by S. L. Stacy
“It’s the gorgolus,” Brian manages to say around a gulp of fear. He holds out a hand as if to pacify the creature. “Nice beast. Stay.” The gorgolus huffs, its breath coming out in an angry white cloud, and stamps the ground with one of its elephant-like feet. “Stay.”
“Her.” Rae points a trembling finger at me. “She’s the one we came for. Go get her, boy.” She starts to back away, finger still trained at me. “Go get her.”
“I think it might be a girl,” Brian corrects her, eyes narrowed on the creature.
“Who cares? Just as long as it knows who the target is.” As if in response, the gorgolus lets out another vicious snarl, snapping its sharp teeth in my direction.
“Fudge,” I gasp, taking a reflexive step back, suddenly not as worried about the two people with daggers as I am about the six-horned beast, eyes gleaming with hunger as it watches me.
When Rae wraps her strong arms around me a second later, I realize letting my guard down around any of them was a mistake.
“Here she is.” Tightening her arms around me, Rae picks me up a few inches off the ground, striding toward the monster. I try to wrestle out of her relentless grip, even kicking back with my foot to hit her in the shin, but her hold on me only tightens. “Snack time, beastie.”
Just as suddenly as she grabbed me, Rae lets go, throwing me at the creature’s feet. I temper the fall with my hands, knees banging against the ground. Slowly, I look up, only inches separating me now from the gorgolus. Meeting my gaze, it doesn’t make a move yet to attack me, still watching me with those ravenous eyes. It has a distinct smell, which, unlike the hound’s, isn’t repellant, reminding me of a mixture of pine and the smell of grass after it rains.
Dirt sprays up as the gorgolus paws at the ground again, and I spring back to life, crawling backwards on my hands and knees. Giving a mighty grunt, it bounds forward with surprising speed and agility for an animal of its size. I scramble to my feet and break out into a run, keeping my head turned toward it, but I can already tell I’m not fast enough to outpace it.
“Come on!” Rae shouts to Brian. “Let’s get out of here!”
“We can’t just leave her here,” he argues. After seeing him bully Alec the other night in the clearing, I’m surprised to hear him sound so conflicted about my own welfare. “Master just wants her out of the way, not for her to be dinner for some wild animal.”
“Whatever gets the job done,” she insists. I risk a glance, seeing their backs turn as they take off in the other direction. I guess Brian’s reservations about leaving me behind were short-lived. When I look back at the gorgolus, it’s not watching me anymore, its wild gaze instead directed at Brian and Rae. A short burst of wind knocks me off balance as the monster curves to the right, circumventing me, and takes off after them.
Heart racing, I slow to a stop, bracing my hands on my knees and gasping for breath. The gorgolus overtakes them in a few swift strides, slamming itself into Brian and knocking him to the ground. Then, it uses one of its long horns to pick Rae up by the back of her shirt, lofting her in the air for several moments while she flails and screams. It flings Rae through the air, the girl landing like a dead weight on top of Brian’s unconscious body.
When it’s done, the gorgolus lifts its head into the air, letting out a long, anguished wail. Tucking my dagger away, I walk cautiously over to it, coming to a stop over Brian and Rae. Although their eyes are closed, bodies limp, their chests still rise and fall gently with breath.
“They’re okay,” I assure the beast, who looks down at the sound of my voice, ceasing its heart-wrenching song. “They’re just unconscious. They were going to hurt me. You did a good thing.” Stepping around them, I reach out a tentative hand toward the gorgolus, bringing it down slowly to pat her leathery hide. She lets me, closing her eyes, the motion of my hand seeming to soothe her.
Suddenly, a small, furry shadow comes hurtling out of the darkness, landing on the creature’s back. Her eyes spring open, and she lets out a moan as Apate sinks determined claws into her wrinkled flesh.
“No!” I cry out, lunging for the cat. The gorgolus thrashes back and forth, trying to throw Apate off, but the cat clings on fiercely, hissing in response. I’m forced to stagger back, out of the way of the distressed creature. “Apate, no. It’s our friend. She’s our friend!”
Apate cocks her head, and, understanding me, releases her grip. Leaping onto the ground, she pads over to me, meowing apologetically.
“It’s alright.” I clamp an unsteady hand on the gorgolus, almost losing my hold when it bucks again. “Shhh, shhh. It’s alright. She didn’t know. You’re okay now. You’re okay.” Eventually, under the calming pressure of my hand, the gorgolus grows calm again, breathing evenly. I drop my hand and look down at Apate.
“We should get out of here before they wake up,” I tell her, nodding to where Brian and Rae lay in a tangle of arms and legs on the ground. Where exactly we should go, I have no idea. Finding Dolos and getting my sword and bag back from him are at the top of the list, but so is reconnecting with Dionysus. Even though we’ve only known each other for a short time, I feel like I can trust him, and I don’t think he’d bail. His commitment to making up for past wrongs had seemed so sincere.
“But then where the heck is he?” I ask the universe. My only answer is the faint chirping of crickets somewhere in the grass. The cat tilts her head to the side, giving me a quizzical look. “Dionysus,” I clarify for her. “Remember? We got separated, and he’s either still not back yet or he struck off on his own. I’m not sure how much longer we should wait around for him.”
I jump as something cold and wet nudges my shoulder. The gorgolus is urgently prodding me with her snout, eyes pleading for attention. “Did you see something? Did you see Dionysus come out of the rift?” The creature doesn’t nod, but seems to look at me meaningfully. “Do you know where he is?” She nuzzles my arm again.
Just like the doubts I had over Apate, I’m not sure if I’m reading into her behavior too much. Only minutes ago, she was tearing up the park in a violent rampage, but now intelligence seems to peer through those glowing, yellow eyes. She did just save me from Brian and Rae. That couldn’t have been a fluke.
The gorgolus crouches down, still giving me the same, pointed look. It takes me a moment to realize what she’s offering.
“You want me to…get on?” The beast blinks a few times, waiting patiently. Shrugging, I collect Apate and then slide carefully onto the gorgolus’s back, planting a hand on her rough hide to steady myself.
Well, it’s not like I really have any other options, I tell myself as she breaks out into a trot, heading in the direction of the Freedom Bridge. I’m car-less and wing-less. The buses have stopped running, and I don’t have any money to pay for a cab, nor a phone to get an Uber. Might as well travel by alien monster.
“We can’t go this way,” I whisper to her as she continues on a course for the bridge. Although it’s late enough that there isn’t too much traffic, the occasional car whizzes across the arched, steel structure, headlights slicing the dark. “We have to go away from the cars and the people.”
Even as I say it, something strange is happening to her wrinkled, gray skin. It has the same, leathery feel underneath my palm, but it’s losing color, becoming thinner and more translucent. Soon, the hulking form underneath me is nothing more than a barely-there outline, and it looks like there’s nothing in between me and the ground except for a slight distortion to the air.
The camouflage extends over me and Apate, until we, too, are practically invisible. An onlooker might do a double-take, seeing movement out of the corner of their eye, but by then we’ve already moved on, the gorgolus picking up speed as we blend further and further with the night. This is how she must have given the Sigma Iotas the slip the other night, I realize, and how she went undetected ever since. An Instagram of an unusual, horned animal lumbering around Shadesburg would certainly have made the rounds on social media, maybe even the n
ational news.
Once we reach the highway, the gorgolus keeps to the thick trees flanking the side, not taking any chances even though the road is mostly empty. I recognize the route, but it’s not until we take the exit for Hartwood that I know for certain we’re heading toward Playland.
Chapter 17
Playland at four in the morning reminds me of a ghost town, the streets deserted, the rides steel skeletons lurking in the dark. A stray, red-and-white striped popcorn bag scrapes over the pavement, knocked around by a gust of bitter wind. In the distance, I see one set of colorful, blinking lights slicing through the darkness, the lively strains of carnival music echoing hauntingly in the otherwise silent amusement park.
Dagger in hand, I do a cautious sweep of the park entrance, the gorgolus staying close behind me, my large, cumbersome shadow. Apate darts ahead to do her own patrol. Someone has already unlocked the front gate and left the bodies of two security guards piled up against one side of the ticket booth, their throats slashed, blood staining the collars of their dark blue uniforms maroon. I look away from them, gagging, and set off in the direction of the flashing lights.
On the way, I can’t help but stop at the place where Madam Moira’s purple tent was a few days ago. I know it’s a longshot that the fortuneteller would be here in the wee hours of the morning, staring into her crystal ball and waiting to impart guidance. Still, I’m a little surprised, not to mention disappointed, to see that there’s no trace of the purple tent or signpost at all.
“Where are you, Moira?” I mumble, looking up and down the park. “I could really use you right now.” Somehow, I feel certain that she could help me decipher the last ingredient for the antidote. Of course, without my bag, I don’t have any of the other ingredients, anyway.
Only a few more hours until sunrise—until Eric’s army invades Olympus—and I have nothing.
A feline cry of urgency draws me away from my pity party as Apate comes racing up to me.
“What is it?” I ask her, following her head as it looks from me to the whirl of lights from the carousel and back again. “You want to go on some rides?” I try to joke, dread raising the hairs on the back of my neck. Apate takes off again, and I follow at a light jog, the carousel’s repetitive melody growing louder and more menacing with every step. When we reach the ride, it looks empty at first, until I glimpse a pair of hands tied to one of the poles on the other side. As it turns, a splash of red blood on a white horse is revealed. Then a slumped body, and a pale face, glistening with sweat.
“Dionysus!” I shout instinctively, instantly clamping my mouth shut and looking around in panic. To my relief, his eyes flutter open, looking glassy and watery. He makes a weak, muffled noise against the piece of cloth tied around his mouth. Before I have a chance to take action, he’s already disappearing around the bend again as the carousel makes another revolution. Sheathing the dagger, I run over to the control pit and crank the lever that shuts the ride down. As it slows, I jump onto the platform and start removing the gag from his mouth.
“Oh Dion,” I sigh, undoing the knot and throwing the cloth to the ground. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
Dionysus runs his tongue over cracked lips, wavering in his seat like he’s about to be sick. Which, I imagine, he is.
“It’s…okay,” he manages in a hoarse voice. “It’s not your fault.” With that assurance, he promptly turns away from me, throwing up over the other side of the carousel. I look away, feeling a bout of sympathy nausea creeping up my esophagus. When it sounds like he’s done, I turn back around and set my dagger to the rope, carefully slicing back and forth until it snaps apart. Dionysus jerks his arms down, wriggling his hands the rest of the way out of the rope and discarding it. He climbs unsteadily off of the horse, and I let him use me as a crutch as we hop down to the ground.
“Fuck,” he groans as he sinks to the pavement, propping his back against the ride. I sit down across from him, watching with worry as he holds his head in his hands.
“You drink like a fish, but get a little motion sickness from a merry-go-round?” I tease him gently. He lets out a weak laugh, lifting his head to meet my gaze.
“I think I was sicker from whatever they used to knock me out than from the ride,” he insists, absently rubbing one of his muscular arms.
I lean forward, taking one of his sweaty hands in mine. “Dionysus, what happened to you?”
“After we entered the rift and I realized we hadn’t ended up together, I came right back out,” he explains, “but a group of five or so people rushed me. One of them drove a knife into my leg.” He points to the hole in his pants where the blade cut through. The material around it is stained red, although the flesh underneath has healed over. “Someone else drove a needle into my arm. A tranquilizer. The next thing I knew, I was tied to this ride, going around and around…” Dionysus shakes his head, looking dizzy just thinking about it. “I was still pretty out of it, zoning in and out, until you got here.”
“How…how long do you think you’ve been here?” I ask with some hesitation.
He shrugs. “I don’t know. An hour, maybe? Two?”
Feeling guilty, I withdraw my hand, knotting my fingers in my lap. “I know you said it wasn’t, but it is my fault.”
“Carly, don’t go blaming yourself—”
“They did this to you because you’re helping me,” I say over him. “Either to scare you off, or as a warning for me. Maybe both.”
Dionysus holds my gaze resolutely. “They’re not going to scare me off that easily.”
“That’s nice of you to say, but if you flaked now, I would understand. I would still tell Victoria that you tried to help me and everything.”
“I’m not going to flake. After I ditched Victoria, there were many times that I thought about coming back,” Dionysus says, a faint, golden color returning to his skin. “Giving her a call, or even just a text, to check in. But I was too ashamed at how I’d behaved. We had an important mission here, and I ran away from it. I distracted myself with wine, and parties, and women. Oh, God”—he slams a palm against his forehead, embarrassed—“so many women—”
I wave my hand for him to stop. “Yeah, I get it, you’re a slut. Make your point.”
“My point is: I flaked once, and I’m not about to do it again just because things are getting a little rough. You’re my friend, Carly, and I’m in this for the long haul now. I’m doing this because I want to. And because it’s the right thing to do.”
A tear springs to my eye, and I use the back of my hand to wipe it quickly away. “The truth is, I don’t even deserve your help or friendship right now. You know my fanny pack? The one with all of the ingredients stowed away in it? Yeah, Dolos has it.” I watch his face fall. “I was knocked unconscious when I came out of the rift, and he took the opportunity to steal it.”
Straightening his shoulders, Dionysus’s jaw stiffens, his mouth set in a determined line. “Then we’ll just have to steal it back.”
“Look, I know we’ll be able to turn my sisters back eventually. But it’s not going to be tonight. It’s not going to be in time to stop Eric’s army.” I give a helpless shrug.
He looks disappointed. “I didn’t think you were one to back down from a challenge so easily.”
“This isn’t a challenge. It’s the impossible.”
We sit in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. Dionysus is the one to finally break it, climbing slowly to his feet as he asks, “So, what happened to you? Did you find out anything useful?”
I nod. “It’s a long story, but in a nutshell, Apate and I ended up in the Underworld, and I found two of the ingredients. Of course, now Dolos has them—”
“Carly.” Dionysus cuts me off, voice quiet but filled with panic. My mouth snaps closed. Reaching a hand toward me, he motions me closer, wide eyes locked on something behind me. “Get over here. Now.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask him, keeping my voice low. I walk over to him, unsheathing my dag
ger on the way.
“Keep your dagger at the ready, but don’t say another word.” To my surprise, and slight annoyance, he steps out in front of me, throwing an arm out to shield me from whatever danger is lurking in the dark.
“Is that really necessary?” I try and fail to shove his arm down. “I’m the one with the weapon.” I’ve never seen him go all alpha male, overprotective before. Then again, I’ve never seen him this frightened before, either.
“You’ve never dealt with a gorgolus before. I have.”
“Wait. The gorgolus?” Following his gaze, I can see the creature now hiding behind one of the game booths, peering around the side with trepidation. “You don’t have to be afraid of her. In fact, she looks more afraid of you.”
“A gorgolus doesn’t know fear. It only knows blood, violence and destruction. Remember the village I told you about?” I nod, feeling chilled, and he continues, “This is the same kind of monster that decimated it. That killed Sibby.”
“Okay, so maybe they’re from the same species, but I’m telling you, this gorgolus is different,” I insist, lowering the dagger and stepping around his outstretched arm. “I saw the Sigma Iotas bring her in through a portal. Sure, I thought she was scary and evil at first, but then she attacked two of Eric’s minions who accosted me at Point Park. And she must have seen the others jump you, because she knew where they took you. She led me here. If it wasn’t for her, I probably never would have found you.”
Dionysus’s eyes shift from the creature to me, his brow creased with uncertainty. “Really? Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” I tuck the weapon out of sight. “Now, stop looking so freaked out and defensive. You’re scaring her.”
“I…” He scratches the back of his head, still eying the gorgolus warily. Seeming to decide it’s safe to come out, the animal hobbles toward us, stopping at a safe distance. I go up to her, giving her a gentle pat on the head.
I turn to look back at Dionysus. “See?”