by Paul Ruditis
“I’m sorry.” Euryale shook out her shoe in the light of her lantern. “Between the soft dirt and the tiny stones these shoes were not made for caves.”
Stheno rolled her eyes. “Then change them.”
Euryale let out a resigned huff of air. “Fine.”
Euryale closed her eyes and concentrated. It only took a second for the black leather heals to shift into a more appropriate pair of brown hiking books. When she opened her eyes again, she seemed quite happy with her new choice of footwear, but her smile faltered as her eyes moved up to the tight skirt above them. She looked at her sister, held up a finger and shrugged an apology as she closed her eyes again. The tight skirt shifted into a pair of jeans and her blouse changed to a T-shirt. She finished off the look by having her own long, black hair pulled back into a hair clip. This time when she opened her eyes she seemed happier with the entire ensemble.
“Better?” Stheno asked.
Euryale smiled. “Much.”
“I don’t understand why you didn’t just do that when we first entered the caves,” Stheno said as she continued on down the tunnel.
“Mainly because I know it drives you crazy,” Euryale replied. “If we’re going to do this every year I might as well have some fun in the process.”
For as long as they had been sisters, Euryale had been something of a mystery. At times she seemed naïve and somewhat clueless. And yet, Stheno was fairly certain it was all an act, something to mess with her. It was Euryale’s way of standing out as the middle sister. Stheno was beyond tired of it, especially since it had only been the two of them together for the longest time.
Stheno tried to put her frustrations with Euryale out of her mind as she continued the journey. Not that she needed to concentrate on the path. They’d made this trip so many times that she could do it with her eyes closed.
The tunnels beneath the city of Athens were always cool, no matter the season, no matter the millennia. That was the one thing Stheno had come to expect whenever they visited their lost sister. It was an annual tradition, this trek to the place between the Earth and Hades, between life and death; one that usually ended with the same expected result. But this year would be different. This year, everything would change.
Stheno and Euryale had never been all the way down to Hades before. These tunnels were the closest they had ever come. It wasn’t safe for them in Hades. Not while they were still alive. Hades wasn’t exactly a high-volume tourist destination, even for Stheno or Euryale, no matter what mortals might think of them when they were in their cursed form. They’d been called demons on more than one occasion, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
It was rarely called Hades in the modern world any longer, but the sisters refused to let the name go. They held tight to their memories of the time in which they had been cursed, refusing to completely change with the times. Oh, Euryale liked the modern conveniences enough: the ease of technology, the taste of manufactured foods. But some things were best in their original form. “Hades” was just so perfect a word whether referring to the god or his home. “The Underworld” did not have nearly the same ring to it. So very literal. Totally lacking in any creativity.
The path before them broke off into a pair of tunnels and the sisters took the one on the right without hesitation. They’d been making this trek for over a thousand years. Always on the same date, even when the world had adapted to a new calendar. This time they brought with them a hope that they had not felt in centuries. This time, they were going to reunite their family.
“Every year this journey feels shorter than the last,” Euryale said.
“The curse of immortality,” Stheno replied. “The more days behind us, the less time means in the present.”
“One would think by now that time would have lost all meaning,” Euryale said.
“It probably would if we hadn’t been counting the days since we lost our sister.”
“You’re still counting?” Euryale asked. “I gave up once we hit six digits.”
Stheno paused. “Every day. Every minute.”
Euryale tilted her head. “That’s a lot of counting. We need to get you a hobby.”
Stheno pressed on. “Once we awaken Medusa, I’ll have a new hobby.”
“Not so new. But much more fun!”
Several more twists and turns brought them to the familiar chamber where their sister’s body had been laid to rest. Over time they had carved out a fitting tribute to Medusa, the youngest of the siblings and the most famous of their trio by far. They set their lanterns on the stone pillars they had placed by the entrance to the chamber.
Medusa’s remains had been at rest in the cave for thousands of years, placed there by her sisters at the spot where Earth gave way to Hades in their homeland. They had done this in the hope that one day they could resurrect Medusa’s soul and return her to them. They had tried many, many times, and always failed.
Medusa was by far the strongest of the sisters, but the only one that was not immortal. It was that cruel twist that plagued the ancient powers throughout history. The strongest among them always possessed the most fragile weakness. Achilles and his fragile heel was just one example.
If Perseus had defeated Stheno or Euryale, they would have entered a peaceful slumber for a century or so before they reawakened. But Medusa had been gone far too long. And she had taken the strength of their union with her, leaving Stheno and Euryale mere shells of magic.
It had taken every ounce of their powers working together to turn that politician to stone. It helped that his heart was already there, at least metaphorically. Had he been a good person, Stheno wasn’t so sure their magic would have worked at all. It was an odd quirk of the curse, but one that Medusa’s skills could negate.
Stheno stood on the dirt atop her sister’s remains. She could feel their connection through the earth beneath her feet. “This is our last attempt,” she said. “If we do not succeed today, we will not return.”
Euryale hadn’t expected that. “You’re giving up? After all this time?”
“I’ll never fully give up,” Stheno said. “But if this spell doesn’t work today, I can’t imagine it ever will. We’re finally in the time when Mother Earth is at her strongest. Not since the first witch roamed the planet have women held more power in the balance of magic. The Charmed Ones protect the Innocent. Their sister is at the juncture point of the realms. All magic flows through the body of a woman. If we call on that essence to return our sister, we will have to succeed.”
“We’re hanging our hopes on a lot of power that doesn’t belong to us,” Euryale said.
“The magic belongs to everyone. We are only channeling it for a moment. No one will even notice that it is being directed our way.”
Stheno stuck out her tongue, letting the glamour that gave her the current version of the aesthetically pleasing body fall away. She could taste the magic in the air. The Charmed Ones were calling on their powers, just as she had planned it. “We must begin.”
Euryale joined her sister in the spot above Medusa’s remains. They were both in their cursed forms now. The olive-toned human skin was gone, replaced by the green scales of their reptilian bodies. Their teeth had grown longer, a pair of fangs jutting past each of their lips. The snakes that rested on their heads woke from their slumber.
Stheno and Euryale began their chant in the ancient tongue. They had recited these words so many times that by now they spoke in perfect unison, sharing the same breaths. But this time, it was different. Stheno could feel the magic—so long lost to them—flowing through both of their bodies. It came from all around them. From the air. Through the dirt. Stheno channeled it through her body and into her sister’s, focusing it back into the dirt beneath them. Their magic was connected. Their minds had become one.
Stheno and Euryale did not break concentration as they both experienced se
nsations they had never felt in all the prior times they had attempted to cast this spell. It was finally working. It had to be. But they would not allow their excitement to distract them from the task.
With eyes still closed, they sensed they were no longer alone. Snakes burrowed out of the walls around them, dropping to the ground and slithering to their feet. A half-dozen vipers wound around their scaly legs as they chanted, hissing at the serpents on their heads and tapping into the magic that flowed through the sisters’ bodies.
Once the vipers were filled with magic, they plunged into the earth, digging deep into the grave beneath them, using the magic to reawaken the dead.
Now that the magic was at work, they opened their eyes. Euryale could not hide her excitement, but Stheno would not even smile. She refused to get her hopes up until Medusa was back with them. Until the spell was complete.
The ground beneath them roiled as the snakes worked their magic. Stheno and Euryale each took a step back, and then another as the dirt shifted. Euryale bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement, but Stheno remained inscrutable. It wasn’t until the first of the snakes reemerged from the dirt that she cracked the barest hint of a smile.
The five other snakes soon rose as well as the dirt swirled around them in a whirlpool of earth. The snakes were no longer on their own. Their bodies had fused into something solid, something familiar.
Medusa’s head emerged from the vortex, awake and alert. Her claws pushed aside the dirt that refused to widen for the vortex. Like her sisters, Medusa was in her monstrous form, cursed that way by the vindictive Athena. There was confusion in her eyes, as well as fear, looks that eased as she gazed upon her sisters. A smile appeared on her lips as she continued to rise out of the ground and saw her sisters.
Only then did Stheno allow herself a full smile of her own, as Medusa stepped out from her former resting place, reunited with her family once again.
Chapter 4
“The Power of Three will set you free! The Power of Three will set you free! The Power of Three will set you free!” Four sisters chanted together, combining the power of the Charmed Ones with a boost of magic from the Nexus channeled through Prue.
Their hands were locked together, the sisters forming a circle around the stone congressman calling on all the powers they could tap into for their spell. In the center, the gray stone began to fade in spots, turning to white, then a more flesh-like color.
“It’s working!” Phoebe said. “I can’t believe it’s working!”
“Keep chanting!” Prue said.
The sisters had been at it for at least a minute, but they continued on, buoyed by the response. The stone slowly made a shift to skin. Parts of the congressman’s body started to move.
“I don’t feel so good,” Paige said.
“We’re almost there,” Prue said. The congressman was nearly fully human again.
“I don’t think I can go on,” Piper added.
“Just a bit more,” Prue insisted.
“The Power of Three will set you free! The Power of Three—”
“What in the world is going on here?” The congressman’s nostrils flared as blood rushed into his face.
“Oh thank the goddess,” Phoebe said as she let out a deep sigh and let go of Piper and Paige’s hands. She grabbed for the couch behind her, trying to steady herself before she fell over. Piper and Paige grabbed onto the nearest furniture as well. Only Prue seemed unfazed by what they had done.
“Are you okay?” Prue asked her sisters.
“Getting there,” Piper said. “Let’s not try that again.”
“Aren’t you feeling it?” Phoebe asked.
“No,” Prue replied. “I’m fine. And look! It worked!” She held a hand out to the congressman who was taking in his surroundings with a sort of terrified rage in his eyes. This place looked nothing like his office.
“Who are you people?” he demanded.
Paige stood straight, the cloudiness clearing from her mind as she ignored the sputtering congressman. “Okay. That wasn’t so much fun. But it saved us from having to find a fairy, a dwarf, and a leprechaun, so I consider it a win.”
“And we got the congressman back,” Prue said with a glance at Ward. “Well, maybe we’ll say we broke even.”
Congressman Ward pointed a finger at Prue. “I demand that you tell me where I am this instant, young lady.”
“Did he just ‘young lady’ me?” Prue asked her sisters.
Paige shrugged. “He could have ‘missy’ed you. That would be worse.”
“Marginally,” Prue said.
Piper stepped in to allow cooler heads to prevail. “It’s okay, congressman. There was a little… attempted kidnapping, I guess? We took care of it. You’re safe now and we’ll get you right back home.”
“Where you can continue to craft laws to set the women’s movement back a century,” Phoebe added, not nearly as under her breath as one of her older sisters might have done.
Piper glared at her. “Not. Helping.”
“I knew it!” The congressman pulled out his cell phone. “This is some feminist plot to destabilize the government. I’m calling the authorities. You tell me where I am this minute.”
Prue pulled the phone out of his hand, trying very hard not to laugh in his face. “You’re in a castle hovering a dozen yards above the mystical connection that links the magical realms of Earth, the Heavens, and the Underworld. Police response time is incredibly slow out here.”
“Do we even get cell reception?” Paige asked.
“Yep,” Phoebe said. “Just like in the Underworld.”
The congressman reached for his phone again. “Now you’re adding theft charges. Return my property this instant.”
Prue held the phone out of reach. This would have been fun if it weren’t so annoying. “Keep away” was a much more enjoyable game to play with her nieces and nephews. “Piper!”
“On it.” Piper raised her hands and the congressman froze mid-shriek.
“I suddenly understand the desire to turn him to stone,” Prue said, enjoying the sound of silence once more. She was beginning to rethink her stance on visitors.
“I’m thinking some kind of amnesia spell might be advisable here,” Paige said.
Phoebe stepped up to the frozen congressman and gave him the once over. “I don’t know. Maybe we should turn him into a woman for a day so he has a chance to see how the other half lives.”
“I might know a spell,” Prue said thoughtfully. “Just need to give it a little gender tweak.”
Piper took her older sister by the hand, trying to discourage her from giving Phoebe or Paige the idea that they should use their magic for a teachable moment. That kind of thing hadn’t gone so well for them in the past. “How about not?” Piper said. “The sooner we can be rid of this guy the better. Paige, do you think you can—”
Paige held up a hand. “Don’t say another word. I’m on it.” Paige headed out of the living room, going off toward one of the newest rooms in the palace her sister called a home.
Prue had recently created a special room for casting spells, filled with anything the witch-on-the-go might need in a pinch. She’d spent hours in there working on her problem of breaking free of the Nexus to no avail. She was glad that Paige might at least get something out of it. Amnesia spells were relatively simple. All the ingredients should probably be on hand. Anything else Paige could just orb out for. The Charmed Ones had made more than a few of those spells over the years.
“This place really does provide everything you could ever need,” Phoebe said.
“Except freedom,” Prue replied with a sigh. “I know. Broken record. Or CD. Or… what is it people are listening to their music on these days?”
Piper threw an arm around her sister. “We’ll figure this out. In the meantime, we do bring you such nice presen
ts.”
Prue tapped the frozen congressman on the head. “Oh yes. I’ll have to return the favor some time.”
“Please don’t,” Phoebe said as Cole faded in beside her with Leo.
The former demon paused to take in the room and the frozen congressman. “Well, he’s not stone anymore. Halfway there, I guess.”
“No,” Prue said. “He’s all better. Well, he’s himself again. ‘Better’ is an arguable term. That’s why Piper had to freeze him.”
Cole nodded. “Got it.”
“So far as we could tell the rest of the Titans are still on ice,” Leo said. “No one seems to have been there since your visit.”
A burst of music filled the air around them as a tinny, auto-tuned voice sang out. Prue, Piper, and the guys looked around for the source of the music as if the Nexus was unleashing its next surprise on them.
“What is that horrible song?” Prue asked.
Phoebe held up her phone. “The answer to your question about what people listen to music on these days. What can I say? The girls love to dance to it.”
Phoebe checked the screen. It was Mika. Probably calling about what surely unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Still, it was an unavoidable call. “I should take this.” Phoebe waved the phone as she stepped into the next room, heading in the same direction Paige had gone earlier.
“Seven couples,” Mika said by way of greeting as they connected. “I called around and now it looks like seven of your couples have broken up.”
“Can you please not refer to them as my couples? This photo op was your idea,” Phoebe said lightly. “And it’s still not even half the number of couples you had me marry. Seriously, it’s been a few years and—”
“In the past week,” Mika said. “These seven couples broke up in the past week. If you look at all the couples you married at the press opportunity—the ones that ended their marriages before this week—it is more like half. That I could explain away with time, but…”
