The Garden of Stone Shadows – Part 3
"You know, I once possessed great beauty, even if that sounds a bit narcissistic. Beautiful, radiant, young. Thanks to that, my lover fell deeply in love with me; a love that could transcend social boundaries. I was in love—oh, so deeply in love. My sisters, trying to help me meet my beloved, ended up suffering terribly. But it wasn't my fault; it was her. She took everything from me—my beauty, my sisters' beauty. And why? Out of jealousy. Yes, jealousy. She punished me and my sisters with something vile," said the woman as she advanced slowly; for a moment, as if her anger increased by several levels, her voice grew more guttural.
The sound of something breaking echoed through the air. The woman's shadow began to rise slightly, forming what seemed to be a large serpent's tail, the dragging sound scraping against the floor as it lifted higher, trying to see where they were hiding.
Percy gestured to Grover not to make a sound; the satyr was crouched just one box away, hands covering his mouth. Meanwhile, Annabeth put on her cap, disappearing from Percy's sight; however, at one point she seemed to bump into a statue, causing a faint noise.
"Your father and Athena have always been enemies. She punished me because your father loved me; that's how the gods are, Percy—beings who despise everyone except themselves. To them, we mortals are nothing but simple insects they can do whatever they want with. Don't let them use you, Percy Jackson; they're only using you, and then they'll discard you like all the others," she said before lunging over a crate, her massive serpentine tail coiling around it.
When she opened her eyes to see what was hidden there, there were only a couple of animal statues. She changed direction, squeezing with her tail and crushing them along with the huge crate.
Percy shifted his gaze; he moved slowly to the other side of the box to hide, his expression tense, the black sword in his hand. He was frustrated because he couldn't come out and attack Medusa, knowing that just one look from her would turn him to stone.
"Come on, Percy, come out; we're not enemies. I even think we could be quite… familiar; after all, you're his son. My hatred is only toward that gray-eyed woman who did this to me. I'm just a poor old lady," she said softly, almost purring. "Annabeth's mother—that cursed Athena—turned a beauty into this, all out of jealousy," she added with a slight anger in her voice.
"Don't listen to her, Percy!" shouted Annabeth from who knows where, which only enraged Medusa. From his hiding place, Percy saw a large green serpent's tail whip toward one of the biggest crates; the box exploded from the sheer force of the impact, followed by the furious scream of the woman.
"Silence!" screamed Medusa, full of rage, before calming herself and lowering her voice again. "You see why I must destroy that girl, Percy?" she added, as if trying to justify her fury. "Don't be a pawn of the Olympians, dear. Do you think that woman's father will thank you? Do you think they'll reward you? Don't suffer anymore; just come out, turn into a statue, and you'll never have to feel pain again," she said, her tone carrying a hypnotic edge.
She seemed to be just on the other side of the box, approaching slowly. Percy had his sword ready, gripping it tightly, uncertain—his reflexes weren't sharp enough to fight against a tail capable of destroying a huge box with one strike, and he couldn't risk looking directly at her without turning to stone.
Then, a shout caught everyone's attention.
"Percyyy!" Grover yelled. Percy saw him hovering with his winged shoes, holding what looked like garden gnomes in his arms. He flew toward Medusa with his eyes closed and threw the gnomes at random. One nearly hit Percy, who rolled on the ground to dodge it.
Medusa raised her long tail to shield herself from the incoming projectile; in doing so, for a moment, she covered her own face, as if it were the most important thing to protect.
That also allowed Grover to take advantage; he grabbed another nearby statue, that of a winged monster, and had to use all his strength to lift it.
He flew again just in time before Medusa's tail struck, the statues behind Grover shattering under the blow meant for him.
Percy looked at Grover, who was flying with a statue almost as big as himself, and his eyes widened before he ran to get out of the way; after all, Grover couldn't see where he was throwing things with his eyes closed, relying only on smells and sounds.
The statue landed near Medusa but didn't hit her. When it hit the ground, it shattered into pieces, and fragments of stone flew in every direction. One of them grazed the Gorgon's cheek, and she screamed in fury.
"Ahhh! Miserable satyr, my face!" she screamed furiously, thrashing her tail in every direction, trying to destroy Grover just for barely scratching her cheek. "I'll turn you to stone and then grind you into dust so fine that you won't even deserve to be part of my collection!" she roared, completely deranged.
"That's for my Uncle Ferdinand," said Grover, not really knowing how much damage he had caused to Medusa, but hearing her furious screams, he figured it might have been enough.
Meanwhile, Percy was thinking about how to attack her; maybe he could take advantage of the moment when she was focused on Grover to strike from behind. At that instant, he felt a slight tug on his shirt. He turned around with his black sword raised—just in time to stop the blade at Annabeth's neck, who opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"Don't do that," said Percy, placing a hand on his chest; he had been startled too.
"You're one to talk! You almost stabbed me!" Annabeth shot back, annoyed, rubbing her neck. Then she quickly shook her head and spoke urgently. "You have to cut off her head, like in the original story."
"I'd love to, but if she so much as turns and looks at me, I'll end up as a garden gnome," Percy said, frowning. He was confident that with his sword, it would be easy to cut off her head; after all, he had already taken down three Furies before. An overgrown snake wasn't that big of a deal… well, it was, but not for him. "Even if you lent me your cap again, it would only make me invisible; even if she couldn't see me, her eyes would still turn me to stone the moment she looked my way," he added.
"Yes, I know. I thought of that too, but… you're better armed, you have the best chance. You just need…" Annabeth began scanning the surroundings quickly.
Then her eyes widened as she noticed something.
"I found your chance. You can get close; she'd grab me instantly because of my mother," she said as she picked up something nearby—a polished green crystal sphere. Percy looked at her, confused, while Annabeth studied it carefully, turning it in her hands as if she were calculating something. "Ah… the convexity will cause distortion, the reflection size will change in proportion…"
Before she could continue, she noticed Percy staring at her blankly, as if thinking, what the hell are you talking about?, while looking at her like she was an idiot.
Annabeth's mind filled with irritation at his expression; he was the idiot who didn't understand anything, yet somehow she felt like the idiot for trying to explain something to that idiot.
"Here. Look at Medusa through the crystal. Never directly," she said, her tone annoyed.
At that moment, a loud crash interrupted them; the sound was so intense that both turned immediately. A massive statue of what looked like a cyclops had fallen right on the spot where Medusa was, causing the nearby statues to topple one after another. A roar of stone filled the air, and dust rose into a thick cloud that enveloped everything.
"Guys! I think I did it! I think I knocked her out!" Grover shouted triumphantly.
"Yiaaaaaaa!" roared Medusa from beneath the rubble, full of fury.
"Uh… maybe not," muttered Grover, lowering his tone.
Still, something was clear: the frenzied attack of her serpentine tail had stopped. Growls could be heard, as if the woman were straining, trying to break free.
"She might be trapped," said Annabeth quickly. "Hurry, Percy, before she gets loose!" she added seriously.
Percy's eyes gleamed at the opportunity. Dust floated through the air, covering everything in a pale mist.
He advanced with the crystal sphere in one hand, holding it in front of his face. The air was thick with dust, and the sound of Medusa dragging something heavy grew closer.
When Percy reached the center of the dust cloud, he saw her. Medusa had part of her tail trapped beneath the cyclops statue and was pulling with brutal force, trying to free herself. The stones groaned, and the serpents on her head hissed in frustration. But it wasn't just that statue—like a domino effect, several petrified figures had fallen over her, or rather, over her tail, pinning her down. It was almost poetic; the very statues she had created now held her in place, as if seeking revenge.
Even so, the tip of her tail was free, moving clumsily as she tried to push the stones away. It wasn't a hand, but a tail, and that made her movements awkward and slow.
At that moment, seeing Percy approach with the sword in one hand and the sphere in the other, Medusa noticed him. Her eyes shone through the dust, fixed on him, and a chilling hiss filled the air.