The S.S. Olympus -under refurbishment

Chapter XVIII: Medusa

"You only have to look at the Medusa straight on to see her. And she's not deadly. She's beautiful, and she is laughing."--Helene Cixous

Apollo felt his head bob in silent acceptance of Artemis' order to 'split up'. "Apollo," Artemis yelled his name across the cavern. He felt his body shift in response, his mind did not follow. "Apollo?" she questioned, "Take these!" She threw a couple of things from Hades' pack at him. They landed lifelessly at his feet. He felt his hands reach for the pack, and his head nod numbly in response. All while his mind and soul were pulled deeper into the cave by a siren song. His head bobbed and swayed to the song heard only by him, an attribute of his mother's heritage. 

 Her species, the Canticorians, had an exceptional perception of vibrations through the mediums of both air and earth. A talent that had been developed as part of their predatory instincts, was now a source of joy for the entire galaxy.  He felt his skin tingled in response to the allure of the call that wended through the damp amphitheater walls of the cave. 

His musical gifts, and fingers, had come in handy. He smirked as his hand brushed against the cool stone wall in remembrance of his past lovers. The primitive Roman women were much more unbound than the enlightened galaxy races. However, despite his inadvertent and advertent efforts for female companionship, his soul's song remained silent, until now.

This song was all he head to keep his mind away from nausea that plagued him since Athens. He was still sick to his stomach about the nights in Athens. Despite Cornelia's accusations, it was not fun being all consumed by a lust wraith. He had not slept or eaten for days and lord only knows what type of infections he contracted. That sexual marathon was enough to make him question ever wanting to have intercourse again. He had been in the sanitization chamber of the S.S. Olympus for hours more than usual. Not to mention the medical tests, he had performed on himself, and antibiotics he took. His hand fondled a large pill in his pocket, was still taking. 

A somber note tickled his skin and drew him further along the dark dripping tunnel. The emotion of the notes now sinking into his pores and into his very soul. A warm tingling sensation enveloped him as he moved closer calling to his soul.  It drowned out all other senses leaving only the mysterious song filled with a honey tenor. A song, so distracting that he almost did not notice the stone faces frozen in terror as he passed, almost. 

"I hope these do, something." Apollo grabbed the glasses Hades designed from the pack Artemis had thrown at his feet. 

A gentle light broke through the ceiling of the cave and illuminated a small moss-covered island in the center. A woman lounged across a large rock, her face held a content smile and her fingers traced dancing ripples in the cavern lake below her. The creature's skin shimmered in the filtered cave light, her color shifting from green to iridescent rose with the imperceptible movements of her lithe body. 

His jaw dropped in the realization that the gorgon was the source of the hypnotic song that called to his canticorian soul. The serpentine tendrils of her hair danced in the air chorusing her song. He realized now that the other voices were coming from the small snakes crowning her head.

"How could anyone fear you? You are incredible," his heart fluttered at the melancholy melody that came to life with the gentle swaying of the snakes in the air. Apollo stumbled over the cavernous terrain having lost track of his feet as he moved toward her mesmerized. He inadvertently kicked a rock. It created an ear-shattering bouncing echo that filled the walls of the cavern. 

Medusa's body spun, and her reptilian eyes met his. Apollo felt his body turn to ice. Not in the terror that one would expect; but, in anticipation. He waited for the feeling of stone to encase his body and welcomed it, for the small moments of bliss he felt from her song were all he needed in his lifetime.