𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗘 ━━ l. valdez

xxiii ━━ you caged me, then you called me crazy

01. chapter twenty-three

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"HEY!" I SCREAMED. "what is this? let me out!"

"let her out!" piper cried.

"let them go, piper," medea urged. "i'm doing you a favor. let it happen now, and it will make your choice so much easier. enceladus will be pleased. you could have your father back today!"

"you work for enceladus," piper said.

medea laughed. "serve a giant? no. but we all serve the same greater cause—a patron you cannot begin to challenge. walk away, child of aphrodite. the child of styx was doomed from the start. everybody knows a child of the underworld won't live long. this does not have to be your death, too. save yourself, and your father can go free."

leo and jason were still facing off, ready to fight, but they looked unsteady and confused—waiting for another order. part of them had to be resisting, i hoped. i knew it would be hard for them to resist the sorceress. i was only able to do it because medea's aura of death overpowered her charmspeak, but leo and jason obviously wouldn't be able to detect something like that.

i clanked my sword against the metal of the cage. i hated to admit it, but i cried. tears welled in my eyes while she tried desperately to escape the bronze cage. leo and jason had hardly even noticed i had been trapped. i was right between where they were facing off and where piper and medea were arguing.

"listen to me, girl." medea plucked a diamond off her bracelet and threw it into a spray of water from the fountain. as it passed through the multicolored light, medea said, "o iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me the office of tristan mclean."

the mist shimmered, and i saw a middle aged woman in a business suit, her hair swirled in a tight bun. she seemed to be on the phone.

"hello, jane," medea said.

the woman in the mist, jane, hung up the phone calmly. "how can i help you, ma'am? hello, piper."

"you—" piper said.

"yes, child," medea said. "your father's assistant. quite easy to manipulate. an organized mind for a mortal, but incredibly weak."

"thank you, ma'am," jane said.

"don't mention it," medea said. "i just wanted to congratulate you, jane. getting mr. mclean to leave town so suddenly, take his jet to oakland without alerting the press or the police—well done! no one seems to know where he's gone. and telling him his daughter's life was on the line—that was a nice touch to get his cooperation."

"yes," jane agreed in a bland tone, as if she were sleepwalking. "he was quite cooperative when he believed piper was in danger."

"i may have new orders for you, jane," medea said. "if the girl cooperates, it may be time for mr. mclean to come home. would you arrange a suitable cover story for his absence, just in case? and i imagine the poor man will need some time in a psychiatric hospital."

"yes, ma'am. i will stand by."

the image faded, and medea turned to piper. "there, you see?"

"you lured my dad into a trap," piper said. "you helped the giant—"

"oh, please, dear. you'll work yourself into a fit! i've been preparing for this war for years, even before i was brought back to life. i'm a seer, as i said. i can tell the future as well as your little oracle. years ago, still suffering in the fields of punishment, i had a vision of the eight in your so-called great prophecy. i saw your friend leo here, and saw that he would be an important enemy someday. i stirred the consciousness of my patron, gave her this information, and she managed to wake just a little—just enough to visit him."

"leo's mother," piper said. "leo, listen to this! she helped get your mother killed!"