Just keep reading and reviewing.

The characters will probably end up having to travel in the next few chapters. And my fingers are getting tired.

If I happen to know you in real life, I beat you! You haven't touched your story (if you have one, that is) in weeks, and I've typed up a hundred thousand words!!

So, a little tip of the hat to numerous authors who have given me good ideas.

Thank you.

Chapter 14

Kraken's Warning

Lin and I were sitting on the roof top of the Roman villa, just sitting. There were some wizened, stunted old olive trees in pots in the corners, around the cast iron patio furniture. The sunset was stunning, as if an autistic child had dipped his grubby fingers into post of paint and smeared it over the skyline. There were large banks of clouds in the west, stained a deep crimson by the sun. And in the east, the sky turned from peach and pink, blending to a deep violet and Copenhagen blue.

"Lin." Lin and I were sitting in the black iron chairs, the backs strips of iron twisted and braided together into a design of flowering vines. "What's going to happen with the Kraken now? And Luke…is it possible to stop him? Or are we just going to die, with no hope of saving ourselves or anyone else?"

Lin pressed her lips together, a thin, grim line. "I think…we'll just have to see. Ask the Kraken at the docks tomorrow, when it arrives." Her fingers tapped the iron table, her nails making a pinging noise, like little bells. I tried not to think of church bells, announcing death.

"What do you mean, talk to the Kraken?" I demanded, leaning forwards a bit in my chair. It squeaked.

"We'll just have to see." Lin leaned back, closing her eyes, the setting sun's light on her face turning it a dark red, as if stained by blood. It made the four parallel scars on her cheek more visible. "It'll arrive at the Mediterranean tomorrow, and we'll be at the docks."

"So, what happened at Constantinople?" I said, hoping the welcome change of subject would leave Lin off guard, and maybe she'd give me a straight answer for once.

"Nothing much. Alex and I rode the Orient Express okay; I don't think there were any monsters on board, unless they were too well hidden and disguised to detect. But it was when we got off that was really…bad." She replied, choosing her words slowly and carefully, trying not to let me get the wrong impression.

I waited in silence, hoping that she'd go on, and not skip or hide the truth.

"Somehow, Luke got the help of the Marid and Ifrit, indigenous tribes of djinn. He told them that Kronos would protect them if it came to war, only if they'd exterminate two of their enemies: Me and Alex." She bit her lip, leaving a red indentation. "They had sphinxes, too, I don't know how they got them…and we fought as well as we could. Alex told me to run, and gave me some kind of magical blessing, because I got to the sea and there was a seal. He must have sacrificed something big for that…." She trailed off, her eyes stormy.

"So, do you know what happened to him?"

"I hope he got out, but I'm not so sure…" Lin shook her head, turning her head away so I couldn't see her expression.

And shamefully, I felt joy for this, hoping that Alexander Jackson was dead. Because I was a bit jealous of him, and this was selfish, but…I brushed away this thought and sighed. Alexander Jackson was Lin's second cousin.

ooo

The next day, Lin and I hired a taxi to take us to the busy docks of Rome. It was close to Vatican City, that home of the Pope and his seven hundred priests. It seemed a normal day, if a bit cloudy.

We walked to the docks, watching the fishing boats and the sea gulls whirling above the tall masts, the waves lapping at the wooden supports of the dock. Lin and I walked to the longest pier, going as far out as we could, escaping civilization and the smell of fish. A sea wind blew, moist and hot and salty. It was sticky and humid, but the slightest bit cool, because it was still the morning.

We just sat at the end of the pier, our feet dangling off the edge, but high off the water, since it was low tide right now. The endless cawing of the sea gulls, and the waves hitting the pier supports almost lulled me to sleep. I was sleepy; I hated getting up in the mornings.

Lin craned her neck forward, alert. Then suddenly, she pointed, her index finger in the direction of a suspicious wave. "Look! I think that's the Kraken!"

I looked, my eyes following the path indicated by her finger. And I saw that there was a wave, much higher than the others. It rose up, higher and higher, and I realized it wasn't a wave. It was more like a tube, a straw that was thin and pointed at the tip. It was a tentacle, rising high above the waves, but unnoticed by the Italian fishermen in their frail little boats.

A bulge appeared from the waves, and more and more tentacles popped out of the water, getting closer to us. Lin stayed where she was, perched at the end of the pier, but I got up and started to back away. I knew that was cowardly, and I was a coward, but my fear got the best of me. So I started running, and stopped to look one hundred paces from Lin.

The Kraken thing was close to Lin, and since the sea wind was blowing in my direction, I could hear her, if only faintly.

The Kraken's tentacle rose above Lin, its dark shadow hovering above her. Lin got up, backing away, slowly, biting her lip in fear and surprise. "STOP!" She cried pulling out the knife that Alexander Jackson had given her.

And the tentacle stopped suddenly, in mid air, about to strike. I walked forward cautiously, my feet making dull thumps on the wooden floor of the pier. Lin was holding the knife up by the hilt, like she was an exorcist holding a crucifix to a blood thirsty vampire. And it worked.

Lin brandished the dagger like Van Helsing with a crucifix, and the tentacle recoiled. Lin was more confident, striding forward to the edge of the pier, making the Kraken's tentacle back away.

"Is Luke, son of Hermes, goading you to do this?" Her voice was loud and proud, with no signs of fear. Her voice was strong, no quavering or hesitating.

The Kraken's cone shaped head rose above the crests of the waves, revealing a huge, round eye. It didn't blink. "He promised me life if I destroyed you, and punishment if I didn't…his sweet words beguiled me…who are you, little hero?" The voice was strange, like the sounds you make trying to talk underwater at the swimming pool, distorted.

Lin stood tall, the dagger still held high in her hands. "I am Melinda, granddaughter of Lord Hades. And you, Kraken, have been misled, misguided to evil by the silver tongue of Luke, son of Hermes."

The Kraken sighed, a rush of salty wind, a breeze that blew to the land and ruffled Lin's hair. "I have been…it has been ages since I have met one such as Luke. But if it comes to war…then I must back Olympus, for if I do not, then I will end up like him, Aurelias the turncoat. So under pain of death, I will let you go, and bid you good luck in your journeys. You do wish to defeat Kronos, do you not?" The tentacles waved in the air, weaving slimy knots.

Lin nodded, somber. "Yes, my brother and I, we do." She nodded to me, and then turned her attention back on the Kraken. "But forgive me, for I do not know…who is this Aurelias?"

"Aurelias…" The Kraken's voice trailed off, its eyes turning sideways, its tentacles momentarily still. "Aurelias." It repeated, with a bit more conviction in its watery voice than before. "He is a leftover, a remnant from the creation of the Earth. He is powerful, very much so, and he is hiding. He may be the one you seek, the one who turns the balance, tips the scales to your side. Yet his trickery and deceit…his motives aren't always clear."

"Is he enough to take Kronos down?" Lin asked, the wind blowing strands of hair into her face. She didn't brush them away.

"Perhaps…perhaps not. His power has waned over the centuries; I myself haven't seen or heard anything about him for years. It has been so long…but to be on the safe side, you have to travel to the Roof of the World, and there you will find the Root of Time, and perhaps, with luck, you can turn it, and beat this Luke boy at enlisting the help of immortals and monsters." The Kraken was looking anxious now, turning its heavy body back and forth, as if looking for hidden enemies.

"Why would I want to sign up monsters?" Lin scoffed. She seemed cautious and wary, too, fidgeting and looking uncomfortable.

"Because, little girl, your enemy is Kronos! And the more allies you get, the more chance you stand on winning! You don't understand, do you? We monsters, even me, we are tortured and bribed with false promises and threatened to do Kronos's bidding. We want to escape, if we can…but lately, no one can help us. But, perhaps…you can release us. You just have to travel to the Roof of the World, and make time go backwards; therefore, you can help use before Luke comes around with his lies." The Kraken seemed genuinely afraid right now.

"Where is this Roof of the World?" Lin asked. I could see that she was looking for hidden enemies, too, like the Kraken.

"It's the highest peak, in Nepal. Mount Everest. But beware, Aurelias-" The Kraken was suddenly cut off. A tentacle flew up into the air.

My eyes followed it. And I saw that it had been severed from the main body, and was dripping green gooey blood, with acrid fumes. And the Kraken was gone, diving underwater, the sea boiling and roiling. A few more tentacles bobbed up, severed body parts.

There was a loud thumping sound. Lin, Alexander's knife clutched tightly in her hands, was pounding down the pier, her dark hair flying out behind her. I got the hint and started running, too. As we made it to the dock, there was a sharp crack, a splintering sound. The pier had been broken apart by a falling tentacle.

Lin kneeled on her knees on the ground, gasping for air. I waited for her to regain her breath.

"The Kraken…it's been attacked by agents of Kronos! We have to go now, to the Roof of the World…and the Kraken didn't even say what to beware of!" She got up, her legs shaking, panting for breath.

So I took her hand and ran far from the docks, hoping that the monsters of Luke and Kronos weren't following.

Author's Note: I have school, and no one's been reviewing, so it's going to take longer to have these chapters in. Plus, it's getting near time for end of the year final exams, and that means my computer time will be more and more limited.

Sorry, but there's nothing I can do. But there's something you can do. You can review and inspire me to write. Which sounds cheesy, but it's true.

Anyways, sorry for the weeklong wait, and I'm losing interest in this story…I mean there's only so much you can do before you get bored.

Just keep on reviewing.