by Jessica Cage
“Who are the titans you have to find? There were a lot more than four of them. Why these four?” Asa questioned and tried to ignore the awkward way that Delilah started to stare at her when their hands brushed against each other. She could feel it, arousal, excitement, and it called to her in a way that felt oddly familiar. Again, this was not something she wanted to deal with at the moment, so instead of calling Delilah out on her obvious sexual preferences, she pulled on the mask of one of her many faces and hid her true appearance. The moment she changed; the urgency of attraction stopped.
For centuries Asa existed by hiding her real appearance. She became something of a shapeshifter, taking on a new face whenever it was necessary for her survival. Covering it up had become so much like second nature that she hadn't realized she did it until she caught the comical way that Iris’ eyes bucked out of her head and her mouth fell open.
“What the hell was that?" Iris nearly screamed. "How did you do that? That's like some X-Men type of shit." She stepped up to Asa and ran her fingers along the flesh of her arm. "Shit!"
“It's like putting on a mask. I don't do it often, but,” Asa glanced at Delilah who now wore a frown on her face, “this one is just more comfortable, less assuming. It's easier to blend in when your skin isn’t like a visual allure.” Her eyes flashed to Delilah again quickly and back to Iris. "It’s kind of a defensive technique. It helps me hide when I need to."
“Gotcha, that's both awesome and unsettling." Iris dropped her hand from Asa's arm after she received a raised eyebrow from the newly masked face. "Well like, Dee said," Iris used the new nickname for the woman who stood by her side and changed the topic back to the business at hand. "There are four titans that we have to locate. They are Tethys, Phoebe, Rhea, and Themis.”
“How do we know they're even still around?” Asa looked up. "From what I remember they were banished from this realm a long time ago. Sent to hell or something, right?"
“They’re here, they have to be.” Iris frowned and took out her own set of documents. “Lehela’s instruction was clear. We are to find them, make our case, and they will help us. Why else would she go through all of this trouble if it weren’t even possible?”
“That woman really had a way of stirring up some shit didn’t she?” Asa frowned again as she always did when the creator of Oikos was mentioned. Though Lehela had helped her get her revenge on Ares, she still blamed her for so much. If it weren’t for the involvement of the witch, Ares would have never been able to turn her into the Sphinx, she wouldn’t have lost years of her life in the form of a monster. Yes, it felt great to defeat Ares and get payback for what he’d done, but part of her still longed for the life she lost when the oceans were calm, and more forgiving, when they weren’t polluted by the complete disregard the humans had for the earth.
“Yes, it would seem she did,” Delilah laid her fingers on the medallion that she’d replaced around her neck. It was Lehela that made sure that the medallion remained with her, not her mother. Though it was all a part of the witch's plan, she still couldn't bare thinking of parting with it. For so long, it represented something to her, her mother, and her quest to avenge her wrongful death. Nothing had changed about that.
“Wait, make our case?” Asa questioned. “So that means they aren’t already on our side. Which also means we could very well go through all this bullshit to release them and end up with egg on our faces. I guess it would have been too simple for Lehela to handle that bit on her own. How are we supposed to convince them to stand by our side against a god?”
“She didn’t let us know that much. Her notes are more just a guideline than anything. I take it we have to figure the rest out by ourselves.” Iris continued. “She taught me everything I needed to know about Delilah, and spoke about some fundamentals of magic, but that’s all. These notes, they are just bullet points of how she saw this going. It doesn't really speak on how to defeat Athena or where we would even find her.”
“So, like I said, it's a wild goose chase.” Asa shook her head.
“A what?” Delilah asked.
"It's a figure of speech,” Iris explained. “It means we’re just supposed to move forward with no real idea of where to look. Outside of these worn maps and a few loose pages from a journal."
"I don't think we will have much issue with convincing the titans to stand with us," Delilah offered. "After all, it was the gods who sent the titans to hell anyway. I'm sure they'll be looking for a bit of revenge of their own. They should be thankful to us and will owe us a debt for freeing them."
"I hope you're right." Iris sighed. She had her doubts as well about the titans. Lehela seemed so sure, but she couldn't believe in that. Not after everything that happened with Ares, not how she died in that fight.
“It's too bad about Oikos being destroyed after the battle, if it were still there we could go and retrieve all of her notes. I’m sure there was more to it than this.” Delilah reviewed the materials Iris had produced. She'd carefully packed everything that Lehela had given her in her bag. It wasn't much. All they really had was a few clues to go with the map. Most of it seemed useless.
“Well, it's not there. She destroyed it,” Asa grunted, “We’ll just have to make the best of this.” She stared at the map again and ran her fingers along the fragile page. Her finger stopped just above the first point on the map, “I’m assuming with Tethys being a sea goddess that this marking sitting in the middle of the Indian Ocean is where we will find her.”
“Is this a land mass?” Delilah squinted at the page? “Can we compare it to a more modern map? Do you have one?”
“Yes, I have one,” Iris pulled the cell phone from her pocket and clicked on the screen a few times pulling up a map that looked similar to, but not exactly like the one drawn on the page.
“This world is really odd.” Delilah frowned at the device.
“I thought you said you knew all about this world and all its advances.” Iris shrugged.
“Yes, I’ve read about reports but never seen or experienced any of it. It's a shock to the brain to reconcile theory with actuality.”
“Well, get ready for a lot more shock value than a mobile device.” Asa laughed. She'd been around for all the shifts and changes since days of old and still a lot of it proved awe inspiring to her. To imagine jumping from one time to another in a matter of moments, she could understand what Delilah was feeling.
Iris continued to adjust the map on the screen, zooming in until she could locate the exact point shown to them on the map.
“It looks like there is an island there, it’s called Rodrigues.” She held the phone up for them both to see. "I think this is where she is."
“Okay great, now we have at least an idea of where we’re headed. There is only one way to find out if we’re right!” Asa stretched her limbs and smiled widely, happy to be able to have an excuse to return to the water and ditch her clothing, “Anyone up for a swim?” She danced her way to the water's edge and Delilah followed behind her.
“Guys, I know that you’re both basically waterproof and all, but I'm not.” Iris followed behind the two women who eagerly headed for the island’s shore. “I’m not sure how you expect me to be able to swim across the ocean!”
“Do not worry, you'll be just fine.” Delilah held her hand out to the water and the surface rippled. “I will take care of you.”
“Oh, this should be fun!” Asa cheered as the ripples turned into massive waves that broke in the center and allowed a large serpent to emerge.
“What the hell is that?” Iris jumped back as large dark eyes surrounded by scaled flesh found her face.
“She will be your transport across the seas.” Delilah smiled.
“You expect me to ride that thing?” Iris spit out and shrieked when the monster hissed at her.
“She is not a thing; she’s a sea dragon and she has thoughts and feelings just like you and I.” Delilah cooed, and the beast calmed. “Please do not speak to her that way.”<
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“Sea dragon?” Iris stood still as a statue. The dragon’s eyes locked on her and refused to let her go. She was afraid if she moved it would bite her head off.
“Yes.” Delilah and Asa walked deeper into the water until they were nearly waist deep. They both held out their hands and the beast leaned it's head forward and allowed them to stroke her head. “Her name is Marse, she is a descendant of Hydra. She is our friend and she is here to help us.”
“I knew your grandmother,” Asa said softly. “She was a formidable opponent, and she nearly took my tail!” with that the body of Marse rippled with fluid laughter. She let out a deeper purr when Delilah ran her hand along the side of her body. Her eyes seemed to dance with the touch of the woman who held dominion over her serpent brothers and sisters,
“Isn’t she magnificent!” Delilah smiled proud of the sea dragon as if it were her own creation.
“Yeah, okay nothing weird about that at all.” Iris began to relax but the moment she spoke, Marse’s eyes snapped to her again. “I have to say, I don't think it likes me.” Marse hissed again and Iris quickly corrected herself. “She! Sorry, She! I don't think she likes me.”
“Well, maybe if you stopped treating her like a monster, she would like you.” Asa shrugged and pouted. “Imagine how she must feel.”
“Consider the fact that you just flew here on the back of a dragon with not a hint of distain.” Delilah cocked her head to the side at Iris’ rigid body. “Besides the location of the travel, sky and sea, what is the difference in this?”
“You’re right, I guess there isn’t really one.” Iris took a step forward and paused again considering what she was doing, "You sure she won't decide to have me for a snack?"
“Why don’t you ask her that!” Asa laughed hysterically and Marse joined her. The large body rippled causing waves in the water around her.
"Trust us, you will be fine!" Delilah held her hand out to Iris who swallowed her fears and join them in the water. “Just touch her, feel the strength and the magic that she possesses.”
Iris allowed Delilah to guide her hand as she traced her fingers along the soft side of Marse’s body. Most of her forty foot form was still hidden beneath the water behind her. The aqua colored skin felt like silk beneath her fingertips. Where she could see the markings of scales, she didn’t feel them. They flattened, molding to Marse's body as her hand traveled along the length of her side.
“Beautiful,” Iris whispered and Marse purred beneath her touch.
“I think she likes you,” Delilah whispered in Iris’ ear and pressed her body against her back, she continued to guide her hand as she whispered in her ear.
“Yeah, maybe she does.” Iris looked back over her shoulder and found the deep green eyes of Delilah staring intently back at her. The tingle in her side began as the snake marked on her flesh was dancing with Delilah's excitement.
“Great,” Asa clapped interrupting the intimate moment. “Now that we have that all settled, how about we get out of here? I know the world knows about magic now, but I don’t want anyone to catch sight of our girl here. You know how the humans are, they may make sport of trying to hunt her down.”
“You’re right, we must protect her.” Delilah removed her hand from Iris and gently patted Marse’s side. “Iris climb on, Marse will take care of you.”
“Just climb on? Exactly how? There isn’t anything to grab hold of.”
“Trust me,” Delilah winked and grabbed Iris around the waist to give her a boost. The momentum was enough to send Iris up and onto Marse's back. The moment her legs were straddled across the width of the serpent, the silk like flesh shifted and stretch to cover her legs. "Oh god, what is this?" Iris pulled at the skin that had encased her, but it was no use.
"It’s just to make sure you don't fly off in transit," Asa laughed. "We're going to be moving pretty fast, think of it as a safety belt.”
"Wait," Iris looked to Delilah, "I know how Asa is going to get there, but what about you? Shouldn't you ride with me?" She hoped like hell that the demi-goddess would be joining her, her fear of the sea dragon had suddenly returned along with the terrifying idea of being tossed off mid-ride. Somehow she knew if Delilah was riding with her, Marse wouldn’t change her mind and opt to give Iris the boot or worse, have her as a snack along the way.
"No, I will be fine, besides, Marse doesn’t really like transporting people, she is doing me a favor by carrying you. I don't want to take advantage of her kindness."
"That still doesn’t explain how you’re going to swim all the way to the Indian Ocean. That is thousands of miles away, Dee.” Iris pushed the issue.
Delilah smiled as she straightened the bun that sat on the back of her head. While she did she kept her eyes locked on Iris to monitor her response to the transformation she would undergo. Her body stretched as two legs became one and took on the form of the body of a massive snake whose tail lay flat like that of an eel. This would offer more power for her swim. The top half was still her, strength and beauty. “You know, I like that, Dee. I’ve never had a nickname before.” Her words stretched just slightly taking on a serpent quality.
“Um, I’m glad you do.” Iris did all she could to keep from gawking at the deep forest green tail that appeared beneath Delilah’s torso replacing her legs.
"The sun is setting soon. Now is the time for us to move while we have fewer eyes to witness Marse." Asa said as she nuzzled the beast and laughed when its whiskers tickled her face.
Asa's mask fell away again along with her clothing and before Iris could blush about her nudity, Calypso dove into the water. Her magnificent tail appeared before she disappeared beneath the surface. Marse roared and took off after her with an unprepared Iris flailing her arms and screaming as she tried to steady herself. Delilah laughed, smacked the water with her tail and dove beneath the water to join in the swim.
Once the shock wore off, Iris was able to enjoy the speedy ride. She tucked her body into the surprisingly warm mass of Marse and let the rhythm of the heartbeat inside her massive body blend with the sound of the ocean that rushed by them. As they moved she often caught glimpses of Delilah swimming beneath the water next to her and laughed when she heard the excited cries and songs of Asa who was clearly having the time of her life. The spray of the water felt refreshing to her tired body. Though she would have never imagined it possible, the exhaustion from their journey kicked in and Iris drifted to sleep. As she laid against Marse’s back, more of the secure skin stretched to fold over her leaving just her face visible beneath the light of the moon.
It was smooth sailing until about the halfway mark of their journey when the waters got rough and the sky above became flooded with angry clouds. Asa and Delilah tightened their formation at the sides of Marse's body. They could feel it, this was no storm and they called to each other to be on alert. Something was coming for them. Staying true to their path, they swam ahead but moments after the loud crashes of thunder rang out from above, a monster emerged in front of them. Massive eyes were the first thing they saw moments before the water began to seize around their bodies and halted their progress. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't swim any further.
"What the hell is that thing?" Delilah called out.
"I have no idea!" Asa responded as she watched the dark mass in front of them. It lifted from the water just enough to give an impression of how massive it really was. No more than eyes and nose appeared and yet it towered over them blocking out all light from the moon that hung in the sky behind its head. Asa ducked her head beneath the water and choked as she witnessed the expansive size of the creature.
"I can't move!" Delilah tried to power forward but even the dragon at her side was unable to escape the hold.
"It's getting closer, we have to do something!"
"There is no way we can take that thing!" Delilah also ducked her head under to see what was coming for them.
"I agree," Asa caught Marse's eye. "Time to take flight." She patted
her side. With all the power she could muster from her tail she pushed herself out of the water. Her body launched into the air and what was once siren, became sphinx. Massive wings folded from within her and carried her body. She flew over to Delilah and used her tail, wrapping it around the serpent waist, to pull the woman out of the water and firmly placed her on the back of Marse.
"Great, now what?!" Delilah shouted as Iris stirred, finally waking.
"Now, Marse is going to fly!" Asa called out and Marse roared in response.
"I'm sorry, she's going to do what?" Iris asked just as the flesh that had wrapped around her vibrated as it expanded from Marse’s body. Out to the sides of her body lifted two massive transparent wings. Asa shifted to her human form, landed on Marse's back and rubbed her gently.
"Let's go girl," she cheered as the sea dragon started her fight against the holds of the water.
Marse struggled to break free, unable to easily propel herself like Asa had. With great force she finally lifted herself from the water but before they could clear it completely, the monster reached out for her with a hideous tentacle, that grabbed what remained of Marse’s tail beneath the water. It pulled her violently and dragged them all beneath. Despite how hard Marse fought, she was losing. If she didn’t get help, they would all drown.
Beneath the water Iris struggled to breathe, she held her breath as long as she could but soon the water would begin to flood her lungs. Asa quickly acted using her power over the water to create an air pocket that formed around Iris’ head. She choked as her lungs recovered. Marse’s body still wrapped around her but she felt herself beginning to slip and just as the monster yanked again, Marse lost hold of her passenger. Iris fell away into the dark waters and Delilah took out after her and dove into the depths to retrieve her.
Tired of the fight, Asa did the only thing she could think of, if she didn't act, they would lose. It could mean draining her power reserves, but it was worth it if it would save them. Her first blow didn’t come full force. She wanted to use as little as possible as she knew they would have need for it again before she could feed. Luckily the light that shot from the palms of her hands proved to be just enough to shock the monster. Delilah made it back just in time to grab hold on Marse’s tail and the women were carried up out of the water and into the sky. The monster reached for them again, but Asa emitted another small burst of energy that burned the tentacle that left the surface of the water. The cries of the sea monster rang out around them as Marse carried them far above the cloud and out of its reaches.