Smoke engulfed the garden in its toxic chokehold. The Gorgon’s eyes, stronger than any human’s, were able to stay open as the stinging blackness washed across them. The veil of fire and dark clouds was cutting off her path, kept her from finding what she was searching for. The Greenhouse had taken considerable damage from the unnatural explosions and fires. Holes had been torn in all its walls and the glass ceiling had cracked and then burst into a rain of deadly glimmering shards.

Medusa flung herself through the wall of flames and rolled over the former wooden door, which was now torn to pieces. As she landed she had to tear off the last bit of her chiton which had already been devoured by the ever greedy flames. She did not open her mouth to breathe, for the nauseating smoke would only hinder her ability to think straight. She was not allowed to lose focus, not until she had found her!

The grass below her snake half crunched, supplanted by the much louder cracking of glass. In this fiery desolate tomb of dying peace… she found who she sought.

The priestess was cowering below a tree and pushing her cut and scratched hands into the loose earth. One of the trees next to her had been lit aflame and the patch of vegetables was crushed below rocks. This was a sight one would expect from the depictions of Tartarus. A symbol of purity and innocence unfit to be in the center of agony and destruction.

Unsure of how to gain her attention, Medusa approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. There were subtle cuts across her robes and dust from the salt in her hair. It was nothing short of a miracle that she seemed to be mostly unharmed. It gave the Gorgon an unprecedented sense of relief.

“Lady Medusa… the garden…” The girl’s voice was choked up.

The Gorgon could not fathom how crushing this destruction was to the girl. The way her hands clutched a patch of dirt, an unsullied flower, the rough bark of the only unharmed tree. They all displayed the incredible loss of something precious.

“Plants regrow.” She said in a soft voice. “Buildings can be rebuilt. However, you cannot recover from death. If you cling to this ephemeral place, you shall share its fate, unable to experience that future.”

“I know that!” Eugenia raised her head. Finally the gash on her forehead became visible, which had stained her white clothes. “But why did it have to be this place?! Why did they have to destroy the place I was supposed to protect for you?” Her milky eyes were blurry from approaching tears.

Indeed, she had not cried in pain or for her own loss, but rather for the failure to keep a promise that only she wished to honor. It was a foolishness that only a human could conceive in such a dire situation.

Yet Medusa’s unmoving heart did feel a pang. Was it guilt? Anger?

Appreciation?

It mattered not. Right now, in this moment, she could not bother with feelings and wishes. Her survival instinct that had extended beyond her own self now was urging them to move.

“If you feel sorrow for the things lost, then you still have the strength to selfishly cling to life!” She grabbed the girl by the waist and pulled her close. With a swift motion she wiped her forehead free from the blood and forced her to push her hand on a rag that kept the cut shut.

The crackling flames surrounded them, but they would not keep her contained.

Her wings spread far to each side, ever so close to the all-consuming fire - and then flapped mightily. They rose beyond the destroyed ceiling and used the cover of the rising smoke clouds to move away from the destruction wrought by humans. Where could they flee to? Was there any such place left on this tiny island? If not, then was her only remaining choice to take the battle to the proud scholar, while defending the frail priestess in her arms?

“Zosimos’ map…” Eugenia muttered with a drained voice. The adrenaline and grief had kept her up until now, but she was losing her strength quickly. She must have inhaled a lot of the smoke. Her arms dangled down uselessly and her hand let go of the blood-soaked rag.

“The map? What of it? Speak.” She shook the priestess with more force than she intended, to keep her conscious.

“…there is a… small ravine…” She coughed with a sore throat.

A ravine? Medusa vaguely remembered something like it. She scanned the back of the island with her sharp eyes. It was a place where the rain sometimes flooded a hole after stormy days. It was damp and deep, but not very wide. They would barely fit into it.

“The map… said… there is a cave…” She raised her shaking arm and pointed it towards the place Medusa had already focused on. It was impressive that she still had the spatial awareness to figure out directions.

“I have never seen a cave there.” She muttered, but did not hesitate to dive towards the place anyway. There was no time for long contemplations, the archers would soon realize that they had fled the Greenhouse.

She folded her wings and curled up with the girl in her arms to take as little space as possible before entering the hole. With her tail transformed into legs she dug into the wet and dirty soil. Mud and rising water were all that greeted them beyond the short slide. This was a terrible hiding spot. Unless the priestess learned how to breathe underwater they would not be able to even hide their heads from their pursuers.

“Deeper…” The girl stretched her arm forward and touched the murky water.

“A submerged cavern?” She concluded. Eugenia nodded once and then slackened her body. “Stay awake! You must hold your breath!” She demanded forcefully.

The young woman breathed shallowly and then closed her mouth and contorted her face. She was actually holding her breath as she was told. Medusa did not hesitate another heartbeat and dove into the cold water. It went far deeper than expected, but due to her heritage she had no trouble seeing inside the pitch-black water. Neither did it pose any trouble for her body to swim or for her lungs to breathe. The same could not be said for the limp human under her arm, so she hurried through the small underground passage. Just when she feared that the last air bubbles would escape the priestess’ twitching mouth, she finally found a large dome of air above them.

With a loud splash they emerged from the water and the Gorgon flung herself onto the rough rocky ground of the cavern. It was far from even, certainly not made to lie upon, but she managed to carve away the spiky formations with her claws and made room to lay the girl down upon. The priestess coughed pitifully as water came out of her nose and mouth. She had barely managed to hold on for another second.

“Lie still, I will undress you.” Medusa moved fast, as every moment was precious. The heavy soaked clothes would freeze the human to death. Her hair was stuck to the rocks, as if clinging to any support. After relieving her of her heavy woven shackles, she took them up from the ground and slung her tail around her. Sharing her low body heat was less than ideal, but still preferable to the cold ground.

This was the second time she was embracing the human to protect her from the cold of nature. She did not wish to make a habit of it, but there were few options left to her. Eugenia was coughing incessantly, far worse than that stormy night. Some black was mixed with her saliva. The smoke had truly taken its toll.

The Gorgon’s instinct was to go to the surface and reap the lives of those weak cowards above that would go to such lengths to harm a single girl when they could not take on their true target, but she dared not move until she was sure that the girl would regain her strength.

While Eugenia was fading in and out of consciousness she could finally calmly think about their predicament. The scholar knew much of this island, perhaps even of this cave. To enter here was suicide for the mercenaries right now, so she did not assume he would attack any time soon. The question was how he had even obtained this knowledge in the first place. She would slowly torture that piece of information out of him once she got the upper hand again.

The far more urgent issue was that he was targeting the girl. Could he have known of their circumstances? Or was it simple pride controlling him? It was not unthinkable that he wanted revenge on the girl for not taking his hand when she could. The pettiness of humans was legendary.

Or if he in fact realized that Medusa protected her, he might have been looking for an opening to slay her while she was busy shielding the priestess. It was clever, although inconsequential. There was not one man in the scholar’s army that could take her down even if she took a dozen blows for the girl.

She would wait for nightfall. The night was humanity’s greatest foe. Their eyes and senses were weak, their determination waning the farther they strayed from the light. Once the priestess was safe inside here she would have nothing to tie her down. And like Nyx herself, she would encroach over their fickle light and extinguish them completely…

“They are gone! Not even a corpse to be found!” The Spartan mercenary captain kept kicking the fallen in walls with rage.

“They couldn’t just disappear.” One of the sailors who had volunteered to join the search was looking below a fallen over burnt tree. “Only the sea could swallow ‘em whole, not the damned earth!”

They were circling the ruins with increasing desperation. Their targets - and alongside them the promised bounty - had just vanished into thin air. Yet all they could find were a few scared rabbits and a rather pompous owl.

“I ain’t tellin’ the boss about this.” The sailor crossed his arms and frowned.

“You won’t have to tell anything once I stick my sword up your-” But before Markos could finish his crude threat a hand was put on his shoulder. The fingers were covered in rings, but still as silky smooth as a child’s.

“There is no need to tell me something I am already aware of.” He relieved them of the intense fear that his sudden appearance had inspired and then pulled up a map. He mustered it with a bemused expression. “To think there was a place that even this map did not reveal to us. On such a tiny island no less. I must wonder if this is sleight of hand or simply a coincidence.”

“You mean the informant’s screwed you?”

“I would not use such base phrasing.” He smiled amicably. “You might have a point nonetheless.” A merchant was no better than a dependable liar. For gain and profit they would hide or reveal whatever they deemed necessary. Themistokles of Rhodes had something to gain from keeping things to himself. That was all there was to it. “He must be underestimating you, dear Markos. Clearly he did not expect us to return if he left the Gorgon this single advantage.”

“Coin twiddlin’ whoreson’s got another face gash comin’ after we return back to Athens. My torture master didn’t get to play with him yet. Was real wound up ‘bout it, poor lad.” His malicious craving to inflict unspeakable pain to the merchant who slighted his ego was all too predictable.

“First things first, you should prove him wrong by showing off your trophy, no?” Typhos lowered the map and moved his hands in three directions. The mercenaries around him split up on his command, leaving the captain behind rather dumbfounded. He had clearly not expected the scholar to know their secret hand signs. “I want your men to patrol the island at three specific spots. Here, here and here.” He showed the three marks on the map and then handed it to the captain.

“Of course, sir.” He was taken aback, but still saluted. His failed military career was rather apparent. “Uh, if you don’t mind me askin’.”

“Yes?” Typhos smiled patiently.

“Why’s there a need to patrol? Isn’t that just gonna put my men into danger?”

He was sharper than he looked, if only slightly.

“True enough. I only want them to look out for hiding places, naturally. They will not be in any real danger as long as the Gorgon has to hide Eugenia.”

“You think the wench survived that?!” He pointed at the still burning Greenhouse.

“I am counting on it.” He said ominously. “We will keep the archers in formation and make four camps. Keep them on high alert until sunset.”

“Only sunset, sir?” He was utterly lost already.

“Indeed. Now excuse me please, I wish to have a chat with Pelagios about that wine I asked him to keep safe for our journey back home.” He waved casually and left the scarred man behind like child inside a foreign port.

Night clawed its fangs into Sarpedon and swallowed it whole.

Inside the lightless damp cave, passage of time was impossible to tell. If Medusa had not been counting her own heartbeat as reference for the flow of time she might have missed the end of the day.

The girl pressed against her ample chest was silently breathing with closed eyes. The coughing had stopped, although she still occasionally twitched and shivered. The clothes that had been spread across the rocks were far from dried. The dampness and cold did not allow for the water to evaporate. Leaving her behind in this state could cause her to freeze and fade away like a weak candle-light in the wind.

She decided to lean back on the cave walls and let the priestess sit on her lap instead. Being tightly coiled around her was making her feel stiff and suffocated.

As if the first movement in hours had startled her, the girl finally awoke. Not one of her short bursts of delirium, but true consciousness. Her senses were still too numbed to tell much of her surroundings, so she did not even realize the she was sitting on Medusa.

Eugenia coughed and covered her mouth with both hands. Her soft back was shaking heavily.

“There is plenty of water. Swallow slowly.” The Gorgon leaned her forward and pointed her head at the deep cave water. It was not clear, but it would have to do. For her it was hard to tell what was healthy for humans and what was poisonous.

“Not thirsty…” The girl mumbled after smelling the muddy water. So she was still able to deny something disgusting. That was a good sign. Truly desperate humans would drink even the most sullied water.

“Where are you, Lady Medusa?” She asked forlorn.

“Below you.” She said nonchalantly.

“Ah!” She almost fell over and rolled into the water from shock. “I apologize for lying on your body-!”

“Hush.” She covered her mouth to suppress the loud echo. There was no need to rouse suspicion now. “We are hidden inside the cave you guided me to. The enemies are waiting outside.”

The priestess grew silent and nodded quietly. Medusa loosened her hand and smiled ever so slightly.

“You may talk in whispers.”

“This is so shameful.” Eugenia covered her cold body with her arms and curled up next to the Gorgon. “I am nothing but a hindrance to you and I even lost the Greenhouse. You shouldn’t have protected me…” She was too exhausted to cry, but it was clear that she was deeply depressed.

“Maybe not, but it has been done, so worry not about what was lost and what could have been.”

“How is it that you can simply brush all trouble aside? Do you have no feelings at all?” The priestess asked with a gloomy voice.

“I do not need pity or sympathy. Is that not what I told you before? You will grief, as you are weak, I will prevail, because I am strong. We are both mortal, yet you are much more so. If you forget to put yourself first, you will be forgotten by those you tried to elevate.”

“I don’t want to see the world in such a cynical way.” She said stubbornly. After a long silence, she finally covered her face again. “I’m sorry.”

Medusa looked upon her and felt the same twinge as before. It was starting to affect her calm demeanor, so she had to get rid of it.

“We are even.” She said curtly.

“Huh?” The girl pulled away her hands in surprise.

“You are not the only one who failed to protect something.” She said despite herself. “Your chiton, it burned to ashes when I was hit by the fire.” She muttered under her breath and looked away. Was this real? Did she really feel embarrassed?

“That explains the tender feeling.” Eugenia rubbed her body exactly where she had embraced Medusa. She didn’t overreact this time. “That is fine. I will sew you another one.” She said matter of factly. “How could we possibly be even with that? A simple chiton is nothing compared to that miraculous place!”

The Gorgon had to scoff at her lack of self-awareness. That was exactly what she had told her before in a different way. Why did this foolish human think that her crime was so much greater if she could simply shrug off the same offense by the Gorgon? Were their values that far apart? To her the clothes were just as valuable as that old building. Was that odd?

“It was a miracle garden inside a building, invented by the great and wise Athena.” She was so filled with regret that it was aggravating.

At last now the Gorgon understood. She was not only sad because she lost something Medusa had given her, but mostly because it was something Athena had made. To her it must have been twice the failure. Again she would get upset for the wrong reasons.

“I can’t believe Typhos would destroy something so unique. He always put inventiveness above his personal gain. Why did he change so much?” It was eating her up even more that there was a human above the surface who she thought she had known long ago, but did not resemble the man he once was.

“I doubt he was ever the philosopher type.” Medusa said honestly.

“You should have heard his speeches in Athens. Always talking about how we should please the gods and live in harmony. If we served them well, they would return the favor. The knowledge we received from the gods was what made humanity become civilized and kind.” Her blind gaze was as aimless as ever, but even her mind seemed to be sinking into an unknown place that the Gorgon could not reach.

“So that is what he considers kindness.” Medusa said sarcastically and tapped Eugenia’s forehead. The wound had barely healed, but at least stopped bleeding. Before she could object, she continued. “I will give him this; his methods are more ‘civilized’ than most expeditions I encountered.” Humans were changing with the ages. The age where contests of strength and pure numbers decided a war seemed to be nearing its dusk.

“That is not what civilization is about.” Eugenia said with a tinge of frustration. “The philosophers and priestesses taught us to… use words over violence… to convince our enemies rather than bludgeon them.”

Her idealism was something foreign to the Gorgon. Her hands were sullied by the blood of countless battles, stained by the wrath of the gods themselves. Although the priestess was struggling with her beliefs, Medusa saw something in this very moment, something she wished she could preserve. It made her chest clench once more.

“Your civilized ways will prove futile against me still.” She said with a stressed expression. “Be it that man’s or your version.” She added cruelly.

Eugenia simply lowered her head in acknowledgment.

Water droplets were falling into the still waters of the cave and created sharp ripples. The echo of their voices had been silenced due to the Gorgon’s cold words. Even the small amount of warmth that she tried to preserve in her hands was fading again. She cursed herself internally.

Her ears perked up when she noticed the vibrations of footsteps above them. The warriors were close to the entrance again.

“Can you hear their conversation?” She asked the girl. Her exceptional hearing could prove useful for once.

“Only faintly. They are talking about returning to camp. I think… they suspect we are in one of the caves to the east.” The human girl concentrated her hearing above.

“They have not found us yet?” She was slightly surprised by that. The scholar’s knowledge was not as perfect as it seemed. “Then I will ascend and pick them off.”

“What?! You can’t!” Eugenia raised her hands, but was unable to move.

“Do not tell me that you still feel compassion for the men that did this to you.” She glared the girl down. Her lack of reply was all the confirmation she needed. “I will not spare a single one of them. Stay here and wait. I will end this before the moon is halfway across the sky, so I will retrieve you before you die from the cold.”

Eugenia was crestfallen.

“If you wish to survive the night, do not make any noise.” Medusa commanded. Though it sounded reasonable, her true reason was that she could not bear to hear the priestess voice call out again.

She forced herself to turn away, but had still caught a glimpse of the shivering and lonely girl hunched over in a damp cave. Her physical pain was not what truly made the Gorgon loathe her actions the most. It was that expression of disappointment.

A monster left the watery hole with killing intent and crawled across the rocks. The two men on patrol were nervous, glancing about with their torch light. Every shadow was a sign of the Gorgon to them, but soon they found that the true monster was not something they could ever see coming. For the moment they laid eyes upon her they were already petrified.

She let go of the two statues and let them fall into the water hole. She flicked the torch with her tail to put out its light. This did not go unnoticed by the northern camp. They grew suspicious. The Gorgon clasped the torches and then moved to the west at great speed. Then she ignited them once again with a spark from two pieces of rock. The camp was bustling now and they seemed to be wondering why the patrol had moved so far in darkness.

They sent out a dozen men and had the archers aim at the location of the lights.

Meanwhile Medusa moved to the east side of the camp and slit the archers’ throats from behind. Just as their comrades tried to call out for reinforcements they were petrified, horns at their lips.

The unit that had moved out only found abandoned torches and ran back in a panic, clearly afraid that the Gorgon was lurking between the rocks and trees, but when they returned to the still lit camp, they found themselves surrounded by statues, stuck in the middle of screams. With brutal force their shields were crushed under the powerful arms of the Gorgon so they could not hide their eyes behind them. Some decided to close their eyes and swing blindly, as they always did, but the Gorgon only needed to stab their legs with their own spears to make them open all eyes in pain.

In the time it took a pot of soup to boil, the Gorgon had slaughtered an entire camp. She threw over the fire bowls and tossed the tents into the campfire. With pure contempt she threw the water barrels on top of the rising flames. Then all manmade light was gone, leaving nothing but wet ash.

Only three more camps to extinguish.

Using the darkness as cover she moved towards the temple. She was not surprised to see that even inside these ruins the humans had created a temporary base. They fortified it far better than the small camps of tents, but such defenses were meaningless to her. This was her home turf that they foolishly set foot on.

Climbing the walls, scaling the ceiling and breaking just the right places, she managed to methodically end every single mercenary before their comrades could even realize it. That was what they got for thinking they could control her island.

The last man was struggling immensely. He somehow managed to avoid her gaze while slicing after her arms. Although he was not strong, he had some skill. She rammed him against a wall, but just as his bones were broken he took a small piece of ore and threw it into the puddle of water created from the skirmish.

She fell back just in time to avoid the explosion, but the noise was so loud that the others must have heard it even far away. The fire on top of the water was a grim reminder that they had means beyond human capabilities.

The mercenary rose despite his broken shoulders and howled.

“I AM MARKOS OF SPARTA! Die by my hand monster!” He hit his shield repeatedly and then jumped the Gorgon.

His sword did not even make it to her as she simply broke it apart with one hand. In return she sliced through his face, blinding him completely. She did not do it out of mercy.

“Speak human. Where is the scholar?” Her hand was grasping his throat and pushing it to its limits.

“Typhos…?” He asked with gritted teeth as blood streamed down into his mouth.

“That man.” She confirmed.

“Hah! Ahahaha! Even the mighty Gorgon… Krrk! Is afraid of our- uurggh - master!” He cackled and hit the Gorgon with his broken shield. The pieces stabbed into her shoulder, but she didn’t even flinch.

“I fear no man.” She said cold as ice. “I only need to save him for last.”

“He--- shooould… bee… waiting… for you!” He cackled even more. The lack of air was making his mind fail. It seemed that in his death throes he completely devoted himself to his contractor. This was a common reaction of human warriors. She flung him aside and left him to die from his wounds. If he was lucky he would even outlive his cherished master.

Medusa’s eyes were hollow, as was her soul. The pieces of wood fell out of her wound, which closed all too fast. The more she killed the less she seemed to care about the end result. There was only one faint desire inside her right now: To humiliate the man who made her go through this much effort.

The Gorgon settled down on a pillar and waited. They would doubtlessly rush to the aid of this base soon. She had lost all interest in taking them down one by one. Time was running thin. The longer she took, the colder it would get inside the cave.

Yes, she needed to hurry. Kill faster, more efficiently.

“A base creature to the bone.” A familiar and loathed voice snapped Medusa out of her predatory mindset. There were only few things she would like to silence more than this self-righteous voice. “I have expected nothing less of you, Gorgon.” The tiny owl flapped its wings and landed on one of the petrified men’s heads.

“I have no patience for you tonight.” Medusa showed the owl a single fang.

“Your desires are meaningless to me. I have watched your pathetic actions since the break of dawn and will do so until you have taken the last head on this island.”

“You do not have much confidence in your pets then?” She mocked.

“This is not my strategy, not my meticulous plan. If I wanted you dead, you would lie at the feet of one of my statues you so blasphemously destroyed.” The owl raised its feathery chest in disapproval. “Typhos is proving himself more tenacious than I had expected.” She did seem to appreciate his ability to enrage the Gorgon at least. “Perhaps I could make him the hero who ended the menace of Sarpedon?”

“You will pick a side before our bet has ended?” Medusa asked furiously.

The owl’s silvery eyes were sharp. They shifted a little upon that reaction. She seemed to have found something in the Gorgon’s words that amused her. A rare sight indeed.

“It is you who has picked a side. Did you not abandon Eugenia?”

“She is in a safe place!”

“Yet your mere presence has almost cost her life several times today.” She retorted deeply.

“The humans-”

“To blame the humans is the only thing a mindless creature can do, is it not?” She said gravely. “You think yourself above them, yet you allow them to shape your path and mind! Therefore you are not worthy of divinity, not worthy of your boundless existence! I have judged well in turning you mortal!”

“How dare you!” Medusa’s eyes became so ferocious that she could see the owl’s frail body stiffen up. The curse of her eyes was almost overpowering the protection of Athena on the animal.

“If you end the life of my ‘eyes’, you will lose the bet. If you let Eugenia die, you lose the bet. If Eugenia chooses me, you will lose the bet.” The owl declared once again matter of factly. This pure, calculated, emotionless voice drove the Gorgon nearly insane. “And when you lose the bet I shall truly smite you.”

The heart of stone pounded in fury. The blood of the Gorgon boiled. The snake hair was snapping at the owl. Her hatred that had been stewing away from today’s events was multiplied many times by Athena’s taunting. She felt the beastly side of her mind take over.

The distant footsteps of the incoming army did barely register with the Gorgon or the goddess. This was the decisive moment. Her next action would decide the future.

“Do you honestly think Eugenia can choose a monster like you?” The owl asked haughtily.

Medusa’s claw rushed forward. Her last string of control had snapped. She was going to tear the owl apart!

An image flared up inside her mind.

That look of disappointment.

Her claws stopped in front of the owl’s beak. With all her might she stopped herself and pulled back slowly.

“You have not lost your mind yet it seems, Gor-” The owl’s words were cut off.

As was its head.

Medusa’s eyes turned thin as she was frozen in place. The silvery eyes faded in surprise. With an almost comical sound the owl’s head dropped to the ground and the remaining body stuck to the statue.

Someone had cut it off with a dagger. Someone so swift and silent that she could not even react. That was not humanly possible.

A shade so dark that it made the night seem bright merged with the darkness and retreated from the bloody trail it left behind.

Medusa was too shocked to follow after the attacker.

Only after seeing the incoming men did she begin to move again. She had to get back to Eugenia. Fast!

“Hahaha…. Keheheh… So that’s what Typhos meant…” The bleeding blinded man behind her grabbed her tail with his dirty hands. “He said that once night comes… we would finally be alone.”

In his blindness, swaying between the world of the living and the dead, he had seen the presence of Athena. And now he was overjoyed.

“Only us… mortals… now! All is as it should beeee!” He shouted with a creepy smile on his face and the men ahead roared in anger.

As the humans bared their fangs at the Gorgon, Typhos’ plan was reaching its next phase. And yet the Gorgon could only think of the ominous shade headed for the cave.