Hey there guys! Welcome to Rising in the Dark; the sequel of Written in Stone!
I'd just like to thank my awesome Beta reader tinianiatt. Girl, you're awesome!
Also: I do not own 'Class of the Titans.'
This chapter is dedicated to dazzeling diamond.
The cold early morning air was still crisp and fresh. Frost covered the dying grass as the first rays of sunlight kissed the shimmering windows of Olympus High School. If one were to walk through the halls at that moment one would immediately notice the echoes of silence in the empty school and the darkness that had not yet completely fled from the light.
This quiet, however, did not extend to the gym from whence came the mumble of voices and the sound of feet slapping the floor. Eight teenagers were spread out across the gym area; each of them thoroughly concentrating on their individual exercises.
"Hurry up Archie!" Atlanta yelled mockingly as she ran. "I'm already half a lap ahead of you!"
The purple haired youth cussed loudly as he stumbled after her. "It's not my fault! This stupid leg-brace is frozen together!" he yelled at the fiery redhead.
A little bit to the side stood two other youths. They were as different as two people could possibly be. One was blonde and devilishly handsome- something he was painfully aware of- the other was a short African-American boy who was groaning as he tried to lift weights from the floor.
"Ever considered a new hairstyle?" the blonde asked. "I mean really, that Afro has been out of style for twenty years now."
Odie just glared at Neil and resumed his weight lifting.
On the other side of the gym, Theresa and Jay were stretching and breathing deeply on the Yoga mat, something Ares didn't consider as 'proper' exercise quite yet.
To their left Herry and Gareth were running on the shiny new electronic treadmills that had taken up residence in the gym. These pieces of equipment had arrived courtesy of Odie's constant nagging that they had to modernize the school's exercise program. He soon came to regret the fact that Hera had agreed…
"How're you doing buddy?" Herry asked Gareth.
"I'm- fine-" Gareth gasped.
He was sweating profusely and kept his eyes locked on the big screen television above him. Little squiggles that showed his heart-rate flashed on the screen for the entire gym to see. Apparently Ares had thought it wise to show the teens what happens when an unfit body starts exercising. Gareth, however, didn't agree with Ares' humiliating tactics. Mostly because his high heart rate had prompted Herry to ask him if he was okay every five seconds.
Herry looked at the distance monitor on Gareth's treadmill. "Keep going Gareth, you only have a little more to do," he said as he stepped off his own machine.
Herry took his water bottle and held it high as a spray of water splashed into his face. He shook his head like a wet dog. Gareth marvelled at the fact that an athlete, who was supposed to be so coordinated, couldn't even properly direct a spray of water into his mouth.
The jet of water stopped suddenly and Herry looked annoyed. "Aw crud! My water's gone."
"You- can have- some- of mine," Gareth gasped.
Herry flashed a toothy grin and leaned over Gareth to get his bottle of water. Gareth was painfully aware of the sleeveless muscle shirt that Herry wore. Suddenly the squiggle that showed his heart-rate on the television screen doubled in speed.
"Whoa!" Herry said. "You okay buddy?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Gareth could see the wicked grin on Theresa's face. He blushed furiously and did his best not to look directly at her.
"I'm okay," he said.
"Maybe you're running too slowly?" a stern male voice suggested. Ares had suddenly appeared beside Gareth.
"I-" Gareth began, but the god of war quickly cut him off.
"Odie!" he barked.
Odie turned to look in Ares direction.
"What does this red button do?" Ares asked while pointing at the button in question. He didn't really have to ask; he already knew…
"Um… It speeds up the treadmill," Odie said quietly.
"Really?" Ares said with a devilish glint in his eyes. "Like this?" he asked as his finger pressed the button.
Immediately Gareth's treadmill sped up. Ares seemed to like the way the button 'clicked' because he pressed it again… and again…
"Mr. Ares!" Gareth yelled in protest, his feet moving at break-neck speed.
Ares smiled. "Think fast!" he said as he quickly jabbed the stop button.
Unfortunately, thinking fast wasn't really Gareth's forte this early in the morning and he ran head first, over the front of the treadmill and into the wall beyond.
Blasts of laughter erupted all over the gym. Herry stepped forward and effortlessly lifted Gareth to his feet. Ares gave something that resembled a disapproving smile- it could also have been a grimace…
"Just testing your reflexes," he said innocently. Then his expression became stern once more. "Everybody, in the showers! NOW!"
The eight teens scrambled out of sight.
For what felt like the millionth time that day, a piece of ancient history was smashed against the cave floor. Cronus' daily hissy-fits had become so engraved in their routine that Agnon was almost used to it. Almost.
The crimson-eyed titan was sifting feverishly through a large pile of relics. His movements becoming more and more agitated as the futility of his search became apparent.
'There must be something in all this chaos I can use to destroy those brats!" he exclaimed for the umpteenth time.
Agnon gave a quick grunt and continued to pretend that he was also sifting through the vast piles of collective waste. The dark giant knew that it would be a miracle if Cronus found anything useful amongst all the clutter. In all the years he had lived, he had never met anyone as disorganized. He was sure that none of the other gods were this messy…
A roar of pure frustration reverberated off the cave walls. "Think Agnon! There must be something we haven't tried yet."
Agnon hunched his shoulders and gave a non-committal grunt. Why was he always the one who had to suffer through Cronus' periods of useless plotting and introspection?
The dark haired titan's brow furrowed. "Thanks for nothing."
He turned back to the large pile he was sifting through and lifted an ornate abacus from the top. Agnon heard Cronus gasp as a painfully familiar piece of art was exposed. He dared to peek over Cronus' shoulder and saw the marble bust of a beautiful woman lying on the floor. Rhea…
Agnon could not see Cronus' face, but shock seemed to radiate from his body like heat waves. This was the one thing about Cronus that Agnon did not quite understand. Why was he still so obviously affected by her, yet did not wish to seek her out? Surely it would be better to forget about her and move on…
Agnon's eyes widened in surprise when he saw Cronus' hand extend and gently caress the effigy's face. Could it be that Cronus still…loved her? Was he actually able to fight through his all-consuming ambition to feel such emotion?
Cronus suddenly ripped his hand away from the bust as if it was a blazing fire. He turned around with such speed that Agnon didn't have time to move. Their eyes met and for a moment Agnon thought that his miserable life would finally end.
"Go get your brothers to help with the search!" Cronus barked. "We need to come up with a plan immediately."
Not wanting to tempt Cronus' wrath, Agnon hastened to the exit of the room to obey his command. His curiosity, however, got the better of him and for one small moment he turned in the doorway to look at the god of time. Cronus had picked up the bust and hastened to hide it behind his throne. He seated himself on the stone throne and stared moodily into space. For once there was an expression other than rage on his face.
"Are you sure you don't want to wear a skirt?" Theresa asked. "You never know. Archie might actually like it."
Atlanta rolled her eyes as she, Theresa and Neil walked to the exit of the school building. It was quite evident to Theresa that she wouldn't get anywhere with the hot headed huntress on this particular subject. She had to try, though. Her girly side would never forgive herself if she didn't at least try to get Atlanta to wear something sexy to the school dance.
"If Archie wanted to date a girl who wears skirts he'd have gone for someone like Medelia," Atlanta said as she and Theresa shared a collective shudder at the mention of Medelia's name.
"Well I think it's really sad that you won't wear a skirt," Neil said suddenly. He was looking away from his panelled mirror for what seemed to be the first time in hours. "You might actually attract a lot more attention if you wore skirts. I mean really, those cargo pants are way too manly! And while we're on the subject, you really should do something about your posture. You make some of the boys look gir-" The death-glare that Atlanta sent in his direction stopped Neil in mid-sentence.
Theresa was about to step in to stop the fight that was obviously about to break out when her eye caught something strange in the doorway of the school building. A human figure was suspended between heaven and earth with one foot aimed at the ceiling at an odd angle. He was writhing furiously above the ground and seemed to be cussing in Afrikaans or Dutch. A small crowd of whispering and giggling students were staring at him in amusement.
"Gareth?" Theresa asked in shock.
Immediately the struggling figure froze and tried to turn in their direction. This, however, was impossible since the rope tied to his leg kept spinning his face the other way.
"Theresa, is that you?" Gareth said with his back turned to her. "Please get me down from here!"
Theresa and her friends rushed through the crowd of spectators. They struggled uselessly with the knot around Gareth's ankle, until Neil remembered the nail file in his back pocket. Atlanta deftly cut the rope loose with the file which caused Gareth to immediately crash to the ground. He scrambled to his feet and, after untangling his feet from the rope and mumbling a thank you to his friends, he stumbled out of the school building. His friends were quick to follow him.
"Gareth, what happened?" Theresa asked as they hurried after him. "Who did that to you?"
Gareth wiped furiously at his face and quickened his pace as he crossed the road. Atlanta had, however, caught up with him and grabbed hold of his arm.
"What's going on, Gareth?" Atlanta asked.
Gareth slowly turned toward them to reveal a partly bloodied face. A small trickle of crimson fluid ran from his nose.
"Daren Manson beat me up. That's what happened… I'm totally useless!" he suddenly exclaimed angrily. "I've been training with you guys for weeks and still Daren kicked my butt in less than five seconds! How am I supposed to help you fight Cronus if I can't even beat a stupid bully?"
"Nobody expects you to fight Cronus, Gareth," Theresa said gently. "You're just training so you can learn to defend yourself. It takes a lot of time to get good at it, though. So please don't feel bad about what that jerk, Daren, did."
"Yeah, don't let Daren get you down," Atlanta said while rubbing her balled fist. "Should we go punch some sense into him for you?"
"No, please don't," Gareth said glumly. "You don't have to do that. I don't want Daren to think I can't fight my own battles. I just wish I could fight like you or Theresa."
Theresa reached out and squeezed Gareth's shoulder reassuringly. "You will. Just give it time." She smiled when something suddenly occurred to her. "I bet that, as soon as your mentor arrives, you'll turn into a fighting machine!"
Gareth's face lit up instantly. Theresa loved how easy it was to get him to smile again. He was just so very easy to please.
"Really? You think so? I mean- I know I'll never be as great as you guys, but with a mentor I might get better… If my mentor ever arrives that is. We've been waiting for weeks."
Theresa reassuringly placed her arm around Gareth's shoulder and they began to walk in the direction of the Brownstone. "Don't worry. Your mentor will be here soon. I can feel it." This seemed to be enough for Gareth, who looked a lot happier than a moment before. "Now let's get back home," Theresa added. "We have a dance to get ready for."
The faint light that glowed in the dying embers of the fireplace was too feeble to conquer the dark. Cold mountain air clung to the stone walls and floors like a second skin. The room she was sitting in was large and lavishly decorated in a style reminiscent of medieval times. Lilith was sitting in a large stone throne while twirling a golden pendant in front of her face. She stared off moodily into space. Apparently she was waiting for something to happen.
In front of her was an ornate human-sized mirror. This was no ordinary mirror, however. It shone with a strangely cold blue light and what appeared to be crystal clear water swirled across the shining surface of the glass. The mirror did not reflect the beautiful woman's face. Instead, it showed the image of a large Brownstone building into which four teens were walking.
Lilith's senses sharpened when her eyes locked onto one of the boys. He had blonde hair and walked around with a swagger that spoke of extreme confidence. She twirled the pendant key a little faster and bit her lower lip in anticipation. He had been the subject of her thoughts for quite a while now. Lilith, however, knew that she would have to forget about that part of her plan. For now…
The rustle of silk in the cold night air and the near inaudible slap of bare feet on stone drew her thoughts back to the present.
"Did you get it?" Lilith asked without looking at the new arrival.
A girl approached the left hand side of the throne and bowed deeply. "Yes mistress. I was able to procure it," she said while extending the object in her hands.
"What took you so long?"
"Pardon, mistress, but travel between the two worlds is much slower for beings with lesser powers than yours. The object was also hard to find since the boy had locked it in a box beneath his floor boards."
Lilith rolled her eyes and took the video cassette from her minion. How very childish of Gareth to hide his belongings under his floor boards. That he had survived the event at the Herculean plaza seemed all the more astonishing now.
"Get me some popcorn," Lilith ordered suddenly.
"Pardon mistress?"
Lilith sighed. "Popcorn you foolish girl! Get me some popcorn! The humans always eat it while watching these kinds of things. We must do this right! And remember the butter! There's always butter!" Lilith yelled after the pale girl, who was already scrambling away to obey her mistress's command.
Lilith turned away from the pale girl and examined the video cassette. The label on it clearly read 'Class of the Titans'. Gareth's untidy scrawl was instantly recognizable. She smiled at the familiar piece of his personality and then pressed the video against the swirling surface of the mirror. Slowly the cassette disappeared through the surface of the mirror until it was completely swallowed in the crystalline depths.
A few seconds passed before the pale girl reappeared with a large bowl in her hands.
"Your popcorn, mistress," she said while bowing deeply.
Lilith took the bowl and curled up on the large throne. "Leave me," she commanded the girl, who barely took a second to obey. She disappeared in a flurry of silk and rushing feet.
Lilith smiled serenely and clicked her fingers at the mirror. The familiar theme song began to play across the mirror's surface. She flicked a piece of popcorn into her mouth and waved her hand to the right. Immediately the images fast-forwarded. She pushed her hand forward and the images played out at normal speed again.
"Wow! These are strong!" a blonde boy said in the mirror's depths. "Suddenly, I feel even more gorgeous and fabulous and powerful than ever! Oh yeah! I have found my weapon, baby!"
Lilith forwarded the images once more; this time stopping at a scene in a new episode.
"Perhaps revenge would satisfy your appetite?" Cronus suggested.
"There is only one soul whose misery would quell my thirst for revenge…" a feminine voice answered. "Hera!"
Lilith narrowed her eyes and forwarded the images once more. They came to a halt at a scene where the blonde boy stood in a long trench coat whilst brandishing a water gun. A creature of the night had just died by his hands.
"I think I've found my calling!"
Lilith sighed. This boy seemed to be 'finding' out a lot of things. She placed another piece of popcorn in her mouth and forwarded on to another scene.
There was the strong, dark haired boy lying on the floor. Something was wrong with his canine teeth…
"Jay," he moaned. "Something's wrong with me…"
The scene paused and Lilith stared intently at the incredible image in front of her. She popped another piece of corn into her mouth and chewed ever so slowly. A deviously evil plan was already marinating in the depths of her mind. Lilith smiled excitedly. This was the part of her existence she liked most. The pure thrill of plotting was incredible.
"Sister!" she yelled. Immediately the pale girl floated into the room and bowed in front of the throne. Lilith placed the bowl next to her seat and rose to her feet. "Gather the rest of your sisters and tell them to meet me outside the town. Tell them to hurry. We have a long journey ahead."
The lights of the school gym winked invitingly at them as they climbed out of Herry's truck. It was almost completely dark now and the dance was already underway. Neil, of course, wasted no time in sauntering ahead of the group and heading for the gym. He mumbled something about pushing the limits of being fashionably late and disappeared through the open gym doors.
"I don't know about this," Gareth said uncertainly. "I'm not really good at dancing."
"Don't be silly," Theresa said amicably. "Just move your hips and wave your arms around."
Archie snorted. "That's how girls dance."
"So what do you suggest?" Theresa said sharply. "He can't go around punching the air and kicking over chairs. That'd just look stupid."
Herry gave a tiny cough and blushed furiously.
"Oh… sorry Herry!" Theresa said.
"S'ok," he said as if he didn't have a care in the world.
The heavy beat of music had become deafeningly loud now and they braced themselves before they pushed through the open doors. As was expected, Neil was already surrounded by a whole pack of air headed cheerleaders who stood and giggled hysterically.
Atlanta leaned over to Archie and yelled. "Five bucks says they get bored and dump him in less than half an hour!"
"I give them less than ten minutes!" Archie replied and shook her outstretched hand.
Gareth's eyes scanned the room and drank in the entire scene. Large groups of teenagers were rhythmically moving their bodies around on the dance floor; some dancing with innocent joy, others less so…
"Man, I wonder who the DJ is," Gareth said. "This music is awesome."
Theresa quickly scanned the room at large coming to a halt at the music centre. She gasped as recognition set in. She grabbed hold of Jay's arm and directed his gaze to the DJ.
"Oh no," Jay said and the entire group looked to see what was troubling him.
Seven pairs of eyes locked on to an athletic looking young man with dreadlocks. He was wearing earthy-coloured, baggy clothing and had a light blue cap on top of his head. His body moved to the rhythm of the music and he seemed to be in a world of his own.
"Is that…" Gareth began.
"Pan," Theresa finished.
As if he heard them, Pan looked up and locked his eyes onto Atlanta. His face immediately burst into a stunning smile and he waved eagerly at them.
"We'd better go see what this is about," Jay said seriously and led the group in Pan's direction.
There was no need to wait for awkward greetings since Pan lithely leapt over the music centre and greeted the group at large.
"Nice to see you too, Phil," Atlanta said, using his alternate name. "But, what are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to get away from it all. I thought that, maybe, it'd be cool to come here for a while."
Archie looked at Pan suspiciously while putting his arm firmly around Atlanta's waist. He looked ready to pounce at the tiniest sign of trouble. Pan, however, looked completely laid back and didn't even take much notice of the purple haired warrior.
"Is that really the only reason?" Jay asked seriously.
Pan sighed and scanned everyone in the group. His eyes came to a halt on Gareth who was smiling so broadly that his face seemed to be split in two.
"You're Gareth, right?" Pan asked.
Gareth nodded his head eagerly and extended his hand. Pan however, held out his right fist and, after a few seconds of confusion, Gareth reached out uncertainly and bumped his fist into Pan's.
"Hey there little dude," Pan said amicably. "As you've heard, my name's Pan." He leaned in closer. "You can call me Phil, though. I'm gonna be your mentor."
Thank you for reading this! I really hope you enjoyed it!
Now I'd like to ask for your reviews/constructive criticism/general-thoughts-on-anything. I'd really appreciate any input!
Have a wonderful day/night! :)