Zeus and Hermes promptly vanished. So much for Zeus’s advice to Perseus never, ever to be afraid.

Athena stood on the sand, as if turned to stone. The Furies averted their eyes from Eno and the awful head. Perseus fainted.

And me? I’d looked right at Medusa’s face. I hoped I was standing in the way that would best represent me, K.H.R.O.T.U., for all eternity.

But I showed no sign of turning to stone.

My eyes found Riley. She sat on the back of the steed, smiling.

“Your sister!” I cried. “What have you done?”

Riley kept grinning. “Catch, Hades!” she shouted and tossed me Medusa’s head. The gory thing landed in my arms. I feared that I might drop to the ground in a faint like Perseus.

“The tusks are stone,” said Riley. “The snakes are leather.”

I looked closely. I was holding a Gorgon’s head made of clay.

“I made several last spring, for the opening at my new gallery,” Riley went on. “They sold out in the first ten minutes of the show.”

“But why did you fly here with it?” I asked, tossing the head back to her. “To scare us?”

A shadow fell over the beach. I looked up and saw a flying Gorgon in a head bag. Medusa landed on the beach in front of Athena.

“To get rid of the two who fled,” Medusa answered. “I knew Athena would remain.”

“You’ll be sorry,” Athena snarled. “For now I shall finish what I started!” And she began to chant where she’d left off so many years ago:

“You’ve grown wings that are hard and shiny,
Now a tail with spikes shall sprout out of your—”

“You must look at me to curse me, Athena,” Medusa said, cutting her off. She held the top of her head bag, as if ready to yank it off. “But if I take this off, you’ll turn to stone.”

Athena glared at Medusa. Beneath the bag, I was certain Medusa was glaring back.

Athena glared at Medusa. Beneath the bag, I was certain Medusa was glaring back.

At that moment Perseus sat up. He saw Medusa. He jumped to his feet. Flailing madly with the Gorgon Scaler, he lunged for her.

But I lunged faster and tackled the boy. “Enough, Perseus!” I cried. I wrested the scaler from his hand and tossed it down the beach, out of his reach. Perseus kicked and fought, just as he had as an unruly little mortal boy. But I kept a godly grip on his wrists.

“Hear me, Athena,” Medusa said. “I know now why you cursed my sisters and me.”

“You were in my temple!” said Athena.

Medusa shook her head bag. “That was your excuse,” she said. “But not your real reason. No, you hated us already. Admit it! You were jealous of our long, incredibly healthy, shiny hair. Take off your helmet, Athena.”

Perseus stared at Medusa and stopped struggling.

I groaned. Medusa was her own worst enemy!

“I never remove my helmet!” cried Athena. “I was born wearing this helmet!”

“That’s the problem,” said Medusa. “It’s given you a really bad case of helmet hair.”

I couldn’t believe where this was going. Did Medusa want that tail?

“I’ve made a study of you, Athena,” Medusa went on. “I know how each night you sit before your dressing table mirror and remove your helmet. How you brush your thin, lifeless hair, trying to cover the bald patches on your scalp. How you rub oils and ointments and—”

“Stop!” cried Athena. “You’ve been spying!”

“Can you blame me?” Medusa asked. “I wanted to know all about the goddess who changed us into monsters. I thought if I found out why you did it, maybe I could find a way to convince you to change us back.”

“Dream on!” Athena’s face contorted into a vicious snarl. “I will destroy you!”

Medusa shrugged. “If you do, you’ll never know how easy it is to get rid of helmet hair—forever.”

“I don’t need hair care advice from a Gorgon!” Athena shrieked.

Medusa help up a sea-blue bottle. “This is Moon Goddess Ultra-Super-Thickening Cream Rinse,” she said. “When you’re in and out of the salt water all day the way we used to be, it’s murder on your hair. So my sisters and I experimented, and over the years, we concocted this cream rinse. It’s got all sorts of exotic ingredients. We’re the only ones who know the recipe. And believe me, it works.”

Athena stared at the bottle.

I had a feeling it contained a pinch of Stygian riverwort.

“And you have to stop wearing your helmet XXIV/VII,” Medusa added. “It’s what’s given you the permanent ridge on the back of your head.”

“Give me that bottle,” snapped Athena. She reached out for it.

“Give it to you?” Medusa shook her head bag. “No. But we could make a trade. You chant a de-gorgonizing spell, and I’ll keep you supplied with Moon Goddess Cream Rinse forever.”

Athena hesitated for a long moment. We all held our breath as her desire for vengeance fought with her desperation to get rid of her lifelong case of helmet hair. Finally, she said, “All right. I’ll give it a try. Stand before me, Gorgons.”

Medusa, Eno, and Riley lined up in front of Athena. The goddess of wisdom began to chant:

“Gorgons with claws and scales and wings,
Bug eyes, tusks, and snakes and things,
Change back, change back, and do it soon,
Once more become goddesses of the moon.”

Before our eyes, Eno’s and Riley’s snakes drooped and became twists of hair. Their tusks vanished, their eyes receded, their scales turned to skin, their claws straightened into fingers, and their wings disappeared. Tears of joy rolled down Eno’s and Riley’s cheeks.

Athena smiled. “Seems to have worked.”

I looked at Medusa. Her wings were gone, and strands of hair cascaded out of the top of her head bag. But she hadn’t taken off the bag.

“I need one more spell, Athena,” she said.

“Ah, yes,” said Athena. She raised her hands toward Medusa.

“Gorgon, with the power to lock
God or mortal into rock,
Now I free you from my curse,
With this spell-reversing verse.”

“Are you brave enough to test the power of your words, Athena?” Medusa gripped her head bag.

Athena hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Slowly, Medusa drew the bag from her head.

Athena looked at her and smiled. “Worked—first try.”

Now Medusa and her sisters cried and hugged each other, overjoyed not to be Gorgons any longer.

“Let’s all go back to the house and celebrate,” said Medusa at last. She eyed Athena. “You’re invited, too,” she said. “I don’t believe in holding grudges.”

Eno and Riley walked down the beach with Athena, the Furies, and Perseus. I caught a ride with Medusa on the beautiful white steed.

“This is Pegasus,” said Medusa. “Someday I’ll tell you where he came from. It’s a long story. He is a beauty, isn’t he?” She patted his milky white neck.

I had to agree. And the horse gave a much smoother ride than Air Furies.

We landed in the field beside the moon goddesses’ house, dismounted, and went inside.

Tisi, Meg, and Alec excused themselves and went to take off their Gorgon makeup. When they came back, they looked like my Furies again.

“Keep an eye on Hoo for me, will you, Hades?” said Athena. “Riley said I could use her shower to wash my hair.” Off she went.

The moon goddesses scurried off, too. They couldn’t wait to wash their hair after not having any for so long.

“Hair,” said Tisi. “It takes so much looking after.”

“Snakes are care-free,” said Meg.

“I never had a bad snake day, ever!” said Alec.

The Furies, Perseus, and I sat around a big coffee table, spread with papaya, pineapple, grapes, bread, and cheese. Perseus was very quiet. He hardly ate a thing. I could tell he was mulling over all that had happened.

Before long, the moon goddesses came in, looking the way I remembered them from that long ago night at Athena’s temple.

“Life is better without a bag over my head!” said Medusa, pouring apple juice for Perseus and nectar for the Furies and me.

Perseus jumped to his feet and faced Medusa. “I’m sorry I tried to decapitate you,” he said. “You see, this evil king wants to marry my mother. I got him to agree that if I brought him your head so he could turn his enemies to stone, he’d marry this other princess and leave my mother alone.” He sighed. “It was a really bad idea, but I was only trying to help my mother.”

“Awwwww,” said all the Furies. Perseus had just become their favorite mortal.

I had a sudden thought. “Perseus,” I said. “You could still give the king Medusa’s head.”

“I don’t think so!” said Medusa.

“That Medusa’s head,” I said, pointing to Riley’s sculpted head, which now hung on a hat rack by the front door.

Perseus went over and picked up the clay head. “This would fulfill my oath to bring Polydectes the head of Medusa,” he said. “For this is indeed the head of Medusa.”

“And,” I went on, “if Polydectes chooses to surround himself with his enemies and pull this head out of a bag . . . ” I shrugged. “It won’t be your fault if none of them turn to stone. It won’t be your fault if they decide to attack Polydectes.”

Perseus grinned. “Thank you, god-father. That is a perfect plan!”

“At the gallery, these Medusa heads go for thousands of drachmas,” said Riley. “But you can have this one, Perseus, for free. I’ll get you a bag to carry it in.”

“Don’t bother,” said Perseus. “I have a magical wallet that—” he stopped, remembering exactly whose wallet it was.

“You may borrow the wallet,” I told him. “But Persephone gets home on the first day of winter, so you’ll have to return it by then.”

“Thanks!” said Perseus. He opened the K.H.R.O.T.U. wallet, and Riley slid in the head.

Seeing my wallet made me think of Persephone. I had so much to tell her!

Now Athena appeared, patting her hair. It was the first time any of us had ever seen her without her helmet. “What do you think?” she asked, turning around.

She had thin brown hair. It didn’t look at all like the flowing hair of the moon goddesses. But at least Athena had taken off her helmet. That was a start.

“Hoo, hoo!” cried Hoo, clearly impressed.

“Much improved,” said Medusa. “In a week, you won’t believe the difference.”

Athena smiled.

“More cheese, Hades?” said Medusa, holding out the platter to me.

I took a slice of bread and spread it with cheese. “Excellent cheese, by the way,” I said. “It smells strong, almost like the cheesy Perseus.”

“What?” said Perseus.

“Never mind,” said Tisi. “Have some more apple juice.”

“We keep cows, you know, Hades,” Medusa said, taking some cheese, too. “This is a cheese we make ourselves. We call it gorgon-zola.”

I took a bite. “Mmmm,” I said. “I call it delicious.”

Considering that Perseus had come to behead one of them, the moon goddesses were quite generous with him. Medusa even offered to lend him Pegasus to fly back to Seriphos.

“Yes!” said Perseus.

“He’ll come straight home afterward,” said Medusa. “He’s quite a steed.”

Athena turned to Riley. “That’s a very frightening image,” she said. She pointed to a silvery metal Gorgon mask hanging on the wall. “Is that a piece of your sculpture?”

Riley nodded.

“I’d like to buy it from you,” Athena said. “I want to fasten it to my breastplate to intimidate my enemies.”

“I think we can make a deal.” Riley smiled.

I stood up. “I have to get going,” I said.

“Hold it,” said Eno. “I want to take a group shot first. I have to immortalize this moment.”

We all stood up, with the tallest of us—Athena, the Furies, and me, Hades—in back, and the moon goddesses and Perseus in the front.

Eno looked through her viewfinder. “Squeeze closer together,” she said. “That’s it. Okay, smile, Perseus! You, too, Furies. Come on, let me see some fangs. Nice! Athena, the hair looks fabulous. Can’t see Hoo. There he is. Okay, Hades. Think about Persephone. Good! Riley? Great. Come on! Say cheese, Medusa!”

Medusa smiled. “Gorgon-zola!”

CLICK!