Hyperion and the Great Balls of Fire Read online

  “I was kind of hoping the flame might be in there too,” Zeus said. “But I guess that wouldn’t make sense. It would burn right through wood.”

  Pounding footsteps alerted the boys that the two guards were coming back. And it sounded like the Onocentaur was with them! The boys could hear him braying in anger.

  Using Bolt, Zeus thunder-pole-vaulted into the chest. He tossed out the trident and helm, and the other two boys caught them. Then he thunder-pole-vaulted back out.

  The minute the boys ran outside, a fireball landed in their path. Boom! Sssst!

  Zeus glanced up. He pointed. “It’s Hyperion! He’s on the roof of the temple!”

  “Prepare to be toast! You’ll never escape me!” yelled the sun-headed Titan. He wound up and pitched another fireball their way.

  Boom! Sssst! This one exploded too close for comfort.

  Despite their magic the bolt, trident, and helm were no match for exploding fireballs. “Run!” Zeus yelled.

  The boys ran. But the three creature-guards were also outside now. And they were blocking the way back up the mountain. The boys screeched to a halt.

  They turned and ran the opposite direction. It wasn’t the way they needed to go to meet up with Hera and Demeter again. But at least they’d be able to avoid the guards. And have less chance of being blown to smithereens!

  Fireballs rained down on them as they fled. They darted from rock to rock and bush to bush to stay hidden. Finally, after several more hours, night fell and the fireballs stopped.

  The boys wandered aimlessly through the forested foothills with only the moon to guide them. They grew tired and hungry and, eventually, lost.

  “We failed,” said Hades.

  “Don’t rub it in,” said Poseidon.

  “We’ll try again. Don’t worry. The magical flame will soon be ours,” Zeus said. But this time it was hard to sound encouraging. He was losing hope himself.

  “Hey! There’s a light up ahead,” Hades announced after a bit.

  A flicker of hope rose in Zeus again. “Maybe it’s the flame!”

  They stumbled toward it. “No! It’s a house!” said Poseidon as they drew near.

  “Careful. This house is too big for mortals. Giants probably live here,” said Zeus.

  Still, the delicious smell of fresh-baked bread drew the hungry boys on, despite the danger. They stashed their magical objects behind a woodpile at the side of the house, then headed for the door.

  Just as they reached it, the door flew open. A woman with a stiff, puffy hairstyle stood before them. Her brown eyes were heavily made up. And she was supertall. Titan tall.

  Uh-oh, thought Zeus.

  “Thought I heard the pitter-patter of little feet,” she told them. “Come in. I’ve been expecting you!” Her unnaturally long, thick eyelashes gave a flutter.

  Zeus blinked in surprise. “You have?” How had she known they were coming? Was this Titan an oracle, like Pythia? She didn’t look like one. Pythia dressed in a plain hooded robe and had shiny black hair that hung to her knees.

  “Of course,” the woman said. “My husband promised to send me some servants.” She pursed her painted red lips. “Only I didn’t expect you to be so young. Or so small. But I suppose you’ll have to do.”

  The woman’s glittering golden gown rustled softly as she moved aside for the boys to enter. She adjusted her feather boa.

  Poseidon crossed his arms, frowning. “We’re not ser—”

  “We’re stronger than we look,” interrupted Zeus.

  He glanced meaningfully at Poseidon and Hades. He hoped they’d realize he wanted them to play along. It wasn’t safe to reveal their true identities. Not yet, anyway. Not before they got some food and found out who this Titan lady was. Maybe never!

  “Good,” said the woman. She led the boys to her kitchen, where a small fire blazed in the hearth.

  “My name’s Theia,” she said. “And your names are . . . ?”

  “Goose,” said Zeus.

  Poseidon and Hades giggled.

  Zeus turned red. In his haste to hide his true identity, the nickname had been the first thing to pop into his head. He wished he could take it back. But now it was too late.

  Theia arched an eyebrow at him. “Your name’s ‘Goose’?” she said, sounding amused. “Your mother must’ve been feeling hungry when she named you that.” She threw back her head and laughed.

  “Yes, ma’am. I suppose she was,” Zeus said. He pointed to Poseidon and Hades, who were both still smirking at him. It was time for a little payback, he decided. “And these are my friends, Fishbreath and Stinkboy,” he announced.

  The two boys scowled at him. Now it was Zeus’s turn to grin.

  Theia laughed harder still. “That’s some sense of humor your parents have.”

  “Yeah,” Hades said drily. “They were probably a couple of crack-ups.”

  “Probably? Oh, I’m sorry,” Theia said gently. “Are you orphans, then?”

  Immediately Poseidon pressed his hands over his heart, playing on her sympathy. “Yes. We are,” he said with downcast eyes.

  Good one, thought Zeus. Though in truth he didn’t know anything about the other Olympians’ parents. It was something they’d never discussed.

  Theia clucked. “You poor things,” she said. “It was nice of my husband to take you in and give you jobs, then.” She gave her head a slight shake. “He does have a good side. It’s King Cronus who’s a bad influence on him.”

  The three Olympians darted nervous looks at one another. Zeus wanted to ask who Theia’s husband was. But if he did, she’d know the boys were imposters—that her husband hadn’t really sent them.

  He gulped as a new thought came to him. What if the real servants arrived while the boys were still there? He hoped they wouldn’t come until morning. By then maybe the boys would be fed and rested. And long gone.

  He couldn’t help glancing at the gigantic loaves of bread cooling on top of a table. Mmm. They smelled so good. He must’ve drooled a little, because Theia smiled at him.

  “Hungry?” she asked.

  All three boys nodded.

  “Then help me get dinner ready,” she said, putting them to work.

  Poseidon started peeling potatoes the size of pumpkins for stew. And Hades struggled to wield a knife as long as a sword to chop carrots as thick as his arms.

  Theia sent Zeus out to chop wood. The ax was way too big and heavy for him to handle. After checking to see that no one was around, he whistled softly for Bolt. “Come, boy. I need your help!”

  On command Bolt zipped from behind the woodpile, all aglow.

  “Okay. Let’s get to work,” said Zeus. He swung the thunderbolt at a thick chunk of firewood.

  Crack! The wood split right down the middle.

  “Good job!” Zeus said softly. At the praise, Bolt glowed even more brightly. Before long they’d chopped a nice stack of wood. It was a bit charred around the edges, though. He hoped Theia wouldn’t notice.

  As the thunderbolt hid again, Zeus took a load of wood into the cottage. There he added it to the fire.

  Theia had hung a big pot full of water and meat over the hearth. Now she added the potatoes and carrots that the other two boys had chopped.

  Hades and Poseidon had begun to set the table. Poseidon lined up silverware. Hades carried bowls as big as sinks to the table.

  “Should we set a place for your husband, too?” Hades asked.

  Theia laughed lightly. “No need . . . uh . . . Stinkboy. He won’t be home tonight. Sent word he’d lost something and had to work late tonight to find it again. Just set places for yourselves and for me. Oh! And a place for Hestia, too.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Something Fishy

  Hestia?” echoed Zeus.

  Poseidon uttered a strangled cry.

  Crash! Hades dropped the bowl he was holding. It shattered against the tiled floor. “Oops! Sorry!” he said.

  “Not to worry,” said Theia. She kept on stir
ring the stew with a big wooden spoon. “Accidents happen. Just finish setting the table. I’ll sweep up the pieces later.”

  “Um, is Hestia your daughter?” Zeus asked. He tried to sound casual. After all, there could be other girls named Hestia besides the Olympian girl they sought.

  Theia laughed. “No. My children are all grown up. Hestia is my husband’s—that is, Hyperion’s—niece.”

  Poseidon and Zeus looked at each other with wide eyes. Hades dropped another bowl. Crash!

  Theia looked over at him. “Maybe I’d better assign you a different task. Before all of my bowls are broken?”

  “Sorry,” Hades said again. “Guess I’m just clumsy tonight.” He shot Zeus a glance and began picking up the broken pieces.

  “So where is Hestia?” asked Poseidon.

  Theia pointed with her wooden spoon to a room across the hall. “She’s taking a nap. Such a nice girl, but very quiet. Hasn’t said a word since she came here a few weeks ago. It’s almost like there’s a spell on her tongue.”

  Zeus peered toward the door she’d pointed to. King Cronus had ordered Hyperion to capture Hestia, put a spell on her, and hide her here. He was sure of it!

  Theia honestly didn’t seem to know that Hestia wasn’t Hyperion’s niece, however. His spell must have been keeping Hestia from telling the truth of who she was.

  Just then the door across the way opened. A girl stepped out of the room. Her light brown hair was tangled from sleep.

  Her brown eyes lit on Zeus first. He smiled, but the look she returned was vacant. Lights on. Nobody home, he thought.

  But that changed the moment Poseidon and Hades called out to her. “Hestia!” they exclaimed in joyful voices.

  Her head turned toward them. All at once her eyes widened and became bright. Whatever spell had been holding her speechless fell away at the sight of the two boys.

  “Poseidon? Hades? I thought I’d never see you again!” she cried out. She flew to the boys and hugged them. “But where are Hera and Demeter?” she asked.

  “They stayed behind,” said Poseidon, casting a wary eye in Theia’s direction. She was gazing at them with suspicion now.

  “Well, who’s that?” Hestia asked, staring at Zeus.

  Theia was staring at him now too. “You’re Zeus, aren’t you!” she exclaimed suddenly. “And you’re all Olympians! You tricked me.”

  Braced for the worst, the four Olympians began backing away.

  Theia pointed her wooden spoon at them. “Stop right there.”

  “Or what?” challenged Zeus. He’d hoped she would have a good heart, but he should have known better.

  “Or you’ll miss dinner,” she said.

  The Olympians looked at one another in surprise.

  Turned out Theia did have a good heart. And she wasn’t as completely trusting of Hyperion as they’d feared.

  Over bowls of the delicious stew and thick slices of warm bread, the boys took turns explaining about their quest. They told Theia and Hestia how Hyperion had been wreaking havoc with fireballs and drought. They even brought their magical objects inside the house to show them off.

  “Hyperion has stolen the flame that lights the Olympic Torch. The torch that the oracle Pythia sent us to find. Did he tell you that?” Hades asked Theia.

  “No.” Theia’s lips tightened. “I thought I smelled something fishy.”

  Poseidon stopped eating, looking alarmed. “Is it me?” He sniffed himself. “It’s probably because I’m god of the sea. Sorry, I—”

  Theia interrupted him. “No, that was just a figure of speech,” she said kindly. “I meant that I already suspected Hyperion was up to something.” She glanced at Poseidon again. “Of course, I’d be lying if I said you smell as sweet as a rose, but—Well, never mind.”

  She ladled more stew into Zeus’s huge bowl. He was so hungry, he’d finished off the first bowl in record time. “I met your mother once, you know,” she told him.

  Zeus’s jaw dropped. “You did?”

  Theia glanced around the table, then nodded. “She was a wonderful woman. And absolutely determined to keep you safe from harm.”

  “Is that why she left me in that cave on Crete?” Zeus asked excitedly. He’d long wondered about his parents, hoping to find them someday. “Is—is she still alive?”

  Theia nodded again. “She’s alive. And probably with Cronus, but I—”

  Zeus sucked in his breath, imagining his mother locked up in a castle tower. Or in the depths of a gloomy dungeon. He jumped up.

  “Then I’ll rescue her!” he said fiercely. “Where is she?”

  Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

  Before he could ask any more questions, they heard the stamping of heavy feet outside.

  Theia ran to peer out a window at the front of the house. “Half-giants. Cronus’s soldiers,” she told the others. “Quick! I’ll delay them while you all duck out Hestia’s bedroom window in the back.”

  “Why should we trust you?” asked Zeus. “You’re a Titan. Hyperion’s wife.”

  “Your mother was kind to me,” Theia told him. After grabbing an unlit oil lamp, she ran to kneel before the hearth. “I owe her a big favor. And now I’m going to repay it.”

  With those words she poked a long, thin stick into the hearth fire. When the tip of the stick burst into flame, she used it to light the lamp. But oddly, the moment the flames in the hearth had leaped to the stick, the fire in the hearth had snuffed out. Only smoke remained to curl up the chimney.

  Theia tried to hand the lamp to Zeus as everyone hurried into the bedroom. Clouds had moved in to hide the moon. It was pitch-black outside, Zeus realized. They would need light. But the flame in the lamp was dim now. And he was reluctant to take any gift from a Titan. Even a nice one.

  “Take it,” said Theia. “I’m almost certain it’s the magic flame you seek.”

  At that, all four Olympians stopped in their tracks. Their eyes went to the lamp and they stared in amazement.

  “The magic flame that lights the Olympic Torch!” Zeus exclaimed, catching on at last.

  “It was here all along,” said Poseidon.

  “Hyperion hid it right in plain sight. In your hearth!” Hades added in a stunned voice.

  Boom! Boom! Just then the soldiers pounded on the door.

  “Yes. I’d seen him hide something there days ago, but didn’t put two and two together until you mentioned the flame he’d stolen. Now take it and go,” insisted Theia.

  “Do as she says,” Hestia urged. “She has been kind to me. I don’t think she means us harm.”

  Oomph! Oomph! Hades and Poseidon leaped out the back window. As Hestia followed the boys out, Zeus took the lamp from Theia.

  “I won’t be able to help you after this,” she warned him solemnly. “And I’ll tell Hyperion you stole the flame.”

  “I understand.” Clutching the lamp, Zeus ran for the window. “About my mother,” he called back over his shoulder. “Where—”

  But Theia had already gone to answer the door. Frustrated at missing his chance to learn more, Zeus climbed outside. Then, with the lamp to light his way, he ran to catch up with the others.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The Journey Back

  When Zeus caught up to his friends, he handed the lamp to Hades. Then he pulled up on the leather cord around his neck.

  “I can’t believe it! We got the flame!” Hades crowed.

  “We are awesome!” said Poseidon. “Now let’s just hope Hera and Demeter somehow managed to find the torch it’s supposed to light.”

  Hestia smiled. “Ooh! I can hardly wait to see them again!”

  The boys looked at Zeus, waiting for Chip’s directions. Hestia stared at it curiously until Hades explained how it worked.

  “That way,” Zeus told the others after consulting the amulet. “Looks like we’ll have to pass Hyperion’s temple on the way.”

  “Not so awesome,” said Poseidon.

  But with no other choice the Olympians followed Chip�
�s arrow. They stayed close together as they headed toward Hyperion’s temple once again. The lamp’s flame remained dim, but it helped light their way through the dark night.

  Hestia had already heard much about their adventures at dinner. But as they traveled on, the boys filled her in on everything she’d missed while she’d been held captive.

  “But why does the flame need to be contained in a special torch?” she said after a while. “Why can’t we just keep it in this lamp?”

  “Well, the flame and the torch are both probably magic,” mused Hades.

  “I guess their magic gets super-charged when they’re joined together,” said Poseidon.

  “But what does their combined magic do?” Hestia asked.

  Poseidon shrugged. “Pythia didn’t tell us.”

  “But it’s bound to be something good,” Zeus said. “Or she wouldn’t have asked us to find it.”

  “It’ll be something to help the villagers, I bet,” said Hades. “Hyperion’s fireballs have dried out the land. The drought has destroyed their crops. People are abandoning their homes.”

  “Then we must defeat him,” Hestia said in a determined voice. “We must join the flame and torch together. And then we’ll just see what happens!”

  A few hours later the Olympians reached the valley. Hyperion’s temple was dark and quiet. Giving it a wide berth, the four travelers crept on by. Then they continued up and over the mountain, to meet up with Hera and Demeter.

  “That was surprisingly easy,” Hades remarked.

  Poseidon nodded. “Hera said Hyperion’s sort of like the sun, right? So I think he must have to sleep at night. That’s probably why the fireballs always come to a halt at sunset.”

  Zeus stopped to check Chip’s arrow again. He handed the lamp off to the nearest person, who happened to be Hestia.

  The minute she took it, Zeus noticed something interesting. The flame inside the lamp flared higher and glowed more brightly than ever before.

  “Wow! That’s better,” said Poseidon.