80. Blood Will Wash Blood
"It wasn't this bad when I came to get you," Akrivi said as they both took in what had become of the 'sky' of Clotho's domain.
Rifts, several of them, opened to pitch darkness. Occasionally, a golden flare would erupt, washing the place in blinding light before vanishing.
"When did it start?"
Akrivi wasn't listening. He placed his hands on his head when another rift opened like a stab wound. "This is bad. Do you... Do you think the Moirai is in danger? Can we help? Is helping even possible?"
He gave words to the worry churning in Medusa's insides. Again, rage at Atropos surged. Just what was her problem? Even before taking some of her essence, she already had a personal vendetta, to the point of seeking to end her life twice. Was there no way to put Atropos in her place?
Careful now, warned a voice. That must have been Zeus' exact thinking before everything devolved into madness.
Sighing, Medusa shut her eyes and fought to think. Clotho had sounded confident when Medusa mentioned Atropos coming for her. Perhaps there was a reason behind that confidence. Then again, she had witnessed Clotho's foresight fail, especially when it came to Zeus.
"How did it start? Was the Moirai with you?"
"No. I was working on a portal bangle when—" Another explosion flashed across the sky. This one was strong enough to escape the barrier, rattle the contents of the shelves and cause a faint tremor beneath her feet.
Medusa's belly twisted. Please, be fine, Clotho.
"When what?" she asked, surprised her voice didn't shake as hard as her insides were. "I would need you to speak clearly. Maybe there's a way we can help."
Akrivi looked at her with hope in his eyes. "You think there's a way?"
I don't know.
"What happened with Clotho before this?"
"She smiled." Worry returned to his face. "It was the brightest expression I've ever seen on a deity's face. I heard her say 'finally' and—ah!" He hurried to the work table, grabbed something, and then returned. "She dropped this before leaving."
Akrivi presented what resembled a compass attached to a chain. It held the standard cardinal directions, but that was where the similarity to a regular compass ended. Runes marked the rest of it, each etched in four descending rings within the compass. Its needle spun like a fan.
"I think it's a homing compass," Akrivi offered before she could ask. "Hermes has one. Odd as it sounds, I don't know how it works. And I—"
A grinding screech sawed through Medusa's ears.
Clenching her teeth, she fell to her knees and pressed her palms over her ears, but the action was useless.
Like nails scratching across a chalkboard, the sound dug in and caused a reaction.
Both Clotho and Atropos' energy in her moved as if in answer, attempting to dissipate.
No way. There was no way she would lose both after coming so far.
Determined, she hugged herself, doubled over and tightly drew in ambient Monolith energy.
They felt like cords latched to her back, and the harder she struggled to keep the Moirai's energies, the more she felt the warmth of the key.
She vaguely sensed a third, unfamiliar presence looming over her, but she ignored it, focusing instead on keeping both energies sealed.
She only breathed when she was certain the struggle was over.
Akrivi was crouched at her side, shouting something. She blinked at him, fighting a fading dizzy spell. "What?" She croaked.
"Look!" He pointed at the sky.
Medusa managed to crane her neck. "Huh?" Unsure of what she was seeing, she could only gape.
A massive hand made of constellations was descending. Auroras formed between spread fingers and floating rubble pulverised upon contact. Then it moved as if to catch something mid-air. When the fist closed over nothing, Medusa heard a snap.
Clotho's link vanished, and so did Atropos' essence in the air.
They are... "They're gone," Medusa whispered.
Still kneeling, she stared at the sky in dazed disbelief, watching as rift after rift disappeared and stars blinked back in place.
Impossible. What her mind suggested just happened had to be impossible.
"Who's gone? Did you see that hand? What was that?"
"I..." What happened to Clotho? Atropos, she cared nothing for; as a matter of fact, it would be good if the Moirai disappeared for good.
Medusa pushed to her feet. "Tell me what Clo—the Moirai said before she left."
"She said something about a quick visit." Akrivi pushed his hair from his face, brow furrowed in apology. "Forgive me, but I was too focused on my work. I didn't—"
"So she just left that with you?" Medusa pointed at the compass Akrivi still held.
He nodded. "I thought it was odd. But the Moiria is always odd."
As if responding to his words, the compass needle abruptly stopped spinning. A faint blue light lit the runes as the device floated, gently bobbing to the left.
"Look at this." Curiosity shone in his eyes as he peered at the compass. "I recognise some of the runes—oh! There's some Greek in there, but it's so tiny."
"What does it say?"
He frowned as he held the compass close to his face.
"Coordinates and dead reckoning formulas.
And it's... hmm." His frown deepened as if he were facing a troubling challenge.
"It seems to give priority to a single location out of at least fifteen?
Not sure. Fascinating." He muttered. "If anyone uses this, they'd be leaving their destination in its hands.
They wouldn't know where they're headed or what's waiting for them there. "
It was an easy decision to make. "I'm going wherever that is. Give me the compass."
Akrivi held it to his chest. "But the Moirai gave me the compass. It's mine."
When Medusa scowled, fully prepared to take it by force, he held the device out of her reach.
"Wait!"
Medusa blankly stared, mind already made up.
"Before you bully and steal from me, think about it. If the Moirai wanted you to have this, she would have said so."
Medusa looked from the compass to his face, quickly strategizing. What was important was figuring out how to take it from him without damaging the compass or hurting him.
"You know she sees the future."
That gave Medusa a pause.
"I'm thinking she saw whatever that was." He nodded at the sky. "And she knows I'm marvellous at maps and navigation."
"What are you getting at?"
"You don't know how the compass works. Let me come with you."
Medusa sighed. "Then you should have just said that." She turned and began making her way out of the place. "First, let's tell the queen we'd be gone for a while."
After informing Otrera, her only instruction was that they make it back before the games. Akrivi had returned to Clotho's domain to retrieve journey supplies, and Medusa went to a more secluded part of the seashore to wait for him.
It was early afternoon. The wind was particularly strong, with the waves crashing powerfully and rushing at her feet even though she stood a good distance away.
Unbidden, the memory of her second day in Cosmolith returned. How her father had been waiting when she returned from meeting Clotho. His unexpected attempts to lift her spirit. The sand jellyfish and Rico. His strangely comforting words.
I hope you're fine wherever you are, Father.
Speaking of Rico, she released him from her dimension. He bounded out, spun around and 'attacked' her. Only her massively improved strength kept her from falling under his 300-pound weight. He pressed against her side as his tufted ears twitched.
"My baby." Medusa bumped their heads and chuckled when he licked her cheek. "Don't worry. I'll take you on a carpa hunt when we return, yeah?"
He chirped at the sound of carpa and rushed for the sea. "No!" Medusa called after him. "No swimming yet." He returned to her side and settled on his belly with a huff. Where was Akrivi?
She looked behind in time to see him hurrying over. In his hand was a black, wooden box with a gold insignia of a mythical horned sea dragon. She vaguely recalled him going on about how the dragon would be the mark of his merchant guild.
"We can use this to return if the location is dangerous." He opened the box. "Pretty design, eh?"
A silver cuff bangle holding three purple stones sat on a black velvet bed.
It resembled a luxury product, far removed from the ordinary stones they used to navigate the Nest. If Medusa remembered correctly, each marked stone could be used twice, even across continents.
When this hits the market, Akrivi would be swimming in gold; she knew because he wouldn't shut up about it.
"Yes, they're very pretty, Akrivi," Medusa said with an impressed nod. "You always outdo yourself."
"You give the best praises, Soft Hands." The box disappeared after he retrieved the bangle. "This one's special. Each stone can be used six times."
Medusa's brow lifted at that. He had really outdone himself. Three stones meant she could use it more than a dozen times. "That's... that's really impressive. You're unexpectedly generous today."
"You brought me good fortune." He unlatched the bracelet. "There's nothing I can give the Moiria, but Soft Hands? I can give multiple free continental travel, no? Give me your wrist. I'll help you put it on."
"Thank you." Medusa smiled with genuine appreciation. "But I'll put it on myself."
She took the bangle and clipped it on before he could argue. It was loose and felt too normal around her wrist. Not even the faintest trace of aether leakage. "How?"
His eyes twinkled as he grinned. "'Cause I'm smartest."
"You mean the Moirai is the smartest?"
"Have you ever heard of collaboration? It was a collaborative effort," he said with a groan. Then his eyes flashed with mischief. "Now that you've accepted jewellery from me, we're engaged."
Medusa released a dry. "You're insane." She faced the sea once more. "How are we doing this?"
His expression turned serious as he retrieved and wore the compass like a necklace. "Follow my lead as we swim. No matter how dark it gets, I'm guessing this will shine." He tapped at the compass, which now tugged ahead.
"Can Rico swim as fast as you?"
"Almost."
Even though she had grown stronger than Akrivi, it was still impossible to beat him at speed in the water. A very sobering and frustrating reality.
"We can swim with him at intervals," Medusa said as she scratched Rico behind the ear. "When I put him away, I can press at my fullest speed."
Akrivi nodded. "We can also use the bangle on our way back instead of swimming."
He began stretching. Medusa did the same.
"My instincts tell me this would be a long one. Even with our speed, I'm looking at a full day or even longer, with rests of course."
"I'm prepared."
As it turned out, the swim had indeed taken more than a day.
Strangely, none of the sea beasts bothered them.
Those that drew near did so out of curiosity, and Akrivi even dared to pet a few.
Then there were the sea beasts as massive as cargo ships.
Akrivi would make a weird, lowing call, and his gills would flare as he swam corkscrews around them.
Medusa and Rico had done well to maintain a respectful distance.
"We're very close," Akrivi said after pushing through the surface. The compass tugged forward, vibrating in the air as it strained.
The closer they swam, the more a feeling of deja vu scratched at the back of her mind. I've been here before. Swam through these waters. Then she saw it. Far ahead, her enhanced vision spotted the highest point of an island.
Sarpedon.
A strangled laugh escaped. Of course, it had to be that cursed island. Now that she thought of it, that day Athena banished her, she had moved through the sea as well. Chained to a boat navigated by the head priestess of Athena's upper temple.
The days had bled into one another. Time refused to register; all that consumed Medusa's mind was the dead— hundreds of statues scattered across the city in her mad dash to escape and hide.
The terror. Confusion. The shock and disgust of what Poseidon had done to her, and the disbelief of the creature she now was.
She had been clueless about how that boat safely navigated the sea, but now that she thought of it, her curse might have kept the sea beasts away.
"We're heading for Sarpedon," Medusa said listlessly. It was one thing to visit the place in a vision. Coming here physically? It was almost too much. Since it needed to be done, might as well rip the bandage today.
Akrivi rolled to his back and bobbed on the water like an inflatable. A map materialised in his hands. "Sarpedon Island. That's accurate." He looked at her with surprise. "What do you not know?"
"How to kill Zeus."
He laughed, then grew sober almost immediately. "You'll eventually know. I'm certain."
"Your confidence warms my heart," Medusa said dryly.
Akrivi only chuckled.
Soon, the cry of seagulls reached Medusa's ears. It was late afternoon, and like her vision and that time in her first life, they were heading straight for the dark mouth of the cave.
"I don't think we should go there."
"Huh?" Akrivi looked from the cave to her face. "Why? It's so close."
"Something dangerous could be waiting. Better we find a beach. Seek high ground." In truth, she wasn't prepared. "Besides, the compass needle isn't pointing directly at it."
Akrivi frowned down at the compass. Though it tugged ahead, the needle pointed to the left. "Correct again."
Soon, they made it to shore. Medusa was wearing her flexible leather bodysuit, so movement was easy. She released Rico, who immediately began to sniff around.
"Looks like a regular island. Was expecting more." Akrivi wore an unimpressed look as he glanced around.
Medusa, on the other hand... her heart wouldn't stop racing.
So this was what outside that cave looked like.
A stretch of sandy beach. Blue sea. Palms. A thick forest beyond.
Ordinary but deceptive. Sarpedon was rumoured to hold a myriad of beasts, some not even recorded in any bestiary. And there were no human settlements.
"It's pointing straight ahead." Now the light in the compass was flaring even brighter despite the sunlight. Akrivi shifted into his cursed form as they pushed into the forest.
It was a sight Medusa was yet to get used to. All black, blue-tipped horns. Gills. The wings were absent today, though. "Are your horns heavy?"
"You should shift too. Who knows what's lurking in here." The bushes pressed aside, creating a path as he moved. "And they're not heavy. Are your snakes heavy?"
"Yup." But she had grown to like their weight on her shoulders.
"What do you think is waiting for us?"
"The Moirai," Medusa answered without a thought. That had to be the case, even though she still couldn't sense Clotho's link.
Akrivi hummed his agreement, and silence remained until they came upon a clearing. They both stopped at the border, hiding behind the shadows of the thickets. Medusa placed her hand on Rico's back, urging him to be still. They had gone on enough hunts for him to understand and obey.
Ahead was the crumbling remains of what may have been a small town. Despite the lushness of the surrounding forest, not a single vine coiled around the fallen columns, nor did weeds grow between cracks.
Now the compass was tugging more persistently, bathing them in its pulsing blue light. So much for remaining concealed.
"Do you see that?" Akrivi pointed to the left. "Like a mirage. Some sort of cloaking?"
Medusa looked and sprang to her feet. What was this? A gift from Clotho? Was giving such a gift even in her nature? But if this wasn't the work of Clotho, who else would do this?
As her heart raced, so did a buzzing in her ears.
"Soft Hands?" Akrivi sounded concerned. Why?
Medusa looked down at herself and understood.
She had instinctively shifted to her first gorgon form.
Her serpents reared up and hissed in her ears.
She woodenly raised her hands to her hair, lacing her claws with venom.
All the ways she could serve a fitting death raced through her mind.
She was spoiled for choice; all the more reason to accept this offering.
Perseus was sitting, back to the wall, with an arm resting on a bent knee. Just waiting in the open to die. The buzzing grew louder as she observed him yawn. At ease. Waiting to die.
What was that shifting, transparent film barricading him? Was that a trap? Was Atropos waiting out of sight?
Medusa did not care.
This time, she would not fail. Her vision zeroed in on him, seeing nothing else. If she killed him now, half her scalding rage and sorrow may—no, will finally cool.
A whisper for mercy came.
Nonsense. As long as this psychopath remained alive, true peace would continue to elude her. She would not wait to see how he got the power to jump worlds and seek her out in her corner of happiness.
"It's good you chose a secluded hovel to live in."
The bastard. The burn of the memory came with a tide of crushing sorrow. She had been so close. So close to completing her family, and he took that from her.
"Akrivi, please do not interfere. Rico, stay."
Medusa's clawed fingers twitched as she tightly packed aether around her body. The key hummed in her sternum, as if blessing her decision to erase this stain from existence. She didn't even care if she used petrification. She just wanted him gone.
Medusa flashed forward—
And crash into an unyielding barrier. Perseus shot to his feet, panic flashing in his eyes, only to swiftly disappear. He coolly observed her punch and scratch the invisible wall.
"A gorgon?" Disgust twisted his face as he glanced around. "But the hag said no beast would notice my presence."
"I will kill you."
"A speaking beast." He cocked his head. "You're the third gorgon I'm encountering who can do that. Are you Athena's priestess?"
No amount of force Medusa poured into her strikes made a difference. The barrier was impossibly durable.
"You should leave before the hag returns." He settled back into his sitting position, appearing bored again. "Or stay. I'll enjoy watching her rip those snakes off your skull."
Shutting her eyes, Medusa released a long, calming breath. This wasn't the way. Barrelling in like this. Clawing and hissing like a feral animal. No. It would only play to his belief that she was nothing but a beast.
She opened her eyes. "Perseus."
He lifted a brow, appearing mildly surprised. "It knows my name."
"I will kill you," Medusa said calmly. "Because of what you took from me, I will kill you."
"I took something from you?" He rolled his eyes to the side, appearing mockingly contemplative. "I don't even know you, but it's no surprise. I carry the blood of Zeus after all. This much jealous hatred is expected."
"And know that this isn't for what you did to me at Drys Valon."
At the mention of the school, he looked at her with real interest. "Do I know you? But I'll remember if I met a gorgon."
"I learned something interesting recently." Medusa smiled, making sure to flash her fangs. "Your brother. I heard he's alive and a contender at the games."
"What?" he whispered.
"Do you know what it feels like?" Tears stung the corner of Medusa's eyes. "Do you know what it's like to watch the ones you love treated like...nothing?" She clenched her teeth.
"What was that about my brother?" He flew to his feet and banged a fist against the barrier. "Is Linos alive? Speak, beast!"
"Know this." Medusa placed her palm on the barrier, mind already made up on what to do next. "Once I kill you, I will seek out that precious brother of yours. Why?" She smiled again. "I'll make him love these beasts you loathe so much. That's if he survives the games."
Never in her life has a person looked at her with such corrosive hatred, and she loved it. Despair. May your imaginations torture you to madness.
Discarding aether, Medusa drew ambient Monolith energy but left her reserve intact. After shielding her body, she forced petrification touch and almost immediately, there was a reaction.
A massive crack formed across what was once unyielding.
Perseus, to his credit, did not panic. That crazed fury remained as thin lines of electricity danced around his closed fists.
"What did you say about Linos?"
Medusa ignored him and poured more into the contact point.
Cracks fanned out as grey ate into what was once transparent.
Satisfied, she stepped back and slashed across the centre over and over, creating a growing crevice.
Soon, a sufficient space formed. Stabbing the gap with her claws, she exhaled and ripped it apart.
The barrier shattered. Stone rained down as her prey stood waiting, defiance in his eyes.
"Strike."
Lightning came from nowhere, striking accurately and with a crushing force. It should have burned, should have steeped her in maddening pain and reduced her to a smoking corpse. But it harmlessly slid off the layers of Monolith energy shielding her body.
She saw it in his eyes then. The defiance faltering. Fear peeping out.
"Is that all?" Medusa quietly asked as she stepped forward. "Where is that lovely sword of yours? The one you love to swish about?"
"Strike!" He shouted the command, the veins of his neck protruding.
This time, Medusa laughed amidst the flashing bolts.
Not even a tickle. Thank you, Clotho.
Prometheus. The Monolith. Thanks to whatever else was out there that made it possible to escape powerlessness.
The relief nearly brought tears to her eyes.
She was not reduced to begging—grovelling to protect her loved ones.
This is living.
"Where is it?" Medusa took another step. "Where is your sword, Perseus? Would you not fight? My throat is waiting. Slit it."
"To earth's core with you," he spat. "Lift."
Medusa flatly watched crackling lines of electricity lift him in the air. Then he attempted to bolt away, but she was faster. Catching him by the ankle, she slammed him to the ground.
"Lift." He was quick to shoot for the sky again, but she was quicker to kick him in the face. He flew like a bullet and crashed into a wall. A shout of frustration preceded a coughing fit. Lightning blasted rubble off his body as he emerged from the cloud of dust and crumbling stones.
Medusa let him stand. Let him Lift only to appear above him, screaming. He struck the earth as layers and layers of sonic waves slammed into him. Blood poured from every facial orifice. Don't die yet. She let him heal. Let him stand again. Another stumbling escape attempt.
"Breathing."
The world was a blur. Strike after strike. A punch. A stump to the chest. A forceful backhand. Shattered knees. Grabbing him by the cuff, she dismissed Breathing.
Seeing him now, bloody and groaning, Perseus' face from that day superimposed.
That smile. Looking at her like she was less than dirt.
How casually he slit her throat. And now he wouldn't even bring the damn sword.
This... this isn't enough. Why doesn't it feel enough?
Perhaps because he wasn't the same worm that killed Antonii and Rico.
Shaking off the thought, she grabbed him by the neck. "It's quite refreshing to witness this cowardly side of you."
When he tried to speak, she squeezed harder, watching dispassionately as he kicked and squirmed for freedom.
She could kill him. Even now, she sensed a petrification shift in anticipation behind her eyes.
But no. This would be stretched. Lessons must be learned before death.
How she wished it were his adult version she faced, not this hateful little monster.
"Have you heard of cave hydras?"
Medusa flicked her wrist, and a needle appeared between her fingers.
Perseus glared. Defiance returned, burning like fire in his eyes.
"I'd use the bee's venom first." Medusa nodded to herself.
She brought the needle to her youngest snake, coating it with its venom.
"I feel like you wish to speak. Go on."
She eased her squeezing a bit. He wheezed. "My brother. What do you know about my brother?"
Medusa held up the needle, barely reacting as he punched and squeezed her arm. It was well coated, so a single jab should be fine.
"What was that about my brother!" He yelled, tears in his eyes and voice cracking. "Is he alive? Tell me!"
Medusa blinked, taken aback by the emotional response.
The kinder parts of herself gave off a warning, reminding her that Perseus was just a child.
She smacked it aside. Just a child? Just a child who killed other children with chilling ease.
That day in Drys Valon, there was no pause, no show of remorse or guilt.
And he attempted to kill me, too. Today, blood will wash blood. So, shut up.
She had just brought the needle to his neck when she heard it.
"Please," Perseus said as he struggled to lean away from the needle. "Please, stop. Whatever you think I did to you... I think you're mistaken. I don't know who you are."
Feeling nothing from his plea, Medusa jabbed him anyway. "You know me."
To prove her point, she shifted to May. That got a reaction. His eyes widened for a moment before twisting with disgust.
"So, you're a beast after all."
Medusa didn't think about it. One moment, she was imagining ways to stretch his suffering, and the next she summoned her dagger and stabbed—
A large shadow hand grabbed her arm, stopping her dagger an inch from his chest.
"What was all that lightning and earth shaking?"
Fingers going slack, Medusa slowly turned.
First, she spotted the Opsianian. Then Aunt Phorcydes. But there was a third person. Shocked, Medusa reverted to her original body. Not the gorgon, not May or the redhead, but her ten-year-old self.
"Father?"
A ball formed in Medusa's throat. Her eyes, for reasons she couldn't understand, felt hot and moist. She blinked, blaming the urge to cry on reverting to her child form, because this feeling of wanting to weep made no sense.
"Medusa."
She couldn't tell if it was her aunt or her father who called her name. She was too busy blinking and breathing through her mouth. Staring at her feet, she fought for composure, then lifted her eyes.
Phorcys was in front of her, on a knee and at eye level. He patted her head and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry you had to carry this burden. You excelled where I failed."
Medusa broke. She slapped a hand over her mouth, trapping her sob before it escaped. Ashamed of her tears, she looked away. When he embraced her, she first stood stiffly, then sagged against his shoulder. He patted her back and murmured apologies.
"I'm sorry about that day. I thought you were..." Medusa breathed through her mouth and tried again. "I thought Athena was... But Zeus—"
"There's no need to apologise." He leaned back and wiped her tears. "The Moirai told me everything. None of it is your fault."
"That day, I was going to tell you why I made that mistake. Why I'm like this."
He began folding the now too-long arm of the bodysuit. "I told you to survive. You did that well." He moved to the other arm.
"I did." Medusa stared at the thorns around his wrists. Lacerated skin. Some spots were bleeding. Earlier, he couldn't even embrace her properly. A surge of bitter rage pushed to the surface, but she suppressed it. Today was a good day.
She glanced around. "Where is mother?"
"At the main house," Aunt Phorcydes answered as she walked over.
Leaning on her staff, she peered at her for a silent moment.
"How did the Moiria do it? An exact copy.
Even down to the..." her words faded as she shook her head.
"Anyway." She beamed down at Medusa. "I don't know all the details like your father. You'll tell this hag everything, no?"
A warmth, one she remembered feeling in Antonii's company, budded and unfurled in her chest. "I will."
Phorcys took her hand and straightened. He walked to where Perseus stood frozen and observed him.
Though Perseus was unable to speak, his eyes did all the talking. Rage, hatred, fear. Medusa was suddenly thankful Aunt Phorcydes stopped her when she did. It would have been a real waste ending him so abruptly.
She nearly forgot. Turning in the direction Akrivi and Rico waited, she waved them over.