Double Life - Sequel to The Other Side

9

Percy's POV:

I sat in the room obediently, waiting for Naomi to come back with whoever it was she said could help me.

I'm not really sure why I trusted here. It was weird, like I was slowly coming out of a daze or something. The only thing I could really compare the feeling to was waking up from a deep sleep.

I was lost in my thoughts when the door creaked open, revealing Naomi and another woman. The stranger was seemingly young, with black hair and green eyes. She seemed to radiate power, and I got the strange feeling that I shouldn't trust her.

I stepped back, away from the black-haired woman.

"It's okay Percy," said Naomi, in that same calm, confident tone. "This is Medea, she's here to help you."

"You can trust me, Percy." Medea cooed.

And just like that, the bad feeling washed away, and I calmly watched as the two walked towards me.

"Sit on the cot, dear." Said Medea, sweetly. "I'll see what I can do for you."

I nodded, and did as I was told.

I then noticed that Medea had a small bag of different herbs and ingredients. Some, I recognized, like Thyme, and Bay Leaves, but there were also many assortments of animal fangs and claws, mixed in with the jars of herbs. I watched as she began mixing a variety of the herbs together into a small stone bowl.

Soon, the mixture was transformed into an almost liquid-like substance. A little chunky, but still...drinkable. Ish.

Like expired milk.

The strange mixture didn't look or smell good either. It looked like someone chewed and spit out seaweed and mixed it in with some alega. The smell was that of a garbage truck. Like it was already rotting away and turning to mush. Not that it wasn't already mush.

I wrinkled my nose as Medea held the bowl out towards me.

"Here," she said. "This will prepare you for the task at hand. Drink up."

I tried not to breath as I swallowed the goo in front of me. Not surprisingly, it tasted worse than it looked.

Gagging a bit, I gave the now empty bowl back to Medea.

"So, there's more?" I asked.

Medea nodded. "Oh, yes, Dear. You have quite the journey ahead of you. You see, there is damage not only in your mind, but your soul, as well. If we are to fix that, we must work towards it. You will have to drink three different potions a day, one for strength, one for memory, and another for healing your soul. And you must train daily as well. Focus. Prepare. We must continue with our plan, even with these...unfortunate set backs."

I nodded, and although I didn't fully understand what she meant, I knew it must be  important.

I then noticed that Medea had been mixing a new remedy as she was speaking. This one was much more liquid-y than the last, and when it was finished, the mixture was a light shade of pink, and smelled of locus flowers. I had a much better feeling about this one.

And I was right. It tasted great, and renewed my strength. The next potion was clear, and had no taste or smell, yet, unlike what you'd think, it was thick. The clear substance was hard to swallow, like syrup, or peanut butter. However, when I finally managed to fight down the substance, something inside my mind seemed to shift. Like when I had first began to remember everything.

Finally, the last potion was a deep shade of red, thick looking, and had an almost...spicy smell to it. However, it tasted like honey, and went down my throat like silk.

This potion also triggered something inside me, though not in my head.

In my chest.

It was faint, but still there. A tiny sliver of cold, creeping through me. Then, just as it had come, the cold feeling was gone without a trace. Just a fading memory.

Medea and Naomi both smiled at me.

"Now," said Naomi, "its only a matter of time. Percy, are you ready for the second step?"

A pause.

"Yes."