The Return of the Titans Page 7

“Fine, Norm it is.”

  Justin saw that Aaron was amused by the exchange. “Nice meeting you, Norm and Gerry. I'm Justin, this is Aaron. So how long have you been here?” Justin asked, indicating the fountain.

  “About an hour, maybe more,” Gerry answered. “We had a chance to check out some of the doors.” He pointed at the far wall. “Some of them are sealed, most open on to other hallways. That one over there is the entrance to a very cool looking library.”

  “Library?” Justin was intrigued. “Nice. But what makes it so cool?”

  Norm grinned and answered. “There aren't any books. Just shelves and shelves of scrolls; you know, rolled up papers? I wanted to check it out, but Gerry here said we could look at old documents any time, and there was a lot more to see.” He smiled at his friend. “I suppose he's right, but I definitely want to get back in there some time soon.”

  Aaron looked over at the gryphon Sentinel walking along the edge of the courtyard. “So what do you guys know about those things?” he asked, nodding toward it.

  “Well, Mr. Fitzgerald told us that they have always been in Sanctuary, since the time it was built,” Norm answered.

  “What, you mean like five thousand years ago? You're kidding.”

  “Nope, we asked and that's what he said. He didn't tell us how they worked or anything but I'm not sure if that's for security or he doesn't know himself.”

  “Have you seen any others?” Justin asked.

  Both boys nodded. “Come around to the other side of the fountain and see for yourself,” Norm said as he started walking .

  All four of them walked around the fountain. Across the courtyard, Justin saw a large arch in the wall, exactly opposite to the entrance that had brought him and Aaron into the area. There was no door covering the archway that led into darkness, but a Sentinel stood there, plainly blocking anyone who might try to go through. This time, the Sentinel was shaped like a humanoid. Justin squinted. Did it only have a single eye, right above the bridge of its nose?

  “Yeah, it's a cyclops all right,” Gerry said very quietly. The statue had a huge club resting on its shoulder. “I wouldn't want to try and get past it.”

  “How many are there?” Aaron wondered aloud.

  “Good question. But what I'd rather know is what would they actually do if someone tried to get by them?” Norm said, staring at the Sentinel apprehensively.

  “Thinking of sneaking by for a peak, Norm?” Gerry asked with a grin.

  Norm turned and punched him lightly on the arm. “Nope, I was actually going to get close enough to push you by it and see what happens.”

  The others all laughed. “Well, I really want to explore,” Justin said. “Aaron?'

  “Absolutely. I'm nosy by nature and I want to see all that I can see.”

  Gerry gave Norm a poke and the other boy spoke up. “Mind if we come along? You know, safety in numbers and all that?”

  Justin looked at Aaron who nodded. “For sure, guys. It'll be fun.”

  “Great!” Norm exclaimed. “And if we should happen to run into a Sentinel that's in a bad mood, I'll have all of you to distract it for me, so I can get a good head start.”

  They all laughed again and looked around for a likely door. They chose one at random and headed off. As they approached the door, Justin looked back at the fountain and noticed Benson sitting with his friends, watching them intently. He saw Justin looking at him and hurriedly turned his head. Justin assumed he was curious and promptly forgot about it.

  The door they had chosen wasn't locked and opened when Gerry touched the button beside it. As the door slid to the left, the four young men entered a short corridor that ended at the bottom of a spiral staircase, carved as usual out of solid rock.

  “Wow,” Aaron said. “It's the first stairs I've seen here.”

  “Same with us, Aaron,” Gerry agreed. “So, who wants to go first?”

  They glanced at each other, then Norm shrugged and started up the stairs. Gerry followed quickly after, then Justin with Aaron bringing up the rear.

  The stairs went up and up with no end in sight.

  “Wonder where this leads? Outside?” Aaron asked breathlessly.

  No one answered as they saved their breath for the climb. Suddenly Norm, who had pulled a bit ahead of the others, stopped abruptly. The other three piled into him before they could stop themselves.

  “Gee Norm, a little warning!” Gerry exclaimed. Then he gasped and fell silent. Justin and Aaron glanced at each other, then pushed up past Gerry to see why they had all stopped.

  Like Gerry, Justin and Aaron gasped out loud and just stared. They were standing at the top of the stairs, which had emerged from the floor of a gigantic circular room.

  The room wasn't formed of the same stone that the rest of Sanctuary seemed to be. The walls and floor were made of black marble, shot through with veins of gold and silver. The domed ceiling appeared to be covered in bronze. At least, Justin thought, it gleamed with the same metallic shine that the Sentries did . There were no glowing stones in baskets here. Instead, torches sat in brackets spaced around the wall, making the gold and silver in the marble flicker and glint with every movement of the flames.

  The circular wall was broken into sections, separated by the torches. Justin counted them. There were twelve. And each section held a huge portrait, not made of bronze or carved like the walls of the Sanctuary hallways, but seemingly painted directly on the marble. Above each portrait was a symbol, each one different from the others.

  The four teens emerged from the staircase and spread out, examining each portrait in turn. Justin noticed that there were six men and six woman. Some were wearing robes, but most were clad in elaborate armor. All held a weapon of some sort. Their hair was long, the men as well as the women. Some were blonde, one was a red-head, one was gray and the rest had black hair.

  “Wow, Justin, look at this guy!” Aaron exclaimed, pointing at the portrait of the red-headed man.

  Justin walked over and stared. The man was wearing armor so black that it looked dark blue. He was armed with a spear, held as if he was about to attack. But it was the expression on his face that seemed to have caught Aaron's attention. It was animal-like, filled with hatred and brutality. He almost seemed to be trying to leap from the wall.

  Both the boys took an involuntary step back. “Wouldn't like to meet him in a dark alley!” Justin said.

  “Yeah, no kidding,” Aaron agreed. “I wonder if that's his wife? She looks as mean as he does.”

  The next portrait to the right was of a woman. Aside from being blonde instead of a red-head, she was dressing in armor similar to the man. But she was armed with a bow, an arrow already notched and ready to shoot. Her expression mirrored that of the spear wielder's.

  “Lovely couple,” Norm said from behind them. Justin and Aaron both jumped and Norm chuckled. “Sorry,” he said. “So what do you suppose this room is for anyway?”

  Gerry walked over. “Beats me. Maybe it's a temple or something. You know, like these are the Titan's gods or whatever?”

  “Ancestors,” Justin said quietly. The others looked at him.

  “Ancestors? What do you mean, Justin?” Norm asked.

  “I think,” Justin spoke hesitantly. “I think these are the ancestors of the Titans.” He looked at the others who looked back at him with puzzled expressions. He shrugged. “I don't know why, it just seems to fit somehow.”

  “You are quite right, Mr. McLeod.”

  The boys all jumped this time and turned to look at the staircase. Mr. Fitzgerald was standing there, smiling slightly. He walked over and joined the group.

  “These are the original Titans, their first ancestors, if you will. From them sprung the entire race. Or so legend says.”

  “Hi, Mr. Fitzgerald,” Justin said, getting over his shock. “Um, I'm sorry. Are we not supposed to be here? The door below wasn't locked.”

  “Of course you are allowed here.” The man looked surprised at the question. “I
n fact, all of you young people will be visiting this room in the next day or two. You just happened to be the first ones to find it.”

  He stepped back and pointed to the portraits. “Allow me to introduce you.” The first portrait he indicated was of a huge man, with a long black beard. He wore armor and held a sickle in both hands. “That is Cronus, the lord of the Titans. Beside him to the right is Rhea, his wife.” The woman wore luminous robes and a crescent moon hung in the sky over her shoulder. She was armed with a scepter.

  “Next to her is Crius, brother to Cronus.” This figure looked like a young man, wearing black leather armor and holding two daggers. “Beside him is Mnemosyne.” A woman stood there also wearing leather, but it was light brown. She held a staff.

  “Coeus is next, called the lord of intelligence.” This portrait showed an older man wearing blue robes and, instead of a weapon, he held a scroll in one hand and a quill in the other. “His sister,” Mr. Fitzgerald continued, “stands next to him. Phoebe is her name.” A beautiful woman, wearing bright white and lavender colored robes, smiled down at them. She actually held what looked like the full moon in her hand.

  “The next one is Oceanus, lord of the seas.” This one was surprising to Justin. The top half of the figure was that of a handsome man wearing bronze armor and wielding a huge axe. But the lower half was that of a serpent, swimming through waves. “His wife, Tethys is beside him, lady of lakes and streams.” The woman was wearing full bronze armor but held a small axe and a shield.

  “Iapetus is next, with his wife Themis.” Both the man and woman had long black hair, tied back and reaching their waists. Both wore iron armor and carried heavy hammers.

  “And last...” Mr. Fitzgerald hesitated. He was staring at the portraits of the two figures that had surprised Aaron and Justin. They still looked evil and furious, Justin thought.

  “These two are the most interesting, in my opinion. The man is Hyperion. The woman is his mate, Theia. In mythology, he is the god of light. She is unassuming and non-threatening. Unfortunately, mythology doesn't always get it right.” He sighed and shook his head.

  “What do you mean, Mr. Fitzgerald?” Gerry spoke up.

  “I mean, Mr. Smithson, that those two began the last war, the war that destroyed Atlantis.” Gerry gasped and Justin and the others stared even more intently at the portraits. “They wanted to rule the entire world. They gathered other like-minded Titans. Cronus and the others did their best to defend their people but, in the end...well, you know what happened.”

  “Atlantis sunk beneath the waves,” Norm whispered. It echoed through the suddenly quiet room.

  “Exactly, Mr. Holden. Exactly.” Mr. Fitzgerald looked at them all keenly. “But now,” he continued on in a more brisk tone, “ you all have a small task to do, in this room.”

  “Task sir? What task?” Justin asked.

  “As I said, each of these portraits represents one of the original Titans. Each one also represents a family of Titans.”

  The four teens looked at each other in confusion. Justin looked back at Mr. Fitzgerald and waited for him to explain.

  “I know I'm dropping things on you quickly, but as I told you all yesterday, we've had to accelerate this process somewhat.” He walked over to the closest portrait, the one of Oceanus. “As you can see here,” he pointed to a round section of flat black metal that was inset on the wall below the portrait, “there is a plate set in the wall below each figure.” Justin looked around and saw that Mr. Fitzgerald was right. He hadn't noticed them until now, since he'd been so caught up in the portraits of the Titans. “I'd like each of you to pick a portrait and lay your hand flat against this plate.”

  “Um, why?” Aaron asked.

  “Each Titan family bears certain gifts passed down from the original Titan. The plates were created to test your DNA and see if it matches the family of the Titan represented. If you decide to stay, part of your training will be geared toward your strengths inherited from your family.”

  “No offense, Mr. Fitzgerald, but that's just weird,” Gerry said. Justin could hear the skepticism in his voice.

  “It is, isn't it, Mr. Smithson. But the writings preserved here tell us that this is true and so far, they've been right.” He smiled. “If they hadn't been, you would not even be here”

  “Good point,” Aaron whispered to Justin. He nodded.

  “So what happens when we touch the plates?” Gerry still sounded unsure.

  “I'm not quite certain,” Mr. Fitzgerald answered. “But I can show you what happens when an ordinary human touches one.” He reached out and laid his hand palm first on the plate. The boys watched anxiously. Nothing happened. Mr. Fitzgerald shrugged and chuckled. “But then I'm not a Titan.”

  Justin found his gaze returning to the portrait of Hyperion. “Mr. Fitzgerald?”

  “Yes, Mr. McLeod?”

  “What if one of us is a member of his family?” he nodded toward the portrait.

  The man's smile faded. “I don't think you have to worry about that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because if you were a member of that family, the Sentries would have killed you when you first arrived.”

  Chapter 6

  “Killed us?” Norm gulped. “As in dead?”

  “As in dead, Mr. Holden. They can recognize an enemy when they see one. That is why they are here, after all.” Norm opened his mouth as though he wanted to ask more about the Sentries, but Mr. Fitzgerald held up his hand. “I'm not going to discuss the Sentries, Mr. Holden. We can save those questions until after you've all decided whether to stay or go.”

  “Why?” Aaron asked simply.

  “Because our enemies don't need any more information than they already have. Mr. Dalton. Now, please pick a starting point, each of you and let's begin.”

  Justin and Aaron looked at each other, then at the other two boys. Finally each one hesitantly moved toward a portrait. Justin chose Crius. Not for any good reason, but he did look less threatening than some of the others. He stood in front of the black marble plate for a moment, then took a deep breath and put his palm on it. It was cold, very cold. It felt almost frozen. He held his hand on the plate for several seconds but nothing happened.

  Justin let out his breath, swallowed hard and moved on to the portrait of Mnemosyne. Again he touched the plate. And again, nothing happened. He began to move toward the figure of Coeus when Norm yelled out “Hey!”

  Justin turned quickly. Norm was standing below the portrait of Iapetus. Where his hand was resting on the plate, a line of vivid light, almost blindingly bright in the torch-lit room, was forming a path up and around the picture. They all watched in amazement as the bright line, which had outlined the portrait, came together at the top of Iapetus' head and then moved up to touch the symbol above it.

  The symbol blazed with luminescence. Norm stood looking up, his hand still on the plate and his mouth open. Then he pulled his hand off the wall with a jerk. “Ouch, that hurt!” he exclaimed and rubbed his hand on his shirt. The others hurried over.

  “What it is, bud? You okay?” Gerry asked.

  “Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It just got even colder for a second. Almost felt like I got burned.” Norm stopped rubbing his hand and looked at it. “Hey, what the hell is this?”

  “What's wrong, Mr. Holden?” Mr. Fitzgerald asked as he walked over to the group.

  Norm stuck his hand out for all of them to see. On the palm was a small mark, no bigger than a thumbprint. It was a copy of the large symbol over the portrait above them.

  Mr. Fitzgerald stared at the mark and then looked at Norm. “I had no idea, Mr. Holden. Nothing was mentioned about a mark being given during the ritual.”

  Norm looked from the mark to Mr. Fitzgerald and back again. “Well, I don't want it,” he said angrily. “I'm too young for a tattoo and if I ever got one, I wouldn't put it on my palm!”

  “I'm sorry, Mr. Holden, but as I said, I had no idea that...”

  “Hey wait a sec
ond,” Norm said, still staring at his hand. “It's fading!” They all crowded around to look at his palm. And the mark was fading. Justin watched, fascinated, as the symbol slowly grew fainter and fainter until it was gone. Norm's hand was unmarked once again.

  “Wow,” he said. “That was too weird.”

  “Does it still hurt?” Gerry asked.

  Norm flexed his fingers. “Nope, no pain at all. It's like it never happened.” He looked at the Commander. “You have any idea why this happened, sir?”

  “None,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “None at all. But I am relieved that it's gone. A mark like that would make you too easily identified out in the world.”

  “Wow, yeah, I hadn't thought of that,” Norm said. “Whew! Well, that's a relief. And that means I am descended from, um...”

  “Iapetus, Mr. Holden. Yes indeed. You are of the family of Iapetus.” He looked at the boy for a long moment. “Interesting,” he said and then went back to stand beside the top of the staircase.

  “Why interesting, sir?” Justin asked.

  “I can't say at the moment, Mr. McLeod. As I've already explained. Carry on, please.”

  Now Justin was even more nervous than before. He glanced over at Aaron and Gerry. They were also walking very slowly toward the next plates. I'll bet they don't want to be hurt either, he thought.

  “Don't worry, guys,” Norm called out. He had moved to stand next to Mr. Fitzgerald. “It really didn't hurt that much. It's just that I haven't felt pain for a while so it kind of surprised me, you know?”

  Justin smiled weakly at Norm and walked over to stand under the picture of Coeus. He looked up at the towering figure. Somehow, the old man with his quill and parchment didn't look as scary as the others. Justin placed his hand firmly on the plate. Nothing happened. He sighed with resignation and moved over yet again.

  Phoebe was beautiful, he thought. She looked almost like a teenager. And she was the only one of the figures that was smiling. He looked at the plate, winced in anticipation and planted his palm on to it. Nothing again.

  Ah gee, he thought. This is going to drive me crazy. He moved on again to stand under the portrait of Oceanus. Then he heard a yell from Aaron to his left, followed by a similar exclamation by Gerry across the room. He whipped around and saw the same light show that he'd seen Norm go through earlier.