Medusa

by RK Wheeler

  MEDUSA’S LOVE

  By RK Wheeler

  Copyright ©2019

  Dr. Robert Kenneth Wheeler Jr.

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a short story taken from RK Wheeler’s Novel,

  The Witch of Endor: Vampires

  MEDUSA’S LOVE

  Snakes they hiss the serpents song

  Scales they gleam, the tail is long

  Cat-like pupils, eyes they shine

  Upon the dead doth Medusa dine

  Mortals beware of her gaze you see

  One look only and to stone you’ll be

  A boy’s love if she could have her way

  But she stayed too long no longer day

  Moon it raises full once more

  Screams they come, quick lock the door

  CHAPTER 1

  Medusa sat before a mirror turning her head from side to side.

  “Mother, are you still here?”

  “Yes dear I am here, but I must go to council soon. What is it, my love?”

  “Am I beautiful?”

  “Of course you are my darling! Why would you need to ask such a thing?”

  “If I am beautiful, then why did father leave us?”

  Lilith paused, thinking of the painful memory. Lamech had always hated his daughter; he could not stand the hiss of the snakes upon her head or the way the baby had stared at him.

  “It was an accident, my dear, I have told you this many times. The ship exploded, and we were separated. You were just too young to remember.” Lilith told a partial truth.

  “Can I come to council Mother?”

  “Who will watch your sisters then? I need you to watch them until I get back. They cannot simply wander the halls unsupervised or they might turn your suiters to stone.”

  Medusa looked disappointed and sighed.

  “Every mortal that you have allowed to meet me has turned to stone Mother. The looks they have frozen upon their faces… well, they look terrified! Why do they look so, if I am beautiful?” Medusa started to cry.

  Lilith walked over and embraced her eldest daughter, “There, there, my child. You and your sisters are beautiful, but you are different. You were made special. We will find you a suitor one day, I promise. In the meantime, Adonis and Festinia have had a child.”

  Medusa perked up at the news.

  “Is it a boy or a girl?”

  “A boy the message said. I am sure that they have brought him along, and you will get to meet him tonight. Can you wait until after our meeting?”

  “Yes, I suppose. Does he look like me, Mother?”

  “I don’t know, but stay here, watch your sisters, and do not let them go behind the curtains. Agreed?”

  “Alright Mother, I will watch my sisters, and I will spend some time talking with Paleus.”

  “That’s my girl. Sthenno, Euryale, come to mommy.” The young gorgon twins slithered across the stone to Lilith’s outstretched arms. Their eyes shone brightly in anticipation of their mother’s love. The snakes upon their heads pecked at Lilith’s face. Lilith laughed at the tickling touch.

  “Now you mind your sister while I am gone, do you understand? “

  “Yes Mommy,” they said in unison, rolling their eyes.

  After kissing them upon their cheeks, she sat them back down once more upon the smooth stones before turning to leave.

  Lilith’s younger daughters turned away from her and stuck their forked tongues out at Medusa before slithering down the hall.

  Medusa clenched her fists as she glared at them briefly before smiling at her mother.

  Lilith smiled at her children before racing away.

  Her mother’s movement was so quick as she exited the chamber that Medusa only caught the closing of the door with a click. She had grown used to being startled sometimes by her mother and Fedora as they seemed to almost appear and reappear when they were in a hurry, but this had happened less frequently since the twins were born as it still frightened them.

  She moved over near the curtains that extended the length of one side of the chamber.

  “Paleus…Paleus, are you awake?”

  After a brief pause, a young, male voice, perhaps of a teenager responded, “Yes, Medusa, I’m awake.”

  “Are you my friend?”

  “I guess we are friends. You have always been nice to me even though we have never seen each other. Why is that? I have asked you before, why can’t we see each other?”

  Medusa thought for a moment. “Have you ever met someone that was burned badly?”

  “Yes, my uncle was burned in a fire as a child. Half his body is scarred. Half his face, one arm, one leg and his chest on the right side are burned and disfigured. Are you burned Medusa? Is that why you never show yourself to me?”

  “Well, mother and I were in a fire aboard a ship when I was a baby, and the ship exploded. Mother was burned terribly, as she held me up out of the flames.”

  “But I have seen your mother. She appears very beautiful to me. I have not seen any scars on her skin, at least not on her face and neck or her hands and arms.”

  “Mother is skilled at magic. You could say that magic helped heal her.”

  “Can’t she use this magic to heal you, too?”

  “She has tried, but I was born different, Paleus. How do people treat your uncle when they see him?”

  “He is shunned, people are frightened by him. If he covers his burns he can pass through the crowd with only brief stares at his bandages, but if he removes them, he is mocked and feared.”

  “That is sort of what it is like for me, only worse. Think of a leper…”

  “You have leprosy?!” Paleus blurted out before she could finish.

  “No, no, I don’t have leprosy, but you would never want to look at me Paleus. People are…never the same after they look at me,” she said sadly.

  “But I’m not like that, Medusa! I saw what it was like for my uncle growing up. I would never judge you by your looks. I mean we are friends, and we’ve never met. I miss my dad, and I am sure he is very worried about me. I was scared at first when I was brought here, but you and your mom have been real nice to me, and she lets me out into the open courtyard at dawn, and I get to play with the other boys until just after dark.”

  “I know. You look like you have fun together.”

  “You’ve seen me before?”

  “I watch you when you are asleep, and I watch you play in the courtyard with the other boys. You are special mother says. You are different, aren’t you?”

  “I guess you could say that. I get that from my father I suppose. He is different too. He is stronger and faster than other men. I am starting to find that I am different like him.”

  “Remember when you were injured last week. Your wound healed quickly, in only a couple of hours. That’s different too.” Medusa said.

  “Yes, I guess that’s true...if I am different, and since we are friends, then why can’t I see you? I promise I won’t make fun of you or tease you, no matter what you look like, ok?”

  Oh, I want that so much!

  Medusa paused and then she began to reach for the edge of the curtain, but down the hallway, the white statues of the boys who had been turned to stone caught her eye, and she froze, uncertain. Her hand was only inches from the edge of the tapestry that separated them.

  Maybe he could see me and not turn to stone…he is different, stronger, and faster, and his body heals more quickly than the other boys.

  Her fingers grasped the corner of the beautiful curtains that separated Paleus’ cell from the rest of the chamber. Her fingers wrapped around the edge of the thick fabric.

  “Your fingers are lovely. You have beautiful finger nails, and your
skin does not look burned.”

  “You think I have pretty skin and fingers?”

  “Very much so, come on out, it will be fine. I want to meet you.”

  Medusa moved until she touched the fabric of the curtain gently. She prepared to pull it back, to finally see her friend, face-to-face.

  The snakes upon her head became excited and started moving around one another in anticipation.

  I can’t. If he turned to stone, I could never forgive myself.

  Medusa pulled her hand away from the curtain looking sad.

  “What’s wrong? Don’t you trust me?”

  “I…I trust you, but my sisters need me.”

  She called Sthenno and Euryale to her and held their hands as they made their way out into the dark of the courtyard which was surrounded by cliff walls. Discards of damaged pillars and sculptures littered the old quarry. The useable stone had been removed and only the cracked or imperfect sections remained atop the old bedrock. Half-finished reliefs and chipped busts of the old gods and heroes lay here and there.

  Medusa’s sisters were excited to play outside and wasted no time scurrying off to the old, dark pool of water that lay in the deepest part of the old quarry.

  She sat in her favorite spot while keeping an eye on her sisters. There was an alcove carved into a large block of stone in the form of a couch, upon which lay a half nude sculpture of Zeus. As she ran her hand over the smooth stone she noted that it was cold to her touch. Slowly, she worked her way up towards his chest, shoulders, and face. Medusa looked into the unseeing eyes, as she cupped the beautiful stone face in her hands. She pressed her lips against those of the mythical god’s image, as tears coursed down her cheeks where they transitioned from smooth skin to rough scales.

  Laying upon the hard stone she nuzzled herself into the crook of Zeus’ arm which extended across the back rest of the marble couch. Her serpentine tail wrapped around the legs of the statue as she rested her head. The snakes protested only a little before quieting once more.

  The moon was full, silver beams danced across the smooth mirror of the pool below. The unexpected hoot of an owl came from Medusa’s right where it sat perched atop a half-dead tree. The bird careened its head from where it faced away from her all the way around until it looked at her. Large yellow eyes stared at her. It reminded Medusa of her own eyes only its pupils were round, and larger, compared to hers.

  That owl’s ability to turn its head around backward is creepy, but I guess that’s kind of funny considering how people think my appearance is terrifying.

  The teenage gorgon cringed as a strange, deep howl echoed in the distance. She had never heard such a call before. It sounded as if it came from a large animal. A solitary cry filled with madness and rage. The terrifying scream was taken up by another, but this one was closer.

  Medusa shivered.

  We are safe, no one comes here anymore. The mortals believe the quarry and the cemetery outside are haunted. Mother says the spirits of the dead walk amongst the stones. They come to be near her and to speak with her sometimes. They grow weary talking with their dead companions whose vision of the world of the living is not always clear. These spirits yet cling to life or seek revenge for a terrible wrong that was committed against them. She says many of these lost souls linger on, trapped by insatiable desires for things they were addicted to while alive. Some desire a physical body and will look for susceptible mortals whom they might possess even for a short while to try and sate their lusts. Others are nice enough she says. They warn her of would-be intruders. Mother uses her magic to place wards around the crypts and Fedora’s mansion to fend off the evil ones. No one would dare come to disturb us. My Mother is very powerful, and the coven is together. None would dare challenge them. Still, she worried.

  Squinting she scanned the edge of the cliffs. The shrubs and stones played with her eyes as shadows stretched in the moonlight…nothing. She listened intently, but no other howls came.

  Glancing worriedly at her sisters she noted they seemed oblivious to the howls as they splashed one another in the shallows of the pond. Mortals might drown, but the gorgon, were naturally good swimmers. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine kissing Paleus.

  CHAPTER 2

  Medusa heard the sounds of labored breaths coming from large lungs, as hardened claws gouged at the stones behind them. They reached the gate with little time to spare. The light of the full moon was now illuminating the hulk of hair and sinew that was gaining on them. Its luminous, red eyes glared with lustful desire. Its sharp teeth were protruding from its bloodied, gaping, maw as its tongue hung off to one side.

  Fedora set the hybrid child that she carried down in the entry of the tunnel before turning to Festinia who clutched her satyr son to her breast. “I will give you time to escape, now take the children and go!”

  Festinia and Medusa protested only briefly, but Fedora’s argument won them over in the end.

  Medusa’s sisters looked up at her briefly in fear.

  She gave them both a quick hug, “Go. I’ll be right behind you. I just have to lock the gate.”

  Sthenno and Euryale turned and raced away behind Festinia who carried her satyr baby up the dark passageway.

  The teenage gorgon began to pull the door closed as Fedora looked around outside for a weapon. The hinges were rusty and screeched before seizing up. Litlith’s daughter strained and at last the metal door slammed shut. She dropped the crossbar into place and turned the locking mechanism with a comforting click. This tunnel led to Fedora’s mansion near the Temple of Zues.

  Just after she had secured the door she heard the call of her mother from afar off.

  Mother!

  Medusa could not pull herself away from the small viewport in the door where she watched as the werewolf closed in. Fedora had grabbed a large stone and leapt with it to a ledge that was over the arched entryway.

  Mother is alive and there are others trailing behind, but they are still far away. They will not reach us in time to help Fedora I fear.

  The werewolf rammed the metal gate, denting it. Medusa was knocked down and sent sprawling across the floor, but before the werewolf could muster another strike against the door it was struck violently by a large marble stone from above. It shrieked in rage and pain as it struggled to rise. It pulled one paw protectively against its torso; its arm was broken. It rolled away from the gate assessing this new threat.

  Medusa pushed herself upright and cautiously peered through the opening once more at the battle outside.

  She saw Fedora land upon the burning back of the creature. The vampire seemed to ignore the flames as she attempted to strangle the monster. Unable to reach the assailant with its one good arm, the werewolf sprang forward spinning in mid-air. As it impacted the cliff wall the force crushed its adversary and extinguished the fire. Fedora lay stunned upon the ground, as the werewolf rose upon two legs before her.

  ***

  Lilith, in her anger and fear for her children had left the coven in her wake. She ignored their calls to slow down and wait for them. She caught the werewolf broadside with magic fire. It cried out in pain as its hair burned away. It came for her, its eyes glimmered madness as it pushed through the flames. The smell of charred flesh and burning hair filled the air once more.

  The creature limped forward on two legs. It towered over Lilith as it drew nearer, taking the brunt of her fire upon its already injured limb which was now shriveled and blackened.

  As the beast advanced, Lilith started a slow retreat as she continued her assault with the magic, but she was weakening now from its extended use.

  At last, the werewolf grasped her with one mighty, clawed hand. The long nails upon its fingers pierced Lilith’s back and chest as it lifted her off the ground.

  She grimaced then screamed as claws dug deeper into her soft flesh. Lilith struggled as the fanged mouth opened wide.

  Her flames faded. The spirits that followed her cried
out for her to fight, but she was spent. The beast, if it could see the dead, ignored them. Just as it was about to bite down upon her head, a shout came from behind the fell creature. Lilith recognized Medusa’s voice and her heart sank. She struggled to yell, “Run!” but only a low croak escaped her mouth as she grasped the hairy hand that held her in a grip of iron.

  Lilith was held out to the side as the creature turned towards Medusa. Lilith’s feet barely touched the ground as she stared at her daughter. She tried to shake her head no. She kicked at the beast, but the impacts seemed to have little effect.

  Medusa screamed at the creature as she rushed forward. Lilith had never seen Medusa enraged like this. The hybrid-teen bore a grim determination on her face that was both beautiful and terrifying. The serpent’s mouths were ajar, their fangs bared. Medusa’s long, scaled, tail whipped quickly side to side as it propelled her forward. Her arms were raised, her hands like claws.

  The cries of the coven were growing louder from behind, but they would be too late to be of help in the few seconds it would take for the creature to reach her young daughter. Lilith noted Fedora struggle to rise from where she lay, but she would be too slow to stop the creature before Medusa was within its reach.

  An eerie calm settled over Lilith as she reflected on the hopelessness of their situation.

  The werewolf roared at this new challenger.

  So terrible was the howl of the creature that Medusa froze before the huge monster.

  Lilith felt the claws withdraw from her back and chest. She fell to the ground, thick blood oozing from her wounds. The creature tensed its muscles as it prepared to lunge towards her daughter.

  Medusa’s yellow eyes flared like amber held before the sun as she screamed. The cry was a terrible high pitch. The wolf-man brought its clawed hands to his ears. The sudden movement caused jagged, white, bone to protrude from the skin of its broken arm.

  Lilith grabbed at one hairy, muscled, leg to try and stop the werewolf. But, despite her strength, she had little traction on the smooth stone, and so her body was drug across the hard rock as the beast moved in for the kill. A trail of dark blood was left across the ground from her wounds as the creature pulled her forward.