree trunk in the apple orchard. Luckily, the helmet protected him from harm. As he dizzily rose to his feet and staggered on, the three Cronies entered the orchard too.

  They began uprooting trees with their bare hands. Stripping the apples from the branches as if they were grapes on a vine, they tossed them into their mouths. They stomped downhill, chomping and crunching. Whenever Zeus slowed, they prodded him with their spears to make him keep up.

  At last they reached the sea. Zeus hadn’t seen a single person the whole way downhill. Everyone must’ve heard the Cronies coming. They weren’t exactly quiet. And having heard them, anyone with an ounce of smarts would be hiding.

  “Look!” bellowed Double Chin, pointing to a ship tied up to a dock. “Free transport.”

  The ship’s sails were half unfurled as if its crew had quickly abandoned ship. The Cronies tossed Zeus on board, jumped in, and set sail.

  “Wait!” Zeus yelled. “Where are we going?”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Trouble Ahoy!

  NEVER YOU MIND WHERE WE’RE HEADED, Snackboy!” Lion Tattoo growled in answer to Zeus’s question.

  Maybe he was still feeling touchy about everyone laughing at his fear of bees. Still, knowing that this half-giant leader was afraid of something so small made Zeus feel less embarrassed about his own fear of thunderstorms.

  “We’re heading for the Mediterranean Sea. Going all the way to Delphi,” Double Chin told him.

  “Delphi, Greece?” Zeus asked, astonished.

  “No—Delphi on the moon,” joked Blackbeard. “Of course Delphi, Greece. Gonna join up with Cronus’s army there. And it’ll be a long, hungry trip,” he added pointedly.