Free The Curse of the King by Peter Lerangis Page B

get in the cave,” Cass said.
    As Aly and Cass headed for the opening, I grabbed my backpack and the Loculus of Strength. I meant to follow them, but something happened when I tucked that thing under my arm.
    I didn’t want to hide. I was angry. Someone was trying to scare us. What if this was a trap, bandits trying to force us into a cave, a place we couldn’t escape? After all we’d been through, no way was I going to let this happen. I held tight to the Loculus and dug my foot into the mountain wall.
    â€œJack?” called Aly from inside the cave. “Jack, what are you doing?”
    My fingers dug into the dirt wall like hooks. They were both yelling at me from the cave opening, but I blocked it out. My muscles felt like steel coils as I climbed the cliffside.
    â€œWoo-HOO!” I couldn’t help shouting. I mean, come on. Jack McKinley, the last guy picked for any sports team. The boy who collapsed after one push-up. The winner ofthe Most Times Shoved to the Ground by Barry Reese Award five years running. Now my friends were in danger and I could do something about it. I was climbing with the ease of . . . a goat!
    This felt awesome.
    Concentrate.
    I hauled myself upward, maybe fifty feet, and reached my fingers over the rim of the next ledge. Then I hoisted myself straight upward and managed a three-sixty somersault in midair. Well, maybe three-forty, because I landed on my back. It wasn’t the Loculus of Perfect Coordination, I guess.
    Still, it didn’t hurt at all, and I sprang to my feet. I turned my head, training the flashlight beam right and left. This ledge was narrower but longer from side to side.
    There.
    Above me. A tiny movement. Black against the blackness.
    â€œHello?”
    As I looked up the hill, an outstretched body leaped at me. It knocked me off-balance, spinning me around. I fell to the ground, dropping the Loculus.
    As I rolled away, my flashlight slid off my head. I grabbed it, the leather strips dangling. “Who’s there?” I shouted, shining the light into the blackness.
    â€œJack? Are you okay?” Aly yelled from below.
    I felt a hand land heavily on my shoulder. Leaping away, I spun to face my attacker.
    Two eyes glared at me as if they contained light sources of their own. They were silvery white and definitely not human. “What do you want?” I said.
    â€œWHAT DO YOU GO-O-O-OT?” came the reply, as the massive figure of Zeus hurdled toward me.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
B ATTLE ON THE M OUNT
    I T FELT LIKE a cow had dropped out of the sky and landed on my chest. I couldn’t breathe under the weight. Zeus’s mouth was inches from my face, but I felt no warmth and smelled no breath. He had one hand on the Loculus and it took all my effort to keep hold of it myself.
    As long as I had contact, I could match his strength. I twisted my body hard. I kicked. Finally I just reared back my head and butted him on the forehead.
    It hurt like crazy. But I guess it didn’t feel too great for him either. He roared with surprise. And I took that moment to curl my legs upward, between his body and mine, and push hard. He fell away.
    Unfortunately, the Loculus fell the other way. Iscrambled to my knees, swinging the flashlight.
    The god-statue stood before me, legs planted wide, the broken section of his staff in his right hand.
    â€œWe’re coming!” came Aly’s voice from below.
    I swung the beam around, looking for the Loculus. Zeus saw it first. He dived like a shortstop, reaching with his arms. I threw myself into his path.
    Big mistake. Without the Loculus, my body took the hit hard. I bounced away, but I’d managed to knock him slightly off-balance, too, and we both tumbled to the rim of the ledge.
    The Loculus rolled out of reach. Zeus and I lunged toward it at the same time. I was closer and my finger grazed the surface. But all I did was knock it over the ledge.
    As it disappeared, I cried out,