Serpent and Stone

Chapter 27

My eyes shot open, my head lifting to search frantically for those familiar blue eyes.

He stood at the entrance of the temple, his walking stick in hand, frowning intently in the direction of the gathered soldiers. He could see none of it of course. His pale eyes scanned the room blankly, but I could see the tension in his body, the way he kept absolutely still. I knew he heard the lowered voices of soldiers around us, the clank of swords as they were drawn, the heavy breathing of men who had just been engaged in battle. I watched his face with a horrible combination of relief, fear, and hopelessness churning in my gut. Slowly, he was putting the pieces together in his mind.

I did not move, dared not say a word as he moved farther inside the cavern toward the old soldier, the other men parting to clear a path for him. I guarded these last moments of his ignorance like precious pearls, however briefly I would possess them.

"Castor?" Perseus asked incredulously, a slow smile crossing his features. In turn the old man let out a loud guffaw and moved forward to embrace Perseus in a strong hug.

"I knew you were still alive, you wily bastard," Castor said with a grin, pulling back to look at Perseus more closely. His smile faltered as he took in Perseus' blindness. "Your eyes..." Castor shook his head. "I can't believe it, Perseus. How is it that you survived all this time?"

At the question, Perseus' smile vanished, a fierce expression of worry taking over his features. "Someone who lives on the island has helped me," he said. "But she's gone and I don't know where she went. You have to help me find her, Castor. I can't leave until I find her."

Castor scowled and I shrunk in on myself, wishing I could turn invisible.

"Someone who lives on the island?" Castor echoed. "Impossible. Only the gorgon Medusa lives on Sarpedon."

"It's true," Perseus insisted. "A woman lives here as well, by the name of Andromeda, living in this very temple. The gorgon has never bothered her. That's how I've survived all this time- I'd be long gone if it weren't for her."

I looked to Castor's face and saw with dread that his age made him less trusting than Perseus, less naïve. I watched the gears turn in his head and the moment he stiffened with realization. He turned then to look at me, his lips pulled back behind his veil into a cruel smile. He might as well have kicked me in the stomach.

He chuckled lowly, and Perseus' frown deepened. The old man put a hand on Perseus' shoulder, pushing him forward so he stood directly in front of me.

"I'm afraid the monster has deceived you cruelly, Perseus," he said. "We have found the gorgon herself inside the temple. You arrived here as she was defeated." He smiled. Persues' scowl remained. He still did not understand. Not yet. "Medusa kneels before you right now. It is she who kept you alive on this island, though for what purpose I can't imagine." He shrugged. "Perhaps to keep you as a pet toy for her amusement, or perhaps she wished to eventually carve you up and eat you instead of turning you to stone. Who can guess the motivations of monsters?" He put another comforting hand upon Perseus, who had suddenly gone very still. "It doesn't matter. She is defeated now. We will kill her and take her head with us back to Seriphos."

The very air seemed to freeze. Nothing and no one around me moved except for Perseus. His eyes darkened with a sense of understanding, of comprehension. My heart sunk. It was over, then. He knew. And he would hate me, as he should have from the very beginning.

Slowly, he knelt to the ground before me, close enough that I could reach out and brush the hair away from his eyes if I wished. I kept my hands in my lap, clenched tight into fists.

"Andromeda?" he whispered, blind eyes searching.

My throat still burned, marring my voice, but I somehow found the will to speak. "My true name is Medusa," I rasped, hating how weak, how broken I sounded. "I'm sorry for lying to you."