by Jessica Cage
As tiring as it was for Marse, she kept them in the air until they made it to their destination.
"This is it!" Asa jumped down from the back of Marse long before she landed in the shallow waters near the island’s shore. "Do you feel that? Man!" She danced on the sandy grounds in all her nudity. During the ride she hadn’t thought to cover back up considering she’d been wrapped inside the dragon flesh along with the others.
Iris jumped down from the back of Marse and thanked her for the ride. The beast nuzzled her hand before approaching Delilah who also thanked her. The sea dragon paused for a moment with skepticism before she dove beneath the water and swam away. Delilah appeared on two legs again as well, her clothing intact as she left the ocean. She grabbed Iris’ hand as they watched the dancing nymph before them.
It was the change in the hue of Iris’ cheeks that alerted Asa to the fact that her body was still bare. She winked at the blushing woman and let her breast bounce just once more before her clothing reappeared and all traces of the siren were safely hidden from view.
"I don't feel anything." Iris took off her shoe to empty it of the water that had flood it. Both Asa and Delilah were perfectly dry and comfortable while she, outside of her over blown hair, looked like a wet chicken, despite having been flying for the last hour.
"I do, its strong.” Delilah nodded. “We're definitely in the right place."
"Good, now, where is she?" Asa squinted her eyes as she looked out around them. They’d traveled through the night and the sun was beginning to rise again. She’d hoped they would be able to complete the task under the cover of the night but getting there was much more complicated than they had hoped for. Not to mention the indirect route they had to take to avoid boats and the eyes of passengers catching a glimpse of the less than fully submerged Marse. Asa remembered a time when a boat was a sign of coming pleasures for her. Times had changed. Instead of luring the men aboard to their sweet death, she was hiding from them.
"According to Lehela's journal we will find her beneath an anchor." Iris handed the damp pages to the two women who looked over the scrawling of the witch, "Do you think that means she is beneath the ocean?"
"No, whatever this pull is, it isn't coming from the water. This is on land,” Asa offered. “If she was down there, I would be drawn to return to the water but for the first time in a long time, that isn't the case."
"Maybe it’s not a literal anchor." Delilah pointed to the text. “It says beneath the anchor. I think this means we’re looking for a specific point. Maybe it’s something in the shape of one. Or maybe it’s a boulder or chains that are holding something in place? A restraint of some sort.”
After they scoured the island searching for the source of the magical pull with the sun rising higher and higher into the sky above them, the women had all but given up. The only thing that helped guide them was the feeling of the magic only Asa and Delilah could sense. The further they moved away from the place where Tethys rested, the less they felt the magic that called to them. The point where they felt the strongest sensation was at the base of the volcano that rested in the center of the island.
Iris was hungry and exhausted, so she opted to take a break from the ongoing search. She plopped down on a large rock that sat nearby, pulled a power bar from her backpack, and a bottle of warm water. It would have to do. Wiping the sweat from her brow she looked up to curse the clear skies that allowed the sun to beat down on them. There she saw it, in the span of clear blue sky, there was one singular form made of thin wisps that barely counted as a cloud, but it was there, in the shape of an anchor.
"Guys, do you think it’s that?" she pointed to the sky and their eyes followed. “I mean, it is technically in the shape of an anchor, right?”
"Is it pointing to the mouth of the volcano?" Asa squinted as she tried to block the light from the sun.
"Looks like it," Delilah marched forward without question and Asa and Iris shared a shocked look. She couldn't seriously expect them to climb to the top of the volcano. But by the way she moved steadily forward, they could tell that's exactly what she expected.
"Perhaps we could think about things before climbing a mountain that can potentially spew lava! What if it's active?" Iris called out but Delilah kept going ignoring the warning of possible risk
"I guess we're climbing a volcano today." Asa shrugged; she wasn't particularly thrilled about the option but they sure as hell couldn't let Delilah go it alone.
"I would have worn different shoes if I'd known there was potential for melting my damn boots!" Iris looked down at the black boots that she loved and already started to mourn their loss. She stuffed what remained of her power bar down her throat and put the rest of the water back in her bag. As much as she wanted to finish it off, instincts told her it would be smart to keep something to hydrate herself as she attempted to keep up with two supernatural beings on a trek up the deadly mountain.
“We will replace your boots, I promise!” Asa threw her arm around Iris’ shoulder and they marched on behind Delilah. “They really are cute though.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” Iris poured as she reluctantly moved ahead.
Delilah was resilient, a soldier marching into battle. Her steps remained sure as she climbed with focus up the tough terrain of the mountain side. The two women behind her, on the other hand, struggled to keep up. The closer they got to the top, the higher the temperature became. The heat that rose from beneath their feet combined with the burn of the sun on their skin was taking a toll.
Asa ripped away parts of her shirt to allow for cool air to flow. That did nothing but irritate her more as the sweat rolled down her flesh and the fabric stuck to her body. She shared sips of water from Iris’ bottle, but the small bouts of refreshment would never be enough to quench either of their thirsts.
The climb was not a short one. By the time they made it to the top, the sun was thankfully beginning to descend. Delilah had completed the climb a full ten minutes before her team and stood at the top looking out over the land that surrounded it. Though her body dripped with sweat, and her hair fell around her face weighed down with the same salty moisture, she still managed to appear in better form than the two of them who both looked as if they had been dunked in the ocean, rolled in dirt, and forced to sit inside a sauna.
"I thought she was a damn water goddess, why the hell is she holding up at the mouth of a damn volcano?" Iris called as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
"We all have our fiery side!" Delilah laughed and looked over the edge of the mouth to the Lava below. “Looks like this could go active at any moment. It’s calm now, though.”
“Maybe that’s why she is here,” Asa huffed. “Take a water god and torture her with fire for eons on end.”
“There is something there in the center,” Delilah pointed. “It looks like a pillar of some sort.”
“Look, on the side, that is the symbol of Tethys. I remember it from my lessons,” Iris commented. “The winged brow.”
“Do you think she’s inside of there?” Asa asked. "Do we have to break her out of that thing?"
“That’s one way to keep an ocean goddess locked away. Put her in the center of a damn volcano trapped inside stone!” Iris commented. “Who could have done this to her?”
"We can ask her that later. The pressing matter is figuring out how the hell we’re supposed to get her out of there. On top of that we need to consider that waking her, could very well wake the volcano. Who’s to say the person responsible for putting her here wasn’t counting on exactly that? I know if this was my trap, I'd definitely put that fail safe in!" Asa pointed out their hurdles as she too wiped the sweat from her forehead. She flicked it at the ground, and it sizzled.
“We need to find a way to get her out of there!” Delilah yelled in frustration as she looked for a viable option to use to cross the opening but found none.
"How the hell do you expect us do that?" Iris wiped another layer of sweat this time flicking it over the e
dge of the volcano. It landed on an invisible surface which shimmered, but she didn't notice it, “Perhaps you could fly, Asa, though I’m not really sure what you would do once you’re there with no hands and all.”
"Did you see that?" Delilah stared at the spot where Iris had flung her sweat, she ignored everything else the woman said as her attention was grabbed by the odd occurrence.
"What?" Iris looked out over the edge where Delilah stared, but saw nothing except the threatening descent into hot lava.
"Wait, look closely," Delilah ran her hand down the length of her hair, pulling moisture from the strands and flicked it over the edge. This time they all watched it as it landed and shimmered.
"There's something there!" Iris yelled and nearly jumped with the excitement that rushed over her.
"Wait," Asa rung her hair out over the edge and in front of them, for a moment the first few slats of a bridge appeared.
"There's a bridge. We need more water." Iris pulled the bottle from her bag and empty the remaining contents onto the bridge. It shimmered just the same, but she screamed in frustration as the bridge faded again to nothing. “Dammit! It's not working.”
“Something tells me that wouldn’t have been enough anyway.” Asa said. "If this thing is charged by water, it's going to take a lot to stabilize, especially hanging over the heat coming from below."
“We need something more.” Delilah grunted and chewed her lip.
“This could take tons of water; how do we get that amount of water up here?” Iris began to formulate a plan that would allow for the transport of massive amounts of water to the top of the volcano, but her mind froze as she realized what the bridge really meant. "Wait, we're supposed to cross a bridge over a damn volcano?!" she yelled at Delilah who was already working on her own plan to solve their problem.
“You said Poseidon is my father." Delilah gazed out over the massive span of water that surrounded them.
"Yes?"
"The ocean was his to command. Perhaps that claim passed down to me.” Delilah turned her full focus to the ocean calling out to it the same way she did the reptiles who followed her command. The smile touched her face as she immediately felt the response but within moments turned to a frown. Though she pushed her will, she wasn’t strong enough to make the uncompromising force obey her. She called again and again she witnessed the response, but the waves that lifted and crashed again to the surface wasn't what she wanted. Frustrated she screamed out to the water, “Do as I command! I am Poseidon’s daughter!” She tried again but she received yet another underwhelming response.
Delilah's growing rage was soothed by the gentle touch of Asa's finger lacing into her own. She looked down at their intertwined fingers then up to the wide eyes of the woman beside her.
"The waters are a force to be reckoned, they cannot be commanded to do as you want. If you push, you will only get pushed back. Your connection is like my own, ask and the waters will provide." Asa cooed as she spoke lovingly of the nature of her home.
With the reassuring smile from her new friend, Delilah was filled with confidence. Together they peered out over the raging waters below. With a quieter mind and a peaceful request, Delilah asked that ocean aid her in her quest.
The water rippled, twisted and turned and Delilah felt it, the magic at work. Just a moment later, a funnel of water lifted from the surface of the ocean, reached up into the sky and stretched across the land towards the mouth of the volcano. The water pummeled down on the opening in a concentrated stream that created an eruption of hot mist. When the downpour stopped and the steam cleared, a crystal clear bridge stood before them.
"We have to hurry before it fades," Delilah ran forward and Asa followed her. Both women were afraid that the bridge would disappear again.
Iris remained behind and watched in frustrated horror as the two women ran across the fragile bridge. Beneath them the lava stirred, the addition of water had created a dark crust that emitted a horrible gas which caused her eyes to burn and forced her to step further and further away until she lost sight of the two.
By the time Asa and Delilah made it to the pillar, their eyes and lungs burned from the gas emitted from below. Asa pressed her back against the stone which was surprisingly cold to the touch and sighed. She turned around and wrapped her limbs around the stone welcoming the relief. Delilah frowned but when she touched the stone she mimicked Asa.
"How do we open it?" Delilah coughed and fought the urge to wipe her eyes knowing it would only make the struggle of her vision worse. She started to examine the structure as she moved slowly around the small ledge. One false move and she could fall to a very painful death.
"The medallion, look at the markings. There is a piece missing here at the center!" Asa pointed to the symbol of Tethys. In the center was an empty space. She ran her hand across it then smiled. "It’s the medallion! The markings, it completes the image!"
Asa held out her hand to Delilah expecting her to quickly hand it over, but she hesitated.
"You want the medallion?" Delilah touched the piece that hung around her neck.
"Yes, it’s the key. I'm sure of it."
"But," Delilah looked at it pensively.
"We don't have time for this. Trust me I know what you're going through. That is the last thing you have of your mother. I had to give up something just as special for a similar cause. We have to do this Delilah, or all of this has been for nothing."
"You're right, I know." Delilah removed the chain from her neck and handing it over to Asa. "It's just, I have nothing else of her now."
"You have her inside of you. Trust me, she is and will always be with you." Asa turned and placed the medallion in the opening.
The moment the symbol was completed, the stone began to rumble from within. Light shone from around the new addition and the pillar cracked and forced Asa and Delilah to move back to the fragile bridge.
Loud sounds of sizzling rang out as steam shot out from the cracks. The steam provided them both with relief as it cleaned their faces and inhaling the vapors moistened their throats. Within moments the outer layer of the pillar had crumbled away, and the heavy body of the titan fell over into their arms. The moment she was free of her confinement, the volcano began to rumble.
"Well it worked!" Asa cheered but her celebration was cut short as she followed the wide gaze of Delilah.
Delilah's eyes fell to the activity beneath them, and through the clear bridge she witnessed the stirring of the dangerous magma below them. It fought its way through the laze that was created by the contact with the ocean water. "We have to get out of here!"
"Yeah, okay," Asa stood and tried to lift the body of the titan but couldn't. "She weighs a ton! It's going to take both of us to get her across this bridge!"
Asa and Delilah struggled to carry the burden of Tethys' weight. Although her form was small, her body felt as if it was weighed down by the mountain itself. With her arms slung across their shoulders, they worked together to move her across the bridge, but time did not appear to be on their side. The crystal of the bridge beneath their feet began to crack beneath their collective weight. The splinter grew fast and wide with each step that moved them forward to safety. Chunks of the bridge broke away and fell into the lava below.
They carried Tethys along as fast as they could and had just made it to the mouth’s edge when Asa's foot became trapped in a large crack. She stumbled and backwards while Delilah fell forward with Tethys’ body.
Delilah and the titan landed safely on the ground, but Asa's fall left her laying on the remaining portion of the bridge. She tried to recover, but even the slightest movement caused the splintered surface to further falter.
“Don’t move!” Delilah yelled. She took one step forward with hopes to save the woman, but she was too late. The bridge shattered and Asa fell with the broken pieces. “No!” Delilah yelled out, and as she reached her hand forward, the limb changed. Her arm stretched out into the body of a massive snake whose head hi
ssed as it wrapped around Asa, catching her just as the bridge shattered beneath her. Though she caught her, the stress of their trip had finally caught up to her and exhaustion threatened to make her drop the siren. She cried out, certain that she would fail, but strength was added to her fight.
Iris wrapped her arms around Delilah's waist, and pulled her back from the edge. Slowly they moved further from the opening and carried Asa with them, when she was close enough to the top, she reached out and pulled herself up launching forward and colliding with the women who struggled to lift her. The three women collapsed together next to the unconscious body of the titan.
When the chorus of deep panting and sighs of relief ended, they all burst out in laughter.
After the fit of laughter subsided, the sound of the molten rock that settled below them snapped the three back into reality. They stood and eyed the limp and ash covered body of the titan who lay on the hot surface of the ground.
"We need to wake her." Delilah spoke, still catching her breath from the combined exertion of the run across the bridge and struggle to save Asa. “We can’t stay here.”
"Maybe we have to take her to the sea?” Iris offered and knelt beside Tethys to remove the dark hair that covered her face. “She looks like a raisin, maybe she needs to rehydrate in order to wake up.”
“I think you’re right.” Asa looked at Delilah who frowned. “We need to carry her down. Hell, we all could use some hydration right now.”