Patrick H. Adkins - Titans 3 - Sons of the Titans

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SONS OF THE TITANS

PATRICK H. ADKINS

ACE BOOKS, NEW YORK

This book is an Ace original edition, and has never been previously

published.

SONS OF THE TITANS

An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author and the author's

agent, Ralph M. Vicinanza, Ltd.

PRINTING HISTORY

Ace edition / August 1990

Cover art by Michael Racz.

This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or

any other means, without permission.

For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016

ISBN: 0-441-77524-1

Ace Books are published by the Berkley Publishing Group, 200 Madison

Avenue, New York, New York 10016.

The name "ACE" and the "A" logo are trademarks belonging to Charter

Communications, Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

10 987654321

To Dixie-

for love and understanding, and deathless patience.

Introductory Note

The age of titans was little known even to the ancient Greeks

themselves, and our knowledge of those elder gods of Greek mythology is

still more scanty.

This is the third in a series of volumes that reconstruct that lost

mythological era. Although a work of fiction, it is based upon extensive

research. Proper names appear in their original forms, transliterated

from the Greek, and the author has sought to maintain mythological

accuracy throughout.

The reader's indulgence is requested concerning any seeming

contradictions of established myth. A few of these the author hopes to

resolve in future volumes. The remainder reflect variant or little

known-but quite genuine-mythology, which is often crowded out of popular

reference works.

-Patrick H. Adkins

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One

Distant, tinkling laughter brought the youth to an abrupt halt. His

handsome face broke into a smile and he reached back quickly to lay a

restraining hand on the hairy arm of his companion.

"Quiet, Aigipan," Zeus whispered. "Listen!"

As he spoke, he threw an arm around Pan's shoulders and drew him down to

a crouching position. They were both gods-beings of divine

proportion-and even though neither had yet reached his full height, they

towered above the groves of laurel and holly trees through which they

were walking. Now, with only their eyes and the tops of their heads

exposed above the waving treetops, they silently scanned the forested

hills that surrounded them.

A moment later the sound came again, much closer than Zeus had expected.

He turned to his companion and smiled a second time, his dark, full

eyebrows raised in silent question and his eyes gleaming.

Pan nodded back at him, large teeth grinning out from behind the

scraggly beard that had already begun to cover his youthful face. "Two

at least," he whispered, "maybe more."

He gestured ahead of them. "And near, brother-on the other side of this

hill, I think."

They crept forward silently, like seasoned hunters closing on their

quarry. As they approached the crest of the high hill, shrill voices

became more clearly audible, and at last they reached a point from which

they could look down into the hollow beyond.

Pan stretched out his arm and pointed downward toward a clearing that

lay off to their left, where three lithe figures ran and shouted, the

thin fabric of their short white chitons flapping and swirling around

them, revealing an abundance of well-rounded calves and thighs. Zeus let

out a long, deep sigh at this unexpected display of divine femininity.

Pan glanced at his companion, noted his rapt expression, and chuckled.

They had crouched down again to conceal themselves behind the trees at

the top of the hill. From this vantage point they had an unimpaired view

of the creatures below.

They were dryads-woodland nymphs. One carried a tree branch that had

been stripped of its leaves and smaller branches. She and her companion

tossed it back and forth as they ran, always managing to keep it out of

the grasping hands of the third nymph, who chased them.

Zeus sighed again.

"What's wrong, brother?" Pan asked.

"How lovely they are," Zeus said sadly. "How magnificent-and

unobtainable."

"We have a good chance this time."

Zeus shook his head. "Look how fine and nimble they are-how well they

run. We've no better chance of catching them than we had of catching any

of the other nymphs we've chased these past two days." Zeus studied the

other god's face fora moment, then said, "You were lying, weren't you?"

"When?" Pan asked lightly.

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"When you told me all those stories about all those nymphs. You must

have been lying. I run much faster than you, but I haven't been able to

catch a single one."

Pan looked a tinge embarrassed. "I never said I chased them." He let his

attention return to the spectacle below.

"Then how did you catch them?" Zeus demanded. "If you didn't chase them,

then how . . . ?"

Pan turned back to face Zeus. "I didn't really want to tell you," he

said defensively. He paused, then continued with sudden intensity. "What

possible chance do you think I'd have otherwise? Oh, you could probably

talk softly and coax some pretty thing into letting you get within reach

of her- but look at me! If this face and nose weren't ugly enough to

make her keep her distance, one glimpse of my goat ears or these shaggy

shanks and cloven hooves that pass for legs and feet, and she'd vanish

into the forest before I could-"

"Then what do you do?" Zeus demanded.

Pan shrugged. "I hit them on the head with a stick. Not hard-just to

stop them for a few moments," he continued quickly, noting Zeus's

disapproving expression. "I sit quietly beside a trail and hope one will

happen by. Usually they don't, but every now and then I get lucky. Then

I pop up and-" He made a striking motion with his hand.

"You knock them unconscious?"

"Not usually. Usually it just stuns them."

"Doesn't it make them angry?"

"Well, yes, after they realize what happened. But I'm stronger than they

are."

Zeus shook his head. He looked down at the lovely creatures laughing and

playing in the hollow below them, then back at his companion. He had

never considered such a tactic, and it made him feel uncomfortable. It

seemed unfair somehow, and nearly as distasteful as purposely trampling

a bed of flowers. Of course Pan often stretched the truth, and the

handsome youth was not at all sure he should believe him.

"Oh, I knew I shouldn't tell you. I knew you'd be stuffy about it," Pan

said crossly. "Do you want to catch a nymph, brother, or are we going to

stay here and talk until evening? I have a plan. Do you want to hear

it?"

Zeus nodded quickly, grinning. "Certainly. Tell me!"

"If you circle around ahead of them and hide among the trees at the far

end of the clearing, near those two large rocks . . . and if I enter the

clearing from this end, not letting them see me until I come into the

open down there . . . what do you think would happen?"

"They'd run straight toward me!"

Pan nodded. "Yes, and you could remain hidden until they were almost

upon you."

"And when I jumped out at them, I'd probably frighten at least one into

fleeing back in your direction. It's a good plan, Aigipan. Let's try

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it."

"There's only one problem," Pan continued thoughtfully, still staring

out across the treetops toward the dryads. "You should be able to catch

yours easily, but I'll probably come away empty-handed."

"Perhaps I can hold two of them-for a few moments anyway, until you join

me."

Pan looked unconvinced. "They're sweet as honey, and just as slippery."

"The plan is good. Let's try it-quickly, too, before they grow tired of

their game and vanish back into the forest."

Pan said, "If you had a club, you could clip them as they ran past you.

You wouldn't have to hit them very hard, and you wouldn't have to

wrestle with even one."

Zeus considered the proposal, but finally shook his head. "No. Let's try

it the other way."

Pan shrugged, and a moment later the divine boys began moving stealthily

toward the clearing. Pan disappeared down the steep, forested bank into

the hollow, while Zeus traveled some distance along the top of the hill

before descending. He moved slowly to avoid making noise.

Finally he reached the position Pan had indicated and worked his way

into a dense thicket of tall trees. Carefully parting the branches, he

peered out. The dryads were not thirty paces away now, and Zeus settled

down to observe at close range the enchanting movements of these strange

creatures as they sprinted and scampered about the clearing.

How lovely they were, how desirable-and how utterly different from Ida

and Adrastia. The two nymphs who had helped rear him were loving,

matronly beings, so unlike these tantalizing goddesses of the wilds that

they might as well have belonged to a completely different species.

As he watched, his head filled with the elusive curved softness of lush

female forms, he became so absorbed in his pleasant pursuit that he

momentarily forgot why he was hiding near them. He found himself as

startled as the nymphs, at least for an instant, when something emerged

abruptly from the forest at the opposite side of the clearing.

The great god Pan lurched out of the trees and stumbled toward them, the

long cloak that served as his only clothing pulled up high to free his

awkward goat legs for running. His long goat ears stood up-perked. His

arms were outstretched and an enormous grin spread completely across his

face. For an instant the nymphs stood frozen, staring at the intruder.

One began to titter at the absurdity of the thing rushing toward them,

but then-as the mad apparition drew ever closer-her laughter became a

shriek. Turning, the three nymphs fled-directly toward the place where

Zeus lay concealed.

He waited until they were almost upon him, then sprang up when the first

came within reach. She let out a startled cry as he lunged for her. His

hand fell on her arm, the fingers tightened around her warm, yielding

flesh, and he pulled her toward him. Already he could smell the fresh

intoxicating scent of her body. As he reached for her with his other

hand, she swung around and struck him in the face, then kicked him in

the shin with her heel. By now the second and third nymphs were upon

him, too. They ran straight into him, knocking him down and stepping on

his chest and legs as they rushed past.

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By the time he managed to sit up, Pan had reached him. "I told you," he

muttered as he ran by. "You should have hit them on the head." One of

his hooves grazed Zeus's arm.

Zeus watched the last of the nymphs disappear among the foliage,

followed by the lumbering figure of Pan. He got up slowly, brushed off

the grass and twigs that clung to him, then walked after them. At first

he went slowly, but soon other instincts overcame his chagrin and he

increased his pace. Those he followed were still out of sight, hidden by

the towering trees that predominated here, but an occasional laugh,

teasing and enticing, floated back from somewhere ahead to goad him on;

and he could clearly hear both the sounds of Pan's rough passage through

a nearby thicket and the god's loud imprecations as he tore his way

through the obstructing vegetation.

Soon Zeus found himself on a more clearly defined path. He was out of

the valley now, and a narrow trail led upward, through ever higher

foothills toward a high mountain in the distance. He paused to scan the

way ahead. Not more than a hundred paces away one of the dryads appeared

atop a rocky knoll. She caught sight of him, flashed him an engaging

smile, then turned and continued running up the trail. The temptation

was irresistible, and Zeus charged after her. The low hills through

which they passed grew ever larger, and the distant mountain nearer.

When he stopped again, it was to slump down beside a great tree. He

berated himself for letting the nymph lure him into her frustrating

game. He felt like a fool, and was more than a little angry. As he

rested, he looked out into the distance, trying to catch sight of Pan.

Eventually he glimpsed him on a distant hill, careening out of a grove

of pines and into a clearing, where he paused. Almost immediately one of

the nymphs beckoned from her place of concealment not far from where the

shaggy god stood panting, and with a shout he charged off after her.

Zeus laughed. If he was a fool himself, at least he had company. Briefly

he considered whether he should follow Pan or continue on his own path.

They often became separated during their excursions, and he felt

confident that they would find each other again soon enough. They always

managed to do so, somehow. While he debated, and before he could reach a

decision, a chiding laugh made him spin around and stare into the clump

of trees behind him. He caught a glimpse of dark hair and glittering

eyes; then the nymph was gone.

On and on he ran, up through the rolling foothills. Time and again he

paused, ready to abandon the chase; but always a half-seen figure or

half-heard sound drew him on.

When he stopped again, much later, he was well up the side of the high

mountain he had seen in the distance. He had lost sight of the nymph

some time ago, and was no longer following a clear trail. Huge pine

trees rose above him on every side. His aching feet led him to search

out a grassy hillock for a seat. He settled onto it, wiped his forehead

with the back of his hand, and began to rub his feet.

He and Pan had been traveling for the better part of two days, since

they had swum to the mainland from their island home. This was the sixth

group of nymphs they had chased- or was it the seventh? He was losing

count. Each time the same thing happened. Each time he ended up alone,

rubbing his exhausted feet.

As he sat brooding upon the inequities of his life, a doe appeared from

the bushes nearby and ambled toward him, apparently unaware of the god's

presence. Keeping himself perfectly still, Zeus waited until the animal

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