Charmed: Let Gorgons Be Gorgons (4 page)

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 sensations 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.

“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 presents.”

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…”

Phoebe didn’t like where this conversation was going. “Seven in the past week? Okay, you’ve got my attention.”

“Now do you get why I’m freaking?”

“Not entirely,” Phoebe said. Mika was reacting to the publicity implications, but Phoebe was more concerned about the larger ramifications. Seven couples that she brought together all breaking up in the same week was too big of a coincidence. Something else could be at play beyond simple relationship issues. Something with more of a magical motivation. That made things considerably harder for Phoebe to ignore.

Phoebe reached out to the magic of the universe to see if she could force a premonition revealing any magical explanation for what was going on. Usually when she did this she needed to be near an object or a person to channel the power. Even then it was still hit or miss.

This time was a miss.

“Phoebe? Are you there?”

“Sorry, you dropped out for a moment.” Phoebe lied through the cell phone. “I’m back now.” She nodded to Paige as her sister passed holding a potion bottle with purple liquid inside. Paige smiled as she nodded to the potion. It wouldn’t be long before they could have the congressman out of their lives forever.

“Where are you?” Mika asked, pulling Phoebe back into the conversation again.

“At my sister’s.” Phoebe had no intention of telling her
which
sister. It would be a little hard to explain since Mika believed Prue was dead. She would also find it hard to believe that, even though they’d had a conversation barely an hour ago, Phoebe was no longer in San Francisco. Or the United States.

“Jal said you took the girls to the doctor?”

“The one with an office by my sister’s place.” Phoebe needed to better organize her lies. After all these years, it was a skill she should have perfected by now. “Text me the contact info for one of the couples. Time for me to do some investigative journalism.”

“You’re taking this seriously now?” Mika asked.

“I’m taking this very seriously.” It was doubtful that Phoebe would be able to use whatever she discovered for her column, but she had to do something with the information. Five couples were hard enough to dismiss considering her history. But seven in one week was just too much for her to brush off.

Phoebe ended the call and returned to the living room where her sisters and the guys huddled around the congressman. “I’m going to have to unfreeze him to get him to drink the potion, aren’t I?” Piper asked.

“We could pour it over his head, but it won’t work very well that way,” Paige replied.

“Maybe you could tip his head back and just spill it down his throat?” Phoebe suggested. “Or… there are other ways to give medicine to reluctant patients.”

“Let’s not go there,” Prue replied with a nod toward Phoebe’s phone. “Everything okay on your end?”

Phoebe grabbed one last slice of the cooling pizza while she filled them in on her work situation. They were all in agreement that something magical was likely at play. Phoebe could hardly remember a time when mysteries like that could be easily chalked up to odd coincidences and not something with ulterior motives that needed to be investigated. This was the life of a Charmed One.

“It’s probably nothing,” Phoebe said as she munched on the crust. “But I’ve got to check it out. Are you all okay without me here?”

Prue took the potion bottle from Paige. “We’ll be fine.”

“I’ll call you if we find out anything else,” Piper added.

Paige placed a hand on Phoebe’s arm. “Need me to orb you somewhere?”

Phoebe shook her off as she started back to the next room. “That’s okay. I can arrange my own transport. Enjoy the pizza!”

Phoebe waited until she had a room between herself and the others before she took a deep breath and prepared to call her husband. “C—”

“You know you don’t have to hide him from me.” Cole’s voice came from behind her. Dead or alive, he was particularly skilled at that sneaking-up-on-people thing. “I like Coop. He’s a good guy.”

Phoebe shrugged. “I just didn’t want him to get distracted by the pizza. Then we’d never get out of here. The man does love his pizza.”

“Oh, well then. If that’s all,” Cole said.

Phoebe tilted her head. “What else would it be?”

“I just want to make sure we’re okay.”

“We’re fine,” Phoebe said. “Except that we seem to have some version of this conversation every time we get together. To be perfectly honest, I’m getting a little tired of it.”

“I didn’t ask to come back into your life,” Cole said. “I just want to make sure I’m not interfering with anything. I’m trying to be the good guy here.”

Phoebe sighed. “Stop trying. Just be good. The rest will come naturally. Now, if you don’t mind?”

Cole leaned against the doorframe and waved a hand her way. “Go right ahead. I’d love to say hi to Coop.”

Phoebe sighed again and called out into the air: “Coop!”

Her husband beamed in a moment later. Phoebe was relieved that he hadn’t been in the middle of something. It would have been awkward if she’d had to wait for him to appear. She quickly gave him a big hug. “Hi, honey!”

“Hey there,” Coop said as he returned the embrace. “I thought you were at work. I assume since we’re at Prue’s something magical is going on that needs our intervention?”

“Hello, Coop,” Cole said from behind them, holding out a hand.

Coop released his wife and took Cole’s hand. “Cole! Good to see you.” There was no suspicion in his tone. No question of why his wife’s ex was there. This was no surprise to Phoebe. Her husband knew Cole was back in her life. He trusted her.

No. All Phoebe’s issues with this situation were entirely her own. “A couple of magical things, actually,” Phoebe said, moving the subject beyond her own insecurities. “One of them I might need your help on.”

“It’s right up your alley,” Cole added with a smirk. “Phoebe seems to be all out of love.”

“Are your readers so lost without you?” Coop asked, playing along.

“Great. Just what I need: dated musical references from my childhood.”

“That’s what happens when you pick guys who lived at least a century before you were born,” Coop said.

“She does have a type, doesn’t she?” Cole added.

Phoebe shook her head. Things were so much easier when she only had one of these guys in her life at a time. She was beginning to dread the possibility that they could become friends. “Okay. This has been fun. But we’ve got to get moving. Say goodbye, Coop.”