The Oracle of Delphi (Greek Myth Fantasy Series) (20 page)

Her hands went to her head again, and this time the rapid fire of three snakes from her hair hit the chair, one dropping down over his shoulders. He brushed it away quickly before it had the chance to strike. He managed to slay all three with one mighty swipe of his sword, but when he looked back into his shield, her reflection was gone. He waited silently, the sound of his own rapidly beating heart echoing loudly in his ears. He listened intently for Medusa, but couldn’t hear her movements anywhere within the cave.

Then, to his surprise he heard the sound of Andromeda’s voice echoing off the walls.

“Perseus,” she called. “Save me.”

His head whipped toward his shield, as he used it as his mirror searching for his beloved. What was she doing here? How did she get here? Why had she come after him when he had instructed her to never risk her life for him again? Couldn’t the feisty wench ever stay out of trouble? He looked frantically into his shield for her reflection, but could not find her.

“Andromeda?” he called, his fear consuming him for her safety. “Where are you?”

“I am behind the fountain of men,” she called. “And I hear Medusa coming. Please hurry.” Her hand motioned to him from behind the fountain.

“I’m coming,” he whispered. “Just stay put. And whatever you do, do not look into the Gorgon’s eyes!”

“Perseus,” she called, “I’m frightened. Please hurry.”

Her voice sounded urgent, and he did not think twice. He would save her first, and reprimand her later. Using his shield for cover he hurried toward her, all the while searching the cave with his eyes for Medusa. He approached the fountain and Andromeda reached an arm out toward him, keeping her cover behind the stone.

“Get behind me,” he called, holding up his shield for her protection, yet at the same time watching for the Gorgon. “You are safe now that you are with me.”

“Come get me,” she called, “I’m too frightened to move.”

He started to do just that, until he heard her next words.

“Come get me, Perseussss.”

He turned his face away quickly, just as Medusa stepped out from behind the fountain. Fire shot out from her eyes, burning his hand in the process. He pulled his injured hand back, dropping his shield, falling to his knees. The smell of burnt flesh - his flesh - encompassed his nostrils. The pain in his hand gave him the vengeance he needed to carry on.

“Look at me, Perseussss. You know you want to. You are a demi-god; my gaze cannot hurt you. We can make love together. It will be like nothing you have ever known. Turn around and gaze into my eyessss.”

The urge to look at her was strong, as her powers attempted to engulf him. Without his helmet and shield he did not have much of a chance to succeed. He gripped the sword of Zeus in his good hand. As her tail swished over the floor, he heard her move forward. His mind played tricks on him, and he suddenly felt as if nothing else mattered but seeing this Gorgon’s face.

He wanted to be the one to look at her directly and live to tell about it. Suddenly, he felt as if he could do just that. Her beckoning called to him in his heart and he desired to reach out and touch her face, to stare deep into her eyes - directly into the face of this dangerous woman. The thought of such a challenge excited him, and appealed to his pride not to turn away.

Then he thought of Andromeda, and it gave him the strength to break Medusa’s hold. He pushed any thoughts of Medusa from his mind, thinking only of his wife instead.

He did not need the use of his shield because he could feel the presence of her hand reaching out to touch him. Taking a deep breath, he waited until the right moment. He closed his eyes and twirled around, striking his sword sideways in what he hoped would be the killing blow.

The Gorgon’s horrifying scream echoed throughout the cave as his blade cut into her. The bloodcurdling scream turned into an evil hiss, loud enough to be heard all the way to the island of Seriphus. He heard her thump to the ground behind him. The snakes of her hair lashed out at his shoes in one final attempt to kill him. While the shoes of Hermes protected him from the poison, the wings on his heels curled and burned from her lethal venom. He stepped away, shaking his feet. The shoes fell apart to ashes, leaving his feet bare.

He picked up his shield and angled it toward the fallen Gorgon. The head of Medusa lay severed, her eyes still open and dangerous even in death. He used his sword to stab the head, then picked it up, placing it in the magic bag at his waist. It opened to the precise size, and the strings pulled closed by themselves, leaving the hilt of his sword sticking out of the bag. He was now safe from her gaze. He collected his helmet and shield, intending upon leaving the cave until he realized he could not.  A new hiss caught his attention. A hiss that was not coming from Medusa. He held up his shield and in its reflection he saw the two immortal Gorgons entering the cave and coming straight toward him.

Andromeda clung to her mother with tears streaming down her face. She had never realized the motives behind her father’s actions, but now she knew he was not the horrible man she had thought he was.

She remembered times as a child when he had played with her and had actually laughed. She felt like the luckiest girl alive when he had put her on the front of his horse to ride around the tiltyard before a tournament, showing her off to everyone in the crowd. His pride in her had been his undoing. If she had been a boy, there would have been no trouble. She never wanted anyone to compare her beauty to that of the nymphs, and she had never meant for her parents to live in guilt the rest of their lives over the deaths of so many when only one life needed to be sacrificed to stop the sea serpent from attacking.

The door to her room burst open and her father stood there with his hands on his waist. Klaus was right behind him but he did not enter the room.

“I hear you are not feeling well.” Her father’s voice sounded accusing, as if it were her fault she was sick with fear. Did he not know it was his actions, added to her fear for Perseus, that turned her stomach sour?

Andromeda laid her hand on her stomach as she spoke.

“Father, I am upset that you chose not to believe me when I told you Perseus is going to come to slay the sea serpent.”

“You have lain with him, and it appears you are carrying his child.” Her father ignored her comment altogether. His mind was set on one thing only.

“His child?” she repeated, jumping off the bed. Her stomach lurched again and she sat back down, her mother’s arms instantly around her.

“Cepheus, you have upset her with your words,” chided Cassiopeia. “But I explained to her that you still love her and you have only done what you have felt necessary.”

Andromeda wondered if what her father said was true. Could she be pregnant with Perseus’s child? It was too soon. It couldn’t be true. She dismissed the thought and instead focused on her father’s sudden concern for her well being, especially since he planned on sacrificing her to the serpent anyway. None of this made any sense to her. But then again, when did kings and queens ever act out of logic? Normally they responded out of fear - mainly fear of the gods.

“She is pregnant with that demi-god’s whelp. I know it.”

“I thought you didn’t believe Perseus was anything but one of my stories,” she said, looking at her father. “How can I be pregnant when my husband is only imaginary?”

He scowled at her and shook his head. He didn’t like to be called on his own foolishness. Andromeda could see his façade caving in, and the father she once knew coming back little by little.

“Well, I will not have the wrath of Zeus upon my head by sacrificing his grandson to the sea serpent. Since you are pregnant, there is no way I can sacrifice you now.”

Sadness shone in his eyes, but also a sense of relief. Almost as if he had justified his action, and no longer felt guilt for going against the oracle’s words. But Andromeda could still see the worry etched into his face because of the state of his kingdom.

“Oh, Father,” she said, running to him and throwing her arms around him. “Thank you for sparing my life.”

He did not return the hug, but she thought she saw that old sparkle within his eye hidden deep down. “I spare your life only because you carry the grandson of Zeus,” he told her.

“Of course,” she said with a smile. That was the reasoning he would make known to everyone. But deep inside, she wondered if he had really spared her life because of his love for her. “I understand completely.”

He turned and left without another word, and Andromeda ran to her mother and embraced her. “Oh, Mother, I will not have to die after all. I am so happy.”

“So am I,” she said, but the smile did not reach her eyes.

“What is the matter?” Andromeda could not only see the despair in her mother’s eyes, but feel it as well. “Why do you look so sad?”

“Nereus sends the sea serpent on the break of dawn every three days,” she told her. “’Twill be here come morning, looking for you. And though I am happy you will not be its sacrifice, I am saddened at the lives that will be taken in your place. We have used up all our servants’ lives needlessly trying to sate the sea serpent. On the morrow, your father will have to choose which of his own soldiers will go to their deaths.”

“No!” she cried. “He cannot do that.”

“He must,” her mother explained. “Only when the sea serpent has a full belly will it leave us for three more days. It will take at least a dozen men to sate its hunger. And then it will sleep on the floor of the sea digesting its meal before it comes back to claim more lives.”

“No. This can’t be. There must be another way.”

The horror of the situation made Andromeda want to retch. The thought that brave warriors would go to their deaths chained to a rock, and without a fair fight, sickened her. She had to find another way to sate the sea serpent. If only Perseus had returned as promised, none of this would have to be.

“If what you say is true about a demi-god being able to slay the beast, then your husband Perseus is our only chance.” Queen Cassiopeia shook her head sadly and looked to the ground.

“Yes,” Andromeda said, feeling the emptiness from within her at his absence. “Perseus will come to save Thessaly. He will. He just has to.”

After her dream, she was no longer sure Perseus even lived. She ran her hand over her stomach, wondering if she truly carried his child. She may have gotten pregnant on their wedding night. Though it wasn’t long ago, she knew the son of a demi-god may grow more quickly than that of a human. Anything was possible. Perhaps her upset stomach was already a sign of a birth soon to come. She held on to the faith that she still carried Perseus’s essence within her. If she truly had lost him to Medusa, then she prayed that at least his child would be born to her to remember him by. She rocked back and forth in her mother’s arms, softly crying. She had to have faith that Perseus was still alive. If he wasn’t, she did not know how they would ever stop the sea serpent from devouring every last person in Thessaly.

*   *   *

Perseus slipped the helmet of invisibility upon his head, standing still, hoping the Gorgons would not know he was still in the cave. He watched them in his shield. Any attempt to slay them would be fruitless. They were immortal and Perseus had no hope of killing them as he did Medusa.

One of the sisters slithered into the cave looking for Medusa while the second Gorgon stood watch at the entrance of the cave. At her discovery of Medusa’s headless body dead upon the floor, the Gorgon wailed in agony, thus alerting her sister. She, too, mourned for the dead one, but to Perseus’s disappointment did not leave her post at the mouth of the cave.

“He is here somewhere, Stheno,” said the one who had discovered Medusa’s body. “I will search the cave. You watch for him to try to escape.”

“Yes, Euryale,” nodded her sister, “we must kill him for what he has done to Medusa.” She blocked the exit with her large body.

Perseus sank down against the wall, waiting quietly and wondering how he would get off the island and back to shore, let alone out of the cave without his winged shoes. He had no boat to take him back to Andromeda, and he had no way to alert her that he was stranded on the Gorgon’s isle. What started out as a successful mission suddenly appeared doomed. He thought of his poor wife waiting and wondering where he was. Then he thought of his poor mother under the blade of a mad king.

He stayed hidden under the helmet thinking how badly he wanted to get back to Andromeda. He had hoped she would understand he meant to return after he killed Medusa. Now he wished he had told her of his plans so she would know he meant to help her and not abandon her to the sea serpent.

The Gorgons stopped their search and took up post by the exit, placing their bodies across the portal in repose, trapping Perseus inside. Even using the helmet of invisibility, Perseus couldn’t cross over their sleeping bodies. He would have to wait until they awoke to escape.

He lay his head back against the wall, feeling his own exhaustion. Eventually they would get hungry enough and leave the cave in search of food. When they did, he would sneak out. He did not know how long Gorgons could go without eating, but he hoped it was not long. His wife waited for him at the shore, his mother on Seriphus, both in danger. And he, the hero in training, had no idea what to do next. His head nodded against his chest as his eyes closed, and finally he entered the world of dreams.

*   *   *

Andromeda sat at the window, mindlessly running a brush through her long locks. She had not slept much last night, as her retching wouldn’t allow it. Her stomach ached from soreness, and her mind ached from worry. Perseus, even if he had survived, may not know where to find her. And even if he did find Thessaly, chances are he would not be here until it was too late.

A quick knock at the door drew her attention away from the window.

“Enter,” she called and smiled as her father stepped into the room. Klaus wasn’t beside him as he usually was, and Andromeda thought it odd. In all her years she had never known her father to come to her bedchamber door without having Klaus right there at his side.

“Father!” She ran to him, but he held up his hand and stopped her from touching him. The newfound creases of his face displayed the worry that showed in his stance.

“The sea serpent will come soon,” he told her. “I am posting a guard at your door to make certain you do not try to come down to the shore to watch. It is a horrible sight to see my people devoured. You will stay here where I know my grandchild will be safe.”

“Let me go back to the beach near the Gorgon’s isle,” she begged him. “Let me wait for Perseus and show him the way to Thessaly as soon as he returns from his mission.”

“No.” The tone of his voice made his decision final. Still, she had to try for the sake of her people, for the sake of her father.

“I know he can save us all, if only I am there to guide him to Thessaly.”

“You will stay in your chamber as ordered. Do you understand?”

“I cannot stay put while I know others are going to their deaths on my behalf. I feel I must do something to help.” She paced the room as she spoke, nearly going mad with thoughts that battled in her brain.

“If you want to do something, then pray to the gods that husband of yours gets here soon. Because if he doesn’t, Andromeda, I’m going to lose my entire army.”

He turned to leave, but she stopped him with her words.

“I want to see Klaus. Will you please have him sent up to me? I always feel more at ease after I have talked over my problems with him.”

The king looked over his shoulder slightly, but did not meet her eyes with his.

“You should not have become so close with Klaus, daughter. His allegiance to you is admirable, but misplaced. I cannot accept a steward who has betrayed me behind my back.”

“What do you mean?” Her heart pumped wildly at hearing this. “Where is Klaus? What have you done with him?” Had her father discovered Klaus’s involvement in her escape? If so, Klaus was in great danger. If her father were in a docile mood, Klaus would get away with a fortnight in the dungeon or fifty lashes. But with the mood he was in this morning, she feared he may hang the man.

He left the room without answering her question, leaving the door wide open behind him. Andromeda ran after him, but a guard stepped in front of her to block her path.

“I’ve been ordered not to let you leave the room, milady.” Andromeda recognized the soldier as her father’s best warrior in charge of his entire army.

“Why are you guarding the door?” she asked suspiciously. “This job is far below your status.”

“That it may be,” he told her, “but it far surpasses the fate of most the other soldiers.”

She didn’t need to ask what he meant; his words told her all she needed to know. Her father was sacrificing his army today to the sea serpent. His best man stood watch at the door, and the guard that should have been posted there was no doubt about to be chained to the sacrificial rock.

She closed the door slowly, holding her stomach, tears streaming down her face.

“Oh, Perseus, where are you? We need you, Perseus. If you are still alive, please come to our aid.”

She went to the open window and watched as Apollo, God of the Sun, rose from the horizon driving his chariot led by six winged horses across the sky. The sun dragged behind him, rising slowly. When the sun fell into place, Apollo disappeared in the direction of Mt. Olympus.

She heard voices from below and looked down to see her father, soldiers at his command, leading a dozen of his best warriors in chains over to the sacrificial rock at the edge of the water. The smell of fear clung to the air, and Andromeda felt her stomach tighten.

She looked out to the sky, wondering about Perseus. She laid a hand on her stomach, now convinced that she carried his son. The baby within her would be the son of a demi-god and grandson of Zeus. She was not sure what that would make the child. Be it god, demi-god or just an ordinary human, she would love it just the same.