“Wow, how very gracious of you, Zar.”
My fist clenched. I hated it when he called me Zar. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed of my race, quite the opposite, but the way it flowed from his lips made it sound like a curse, rather than an honor, and I despised him for it.
“You lovers ready yet?” Atlas called to us from the edge of the Fjord. It ran through the middle of the island, separating Skull Island from Massacre Island, which, truthfully, sounded about right.
“Coming,” I called back to him and gave one last glare to Seth. Alexander was already ahead of us, near Atlas.
“So, where do we rendezvous?” I asked, looking around. Everything was quiet. Orcas Island was the largest of the San Juans. It was fascinating and sparsely populated. It was so late in the evening or early morning that it was still dark. Nobody would see us, which was a plus.
“Down.” Atlas pointed. Did the guy ever get tired of knowing so much information? He truly knew every piece of land in the known universe, as if he had memorized it. But we all knew it was part of his gift. I think having that much knowledge would drive me crazy.
The fact that he said down almost made me smile, almost. No doubt Athena would have had some sarcastic remark about having to go down all the time. I swallowed the emotion in my throat and looked to where Atlas pointed.
Near the side of the Fjord was a large cave-like hole that seemed to plunge into the earth, though no water went inside it.
“We jump?” Alexander asked, looking a little hesitant.
“No, we fly.” Atlas rolled his eyes. “Yes, you jump, but nothing to worry about. There should be something to catch you when you fall.”
“Should be, being the key words here,” I added, stepping ahead of everyone. “Alright, I’m going in.”
I jumped. My stomach plunged as air whooshed by my ears. It felt like I was dropping hundreds of feet per minute, which was, of course, impossible. My eyes were unable to adjust to anything; it was pitch black. As I fell deeper and deeper into the hole, my speed slowed down, and then I was floating downward. Instead of getting colder, the air turned thick and humid. Water droplets formed on my face and floated in front of me. I was able to see the reflection of the water in the darkness but nothing else. I saw a flicker of light below me. Then another and another.
More water. Great. Trapped between two large bodies of water. How wonderful. I closed my eyes as I fell into the crystal blue water. Some of it got into my mouth. It tasted like honey.
I opened my eyes and would have shouted, but words weren’t forming fast enough. My eyes could not keep up with my head. Instead I stared slack-jawed around me.
It was perfect.
I was in a small pond near a large rainforest, one that had giant trees and sparkling leaves. I shook my head in disbelief. Atlas crashed down next to me, splashing water everywhere. Seth and Alexander soon followed.
“Whoa.” This from Alexander.
“Not what I expected at all,” confirmed Atlas. “How very interesting.”
We waded out of the water and walked to the shore. And that’s when we saw them.
The rest of the Seekers filled the forest, as well as some angels I had never seen before. At least I assumed they were angels. Several wings covered eyes on their faces. Other wings kept them floating in the air, as if they were on a cloud. The closest thing I could compare them to was some sort of weird, white monster. Only they were beautiful, not at all scary or ugly.
“Took you long enough,” Ares said, stepping forward.
“He flew.” I pointed to Atlas. Ares laughed and helped us to the beach. Everyone was ready for battle. My stomach plummeted.
“What now?” I asked, looking around. There didn’t seem to be any sort of threat, but I was starting to realize I didn’t really know as much as I thought I did.
“Below,” Ares answered. “We stay here until Michael blows the horn.”
“And Seth?” I nodded toward him and pulled on a piece of armor that Apollo had handed me.
Ares nodded. “Seth goes alone.”
“I know.” Did everyone doubt my self-control?
“I’m ready.” Seth stepped forward. His face contorted with a serious expression only seen when he was restored to his original state.
“Come.” Ares held out his hand. “I can take you as far as the gate, and then you must travel on your own.”
I watched as Ares and Seth disappeared. My thoughts jumbled with rage, confusion, and panic. I wanted to be near Athena. If I closed my eyes, I could almost feel her presence, feel her close.
“She will be fine.” Atlas placed his hand on my shoulder. “Besides, there will be many more battles, just as this one. The only goal is to retrieve her and leave this place without losing any of our own.”