Amor Caecus

Chapter Five

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the fire lit room. Torches hung on the walls, throwing a warm but dim glow around the space. The ground beneath her was a dark shade of red, as if someone has dumped centuries of wine here. No, not wine. Blood. At once, Jane knew that this was not the first battle this room had seen. That was all she had time to notice, though, as she saw the glint of a blade being swung directly at her from the corner of her eye. She ducked and rolled out of the way, landing in a crouch with her face titled up to face her attacker.

Her first thought upon seeing another human being for the first time was that she did not dig the lumberjack look. Standing above her in a red flannel shirt with his sword ready to bury itself in her skull, and all she could think about was how fucking dumb he looked in suspenders right now.

Priorities.

She brought her own sword up to parry his blow. He pushed down, forcing her to her knees. "I didn't realize monsters had pets." He smelled like beer and sweat, he was so close that his breath hit her in the face when he spoke. Jane fought the urge to vomit right then and there. But she held her ground, keeping eye contact with the man leaning over her. Because she could do that now. She couldn't help but laugh.

She let him push her down, allowing her to execute a perfect back roll back tuck, landing on her feet. She twirled her blade again, showing off just a little. He huffed in frustration and she smirked, charging at him. She rained blows down on him, pushing him back. Her strikes were fast. Precise. He was barely keeping up with her. She went to slash at his stomach when she heard a loud clang from across the cavern.

With her senses still heightened, she couldn't help but turn toward the sound. She saw a swordsman look down at himself in horror, sword and shield laying at his feet, as he watched his body turn to stone. He finally screamed as it reached his chest but was abruptly cut off as the stone traveled up his neck and covered his head. He was completely frozen in place, his mouth locked in a silent scream. She'd never forget it and part of her wished that these weren't the first things she saw.

Her own attacker broke free from his shock before she did and used her distraction to sweep her feet from under her. She couldn't help her surprised yelps as she fell, the man landing on top of her. He gripped her wrist tight, forcing her to let go of her sword. She panicked as they wrestled on the ground. He had her wrists pinned and he was too heavy to buck off. Call it luck or millennia of female instinct encoded in her DNA, but in her struggle, she managed to bring her knee up with as much force as she possibly could. He let out a low groan and swayed to the side, letting her up enough for her to push him off. She snatched her sword off the ground and turned to face him as he tried to get to his knees.

"Asshole." She muttered. She stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder before taking her time, pushing the blade into his abdomen. One to go. "And I'm not her pet." She shoved him off her blade, turning to find Medusa and the last Hunter when a shot rang out behind her.

She spun to see him, the stone Hunter's shield in one hand and a gun in the other, pointed at Medusa. He had his back to her, but he used the reflection in the shield to see where Meds was. There was only one person in recorded history who been able to do this. Then again, in recorded history, that man survived, which wasn't at all true. That battle, and that shield, were nothing but legends to Hunters. Both believed to be lies that were spread to assuage the people. Make them less afraid.

This shouldn't be possible.

Yet, there he was. Holding Perseus' shield.

Given to Perseus by Athena, it was the only thing that made looking at Medusa possible. The only thing that made killing her possible. God, could Athena hold a grudge or what? The Hunter stared at her reflection and held his arm out behind him, aimed at Medusa's head. Meds had her back to Jane, and the archer's body was too far away for her to get to. If she ran, he'd fire. If she stayed there, Medusa would die. She was stuck.