As soon as the witches stepped outside, Circe let out an impressive string of curses. Rapidly approaching the house, there was a pack of wild hogs with their tusks nearly scraping the ground and a murderous red glow to their eyes. These were no normal livestock, each one of them nearly coming up to the shoulder of a grown man. Their eyes betrayed an intelligence that let Circe and Hecate know that the animals were possessed.
“Do you think—”
“It’s Hera,” Hecate confirmed, raising her arms until the dogs appeared again, glittering in dark magic. Hecate flicked her fingers, and the two shadow hounds set off, baying and running straight into the center of the horde. Immediately, nearly a third of the hogs turned and ran, afraid. A few of them began to engage the dogs, who never tired and could never be wounded. Only a couple of the beasts remained, now charging full speed towards Hecate and Circe.
“Two for each of us,” Circe grinned, her magic beginning to pour out of her fingers like smoke. “What do you think of those odds?”
“Not bad,” Hecate winked, then both women threw their hands up as the wild hogs descended on them. Circe flipped both animals on their backs in a moment, wisps of magic binding their feet in invisible bonds. Hecate laughed wildly as she let her power unfurl. Waves of her magic rippled across the ground and caused the hogs to stumble. They waited for a second, watching…and then all animals jumped to their feet, as if nothing had happened to them.
Hecate cursed again, “They’re being controlled by Hera.” The women refocused as the animals charged again, and this time, the power was stronger. Circe and Hecate took turns sending blow after blow towards the creatures, watching as inevitably, each time they stood up. Magic was pouring through the valley as the land began to respond, and pulse after pulse of god’s power threatened to heave the island in two. It had only been a few minutes, but the blows were incessant. No matter what each of the women did, the charging animals returned.
Finally, Hecate let out a strangled cry, motioning for Circe to cover her for a moment. The goddess hardly had a hair out of place, but it was obvious that Circe was beginning to tire. Hecate took a step back and closed her eyes, the snakes appearing around her arms and the wind picking up in a torrent around her. She breathed deeply, beginning a low, slow incantation, that caused her hair to stand more and more on edge with each verse.
Aeëtes, who had been standing in the doorway, sword drawn, watched in a state of all-encompassing awe. For him, there was no sight that could compare and no sensation that rivaled that of when he watched Hecate surrender entirely to the power within her. He had been watching both women, and he was smart enough to know that he would be a distraction to their delicate dance of power if he charged in, sword raised.
Hecate’s voice lowered in pitch until it thundered throughout the entire island, the ominous triple echo of the maiden, the mother, and the crone ringing through the trees. She raised her hands for a brief second, and everything seemed to go still. The entire island almost stopped moving, down to the branches. Even Circe and the charging hogs paused. Everyone turned to look at Hecate as her arms dropped to her sides. As soon as that happened, her snakes went cascading from her side and launched themselves at the beasts. As they traveled through the air, they got larger and larger, meeting with their foes and swallowing them whole. No sooner did they devour them than they vanished—almost as quickly as they had come.
Hecate dropped to her knees, her eyes’ red glow slowly diminishing as she breathed heavily, her hands resting on her thighs. She hadn’t called on all her strength, but what she had used to defeat Hera’s puppets had demanded a lot from her.
There was a sudden warm presence at her back, and without thinking, she leaned into it. Solid, strong arms went around her shoulders, and a large hand came to rest atop hers. She stayed there for a moment as she slowly came back to the present, the faces of the maiden and the crone flickering away. Hecate blinked her eyes open, letting out a sharp gasp at seeing Aeëtes’s face so close to hers. He was sitting next to her, and that was his arm around her shoulder…hishand holding onto hers.
“Excuse me,” Hecate quipped, standing up too quickly. She swayed as she stood, but Aeëtes was right there, jumping to his feet and his hand going to her back again for balance. The imprint of it nearly burned Hecate as she was brought back to the dock in Heraklion, the smallest of touches from him seemingly setting her on fire. She took a step back from him, grabbing his arm and removing it from her.
“I’m quite all right, thank you.” Her eyes narrowed as she studied the ever-present grin on Aeëtes’s face. “I don’t know what you’re smiling about.”
“Your eyes do this thing when you’re mad, did you know? They positively sparkle.” Aeëtes leaned in closer as if he was trying to get a better look, and Hecate scoffed and nearly reeled backwards.
“Easy, you two.” Circe’s voice cut through the air, walking away from the bodies of the hogs, which were now lying immobile on the ground. She had a wicked smirk on her face, and Hecate knew that she would hear about it later.
“I don’t know what you’re—Circe! Behind you!”Hecate screamed as one of the hogs stood on shaky legs, preparing itself to charge at Circe’s back.
“What?” Circe yelled back, unable to hear her over the thrum of magic echoing in her ears.
Hecate tried with a gasping breath to summon her power, but she could feel it inside of her, rebuilding. Circe stared at Hecate’s stricken face and then turned around, nearly face-to-face with the gaping jaws of the possessed hog and only had time to throw her hands up to cover her face.
Circe fell to the ground and waited for impact, holding her breath as her body tensed up. There was a great shout and a sickening squelch, then…silence. One breath, then two.
“Oh my god…” Hecate’s voice was muffled, but Circe blinked her eyes open.
There was Aeëtes, pulling a sword out from the head of the hog. In that moment, he was the picture of every hero, every subject painted on a vase, destined for a different kind of immortality. He finally freed the weapon with a sharp grunt, his torso and the Golden Fleece splattered with blood. Aeëtes dropped the sword, shaking out his wrist, before turning and helping Circe to her feet.
“Are you alright?” His voice was steady as he scanned her for injuries, but Circe could only nod. She nearly fell again as Hecate barreled into her side, pulling her into a tight embrace.
“Oh gods.” Hecate’s voice was thick, as if she was holding back tears. “I really thought for a second that beast was going to get you.”
Circe said nothing, letting her tears soak the folds of Hecate’s tunic. She took a few moments to compose herself and then stood, rolling her shoulders and giving Aeëtes a nod.
“Thank you, Brother.” When Circe said it, she said it like it was a title of honor. Aeëtes supposed that it was.
Hecate turned and looked at Aeëtes, unable to keep up with her own racing heart. He stared back at her, something unspoken occurring between them. A small part of the walls around Hecate’s heart fell away. She had been terrified that she was going to lose her sister in that moment…and then there had been Aeëtes. He had moved without hesitation, without any fear, not even knowing if a mortal blade could kill a bewitched creature. But that was his sister; it was someone Hecate loved, and that was enough to send him hurtling towards danger without a second thought.
“Well.” Circe coughed, taking a step back. “I need a drink. I’m going to go…check on Pelias.” She ducked out of Hecate’s grasp and walked away, leaving Hecate and Aeëtes in silence. Hecate looked down, unable to stand the heat in Aeëtes’s direct gaze for another minute, lest she do something incredibly stupid.
“Thank you.” The words were soft when she spoke them, and they acted like a boon to Aeëtes’s very soul. He smiled, once again, that damned smile that made Hecate feel like she could do anything when he grinned at her like that. But she did nothing.
“You’re welcome.” Aeëtes’s nodded, his voice low, as if he knew that pressing the moment any further would spook her. “Now, I believe you wanted to get on our way to Colchis. We should get the target off Circe.”
“Yes, yes.” Hecate snapped back to reality, tucking some hair behind her ear. “Let’s go fetch Pelias, and we’ll be on our way.”
