Percy Jackson's Greek Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians companion #5.5) - Rick Riordan Page 0,11

next child will be better,” he promised. “No more swallowing babies!”

The third kid? Also a girl. Rhea named her Hera, and she was the least Titan-ish, most godly yet. Rhea was indeed the Great Mother. In fact, she was a little too good at it. Every child she had was better and more powerful than the one before.

Rhea didn’t want to take little Hera to Kronos, but it was a tradition back then. Dad got to hold the baby. It was one of those natural laws that Themis always insisted on. (There was also a natural law against eating your kids, but Themis was too afraid to mention that to Kronos.)

And so Rhea mustered her courage. “My lord, may I present your daughter Hera.”

GULP.

This time, Rhea left the throne room without throwing a fit. She was too numb with pain and misery and disbelief. She had married a pathological liar who was also a murderer and a cannibal baby-eater.

Could things be any worse?

Oh, wait! He was also the king of the universe with lots of powerful henchmen, so she couldn’t fight back or run away.

Yeah. Things were worse.

Two more times she gave birth to perfect, lovely god babies. The fourth child was a boy named Hades. Rhea hoped Kronos would let him live, because every dad wants a son to play catch with, right? Nope. Down the hatch, matey!

The fifth child was another boy, Poseidon. Same story. SNARF.

At this point, Rhea fled the palace. She wept and wailed and didn’t know what to do. She went to her brothers and sisters, her nieces and nephews, anyone who would listen. She pleaded for help. The other Titans were either too scared of Kronos (like Themis), or they worked for Kronos (like Hyperion) and told her to stop whining.

Finally Rhea visited her sister Phoebe at the Oracle of Delphi, but sadly, even the Oracle had no advice for her. Rhea ran to the nearest meadow, threw herself on the ground, and began to cry. Suddenly she heard whispering from the earth. It was the voice of Gaea, who was still asleep; but even in her dreams the Earth Mother couldn’t stand to hear the wailing of her lovely daughter.

When you are ready to deliver your next child, Gaea’s voice whispered, go to Crete to give birth! You will find help there! This child will be different! He will save the others!

Rhea sniffled and tried to pull herself together. “Where is Crete?”

It’s an island in the south, Gaea’s voice said. You take the Ionian Sea down to, like, Kalamata. Then you turn left and—You know what? You’ll find it.

When the time came and Rhea started to get very big in the belly, she took a few deep breaths, composed herself, and waddled into the throne room.

“My lord Kronos,” she said, “I am off to Crete. I will be back with the baby.”

“Crete?” Kronos scowled. “Why Crete?”

“Um, well,” Rhea said, “you know how Koios and Phoebe sometimes have glimpses of the future?”

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t want to spoil the surprise, but they prophesied that if I had this child in Crete, it would please you best of all! And of course, my lord, I am all about pleasing you!”

Kronos frowned. He was suspicious, but he also thought: Hey, I’ve eaten five kids, and Rhea is still here. If she were going to try something fishy, she would’ve done it already.

Plus, by now his thoughts were getting a little sluggish. He had five young gods shifting around in his gut, fighting for space, so he always felt like he’d just eaten a massive dinner and needed a nap.

I mean, five gods in one stomach—dang. That’s enough for doubles tennis, including a ref. They’d been down there so long, they were probably hoping Kronos would swallow a deck of cards or a Monopoly game.

Anyway, Kronos looked at Rhea and said, “You’ll bring the baby to me immediately?”

“Of course.”

“Okay. Off you go. Where is Crete?”

“Not sure,” Rhea said. “I’ll find it.”

And she did. Once she got there, she was immediately met by some helpful nymphs who had also heard the voice of Gaea. They brought Rhea to a cozy, well-hidden cave at the base of Mount Ida. The nymphs’ stream ran nearby, so Rhea would have lots of fresh water. The bountiful forest offered plenty to eat.

Yes, I know: immortals live mostly on nectar and ambrosia; but in a pinch they could eat other stuff. Being a god wouldn’t be much fun if you couldn’t enjoy the occasional pizza.

Rhea