The Oracle of Delphi (Greek Myth Fantasy Series) (21 page)

She looked up to Mt. Olympus far in the distance and shook her head slightly.

“Oh, dear Zeus, King of the Gods,” she whispered. “If I really am pregnant with your grandson, then have mercy on the village of Thessaly. Keep these walls safe from the sea monster of Nereus, and send your bolts of lightning to strike the monster down before these men are sacrificed needlessly.”

She didn’t know what she expected to happen, but it was not what she saw next. The sea split in two as a horrible sea serpent rose from beneath the water. The angry waves grew higher around it, the serpent rising high into the air. Its scaled head atop a long neck whipped back and forth as it looked for its next sacrificial offering. Its beady eyes glowed green and orange, and its forked tongue slid in and out of its mouth, tasting the air. If ever a beast looked hungry and angry - it was this one.

She gripped the frame of the open window tightly, horrified to think the sea serpent would eat a dozen of her father’s best warriors simply because it could not get the one it wanted. She closed her eyes and swayed, only to open them again at the sound of screaming from below. The wives of the warriors were held back from their husbands by her father’s remaining men.

They cried and shouted and reached for their loved ones without success as the sea serpent started its journey forward to consume them. She scanned the warriors chained to the rock, already feeling the empty loss of each and every one of them. She looked at her father and mother watching quietly, safe behind a rock wall. Her mother dabbed her eyes with a rag, but her father - the ever-present image of a good king - just raised his chin and waited. Then her eyes returned to the sacrificial rock and she noticed one man chained at the front of the line whom she had not noticed before. As he twirled his mustache in his fingers nervously, waiting to be consumed, she recognized Klaus.

“No!” she screamed from the window, but nobody heard her above the roar of the beast. Her heart broke at seeing the man who used to read her stories in her childhood and bring her peppermint to settle her stomach, go to his death because her father would not sacrifice her to the sea serpent. Her father must have found out that Klaus had helped her escape. If not for this, Klaus would have been the last one chained to the sacrificial rock.

She heard the running of footsteps in the corridor and the shouting of voices from within as the remaining people of the castle ran out to watch in horror. Fury ripped through her, the will of determination strong within her to save her village. If Perseus were not here to do it, then she would step in as his wife to save the men. She had no choice.

Never would she let Klaus go to his death without trying to save him. He would have done the same for her, she was sure. She nodded slightly, her mind made up. She would do what she had to, just as Perseus had taught her. No one else would die at the jaws of the sea serpent because of her.

“Forgive me, Perseus, but this is something I have to do.”

She rushed to the door and tore it open, relieved to find the guard had gone to watch as well. She hurried down the corridor quickly before she could change her mind. She would get to the sacrificial rock before the sea serpent did. She would save Klaus and the others before they went to their demise. She had to sacrifice her own life in their place before the beast took one more innocent person of Thessaly.

Perseus awoke with a start, slashing his sword at the sea serpent about to eat Andromeda. But when he focused his eyes, he was still in the dark cave, his sword plunged into the head of Medusa still enveloped in the magic bag.

He pulled it out and got to his feet. His heart beat furiously, knowing his dream was more than a dream. Andromeda was being sacrificed to the sea serpent and he stayed trapped in this cave unable to help her. He surveyed the Gorgons still asleep in the cave opening, blocking passage. He had to try something to escape. He looked down at his traveling cape with an idea. Leaving Medusa’s head, he hurried to the far end of the cave. He put his cape over the shoulders of a stone soldier, and then pushed it partially behind the fountain. Then he removed his tunic, standing only in his braies, and wrapped the garment around another stone figure, pushing it partially behind Medusa’s throne. He could only hope the Gorgon sisters could be fooled. He made his way back to the bag which held the head of Medusa, and picked up a large stone. With accurate aim he tossed it toward the sleeping Gorgons, hitting one right on the backside.

“What? What do you want?” the Gorgon asked her sister. When she saw that her sister still slept, she closed her eyes again. This time, Perseus picked up another stone and aimed at the opposite sister. It hit her right in the eye and she awoke with a start.

“What are you doing, Euryale? I am trying to sleep,” her perturbed voice called out.

“Me?” asked Eruyale. “It was you, Stheno, that woke me from my slumber first.”

Perseus picked up one more rock and this time aimed for the opposite side of the cave. He hit the stone creature atop Medusa’s throne, breaking off a piece. The piece crumbled and fell noisily to the ground.

“It is him!” cried Euryale, pushing upright. “He is in the cave. I see him by Medusa’s throne.”

She started toward it, but before she had made it across the cave, Perseus threw another rock toward the fountain. It landed with a splash in the water.

“No. He is over there,” Stheno said, pointing toward the stone figure draped in Perseus’s cape.

“I see him this way,” her sister insisted.

“You go that way, and I will go where I think he is.”

Now both Gorgons were away from the cave exit. Perseus picked up the bag with the head and hurried toward the opening, hearing the Gorgons’ gazes firing into the stone figures.

“He tricked us, Euryale! He must be trying to escape.”

“Look!” Stheno pointed at the floor. “A trail of blood heading toward the mouth of the cave. Let us get him.”

He looked down to his bare feet seeing the trail of blood that had dripped from his sword. Medusa’s blood, which was also leaking through the bag slightly. Although he had remained invisible, the blood left a trail right toward him. He ran from the cave into the sunshine, heading toward the shore wondering how he was going to get off the isle.

The sisters screeched from behind him, pursuing him as fast as their reptile bodies allowed. Perseus made it to the water and frantically looked up and down the shoreline hoping to find an abandoned boat of some sort. There were half a dozen boats deserted on the shores from the past warriors who had died there, but each and every one of them was broken to bits.

The Gorgons came closer, urging him to turn around and look at them. He refused. Trapped on the isle with no place to go, Perseus knew they would eventually find him. So close to his goal, but yet so far. He had the head of Medusa, but it would not do anyone a bit of good unless he could get off this isle.

He felt the drops of blood from the bag dripping upon his bare feet. The drops formed a puddle on the ground. The puddle’s shape reminded him of a horse. Then the drops spread, looking like wings upon the horse’s back. Perseus shook his head, wondering if he was going mad.

He moved away and the blood droplets grew. They turned from red to white and grew high like a solid wall before him. The form they took pushed at him, causing him to fall to the ground. The blob began to shape into a winged horse, solidifying before him. White as the snows of Mt. Olympus, the stud stood as proud as any one of the gods. Its tail of fine white silk rose high behind him. The animal stomped one of his golden hoofs upon the ground impatiently. His wings unfurled slowly, as beautiful as a bird of the gods, reaching out behind the horse as it stretched.

“A winged horse?” he mused.

The horse looked frightened, not seeing from where the voice came, and Perseus remembered he was still invisible. The horse heard the screams of the Gorgons following the trail of blood and whinnied in protest. Perseus felt the spark of an idea within him. This could be the answer to all his problems. He quickly removed the helmet of invisibility, replacing his sword at his side and talking calmly so as not to frighten the animal.

“Come here, boy,” he said, holding out his hand. The horse snorted and moved backwards. He tried again to get closer, hoping to mount it, but it whinnied and knocked his hand away with its head.

“Look, there he is!” cried one of the Gorgons, spotting him without his helmet.

“Let’s get him,” said the other.

Perseus used his shield to see the Gorgons, trying to ward off their attempt to turn him to stone.

“Pegasus, let my son ride you, you stubborn horse.” The voice came from the shield, and Perseus saw the reflection of Zeus upon it. “I give you the gift of Pegasus,” said his father. “But in return I want you to save my grandson’s life from the sea serpent.”

“Grandson?” he asked, and then understood completely. Andromeda was pregnant with his child. And her life was in danger because of the sea beast. With no time to ponder the thought of becoming a father, he grabbed the helmet, bag, and shield, and mounted Pegasus just as the Gorgons approached. He used the shield to hide his face, kicking his bare heels into the sides of the white horse.

“I will save not only your grandson,” he told Zeus, “but my wife and the village of Thessaly as well.”

Pegasus rose above the Gorgons just as they approached. The air shot briskly past Perseus’s face, stinging wonderfully against his skin, letting him know he was still alive. He gripped the mane of Pegasus tightly in one hand, raising his other in the air, throwing back his head in a loud whoop of victory. He could hear the cries of the Gorgons from below him, but did not dare turn to look. He patted his free hand against the horse’s neck, thanking him silently for coming to his aid. Then he nodded a silent thanks to Zeus’s image fading quickly from his shield. It felt good to know his father looked out for him. He felt proud to be the son of Zeus.

As he directed the horse up into the sky, he noticed Apollo retreating back to Mt. Olympus after dropping the sun in place - signifying the beginning of another day at his command.

Perseus directed Pegasus upward, closer to the sun. Then he turned a full circle in the sky before dipping the horse down quickly toward the water. Feeling like Apollo himself riding through the sky, Perseus felt more like a god than ever. The wind whipped through his hair as he next directed Pegasus toward the beach.

The remnants of their camp were there, but as he expected, Andromeda was nowhere in site. He was not exactly sure how to get to the little village of Thessaly from there, but he knew it was on the sea, so he followed the shore.

“Come on, Pegasus, pick up the speed,” he commanded, feeling the surge of power flowing through his veins. “I have a wife and child to save from a sea serpent.”

*   *   *

Andromeda burst from the castle, running in her bare feet toward the sea. She held the hem of her gown high to keep from tripping as she made her way down the hill toward the sacrificial rock. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of the baby she would never hold in her arms. Still she rushed forward selflessly, knowing she had no other choice.

She ran past her parents, ignoring their cries warning her to come back. She pushed past the wailing wives held back by the guards and made her way toward the shore where the sea serpent rose higher above them, getting ready to strike. Its mouth opened wide, and Andromeda felt the blood rush within her, hoping she could make it to the sea in time.

Klaus looked up just then, his eyes wide with fright. He saw what she was doing and held up a hand to stop her.

“No!” he cried. “Andromeda, go back!”

But she did not listen to his warning. She watched in horror as the sea serpent grasped Klaus’s arm in its mouth, pulling him upward, the chains stretching and popping in the process. Klaus screamed and fought against the monster, but it did not help. The sea serpent reared back its head and tossed the man into the air. Its mouth opened wide waiting to catch him. Andromeda knew the beast meant to swallow her friend alive.

“No!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Leave him alone. It is me that you seek!”

Her distraction caused the sea serpent to hesitate and Klaus fell past the beast’s mouth screaming as he dropped into the sea. The serpent noticed her waving arms and redirected its attention toward her.

She ran past the other men to be sacrificed, but none tried to stop her. She stood where Klaus had stood just moments ago, waving her hands, keeping the beast’s attention from her friend who struggled for his life in the water.

To her satisfaction, the sea serpent ignored Klaus and came directly toward her. It moved closer, its long neck stretching out trying to reach her. Its sharp, forked tongue shot out, licking the air just above her head. Its eyes beady and hungry, its breath foul, she knew she would soon be in the stomach of this wretched beast. She had never experienced such fear in her life.

She suddenly realized she did not want to die like this. Her child deserved to live. She backed up slowly trying to run, but her knees wobbled and gave out beneath her. Her foot caught in a crack in the stones and she found she could not move.

Her father ran to her with a look of terror in his eyes. He tossed a ring of keys to the other prisoners and dropped to his knees to try to help her. But her foot was wedged between the rocks so tightly that she had no chance of escaping before the sea serpent would consume her.

“Father, save your own life,” she called to him. “Let me be. I am to be sacrificed to save the village. You were right.”

Though she no longer wanted to die, she did not want her father to lose his life trying to protect her. If she did die, she would hopefully be with Perseus somewhere. He probably awaited her in the Elysian Fields, as she was sure he had died slaying Medusa, just as she had seen in her dream. If he had not, she knew he would not have let her down. In her heart she felt he would have done anything to find and save her. Even with his mother’s life at stake, she knew Perseus was not so cold-hearted that he wouldn’t come for her.

The sea serpent swished its huge tail, causing a wave to wash over them. She gasped for breath at the coldness of the wave as it hit her right in the chest. Her head swirled and dizziness overtook her. She did not want to die this way. Why hadn’t Perseus lived and come to save her?

The water subsided and her wet gown felt heavy against her skin. Her long hair clung to her chest, dripping water down past the baby in her womb. Her father sheltered her in his arms as the serpent pulled its head back getting ready to strike. Its body raised higher than the castle on the cliffs. Andromeda had never seen anything so huge in her life. Beyond fear, Andromeda watched, mesmerized.

“No, Andromeda, I was wrong,” Cepheus told her with the sincerity showing in his eyes. “I should have taken my people far from here long ago instead of trying to hold on to my kingdom. No king is worthy of his title if he cannot protect those who serve him. Forgive me for what I have done. Forgive me for ever thinking I could sacrifice you in the first place. I love you, daughter, and do not ever forget that.”

Her father’s arms wrapped around her, and she knew they would die together. Swords were no defense against a beast of the gods. If only Perseus had survived, things would be different.

The sea serpent’s jaws opened wide, its head lowering to devour Andromeda, her child, and her father. She closed her eyes, wrapping one arm around her father and the other around her unborn baby. She could not watch the sea serpent’s fangs coming closer as it prepared to take their lives.

“It is all right,” she said with a new sense of calm. “We are going to be with Perseus on the other side soon.”

Perseus saw the sea serpent from afar and urged Pegasus to move faster. Kicking his heels into the horse’s sides, he flew across the sky faster than one of Zeus’s lightning bolts, making his hurried way to the village of Thessaly. The sea serpent had just lowered its head when he approached, and Perseus could see the victims sitting huddled together on the sacrificial rock. Just like his dream, Andromeda was there, being sacrificed to the beast of Nereus. She looked up to the sea serpent in horror, then hid her face in the robes of the man holding her. By the crown on the man’s head, Perseus knew King Cepheus was at her side.

“Noooooo!” he screamed, hoping to gain the sea serpent’s attention, but to no avail. He took the helmet of invisibility from his waist and used his demi-god strength to throw it at the monster. The helmet bounced off the beast’s head and landed in the sea. A waste of a helmet, but the only way to gain the serpent’s attention.