Daughter of Medusa

by Jessica Cage

  When Delilah emerged after the hot shower that lasted nearly long enough to cause worry, and sporting her new clothing, Iris smiled both from relief that the woman hadn’t somehow destroyed the bathroom and because she was pleased that the clothing fit and there was no need to return to the battle wear that still lay on her bedroom floor. The shower and new look softened the woman in a way she wouldn't have thought was possible. She wasn't the hard warrior determined to break a few necks, she looked far more vulnerable, relatable, real. Her skin glowed as much as her eyes when she smiled, still drying the water from her hair which had shrunken with the addition of moisture. What was once a long mane pulled into a tight bun was now a short curly afro that framed her face.

  "You look good," Iris complimented her from her seat where she sipped on a fresh cup of coffee.

  "Thank you," Delilah sat down at the small dining table where her host was. There was a cup sitting there for her, but she didn’t take it, the odd smell of the beverage was off-putting.

  "Hungry? I can whip up something." Iris frowned at Delilah’s obvious uninterest in the coffee and pondered the items in her fridge. There wasn't much, enough to make a sandwich or two, perhaps. She would need to go grocery shopping if Delilah was going to stick around.

  "No, I'm not. Thank you for the offer.” Delilah eyed the cup in Iris’ hand before continuing. “Tell me what you know, please."

  "Well like I said, Lehela, the witch, had been training me since I was a small girl for when the time would come that you would need my help. She said that you would return with the purpose to avenge your mother and that you would be able to find me because of this marking," Iris pulled up her shirt to reveal a small snake like mark on her ribcage. “I was born with it, and Lehela said it meant I was supposed to help you, that you and I belonged together. It is the reason for the bond that exists between the two of us. It's why I felt it when you got here, though I didn't know how to find you. I had the intense sense that if I stayed put, you would be able to find me, and you did."

  "Interesting," Delilah reached out and laid her finger on the dark mark that was stretched out across the right side of Iris’ torso. Iris shivered as the snake came to life and performed a little dance across her flesh. "Oh," Delilah pulled her hand back and watched the movement.

  "Yeah, it does that from time to time." Iris shrugged and dropped her shirt, "Lehela said it’s an indicator of you and your mood. It's the link between us. I always figured when it danced you were happy and when it coiled, which it does from time to time, you were upset. That’s when it stings a bit."

  "Does it hurt you a lot?" Delilah frowned at the marking.

  "No, it's more of an odd tingling sensation, no real pain." Iris smiled to reassure her. “I’ve gotten used to it after all these years.”

  "The witch told you how we are to fight Athena?" Delilah returned to her original line of questioning.

  "Yes, as badass as you are, Athena is still a god, a full-blown god. You’re powerful, I can feel that, but you're only a demi-god. Besides, Athena's been out of the bag for a while, so I'm sure she has linked up with a few allies by now. Who knows who or what she has convinced to join her? It would be foolish to go into a fight with her both blind and outnumbered."

  "I'm a demi-god?” Delilah pursed her lips considering the source of information. There was a lot that was never told to her and if Iris got her information from the witch who was responsible for saving her as a child, she likely spoke the truth. “This is news to me. Why do you believe this to be so?"

  "Oh, you didn't know that part, right. Lehela said there was a lot that wasn’t told to you. Not sure why they kept it from you, but your father is, or was, Poseidon. You know that your mother was pregnant with you when she was turned by Athena. It was because of Poseidon's blood that you didn't die in the womb, and that you survived your birth. To think that all of this happened because Athena blamed your mother for what Poseidon did to her! A woman is taken advantage of, raped and mistreated, and then a goddess, one who is supposed to be so good and pure decides to punish her! Medusa was sentenced for a crime she didn’t commit, and Poseidon got to go on living his life as if he had done no wrong."

  "My father was Poseidon?” For a moment that was all that stood out to her in the confession. The name of the man who was her father, the god that ruined her life before it ever started. “They didn't tell me much about my father. I guess they tried once or twice, and it didn't turn out well." She thought back to the times she could remember when her guardians would talk to her and moments later the ground beneath her would start to tremble. That was usually when Casi would sing her a lullaby to calm her spirits and the world would go still again. It also happened when Casi would try to warn her of the dangers of the seas. There was more to the story, more about the history of her people, but she would never learn it because Casi and the others feared what telling her might do. The only one they ever spoke of, was Medusa and the curse Athena put on her.

  "Lehela taught me all about you. Well about everything that led up to your birth, there wasn't much to teach after you went to the other realm. She also told me that we would need the help of four insanely strong and hard to find women if we are to have even a slither of a hope of beating Athena."

  "Who are they?" Delilah straightened, ready to hear anything that would get her closer to her goal. “Who are these four women?”

  "They're titans.” Iris took another sip of her drink after she answered and sighed.

  "Titans?" Delilah thought back to her lessons about the children of Uranus and Gaea. They were thought to be stronger than the gods of Olympus. She was also taught that they were cast into the great abyss to be tortured for all eternity. How were they supposed to retrieve them from such a fate? “How exactly are we supposed to get to Tartarus?”

  "Yes, we just need four of them to be exact," she moved to a shelf and took out some papers that were rolled and tied with a red lace. "Here it is, Lehela's notes. We are to search out Tethys, Phoebe, Rhea, and Themis. They aren’t in Tartarus anymore apparently. Or at least I don’t think physically they ever were, just their mental state. They are trapped inside of pillars that we must find some way to unlock. She even provided a map of where we should be able to find them, so long as nothing has changed majorly with the sites, it should be easy enough. Humans have very destructive ways, especially when it comes to the earth, so who knows what these places look like now."

  "The witch told you all of this freely?" Delilah looked at the documents then back to Iris. "Why would she do this? Did she ask for something from you in return?"

  "It was Medusa who made her promise to help you in exchange for something valuable, something she never told me about. Lehela mapped this all out in her head. From the moment she sent you away she began plotting to help you win this fight." Iris thought back to the first conversation she had with Lehela about the tingling mark on her side. She explained what it was and what it meant. “She wanted nothing from me. She told me that even with our bond, I had to decide that I wanted to do this.”

  “And you decided to help me? Why?”

  “Because I felt it. Everything you felt, the hurt, the disappointment, the fear. All of it.” Iris sat the cup down on the table. “I told myself the first time I felt your sorrow, the first time that sadness gripped my heart, that I would do whatever I could to make the people who caused you to feel that way, pay for hurting you.”

  “I’m not sure I could ever repay you for something like that.”

  “I would never ask you to.” Iris reached across the table to touch Delilah’s hand. “Now, let’s find these titans and kick some ass!”

  "How do we find them?" Delilah dropped her gaze to the hand that touched her own and then back to the notes and the map that were laid out on the table.

  "That, we can get into later, first we need to go visit a friend. He has something we'll need for this."

  Iris' fist pounded against the freshly painted door to the small apar
tment where Carter lived. She hadn't been there in a while but knew that it was still his home. The man wasn't one for change. Even with the city of Chicago falling into disrepair, Carter would still be there. Delilah stood behind her. Close enough once again that she could feel the heat of her body pressing against her. She thought of calling out her disregard for personal space, but decided against it, it wasn't really that big of a problem for her. At least that is what she would continue to tell herself.

  After the fourth round of pounding with the addition of yelling out his name as if she was a crazy ex-girlfriend, the door finally swung open. The gust of air it caused lifted the short hair atop his head adding emphasis to the look of fury on his face.

  “Carter,” she smiled brightly despite the way he looked at her, but the door slammed in her face.

  "Rude!" Iris yelled out before pounding again.

  “This is your friend?” Delilah raised a brow.

  “Well, something like that,” she shrugged and pounded the door again. “Come on, man! Let me in!”

  “Go away Iris!” Carter called from the other side of the door.

  “I need your help!”

  The door swung open again to reveal the frustrated face of the man who lived inside. “The last time I helped you I ended up in the infirmary for three weeks! Can you guess what my answer is this time?”

  “Look, I’m not even asking you to get involved with anything, you big baby!” Iris laughed when she remembered the look on his face when the healers finally released him from their care. “I just need to borrow something from you.”

  “What the hell could you possibly want from me?” Carter stepped aside and let the pushy woman in.

  “Actually, I need to borrow something from Asa, is she around?” Iris skipped inside followed closely by Delilah who shot Carter a look of suspicion that made his stomach sour.

  “Asa, no, she isn’t.” Carter frowned. He kept his eyes locked on the stranger who went from shooting daggers at him to appraising the inside of his home.

  “Trouble in paradise?” Iris asked as she helped herself to a cup of coffee to appease her growing caffeine addiction. She inhaled the strong scent, "You always did keep the good stuff around!"

  “What do you want from her?” Carter couldn't take his eyes off Delilah who had taken to picking up the knick knacks left around his front room and examining them.

  “You know that little toy of hers, the god killer, I need it.” Iris shrugged as if what she asked was no big deal.

  “Good luck with that," he laughed and finally gave his attention to the woman who had moved from the coffee pot to the tray of pastries. "Why the hell do you need that?”

  “Gonna hunt me down a god, obviously!” She left the kitchen and plopped down on the couch with her breakfast in hand. “So, where is she?”

  “I don’t know. She left a week ago and I haven’t seen her since,” he looked over his shoulder to the woman who hadn’t been introduced and hadn’t said a word. “Who is this and why is she touching all of my stuff?”

  “This is Delilah. She’s a new friend. We need that weapon. Did Asa say when she would be back?” Iris bit down into the cream filled pastry and moaned with delight.

  “No, she didn’t, Carter's shoulders hunched over and he turned his eyes from her. "I'm not sure if she is coming back."

  “Shit, Carter," Iris sat up straight, she'd never seen the man show even an iota of real emotion before. "Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, if you explain to me what the hell is going on, maybe I’ll try to help you find her." He shrugged off the moment of weakness.

  “As in, you haven’t tried to find her yourself already?” The knowing smirk crossed her face as she counted her triumph. “Or as in, you know exactly where she is and really just need an excuse to go after her, and I just handed one to you?”

  “Does it matter, Iris?” He grunted.

  “Nope, not at all. Just looking for a bit of clarity.” She relaxed back into her seat.

  “So, what's up?” He shut the door which had remained open for their entire exchange and then headed to retrieve his own cup of caffeine.

  “Well, kind of like your Asa, Delilah has a bit of a bone to pick with one of those asshats from Olympus.”

  “Which one?”

  “Athena.” Delilah spoke for the first time and the sound of her voice gave Carter the sudden urge to vomit. He gagged and she frowned and narrowed her gaze on him which made the feeling in his stomach worsen.

  He swallowed back the bile that had threaten to escape his mouth and stared at Iris with a look of shock, Clearly, she wasn't affected the same way he was. When he felt steady again, he spoke, “Wait, Athena, she is supposed to be a good guy.”

  “You know as well as I do that there are no good guys up there.” Iris shrugged. “They all played their parts in ruining lives.”

  “Why is she out for Athena?” He directed his question hoping that Iris would respond, instead Delilah supplied the answer and again he felt sick enough to spew forth everything he'd eaten in the past week.

  “She turned my mother into a monster,” Delilah stood by the window with her arms crossed and watched Carter struggle. A thin smile stretched across her face as she realized she was the reason he turned a pale shade of green.

  “Your mother,” he paused taking slow deep breaths. “You mean, you’re Medusa’s daughter?” It was the story that popped to the forefront of his mind. The story of the serpent haired woman who could turn man to stone with just a look into her eyes.

  “Yes, I am,” to add dramatics to her response she held her hand out and the tips of her fingers shifted and turned into snake heads that hissed at him. Her smile widened as he stepped back from her.

  “How?” Carter looked to Iris, "I didn't know Medusa had a daughter."

  “It's a long story, and honestly, you don’t really need to know all that. Just know that we need that weapon. So where is Asa?”

  “She went home.” He placed the coffee mug back on the counter, no longer wanting its contents after the acrobatics that had occurred in his stomach.

  “Home?" Delilah stepped away from the window, "Where is this home?”

  Carter frowned and choked, hoping the woman would stop speaking, he gave her the answer. “The Sea.”

  “You’re going to have to explain this whole, she went to the sea thing,” Iris called out to Carter who had escaped to his room under the guise of packing a bag.

  “What’s there to explain?” He returned with a backpack stuffed with items for their trip that he threw over his shoulders.

  “Her home is in the sea?” Iris stood, “Since when did the Sphinx ever live in the sea, Carter?”

  “This Asa is the Sphinx?” Delilah asked and her eyes widened with joy. She’d always admired the tales of the Sphinx and was happy for the chance to get to meet her.

  “Yes,” Carter swallowed and shot Iris a questioning gaze which she didn't catch, “Asa is the Sphinx, but she was, or is, also a siren.”

  “Yeah, that little bit of information is going to require a lot more explanation, Carter.” Iris crossed her arms. “Details, now.”

  “Long story short, she was in love with Ares who then cursed her and turned her into the Sphinx when he decided that he didn’t want to be with her anymore. Hence the revenge plot when he returned. Now that he’s gone, with the help of Lehela, she’s free to be who she is.” He sighed.

  “And who she is, is someone who can’t be here with you.” Iris chewed her lips as more of the puzzle fell into place and she considered Carter’s story. She wasn’t counting on a snag so soon in their mission. Would Asa help them if she wasn’t on good terms with Carter?

  “Not right now, no.” He stopped at the door. “I understand it, I do, why she had to go. I don’t like it, but I do understand it. She missed it. She wanted to go home. I could see that it was killing her not to return to the water. After a while I just felt guilty for keeping her away.”

 
“That’s tough,” Delilah spoke, and Carter gripped the door to stop from doubling over.

  “Okay, if we’re going to do this, you have to turn off whatever the hell that is that’s making me sick whenever you speak!” He grunted as he steadied again.

  “What?” Iris scoffed, “Whoa Carter, calm down.”

  “You don’t feel that, so it's just me?” He shook his head. “Of course, it is. It is always something with you Iris.”

  “Feel what?” Iris asked and rolled her eyes assuming he was being overdramatic.

  “Every time she opens her mouth, I feel like I’m going to lose my shit.” He pointed at Delilah whose lips curved into a slight smile. She was enjoying his suffering.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Delilah shrugged and Carter grunted.

  “See, there, there it is. It's like you’re blending up my insides.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Carter. Maybe it's the demi-god blood in you that’s messing with you.” Iris shrugged. “You did say that Asa confirmed that speculation was true.”

  “Demi-god?” Delilah jumped back and held out her hand. The staff she had tucked away appeared and she pointed it at Carter as she shouted at Iris in anger. “You bring me to the house of my enemy? What is the meaning of this?”

  Iris quickly reacted putting herself between Carter and the business end of Delilah’s weapon. “It's okay! He’s on our side.”

  “He is one of them!” Delilah yelled, “How can you say he is on our side?”

  “No, he isn’t. He grew up with me, in my home, in Oikos.” Iris kept her voice calm. “Think of what you know of the gods, how often did they welcome their human born children into their homes? How often were they accepted? Do you think the story went any different with Carter?”

  “How is this possible?”

  “My father was Ares,” Carter admitted and ignored the shocked expression that Iris threw over her shoulder, “he tricked my mother. Used her to find a way inside of the realm with the hopes of taking it over for himself and the other gods when they returned. When he got the proof he needed, he betrayed her trust and abandoned her.”