THREE YEARS LATER
It was a Saturday. Or, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano told her that it was a Saturday. Mari had long since lost track of how many Saturdays had passed.
Saturdays meant she had to follow Circe around like some kind of lost puppy, and if she was 'lucky', she'd get to watch her turn some innocent boy into a rodent to be shipped off to an elementary school somewhere.
She hadn't forgotten the son of Athena. Not by a long shot. He had been in that cage for a week after Mari tortured him. Then Circe contacted a nice little school in West Virginia who were missing a class pet and offered her services. Mari wondered how horrified the school would be if they knew who 'Buffle' really was. It didn't matter. She felt like she was horrified enough for three hundred people.
Circe was singing an old song in Ancient Minoan whilst weaving a tapestry of the stars. Mari may have hated Circe, but she was woman enough to admit that she was seriously talented in weaving. Mari half-expected the stars to blink at her. She'd tried once to weave a tapestry out of curiosity, but Circe has slapped her hands away and given them first-degree burns. Mari hadn't touched the weaving shuttle again.
Calista poked her head in the doorway. "Lady Circe, there are two guests in the entrance!" Circe looked up from the project. "Two guests...?"
Calista straightened. "A girl and a boy, Lady Circe."
Circe grimaced at the mention of the boy and gave Calista a warm smile. "Thank you, my dear. If you could please bring them up for their respective treatments?" She phrased it like a question, but Mari didn't want to see what would happen in Calista refused. That thought apparently didn't occur to the other girl, who nearly shone at the perceived praise.
"Yes, Lady Circe. I'll bring them up now." The door shut and Circe turned to Mari. "My dear. I'm sure you know what to do by now."
Mari nodded miserably and stood by the door of the room, with two pamphlets and a towel for the girl over one arm, like the world's most angry butler.
It didn't take long for Calista to return, with the two others in tow. Mari froze when she saw them.
She knew these kids.
She'd slept in the Hermes cabin with them, before she was claimed. Amelia something, and Blaze Morrigan. She'd remembered his last name because she was pretty sure it was the name of a goddess from Irish mythology, which's she'd thought was really cool.
Blaze had been five when she'd last seen him, and she didn't know how old he was now but he was a little taller. Amelia had been eight or nine, Mari didn't quite remember but they were the same height now.
"...and this is C.C. She'll just want to speak to you and then we can start your treatments," Calista said. Mari wondered if the girls working for Circe ever felt guilty about what they did to the boys. They had the option to leave. Mari didn't, but they did. And they still stayed and helped Circe do what she did.
Maybe they didn't know. Mari hoped they didn't know.
"And this is Marion. She'll be helping C.C. for today."
Both of the demigods turned towards her. Mari knew what she was supposed to do. She was supposed to turn, smile and hand out the two pamphlets. But... she knew Blaze and Amelia. She knew them, she couldn't just...
Mari shook her head frantically.
Circe's warm smile turned into a glare faster than it took Mari to blink. "Oh, my dear. Do you have a headache? Why didn't you mention something sooner? Once we're done here, you will return to the training room, where I can give you proper attention."
Mari shook her head ever harder. "Please, you don't understand. I know them, I-"
Imperceptible to anyone who didn't spend a lot of time around her, Circe twirled her finger and Mari's voice was instantly cut off.
"Well? Marion? What were you going to say?" Circe asked her, the corner of her lip turning up.
Mari tried to speak, but no sound came out. Oh gods, what if Circe had teleported her tongue somewhere else or made it disappear completely? She wanted to put her hand in her mouth to check, but that would just make Circe mad.
"Now, shall we get on with your treatments?" Circe asked Amelia and Blaze, who were looking around the room in awe. Amelia tried to go up the hamster cage and stroke one, but it hissed at her and scampered away.
"Oh, dear." Circe frowned whilst looking at Blaze, who deflated from where he'd been tracing his hand along some of the carvings on the walls.
"What? Did I do something wrong?!" Blaze looked horrified at the very idea. Circe shook her head in mock sympathy. "Oh, of course not. But you do need a lot of work. Yes, yes. I'm afraid you are in desperate need of my own personal attention. But not to worry, we have everything we need to help you reach your... full potential."
Circe patted Blaze on the head, but it seemed like Mari was the only one who could see the disgust in her eyes as she did so. Blaze was nodding along at what Circe was saying and his eyes were glazed over.
Circe clapped her hands together and smiled at Amelia. "Lovely! Now, Amelia my dear, Calista will take you to get your own special treatment and then we can have a little chat together. How does that sound?"
Blaze seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in, and grabbed Amelia's hand in worry.
"We... we thought we were going to be able to stay together?" Amelia asked, looking from Blaze to Circe.
Mari could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest. When she ran her thumb along her palm, it was sweaty. She nodded frantically at Amelia to continue. Maybe, if she could just stay with Blaze, Circe would decide it wasn't worth it and let them go...
"Oh, not to worry. You'll see your friend later. I promise you, my dear." Circe smiled at Amelia and put a hand on her shoulder the way a parent would. Or maybe Mari didn't have the best idea of what a parent was, since she'd never had a consistent one.
Mari closed her eyes in defeat when Amelia started reluctantly nodding along. "Okay... as long as we can see each other later."
Blaze didn't look as sure. "But, Mia, you promised you wouldn't leave me here alone!" he protested, grabbing her hand more firmly when she tried to walk away.
Amelia turned back to him, but wouldn't meet his eyes. "Blaze, it will be fine. I'll see you soon. I promise." Her voice shook as she spoke.
Mari swallowed thickly. She had to do something. Maybe Circe had stopped her from warning them but she could still try. She ran towards the door before Amelia could get there and grabbed the handle to slam the doors closed, but let go when a rush of pain flooded her palm.
It was like when Circe had caught her trying to weave. The handle on the door was smoking slightly, and Mari's hand was shaking as she clutched it to her chest. She felt the burn, but she knew if she looked down at her hand there would be no wound. She used her hands to manipulate the mist. Circe wouldn't hurt those.
"Marion, are you feeling alright? You look a little lightheaded my dear. Perhaps you should sit down." Circe's voice was sugary sweet as she spoke. Mari couldn't control her own limbs as she nodded and felt herself walk calmly over to the couch and sit. It felt like she had two separate bodies, one which was struggling and another which was like a puppet. She could feel both, but everyone around her could only see one. She wondered if this was what sleep paralysis felt like.
She heard the door shut behind her and would have hung her head if Circe hadn't still been controlling her. Amelia was gone and Blaze was going to be destroyed. She had failed.
"Wait. Do I know you from somewhere?" Blaze asked. Mari wanted to answer but Circe still had control over her voice.
"Blaze, before we begin, I need you to answer one very important question. Are you happy with the way you are?" Circe asked him.
Blaze blinked, looking confused. "Uh..."
Circe led him over to a covered mirror. "No need to worry. The first step in receiving treatment is admitting that you're in need of it. I can't help you if you don't."
"Treatment?" Blaze asked.
Circe smiled, pulling the covering off the mirror. Blaze stared, as if seeing himself for the first time clearly.
Mari scowled. Circe made that mirror to enhance the insecurities of her victims, until they asked for 'help'. Then she used the same mirror to prey on their desires for how they wanted to look. Please, please don't fall for it. Mari thought, but she knew deep down that it was pointless. Blaze still looked younger than her. She didn't know how young, but young enough that he was probably easy for adults to manipulate.
"What... is that me?" Blaze looked like he wanted to cry.
Circe nodded sympathetically. "I know, I know. There's a lot to fix." She patted his shoulder, ignoring his crestfallen expression. "So, can you accept that you need my help?" she asked.
Blaze nodded sullenly. Mari swore on the inside. That was how people fell into Circe's trap. Admitting that they needed help allowed Circe to access their minds and warp their thoughts.
Circe smiled. "Good! How about we try... this!"
Circe clicked and a familiar blue curtain rolled in front of the mirror. Mari couldn't see what was behind the curtain, only Blaze could. But Circe didn't need to see to have complete control over the situation.
Blaze's mouth hung open. "Wow," he breathed.
Circe smiled kindly. "Would you like to make those improvements more... permanent?"
Blaze nodded frantically and Mari's blood went cold.
Circe walked over to the bar in the corner next to the hamster cage, from where multiple high-pitched squeaks were emanating. She filled a glass with water and poured the familiar red powder into it, and then something amazing happened.
Well, not amazing amazing, but helpful.
As the mixture began to glow, Mari's limbs unlocked. Circe couldn't perform multiple feats of magic at once...
Mari shot up and pushed Blaze away from the mirror.
"Run!" she hissed. The trance was broken and Blaze was startled. "Wha-"
Circe started walking towards them both, the 'smoothie' in her hands and and a furious expression on her face.
"Run!" Mari begged. Blaze noticed Circe's change in demeanour and grabbed Mari's arm. "We have to find Amelia!"
Mari pulled him out of the room with Circe behind them, and they raced down the corridor.
Mari tried to pull Blaze towards the doors, but he jerked away. "Amelia! We need Amelia!" he reminded her.
Mari shook her head. "Circe won't hurt Amelia. She doesn't hurt girls. You're the one in danger here. We can't wait. She'll find us!"
Blaze shook his head. "I'm not leaving without Amelia!" He stomped his foot like a child, which made sense, since he was one.
"Get back here!" Circe screeched from the other side of the hallway, which was enough to make Blaze forget about Amelia and follow Mari as they ran.
Mari didn't want to think about why Circe wasn't using her magic to keep them in her weaving room, but she wasn't about to knock a gift horse in the mouth (even though that saying made no sense whatsoever).
They reached the glass double doors and made it onto the beach. Mari hadn't been allowed this far outside of the resort since Luke dumped her on it however long ago that was.
Come on, freaky instincts, any help now would be much appreciated. She thought. Apparently her instincts were having a lazy day, because she didn't get any helpful feelings.
Thinking fast, she grabbed Blaze's elbow and ran for the treeline. They dived behind a bush and kept running as the doors to the resort opened, but didn't stop to watch Circe fume. They ran deeper into the greenery. Mari hoped Circe didn't keep any monsters in the trees, like they did at camp.
She stopped when she noticed Blaze fall behind her. Turning around, she noticed that his hands were on his knees and his cheeks were flushed. "What... who was she?"
Mari leaned against a palm tree and took a deep breath. "The immortal sorceress of Aeaea. Don't say her name. I don't know if the whole 'names have power' thing works on her but I don't want to take that chance. She turns boys into guinea pigs and sells them to schools across the US. I've been trapped here for... I don't even know how long I've been trapped her for," she panted.
Blaze looked horrified and glanced behind him as if he thought Circe was about to jump out from behind a tree. When he looked back at her, his eyes narrowed. "Why do you look familiar? Did you go to camp?" he asked.
Mari nodded. "Yes. Can we get back there? How did you get here?" she asked.
Blaze gestured to outside of the forest and Mari's heart sank. "We took a trireme from the canoe lake. Amelia paid a son of Hermes to steal it and I spelled it so it would survive the wind."
It felt bittersweet to hear stories from camp. She didn't know how long she'd been gone but it felt like a long time. She wondered how much had changed...
No. She couldn't pause to wonder about this now. If they managed to get away there would be time for that later.
"How can we get to it?" she asked.
Blaze gave her a confused look. "Wouldn't you be the one to know? And it doesn't matter, we're not leaving without Amelia."
Mari's heart skipped another beat at that, and her palms were sweaty. "Blaze, if we go back inside she'll get us both. Circe only hurts girls if they choose the people they arrived with over her. You're gone, so there's no person for Amelia to choose. If Amelia's reason for leaving is anything other than you then Circe will give her a boat and money for the trip back."
Blaze shook his head. "We promised we'd stick together. You don't know she'll be completely safe."
Mari sighed. He wasn't going to let it go. And he also wasn't entirely wrong. "Okay, what about we wait until Circe is asleep and then we go in and find Amelia? I know where the girls sleep."
Blaze nodded, looking appeased and Mari slumped in exhaustion.
It was hot in the trees so she made the mist around her and Blaze a little colder and picked a few berries to eat. She didn't doubt that Circe definitely put poisonous berries in the woods to catch out people who tried to escape. The sorceress was vindictive like that, but this time her instincts were on the ball, and she and Blaze picked from a bush of strange yellow berries which tasted like marshmallows. They were probably native to Aeaea.
"You said you were from camp?" Blaze asked again.
Mari nodded. "A lot of people here are."
Blaze's face fell. "So, you came here willingly then."
Mari shook her head frantically. "Gods, no!"
Blaze looked relieved. "So, what happened, then?"
Mari sighed. She would love to spend the day complaining about Luke Castellan's bullshittery, but preparing to sneak into an evil maniac witch's lair didn't seem like the right time. "I'm not sure you'd believe me."
"You saved me. Of course I'll believe you."
"I'll try. I'll keep it short. Luke Castellan kidnapped me and dumped me here five years ago. He said he was doing it for some 'master' called the crooked one. But I have no idea what that Epithet means."
Blaze froze. "I-I know what it means." His face seemed to have become seven shades paler in the last four seconds.
"Well, what? Who the fu-Hades does it mean?" she asked. She was not about to swear in front of a kid.
"No. No." Blaze shook his head at her, refusing to answer her question. "No, you're right. I don't believe you!" He scooted away from her and sat on a rock on the other side of the clearing, his back towards her.
Mari kicked a particularly unlucky stone in aggravation. This was impossible! Of course he wouldn't believe her. She had no proof. And everyone at camp loved Luke.
Mari sat on the edge of the rock, her knees under her chin. "See. I said you wouldn't believe me."
Night fell and Blaze tugged on the side of Mari's chiton. She nodded nervously. Her heart was pounding and she was shaking. She had a bad feeling about this.
They left the jungle for the last time and crept along the beach. Mari stopped Blaze when they got to the double doors of the resort. "Are you sure you want to do this? We can leave now," she whispered.
Blaze shook his head. "We have to."
"Okay, okay. But keep your voice down!"
Blaze had the decency to look embarrassed. "Sorry," he mumbled.
Mari opened the door as slowly as she could, trying not to make any noise, then closed it softly behind both of them. Everything looked different at night. Usually Mari wasn't allowed out of her room after the sun went down. The corridors were lit up by small floor lights, and the water trickling down the walls felt eerie, like they were in a damp cave. She didn't know how much of that was her instincts, and how much of that was the fact that she was genuinely unsettled, but she did not want to find out.
Mari led Blaze up several sets of tiled stairs, and behind a curtain which blocked off the rooms where Circe's attendants slept. "She should be-"
"Blaze?" A voice called out from behind her.
"Amelia! Thank the gods!" Blaze cheered.
Amelia was in a dark green Chiton, and her hair was in an Ancient Greek braids, woven with the usual gold. She saw them and narrowed her eyes in confusion, adjusting her hair.
"What's going on?" Amelia asked. Blaze grabbed her hand and started leading her towards the exit.
"C.C. is Circe. She turns boys into guinea pigs and sells them to the mainland. We came back for you!" Blaze whispered.
"'We'?" Amelia asked, glancing at Mari. Blaze shook his head. "I'll explain later. We have to move!" He dragged her along at a quicker pace, Mari slightly behind them.
"Ow!" Amelia protested as she tripped over her Chiton.
Blaze went to help her up but she slipped back down as soon as she wasn't being supported anymore.
"I-I can't go on my own. I need help," she said weakly.
Mari's vision darkened. She had a horrible feeling about this.
"I'll help. Let me look at it." She went to lift the hem of Amelia's chiton to check her ankle.
Amelia scrambled away. "No, there's no time! If Blaze is telling the truth we have to go!"
Mari swore, quietly enough that neither of them heard, and helped Amelia up. Blaze slung one of Amelia's arms over his shoulders, and Mari supported the other. With Amelia doing some kind of weird hopping, they were slower than walking.
"How long until we get out?" Amelia asked, fear in her voice.
Mari frowned. "I don't know. I think the exit might be just around the corner."
Amelia raised her eyebrows. "Might?" she asked.
Mari glared at her. "Well, I don't see you pulling your weight!"
"She already has."
The three of the whipped around at the cold voice. Well, Mari and Blaze whipped around. Amelia stayed where she stood.
"S-stay away!" Mari held out both her hands and sent three sharp shards of the mist towards Circe.
Circe laughed, which would probably have diffused the situation had it not been so bloody terrifying. "Oh, my dear Marion. Do you really think you can beat me with the powers I gifted you?"
To Mari's horror, Circe simply held up a hand, and the mist changed. Suddenly it was shooting at Mari, who dodged. But it didn't do her much good. The mist followed her, wrapping around her wrists and waist, like manacles. They started dragging her toward Circe, and Mari screamed, grabbing onto the nearest thing, which happened to be Amelia.
"Help!" she begged, locking her hand around Amelia's wrist. Amelia looked at her with an unreadable expression, before throwing her hands away.
Mari was dragged in front of Circe, who put her hand on her shoulder, her long nails digging into Maris skin to the point where she wouldn't be surprised if they came away bloody.
"Let go of me, you evil bitch!"
Circe's eyes were narrowed at Mari, but there was something weird about them. It took Mari a second to realise that they were quivering, and Circe's cheeks were red as if she'd been running.
Circe had been scared. She'd been scared Mari would actually escape. They'd actually had a chance.
Circe backhanded her across the face. "You will speak when spoken to!" she hissed. "And you will do so politely."
Circe turned Mari around, and Mari would have protested more had she not been in shock from the sudden pain. She felt something warm trickle down her cheek. She didn't know if it was tears or blood. She didn't want to know. Maybe it was both.
Circe's voice rang out across the hallway, warmer this time. "I believe a great thanks is in order."
Another one of Circe's attendants, Isabella, pulled a clasp embedded with rhinestones from her hair.
"I'm a daughter of Hekate. Tracking spell. I can always tells the location of its counterpart..." Isabella gestured down the hallway, to where Blaze was still standing, with...
Amelia.
Who was now standing fine, without any kind of limp, and pulling an identical clasp from her own hair.
"I'm sorry, Blaze," she murmured.
"What- why?!" Blaze cried.
Mari almost couldn't bear to look at his face. His eyes were wide and water was beginning to form from them. His lips were trembling and he was shaking, probably due to fear.
"I'm a daughter of Hebe, Blaze. The goddess of youth. I know you said you could try and spell me young, but it's not the same thing. Not like Lady Circe offered. I'm sorry." She reached to touch his shoulder, but he pulled away.
"I came back for you!" His voice was quivering.
Amelia gave him one last sad look before walking over to Circe and handing Isabella back the clasp. "You did the right thing, child. When you reach your sixteenth year, I will indeed make you immortal."
Mari hung her head low, and when she lifted it again Blaze was looking at her. He didn't say anything, but she could almost hear his mind trying to work around a way to get both of them out again.
Run. she mouthed. Blaze, with all the characteristic brains of a child, shook his head at her.
Circe raised a hand, and bars appeared directly behind Blaze, blocking the exit.
"Now, let's get to business, shall we? You've broken my spell on you, which is a shame. I put my victims into a trance so that the spell is more flexible. You really should be grateful. Alas, I cannot put someone with knowledge of what I'm going to do into a trance. So we will have to go the more painful route."
Blaze looked apprehensive. "What does that mean?" he asked.
Circe smiled. "It means, Blaze, that the sorcery I use to transform my victims into rodents is a subset of the sorcery I use to make my attendants immortal. Without you being in a trance, completely vulnerable to magic, I cannot remove that immortality. Though, I suppose it's a fitting punishment. You wanted to escape with my bargaining chip in events to come? Well, living the rest of eternity in an animal cage will be a suitable warning for any others who attempt the same. I thank you for that, Blaze."
The rest of forever...
Mari used to watch Barbie movies as a child, and she had a vague memory of the villain in one of them (there was a pegasi, and a baby polar bear for some reason), repeating the phrase, "And forever is such a long time..." It was the only thing that seemed appropriate.
Blaze tried to run but forgot about the bars, and ended up banging his head on one. Mari winced. That had to hurt...
Circe laughed and raised the hand that wasn't busy strangling Mari's shoulder.
"No, please. I dragged him into the forest to try and escape, not the other way around. Punish me instead, please. Please, Lady Circe." Mari wasn't sure where this sudden vault of willingness to take the fall for Blaze came from. Maybe because she guessed he was at most seven. Or maybe because even if she wasn't getting out of this, maybe Blaze could. And then he could tell Chiron what happened, where she was, and someone could come and get her, and-
And whoever Luke's master was would probably tell him Blaze was going to come back to camp. And he'd probably ship him back. But it was still worth a try.
Apparently a try was a fail, because Circe only laughed. "Oh, you will be facing consequences, my dear. Wait your turn."
She didn't even need to say any kind of incantation. Her hand glowed green and had Mari been the daughter of any other god, she probably would have closed her eyes against the harsh light.
Blaze Morrigan started to shrink, his orange shirt billowing around him. Mari's head spun and she felt like throwing up when she saw a tiny movement amongst the fabric. A jet black guinea pig crawled out, and Mari closed her eyes and hung her head. She heard a gasp from the side of her, which was probably Amelia. She didn't know why Circe's newest attendant would be surprised that betraying her so-called friend and selling him out to a woman who turned boys into rodents would get him turned into a rodent. It seemed pretty obvious to Mari.
There was a panicked squeak as one of the attendants picked up Blaze, and walked back over. Circe dug her nails even more deeply into Mari's shoulder, to the point where there was no doubt about it, she felt the skin break. She wondered if Circe knew and didn't care about that, or if she was so angry she didn't know.
"Would you like to say goodbye to your friend, my dear?" she asked Amelia, who nodded with wide eyes and held out her hands for Blaze, who was staying suspiciously still.
As soon as he was transferred over to Amelia, the girl let out a yelp of pain, and dropped Blaze back into the hands of Lorelai, the girl who'd passed him to her.
"He bit me!" she cried.
Had Mari not been preoccupied with Circe's painful grip on her shoulder, she probably would have laughed.
It felt like Circe knew her thoughts somehow, since she began to walk away, dragging Mari along with her by her shoulder. She hoped that when Circe washed her hands she cleaned under her fingernails.
"Not to worry, my dear. I will come see you soon, to explain everything about your new home. If you'll just allow me to deal with a little problem." Circe deliberately dug her nails even deeper, and Mari yelped.
The last thing she saw was Blaze thrashing and making scared rodent noises as Lorelai carried him away, and Amelia watching him go, her mouth hanging open in shock, or shame, or something else. Mari didn't know.
Then Circe dragged her around the corner, in a different direction then usual. Mari paled.
They were going to the waterfall room.
"What are you going to do to me?" Mari asked in a small voice which only just carried over the sound of running water. Circe chose to respond by using her magic to toss Mari across the cave like a human frisbee (she wondered if that was a sport in the Ancient Olympics).
She hit the floor and a shock of pain went through her. She tried to get up but couldn't. She didn't know if that was because of some kind of injury or because of Circe's magic, but as she heard Circe start to walk around her, she guessed it was the latter.
"I am a forgiving teacher." Circe said, her voice deceptively calm. Maybe that was the moment the last shred of self-preservation decided to abandon ship, but she just did not care anymore.
"We both know that's a bloody lie, Circe." she hissed.
Circe stilled, and Mari turned away. She didn't need to look at Circe for her blood to run cold at the sorceresses next words.
"I am a forgiving teacher, but you must be punished. I believe, my dear, that it's time we began the final phase of your studies into the physical mist."