Page 31 of Hallow Hill at Halloween: Part Two

“Ah. I’ve heard of that. Seems my part is concluded. I’ll be off.”

“Thanks for the company.”

He felt the mental link to the gargoyle chief fade and die as he looked Medusa up and down. It was inconceivable that the beauty before him had been one of history’s most notorious monsters just seconds ago. The realization that he could wield the power of any creature flashed across his thoughts, but he flicked it away. He was still in the middle of a job. No time to mull over the ramifications just accidentally revealed.

Still in the form of Athena, Jeff turned to the guards. “Open the lock.”

The twins exchanged a look that lasted less than a heartbeat. There was no question that Athena would be obeyed. Plus, it seemed their fantasy had come true. Since there was no longer a monster to guard, dead or alive, there was no task to perform. Hence, the freedom they craved. At least until the next god in line had a shit job to stick them with.

Osocles stepped forward and said something unintelligible to the invisible barrier. Jeff supposed having a code that only they knew was a sophisticated security feature for any era.

Jeff stepped through where the barrier had been thinking it was thoughtless of him to let the gargoyle depart without knowing how he was going to transport Medusa to…

He really had no idea what to do next. He knew he shouldn’t just leave her there because… Well. It would be ungentlemanly. Even though he’d determined to think aboutacquiring abilities as easily as skin, it occurred to him that if he could assume Athena’s abilities, the same might be true of others.

Right then what he required was transport. When it came to transport, the first person he thought of was Evie. He assumed her form and found that, yes, he knew how to transport Medusa and himself to… where. He didn’t deliberate. The obvious answer was to take her to what he considered to be the source of his involvement.

Medusa’s eyes widened when the visage of Athena became the visage of Evie, a stranger in strange clothing, but Jeff didn’t stop to explain. He took a firm hold on Medusa’s forearm and willed them away.

When he, as Evie, and Medusa appeared in Esme’s studio, she was humming something she’d learned from her mother while she spun her wheel and wove a combination of guile and bravery into a gorgeous seafoam-green fabric.

Esme jumped a little at the intrusion, but quickly recovered her perpetual aplomb.

“Evie…”

She was about to admonish Evie and remind her that she’d been asked to ring from the shop when she wanted entrance to the studio, but she was interrupted by a surprisingly fast and smooth transformation from Evie to Jeff.

“Not really,” he said.

Esme leaned against the spinning wheel back rest while she looked over the wide-eyed blonde. She used the words Jeff had first used when she’d gone to recruit him. “What’s happened?”

“Guess who this is?” Jeff said. He saw realization take over Esme’s expression. “That’s right. None other.”

With a shake of her head, Esme said, “First, that was fast. Second, is Rita…?”

“I came straight here because I have no idea what to do with the package.” Esme and Jeff both looked at Medusa, who was looking around Esme’s studio at all the things that were never to be seen in ancient Greece. “But I assume Rita’s at home and good as new. Well, except for the trauma.”

“Um-hmm. This doesn’t look like any representation of Medusa I’ve ever seen or heard of.”

The blonde’s head had jerked up at the mention of her name, but it was clear she didn’t understand anything else.

“Well…”

“Well, what?”

“The Athena trick worked like a charm. The only thing is, there’s a surprise that came with it.”

“What?” Esme was becoming exasperated. “Just spit it out.”

“Why abbreviate a good story? Goes against everything I know.”

“This is not tales at the pub on a Saturday night. Just tell me!”

With a smirk, Jeff said, “When I became Athena, I found that I knew ancient Greek. I told Medusa that I was changing her back to her maiden form. Just as I said it, I somehow had the crazy idea that I might be able to actually do it. So, I said some Presto Changeo nonsense, and she turned into this.”

Esme narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Maybe.”

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