LA01. The Crown of Zeus

by Christine Norris

  “We won’t get very far by walking. And it’ll take too long.”

  Rachel looked skeptical. “What are you scheming?”

  Megan gave Rachel an apologetic smile. “I think it’s time for our last resort.”

  * * *

  Again they soared over the water. Pegasus flew along the shoreline, and Megan scanned for any sign of Claire and Harriet. Rachel again pressed her face into her friend’s back, her arms wrapped tightly around Megan’s waist. Convincing Rachel to get onto Pegasus again had taken some doing, but Megan guilted her into it by telling her that it was the fastest way to find Claire and Harriet.

  “I know how you feel about flying on the big beast,” Megan had said. “But Harriet and Claire need us.”

  Rachel shook her head. “Oh, no way. I told you I can’t do it.”

  “Please, Rache,” Megan begged. “You have to. It’s the only way.” It was a terrible thing, to play on Rachel’s sense of guilt, but Megan hadn’t been able to think of anything else.

  Rachel had chewed her lip for a moment. “Oh, all right, fine. But you owe me big time.”

  She had felt horrible about making Rachel do something she didn’t want to do, and she hoped Rachel would forgive her.

  Megan had studied the clue again before they took off; but wasn’t any closer to figuring it out.

  Below them, the beach disappeared into a ledge that butted against the water. The ledge turned into sheer, stony cliffs that pushed their way into the water, gray rock jutted out into the sea. There was still no sign of Harriet or Claire.

  “Hey, what’s that over there?” Megan pointed to the cliff. Rachel didn’t look up, only shook her head. Megan spurred Pegasus on.

  A shelf of rock stuck out from the middle cliff’s face. Two small figures stood on the shelf. One wore a yellow chiton and the other green.

  “Oh crap. Rachel, look!”

  Harriet and Claire huddled together on the shelf; they were chained to the cliff.

  “How in bloody hell did they get down there?” Rachel shouted.

  Megan looked over her shoulder, surprised that Rachel had actually looked. She looked more worried about Harriet and Claire than her fear of flying.

  Megan bit her lip. “How are we going to—”

  A sound like thunder drowned out the rest of her words. Below them, the water churned violently. Bubbles and foam made it look as if the sea boiled. A dark shape took form beneath the waves. It parted the water as it rose from the depths of the sea. One of the girls on the rock screamed.

  “Oh. My. God,” Megan sputtered, her voice caught in her throat. Medusa was a beauty queen compared to the monster before them. Megan’s thoughts jumbled together in a lump of terror.

  Rachel yelled in her ear. “What is that?”

  Megan’s head was spinning. “A sea-monster?”

  “Sorry I asked.”

  Megan pushed her heart back down into her chest and guided Pegasus to Claire and Harriet. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” Claire said, “we’re fine, considering.” She looked over Megan’s shoulder, toward the sea. “Uh, can you get us out of here? Now would be nice.”

  The monster emerged fully from the water. It was easily over a hundred feet tall, with four legs. The monster’s head and upper body was that of a dog, while the rest looked like a fish. It was covered in green, slimy scales, with a tail that ended in a sharp trident. The monster walked on its hind legs toward the cliff. Kelp hung from its arms, clung to its skin in long slimy strands.

  “We’ll be back,” Rachel yelled to the captives. “Don’t worry.” She kicked Pegasus hard.

  “What did you do that for?” Megan shouted “We have to get them out of there before that thing gets them.”

  “There’s no time to free them first. I’ve got an idea.”

  Megan turned her head, to look at her friend. Rachel was smiling. “I know what I’m doing. Trust me.”

  She leaned over and yelled into Megan’s ear. Megan gave her an incredulous look. “You’re kidding, right?”

  Rachel shook her head. Megan repeated Rachel’s instructions into Pegasus’s ear. He wheeled away from the cliff and flew upward, toward the monster’s head. Two rows of huge razor-sharp teeth snapped at them as they flew in front of its face. The winged horse hovered just above the monster’s head. Megan sat up straight, gripped with her legs and let go of Pegasus’s mane.

  “I must be nuts!” Megan screamed. Rachel’s arms tightened around her waist. “We’re going to fall.”

  “Trust me,” Rachel said again.

  Megan loosened Rachel’s fingers just a little. The bag with Medusa’s head was still in her lap. Megan unwound the drawstring, pulled open the bag and put a hand inside.

  “Now!”

  Pegasus pulled his wings back and dove toward the monster. Rachel screamed. They headed straight for the monster’s face. It watched them, mouth open. When its eyes met Megan’s, she pulled the head from the bag. She pointed the Gorgon’s face away from her own and directly at the sea-monster.

  The sea-monster tried to turn its eyes away, but it was too late. Under Medusa’s gaze, the gigantic creature instantly turned to stone.

  And now they were on a collision course with a huge statue. “Pegasus, stop!” Megan yelled. She dropped Medusa’s head into the ocean and threw her arms around his neck. “Rachel, hold on!”

  Pegasus pulled up sharply and turned away, just inches from the monster’s now-granite body. Rachel slid dangerously to one side, her arms still wrapped tightly around Megan’s midsection. Megan reached back, caught Rachel by her chiton, and held on.

  They circled the body of the monster and flew back to shore. Pegasus made a graceful landing on top of the cliff.

  “Jump off,” Megan said. “I’ll go down and get Harriet and Claire.”

  Rachel slid gratefully to the ground and sat cross-legged in the thin, short grass. She patted the ground with both hands. “Land. Wonderful, stationary land.”

  Megan kicked, and Pegasus took off again. He leapt over the edge of the cliff, spread his wings wide and caught the wind.

  He soared nimbly down and hovered in front of the narrow ledge. “I’m back,” Megan said, trying to be cheerful. The two girls were dripping wet. “Miss me?”

  “What was that?” Harriet sputtered. Salt water sprayed from her mouth. “It was horrid. I could have sworn it wanted to eat us.”

  Megan waved a hand at them. She didn’t want to upset them, at least not now. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s get you guys out of here.”

  That was much easier said than done. Both girls wore thick iron shackles around their wrists. Their chains ran through a pair of large rings anchored to the rock.

  “How do you open these?” Megan asked.

  “You need the key,” Harriet said. “There’s something new, huh.”

  Megan patted her chiton; the key to the library was in her pants, wherever they were. The lump of panic in her stomach solidified. How was she going to get them down? “Uh, I don’t have the key.”

  Claire pointed to the rock above Harriet’s head. “Not that one. It’s over there somewhere, I think.”

  Megan scanned the rock. An iron peg stuck out of the rock, and on it hung a big iron ring with a single key. The ring was at least ten feet up the wall; well out of their reach.

  “Hang on, I’ll get it.” She leaned out to grab it, but it was too far for her to reach without falling off of Pegasus’s back.

  Megan swore. “I can’t get it. I’ll try to get closer.” But she couldn’t get nearer to the cliff without Pegasus’s wings banging into it, and the shelf was too small for him to land.

  “Now what?” Harriet wailed. “We’re going to be stuck here forever?”

  “No, you won’t,” Megan said, irritated. “I’ll think of something. Just hang on.” She furrowed her brow. How did the key get up there in the first place? Megan couldn’t see how it could be done, unless the person who put it up there was unusually ta
ll. She needed to get closer. She slipped off of Pegasus’s back and carefully lowered herself onto the shelf.

  “What are you doing?” Claire said. “Are you crackers? You’ll be stuck down here too.”

  “Just keep your pants on, will you?” Megan looked in the rock near Harriet’s feet. “Ah, here it is.” There was a small hole in the cliff wall about fifteen inches above the ledge. It was just large enough for her to put a foot in. There was another one a foot above the first. She pushed herself up, her body flat against the rock, and grabbed the key. “I’ve got it.”

  “Thank goodness,” Harriet said. “My wrists are beginning to chafe.”

  Megan released her friends and climbed back onto a very understanding and cooperative Pegasus.

  “There’s only room for me to take one of you at a time,” Megan said. “Who wants to go first?”

  “Me!” Harriet volunteered without hesitation. She leaned forward, her hands on the horse’s back, in front of his wings and Megan. She bent her knees to hop up, and the ledge crumbled beneath her feet.

  She screamed. Megan grabbed her by the wrist and held on with all her strength. Harriet dangled, feet kicking, a hundred feet over the ocean.

  “Help me!”

  Megan tried to pull her up, but she was too heavy. “You’re slipping. We won’t make it if we try to fly from here.”

  “Don’t let go,” Harriet pleaded

  “Never. I swear.” She tightened her grip and willed herself to hold on.

  Claire reached out, careful of the crumbling edge, and grabbed Harriet around the waist. “I’ve got her, Megan.” She pulled Harriet back onto the ledge.

  “Are you all right?” Megan would never tell Harriet, but she had been about a second away from losing her grip. She didn’t want to think about what could have happened, and silently cursed Sir Gregory Archibald.

  “Yes, I think so. How am I supposed to get on that thing?”

  “I’ll help you,” Claire said. “Hold my hand.”

  This time Harriet was able to climb in front of Megan without a problem. Harriet buried her face in Pegasus’s mane as they flew up. Megan dropped Harriet off with Rachel and retrieved Claire.

  Now that the four were reunited and on solid ground, Claire and Harriet hugged Megan tightly.

  “We thought it was the end.” Claire wiped the sea-spray off of her glasses. “Thank you.”

  “How did you wind up down there?” Rachel asked.

  “It was so weird,” Harriet said. “We were just standing on the shore, waiting for you two to come back and we fell asleep. It was so sunny and warm, you know, and we did miss our sleep last night, or whenever it really is. The next thing we knew, we were chained to that rock.”

  “You didn’t see anyone?” Megan said.

  Claire shook her head. “But we heard someone. They kept us blindfolded until after we were chained up. Whoever it was, kept calling us both Andromeda.”

  “I wonder if that goes with the clue that Rache and I found,” Megan said.

  “What clue?” Harriet said.

  Megan pulled the parchment from her dress and handed it to Harriet, who read it and gave it to Claire.

  Harriet pointed to the monster. “So, what does this have to do with Claire and me being served up as lunch for that thing?”

  “It’s the story of Cassiopeia and Andromeda,” Claire said. “It’s part of the Perseus myth. After Perseus slew Medusa—which I assume you did—he flew around, doing all kinds of heroic things and meeting all kinds of people. As he flew near Ancient Ethiopia, he saw Princess Andromeda chained to a rock. Her mother, Cassiopeia, boasted that she and her daughter were more beautiful than the Nieids, sea-nymphs. The nymphs complained to Poseidon, God of the Sea, and he said that Cassiopeia must sacrifice her daughter to Cetus, the sea-monster, or else Poseidon would destroy the city where they lived. Perseus made an agreement with Andromeda’s parents. If he could save the city and kill Cetus, then he could have Andromeda as his wife. So he did, by turning the monster to stone with Medusa’s head.” She turned to Rachel and Megan. “You did it just right.”

  “Yeah, well, thanks to Rachel,” Megan said. “It was all her idea.”

  “And you flew like a champ,” Rachel replied. “So explain to me how this all fits with the bit of clue we found on the tree?”

  Claire ran a hand through her short hair. “‘Mother’s pride’ was Cassiopeia’s boast, and the ‘sea-king’s wrath’ had to mean the monster sent by Poseidon.”

  “So it was trying to eat us?” Harriet said.

  “Sorry, ’fraid so,” Claire said.

  “Why would they take both of you if there was only one princess in the story?” Rachel asked.

  Claire shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe it’s just an idiosyncrasy of the book. No matter who was on shore, they would become Andromeda.”

  “What if someone came into the book alone?” Megan said. “And no one was on shore.”

  “No idea.” Claire crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe you get a different clue, or there’s a stand-in. I didn’t write the bloody thing.”

  “Good point.” Megan looked overhead. The sun was just past the highest point in the sky. “I don’t know about you girls, but I’m hungry. We need to find something to eat. Anybody see the next clue?”

  The girls scoured the immediate area, but there was no sign.

  “I need to sit down,” Harriet said. “All of this adventure has me worn out. Then we can look for food, then the clue.” She pointed to a small grove of trees a little way from the cliff’s edge. The girls sat in a circle, none said a word. Megan had wanted to tell Harriet and Claire about what happened inside Medusa’s house, and about finding Pegasus, but now it didn’t seem that important. Her friends could have died—this wasn’t a game, no matter what Sir Gregory called it. And it wasn’t much fun at all.

  It was cool and quiet in the shade. Peaceful. Soon all four of them lay in the grass, dozing. Megan didn’t feel peaceful, however. The knot in her stomach hadn’t loosened, and now that she had time to think, it only got worse.

  This is all my fault. If I wasn’t such a klutz and hadn’t fallen into the fireplace, we never would have gotten into this mess. But I will get everyone home safe and sound. I swear I will. They’ll probably never talk to me again, but they’ll be alive.

  She watched her friends relax in the sun, and realized how much she cared about them, even though she had only known them a week. They don’t deserve any of this. Some friend I am, right? If we get out of this, they’ll probably dump me faster than last week’s school lunch. And I had to kill someone. She closed her eyes and the scene in Medusa’s lair replayed in all its shocking, gory detail. How had she been able to do it? She never would even have considered it before today. She suddenly thought she might lose her appetite.

  Rachel sat up and sniffed. “Do you smell that?”

  Megan put her nose in the air and took a deep breath. Her stomach betrayed the grim recollection of Medusa and the rest of her dreary thoughts, and growled. “I sure do. Mmm, it smells delicious. Where is it coming from?” She stood up and looked around. “I don’t see anything.”

  “We need to find whoever’s cooking.” Harriet’s stomach grumbled loudly, as if it wanted to speak for itself. “And ask if they would share.”

  The only one nearby was Pegasus, who grazed near the cliff’s edge. On the other side of the grove, the land sloped away to a deep valley. The hillside, like everything else here, was carpeted with emerald grass. In the distance, beyond the valley, rose a range of blue-green hills. A wisp of gray smoke meandered into the air, coming from somewhere on the hillside below. They walked toward it. Pegasus followed.

  The source of the smoke was not hard to find. Halfway down the slope a small fire burned brightly, enclosed by a ring of stones. A makeshift spit lay across the fire, a large something speared onto it. Beside the fire sat a lone figure, turning the spit slowly. Whatever was being cooked gave off the most mouth-watering
aroma.

  The figure stood as the girls approached; a young woman with silky blonde hair that tumbled to her waist. She raised a hand in welcome. “Hello, weary travelers.” She flashed a serene smile. “Please, sit and rest yourselves. Have something to eat.”

  “Thanks.” Rachel sat on a rock near the fire. “We’re starving.”

  “I know.” The woman picked up a wooden bowl and stirred its contents. Megan sat next to Rachel and studied the strange woman. Her skin was pale and creamy, and her eyes a brilliant shade of emerald. She was perhaps the most beautiful woman Megan had ever seen. She reminded Megan of her mother, just a little. The thought made her heart ache for home.

  Harriet cocked an eyebrow. “Who are you? And how, exactly, do you know we’re hungry?”

  The woman gave a knowing smile. “Your coming has been foretold. That is all you need to know.”

  “You seem to know quite a bit.” Claire sat on the ground near the fire. “Are you going to give us our next clue?”

  The woman shook her head. Her blonde hair moved like wheat caught in the wind. “I can only guide you. The choice whether or not to take the task is yours.”

  “You mean we have a choice?” Harriet said. “I didn’t think that that was part of the deal.”

  “You always have choices.” The woman sprinkled something into the bowl. “Some are easy, and some are hard. The choices you make depend on what you want to achieve.”

  “We want to get home.” Megan eyed the meat on the spit and watched the juices drip into the fire and burn up with a sizzle. Her stomach rumbled.

  “Then your choice will be easy,” the woman said with a shrug. She finished stirring, set the bowl aside, and bent over the fire and picked up the spit. In silence, she pulled a knife from the waist of her chiton and cut the meat into four chunks. She took the pieces and put one on each of four red clay plates. That done, she picked up the bowl again and scooped something white and grainy onto each plate, then handed the plates around to the girls, along with rough-hewn wooden spoons.