Medusa: Fate's Game Ch. 09

Medusa sighed, and nodded. But even as she started to relax a bit, the gorgon lowered herself down to wrap her arms around Darian's neck from behind, and rest her chin on his shoulder.

"The sun will be up in five or six hours. If Andromeda is here, please don't try and deal with her by yourself. Get Chimera, get me, we can deal with her together."

The beautiful, albeit heavy serpent leaned her weight on him, and he struggled to keep her from knocking him down.

"We will, don't worry. With undead and manticores and Perseus and a sea monster, I think Otrera and I know when we'd be beat."

The queen shrugged and drew one of her swords from its sheath. "Well, I mean, if she's just sitting there exposed, I don't see a reason to not stab her in the back."

Darian frowned. "We're trying to save Pegasus and get back the Moirai mask, Otrera. My friend first, mask second, killing Andromeda third."

The queen rolled her eyes, but nodded and put her sword back inside her cloak.

"You really sneaked through Tiryns wearing a dirty cloak over your armor?"

"Master of disguise." He picked his backpack up, and as Medusa got off him to make room, he slid the thing onto his back over his cloak. "Helmet's in the bag. People don't like looking beggars in the eyes, so haunch over, act old and weak."

Otrera rolled her eyes, but did as he said. "Old... ooooold."

They both laughed again. But before Medusa could get upset, he turned around and took her hand. A kiss on the knuckles, a kiss on her wrist, and the best smile in the world, and she was smiling too.

"We'll be fine. Otrera isn't trying to kill me this time, remember? She's my backup."

"Pft," Otrera said. But when he caught her eye, she gave him a knowing nod, before she turned to face Chimera.

In the dark and quiet, it was almost easy to miss the giant standing next to the tree. With branches and cliff overhead to block him out in shadow, his stone-like stillness turned him into a piece of the scenery. The queen walked up to him, and gave him a punch in the leg. A buddy punch, one the men back at Tiryns would give, when Darian was guard captain and everyone had grown comfortable with each other.

A flash memory of the Amazon stumbling out of the cave hit him, naked and dripping with sex, and he shook his head to try and dislodge it. Women were mind readers; if Medusa noticed, she'd break him in half.

"We're an hour's walk from where I'm guessing the city entrance will be. Ready?" Darian said.

Otrera looked up at Chimera, reached up with a hand, and curled a finger. The beast quirked a brow, but lowered himself, one heavy leg at a time, until he was on a knee and leaning down.

"Kiss me," she said.

Darian blinked. Medusa almost squealed, but managed to block her lips with one hand, while the other gripped Darian's shoulder and shook him.

Chimera looked stunned. He raised a brow, and looked to Darian — who only managed an equally surprised shrug — before looking down at the small queen. Otrera was tapping her foot by then, arms folded across her chest, scowl on her face.

But the scowl faded when the beast finally leaned in closer and put a kiss on her. It was plain to see the giant didn't know what he was doing, but Otrera reached up, took his huge jaws in her hands, and held him still while she gave him a proper kiss.

Medusa started shaking Darian hard enough to knock his head back and forth. She looked like she was about to burst, massive smile and wide eyed.

A few seconds later, Otrera let go of the giant's jaws, patted his cheek, and gave him a push to help get him back to standing.

"I'll be back for more, ok? So sit your ass tight and don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." With a nod, Otrera turned around, gave Darian a pat on the shoulder, and a wink for Medusa. "You coming?" she said as she started walking toward the city.

"Yeah, uh, sure." He followed after her, but not before sharing a similar kiss with Medusa. "Love you."

"Love you!" She let him go with dangling fingers, and there was again a split moment where he thought: fuck it, go back to her, and forget all the shit. Melodramatic much. You have a friend to save and a job to do. Besides, you want to make a case to Athena about Medusa don't you?

He waved, and with Otrera by his side, the two of them disappeared into the forest.

"So," he said.

"So?"

"So... how are you not bowlegged right now?"

That earned him a punch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a slow walk, but they had to do it right. Approach the city quietly, get near, make sure their disguises were well fitted, adequate, and explore while blending in. A couple of old beggars wandering around at night was perfectly normal, and should allow them to become familiar with the layout of the city and its state. Were the locals friendly? According to Gallea, everything seemed normal. But you never knew.

Getting to the acropolis would be a different matter. If he had Pegasus back, they would ride the sky and swoop down upon their enemies in a glorious display. Without him, he was forced to walk, and in this case, sneak. Sneak up a mountain pathway up to an acropolis filled with guards, in the hopes that the King would be able to answer his questions? And unlike Tiryns, he didn't know the city, didn't know the citadel, hadn't spent years developing his own hidden paths through the layout, and had no leverage.

The only thing going for him was people wouldn't recognize him, or Otrera. Unless Perseus was there waiting for him and the Amazon, no one would recognize either of them, save for the V etched into his forehead. But with his cloak pulled down over half of his face, that was hidden.

He was kind of excited.

And the excitement rose when they slid out of the forest and onto the winding, narrow road between the mountains. Ahead was the first sprout of buildings, but the mountains still pressed down on the city like giant walls. The buildings were built against the limestone and rock. No trees though, and with the moon high and stars visible, they had enough light to see the city ahead.

The streets were empty, and no fires were lit. The buildings looked in good repair, and as they stepped through the streets, everything seemed fine, other than the quiet and emptiness. Some cities liked to empty at night, others did not. It could have been normal behavior.

But of course it wouldn't be. Each step sent a chill up his spine, and his breath came out slower, harder, with an invisible weight pressing down on him the further they stepped into the city. He looked over at Otrera, but found the same thing. The Amazon dragged herself along as an elderly woman would have, but the sweat on her face was real.

What was going on? He put a hand on her shoulder, and the two of them came to a stop near one of the buildings. He peaked in the window, but inside was absolute black with the ceiling blocking the night sky. He could hear breathing, several lungs, but they were hard, raspy, like his was becoming.

He could see his breath, but it wasn't cold enough for that. His fingertips were starting to go numb too, and tiny pinches of pain worked up his toes, as if he'd been swimming in cold water. A gentle fog was settling over the streets; but just a wisp of it around his feet forced his steps to slow to a crawl. Moving grew harder still, until he felt a hundred pounds heavier. It had to be in his head, because he could tell he wasn't cold, and wasn't heavier, but every movement lied to him.

The sky was beautiful, but it pressed down on him like dead hands the closer he grew to the center of the city. Like Chimera had said, there weren't enough animals. Where were the birds? He heard one, maybe two chirps. And the occasional growl.

He yanked Otrera into an alley between two buildings. In the shadow, they were in absolute black between two walls of mudbrick. There was an odor he couldn't place, something like meat but rotten. And then the fog started to grow.

And grow. Fog thicker than water started to pool around their feet, and higher until it overflowed. Buried in its weight, the cold dead hands he imagined before felt all too real, and he checked his shoulder more than once.

Footsteps. Another familiar growl. He motioned for Otrera to get down, and the two of them got to their knees as they peered out into the fog of the street. With the moon and starlight casting down onto the streets, the fog was a strange mix of light blues and shadowy movements, like seeing objects swim deep in the sea.

The growls grew louder, and the scrap of claws against dirt grated on his ears until his fingers clenched. The shadows in the mist held still, and in the quiet of the empty street, he could hear them breathing. Two sets of lungs, each content to growl at the other. Manticores.

He looked back to Otrera, and with a gulp, reached under his cloak and started to slip out one of his swords. She nodded, did the same, and crouched lower than he.

The shadows in the fog turned their way, and with slow steps, approached. Closer now, he could see the shadows of their scorpion tails, raised high and swaying with their prowling. Without Chimera or Medusa, killing them would not be easy. Then, of course, was Chimera's warning about the sting of their tails, deadly to humans, paralyzing to giants. He'd probably be somewhere in the middle as a Fate's Child, and become paralyzed before dying horrifically.

He smiled. Try as he might to not, adrenaline and fear turned into creeping anticipation, from fingers to toes.

The crack of breaking jars drew their attention. Darian and Otrera couldn't peek out from the alley they were in, pulled back into it as they were, but the two shadows in the fog turned, growled a few times, and ran after the distant noise.

He waited a few seconds, but he couldn't wait long. The moment was open, and they had to get moving. Where to though? Deeper into the city, where manticore were prowling?

Otrera tapped him on the shoulder. He turned, followed her pointed finger, and caught himself before he gasped. Someone was over their heads, leaning out from the building's rooftop.

Before Darian could say anything, the stranger put a finger up to their face where their lips would be. They were covered in a cloak, not dissimilar to Darian, but their hands were bandaged without an inch of skin showing. They jumped down to join them, and landed on feet bandaged as well; without the clop of sandals, their landing was silent.

The stranger paused to look at the two of them. There wasn't much to see in the pitch black of the shadow between the two buildings, but they could see outlines, and the stranger's outline was taking its sweet time staring at him, and Otrera. But after a couple more seconds, they made the tiniest grunt, tapped him on the shoulder, and moved out into the fog.

He looked back at Otrera, who managed a shrug and pointed out to the fog. Well, in for a little, in for a lot. He kept low, but the stranger moved fast. Someone who knew the area then? Any help was appreciated, but for all Darian knew, he was walking into a trap.

But he still had his sword out, and so did Otrera. Two Fate's Children would not make for easy prey. Probably. Hopefully.

There wasn't much to see with the fog everywhere. He thought maybe the fog had followed the two beasts, but the cats had left, and the fog remained. Something that just came at night then? He shivered, and tried to see more of the city; he might as well have been blind. Only the highest peaks of the taller builders showed through the fog, as shadows against the starry sky.

The stranger stopped ahead. As Darian came in closer and into view, the stranger tapped a home's door twice, then once, then thrice. It opened, and he vanished within. Frown up and sword out, Darian and Otrera followed him in.

Inside, it was near total darkness. But with a few moments, outlines were visible once more, and the figure ahead tapped the floor every so often to indicate his path. They followed, crawling along the house floor and doing their best to not make noise. The fog had seeped in, heavy, cold, and it pressed him down to the floor as he did his best to follow the blur of obsidian around a corner of the interior.

Another door, but flat against the floor. The stranger opened it, and gods bless them, there was some candle light coming up from whatever room they exposed.

In went the stranger, feet first in a slide. Well, he couldn't turn back now. Darian slid in as well, but once he was in, he bounced on his feet and jumped forward a foot to space himself out from both the hole and the stranger waiting for him below. His sword was still drawn, and he wasn't about to sheathe it yet.

But the sight before him made him lower his guard. A couple dozen men and women each sat around the cellar, with a couple of candles to light the darkness. Armor and weapons were scattered everywhere against the walls, and the people sitting around were tending to them.

Dressed in only their tunics, Darian winced when he saw the brand carved into each of their forearms. Otrera pointed to them as well, and nodded with pained grimace on her face.

Just like the manticores.

Once the stranger behind them closed the door overhead, they moved over to the table in the center of the room, and sat down with a quiet groan. Darian knew that annoyed groan.

But he didn't have to guess. They pulled back their hood, and peeled off the bandages covering their face. Why all the bandages? They looked perfectly healthy.

"Bellerophon. Otrera," Patrius said, and gave a small salute.