Year 73 of the Titans
Friday, April 13th
Clarisse's POV
Present Day
A full week passed before Bianca was declared healthy enough to go on the quest. I spent the time exploring the boundaries of Hekate's realm. The entrance I had come down into was the palace; there was an entire city of obsidian outside the palace, built into an immense sloping cavern a thousand feet high. The palace was like a carved pillar standing in the middle, surrounded by towers and forges and armories that were dwarfed by its size. All of them were elegantly styled, with beautiful curves and spires coming from the top. There were many creatures of all sorts there – many more than was permitted, I'd bet.
Since Kronos is so paranoid about rebellion, each individual Titan is only permitted 500 monstrous creatures in their personal army – and it can only be of one type of monster, one approved by Kronos himself. The international army consists of over two thousand monsters of all types, all fiercely loyal to Kronos. Anyways…
On the final day, I took a path that led nearly down and, to my surprise, found myself in what looked like a tomb. I couldn't tell exactly, but what looked like a huge coffin sat in the center of the room, decorated with paintings and designs. Surrounding it were statues of great and terrible creatures, creatures with heads of animals and bodies of men, creatures of animals so immense and terrifying it made me hesitate for a moment. But it was in Hekate's realm; what harm could there possibly be? I started forward, but before I could explore, Tammi found me.
"Clarisse! Stop!" I turned to see her sprinting towards me. She skidded to a stop and grabbed my arm. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.
I shrugged. It didn't really seem like a big deal to me, but from the way Tammi was acting, something was really wrong. She kept giving the crypt behind me nervous glances, and her hair was gently smoking. I had gotten to know her over the past couple weeks, and she was not the type to get upset easily. I glanced backwards myself, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Besides the fact that there was a tomb there, of course.
"What's so terrible about this place?" I asked. "I mean, it is in Hekate's realm; if it was dangerous, she would've posted guards or something."
Tammi shook her head, sending smoke cascading out in ribbons. "You don't understand! Mother Hekate spends almost all of her spare time here. Nobody knows what she's doing, but we can all feel the power emanating out of there. She's trying to do something down there, and whatever it is, it isn't anything like we know."
"How is it different?" I asked, starting to get interested. "Is it filled with monsters? Celestial bronze?"
The empousa shook her head again. "It isn't from any civilization I know. Not Greece, not any modern civilization. It smells different."
"What about the smell?" I asked. Now I was driven not only by idle curiosity but by a sense of both anticipation and dread of what was to come.
Tammi paused, searching for the words. "It smells… like heat," she finally said. "Like a beach, but not like a beach – it's as distinct as Olympus was to Orthys. It has an aura of power, of death, of decay, but of preservation. Aurgh!" She stamped a foot in frustration. "I can't describe it. At any rate, we should get back. Bianca's up and ready to go, and Hekate's called a meeting for the three of us alone. It's sure to be interesting." She grabbed my arm and pulled me back towards the city, talking up a storm the entire way. But I could tell she was only trying to distract me from the yawning depths of the tomb behind me.
I glanced back, just to see it one last time, but there was a sight there that made me pull up short. All the breath left my lungs, and my heart seemed to stop for a moment before it started up at twice its normal speed.
From the tomb, there were eyes watching me. Eyes at least ten feet up in the air, glowing green. They wavered, as if they were a mirage, but there was no mistaking what they were.
"Clarisse?"
I turned to see Tammi looking at me worriedly. "What is it?" she asked. I began to point to the tomb, but, once again, something pulled me up short.
The eyes were gone.
I pulled myself together, forced a smile back on my face, and began to walk back towards the citadel. "Oh, nothing," I said. "Where was the meeting?"
Tammi eyed me curiously, but did not question it. "Hekate's private chambers," she said at last. And together we turned and walked back into the city.
***
Half an Hour Later
Bianca and Hekate were waiting for us when we returned to the palace. Bianca, I have to say, didn't look much better. Physically, she was almost completely well again. But her eyes had a distant, haunted look, and, often, if you called her name, she wouldn't respond. I remembered how I had been after Chris had been killed, and I kept my distance, just doing little things to show that I cared. I knew how it felt; I knew that nothing helped. Anything I might be able to do would make it worse.
What she needed was action. She had too much time to dwell upon what had happened. If she didn't have time to think about it, then she wouldn't think about it. I hoped. If not…
We sat down at the table. It, like most things down here, was made of obsidian with Hekate's insignia upon it. Despite its composition, it was smooth, and had no sharp, glassy edges.
Hekate reached into a drawer and slid out a map of the southwestern states. She tapped the line that indicated the Grand Canyon. "This is where we are now," she said. Then she slid her finger along the Colorado River and tapped the Hoover Dam. "The Lotus Casino is in Vegas, but you can follow the Colorado River until you get to the dam. You can make your way to Vegas after restocking in Hoover Dam."
"Oh, yay," murmured Bianca. "We get to visit the dam snack bar again." I glanced at her, and was pleased to see a slight smile curving her lips.
"How will we be traveling?" I asked.
Hekate
shrugged. "Hitchhiking, on foot, borrowed car – I don't know.
But I can't provide a transport – if you're discovered, you
can't be traced back to me. Quite frankly, you demigods don't
stand a chance without my armies and my power, and I need to be able
to enter the war at a time of my choosing. It could make the
difference between victory and defeat."
"What about your
food, your drink?" I asked. "Your money, your empousa?
All of these things can be traced. You can't hide yourself
entirely."
The Titaness nodded. "I can't," she agreed. "But Leto can."
I drew in a hissing breath at the mention of Leto. Known as "the hidden one", she was capable of hiding any person or thing from any observation, physical or magical. She could put any illusion up, even manipulate lesser minds. She saw the secrets kept hidden in your mind. Only one of the great deities could even consider successfully breaking her illusions. She was the perfect spy and, despite her lack of real power, possessed a sense of cunning and logic far superior to ours.
Even Bianca looked mildly impressed. "How'd you manage that? Getting her on your side, I mean."
Hekate shrugged. "Her lover was Zeus, her children are Artemis and Apollo. But she isn't "on our side", as you so put it. She is willing to help us, this once. But that is all. She will not risk the disfavor of Lord Kronos."
I frowned. Getting Leto to help was all well and good, but…"How do you know you can trust Leto?" I asked. "For all we know, she could be setting us up."
Hekate grimaced. "I wish there was something we could do," she replied. "She has been lurking in here for weeks, it seems, and she knows of my overpopulation, my treachery, and my plans. I could try to imprison or kill her, but any fight of that magnitude would send magical shockwaves throughout the U.S. I might not even win. Leto may not be as powerful as I am, but she is cunning, and her power can be useful in many ways. Even if I am able to defeat her, it would be difficult to imprison her without her absence being noticed."
I frowned. My mind was calculating, trying to run through every possible scenario at once. But there was just no way around it. She came, she saw, and, if she wished, she could conquer. Our restriction was our need for secrecy. Leto had the upper hand.
Tammi leaned forward to speak. "Look, there's no sense in worrying about it. If Leto is a traitor, Leto is a traitor and there's nothing we can do to stop her from bringing the might of the Titans down upon our heads. If she isn't, we may as well trust her."
Bianca tapped a finger against the tabletop, considering the information. Then she looked up and spoke.
"What about blackmail? If we can find some method of leverage against Leto, you can threaten to reveal it and bring her down if she does the same to you."
Bianca looked up and fixed her gaze upon a spot to Hekate's right. "Wouldn't you agree, my lady?" she asked. And, to my disbelief, the air shimmered and there appeared a beautiful young woman, maybe twenty-five or so, with black hair and blue eyes that seemed to glow with silver and gold lights. She was dressed in a black hooded tunic, and all around her was a faint glow of silvery-golden light.
"Indeed," Leto agreed. A small smile spread across her face. The Titaness turned to Hekate and nodded. "These are the ones," she decreed.
"Wait…" I rose to my feet, still confused. "Why were you here? What did you do? How did Bianca see you?"
Leto smiled. "I knew I should help, but I wouldn't if the lot of you were too stupid to succeed. If you were willing to accept my help without question, you would do the same in Vegas. And that will get you killed."
"So
all of it was a test," I said in disgust. "Did Hekate know you
were there?"
"Of course," the Titaness of magic replied.
"We had arranged this meeting beforehand."
I sighed. "And why am I always the last one to know?" Turning to Bianca, I asked her openly. "And how did you know she was there?"
Bianca shrugged. "Leto isn't the only one who can hide. I…er… happened to overhear Leto and Hekate talking."
"Oh, good," remarked Leto. "If a demigod could pierce my defenses so easily, gods help you if you run into Hyperion. He rules from his stead in Las Vegas, you know."
"What are his powers?" I asked. It's always good to know your opponent's strength.
"Chaos," replied Tammi. "He has the ability to warp matter around him – but he has to be in fairly close quarters to do so."
"Makes sense that he rules in Vegas, then," I said. "There's nowhere else as chaotic as that place."
Leto reached into her tunic and pulled out three rucksacks. "These have coin of the Titans, as well as provisions. There are ten orithyses – worth about five hundred golden drachmas, or a little over two thousand dollars. All evidence of Hekate's assistance and providence of them are hidden," she said. "Also in each is a map of the southwest. On the back is a map of Vegas. You'll probably need it to find the Lotus Casino and Resort. That's where all of the heroes will be."
"A word of advice," Hekate warned, standing up. She beckoned to us and walked out the door. Leto snapped her fingers, and silvery light began to swirl around our forms. Somehow, I knew we would be invisible and inaudible to any passerby. "The Lotus was built by powers unknown, infused with a magic more powerful than that of Kronos himself. It is hidden from magical vision by a power greater than Leto's – no offense meant, of course," she added hurriedly. "You will be tempted to stay there – but sit down to play a single game, and you will not be able to leave. It will be difficult to persuade those inside to leave – but you must."
We stopped at a dark archway. On the other side was the tomb I had seen earlier, and I drew a startled breath. Leto snapped her fingers again, and her light disappeared, leaving us in darkness. But Hekate stepped forward and murmured something. Instantly, golden flames blossomed out of every torch set into the wall.
Glancing around, I confirmed that it was, indeed, a tomb. Gold and gems gleamed, set into tall statues that watched us with baleful eyes. Hekate strode past them all, going deeper and deeper. Finally, we stopped. A thin tunnel snaked up to the surface to our left, but Hekate ignored it, stepping around the corner. On the other side was a sight that made me stop dead in my tracks.
A room almost as big as the courtroom was set deep into the stone. The walls were painted gold, and immense paintings and intricate runes spiraled up the walls. Statues bigger than the Colossus at Rhodes stood at attention, weapons held tightly in their hands. And at the center of the room lay a sarcophagus.
Painted and carved onto the twelve-foot long coffin was an immense king, wearing golden robes and a double crown. His head was that of an immense eagle, with the eyes closed. His body was human, and his arms folded across his chest. In then he clutched a T-shaped amulet with a circle up top. In the other was a staff, tipped with the same symbol and painted with energy cackling from its tip. On the sides of his sarcophagus was printed a single word, repeated over and over, in runes, in Roman Characters, in every language imaginable.
HORUS
"This place has occupied all of my time since I first arrived in America," said Hekate. Unlike the courtroom, her voice echoed throughout the room, making it almost impossible to hear her clearly. "I built my palace around it, sent my empousai to patrol it in the forms of Park Rangers. Some idiot wrote an article on it, but I found him and…informed him of his mistake."
"Did he survive your 'informing'?" asked Tammi.
Hekate sighed. "Of course. Mortals might have thought I had something to hide if someone had been murdered in the area. Anyways, I finally was able to wrest this places origins from its guardian." I remembered the eyes I had seen, and I unconsciously gripped the spear that was Kelli. "This place moves, much the same as Olympus moves. But it is not of Greek origin. This place comes from the lands far to the south of Greece… the place known as Egypt."
Hekate turned to us, her face grim. "I do not know where the others of Egyptian mythology have gone, but it would be invaluable to learn it. They could be out there in the world somewhere, unknown to the Olympians. They could be oppressed by the Titans. Or… they may, even now, be free, roaming the earth. They could be allies against the Titans."
"This, Clarisse, is your next quest. Find them. Bring them to bear against the Titans if you can. As for finding them… I will do my best, but I suspect that they cannot be found magically. It is you who must do it."
Hekate pointed her chin towards the passage to the surface. "Go. The time has come. Find the Timeless. Free them. And seek out those who roam the sandy dunes. Your quest is begun."
She and Leto turned and walked away.
Bianca, Tammi, and I exchanged glances, then turned and followed the passageway out to the light.
For anyone interested in the content here, I did not make it up. There is indeed rumor of an Egyptian tomb found in the Grand Canyon, and that even now, part of the Canyon is off-limits. I have no idea; I've never been there, but I've found articles about it that may or may not be true. Any information would be welcome – as well as any criticism, constructive or not. Thanks!
~Sa Rart~
