The Medusa Quest by Alane Adams

Author:Alane Adams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SparkPress
Published: 2021-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

Hesper led us to a wooden table under the boughs of the giant apple tree. The nymphs didn’t seem bothered by the presence of hungry snakes hovering directly over our heads. A constant slithering noise and the rustling of leaves kept us eyeing the branches warily. A large mound rose up behind the tree, but thick shrubbery and a small cottage built of stone masked whatever it was. The two love-struck nymphs fought over who was going to sit next to Herk and ended up taking a seat on either side of him. Damian, Angie, and I sat opposite them. Hesper disappeared into the cottage.

Could they be keeping Hades’s helmet in there? I turned my head, trying to sense it the way I’d felt Hermes’s lyre in Julia’s locker. Surely an item that belonged to the lord of the underworld would give off huge power vibes, but I felt nothing.

The nymph emerged a few minutes later holding two platters of food and a basket of bread. “Aegle, plates for our guests, please.” Aegle swiftly ducked inside. A cupboard creaked open, and a sudden wave of power washed over me.

Bingo.

Crockery rattled as she grabbed plates, and then the throb of power was cut off.

The helmet was in the cupboard where they kept the dishes. All we had to do was distract the nymphs long enough to find it. I nudged Angie with my foot, jerking my chin at the cottage and casually running a hand over the top of my head.

Angie nodded her understanding as Aegle returned with the plates and doled them out. Hesper set the platters down in the center of the table. The first was piled with fruit from the garden. The second held sliced cheese and dried meat. The bread basket was filled with thick slices of brown bread still warm from the oven.

“Come, let us eat,” Hesper said. “And then you can be on your way.”

Aegle giggled at us as we attacked the platters of food. Herk speared half the dried meat with one stab of his fork. We made makeshift sandwiches with the thick bread. Herk finished his second sandwich and started a third before I’d gotten halfway through my first. As we ate, the leaves continued to rustle overhead as the snake endlessly wound around the trunk. Strangely, I thought I heard whispers in the trees, as if the snake heads were having a conversation.

“Eat them.”

“No, we mustn’t.”

“Sssso hungry.”

I shifted in my seat, eyeing the branches. “Does it bother you being this close to all those snakes?”

Hesper raised an eyebrow. “Bother us? Ladon is a wonderful pet and amusing company.”

“He tells the best jokes.” Aegle batted her eyes at Herk, but the guy was too busy eating to notice.

“What’s so special about an apple tree?” Angie asked Hesper, taking a bite out of a giant apricot. Orange-colored juice dribbled down her chin.

“It was a gift from Mother Earth herself, Gaia, to Hera on her wedding day. The apples it produces are sacred.”

“Sacred how?” Angie wiped the juice away with the back of her hand.

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