Bab 112: A Leap of Faith
"Why are you in a rush, Althea?" The confused scarab asked.
Speeding past Pelka and her children, Althea said her goodbye.
"No time to explain, thank you for letting us stay the night!"
Now outside of the insect couple's home, Althea formulated the plans she must take next. For now, she can only hope that Yazmin hasn't bitten the dust yet.
"That idiot Gorgon!"
Cursing out loud, Althea couldn't believe that she would storm Melsa's mansion all on her own! What spurred her to do such a thing?
Was this because Althea shared the details of her illness? That can't be. Yazmin was an assassin, it benefits her not to abandon their deal. As a matter of fact, by not making use if Althea, Yazmin widened the distance between her and Melsa. With Vicious at the middle, guarding the alchemist.
Althea was confident she was more than a match for Melsa's bodyguard, but since the truth had been unveiled about Melsa being no ordinary alchemist, Althea's intuition was telling her that Melsa was hiding more cards up her sleeve.
Closing her eyes, the focused Melsa was about to use a sending spell to her party.
+++
Yazmin was in for a rude awakening as she found herself drowning and out of breath.
Someone was plunging her head into water.
The Gorgon's that hands were bound behind her back, tried to break free from the chains, but not only did the chains prove to be too strong, mustering strength was a herculean feat in the midst of being drowned.
Mere inches from relapsing into unconscious, the hand that plunged her now pulled her up for air.
Beneath her mask, Yazmin gasped like she had never before. Even going as far as too inhale some of the water residue, making her cough violently while at the same time trying to take in as much air as she could.
Yazmin's breathing slowly steadying, she took in the surrounding. Damp with various equipments all around, she appeared to be in some kind of lab.
Various creatures were encased and floating in a vat. Against their will most likely for who would want to spend their time half-dead in an underground lab somewhere?
Yazmin smirked. If only Althea was here to see this.
"Tell me, Gorgon, can your severed head still use Medusa's gift?"
The voice came from behind, if Yazmin wasn't mistaken, it was her target. Clever girl, staying out of the range of her vision in case she removed her mask.
"Go to hell." Yazmin answered with defiance. A captured assassin is as good as dead, though even with her head submerged in water, that doesn't mean the fire inside of her was already extinguished.
"I think I'll stay. I still have a lot of experiments to finish." Melsa walked closer, drawing a cleaver on her way. One big and sharp enough to behead the Gorgon in one fell swoop. "Save a seat for me down there why don't you? Hold her down, Vicious."
Per Melsa's order, Vicious pushed Melsa's head down by the edge of the water basin, the serpent's neck ripe for the cleaver's blade to take.
Melsa raised her cleaver up high, she might have no formal training, but dismemberment was right up her alley. So too was sewing different parts together.
A Gorgon's head should make a fine bodypart for a new chimera.
Enticed at the prospect, Melsa swung the cleaver down.
+++
Blitzing through the front door of Melsa's mansion, the maids were busy tidying up the obvious signs of a struggle.
Althea's head glanced to the side, noticing a small crater by the wall.
What happened here wasn't simply a struggle, it was a full on battle!
"Melsa, where is she?"
Asking one of the maids, Althea doubted she would get something concrete but it was worth the try.
The maids garnered a look at each other before answering.
"I'm sorry, miss Althea, but we're not aware. The Mistress will sometimes disappear and then reappear the next moment."
Even under duress, Althea was able to force a smile and thank the maids for the information. Lacking it might be, it was still the key in discerning that there is indeed a hidden lab under this mansion.
Now comes the tricky part, locating such a lab.
Althea ransacked everything in Melsa's office only to find nothing. Vials, ledgers, trinkets, all were flipped over but there was still no sign of a clue.
The situation seems hopeless until Althea finally noticed something odd about a book on the shelf.
An encyclopedia, indexed by letters.
Could this be one of the classic apparatuses that uses books as the trigger to open a hidden door?
Immediately, Althea pulled the letter 'M'. Nothing.
How about the letter 'S'? No reaction.
It doesn't matter, if Althea had to remove each book one by one then she will!
Wait a minute. How about the letter 'V'?
Jackpot. The whole shelf rumbled as soon as Althea took out the V encyclopedia. It spun to reveal a staircase heading downwards.
+++
Yazmin closed her eyes, awaiting the cleaver's judgement. But when the cleaver's edge were mere inches from her skin, a familiar voice rung.
"Hold it!"
Several sprint away, Althea could only shout as her katana cannot close the distance fast enough when the cleaver was already swinging down. Even her quickdraw spell won't be able to cover the distance.
If Althea were any second later and Yazmin's head would have already been detached from her body.
"You are not supposed to be here, Althea. Better yet, leave at once since we have already apprehended the assassin." Melsa's cleaver might have halted its descent, but its sharp edge pointed at the Gorgon's neck still reminded everyone in the lab that she can resume the execution at any given moment.
There is the option of sending a lightning bolt to Melsa, killing her instantly. Or perhaps a lighting pillar to vaporize her immediately. But Althea recognized the real threat.
It was Vicious. Althea highly doubted that she's good to let the bound Gorgon remain unharmed once she killed Melsa.
"Let me take care of her, Melsa. I promise she won't bother you again." Althea pleaded.
"Won't bother her!? How dare you make my decisions for me!?" Yazmin raised her voice as she struggled against the restraint, even against Vicious' grip that prove to be harder than the metal chains binding her arms.
"Can you shut up!? I am trying to save you! If Melsa doesn't end up killing you, I will!"
Amused at the exchange, Melsa laughed, "Now why in the world would you want to save this Gorgon?"
"The night before, this assassin's scent was on Althea." Vicious sniffed her captive, smirking at the realization. "Now, Althea's scent is all over this Gorgon."
The sharp nose of a werewolf is sensitive to a person's distinct scent, such scent can only be transferred skin-to-skin. Melsa wondered what could these two have been doing that their scent lathered on each other? If Melsa had to guess, there's only one answer.
"I've always known you were fond of snakes, but I never expected that you would actually lay with one. You snake fucker."
"That's none of your business, Melsa. Let her go, I am asking as a favor, please." Althea had no time to blush like a maiden when Yazmin's life was still in danger.
"Even if we hate your father, my sister and I both have a soft spot for you, but your treatment is enough favor to last a lifetime." Melsa grinned ominously. She hand never seen the spell blade this desperate. She just might have the perfect use for this desperation. "If you really want to save this Gorgon then lay your sword on the floor and throw it to me."
"Swear, Melsa. Swear on your name that you will not harm Yazmin."
Damn, Althea even knew her name. She was completely under the Gorgon's spell. Melsa was impressed.
"Althea, by Medusa if you disarm yourself then I will claim your life! Do you hear me!? Just kill this alchemist for crying out loud!"
How could it all go so wrong? Yazmin failed miserably, and now, Althea was tossing her life away for her sake. Yazmin was so angry and hurt that chain's binding her dug into her skin as she struggled to free herself, desperately wanting to salvage her failures.
"By name as Melsa Delune, I shall give you both the chance to leave this place unharmed. IF you comply that is."
Slowly, Althea laid her katana on the floor, kicking it towards Melsa.
"Good. Now drink this." Melsa praised, tossing a small yellow vial.
"What's this?"
"A simple sleeping potion. Drink it if you want to free this Gorgon."
A leap of faith akin to jumping into a valley filled with spikes. Althea had no choice but to take the plunge if she wanted to save Yazmin.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone