Hal’s head was pounding, but his eyes were open and his vision clear. He tried to jump out, but nothing happened. Looking around, he realized he was surrounded. There were people standing all around the room, or rather cave, that he was in. Dark purple robes topped with a variety of masks spanned the walls, hiding their owners from view. Each robe had a patch or a shield sown on containing a bird of some kind flying over a labyrinth. As he looked around, he counted maybe fifteen people, maybe closer to ten.

A thunderclap sounded, and for a second, Hal’s heart stopped. The last thing he wanted right now was to deal with Zeus. Hesitantly he turned toward the sound. Not Zeus. He breathed a sigh of relief. A young man stood there looking just as confused as he was. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, another thunderclap sounded, except this time, it was so loud, it shook the ground under his feet. Hal curled in on himself, covering his head with his arms in anticipation of some of the rock that formed the ceiling falling.

It was only then he saw what he was standing on.

He cursed under his breath.

A god trap.

He shouldn’t have been summoned when they tried to reach whomever they were calling, but he took a wild guess that they weren’t sure what they were doing, which was how he ended up here with another random dude.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” The voice boomed out behind him.

A chill went down his spine. That was definitely a god’s voice. There was no mistaking it, but he didn’t recognize it right off the bat.

Silence greeted the god in answer. Never a good thing. Gods definitely did not like being ignored.

Uncurling from his protective pose, he turned toward the man who had spoken. The swirling silver and blue on his skin could only mean one thing.

Poseidon.

As Hal looked closer, he could see that the god’s black hair was entwined with kelp or seaweed and was dripping wet. He hadn’t seen Poseidon outside of Mount Olympus, and even then he had only met the man once. The look on the god’s face when he saw Hal and the other man was enough that if he had the option, Hal would’ve run for the hills.

One of the purple cloaks fell to the ground. There was a ripple of whispers, but other than that, no one moved or said anything.

“Someone tell me what the hell is happening, or I swear I will flood this whole cavern and you can all go see Hades.” Poseidon’s voice was gravely, rough on the ears, which Hal didn’t remember from last time.

“My lord,” Hal began, quickly glancing up to verify he had the god’s attention. “I believe they have tried to trap us. If you look at the floor, you can see one of the ancient summoning circles the Greeks made when they still worshiped you, but it appears to have been modified.”

“Who the hell are you?” Poseidon’s big naked chest was right in Hal’s face. He supposed he should be glad the god at least had some swimming trunks on covering himself; otherwise, it could have been a lot more awkward.

“Halcyon, my lord. Son of the siren Thelxiope, and Nikolaos, whom you blessed at birth. Brother to Alec, Demetrius, and Thaddeus.”

“Yes, I remember now. So you are part of the siren’s legacy, hum? How disappointing.” He sneered and turned away from Hal toward the other mystery man.

“Samuel. How did you get here?”

Evidently, the other man was well acquainted with the god.

“I was summoned, same as you.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, defiantly squaring his shoulders and staring at Poseidon.

Hal’s stomach clenched. The gods might not have the powers they once did, but they could still make a person’s life hell if they put their mind to it. Samuel might have some bad luck heading his way if they ever got out of here.

Satisfied with the answers he had obtained from both Hal and Samuel, Poseidon set off toward the purple cloaks, only to smack into a barrier of some kind. Looking at where the god stood, Hal realized that whomever these people were, they had not only altered the once sacred space but they had warded it. No getting in or out unless they commanded it.

He studied the floor. The ancient mosaic tiles should have been worn away, or broken by now, but this place was almost pristine. The hasty symbols painted around the edges were from a variety of cultures, but mainly seemed to be centered around the idea that man could be greater than the gods, if they could harness the gods’ power.

So, this was the Order of Talos.

It made sense now. They were trying to summon magical beings to harvest their power, or bind them as they did with Nimue. He wished them luck with Poseidon. The god had not been forgotten about and over the years had kept a fair bit of power by being careful how he used it. The Earth Shaker was not easily tamed and was much shrewder than his younger brother.

All Hal had to do was figure out how to get the barrier down without drawing their attention. He hoped like hell he could do it, because it was the only way he was going to get out of there.