She seems invincible.
The only way to defeat the night, the oracle’s voice says in my mind, is to raise the sun.
Raise the sun? What on earth does that mean?
How do we do that? I ask.
She replies, The pendant.
An image appears in my mind: the oracle’s pendant lifted high above my head. It catches the sun and spreads brilliant beams of light in all directions.
“The pendant,” I shout, getting my sisters’ attention.
“What?” Gretchen demands.
“No, Greer!” Grace shakes her head. “You can’t.”
I clench my jaw, and my mouth thins to a tight line. “Trust me.”
Gretchen studies me for a second, then bends down and reaches into one of the pockets on her cargo pants. She pulls out the oracle’s pendant. Holding it by the chain, she thrusts it toward me.
I’m not that foolish.
Closing the distance between us in two strides, I grab Gretchen’s wrist and shove her hand high into the air.
The gem at the center catches the rays of the late afternoon sun. Just like in my vision, brilliant streaks of sunshine radiate out from the pendant, bathing everything around us in warm, golden light.
Where the light touches the circle of black, Nyx’s dark cloud crackles and disappears.
I turn to watch as the rays reach Nyx herself. The look on her face could boil the entire San Francisco Bay. I almost step back, trying to escape her gaze. But Grace steps up to my side, taking my free hand in hers and squeezing me tight.
We will not back down.
“You think the light of Apollo can defeat me?” she shouts, sounding equal parts desperate and crazy.
“The sun always chases away the shadows,” a male voice says.
I glance over my shoulder and see Apollo standing a few feet away. We exchange a look—I hope mine says clearly that I have not forgotten our last meeting. But Apollo is no longer our enemy.
Turning back to face Nyx, I take a step forward, closer to our foe, pulling Gretchen and Grace with me. Apollo is right: sunlight defeats shadows. Good defeats evil. And we will defeat the goddess who has spent so many lifetimes trying to destroy our family.
“Go!” I shout. “You have already lost!”
Then there is a flash of light and Nyx is gone, pulled back though the door into the abyss. Her cloud disappears, and the pendant’s light spreads farther than the laws of physics should allow, touching every last creature involved in the battle. Around us, the monsters scream, sensing their leader’s absence. Our forces take advantage of the shift and push harder. The monster side turns and runs, rushing the door in retreat. Within a matter of moments, our enemies are gone and the fight is over.
The air around us stills, heavy with dragon smoke and the lingering stench of a monster army. My sisters and I look at each other warily.
It’s over, just like that?
I release Gretchen’s wrist and let her lower her arm.
“Did we just win?” Grace asks.
I look around. There is no fighting, no one trying to kill us. The battle is finished.
“I think so,” I say.
Grace and I exchange a cautiously hopeful look.
Gretchen spins slowly in a circle, as if she can’t believe it’s finally done. The seal is broken, the battle is over, and we’re alive to talk about it. After completing three complete turns, Gretchen finally releases a long breath.
“We did it,” she says, though not too loud, as if she’s afraid of jinxing things. “This may not be the end of the war, but I think this battle is over.”
“After this,” I say, “the rest should seem easy by comparison.”
“Well, maybe not easy . . . ,” Grace says.
No, not easy. But after this hard-won success, at least we know what we can accomplish. Some of my secret doubts vanished with our retreating enemy.
Zeus faces the gorgons. “Your daughters have proven themselves.” He gestures at us, and I fight the urge to duck. “They have proven your cause. It is right that balance is restored.”
Another flash of light, and Zeus and the rest of the Olympic faction are gone, leaving me, my sisters, and our family and friends alone on the battlefield. No gods, no monsters; just me and my sisters and our exhausted human—and not quite human—friends. I look around, surprised to see no signs of violence or destruction.
How can there be no signs of the epic battle that raged just moments ago?
The gods may act childish at times, the oracle says in my mind, but they do know how to clean up after messes.
I spin around, trying to spot her, but she is nowhere to be seen. And I thought I was the queen of aloof and mysterious.
Gretchen throws her arms up in the air as she shouts, “We did it!”
Our crowd of supporters cheers.
Overcome by emotion, I step closer to my sisters, wrap an arm around each one, and pull them into a hug. We share a moment, just for us. The battle we fought, and won, was about far more than three girls who look—mostly—alike. It was about balance and justice and protecting countless humans from bloodthirsty monsters. But it came down to the three of us. It all rested on our shoulders, and we held strong.
“We are amazing,” I whisper so only my sisters can hear.
“Of course we are,” Gretchen says. “We’re the Key Generation.”
“But more than that,” Grace says, her voice tight with emotion, “we’re sisters. And we are amazing.”
When we break up our hug, all three of us have unshed tears in our eyes. I smile, knowing that Grace is right. It’s not just our legacy or our gorgon blood that makes us great. It’s our strength as sisters. And no god or monster can take that away from us.