Chapter 23.

"Medusa." I spit.

"Ok. Obviously don't look at her, but we can watch her reflection in the windows." Chantelle says.

"Well, my shield seems pretty useless now." Thalia jokes.

"It's a pretty cool shield though" I smile. "We have to cut her head off right? Maybe I could turn invisible and sneak up behind her?" I whisper.

"Be fast. I have a mirror in my bag too." Chantelle digs and pulls out a circular mirror. She angles it so we can see Medusa standing at the back of the carriage. "Dear gods." I grimace. Ugly isn't a strong enough word. Beastly, grotesque, repulsive. I cup my hand over my mouth as I gag.

Pheromones snakes hiss and she strides towards us. I open my locket and disappear. The twins stare at where I was as I climb over the chairs, facing the window at all times to avoid looking at her. When she is directly next to be, I slide down behind her. I close my eyes and listen to her footsteps and the snakes hissing. "Hello, Thaaaliaaa." She purrs. "I don't liiiike your shieeeeld." She drags.

"Oh really? It's my favourite Christmas present." She replies.

I grab my sword and thrust it in front of me. Medusa shrieks and grabs my sword. I don't hold onto it and it clatters to the floor. I close my eyes tight and step backwards and the hissing increases. "Helllllo Katy" I hear her coming closer so I take more silent steps back. I turn around so I can watch her reflection but I'm pulled back by my hair. I gasp and stagger backwards. I squeeze my eyes as hard as I can as she grips my throat. I'm lifted off my feet and struggle to breath. My toes are centimetres from the floor and I dangle them.

She pulls me closer and I can smell her rancid breath. I get ready to by suffocated by snakes but she lets me down. "I-I-I'm so sorry. Oh my gods, what have I done? I'm so sorry, I was stupid! You're so amazing and if I'm honest, you're just so beautiful and I'm so jealous and, of course I'm being silly because you're half GOD! You're a true hero! And I'm some fugly monster! It was stupid of me to think that someone as amazing as you would fall in love with someone as hideous as me! And I'm in love with you!" She cries.

"What the- oh." I say. Chantelle had sprayed me with her love perfume.

"Katy, make sure you're out of the way!" Thalia whispers. I think she's close so I jog to one side and whisper "Chantelle? Nico? Olivia, Maisie?" I get no answer, so I assume I'm on the wrong side. I hear a shriek and a laugh. "Gotcha!" Thalia calls. "Katy, you can come out now!"

I snap my necklace back and I feel the hear rush to my face. "You've got an admirer!" Nico nods to an upside down Medusa head. "We can't take this with us, but we're not leaving it here. Any ideas?" Chantelle asks.

I bite my lip and try to remember anywhere we could put this head. "well, we need to wrap it up in something." I say. "So that we can carry it without turning mortals into stone. Wait, what happened to the mortals we saw earlier?" I ask. There just have been a few dozen mortals here but now the carriage is empty, without one stone statue.

"I, I don't know." Nico puts his thumb to his lip. "I think they must have just ran put of the door. We should get out of here ASAP though." He says.

Chantelle grabs a black T-shirt and hands it to Thalia who places Medusa's head into it. She twists the top and the bottom and holds them together like a plastic bag. "Is there a lake or something we can dump this in?" She asks. I shake my head

"Dumpster it is then." She says. "Let's leave."

We leave through the open door, which backs up Nico's theory that they just left.

I sigh with relief. Thalia jogs over to the skips by the station and throws the head. Then, we just walk up the platform then leave the station without being stopped.