The Forest Gods' Reign [Published]

Chapter 28: A Bit of Dumb Luck

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As soon as Alec let everyone know that he was heading back to the army camp to meet Hermes, Zeus peeked over his shoulder, his stormy gray eyes meeting mine. "I want to drop you off by Main Street with Hestia and Hephaestus," he said, practically shouting over the thunder while simultaneously trying to steer Pegasus through the pounding rain.

"Affirmative," I replied loudly, slipping my black walk-talkie off of my belt loop, one arm still locked around Zeus's armored torso. Then, speaking into the device, I asked, "This is Athena, calling Hestia and Hephaestus. What is your position?"

I strained my ears as I waited for the response, thinking that the heavy-duty, waterproof walkie-talkies had proved to be a good investment, and then Hestia's calm voice came on the line. She was speaking Greek, but her voice was low, so I knew she was with some un-Knowing humans. "Hephaestus and I are sort of trapped in the Fire Pit, along with the rest of the town. Thanks to this storm, the power's out, and this is the only place with a generator. Just say the word, and we'll be in the forest right away." Hestia paused for a second before continuing, "But Hephaestus just told me that he made a bunch of new weapons, so we'll have to drop by his house first to pick them up."

"Alright, meet me at the east edge of the woods where we keep our armor in precisely ten minutes," I ordered. "Zeus wants me to help you two bring the weapons in safely. With any luck, we won't run into too many monsters."

After Hestia agreed to the plan, the walkie-talkies went quiet once again, until Zeus asked for everyone to check in. Since Alec, Zeus and I had all left the small meadow, our troops there were struggling again, but at least they had the archers for help. At the same time, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, and Pan were also struggling to defend the army camp against a kraken in the deepest part of the river, as well as a troop of undead warriors. However, Pan had received word from another satyr that the centaurs were winning a battle in their territory over on the west side of the river. To the north, Ares, Aphrodite, and Dionysus seemed to be in control of their battle, too.

With that, Zeus gave Pegasus a kick in the sides, and we flew up even higher into the black clouds, away from the flying monsters. Gripping Pegasus with only his strong legs, Zeus twisted around and started to fling bright lightning bolts in the general direction of where he thought the erinyes and harpies were, just in case they had foolishly decided to try to follow us. I cringed as my ears were filled with the extremely loud sound of rolling thunder, and I felt the heat of the electricity when the bolts whizzed by me, mere inches away from my arms. Slowly, Pegasus leveled off and made a wide turn to our left somewhere above the small meadow, now heading towards Main Street, and Zeus turned back around in his seat, his rough hands no longer crackling with electricity.

Meanwhile, I blinked my eyes rapidly, unsuccessfully trying to clear my vision of the large raindrops, which were falling non-stop. I had to squint my eyes in order to see ahead and to look for the tiny town standing tall and nearly silent below us. The temperature had also dropped quite a bit since the rain had started, so I decided that I wouldn't be surprised if any gods or soldiers ended up with a cold or even pneumonia by the end of the war. If any of them survived, of course.

A few minutes later, Zeus claimed that he could see the town ahead...well, really just the Fire Pit, since it was the only building lit up at the moment. I didn't see it myself, but I obviously trusted Zeus with my life, so that was that. Without another word, Zeus calmly urged Pegasus to fly lower, and the horse's powerful hooves lightly skimmed the treetops like a bird over a lake. However, mere seconds had passed when Zeus suddenly stopped in mid-air.

"Jump off here," Zeus ordered firmly as we hovered a few feet above the pine trees that were rooted about fifty yards from the edge of the forest. "I don't want anyone in town to see us or Pegasus. They'll just make us go inside to explain ourselves, and if we don't, they'll get themselves killed trying to come after us."