Jalen: Pisces the Dreamer (Trials of the Zodiac Book 1)

THE MIGHT OF THE STARS

My trident was in my hands in a second, and my prongs stopped the forked end of Neptune's weapon mere inches from my face. I knocked it away and held my weapon as Neptune summoned his trident back to his hands and landed on me. A ragged clang of our tridents bounced off the walls as gods and Atlanteans cried out. Neptune landed, and our tridents echoed through the chamber, forcing us both back from the sheer force of our collision. I twirled my trident above me, meeting Neptune's calculating gaze as we sized each other up. He hurled his trident at me again, and I used my gauntlets to deflect the attack. An explosion of sparks erupted upon impact. Luckily, my armor was sturdy enough to deflect the golden trident. Neptune pressed forward without hesitation, and I responded by spinning and striking him in the hip with the shaft of my weapon, causing him to stumble.

Suddenly, a voice pierced the tension, declaring, "This is a place of peace!" The words came from Oshun behind me, momentarily diverting our attention.

"This won't go how you want it to," I said, staring Neptune down. My trident felt heavy in my hand. Neptune calmly retrieved his trident, evaluating its balance before addressing me with an air of superiority. "I am a god, and you are a mistake by The Universe. Address me as a lesser should."

The ground shook beneath us, the foundations quaking as the Earth sprung to life. The room itself seemed to rebel against the energy surging within it. Dust rained down on us from the rafters, and desks bounced as the marble flooring cracked. I looked up at the cause, Kai, who was a storm of rage and ferocity. Balam held Kai's shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

I retorted, "True, I am no god. I am a Zodiac, a tool of The Universe. Create to accomplish what your kind could never dream of." Enraged, I lunged at Neptune, fully intent on skewering him like a kebab. Sadly, I didn't get the chance as two figures intervened, blocking my path – two men, one with azure-hued skin, the other with pink skin. Both wore similar armor to the mermaids around us, except they went down their legs, stopping at their large, webbed feet. They only had scales along the perimeters of their rugged faces and the visible parts of their arms. Gills occupied the space where their ears would be, and fins jutted from the sides of their arms and the backs of their legs. At the end of their fingers were vicious-looking nails.

"Poseidon's children," I murmured, recognizing them as Tritones – children of Triton and a mermaid. They were renowned as the sea's most formidable defenders. They were also fiercely loyal to their father and grandfather.

The trembling ground abruptly ceased. I looked up and realized several Tritones were now surrounding my friends. They held their electrified rifles up at my friends, and a standoff was unfolding before us.

Neptune's trident flew through the air again. As I prepared to retaliate, an elder figure who bore a striking resemblance to Neptune himself grunted loudly. It took a moment to think of his name, but eventually, it came to me. He was Poseidon, a once-mighty sea god not in his prime. The sight was disorienting but not incomprehensible. Every mystical creature knew that the gods' powers followed cyclical patterns, and their appearances shifted accordingly. I had last seen Poseidon in a form younger than his son Neptune.

A stern voice cut through the charged atmosphere, its source none other than Yemoja seated with an air of unamused authority. "Both of you had better compose yourselves and find sense before I intervene," she admonished, her gaze piercing us both. Neptune bristled, his pride tangling with self-preservation. None dared challenge the chair, as her influence held the might of vast oceans.

I lowered my weapon, a silent understanding passing between us. Neptune's fingers snapped a few times, his men responding to the command without hesitation. The pink tritone released a jelly-like cascade of water. I extended my hand towards the liquid, expecting my magic to shape and manipulate it. To my shock, there was nothing – a void where the flowing essence of water should have been. Stumbling back, I narrowly avoided the wad of glue-like water.