The Return of the Titans by James Thompson

that's
what he said. He didn't tell us how they worked or anything but I'm
not sure if that's for security or he doesn't know
himself.”
    “Have you seen any
others?” Justin asked.
    Both boys nodded. “Come around to the other
side of the fountain and see for yourself,” Norm said as he started
walking .
    All four of them walked around the fountain.
Across the courtyard, Justin saw a large arch in the wall, exactly
opposite to the entrance that had brought him and Aaron into the
area. There was no door covering the archway that led into
darkness, but a Sentinel stood there, plainly blocking anyone who
might try to go through. This time, the Sentinel was shaped like a
humanoid. Justin squinted. Did it only have a single eye, right
above the bridge of its nose?
    “Yeah, it's a cyclops all
right,” Gerry said very quietly. The statue had a huge club resting
on its shoulder. “I wouldn't want to try and get past
it.”
    “How many are there?”
Aaron wondered aloud.
    “Good question. But what
I'd rather know is what would they actually do if someone tried to
get by them?” Norm said, staring at the Sentinel
apprehensively.
    “Thinking of sneaking by
for a peak, Norm?” Gerry asked with a grin.
    Norm turned and punched him lightly on the
arm. “Nope, I was actually going to get close enough to push you by
it and see what happens.”
    The others all laughed. “Well, I really want
to explore,” Justin said. “Aaron?'
    “Absolutely. I'm nosy by
nature and I want to see all that I can see.”
    Gerry gave Norm a poke and the other boy
spoke up. “Mind if we come along? You know, safety in numbers and
all that?”
    Justin looked at Aaron who nodded. “For
sure, guys. It'll be fun.”
    “Great!” Norm exclaimed.
“And if we should happen to run into a Sentinel that's in a bad
mood, I'll have all of you to distract it for me, so I can get a
good head start.”
    They all laughed again and looked around for
a likely door. They chose one at random and headed off. As they
approached the door, Justin looked back at the fountain and noticed
Benson sitting with his friends, watching them intently. He saw
Justin looking at him and hurriedly turned his head. Justin assumed
he was curious and promptly forgot about it.
    The door they had chosen wasn't locked and
opened when Gerry touched the button beside it. As the door slid to
the left, the four young men entered a short corridor that ended at
the bottom of a spiral staircase, carved as usual out of solid
rock.
    “Wow,” Aaron said. “It's
the first stairs I've seen here.”
    “Same with us, Aaron,”
Gerry agreed. “So, who wants to go first?”
    They glanced at each other, then Norm
shrugged and started up the stairs. Gerry followed quickly after,
then Justin with Aaron bringing up the rear.
    The stairs went up and up with no end in
sight.
    “Wonder where this leads?
Outside?” Aaron asked breathlessly.
    No one answered as they saved their breath
for the climb. Suddenly Norm, who had pulled a bit ahead of the
others, stopped abruptly. The other three piled into him before
they could stop themselves.
    “Gee Norm, a little
warning!” Gerry exclaimed. Then he gasped and fell silent. Justin
and Aaron glanced at each other, then pushed up past Gerry to see
why they had all stopped.
    Like Gerry, Justin and Aaron gasped out loud
and just stared. They were standing at the top of the stairs, which
had emerged from the floor of a gigantic circular room.
    The room wasn't formed of the same stone
that the rest of Sanctuary seemed to be. The walls and floor were
made of black marble, shot through with veins of gold and silver.
The domed ceiling appeared to be covered in bronze. At least,
Justin thought, it gleamed with the same metallic shine that the
Sentries did . There were no glowing stones in baskets here.
Instead, torches sat in brackets spaced around the wall, making the
gold and silver in the marble flicker and glint with every movement
of the flames.
    The circular