Elementals 3: The Head of Medusa

by Michelle Madow

  “You’re right,” I said. “It was just so tempting to try.” I continued to stare at the poor man, wondering if I really would be able to heal him. It would be incredible if I could.

  “And you will try,” Blake said. “After we get Medusa’s head. I don’t know if it’ll be possible or not—there’s a good chance that they’re dead, and we know you can’t bring back the dead. But if it is possible, I know you’ll be able to do it.”

  “Thanks,” I said, pulling my gaze away from the statue to look up at Blake.

  His eyes met mine, and he leaned down, brushing his lips against mine. I leaned into him, wanting nothing more than to wrap my arms around his neck, pull him closer, and to kiss him until I could forget about all the gruesome statues around us. But we were in public, so I broke the kiss and pulled away.

  “What was that for?” I asked, glancing around to make sure no one was staring at us. A couple nearby quickly turned away and studied the tree in front of them.

  “Do I have to have a reason?” He raised an eyebrow, challenging me.

  “No,” I said with a smile. “Of course you don’t. But we are in public, you know…”

  “I’m just constantly impressed by you,” he said. “Most people who knew the truth about these statues would back away, not wanting to be near something so gruesome. But you… you reach forward and try to touch it to see if you can help.”

  “Of course I did,” I said. “I wish we didn’t have to look at these statues—I wish these people had never been turned to stone in the first place—but that’s not how it is. How could I not try to help?”

  “And you will,” he said. “Later tonight.”

  I nodded, hoping with all hope that it would work. “I’m still so nervous,” I said, taking another sip of the blue energy cider. “After what happened with the hydra… I’m scared about what could happen to us tonight.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to us tonight,” he said, and I wished I could be as confident as he sounded. “It’ll be Medusa against the six of us, and we’re going in there with a solid plan. The odds are in our favor.”

  I nodded, wanting to believe it. But I couldn’t shake away my doubt. One wrong look, and one of us could end up like the stone man in front of us. An image of Blake turned into stone, his expression twisted into anguish from his final moment, popped into my head. I pushed it away, but not before my eyes filled with tears at the thought.

  What if I was wrong, and I couldn’t heal the statues? I didn’t know what I would do if I lost Blake. And now, standing here with him as he looked down at me intently, as if he was trying to figure out what I was thinking, I felt the words on the tip of my tongue again.

  I love you.

  Three small words. Saying them should be easy enough. But yet… I remained silent, instead just looking up at him and managing a small smile.

  Was he also thinking that he loved me, too? Maybe I could look at him long enough, thinking those three words over and over, and doing so could somehow put the words into his head and encourage him to say them first.

  But that was silly. I needed to be upfront and say it. I didn’t doubt my feelings for him… so why was this so difficult?

  I already knew why, although I hated thinking of the possibility. It was because if he didn’t say it back, I would be so humiliated that I didn’t think I would ever be able to face him again.

  “Hey guys,” someone said from behind us—Ethan. He studied the statue and frowned. “These things are pretty gruesome, aren’t they?”

  “They’re not ‘things,’” I corrected him. “They’re people. Or… they were people.”

  “I know.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, still studying the statue. His expression was blank—I had no idea what he was thinking. “I guess I said it like that because it makes it sound less real.”

  “At least we know that after tonight, no more of them will be created,” Blake said. “Once we finish what we came here to do.”

  “True.” Ethan nodded, and the three of us stood there in silence, observing the statue.

  I stepped closer to Blake, wishing that Ethan would take the hint and go hang out with one of the others. I’d been so close to telling Blake my feelings for him—I would have done it, if Ethan hadn’t interrupted us. Or at least, I hope I would have done it.

  I finished the last of my drink, but I was so wired that the blue energy barely affected me at all.

  “Do you want me to get you another?” Blake asked, eying my empty glass.

  “Yeah,” I told him, grateful for the change of subject. “I’ll go with you.”

  “Hold on,” Ethan said, and I stopped in my tracks. “I didn’t come over here to look at the artwork. I was actually hoping to talk to you, Nicole. Alone.”

  “Anything you want to say to her can be said in front of me,” Blake told him.

  Ethan looked back and forth between the two of us, a smirk crossing his lips. “I’m not going to try to hit on her, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said to him before turning back to me. “I know that you’re taken. Just let me go with you to get you your drink. I won’t bite—I promise.”

  “Fine,” I said, since there was no point in turning this into a big deal. I would hear Ethan out, and be done with it. “Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  “Two apple ciders,” Ethan ordered once it was our turn at the bar.

  “Are you sure you don’t want something stronger?” the bartender asked him. “It’s a private event, so no one’s watching to see if we ID…”

  “Nothing stronger,” I said, not wanting to give Ethan a chance to answer. We couldn’t risk doing anything that might mess up our focus tonight—especially something as stupid as drinking.

  The bartender poured the cider, and Ethan took both flutes, handing one of them to me. “You actually think I would drink alcohol tonight?” he asked me. “What kind of idiot do you think I am?”

  “One who still hasn’t told me why he needed to talk to me alone,” I said. “So… what’s up?”

  He glanced at the floor, shuffling his feet. If I didn’t know him better, I might think he was nervous. “I just wanted to apologize again,” he said, lifting his gaze to meet mine. “I know that what I said to you in the limo might have come off wrong, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since we got here.”

  “I don’t know how you intended it to come off,” I said. “But it seemed like you doubted my ability to shoot.”

  “I don’t,” he said. “I’ve seen you shoot enough to know that your aim is almost perfect. All I was doing was trying to be safe—for the same reason why you all decided against guns.” He lowered his voice when he said that last part, and I was glad he did, because I wouldn’t want anyone overhearing. “Trust me—I want us to succeed tonight more than anyone. If it weren’t for these monsters, my sister would still be alive. They deserve what’s coming for them.”

  “They do,” I agreed, and I looked around the room, searching for Blake. He was back at the hors d'oeuvres bar, chatting with Chris and Kate. His eyes met mine, and since Ethan wasn’t doing anything wrong, I nodded to let Blake know that everything was fine.

  “That’s not all,” Ethan said, and I shifted my focus back to him. “I keep thinking about how I blamed you for what happened to Rachael. And before we go into this fight tonight, I wanted to clear that up with you. Because it’s not you that I’m angry with. It’s them. The monsters. If it hadn’t been for them, Rachael would still be alive. And I’m grateful that you’re letting me fight with your group, because there’s nothing I want more than to get revenge for my sister’s death.”

  “And we will,” I said, clinking my glass with his and taking a sip. “Starting tonight, with Medusa.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  I rejoined the others, and the rest of the evening passed quickly—probably because I was nervous about the upcoming fight with Medusa. Once the guests started trickling out, I was so anxious
that I could barely focus. I wasn’t sure why I felt worse now than I had before fighting the hydra. Maybe after seeing Rachael die, I better understood the consequences of what would happen if we failed.

  Finally, Jason and Hypatia approached us, with Ethan on their tails. Each of them held two drinks in their hands.

  “Cider full of orange energy,” Jason said, handing one to me. “To give you strength in the upcoming fight.”

  “Thanks.” I took it from him and took a long drink, needing as much strength as possible.

  “We’ve talked to the others who had golden tickets,” Hypatia said. “There were only four of them, and they’ve been compelled to leave. The security guards as well. Once more people head out, Jason and I will leave too, since we’ll only be a detriment in a fight. We’ll be waiting in the limo for you to call us once everything in here is clear.”

  “It’s too bad your powers don’t work on monsters,” Chris said. “Then you could just compel Medusa to turn Typhon to stone herself.”

  “You know our powers only work on humans and witches,” she said. “Anyone more powerful than us is immune. Now… the bag with your weapons has been placed under the hors d'oeuvres bar. You may retrieve them once everyone has left.”

  “And I know we’ve told you this already,” Jason said. “But good luck.”

  We all raised our glasses, clinked them together, and finished the rest of our drinks.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Once everyone else had left, Blake and Chris dragged the bag out from under the bar. Danielle was the first to reach inside it, and she pulled out the Golden Sword, holding it up in the air and admiring it. The rest of us grabbed our weapons—I had my bow and arrows, Chris had his knives, and Blake, Kate, and Chris all had sword s . Our weapons wouldn’t be able to slice through Medusa’s diamond hard skin, but we could still use them defensively.

  We also all put on our hats, with the mirrors that would eventually be in front of our eyes flipped up. Once Medusa came out, we would flip them down, which would keep her out of our direct line of sight.

  As we waited for her to make her appearance, I looked around the empty gallery. The peaceful garden setup with flowers and trees hardly matched the agonizing pain across the faces of the statues. The lively chatter from earlier was gone, replaced with an eerie silence, making the room feel creepier than ever. I must have been more anxious than I realized, because the room spun around me, and I had to reach for Blake’s arm to steady myself.

  “Are you okay?” he asked me, his voice full of concern.

  “Yeah.” I stood straighter and tried to blink away the dizziness, but I still felt off. Fuzzy. And since we were about to go into a dangerous fight, it wouldn’t do anyone any good to lie. “Actually… I feel kind of dizzy,” I said. “Are you sure there wasn’t any alcohol in those drinks?”

  “Not in the one I got you,” he said. “Or in the ones Jason got us, either.” He whipped his head to look at Ethan, his eyes narrowed. “You didn’t get her something alcoholic, did you?” he asked.

  “No,” I answered before Ethan had a chance. “I ordered that drink myself. It was cider—I saw the bartender pour it.”

  “Then that can’t be it,” Blake said. “Could you be getting sick?”

  “No,” I said. “I don’t think—”

  Before I could finish, a woman walked into the room—Medusa. She wore the exact same sunglasses that I’d seen in her interviews, but the head wrap had been replaced with a huge green-feathered derby hat that left no strand of hair showing. I reached for my visor and flicked it into the down position. The others did the same. Now that our vision was blocked, we turned around, looking at Medusa in our mirrors.

  “Well.” She chuckled and brought her hands together. “I see there’s no need to introduce myself.”

  “No,” I said. “We know who you are. And we know that these ‘statues’ are far from the work of a talented artist.”

  “What a sharp tongue you have!” Medusa laughed. “But how wrong you are. These statues are wonderful art, created by my very own, god-given talent!”

  “God-given, yes,” Danielle muttered. “Talent? That’s questionable.”

  “I heard that, dear,” Medusa said. Then she took a few sniffs of the air, and smiled. “I smell witch blood… and demigod blood. And given the Golden Sword that I see in your possession, I assume you’re not here to discuss art.”

  Why wasn’t she fighting us? I shifted in place, my hand on my bow. Most monsters would have already gone in for the kill. The only reason I could think of for her holding off was that she was scared. Six against one, with us having the Golden Sword, wasn’t in her favor. Or maybe she wasn’t a good fighter. Why would she need to fight when she could turn any living thing to stone with a single glance?

  “No,” Kate spoke up. “We’re not. We’re here to discuss Typhon. He’s almost risen, and the only way to stop him is to turn him to stone when his soul rejoins his body.”

  “And you’re asking for my help?” Medusa asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yes,” Kate said. “This would be much easier for all of us if you came with us willingly.”

  “Are you crazy?” Blake asked, glaring at Kate. “We already discussed this. She can turn any of us to stone with a single glance. We’ll never be able to trust her.”

  I was confused, because Kate had been the most adamant about not trusting Medusa when we’d discussed it at Darius’s, but I stayed quiet. Knowing Kate, this was some elaborate plan to catch Medusa unaware. Our best bet was to go along with it.

  “The handsome one is right,” Medusa said. “If you know your history, you’ll know that I always support the winning side of any war—even though last time, that meant making a deal with the goddess who turned me into a monster. But these past few centuries, after my deal with Athena to not turn anyone into stone, have been so boring.”

  “Judging from the looks of this gallery, you haven’t exactly stuck to that deal,” Ethan pointed out.

  “I did until recently,” she said. “Once that portal weakened, the Olympians were so busy preparing for war that I knew they wouldn’t notice if I turned a few people to stone. One glance here, one glance there… they were completely oblivious! Putting my power to use again was so much fun. I’m sick of abiding by the Olympians stupid rules. Once Typhon rises, he’ll open the portal to Kerberos and let all the Titans free. When the Titans take back their throne, I’ll be able to do whatever I please. So no—while it was considerate of you to ask, I won’t be willing to assist you in turning Typhon to stone.”

  “All right, then,” Blake said, raising his sword. “Then I guess your head will have to do.”

  Medusa took off her hat and threw it to the ground, revealing hissing, slithering green snakes where her hair should be. Next off were the sunglasses, and I gasped when I saw her eyes in the mirror—they were completely white, with no irises at all.

  “What fools you are!” She cackled and brought her fingers together. “Did you think I didn’t already know that the Golden Sword had been retrieved, which meant the infamous ‘Elementals’ would be coming my way?”

  “Who told you?” I asked. “Chione?”

  “The stupid snow goddess?” Medusa sneered. “No. But who told me doesn’t matter. What matters is that I knew better than to come here tonight unprepared. Stheno? Euryale?” she called over her shoulder. “You can both come out now.”

  With that, two women stepped to Medusa’s sides, and judging by their matching heads full of snakes and the way they looked at us as if they wanted to kill us, I could only guess that they were her sisters.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  “Your sisters?” Blake asked, and Medusa nodded, the grin still on her face. “Aren’t they supposed to be in Kerberos?”

  “We were in Kerberos,” the thin sister with red snakes for hair said. “But after our parents heard that you received guidance from Nyx, they decided to even the playing field by helping us out.”<
br />
  “How could they…?” I asked, confused. As far as I was aware, there was no other way out of Kerberos besides the portal.

  “Their parents are primordial deities of the sea,” Kate explained. “Like all primordial deities, they’re part of all realms. And in case you were wondering, Stheno and Euryale can’t turn people to stone. Medusa’s the only one who can do that. But they’re immortal… which means they can’t be killed by mortal weapons. Including the Golden Sword.”

  “Got it,” I said, understanding the message she was trying to get across. If we wanted to kill Medusa’s sisters, I needed to use my power on them—just like I’d done to the immortal hydra head.

  I would feel more confident if my head wasn’t still spinning. It didn’t make sense. The last thing I drank was the cider infused with orange energy, and that was supposed to give me strength—not make me feel weaker than ever.

  Unless… Jason wouldn’t have put gray energy in my drink, would he have?

  “Bravo.” Medusa clapped. “Someone knows their history. And luckily for me, my parents also gave me this.” She held up a sword, its blade black as night. “An onyx sword crafted by the Titan Iapetus himself. It’s the only weapon on Earth that can stand up against the Golden Sword of Athena.”

  “Are we just going to stand here chatting?” the other sister—the shorter one—hissed. “Or are we going to kill them?”

  “They did come here to get my head,” Medusa said, passing her onyx sword from one hand to another. “And we can’t very well have them running around freely, and risk them sealing the portal to Kerberos. So yes—let’s kill them. But remember not to harm them too much. I want them intact for my collection.”

  All three gorgons hissed and ran towards us, but they didn’t get far before Chris threw a gust of wind at them, pushing them back to the wall. Their legs dangled above the floor, and they reached out for us, the snakes on their heads more crazed than ever. Medusa still held onto her sword, refusing to let go.