Read Online The Curse of the King by Peter Lerangis - Free Book Online

Jack.”
    â€œDzack,” the statue said, pointing to me.
    â€œRight—Jack, not Massarym,” I said. “So. Can’t you leave us alone? Go back! You don’t need this Loculus. What are you going to do with it? You’re Zeus ! You can throw thunderbolts and stuff. Do you understand? Go back! ”
    Zeus shook his head. His cheeks seemed to sag. “GO . . . ?”
    â€œHome!” I said.
    â€œPHONE HOME . . . ?” Zeus growled.
    Oh, great. E.T. He was stomping closer to me now. That was the only way to describe it. His legs were muscular but still a little stiff. I could see now that his eyes were not a solid color but a roiling mass of shapes and colors, all tumbling around like a miniature storm. I backed off, keeping Cass and Aly behind me. With one hand I held tight to the Loculus, with the other I kept the staff firmly pointed.
    â€œJust give it to him or he’ll kill us!” Cass said, grabbing the Loculus out of my hands.
    He caught me by surprise. As the Loculus came free, the staff fell from my grip. It was too heavy for me to hold. With a crack, it broke into three pieces against the cobblestones.
    And in that moment, I knew exactly what kind of Loculus we had. Lifting that staff, leaping like a ninja—it wasn’t adrenaline that let me do those things.
    â€œCass, that’s a Loculus of Strength!” I cried out. “ Give it back to me!”
    Zeus and I moved toward him at the same time. With a scream, Cass jumped back and dropped the Loculus like it was hot. It rolled away down the street and I dived after it, landing with a thud on the sidewalk. As I hit the side of a building, I saw the Loculus resting against the bottom of a rain gutter opening a few feet away.
    As I closed both hands around it tightly, I turned.
    Zeus was coming at me now. In his hand was a dagger.Its hilt was huge, its blade jagged like the edge of a broken glass bottle.
    I heard Aly and Cass screaming. But I had the Loculus, and it gave me a power I never thought possible. I felt my free arm swinging downward, picking up a broken section of Zeus’s staff.
    I whirled, swinging the shaft like a bat. It connected with Zeus’s torso and sent him flying across the narrow alley. As he hit the wall and sank down, I grabbed him by the collar and lifted him above my head.
    I, Jack McKinley, had Zeus in the palms of my hands!
    A thick, rusty nail jutted from the outer wall of a stucco building. I thrust Zeus against it, taking care that the nail ripped only through his thick tunic, not him. Because that’s the kind of guy I am. At least when I have a Loculus of Strength.
    Zeus roared, flailing wildly as he dangled from the wall. I knew he wouldn’t stay up there long.
    At the end of the alley were a couple of abandoned pushcarts. One of them was full of leather goods—satchels, sandals, sacks, clothing.
    I ran over and grabbed an extra-large vest. Tucking the Loculus under my arm, I ripped a long shred of leather as if it were paper. “Stay calm,” I said, approaching Zeus with caution. “This isn’t going to hurt.”
    I grabbed his arms. I couldn’t believe I was actuallywrestling them into position. As I tied them together tightly, Zeus cried out, “I’LL GET YOU, YOU SKWEWY WABBIT!”
    As I backed away, Aly was laughing.
    â€œWhat’s so funny?” Cass said. “Did you see what Jack just did?”
    â€œSorry . . . sorry,” Aly said. “It’s just . . . Elmer Fudd?”
    â€œYeah, well, he doesn’t look so godlike,” I said, “but he’ll break loose. Trust me, he’s not going to stop until he gets his Loculus back. And I don’t want us to be near him when that happens.” I glanced over my shoulder. In the moonlight, the steep foothills of the Peloponnesian mountains looked to be about a mile or so away. They were dotted with trees and small black