Superpowers (2 page)

‘Have I told you that the castle used to be a Roman temple for the goddess Juno,' Mr Hayward said to Finlay.

Finlay nodded.
About twenty million times
, he thought to himself. Max's dad was really into history and was always talking about it.

‘Max and I have been reading some of the Roman myths and legends
together,' Mr Hayward went on. ‘I'm sure you'd like them too, Fin. They're fascinating.'

‘Yeah,' Finlay said politely. He hastily grabbed Max's arm before Mr Hayward could start telling him one of the stories. ‘Let's go, Max!'

‘See you later, Dad,' Max called.

‘If we survive today,' muttered Finlay as they hurried out of the lounge.

Five minutes later Max and Finlay were running up the path that led from the village to the castle. The castle's crumbling walls formed a circle around a grassy keep. On the outside of the walls was a dark moat. The boys crossed the stone bridge and scrambled through the gatehouse – the entrance to the
castle. The tower in which Hercules was imprisoned was opposite them. Its grey stones stood in shadow.

‘We're early,' Finlay said to Max.

Every morning, just as the sun's rays fell on the gatehouse wall, the stones in front of Hercules' face crumbled so that he could see out. At the same time, his superpowers, which Juno had placed in the gatehouse archway, glowed brightly.

‘It's almost time,' Max said.

As he spoke, there was a crash of thunder overhead and a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky. The boys blinked as Juno appeared in front of them.

‘Maggots!' Juno snapped, glaring at the boys. ‘Worms!'

Finlay and Max hastily backed away. They were used to being called names by Juno now and knew it was better not to object.

Not unless you wanted to be frozen in

mid-air, unable to move or speak
, Max thought nervously as the goddess stared at them.

‘Today is your sixth task,' she said. ‘You must find and return my three golden apples. They are hidden nearby.' Her black eyes narrowed. ‘Or, of course, you could just give up now because you will
never
succeed.'

‘We won't give up!' Finlay said strongly.

‘No way. Where do we have to look for these apples?' Max said. As he met Juno's terrible gaze, he felt his stomach plunge downwards as if he was in a very fast lift.

‘I have placed the apples in the grounds of the Manor House in your village,' she replied sharply. ‘Look for
them in the walled garden with the statue of Cerberus in the centre.'

‘Ceber-what?' Finlay echoed.

‘It's a mythical beast,' Max muttered to him. ‘A three-headed dog. Dad and I've been reading about it.' He looked at Juno. He knew how tricky she could be and he wanted to make sure they'd got the task straight. ‘So all we've got to do is find these apples and bring them back here?'

Juno smiled dangerously. ‘Yes. That is
all
you have to do. Though of course,' she added, ‘first you must choose the correct three apples.'

Max felt alarmed. ‘How many are there?' he asked, imagining hundreds of apples to choose from.

‘Just four,' Juno replied. ‘But choose
wrong and you will
not
live to regret it.' She gave a delighted laugh.

Finlay and Max exchanged worried looks.

‘So how will we know which are the
right
apples?' Finlay said. ‘Or do we just have to guess?'

‘That would be
much
more fun,' Juno said. ‘But no, I must give you a fair chance, and so I will give you a riddle that will tell you which apple to leave – if you can solve it.' Juno clicked her fingers and a piece of folded paper instantly appeared in her hand. It was sealed with a circle of blood-red wax. She held it out to Finlay. ‘Here!'

She looked down her nose at them both. ‘I don't imagine either of you
will be able to solve it. It takes wit and wisdom to find answers in a riddle. You will fail in your task this time. Wait and see!'

She clapped her hands. There was another flash of lightning and a hawk soared upwards out of the keep.

‘So we've got to solve a riddle,' Max said, looking excitedly at the folded piece of paper. He liked riddles and word puzzles.

‘Yeah,' said Finlay, sounding doubtful. He didn't.

‘Let's open it!' said Max, but just then the sun rose a fraction higher in the sky. There was the sound of crumbling
and grinding and a rectangle of stones on the inner tower wall crumbled away.

Hercules looked out. ‘Boys!'

‘Hello, Hercules,' Max said eagerly. ‘We've just seen Juno. We've got to bring back three golden apples from a garden…'

‘Making sure we choose the right three,' Finlay put in.

‘And we've got a riddle to help us,' Max added. ‘There are only four apples. It doesn't seem a very difficult task.'

‘Do not underestimate Juno,' Hercules warned. ‘She is angry and I am worried about what she has planned today. You
must
be careful.'

‘We will be,' Max promised.

Finlay looked round at the gatehouse.

There were eight stones around its
arched entrance. Two of the stones were now glowing with magic symbols, their images carved in lines of burning white fire. Both those two stones held a superpower. Once there had been seven superpowers glowing in the stones but every time the boys took one to try and return it to Hercules, its symbol disappeared from the wall.

Today I get to choose another
, Finlay thought, looking at the two symbols that were left. There was a lion to represent courage and a stag leaping to represent super-agility. ‘I'd better get our superpower for the day,' he said, shoving the riddle into his pocket.

‘And which will you choose?' asked Hercules.

Finlay looked at the lion and the stag.

Agility meant being brilliant at jumping and climbing and leaping, which would be a cool power to have. Being courageous didn't sound nearly so much fun. But maybe they'd need the power of agility the next day. Stealing three golden apples didn't seem difficult, but then again, if he had to make a life or death choice over which apples to take maybe he might need some extra courage…

Finlay felt torn. Should he choose the power he wanted or should he be sensible and think of the tasks ahead? It was a difficult decision to make. He remembered a time when he had faced the same choice and made the wrong decision.

‘I'll choose courage,' he decided. Max grinned at him.

However, Hercules looked uncertain. ‘It is a tricky power to have,' he said slowly. ‘You have already proved yourself to be extremely courageous over the last five days. Beware of false courage; it can cloud your judgement.'

‘So should I choose agility instead?' Finlay asked in surprise.

Hercules frowned. ‘No. I do not think so. That power will certainly be of more use tomorrow.'

‘Courage it is, then!' Finlay said. ‘I'm going to get it!' He ran across the grass and, stopping in front of the archway, he put his hand firmly on to the stone with the lion symbol. For a moment Finlay felt the shape burning into the palm of his hand and then heat started flowing down his arm. It tingled all
the way through his body down to his feet.

At last the stone felt cold beneath Finlay's fingers. He took a deep breath. He was filled with a warm glow. He felt amazing, like he could do anything. There was nothing and no one that could stand in his way. He almost wished the sabre-toothed lion they'd fought in the first task was standing in front of him. He'd fight it single-handedly! And as for the Nine-Headed River Monster…He swung round to Max. ‘What are we waiting for? Let's go and get those apples!'

‘Hang on! Shouldn't we open the riddle and show it to Hercules first?' Max protested. ‘He might be able to help us figure out its meaning.'

‘We'll be fine!' Finlay declared and he ran out through the gatehouse archway.

Max glanced at Hercules, not sure what to do.

‘Go with him,' Hercules said quickly.

‘The new courage added to his own not inconsiderable bravery might make him act foolishly. He has the riddle. It will contain the answers you need. Use it wisely. Remember, even if all seems lost there will always be a way out if you look hard enough. There is always a fair chance. That is the rule of the gods when they deal with humans. Go on now! Go!' he urged.

Max charged after Finlay, his heart pounding. What exactly
did
Juno have in store for them that day?

The Manor House was in the centre of the village. It was a very large, old house with big gardens, a tennis court and tall black gates.

‘How are we going to get into the grounds?' Max said as he caught up with Finlay. ‘The gates are always locked.'

‘We climb over the gate of course,' Finlay said as if it were obvious.

Max stared at him. ‘But they're enormous and there are spikes on top! And what about if someone sees us and…'