- 37 -

Our first glimpse of the coastal village of Sarpedon was framed by two statues, both of young women, waving in greeting. They stood on both sides of the road facing down it's length, toward any visitors. I had thought it a lovely gesture, at least until Meredith started weeping.

She had been traveling with us since we met her in Eden and accepted the job. Seven days north west by boat and another day and a half up the coast by carriage. My impression during the journey had been that she was solemn and collected. Now her nose ran and her chest heaved out of rhythm with the bounce of the carriage. Seeing her so upset had taken me off guard.

Renna on the other hand seemed to expect it. She placed a hand on the woman's shoulder and softly asked, "Who were they?"

Her answer came ragged between gasping breaths. "My sister Sophia and her best friend Penelope."

My stomach lurched. I had known that the youkai we hunted had a petrifying gaze. We had discussed the details many times during our travels, even identified the species. A human like youkai that could turn people to stone with their gaze. A gorgon. I had know all of it, yet I still let myself be surprised.

It wasn't like I had forgotten, it was more that my mind refused to accept the truth of the situation. Not until Meredith started crying would my brain accept that those weren't statues, but human beings.

"I'm sorry. I thought I would be ready, but when I saw them again it I just..."

Maybe it was guilt, but I felt I needed to say something. I took her hand, lacing our fingers together and whispered, "Don't apologize. You shouldn't be ashamed to miss the people you loved."

I think that helped her, because she tightened the grip on my hand and didn't let go until the carriage reached it's destination. I just didn't know that, not long after, I would need those words too.

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Lilith's grip tightened around Pandora's waist and she whispered, "Renna," as if she didn't want Pandora to overhear.

"That's right. It wasn't long after this that she died."

Lilith gasped. She must not have expected a response. She pressed her head deeper into Pandora's chest and said, "I'm sorry for interrupting."

"Don't be. I think I said this last time but I like your questions; your reactions. I want to hear what you think."

There was a pause, then Lilith said, "I think that a lot of who she was lives on through you."

Pandora was taken aback. Of all the things Lilith could have said, she hadn't expected that. It was ridiculous. "I'm nothing like Renna. She was brilliant, strong, compassionate—"

Lilith silenced her with a kiss, one she returned in kind. By the time their lips had parted, Pandora had dropped the matter. Against Lily, that wasn't a fight she would win, so she returned to the story.

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We were taken to what I assume was their town hall to meet with the local leadership. A large building of bleached white stone. I would have loved to see it in full light, but we arrived late into the evening. Instead of the warm glow of the sun, we saw it under the red and yellow flicker of torch light. Word of our arrival had gotten out and a mob had formed in front of the building. Fire and pitchforks brandished as weapons.

I worried for a moment that we had been identified as witches. Thought that the mob intended to capture us and put us through one of their asinine 'heavenly tests.' Drown us in the river to see if the bodies would float. Or maybe tie us to a stake and force us to read scripture aloud, waiting to light the pyre should we fumble our words.

Instead, an old man emerged from the crowd and greeted us. I believe he was the mayor; he is in my memories at least. What I am certain of is his appearance. Perpetually slack jawed and with drooping eyelids. After the introductions were through, he guided through the crowd to the main entrance.

Inside, we meet with more of the local leaders. Four more men with a lone woman. It'd be a lie to claim I knew what each of them did. Secretaries? Treasurers? Hell, maybe they were a counsel of some kind. I don't know, we never discussed the workings of their government. Instead, as soon as we were inside the briefing began, not even a half dozen steps into the main hall. We weren't led into an office, or given a place to sit. The mayor simply took a position in front and began to explain everything that had happened. In truth, we had heard most of it from Meredith, but we let him say his piece.

"The creature first arrived on the seventeenth of the previous month. A few of the townsfolk spotted the beast traveling the main road. From a distance it appeared human, so their guard was down. Moreover it appeared to be hurt. The group send a pair of women down the road to meet with them, to offer help."

"Meredith's sister and their friend," I interrupted.

"That's right. The group that stayed behind watched the girls head up the road and try to flag the creature down. As soon as they had the beast's attention, they turned to stone in an instant. It was said that afterward it looked around for more victims before fleeing off into the forest. It's miracle the others were spared. Had they been any closer... oh that contemptible beast—"

Renna drew the room's attention with a single cough, then asked, "So, after the first attack it fled into the forest. How long did it wait before attacking again?"

The mayor blinked at the question, then with a shake of his head, continued, "Oh, yes. Of course. On the eighteenth, a boy went missing in the woods. He did find his way back home... Eventually. But two of the men sent to look for him did not. They were found outside a cave to the south, bodies turned to granite from head to toe. Those poor lost souls, struck down in their prime by that loathsome beast—"

"And after that?" I bellowed.

"Then, Alexander, the tavern owner. An ex-military man, finest you'll find searching this or any country. He is the hero who saved us from our last encounter with one of these damnable curses upon these fair lands. He sharpened up his sword and ventured forth to kill it, but alas neither did he return. What a foul fate that must have awaited..."

My focus on his rambling became harder to hold with each sentence he spit out. After the tavern keeper, Meredith left to hire a hunter but they weren't done sending their own fighters off for a try at the youkai. While she was gone half a dozen more men ran off to their death in that cave. Every one an 'unfortuitous soul' or some such nonsense. With each description I found myself less and less sympathetic.

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After his briefing was complete, Renna put forth a proposition. She asked for a slight raise in our payment; for the danger, she assured them. Her real goal was to get a moment away. When the mayor stepped to the side to discuss it privately with his counsel, she had her moment. She leaned down and whispered into my ear, "Anything about that strike you as off?"

"Feels more like the youkai is the one being terrorized by these people. Seems like it wants to be left alone."

"I thought the same. Maybe it should have been the one to hire us."

Renna bolted upright as footsteps signaled the mayors return. She turned to him and awaited his answer. If he had said no, I'm sure she would have made some excuse to hunt anyway. Told we had traveled so far and wasted so much time. Guilt tripped him about the low pay, sure, but it would have been for show. We had already made up our minds; we were going on that hunt.

In the end, our acting skills went untested. The counsel agreed to our price unanimously and the mayor escorted us outside. The mob still throbbed in front of the building. If anything, it had grown in size. As we departed, the crowd parted around us forming a path. But they were still close enough to bother me. The sound of their sneers, the chanting, the pure bloodlust they emanated. All of it set me on edge.

"They want to help," Renna said. "They know a hunt is on and they want to join. No matter what, we can't let that happen."

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"She was protecting them, wasn't she?"

Pandora gazed down at the woman nuzzled in her breasts. Her words were drawn out and mumbled as if they were spoken from the edge of sleep. That was fine, though. Lilith didn't seem bored. It spoke more of her comfort as they lay together.

"It's true taking untrained men on a hunt is a bad idea. If they don't get themselves killed, they'll at least get in the way. But she wasn't protecting them, she was protecting us. She didn't want anyone to find out what we did next."

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There was some grumbling, but we managed to convince the mob to let us go ahead alone. It was under the condition that, should we not return before a designated time, they would follow after us. Not the ideal solution, but if our suspicions were right, we had plenty of time. Our hunt had begun and we had four hours to spend.

It took an hour to reach the cave, not nearly enough time to prepare for the sight. Stone effigies littered the entrance. Not just the humans who had come seeking blood, but petrified animals as well. None of them in the place they died. No, they had been arranged. Each one faced outward, staring at any who would approach. It was a clear warning. Don't enter, or you'll be added to the display.

And we had come to do just that.

The next hour of our time limit was spent gathering branches from the nearby trees. At least, for me it was. Renna went off into the forest alone, leaving me two tasks. First, I was sent in search of two pieces of wood, as long and straight as I could find. I cut off any protruding branches and whittled away the bark, leaving us each with a sturdy walking stick. They would be invaluable for navigating inside the cave.

The castoff wasn't wasted though. It was the beginnings of my next task. Building a pyre at the mouth of the cave. With each piece of firewood I gathered, I tried not to think of what they were to become. We were prepping a fire to burn the corpse. It felt wrong. The youkai wanted to be left alone, allowed to live it's life. And here we were to kill it and burn the remains. How could we call ourselves any better that the hunters that called us monsters, that burned us at the stake.

It was a difficult question. One that I might have spent the whole day wrestling with had a gunshot not erupted in the forest. My heart sped up until it nearly ripped itself apart. Had something happened to Renna? What if the church hunters had followed us across the sea? What if she was already dead?

A sharp whistle cut the air and calmed my nerves. It's distinct warble was a signal we had decided on. If we were ever separated in a dangerous situation, it was how we would tell the other we were safe. The reason behind the gunshot was a mystery that still itched at the back of my mind, but I was just glad nothing had happened to her. That relief was enough to help focus on my assignment until she returned from the forest.

"Have you finished, Pandora."

"I have. What was that gunshot earlier?"

She patted the top of my head and laughed. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with yet."

Her hand pulled away, leaving my head feeling empty, but quickly returned with a strip of leather. I took it and pressed it up to my eyes, cutting the world from my vision. Behind my head, I knotted the leather twice. Extra insurance to keep it from coming loose and falling away. I can only assume Renna did the same.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

I nodded, then realized she wouldn't be able to see it. "Yes. Let's go."

We crept inside using our walking sticks to feel out a path. They wouldn't tell us much about how to navigate the interior, but they could at least keep us from tripping and stumbling into an open pit. We were gambling on a shallow, simple cave system. A risk to be sure, but preferable to calcifying bone and flesh.

Renna insisted on taking the lead. I followed close behind as she called out each obstacle for me. Ultimately, navigation didn't prove much of an issue for us. The path was direct and a wispy breathing echoed through the silence, leading us straight to our target. Of course, sound travels both ways, the clicking of our staves giving away our intrusion.

As we approached the youkai a female voice called out to us, "Why can't you people let me die in peace?" It came raspy and weak between shuttering breaths. The sound certainly gave weight too the idea that she was nearing her end.

"Are you so close to death that it would come if we were to leave?"

"I only came here because I was attacked on the road by soldiers. I wanted to hide and recover, but you've found me and you've hounded me ever since." There was a bitterness in her words. She was angry, and I think she had every right to be. But mixed in with it, I could hear resignation in her voice. She felt hopeless, and she'd given up on life. "I've only become more wounded, thanks to you. I can't hunt anymore. Even if these wounds don't end me, I'll starve."

"Then we should stay!" For some reason I wasn't able to keep my feelings inside and ended up blurting them out loud. Once I realized, I shrank back and bit my lip.

"I guess I couldn't expect mercy. You've sent so many because you want revenge. For what it's worth, I didn't mean to kill those girls. Not that I expect you to believe me. None of the men you sent before did."

When she finished talking this time, I managed to hold my tongue. I didn't want to get in Renna's way any more than I already had. Except no reply came. Instead, a warm hand rested atop my head.

"Go on, Pandora. Finish what you wanted to say."

Renna wanted me to take the lead. The idea dried my throat and turned my tongue to lead. What was I supposed to say? I knew what I wanted to say. The problem was it didn't draw us closer to killing the youkai. But I couldn't think of anything else, so I spoke my mind.

"We aren't from Sarpedon, we were hired to come here."

"Either way, you came for my head. Well, it's yours for the taking. You're the first smart enough to blind yourselves. Hurt as I am, these eyes were my only way to fight back. And so, they have their vengeance. Directly or through hired hands, it makes no difference."

"But it does. We came for coin, not your head. We aren't set on that outcome."

I swallowed, hoping it would pull the anxiety back down into my gut, but it didn't work. Had I said the right thing? No, I almost certainly hadn't. The hand resting on my head slipped down and rubbed my back. Rena's attempt at comforting me.

"Is that what you want, Pandora? I'm leaving it to you. This is your decision to make."

My decision. The words tumbled around in my head. It was my choice whether this woman lived of died.

"Do you have a name?"

"Medusa."

"I've made up my mind, Medusa."

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Pandora paused, anticipating Lilith's next question. Surely Lily would want to know what choice she had made, whether she helped that youkai. It's what her story had been building up to the whole time. But there was only silence between them. Looking down, she found her girlfriend resting peacefully on her chest, fast asleep.

Maybe she should sleep too. Her story was nearly over. She would be able to tell Lilith what she knew soon enough. But for now, she would enjoy being together. She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and closed her eyes, the events of that day ten years ago projecting themselves onto the darkness behind her lids.

She drifted back to when the mob came searching for them hours later. All they found was a smoldering corpse at the cave's mouth. That was enough to satisfy the townspeople, even though it was just an animal that Renna shot while she was building the pyre. Renna had known from the beginning what Pandora would do, well before she knew herself. When asked about it, all Renna would say was, "It was obvious because I raised you right." Youkai or not, she knew that Pandora wouldn't leave that woman to die.

"It's the same for you Lily. I'll protect you."