I nodded, pulling the small bottle from my pocket but keeping my fingers closed tightly around it. Keeping my voice low, I started, “This is one of the Tears of the Sun, and it has fantastical, magical powers.” I managed to keep a straight face but almost lost it when I noticed Luke shaking with barely contained laughter.
“Really? Another hissy fit?” Luke said as he turned his back to me.
I screamed out my frustration and transformed into my Gorgon. “Stop calling it that!” I screeched. Sometimes, my skin felt tight when emotions were running high, and I just needed to let go. Let myself change and scream, screaming helped.
“What the hell?” I questioned softly. There were piles of sand with pieces of statues sticking out of them. Kneeling down, I brushed some of the sand aside and picked up an arm. It looked like it could be one of mine, but that wasn’t possible. Glancing around, I noticed several more piles like this one.
I moved my hands from his chest to his shoulders and let my snakes free. They rose and spread out around my face, hissing. “I gave you a chance to leave, but you didn’t take it. This is really on you.”
I thought it was the worst idea I’d ever heard, but I couldn’t tell him that in case he was serious. I pulled back to look him in the eyes, searching for something to say. “I…um…is that something you want to do?” I asked, hoping he’d realize how ridiculous the idea was. Instead, he looked thoughtful.
I growled in frustration. I was not a coward, so why was I running away? Damn witches! My Gorgon form tore free, and I looked around wildly, hoping no one noticed. It happened quickly, no more than a heartbeat or two, and I was back in control. I took a deep breath and tilted my face towards the sky.
I leaned against the brick wall and crossed my arms over my chest. Looking up, I watched as fluffy white clouds moved slowly across the sky. Blowing out an impatient breath, I said, “Done being a baby yet?”
He smirked and tilted his head like he was trying to make a decision, so I threw a pillow at him, aiming for his head. His hand shot out, catching it before it could hit him. “You’re no fun.” He really was, and we both knew it.
I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up as chills ran up my arms. I sucked in a breath, tensing and grabbing onto Luke. “What do we do?” Oh, my goddess, I was such a girl.
The best I could tell, it took time for the soul to move on, but once it did, it was gone. I could bring a body back from death. It just wasn’t always whole. It wasn’t possible for me to pull their soul back once it was gone.
I tilted my head to the side, thinking. “Since I can turn people into stone, do you think I could turn other things into stone?” I had never experimented with what I could do before.
“My mother is a Titan, my father carries a lightning bolt, and my siblings harness powers, good and bad, beyond measure. My family is the balance that fuels the world.”
Just as I was about to release my power, lightning flashed through the windows, and thunder shook the building. A very girly and utterly embarrassing scream escaped my lips before I could stop it as I lost my balance and fell over.
I had been hiding in an old cemetery when she found me. The sound of heels clicking on the stone floor brought me out of the shadows. She trailed her fingers lovingly over a broken pillar of the once beautiful mausoleum as she moved throughout the room. My snakes hissed, and I ducked behind a crumbling piece of wall.
I woke up slowly, keeping my eyes closed and tried to roll over, but Luke was lying almost on top of me, his legs tangled in mine. I cracked open one eye and found him watching me. “You’re thinking too loud. It’s keeping me awake,” I groaned.
