ATN 3: THE JAR IN THE MAZE

THE CHILD EATER

"How are you, Jay?" Nadia asked.

"I've been better." I said, "Guys, how have you been?"

"We have been better too. Elysium is great, believe me." Denis said.

"You all were in Elysium?" I asked. The three nodded. I felt guilty again, and I said, "Guys, I am sorry. It's my fault that you had to leave paradise. I was stupid."

"Oh, we didn't leave paradise. We are going back. The souls that wanted to leave left. We had options. We came out to help you."

"How?" I asked.

"First of all," Juan spoke for the first time, "Let's see. You want to find the kids?"

"Yes. The couple are worried."

"Do you know who took them?"

"All I heard from the dog was a demon with woman's body and snake tail."

"Yeah," Nadia said, "The veil magic isn't effective on animals."

"Will mortals see you?"

"No. They don't see ghosts, do they?" Juan said, "Anyway. The demon you are looking for is Lamia. She takes children by one night, cooks them the other night, and eats them."

"Oh my!" I said, "Who is she?"

"She was once a Queen in Libya." Denis said, "But then, Zeus happened."

"That's it, I don't need anymore." I said, "I can figure what happened after that."

"Listen." Juan said, "Get to Wevershuis museum. Behind that is the entrance back to the Labyrinth. Lamia has her kitchen and diner inside. Free those children, get them back, and proceed to your mission. The house of the Fates won't be far from there."

"Thanks." I said, "Guys, it was so good to see you again."

"Same." The three said in unison. Denis came forward and asked me, "How's Tina?"

"She's fine. Don't worry, I will keep her safe."

"I know you will." He said, and the three of them disappeared, just like Viraj had. I was left alone with my thoughts.

I checked my pocket. I had about fifty euros. I hailed a cab and asked the fare. I could walk, but I had no idea where Wevershuis was, and how much it could take for me to walk. So, I decided to go city-like. First, it was weird for me to find cabs in a village. So, when I did, I decided to experience it. It was time saving after all. I asked the cab driver, who said it was eleven euros. I sat on the cab, and reached Wevershuis within ten minutes. The way to the museum was beautiful. The breeze, the flowers, the windmills, it was magnificent. And yet, in this beautiful village, there was a monster somewhere, who I had never heard of before.

Wevershuis was like an ancient European hut, with red tiled roof, and green wooden walls. There were wooden doors, and a stone made chimney on top. It was not huge, but was spread over a big area, by the Zaan river. In opposite bank of the river, there were, you guessed it, windmills. This village was full of them. Behind the museum, right between it and the river was a bush. And under that bush, I found the entrance. I slid in, and landed inside the dark, narrow tunnels of the Labyrinth again. Instantly, I started missing Zaanse Schans.

I turned the string on again, and typed 'Lamia's lair' on the screen. The string glowed, and directed me straight. 

It didn't take me long to get there. I could see the chamber, where I could feel people. I heard the cries of a kid. And, I could see fire light. So, put my armor and helmet on, and moved ahead. I carefully stood by the wall outside, and peeked inside. I saw two little boys, both blonde like their parents, tied from neck to toe. And beside them, by the fire, stood Lamia. My heart skipped a beat, due to fear. This was more horrifying than anything. I had seen many monsters, and I had thought that nothing could beat Scylla and Charybdis in terms of looks. But Lamia was very close. 

She looked like a woman till her waist, a beautiful one at that. But her eyes glowed toxic green. Her hands had nails like knives. And her teeth, they were fangs, vicious fangs. From waist down, she was a serpent. A huge serpent. 

Lamia looked up. It was so sudden, that despite hiding myself right at that moment, I felt like she had seen me. I was pretty sure she could smell me. I was thinking of how I would attack her, when I saw a hand in front of me out of nowhere. It was coming from my left, and was that of a woman. Before I could react, the hand caught my face. Lamia had sensed me here, and she had made her first move. Her hand smelled of chloroform, and I blacked out.

I opened my eyes, tied up right beside the two kids. Lamia was igniting the fire. She looked back at me, and said, "Sorry, boy. You saw too much."

"Why are you killing children?" I asked.

"Why do you care?" Lamia said, "You are going to die anyway." Her smile was terrible to watch.

"Because you can't keep me inside this. I am a demigod."

"You are?" Lamia asked, "Godling, huh? You know, I used to be a godling too. My father was Poseidon. I became the Queen of Libya. I was happy. But then, Zeus fell for me. His charms and good looks made me fall for him. And my life went downhill."

"Huh!" I sighed, "Let me guess. You bore Zeus's children, and Hera got jealous."

"She made me kill my children. She drove me insane. She made me a monster. Now, all I can eat are children. I hate them now. Zeus gave me hypnotizing powers, but never treated me. So, sorry, I can't let you go. I hate all godlings."

I had had enough. I looked deeply at the fire she was lighting, and concentrated. The fire enlarged, so much that it attacked Lamia. She moved away from the fire, but too late. She had caught the fire. No matter how much she tried to extinguish it, the fire grabbed her even more. She screamed in the burning agony. "I am putting you out of your misery, Lamia." I said, "And I am doing it in this painful way because of the children."

Lamia didn't last very long (Sorry to disappoint you, but I am that powerful). She burned to ashes, as I disentangled my rope, and then, freed the kids. They were hungry, thirsty, and weak. The two were about eight. I gave them some water from my bag, and asked them their names: Davy and Klass. I wanted to give them some ambrosia and some nectar, but mortals die when they eat that. There was one question that I wanted to ask them. I asked, "What was it that caught you here?"

"Why?" Klass said, "It was a big snake. It wrapped us around it's tail and brought us here, to eat us."

"And how did it die?" I asked.

"The fire that was burning here burned it." Davy said, "But it happened right in front of you."

"I know, I am just asking. Come on, let's take you home."

"Let me." Someone said from the tunnel's entrance. Denis's ghost was coming in. I asked the kids, "What do you see?"

"We see a man. Like you."

I asked Denis through signs about how they could see him. He signaled that he made it such. He came to me, and said, "Juan and Nadia are outside. We'll take these kids home. You fix the disbalance. Go!"

"Thanks, again, old friend." I said, as Denis winked me goodbye.

I ended the Lamia mission on the string, and typed 'The home of the Fates' again. The string directed me towards my left, and I started again. This child saving mission didn't have any relation to our main war, but it helped me in two ways: first, I got back inside the Labyrinth, and second, after causing such a mess, doing something good felt very nice.