Daughter of Death

XIX

It was creepy, and Hallez was almost tempted to leave the plane again, but she forced herself to stay put.

"You're not Mania," Hallez said, more of a statement than a question.

The woman smiled, then looked straight again. "Indeed I'm not. I'm incognito at the moment, so just call me McGonagall."

Hallez blinked. She was...not expecting that. "...Like from Harry Potter?"

"McGonagall" nodded. "I personally prefer the book McGonagall over the movie one. But anyways, let's talk about what I really brought you here for."

"So you were the one who sent me that vision. Did you send me the second one as well?"

McGonagall looked at her, an air of confusion about her. "The second vision? I didn't send you any second vision. But we're getting off track. We need to talk about your quest."

McGonagall slowly turned the plane around, and Hallez braced her hands against the roof, a little afraid since she didn't have a seatbelt on. They had flown further in such a short time than Hal had anticipated, out towards the mountains. Now they were flying back, towards Livermore, the scene in the distance eerily similar to that in her visions.

"As of right now, you don't have much to go off of for finding the Ancile, or Medusa's Cave, or Mania, correct?"

Hallez nodded.

"I have a lead for you." McGonagall looked at her again. "How much do you know about Perseus?"

"The Greek demigod? Not much. He decapitated Medusa."

"Indeed, he did. After all, that is his most famous deed. But before that... Well, it's actually quite a long story."

Hallez didn't understand how this helped. "What's the lead?"

McGonagall casually ignored her. "But basically, he and his mother were washed up on shore on the island of Seriphus. His mother—Danae—was sought after by King Polydectes of Seriphus, who wasn't a good man by any means. Perseus, of course, greatly disapproved, and always foiled any of the King's attempts to get close to her. Out of anger, greed and stubbornness, he tricked Perseus into accepting an impossible task: Bringing him the head of Medusa."

"I...get that," Hallez said hesitantly. "But what does this have to do with—?"

"Perseus couldn't refuse, and so he set out. He was not selfish, but he was prideful. He originally wanted to find Medusa and behead her all by himself, without relying on others. But he couldn't. Of course he couldn't—the only people who sought out the Cave of Medusa went, and never came back. They were all turned to stone. The only people who knew could not be found in a normal way. There was no way he could do it by himself. After some time, Mercury and Minerva—or Hermes and Athena—took pity on him, and came to him to help. They wanted Medusa gone as much as he did.

"At first, he tried to refuse. But eventually, Perseus had to let them help, for his mother's sake. They gave him a pair of winged sandals for flight, and Hades' helm, which could make him invisible. Then, they gave him directions to the only people who knew where the Cave of Medusa was, and had the weapons to kill her. If not for Mercury and Minerva's help, he would never have found Medusa, or even if he did, never would have been able to kill her, and later save his mother."

She paused, and looked meaningfully at Hallez, who wasn't sure what McGonagall was hinting at. However, she did make one connection

"...You're the goddess Minerva." Again, it was more of a statement than a question, but McGonagall—Minerva—nodded. "You're Pauline's mother."