ATN 3: THE JAR IN THE MAZE

THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE

Another heartbreaking part of my tale. I hate this part even more than when I made the mistake. I hate it when I make a mistake and the others suffer. That is exactly what had been happening. That reached a peak when I performed the ritual.

I had an entry to remember. Everyone was shocked to see me ride Pegasus. They were also shocked to see a hippogriff behind. All the demigods instantly knew the hippogriff. When Peg landed on the ground, he addressed to everyone, and called the hippogriff his friend, who needed help to get over his wildness. Pegasus said hello to Iris, who had known him ever since he was born. Everyone was shocked to learn that Pegasus could talk, and that I called him Peg. The hippogriff was taken care of by Urwa, who, along with Alyssa and another Amazon, took him to a safer place. Delilah promised to get the hippogriff trained.

Enough about our immortal winged steed and his friend. Back to me. As soon as I landed, Tina came running at me, and hugged me tight. I heard an 'Aww!' behind me (Peg). Dadai and Abhro gave me a hug. Iris followed them. The Atlanteans all collectively welcomed me back with group hugs, however, the werewolves didn't hug me. Actaeon gave me a hard pat on my back. The rest of the people just nodded in appreciation. The demigods were very excited about the news. I told them all I needed to do. But I would need Mom's help. I would have to pray to her, and when she answers, I would need to learn the magic. 

But something was eating me on the inside. The ritual needed a sacrifice. It needed me to sacrifice something precious. Either mine, or my friends'. It had to be mine, I had decided what it would be. 

I had reached Themiscyra at eleven o' clock CET. And after taking a shower and having lunch, I was advised by Iris to take a nap, since I had not slept in a whole day. I denied, and went to my room and opened my luggage. I pulled out my crossed torch necklace, held it tightly with both hands, and prayed to Mom, "I need your help, goddess of magic. I need to undo the curse and save my friends. Please, Mom, help me as soon as you can."

Mom did respond soon. With a polecat. A female polecat. A female polecat who can talk. Like Pegasus, in clear human tone. In the evening, I was roaming around the Citadel, looking at the traps. My word! These Amazons sure knew how to set traps. Just according to our plans, the traps were perfectly laid. I was no expert in war stuff like my girlfriend, but I did understand a bit. That is exactly when the polecat appeared.

Her body was covered with dark brown fur, with a pale underbelly. Her face and ears were also pale, except for the fur around her eyes and mouth, which were again dark brown. She came close to me and said, "Hi, Jay. I am Gale."

I took a couple of seconds to understand who spoke. I looked here and there. Then, a voice came from downwards, "Here, down here. I am the polecat."

I looked down, and stared at the polecat for a moment. She asked, "What? Surprised that I could talk?"

"Actually," I said, piecing things together, "a day ago, I would have. But it has been that kind of a day. Who are you, again?"

"I am Gale, your mother's assistant."

"Hey, I have heard about you." I said, remembering Mom telling me about her polecat, "You were Alcmene's nurse, right? You confused Eileithyia when Heracles was born. Am I right?"

"Yep. And Eileithyia turned me into a polecat. Thanks to your mother's blessed soul, I have seen good days since then. She returned me my speech."

"That's Mom. Always trying to do nice things." I said, proudly.

"Anyway, you Mom sent me here, to help you with breaking the curse."

"Yeah!" I said, "I do need help. But why is Mom not here?"

"None of the gods are coming out much, except for, well, Dionysus. They are scared, with the information of the Source being out."

"Mom is scared too?"

"She isn't much, but Persephone needs her by her side. So, she is staying back."

"That's okay, I guess. You can help, right, Gale?"

"Yes." Gale said, "I can."

I sat by the beach, trying to understand how the polecat could help me. Gale sat beside me, and said, "You will need the five elements first. This place could be a good one, for you can have all the five elements here."

"Water from the sea, sky above, air around, sitting on earth. All check." I said, "We can light some fire to complete the ritual."

"Yes." Gale said, "Now, the spell your mother told me about is a very powerful spell. It has to be done under the moon, since the elemental powers at their peak in the night. And, it has to be done in the presence of your friends, all of them."

"So, I would need everyone in this island watching this ritual?"

"Yes." She said, "Because it will need immense amount of strength, too much even for you. In this ritual, you draw energy from three things: the elements, your friends' aura, and the sacrifice you are going to make."

"Oh...kay!"

"Now, to the spell."

It took me about twenty minutes to learn that spell. It was very difficult, and I seemed like losing my energy even when just pronouncing the spell. Gale was impressed. She said, "This spell takes hours to master. You actually are as powerful as people say you are."

"Who says?"

"Your mother, first of all. Can't stop bragging. Hades seems to like you."

"Still?"

"He is upset. He keeps saying that the Hecate boy disappointed him. Now that he knows that you have a solution to make things right, he seems okay again."

"Good." I said.

"Well?" Gale asked, "Have you decided?"

"What?"

"What are you going to sacrifice, if you wanna tell me."

"You know, I thought a lot about it. What were the things precious to me?"

"It doesn't necessarily have to be yours."

"It does. All these people are already suffering because of me. It has to be mine. I can't let people lose their precious things just because of me."

"So," Gale said, standing up, "What is it?"

"My powers. My magic, which I will happily give away for the protection of this world that contains everything I hold dear."