Joshua.”
He couldn’t be right! A boy like me couldn’t be connected to these Greek gods and this world. Yet, the Child Collector had smelled so familiar …
Leandro’s eyes shone in the light that glowed from the cave walls. “And only the elite Storm Masters from the Sky Realm are awarded a lightning orb upon completion of their training to serve as soldiers to King Zeus.”
“But that has nothing to do with me.” I pushed my hands into my thighs, wishing everything around me would disappear. “Oh, man, if we had just stayed out of the attic.”
Leandro was silent, and Sam and Charlie stirred on their slabs as water trickled in a lifeless ping. “Even if you do get home, your life will never be the same again,” he finally said.
The truth hit me like a fist to my gut. Nothing had changed. I was sore and tired. My friends snoozed away beside me. The water hiccupped in its endless drip. And yet something shifted in me. I was connected to this realm.
“Do these people steal kids for all the other Nostos lands too?” I said, wanting to change the subject.
“Yes.”
“That’s so wrong. I’d like to tell them that … and hit them!”
Leandro smiled, his anger with me fading. “I like your spirit, Joshua. It reminds me of someone I once knew. Someone I seek now.”
“Who?”
“My wife. You see, Sam was right. I have fallen away. I’m a deserter. And I’m not a Child Collector.”
He let that fact sink in for a moment.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t be like the man who took me,” I confessed.
“Not like him in that respect, no.” He didn’t share any more. “I was once a guard in the Arrow Realm at the adult work camp. It’s where the mortal children from all Nostos lands are sent when they turn eighteen and lose their power. It’s where I guarded those I loved.” He looked away. “And it’s where my wife and son disappeared.”
I sat down, pulling his blanket around me, not knowing how to respond and wanting to know how he got a Child Collector’s belt. But I didn’t think it was the right time to ask. “What do they use kids for in your land, Leandro?”
His chin dropped to his chest. “Bait.”
“Like in traps, for hunting?”
He rocked on his heels and nodded. “To hunt the big beasts of the Wild Lands.”
It couldn’t be true. “Do they live?”
“Not all.”
“And that’s okay with you?”
“It is not!” He strode to me and wrenched up his sleeve. Rough scars crisscrossed his arm. They looked like a broken arrow. I hesitated, then reached my fingers out to trace the smooth ropes that rose over his hard muscles and he flinched. “I saved many mortals from the beast hunt by chasing them into the Wild Child camp to be rescued. And I was ultimately fire-branded a failure when my arrows did not hit their targets on one hunt that Queen Artemis proclaimed ‘a great celebration of our plentiful life.’”
“What were you supposed to shoot?” I pulled my hand away and crammed it back under the blanket.
He dropped his sleeve and lowered his head. His hair fell like two curtains, hiding his face. Then he sighed and bumped a fist to his chin. “Not what, who. Mortal children.” Coldness soaked further into me, imagining myself being hunted by him. “I was the best huntsman there was. I provided food for my people and guarded the mortals in the work camp.” His voice grew deeper. “But this I could not do.”
Visions of kids being run down by arrows in a dark forest filled my head. It struck me—maybe they were the lucky ones. They wouldn’t have to live anymore as slaves.
“Is that why you’re helping us?” I said.
“Partly.” He looked up. “I feel responsible for what my people have done to you—and continue to do. In my underground travels, I’ve saved a few mortal children and secretly sent them back to Earth, but that has been few and far between.”
“Aren’t you afraid of getting killed?”
His face crumbled. “I died long ago when my
He couldn’t be right! A boy like me couldn’t be connected to these Greek gods and this world. Yet, the Child Collector had smelled so familiar …
Leandro’s eyes shone in the light that glowed from the cave walls. “And only the elite Storm Masters from the Sky Realm are awarded a lightning orb upon completion of their training to serve as soldiers to King Zeus.”
“But that has nothing to do with me.” I pushed my hands into my thighs, wishing everything around me would disappear. “Oh, man, if we had just stayed out of the attic.”
Leandro was silent, and Sam and Charlie stirred on their slabs as water trickled in a lifeless ping. “Even if you do get home, your life will never be the same again,” he finally said.
The truth hit me like a fist to my gut. Nothing had changed. I was sore and tired. My friends snoozed away beside me. The water hiccupped in its endless drip. And yet something shifted in me. I was connected to this realm.
“Do these people steal kids for all the other Nostos lands too?” I said, wanting to change the subject.
“Yes.”
“That’s so wrong. I’d like to tell them that … and hit them!”
Leandro smiled, his anger with me fading. “I like your spirit, Joshua. It reminds me of someone I once knew. Someone I seek now.”
“Who?”
“My wife. You see, Sam was right. I have fallen away. I’m a deserter. And I’m not a Child Collector.”
He let that fact sink in for a moment.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t be like the man who took me,” I confessed.
“Not like him in that respect, no.” He didn’t share any more. “I was once a guard in the Arrow Realm at the adult work camp. It’s where the mortal children from all Nostos lands are sent when they turn eighteen and lose their power. It’s where I guarded those I loved.” He looked away. “And it’s where my wife and son disappeared.”
I sat down, pulling his blanket around me, not knowing how to respond and wanting to know how he got a Child Collector’s belt. But I didn’t think it was the right time to ask. “What do they use kids for in your land, Leandro?”
His chin dropped to his chest. “Bait.”
“Like in traps, for hunting?”
He rocked on his heels and nodded. “To hunt the big beasts of the Wild Lands.”
It couldn’t be true. “Do they live?”
“Not all.”
“And that’s okay with you?”
“It is not!” He strode to me and wrenched up his sleeve. Rough scars crisscrossed his arm. They looked like a broken arrow. I hesitated, then reached my fingers out to trace the smooth ropes that rose over his hard muscles and he flinched. “I saved many mortals from the beast hunt by chasing them into the Wild Child camp to be rescued. And I was ultimately fire-branded a failure when my arrows did not hit their targets on one hunt that Queen Artemis proclaimed ‘a great celebration of our plentiful life.’”
“What were you supposed to shoot?” I pulled my hand away and crammed it back under the blanket.
He dropped his sleeve and lowered his head. His hair fell like two curtains, hiding his face. Then he sighed and bumped a fist to his chin. “Not what, who. Mortal children.” Coldness soaked further into me, imagining myself being hunted by him. “I was the best huntsman there was. I provided food for my people and guarded the mortals in the work camp.” His voice grew deeper. “But this I could not do.”
Visions of kids being run down by arrows in a dark forest filled my head. It struck me—maybe they were the lucky ones. They wouldn’t have to live anymore as slaves.
“Is that why you’re helping us?” I said.
“Partly.” He looked up. “I feel responsible for what my people have done to you—and continue to do. In my underground travels, I’ve saved a few mortal children and secretly sent them back to Earth, but that has been few and far between.”
“Aren’t you afraid of getting killed?”
His face crumbled. “I died long ago when my
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