The Hidden World of Gods and Magic

Chapter Seven

“Had I known you had would need me so I would have found another way to be with you. You and the boys are my life.” He said and hugged her again. She planted a kiss on his lips and he returned that kiss so hungrily. For a moment it was just the two of them. That’s when they heard Medusa. “Please get a room…” Medusa coed with a big smile on her face. “Sorry…” Luke said and moved a bit. “I get it, you two haven’t seen each other in almost 100 years and so on…but right now we need to find the golden strands of the hourglass of Nemesis. After that you two can make up for lost times.” Medusa said and winked.

“Luke is that why you told me to gather those items? So I could remember?” Anisa asked. “No my love, those items are for something other, something you will need to fight and to locate Kyle. I am glad to know that those items are the ones to bring back your forgotten memories.” He said with a grin. She knew exactly what he was getting at. “We can talk about that later.” She said and gave him a once over. “Yes please.” Luke said and smiled with a hint of desire in his eyes. “Ok, we need to focus now on getting the golden strands. Let’s have a look at the map and see where they might be.” Anisa said and broke eye contact with Luke. He knew just what to say to make her legs buckle.

“Looks like we have to go down the third corridor and turn right to get to the entrance. Luck, my love would you like to join us or would you rather stay here and make sure those vampires stay out?” Anisa asked before uttering another move. “I think it’s best if I stay my love. You have your friend there to help you concentrate. I may just be a distraction at the moment.” Luke said. “Thank you my love. I love you.” Anisa said and closed the door. “I love you too.” Luke replied before the door was completely closed.

“You are very lucky to have such a man in love with you, you know.” Medusa said as they found the corridor. “Thank you, you will find your soul mate soon enough.” Anisa said and winked and her. “She giggled softly feeling like an innocent little girl again. “Thank you.” Medusa said and smiled from ear to ear. “You deserve to be happy and find true love.” Anisa said. “You are the best friend I could have ever asked for. Thank you for remembering me and not treating me like a serpent, even if that is what I am now.” Medusa said. “You will always be a dear friend to me, no matter what you look like.” Anisa said and pointed down the corridor and gestured for the both of them to be silent. With a nod Medusa and Anisa walked slowly towards the right corridor.

Approaching the corridor Anisa and Medusa slowed down to creep into the next location unnoticed. She made it half way when she saw golden threads all over the floor and hanging from everywhere. She knew those were not the ones she needed, still puzzled how she could have known that and started searching for the memory of what the golden threads looked like. She came across rose gold strands and silver gold strands and even platinum strands. She knew she needed one of each and just to hide them she added 4 strands of the other golden strands. The moment her hand came close to the other strands she saw human remains beneath it and the skulls watched her, ready to strike.

She knew this was going to be tricky. If she could convince the skeleton to give her 4 strands they will protect her for all of time. So she thought of a way to do that. Nothing came to mind until she saw the drops of blood on the floor. With closer inspection she saw it belonged to a human who died 85 years ago. ‘How would I know the exact amount of years this person passed away? How did I know all of this?’ She thought.

“You want revenge for what the monster did to this person?” Anisa asked the skeleton standing right behind her. He nodded and pointed to the pile of golden strands or more accurately, underneath the pile. “I can help you. If you want I can make the blood vow and you may keep this vow for as long it takes.” She said and looked at all of the skeletons in the room, none of them moved, one in particular stood out. He nodded again and held out a blade. “Do we have a deal?” He asked with a Spanish accent. “Yes.” Anisa said and held out her hand. “What about your little friend over there? Will she not partake in this deal?” He asked.

“She will swallow everything in this room if you push her too far.” Anisa said and smiled at Medusa. “She does not look like the kind of monster that can do so.” The skeleton said. “Her name is Medusa, The serpent who can turn even the dead to stone with one look.” Anisa warned. “The Medusa? I thought the son of Poseidon cut your head off.” He tossed her way. “Yes he did, he never expected it to grow back…” She hissed.

“You have made your point. Thank you for gracing us with your appearance…” The skeleton man said. His sarcastic words were not lost on Medusa. She hissed at him with a full serpent face before returning back to normal. He jumped at that and looked away. “Very well. Let us continue.” He said.  

With lightning fast movements the first drops of blood hit the floor and in its place was 4 strands of gold. “Thank you. We will find this monster and bring him here.” Anisa said and stood with a nod to Medusa. “You have gods blood in you…” The skeleton said and the rest froze. “So I’ve heard. Will that be a problem?” Anisa asked. “We release you of your oath. We give you more gold strands and forever be at your service…” He said and bowed. The rest of his small army followed suit. “Thank you?” Anisa asked with a frown. ‘None of this makes any sense.’ She thought. You don’t know the half of it… She heard Medusa’s voice in her head. You remembered how to speak without words? Anisa pushed. “Seems like it.” Medusa said with a small smile.

With that the skeletons even escorted Anisa to the location of the cloak and told her what she needed to do in order to retrieve it. They also told her that they were the ones who hid the cloak in the first place for safe keeping. She thanked them and did as they have instructed. There was indeed one problem. She was still breathing. You had to be dead in order to touch the cloak. For a moment she lost hope but she remembered the words of Apollo. “…you are the daughter of Eros, the god of love…you might have immortality like the rest of us…you have not aged in almost 500 years…”

‘If it is true and I have immortality than I cannot die, but if it is not and I just take 1000 years to age then that might work. According to some research, if your heart beats one beat per minute you will appear dead. Maybe that might just work. I just need to concentrate and get my heart rate down so much that I move like a walking corps.’ She thought.  “It’s worth a shot.” She said aloud. Medusa seemed on edge more than usual but she didn’t say anything. Anisa stood at the edge and concentrated on every sell in her body and willed them to slow down to the point of almost being still. She felt the coldness of the air in her skin as every sell in her body slowed down to almost moving backwards.

When she opened her eyes a flash of green and gold spiraled down to the bottom of a chamber so small you might think that you imagined seeing it in the first place. Slowly one by one the spirals lifted the cloak and brushed it over her skin. It felt like Satin so soft it kissed and warmed her arms everywhere it touched and settled on her shoulders. She almost forgot to keep her breathing to a minimum when she heard someone scream “She was here! She found the one piece of the cloak!” She focused on the golden strands room and willed herself to appear there. When she opened her eyes the skeletons stood, ready to fight.

“This is your change! Take revenge on the ones responsible for the death of your love ones. Bring peace to your restless souls and may you rest in peace forever and always!!!” Anisa roared. The skeletons roared with the battle cry and charged. One of the skeletons handed her the lightning bolt crafted into a sword with the red orb of the blood moon and the black orb of the solar eclipse, sealed with the souls of the fallen taints. It was beautiful and it called to Anisa with such a force that she felt the blood in her veins scream for justice and revenge; that she wanted to put an end to all this demonic mutations of Apep and his brothers, to whip them from existence along with their unholy offspring’s.

She could hear Medusa grabbing hold of something heavy and start to drag it slowly closer. They both heard a crashing sound when Medusa screamed. “What is it? Medusa?” Anisa tried to take a look but Medusa was being attacked by another snake. “If you feel your scales are strong enough to change shape to your cursed self then so be it Medusa.” Anisa tossed and moved away from the spikes.

“Thank you!” Medusa exclaimed. Within seconds she shape changed into the monster we all know Medusa from. She was huge! Her tail was so long, she covered most of the floor. The snakes on her head was so big, one of them alone was bigger than a single garage.

To say the least she was magnificent. Her face switched with anger and she gave the most horrific scream ever to sound on this planet. Her demonic screeching made all vampires and werewolves’ eyes and ears bleed. She raked her claws over the stone floors and send waves of creatures flying in every direction like the sea with high tides crashing into the sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliffs. This was war. We knew this day would come and we knew what the odds were against us but we did not back down.

With all the confusion, Anisa moved with such speed of the vampires. She brought down her sword with the power of the strongest of werewolves and cut down a hole so big that the earth split open and swallowed the creatures’ whole. While the screams of the Vampires continue, the skeletons kept moving forward. They finally reached their target and were ready to keep their promises, when a flash of white light stopped them.

“Medusa! What’s going on up there?” Anisa asked. “They have been blocked by a white light. Something doesn’t feel right.” Medusa said. Medusa and Anisa made way to the skeletons. The closer they got, the brighter Anisa started glowing. Her eyes were a bright mix of green and gold. “That looks like…” Medusa began and stopped in her tracks, horrified. “I can see that, why would he be fighting for them?” Anisa asked. “I…I don’t know…I thought…NO!!!!!” Medusa wailed in a mix of heartbreak, horror and anger.

She kept on swelling to the point she was as big as the building itself. She was roaring with hatred. Her heart was broken because he betrayed her…again. Flashes of the time she was cursed came crashing back and she finally understood why she was so angry. HE was the reason she was cured. He sold her to Poseidon, that’s why he forced himself on her that night in the temple. He was lead to believe that she wanted it to be that way. Effoclese is the reason for all of the bad things that happened to her. He wanted to marry her but when she refused, he took revenge to proof to every woman that he has the power to make any woman do as he wished.

“You!! You did this to me!” Medusa wailed with anger. Effoclese froze. His excretion…horrified. He knew. He could see that she knew and she wanted revenge for what he did to her so many years ago. He was no long in any potion to make demands. He will be in the mercy of Medusa. He was going to die a horrible and slow death to pay for what he did to her. Doomsday was here, and no one could stop it.

All the anger and hatred started boiling over to the point where Medusa started spitting fire. She slithered closer. Breathing fire in circles she spat fire on his legs. Effoclese screamed in pain. Medusa shrank to the size of a human and started clawing at his face and upper body. Where the claws touched his skin, it split open and blood gushed out. Medusa went into a rage of anger. She breathed fire all over his remains and still clawed at what was left of his body till her tears started burning her eyes. She was crying tears of black blood. She would never forgive him for what he did.

“May you forever burn in the nine realms of hell. Your soul is black like the demons found in the lowest levels. Join your kin and forever burn…” She said and spit the hottest fire on his body till there was nothing but bare stone left. “Medusa. He’s gone. Come on. We need you here. Time for feelings will still come. Please…I need you…” Anisa said. With that Medusa’s head snapped back and she screeched so loud that everyone stood still in awe.

“I can smell him…the one who made the deal…he’s here.” Medusa hissed. “You may take him. Enjoy your revenge. May it be the sweetest thing you have ever experienced.” Anisa purred with rage. “I plan to relish in it as long as it may last.” Medusa said with a horrifying smile dancing on her face.

Anisa summoned Medusa to finish the last of the vampires and just like that everything went deadly silent. The skeletons cheered for the victory. The leader of the skeletons came walking up to Anisa and Medusa and thanked them both for helping them take revenge on the monsters that massacred their village. “Thank you my ladies. We will forever be in your debt.” The skeleton said and bowed his bony head. The rest of his army followed suit.

 “We have promised you will have your revenge and now you may cross over to your resting places in peace. You have no debt to repay to either of us. You have done which you have vowed to do. You are released from your blood vow, now go and rest in peace.” Anisa said and Medusa nodded in agreement.

”Thank you my ladies. May the gods bless you and gift you what you truly desire…” The skeleton said and tuned to his army, walking towards the stone wall, disappearing into the wind. A wave of whispers passed though the room and a slight breeze followed. “We did it…”Medusa said and smiled with joy for the first time in a thousand years. “Yes we have.” Anisa said and grabbed hold of Medusa’s hand. Medusa could feel tears rolling down her cheek.

“Thanks to you Anisa, I am finally free from the hatred that kept me prisoner for so long. You are truly a savior sent from the gods know where.” Medusa said and hugged Anisa tightly. “Don’t let Persephone hear you say that…” Anisa joked. “Medusa looked at her shocked and the both of them started to laugh.