Monsters and Legends

Chapter 2

Medusa's eyes snapped open to the sensation of fire filling her lungs and acid flowing through her veins as life was restored to her once more. She let out a piercing scream of agony into the night as she writhed in pain, clawing at the strangely hard foreign ground until the pain slowly subsided. Her heavy breathing became slow pants as she did her best to prop herself up with her hands.

Her head was spinning as questions flooded her mind and she tried to gauge her situation. Where was she? How did she get here? Why was she here? Where was the ocean that’s sound soothed her to sleep so many nights alone in the cave she called home? Better yet, where was he? Where was the one that was trying to kill her?

Panic set in as she scrambled backwards, eyes scanning the alien environment she found herself in, looking for him, looking for Perseus. Her back slammed against a large metal object, causing a loud thud. She jumped, her chest tightening in fear, as she hesitantly turned her head before realizing it wasn’t him.

“You need to calm down. You will only draw attention to yourself,” a stern feminine voice mumbled into her ear.

“He isn’t here,” a softer spoken one whispered into the other.

A burgundy and a black viper slid down from where her hair would be, moving their dark gazes to meet hers. Medusa nodded, doing her best to control her breathing, reaching her fingers to gently stroke the heads of her familiar friends. Her chest slowly loosened, as she continued her slow, controlled exhales. Medusa looked up, watching as people wearing unusual fashions glanced in her direction as they passed.

“What is this place? How did we get here?” The black viper moved her head to peer in the direction of Medusa’s stare.

“I’m not sure, but we need to get out of here. It’s not safe. Can you stand?”

“I… I don’t know.” She slowly inched herself to a gap at the side of the metal container behind her, using a ridge to help her up. Her legs were unsteady, nearly causing her to collapse to the ground. In a swift, inhuman motion, she swung her arm around to grab for the wall, using it to stabilize herself. Although she was terrified of what awaited her, she knew she couldn’t just sit there. She paused, gathering her thoughts for a moment.

Medusa reached down, ripping a large chunk off her already torn dress, whispering apologies to the snakes as she covered them with it, using it as a sort of kerchief. Keeping her body close against the wall, she began to walk, pushing herself forward to the end of the alley. Her jaw slackened slightly as she took in the sight that lay before her.

Buildings the size of titans towered above her with signs illuminating so brightly, it made the night streets look as though they were day. Strange horseless carriages zoomed passed her at godlike speeds. Crowds of people hustled down the sidewalks, hardly taking notice of the strange girl, standing in wonder and bewilderment at the city.

She found herself taking a step towards it as if in a trance, her gaze fixated on the moving pictures and colored lights. Before she could pull herself back to reality, an oblivious elderly gentleman smashed into her, knocking her onto the cold pavement.

“Oh, my lord, I am so sorry. Are you all right miss?” He lowered himself to his knee, looking her over for injuries with a concerned expression. Medusa dropped her gaze, offering a polite smile to the stranger, unable to understand what he was saying, but appreciating his concern. She began to attempt to help herself off the ground. The old man hurriedly got to his feet, offering his hand for assistance. “Please allow me.”

Medusa hesitated before slowly accepting, using it to prop herself back onto her feet.

“Thank you, kind sir,” she quietly said, her words flowing smoothly from her lips. The old man’s expression brightened.

“Ah so you’re Greek then,” he smoothly replied as his language changed to match hers. Medusa jerked back and her eyes widened in shock at the realization that had hit her.

“You… understand me?” A huge grin of pride beamed from the old man as he shrugged.

“To a degree. You have a rather odd dialect, so it makes it a bit difficult.” He paused thoughtfully as he looked over her ragged clothing. “If I may ask, where are you staying? Seeing as I carelessly ran into you, the least I could do is escort you home.”

Medusa stiffened at the reminder she no longer had a home. Despite the bustling city that surrounded her, she was truly alone.

“I don’t think I have one anymore.” The old man offered a kind but sad smile.

“I’m not sure what you have going on, but if you need a place to stay, you’re more than welcome to stay with me. Assuming you don’t mind snakes, that is.”

An unnatural sense of calm washed over her, causing her once tense body to relax as she nodded.

“Of course not. Snakes are lovely creatures.” As if her movements weren’t her own, her arm hooked onto his and the pair began walking.

It wasn’t very long before they had arrived at a rather huge, sophisticated-looking apartment complex. She jumped back as two doors appeared to open as if by magic and stared at them full of apprehension. A chuckle escaped the old man.

“I promise they won’t hurt you. It will be okay.”

She looked at him briefly before nodding as she cautiously walked through them. He escorted her into a small room filled with brightly lit buttons and watched as the doors slowly closed and quiet music played around them. She stumbled as it felt as though the room was moving, bumping into the older man. Her eyes narrowed as she could have sworn a golden magical aura briefly covered the man and disappeared as quickly as it came. The snakes shifted uncomfortably atop her head. She could hear their discontented whispers, as she drifted in and out, from content to unease.

“Did she sense that? Why are we here? Why did we follow him? We don’t even know his name. What if he wants to hurt us or better yet kill us? Can she even hear us?”

She took her lowered gaze and moved her eyes towards his direction. They were right. She hadn’t heard them since he showed up. Hesitantly, she reached and shoved the man, watching the flickering of gold cover his body once more. Her heart began racing as she backed away, before her back hit against the cold metal wall. He stared at her with confusion as he steadied himself.

“Are you all right? What was that for?”

“What are you?” She whispered, unable to add any additional volume to her voice. He paused and opened his mouth as if he intended to reply, before closing it and letting out a deep bothered sigh.

“I was hoping we could skip this conversation, but it appears now that it can’t be avoided.”

Medusa was temporarily blinded as a beam of radiant light encircled the man, causing her not to notice as the strange doors opened behind her. She fell back, hurriedly crawling backwards, watching as a tall slender form began to emerge from the light. She speedily flipped around, scrambling to her feet as she tried to run down a long hallway in a panic.

“Stop,” a commanding masculine voice rang out through the halls. She came to a halt, as though something took control of her body. She stood there frozen, listening as the footsteps echoed throughout the corridor, coming closer and closer to her, until the figure stood in front of her. “I really don’t like using this ability, you know. It feels rather… cruel.”

The man stood in front of her, bringing his honey gaze to hers through his now shaggy chestnut hair. He appeared young and slender, nothing like he had seemed before, with a well-defined jawline. His features were soft yet strong, somehow masculine and feminine at the same time. He looked her over as if analyzing her before turning to walk down the hallway.

“Come with me. You and I need to have a much-needed conversation, and frankly, out here in the open is not the place to do it.” He gestured with his hand for her to follow, and she followed him. She felt like a puppet on a string as she drifted along, one step in front of the other. She tried to open her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Inside, she was struggling, but from the outside she looked calm and graceful.

He opened two massive doors, leading her through before shutting them and standing in front of her with his arms crossed.

“I’m going to drop my influence over you, but only if you promise not to run, alright? Nod once for yes, twice for no.” She felt herself regain control of her head, and nodded once, staring at him cautiously. “Good. Here you are.”

Medusa’s body became hers once again as she took a step away from him. For the first time, she got a good look at the man.

“Who are you? Do you plan to kill me?” The man shrugged and smirked as he sat on a chair, summoning himself up what appeared to be a glass of alcohol.

“You, my dear, have a lot of catching up to do. Please, have a seat.” He gestured to a chair across from him. She hesitantly moved to seat herself in it, not moving her eyes from him. “Also, feel free to remove that lovely headpiece. There’s no reason to hide who you truly are here.”

“You still haven’t answered my questions.” He sighed as if mildly annoyed and leaned back in his chair.

“If I wanted to kill you, I could have easily done it already so you can relax. As for who I am, you find yourself in the presence of the one, the only, Loki.” Her expression remained slightly confused and concerned.

“Am I supposed to know you?” Loki’s jaw went slack as he stared at her in disbelief.

“You can’t possibly be serious. Loki? God of Mischief? Ambassador to the Norse pantheon in the Council of Gods? None of these ring a bell?” She slowly shook her head, leaning forward and squinting her eyes as she got a better look at him.

“Are… you wearing makeup?” Loki groaned, sat his drink down, and placed his face in his hands as he took a deep breath.

“It’s called eyeliner, and yes, I am,” he snapped. “You truly have no idea who I am?” Medusa gave a slight shrug.

“I’m rather certain we’ve established that.”

“That’s disappointing, I must say. I’ve been told I have quite a reputation.”

“So, you’re a god.” She paused thoughtfully. “Is that why you are immune to my curse?” Loki gave her a slight nod.

“You may not know who I am, but I am very much aware who you are. Your curse was bestowed by gods, and although I may not be of the same pantheon, it cannot affect a god.” His lips curled into a charming smile as he tilted his head to a large rectangular structure that housed a massive serpent. “Besides, I tend to educate myself on anyone who has an affinity for snakes.”

“That still doesn’t explain what exactly you want with me, or what I’m doing here.”

Loki’s expression grew more serious as he brought his gaze to hers, the smile disappearing from his face. He crossed his arms across his chest.

“As I already stated, I want to have a conversation. I have no idea why you’re here, or how you even got here. In fact, I know extraordinarily little about the whole ordeal surrounding you. What I do know is what you’re capable of. The only reason I found you in the first place, was because you emitted a massive surge of power when you arrived.” Loki paused as he watched as Medusa turned her stare to the snake as he shifted around his enclosure. “You can go look at him if you’d like.” She nodded slightly and got up to move before leaning against the glass of the enclosure. The massive snake curiously moved its head toward her, its deep bronze and black scales shimmering with a rainbow luminescence beneath the lights.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, he is.” Loki pulled himself up and moved beside her, offering a slight smile to the creature. “Believe it or not, he’s actually my son.” He shrugged slightly. “He doesn’t always look like that. His natural form is much, much larger, but he tends to prefer this one. He and my eldest were lucky and managed to get my ability to shift forms at will.”

Medusa gaped at Loki in disbelief. The man hardly looked old enough to have children. Loki let out a sharp exhale.

“Look, you have clearly had a rough day. If you feel comfortable with it, you are welcome to use my bath and stay in my guest room. I’m sure I have some better clothes you can borrow.” She looked at him baffled.

“What about the conversation you were so persistent about?”

“You’ve clearly been through hell. Get cleaned up, get some rest. We can save that for another time.” He disappeared briefly, returning with an armful of items before guiding her to a bathroom and setting the items on a counter before pointing at the tub. “Do you know how to work this?” Medusa shook her head slightly. Loki walked over to start the water as she went to admire the beautiful charcoal dress he had brought for her. “I hope that isn’t too much, but I figured you could use an upgrade. Also, I have a few clean towels on the rack over there for you to dry off with.”

“Thank you, and it’s perfect but…”

“But what?”

“Why are you doing this for me?” Loki turned the water off and glanced at her for a moment before slowly beginning to take his leave.

“I know what it’s like to be treated cruelly.” He moved to exit the bathroom, and as the door began to close, she heard him mumble one last thing. “Just don’t think too kindly of me yet.”

Medusa watched the door for a moment, wondering what he had meant, before gently removing the kerchief she had made for herself. The snakes slithered around peering curiously at the unusual room they found themselves in.

“Well, that was interesting,” the red viper whispered, as she moved down to rest herself near Medusa’s shoulder as she stripped what remained of the ragged dress from her body and carefully stepped into the steaming bath Loki had prepared for her.

“I still don’t trust him.” The black viper crept down to her other shoulder, cautious to keep her body from touching the water.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice right now,” Medusa sighed out, as she sank her body farther into the tub, relishing in the sensation of the hot water embracing her sore body. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the edge. “Besides, we could be in much worse hands.”

“You mean them?” She nodded slightly.

“He may be a god, but I’ve never heard of him, or this council he spoke of. But then again, there is still much we don’t know about this place.”

Medusa sat there, soaking in the first moment of silence since she awoke in this foreign world. She wanted answers, but for now, she wanted to enjoy this moment of peace.

Medusa…

Medusa suddenly jerked up at a familiar growling voice ringing through her head and looked around in sudden alarm and looked around the room, but found herself alone. The red serpent looked at her in a mild state of confusion.

“Bad dream?”

“Apparently.” Medusa stood herself out of the now chilled water and grabbed what Loki had referred to as a towel, drying herself off. “How long was I asleep?”

“Not long. I would say about an hour.” She shimmied the gorgeous dress Loki had offered her over her head in a sense of urgency. “Why are you in such a rush?” Medusa adjusted the dress around her.

“I need to talk to him. Something is going on with me and I feel like he may know at least something.” She paced herself out of the bathroom and down the hallway, stopping short as she saw Loki pulling out a small handheld device, and holding it to his ear. She slowly crept against a wall, watching him with intent around a well-hidden corner.

“Hello, Hades.” A sly smirk crept over Loki’s face as he spoke. “I’ve heard you’re missing something. I happen to know where to find it.”

Medusa’s body froze in an icy sense of dread. He continued speaking but she didn’t listen. She couldn’t understand everything, but she did understand who Hades was. She needed to escape, and quickly.