Charmed: Let Gorgons Be Gorgons Read Online Free Page A

had created them still kept the flames alive even after all these years. It was slightly unnerving, as if the being that had enchanted them was going to return home at any moment.
    Cole examined the wooden platform that bore the telltale scorch marks he assumed had once been a demon or some other practitioner of dark magic. It was doubtful anyone was coming back from that. “Ah, yes. It looks like the Charmed Ones have been here.”
    “This wasn’t actually their doing,” Leo said as he examined two human-sized gouges in the ice walls, running a hand along the frozen tombs. “I would have expected all of this to ice over again by now.”
    “Magical prisons don’t function by real world rules,” Cole said as he examined the remains of the prison. “This place held three people?”
    “Two in here,” Leo said. “Titans. Powerful beings that claimed to be gods. They ruled the world until the Elders intervened by granting mortals incredible powers so they could battle the Titans.”
    “Because the Elders never involve themselves directly when they can get other people to do the hard work for them,” Cole said. “Figures.”
    “It’s better now,” Leo assured him. “Somewhat. The Elders have learned their lessons for the most part. They don’t abuse their position like they used to under the guise of being above it all.”
    “They’re still keeping Prue prisoner at the Nexus as punishment for breaking their rules.”
    “I don’t know how much of that is their doing,” Leo said. “She seems to be more of a prisoner of the magic itself, but I get your point.”
    Cole joined Leo at the gouges in the wall. “What did these Titans do when they finally got out?”
    “Decimated the Elders,” Leo said with a note of sadness in his voice. It might have been years ago, but the pain was still there. “Whitelighters too. The Titans turned some of us to stone, which allowed them to steal our power to orb.”
    “And that’s why we’re here?”
    Leo shrugged as he headed to the other side of the cavern. “Someone’s got to check it out. Let’s try down that tunnel. There was a third Titan imprisoned somewhere around here. There might be others. I figure one loop around this place should tell us all we need to know. Then we can get someplace warm.”
    Cole followed. He was glad to be moving again. It helped to keep the circulation flowing. In this cold, he could imagine his blood freezing, if he even had blood in his veins anymore. The whole “undead” thing was a little confusing. “You don’t sound very convinced.”
    “I’m not so sure it’s the Titans,” Leo admitted. “Congressman Ward’s a mortal. The Titans were focused on magical beings. This doesn’t exactly fit their M.O.”
    “We
assume
he’s a mortal,” Cole said. “You know as well as anyone that magic takes all forms.”
    “True. Like I tell my students: magic can be the beauty or the beast.”
    Cole smiled his familiar wry grin. “Sometimes it’s both.”
    Stheno ran her fingers through her long, flowing black hair, shaking free the cobwebs she’d passed through on that last bend in the tunnel. It was something to do while she waited. Euryale had stopped once again to pull her heel out of the soft dirt. Her sister did love her stilettos. There was little doubt in Stheno’s mind that one day Euryale’s love of modern fashion would be her undoing.
    “Do we have to do this every year?” Stheno asked, pulling a spider free from the tangles of her hair. She considered leaving the arachnid where it was, but she preferred to behave as a human while in human form. The average person didn’t usually react well to creepy crawlies in their hair. Not that there were any actual humans around to see her at the moment. But it was too easy to fall into old habits when it mattered if she grew too casual with her actions when it didn’t count.
    “I’m sorry.” Euryale shook out her shoe in the light of her lantern. “Between the soft