“It’s a keytar now,” muttered Apollo.

  “No, I swear! It was Ares! He’s trying to stir up a fight!”

  “Maybe even a war between the gods and the mortals!” added Pav, peeking his head out from behind me.

  “Whaaaaat? ” said Ares, trying to sound innocent but doing a very bad job. Then he gave a mischievous grin. “Although, it’s going to be a knockout fight, now that he’s switched his hands for bolts and volts!”

  “The oracle’s prophecy!” murmured Pav.

  I looked at the lightning bolt, pulsating and tingling in my hands. So that’s what the Oracle had meant. That I could … hold lightning?!

  “This is my special power,” I muttered under my breath. And what a special power! Ares must have worked it out when I told him the prophecy. He’s been playing us the whole time – framing me so that I fell out with Athena and Apollo, and engineering to bring me here. He clearly wanted a big showdown between the gods and me!

  “Well,” said Ares, plopping down on his sofa and picking up a grape. Then he grinned. “I do love a good war!”

  My blood boiled. Ares had framed me. He’d angered Athena and Apollo. It was his fault that Ken was in danger!

  “I trusted you!” I yelled. Then a red mist descended over me and I hurled my lightning bolt at Ares. It exploded near his feet and sent his sofa tipping backwards.

  His face popped up, sooty and livid. “He’s dangerous, Dad! Do something!”

  Zooey grabbed his own lightning bolt and aimed it at me. Heart hammering, I grabbed another from Pegasus and pointed it back at him. If there was one thing I knew about Zooey, it was that he wasn’t afraid to zap people. He saw my bolt and wavered, but kept his pointed at me.

  “How are you doing this?” demanded Zooey. “I don’t remember giving you this power!” He wrinkled his forehead and lost himself in thought for a second. “Unless… Gosh. Love makes you say some silly things…”

  Mum and Zooey eleven years ago

  Wow! The upshot was: I could now throw lightning bolts, just like Zooey! And he clearly did not like it. Neither did Athena and Apollo.

  “He cannot be more powerful than us, Dad!” said Athena.

  “He’s just a demigod!” said Apollo.

  “They are right!” barked Zooey. “I cannot allow this to continue! You must relinquish this power!”

  “Don’t give it up!” Ares shouted at me. “He gave it to you… Fight him!”

  “Silence!” bellowed Zooey. “You horrible troublemaker!”

  Ares ducked back behind the sofa.

  “But Athena and Apollo are right, this cannot stand! No one has ever fought me and won! Not the Titans, not the one-hundred-headed serpent Typhon!”

  He pulled back his bolt-throwing arm, narrowed his eyes and fixed me in his deadly stare.

  There was a lump in my throat the size of a hippo and my heart was beating faster than an octopus drum solo. I was going to have! to fight Zooey… Little old me versus the King of the Gods?! You don’t need to be a genius to realize how it would end. But what choice did I have? He was about to launch a lightning bolt at me. I hitched my own bolt back to try and blast his out of the sky.

  “I hate having to destroy my own children…” he said. “But you are just too dangerous.”

  He slung his arm forward. I winced but held firm, preparing to launch my bolt…

  “Wait!” yelled Pav, his lungs almost bursting. “Remember Chiron!”

  I froze. Zooey’s arm ground to a halt before he could release the lightning bolt. Everyone looked at Pav.

  “What about Chiron?” demanded Zooey.

  Yeah, what was Pav getting at? That I might be immortal as well as a lightning thrower?

  I looked at Pav. He nodded at my lightning bolt, then at Zooey. And suddenly I knew exactly what he was getting at. Chiron struck a bargain with Zeus! He traded in his power to save his brother.

  “What if, like Chiron… I trade in my super-skill?” I asked cautiously, lowering my lightning bolt a little. Part of me could hardly believe I was considering giving up this epic ability so soon after discovering it.

  Zooey lowered his own bolt ever so slightly and tilted his head. “And what power would you want in return?” he asked.

  Any power I wanted? My mind raced.

  But I shook those images free. I looked from Ken – frightened and confused, completely out of his depth – to Pav, and finally to Hatty.

  She was cowering at the back of the room now. It was so unlike her to be scared and quiet. In fact, she’d not been herself for the last three weeks – ever since she found out about her mum and I was too dense to even notice. I wanted fun, nutty old Hatty back. I wanted her to be happy again, and I wanted everything to be OK.

  I looked at the lightning bolt in my hand. I’d come so far to find my secret skill, and I’d hardly had a chance to have any fun with it. But I knew what I had to do.

  “I don’t want a superpower,” I replied.

  Zooey frowned in surprise.

  “I want Ken to be set free…” Then I looked at Hatty and smiled. “And I want the Panacea potion.”

  Her mouth formed a little “o” in surprise, then broke into a smile. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “And then I want to leave, with Ken and all my friends,” I said.

  “Fine!” said Zooey, letting out a big belly laugh of relief. “It is a deal!”

  I dropped the lightning bolt and it clanged on the marble floor. Immediately, Ken’s chains broke, and he rushed over to hug me. Hatty joined in. Then Pav.

  “That was impressive,” said Pav.

  “You made the right choice,” said Zooey. He tossed me the Panacea potion and I caught it.

  “You can’t just let him go!” said Ares. “You were supposed to fight! You were supposed to start a war!”

  “Oh, for once will you stop meddling, you horrible child!” barked Zooey.

  “Did you really steal my aegis?” a cross Athena asked Ares.

  “And my keytar?” demanded Apollo.

  “Get out of my sight!” Zooey yelled at Ares. “You really are my least favourite son.”

  I smiled, again. I’d take that as a bonus.

  “Right, let’s get you out of here,” said Zooey. He clapped his hands and Pegasus bowed his head. “Climb on.”

  We didn’t need asking twice. Pav, Hatty, Ken and I pulled ourselves up on to Pegasus’s back and he began to flap his wings.

  “Good to you see you again, son,” called Zooey. “You continue to surprise me!”

  Pegasus broke into a trot, then a canter, his wings beating harder and harder until we lifted high into the air.

  From high up in its rafters, I took one last look down at the palace and its gods. Zooey lifted his powerful arm and waved.

  “Seeya, Zooey,” I called.

  I had imagined Zooey’s respect would make me feel great. But I realized that wasn’t true. All I needed to feel awesome was to see my friends and family safe and happy. And hopefully, I thought as I clutched the Panacea potion tightly, this would see to that.

  Pegasus’s massive wings beat harder. I felt on top of the world as he headed towards the window.

  And, just like that, we flew out of the Mount Olympus resort.

  We landed in a little pine wood near the golden gates and climbed off. Pegasus let out a whinny, then galloped off.

  Collapsing to sit on a boulder, Ken looked shell-shocked.

  “What just … happened…?” he muttered.

  “I’m sorry you had to find out the truth like that, Ken,” I sighed, patting him on the shoulder. It was going to need a lot of explaining.

  Then I turned to Hatty and handed her the potion.

  She flung her arms round me and squeezed hard. “I can’t believe you traded your super talent for this!”

  I shrugged. “Maybe I’m OK with being talentless.”

  “You’re not talentless,” she replied, her eyes looking shiny with tears. “You know what your super-skill is?”

  “What?” I replied.

  “Just look at what you did today.”

  “You’ll do anything for those you love. And that’s the best super-skill of all.”

  That was pretty mushy. But I guess also true, I thought with a big smile. “Thanks.”

  Natthew came bounding from his slingshot hideout to burst the moment.

  “Did I just see you arrive on a flying horse?” he said, looking utterly baffled.

  I swapped looks with Hatty and Pav. There was no point keeping any of this a secret from Natthew any more. Ken knew now, so it was only right that we finally told him the truth.

  I unleashed everything on him: how I’m the son of Zeus; how Apollo, Athena and Ares were real Greek gods; how they kidnapped Ken; how that was Mount Olympus; how we broke in and found Zeus’s palace; and how I found out I could throw lightning bolts but swapped it for Ken’s freedom and the Panacea potion.

  At the end, he looked at me long and hard, before saying:

  I guess you just can’t help some people.

  A noise of static blared from my pocket. “Come in! Come in! Where are you?”

  It was the walkie-talkie – I’d forgotten about it. The police must’ve been wondering where we were.

  I picked it up and spoke: “We’ve found Ken! He was … lost in the woods! We’ll meet you back in the cabin.”

  Ken was still very pale and shaky.

  “Shall we go back to the real world?” I asked.

  “Yes, please,” he replied. “Let’s go back to where things make sense.”

  We turned and headed back down the mountain – back to the real world, back to where we belonged.

  They can keep their golden water slides and nymph volleyball competitions. All I need is these guys.

  TUESDAY 28 JANUARY

  The rest of yesterday was a big blur. Everyone was over the moon that we’d found Ken. They treated us like heroes. Mr Geras even forgot about me being in trouble. Ken played along with the lie that he had got lost in the woods while hiking. Although, to be honest, he still seemed to be getting his head around everything that had happened. Understandably. He believed in logic and science, and he’d just run smack bang into the immortal gods of the Greek world.

  Anyway, we’re about to board our plane back home. I hope I won’t be sick on Malky again.

  Greece was great. But I never thought I’d be this glad to leave!

  *

  I sat in the same row as Ken, Pav and Hatty on the way back.

  “So Zooey really is Zeus?” Ken asked, as we were mid-flight.

  “Yup!”

  “But … but … but… How do you explain that?”

  I shrugged. “There are some things in this universe that you just can’t explain. Otherwise, what would be the fun?”

  He nodded slowly and thoughtfully.

  Two seats down, Hatty clutched her bottle of Panacea potion tightly, and Pav inspected the leaf he’d been given at Delphi.

  “What’s that?” asked Ken.

  Pav told him all about how the Oracle had eaten it to see her prophecies.

  “Now this is one thing I’m sure we can explain!” Ken grinned. “We can look at the chemical properties and try to analyse it…”

  I zoned out. He’d fallen back into science. And he was happy. So who was I to argue?

  Mum was waiting for us in airport arrivals. She was the first person I’d rung when the police found us yesterday, to tell her that everything was OK. She gave us both a tight hug.

  “What did you need to talk to me about?” she asked Ken, anxiously.

  “Well…” replied Ken. “I’ve got a few questions about Zooey…”

  Across the arrivals lounge, I could see Hatty being met by her granny, who gave her a big hug. The stoppered Panacea potion stuck out of her pocket. She caught my eye and smiled, then she crossed the fingers of both hands tightly, and I did the same.

  WEDNESDAY 29 JANUARY

  Back to school. It’s weird being in the normal world again.

  Hatty messaged to say that the surgery to remove the growth at the back of her mum’s throat is tomorrow, but that her mum might not go. I guess because she gave her the potion, although she didn’t mention it. Anyway, she says she won’t be back at school until after then.

  I don’t know what Ken told Mum last night about what happened in Greece. And I don’t know what she told him in return. But she hasn’t told me off for breaking my promise about getting involved with gods again. Maybe she felt too sheepish that she’d never told Ken about Zooey? Perhaps we’re all going to pretend like it never happened… Which is fine by me!

  THURSDAY 30 JANUARY

  We’ve been back for two days now. Greece seems like it was all a crazy dream. (It wasn’t, by the way. That would be a rubbish plot twist.) I never thought I’d see Zooey again. And I never thought I’d have a massive lightning-bolt-throwing showdown with him!

  It’s strange to think that I spent my whole life being able to throw lightning bolts and I never knew about it. No one else in the whole of Ancient Greek mythology could do that. It’s pretty special!

  I wonder what else I have up my sleeve that I don’t yet know about? But I’m no longer in such a rush to find out. Things will reveal themselves at the right time. Just like on Mount Olympus.

  Quality time with my dad

  Ken has thrown himself back into being a science teacher – I think he’s happier focusing on things he can actually figure out … like that leaf.

  He and Pav have spent the last two days in the lab analysing it. Turns out it is a really rare plant that only grows on that particular mountain in really hard-to-find places. It has unique chemical properties that affect the brain, which means when you eat it, you say weird stuff … just like the Oracle did. No one knew of its existence before our visit, and Ken and Pav have written a geeky science paper on it!

  Pav is going to present his discovery at Myth Con, and he and Ken are convinced it’s going to be the most-talked-about thing at the whole event. It might even make the national papers. So, you can imagine: Pav is pretty happy.

  Happy for once

  And I’m pleased for him. At least, for once, it wasn’t me getting us all in trouble.

  Natthew still talks about that flying horse. I don’t think he believes the rest of the stuff I told him. But at least I was honest. Maybe one day he’ll work it all out for himself.

  Hatty’s mum’s surgery was supposed to be this afternoon. She hasn’t messaged yet. I’m hoping that no news is good news, and the potion has cured her!

  FRIDAY 31 JANUARY

  Hatty messaged this morning to ask if we could meet after school because she had news about her mum.

  Pav, Natthew and me waited for her on the corner after school. I felt nervous. But not nearly as nervous as she must have been the last few days.

  When she finally appeared, she was smiling. And I knew immediately that everything was OK.

  “It worked!” said Hatty. “She’s going to be OK!”

  We all cheered. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt happier! Not when I held that lightning bolt. Not when I rode Pegasus.

  “The potion worked!” I said, punching the air.

  Then she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the Panacea potion – as full as it was when I’d been given it.

  “Not the potion … the surgery. The doctors said it was a great success!”

  “Wait…? You didn’t use the Panacea potion?”

  “Sort of…” she replied.

  “Then how is it still full?” asked Pav.

  “Well, you see,” started Hatty, “it doesn’t work quite like we thought. Mum started saying on Tuesday that she didn’t want to have the surgery. That she was scared. That ‘what if something went wrong’. So I thought: fine – I’ll use the Panacea potion and cure her.”

  “And?” asked Pav.

  “I opened the bottle and as soon as I uncorked it, the weirdest thing happened. I closed my eyes and I suddenly knew – as certain as I’ve known anything in my life – that the surgery would cure her … if she went to it. It was like I’d seen the future. It must’ve been the potion! I just knew if Mum went to the surgery, everything would be OK. So I convinced her – begged her – to go. And she finally agreed. But not a drop of potion touched her lips.”

  The word “lips” brought back memories of Delphi. “The sick you cannot fix, unless it’s through their lips,” I muttered. “But the Oracle said—”

  Hatty interrupted. “She said it had to go through her lips. She didn’t say anything about a potion. And that’s exactly what the surgeons did – they operated in her mouth.”

  I took the potion and stared at it. “So … after all that, this didn’t cure her?” I asked, frowning.

  “What are you talking about?” she said. “It did exactly what you promised. Mum is better!” Then she threw her arms round me and gave me a huge hug. “And it’s all thanks to you,” she said. “My hero.”

  I felt myself blush as she squeezed tight.

  “You really did get us out of a tight spot on Mount Olympus,” said Pav. “And you did it by sacrificing your powers. That’s definitely the kind of story that would have become a Greek myth.”

  A Greek myth all about me? Now that’s the kind of thing I’d read!

  “Now, come on,” said Hatty, with a grin that I hadn’t seen for weeks. “Mum’s just seen on social media that aliens might have landed in the Tesco car park.”

  I smiled. Hatty was back.

  She looked from Pav to Natthew to me. “Wanna go investigate?”

  Pav rolled his eyes and gave a grumpy sigh. “It’s obviously not aliens … but I guess I’ll come.”

  “Race you there!” said Natthew, with a double thumbs up.

  I let them walk ahead for a second, watching as they headed cheerily to Tesco and (another) possible alien invasion. Hatty was being weird again. Pav was being grumpy again. And Natthew was still being Natthew. Everything was back to normal. Everything was fixed. I guess the potion really did work. And there was only one thing to say to that:

 

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