Dragon's Gift: The Amazon Complete Series: An Urban Fantasy Boxed Set

by Linsey Hall

  Maximus nodded. So did I. There were several different versions of various myths, but that was the one I’d always heard about Medusa.

  “Well, it’s not true.” Chiron shrugged. “It was the gods who turned her, through no fault of her own.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “She was once a beautiful maiden. Blue eyes and golden hair. So fair that Poseidon himself became enamored of her. But she didn’t want him. She didn’t want anyone, for she had sworn herself to virtue in Athena’s temple.”

  Athena was the virgin goddess, something I couldn’t relate to myself, but hey, to each their own.

  “What happened to her?” I asked as dread uncoiled in my stomach. One of my least favorite things about the Greek gods was how the male ones tended to fall into lust with women and then go after them, often without their consent.

  “What usually happens.” Disgust echoed in Chiron’s voice. “Poseidon cornered her and raped her in Athena’s temple. Athena was so enraged at Medusa that she turned her into the snake-haired Gorgon that she is today.”

  Horror welled within me. “What? Why didn’t she go after Poseidon? Clearly he is the one in the wrong.”

  “The gods hold archaic beliefs.” Chiron shook his head. “It’s not the first instance of them being bastards, and it won’t be the last.”

  He was right. The stories were full of the gods being awful—both the men and the women.

  Poor Medusa.

  What the hell was I supposed to do?

  I looked at Maximus, torn. His brow was creased and his eyes shadowed.

  “So now you see why I did not want you to hunt Medusa. She doesn’t deserve it.”

  Damn, this sucked. “That’s why she hides out in this forest. Of course.”

  I really wanted to turn into a dragon, damn it. But I wasn’t going to kill some innocent woman to get there. True, she’d killed a lot of people. But she hadn’t wanted to. And how awful to not be able to look upon someone without murdering them.

  I scowled. “Shit.”

  “Why must you kill her?” Chiron asked. “Just turn back. Whatever the reason, it cannot be that compelling.”

  His words filled me with dread. This wasn’t just about turning into a dragon because it was fun. It was about transforming into my final form—dragon or not—so I could take down the Titans and save the world. “But it can be that bad. It is.”

  Chiron gave me a skeptical look, and so I explained, telling him the whole story of the Titans and the chaos that could fill the world and destroy it.

  Chiron’s face paled and set in harsh lines. “The Titans.”

  “Do you hate them as well?” Maximus asked.

  Chiron nodded sharply. “Pure evil, and determined to spread more of it.” Sadness creased his features. “And the dragons say you must bring them Medusa’s head to complete your transformation.”

  Tears pricked my eyes. I hadn’t even met Medusa yet, but I knew I couldn’t kill her. “I’m supposed to.”

  Was that the point of this challenge? They were going to make me do something truly terrible to prove I was strong enough to defeat the Titans? I had to kill an innocent to be worthy of those powers?

  I hated that idea.

  Despised it.

  “Maybe the dragons don’t know about Medusa’s true nature,” I said.

  “They know,” Chiron said.

  “I can’t do it. I won’t.“ I shook my head fiercely, reaching into my pocket and gripping the white dragon claw that they’d given me. “There must be another way.”

  “You may not complete your final transformation,” Chiron said. “The dragons do not go back on their word. They want what they want.”

  I scowled, my heart thundering. Medusa was innocent. I couldn’t believe I had to kill her. I wouldn’t.

  Maximus’s dire expression was softening into a smile.

  “Why are you smiling?”

  “They said heads.” His gazed drilled into mine. “The dragons said that you must bring Medusa’s heads.”

  “Plural?” Chiron asked.

  “Yes.” Maximus nodded. “I thought it was strange at the time, but perhaps it is a clue.”

  Hope flared in my chest.

  Chiron grinned. “Ah, those dragons.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “The challenge is so perfect. So dragon-like.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It tests your heart and your brain. Your empathy and your cleverness.”

  “Maybe they don’t want me to kill Medusa?” Tension drained from my limbs as I clung to that idea. There was no way in Hades I’d kill her, and this could be my out.

  I could still succeed.

  “You just have to bring the heads,” Maximus said.

  “I don’t think she’ll let you cut her snakes’ heads off,” Chiron said.

  “No, she probably won’t.” There was no way she wanted snakes for hair, but even if she didn’t like the snakes themselves, it would hurt if I chopped all their heads off. I was going to have to figure something out.

  “Your goal is important,” Chiron said. “But the path beyond here is nearly impossible. No one has made it in millennia. Not since her guardian appeared.”

  “Guardian?” Maximus asked.

  “The spider who devours souls.” True fear echoed in his voice.

  Ah, shit, that sounded bad. Especially the way he’d said it.

  “The beast will surely end your life,” Chiron said.

  “I can’t turn back.”

  Maximus nodded.

  Chiron shrugged. “I’ve told you what I can. I’m confident you won’t kill Medusa—probably because you will die before you reach her. But if not, best of luck to you. I hope you are not wrong.”

  “Me too.”

  “If you meet the Titans on the field of battle, call for me.” He reached into a pouch at his side and withdrew a small silver stone. “Speak into this, and I will hear you. I’d like to join your battle, as would my brothers.”

  Hey, that was awesome. I took the silver rock and clutched it in my hand.

  With that, he turned and cantered away, moving swiftly through the forest.

  I looked at Maximus. “Well, shit.”

  “I agree that we cannot kill Medusa, even if the dragons wish it. My theory about the heads may be false, but I couldn’t condone killing her, given what we know now.”

  “Good. Thank you.” It helped to have him on my side. And I wasn’t surprised he agreed with me. No way I could love someone who thought that killing Medusa was the right thing to do.

  “Let’s keep moving.” Maximus raised his mirror. “We may need time to convince her we don’t mean her harm.”

  “And time to fight whatever monster guards her.” Chiron’s lack of details made it even scarier.

  We continued through the forest, moving as quickly as we could with our safety equipment slowing us down. We had to look ridiculous, but no way I was letting down my guard.

  The faint whistle called us forward, and magic began to prickle against my skin as we cut deeper through the forest. Leaves appeared on the trees, casting more shade on the ground as they blocked the sun.

  The farther we walked, the harder my heart pounded. What was this monster?

  When the first bit of sticky white string struck me, I jumped. It twisted around my chest, binding my arms to my sides. Within seconds, a hundred more strands had wrapped themselves around me.

  Panic iced my veins and made my head buzz with dull noise.

  I thrashed, looking at Maximus, who was also bound tightly. We were trapped within a spider’s webbing, which wound around both of us so tightly and thickly that we looked like flies waiting to be eaten.

  I struggled, sweating and thrashing, but I couldn’t break free. Maximus strained at the bonds, his face turning red and the veins popping out on his neck.

  “I can’t get out.” His voice was rough.

  He was strong enough to break through
almost anything, but he couldn’t get through this?

  “Try harder.” Panic made my voice high.

  He fought the bindings, turning even redder, but nothing happened. “I can’t break it.”

  He sounded almost bewildered. Maximus had never met something he couldn’t muscle his way out of.

  Shit, shit, shit.

  I couldn’t reach my potions—they were well trapped in my bag, squished against my body.

  I almost screamed for Romeo and the Menacing Menagerie, but we couldn’t bring them here. I’d only ever been able to send Romeo a wordless SOS for help, never been able to actually speak to him if he wasn’t right next to me. If I couldn’t explain the situation they were walking into, they’d get trapped just as quickly. I’d be inviting them to their deaths. No way I could do that.

  I could explain the problem to my sisters over my comms charm, but I couldn’t reach it to ignite the magic.

  A hissing noise sounded from above, and my stomach dropped to my feet.

  I looked up, spotting the many-eyed stare of an enormous black spider. The creature’s long fangs dripped with venom. Hunger glinted in its eyes, and my skin chilled.

  The spider that devours souls.

  Oh, fates. Chiron had warned us.

  The spider descended quickly, and my heart beat so strongly that I nearly passed out.

  I looked at Maximus, who was as tightly bound as ever. If he couldn’t get out of here, we were screwed.

  The spider was only ten feet above us now. There was no cavalry, no way to break free, and no hope.

  We’re dead.

  I did the only thing I could think of.

  I looked at Maximus and blurted, “I love you.”

  His startled gaze jerked up to mine.

  “I couldn’t die without telling you that.” In a normal circumstance, I might have blushed. Being about to die definitely removed any embarrassment, however.

  Before he could speak, the spider hissed and landed in front of us.

  9

  The spider’s eyes darted between the two of us.

  I cringed as I looked at it, so scared that I could barely breathe.

  “Do you love her?” the spider hissed.

  I blinked at it.

  What the hell?

  At that moment, an image of a woman’s face flashed over the spider’s head. I squinted at the creature. The apparition had disappeared, but the spider had definitely spoken.

  Even now, interest gleamed in its eyes. I couldn’t say which answer the spider expected or wanted, but it was curious.

  It took everything I had to look from the spider to Maximus, but even in the face of death, I wanted to hear his words.

  His gaze met mine. “Yes.” He jerked a bit, clearly trying to shrug and failing because of the spider’s tight bindings. “Once I met you, it was really only a matter of time.”

  Warmth glowed through me. Not enough to douse the terror that was about to make me wet myself, but it made it a bit easier to think.

  Holy fates.

  The spider had talked.

  I should have cottoned on to the enormity of that sooner, but I wasn’t at my best right now. But if it could talk, maybe we could convince it.

  I turned back to it, the words coming out in a rush. “We’re not here to hurt you or Medusa or anyone. We know her story. About how Poseidon raped her and Athena turned her into a monster. That’s so wrong. We want to help her.”

  The spider looked at us, skepticism clear in its gaze. “Why?”

  I explained about the Titans and my goal of completing my transition to full Dragon God. “So, you see, this is part of my journey.”

  The spider tapped its right front leg on the ground, clearly thinking. Again, the image of a woman’s face flickered in front of the spider’s head.

  The dots suddenly connected for me. “Arachne?”

  The spider nodded its head once. Arachne had once been a woman. The greatest weaver in ancient Greece, in fact. She’d been so bold about her skill that she had angered the Goddess Athena. The gods couldn’t bear an assault on their pride, and a human being better than them at a skill was one of the worst insults.

  I thought it was all rather stupid, really.

  Especially since Athena had turned Arachne into a spider.

  “It was wrong what happened to you too,” I said. “I might be the Greek Dragon God, but I don’t agree with how the gods have behaved always. They’ve done awful things, especially to women.”

  “It’s terrible,” Maximus said.

  “We can try to help you,” I said. “Find a way to turn you back to a human. That’s our goal with Medusa.”

  Arachne seemed to sigh. She didn’t make a noise, not the way a human would, but her spidery body seemed to relax.

  “I do not want to change back.” She raised her two front legs. “I did not like my lot at first, but I enjoy it now. No one can hurt me when I am in this form. I am the greatest weaver in all the land. And there’s nothing Athena can do about it.”

  I grinned at her. “Good for you.”

  She inclined her head. “You’re really not here to hurt Medusa?”

  Maximus shook his head.

  “No,” I said. “When I thought she was a monster who enjoyed killing people, I thought I was supposed to kill her. When I learned her true story, however, I couldn’t.”

  Arachne tapped her right leg against the ground, clearly her thinking gesture. I couldn’t read expressions on her face other than getting a hint from her eyes, but she seemed to be weighing something heavily.

  “I will miss Medusa in this forest,” she said. “But she is not happy here. Not like I am. She hasn’t been happy in forever. If you truly think you can help her, I will let you go.”

  “I think we can,” I said.

  Maximus tilted his head toward me. “Rowan can do anything with potions. I believe she can help Medusa.”

  Arachne nodded her head sharply. “Fine, then. I will release you and help you approach her. It will be difficult to get close, as she startles easily. You cannot let your gaze fall upon her. Or hers upon you.”

  “Wait, what?” I frowned. “I thought we were only turned to stone if we looked at her face.”

  “No. Over time, her magic has grown stronger. She can now kill with a look.” The spider shook her head. “Honestly, I am no longer needed as her guardian.”

  Shit, shit, shit.

  This had just become a lot more dangerous.

  I looked at Maximus.

  He only considered a moment before saying, “We still have to try.”

  I nodded. He was right, of course. Not only did the world rely upon us, but I really wanted to help Medusa. She didn’t deserve this.

  “I don’t suggest that you approach by normal means,” Arachne said. “She will be expecting it.”

  “Would she be waiting to turn us to stone?” Maximus asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Arachne said. “At first, she hides. She doesn’t want to turn anyone to stone. But if she must, she will.”

  “What if we approach from the sky?”

  Arachne nodded. “I think that is smart. I will help you. Only I come from the sky, and I am good. Threats do not come from that direction, so it should buy you time to convince her you are a friend.”

  When I’d first seen Arachne, this was not how I’d expected things to go. I looked down at my arms, which were starting to turn numb from being bound so tightly to my sides. “Could you get us out of here?”

  “Yes.” Arachne approached, using her front legs to make quick work of untying the webbing.

  I stepped away and shook my arms, grateful. She did Maximus next, and once he was free, he stepped back and met my gaze.

  Memories of the words we’d said flashed in my mind. They were clearly running through his too.

  “Let’s go.” Arachne started through the forest.

  I gave Maximus one last look, then followed.

  Arachne moved quickly,
and we had to jog to keep up. She dodged around trees and took a circuitous route, turning back only once to say, “Follow closely to avoid the traps.”

  I saluted her and stuck close.

  The trees began to fill out with even more leaves by the time we slowed. Medusa’s forest was different from the rest—carefully cultivated and lovely.

  It made sense, though. If she was out here all alone, with just Arachne for company, of course she’d need a hobby.

  “I think we should start to ascend here,” Arachne said. “The branches are strong enough.”

  I looked up, spotting a thick canopy of large branches.

  “Once we’ve reached her home, I will help you descend with my web,” Arachne said. “But you may want to carry some kind of shield to keep her gaze from falling on you directly.”

  “I can conjure something once we are up,” Maximus said.

  “If she presents you with the back of her head, then it is safe to look upon her. It is only her human eyes that will turn you to stone. The snakes do not have that power.”

  Okay, that would make this a tiny bit easier.

  Arachne began to climb, and we followed. My heart thundered as we ascended. This was going to be tough.

  The tree bark was rough under my hands, thick and knobby. It made it easy to climb, and soon, we were high amongst the branches.

  “This way.” Arachne moved as gracefully as a swan in the water, creeping over the tops of the tree branches to reach Medusa’s home.

  We were slower and clumsier, but we managed to follow. Soon, a flash of white marble appeared below.

  A path. Then a small building. A fountain.

  “We’re nearly there,” Arachne said.

  Finally, we reached a clearing. I caught the briefest glance of a little settlement before yanking my gaze up. I didn’t want them to fall unexpectedly upon Medusa. I tried to memorize what I’d seen, though, since I’d need that info later. There had been three small marble buildings surrounding it, remnants of ancient Greece hidden deep in the forest. A fountain had splashed in the middle.

  “Get your shields,” Arachne said.

  “Does it matter how thick the shield is?” Maximus asked. “It’s only meant to protect us from her sight, correct?”