Hera swallowed before asking, “Could you contact the dragons?”
I nodded. “Yes, if I needed to, but we won’t need them tomorrow.”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t speaking about tomorrow.”
I shrugged. “If we need them, I can contact Draco-Blu, but I don’t know if they will help or not. They prefer to stay neutral.”
Ares walked up to me and stared into my eyes. “How are you feeling?”
I smiled and kissed his lips. “I feel perfect. By drawing the element back into me, I replenish myself and thus have no loss and no negative side effects.”
He smiled and put his arm around my shoulders. “That’s quite a trick you’ve got there. Perhaps you should start teaching me to use some of my Sidhe powers.”
I shook my head. “I think your father or brother should teach you that.”
He laughed. “Right.”
Hephaistos cleared his throat, drawing our attention to him. “I have something else for Princess Artemis as well.”
Ares and I followed Hephaistos back to the table and I noticed that the Sidhe backed away from us and made a path quicker than usual. Was I that powerful? Or that frightening?
Hephaistos stood in front of the table and blocked our view. “I took measurements by eye only so I hope it fights properly, but if not I can always remake them.” He took a step to the side and there lay the most beautiful armor I’d ever seen.
I walked forward and gingerly touched the armor. “It’s beautiful,” I whispered, “I’ve never seen such incredible armor. Thank you.”
Hephaistos bowed. “You are more than welcome, Princess.”
I shook my head. “No, you can call me Artemis. Anyone who would go to such great lengths to create something as beautiful as this for me has to be a friend.”
Hephaistos smiled. “Thank you, Artemis.”
Ares asked, “Do you want to try it on?”
Of course I did, but I also didn’t want to diminish the beauty of the armor by placing it against me.
Achilles groaned. “Really, Artemis? Here, let us help you put it on.”
Ares looked at Achilles questioningly, and Achilles whispered into his ear. Ares groaned. “She’ll never understand.”
Achilles shook his head. “No, I don’t think she will.”
Before I could ask what they were talking about, they started lifting pieces of the armor and placing it on me. In a matter of seconds, I was dressed and, surprisingly, I didn’t feel weighed down. I stretched and moved around to test the restrictions out. Ares held up his fists in the universal sign of “let’s fight” and I threw a few punches and kicked at him a few times, all free of limitations. “Wow my movements aren’t restricted at all and it’s not any heavier than a sweater.”
Hephaistos smiled. “Sidhe enchanted.”
“It’s great, Hephaistos. I love it.”
He bowed. “I’m pleased you like it.”
Ares and Achilles stripped me out of the armor and set it back on the table on top of the cloths it had been wrapped in. I yawned and Koda put his arm around my shoulders. “Tired, Darlin’?”
I nodded. “Yeah. It’s been a busy week.”
He led me away from the table and the group which had gathered. “Well, let’s get you some food and then get you to bed. Tomorrow is a big morning.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder and inhaled his scent. “It’s good to be back with you again.”
Koda smiled down at me. “It’s good to have you back again. I missed you more than you’ll ever know.”
21
Artemis
As the sun rose the next morning, the sounds of activity were already high as people prepared for battle. Ares, Koda, Achilles and I lay in the giant bed in Achilles’ chambers staring up at the ceiling. I knew they were all worried for my safety and the possibility of losing me again. I was worried about the possibility of losing them and I admit, about the possibility of my prophesied death. Luckily, I had avoided the topic with Achilles and Ares, but it still bothered me. Even though I didn’t know the date of my death, I knew others would die with me and that was what truly worried me. I had accepted my upcoming death, but I couldn’t accept others dying with me.
Victor walked into the room and said, “It’s time we all started to get ready.”
Ares nodded, but instead of getting up, he rolled over and molded his body to my side. He whined softly and nuzzled my hair with his nose.
I rubbed his back with one arm while I held hands with Achilles with the other. Koda lay at the bottom of the bed and snuggled my feet against his chest.
Victor sighed and then inhaled before he yelled, “Ares and Achilles! Quit acting like a couple of sniveling cowards! You’ve fought thousands of battles and this one will be no different! Now get up and get ready!”
Ares growled and stood up out of bed. “Damn pushy vampires.”
Achilles sighed and climbed out of bed too, muttering to himself. Koda kissed the top of my foot and followed the other two men into the bathroom to prepare. I fluffed up my pillow and smiled at Victor. “You’re nervous, aren’t you?”
He sat on the edge of the bed facing me. “I have a bad feeling about today, but I’m not sure why.”
“Where are we fighting?”
“France. Hera and you will have to teleport us all.”
I finger combed my hair. “Okay, but I’ve never teleported from this realm to the human realm. Maybe we should use the portal and then once we’re in the regular realm again I can teleport everyone.”
Victor smiled. “Okay.”
My stomach churned, and I clamped a hand over my mouth.
“Are you alright?” Victor asked with concern in his voice.
I shook my head and ran into the bathroom, shoving past the three men who were showering and brushing their teeth and made it to the toilet just in time.
Ares dropped to his knees beside me and pulled my hair back as I threw up everything in my stomach. “Artemis, what did you eat?”
I shook my head but couldn’t talk as my stomach constricted and I dry heaved. Achilles, I didn’t eat anything. I was just talking to Victor and had to run in here.
Achilles relayed my thought to Ares, Koda and Victor, who had followed me into the bathroom. Achilles was acting off, distancing himself from me. Was he just worried about today? He hadn’t spoken to me or Ares much last night, but he didn’t seem mad either. He was blocking me so hard that the corners of his eyes were pinched from the strain.
“She’s probably just worried about the battle,” said Victor quietly.
I wanted to argue with him, but I was nervous. Finally, my stomach settled, and I could lean back. “He’s probably right.”
Ares helped me stand up and handed me a toothbrush. “If you notice anything abnormal, tell me right away. I don’t want you going out on the battlefield if you’re sick.”
“I’m a freaking halfbreed. I thought we weren’t supposed to get sick,” I complained around my toothbrush.
“We’re not, but you’re also unique,” Ares said as he ran his hand through his hair.
His bicep flexed and then relaxed as his arm moved. How was I so lucky that I snagged a guy with such a great body? He ran his other hand through his hair and I watched his bicep again.
All eyes turned to me and I realized that I’d moaned. “Sorry,” I whispered as I resumed brushing my teeth, a blush on my cheeks.
Achilles climbed into the shower and turned the water on. His back was tense, but he relaxed after the water flowed over him a few minutes. Obviously, I wasn’t the only one nervous.
Ares kissed my cheek and walked out of the bathroom. Koda laughed and I spit the water I had in my mouth at him.
He jumped out of the way and stuck his tongue out at me. “Missed.”
Achilles pushed up the shower head and then used his powers to increase the flow of water to reach Koda, soaking the shirt he’d just put on. “I didn’t.”
Koda gr
oaned. “You’re not supposed to gang up on me. What happened to ‘bros before hoes’?”
I finished putting my hair up into a ponytail, pointed at him and glared. “You better not have just called me what I think you did.”
Koda raised his arms in surrender. “I was joking.”
“And besides, which one are you?” I asked teasingly.
Koda’s jaw dropped. “That’s just mean.”
I walked out of the bathroom and started putting on the armor that Hephaistos had designed for me. I slid the sheath of arrows onto my back and then draped the bow across my body diagonally until I needed it. Seeing all of the people I loved preparing for battle, preparing for their possible deaths, made me start to tear up. I walked back into the bathroom and wiped at my eyes before anyone could see me.
Ares rubbed my back reassuringly. “It’s alright to be nervous.”
I whispered, “Ares, if I lose you…”
He moved in one blink and had me wrapped in a hug against his body. “Don’t think like that. I promise that we will not be separated. Not even death could keep us apart. Verus amor vincit omnia. Remember?”
I pressed my nose against his throat and inhaled his scent, drawing him in and holding the smell in for as long as I could. “I know. I love you, Ares.”
“I love you too, Artemis Lupine.”
I giggled and rested my head on his chest for a moment before pulling away from him. “I’m ready.”
He slipped his fingers through mine and we walked back into the bedroom and ate. Once I started eating, the food stayed down and then we made our way out to the field where the portal to the human world existed. Hera, Zeus, our pack of halfbreeds and at least one hundred Sidhe stood waiting for us.
Everyone looked nervous and twitchy. One of the halfbreeds turned to talk to his neighbor, and I saw the brand on his arm, a crescent moon with a star. Ares and my brand. The anger I had shoved down the night before resurfaced and with it rose my powers. My body glowed bright, my wings popped out of my back and my vines sparkled.
I looked at the gathered warriors and said, “We are going to fight the vampires. I know some of you are fighting at the request of your king or alpha, but I want you to know why we are fighting. The vampires have turned the world which was filled with light and happiness into a world of darkness! A world where humans can’t live freely. A world where Sidhe can’t go out alone!” I paused to allow my words to sink in and then continued, my voice gaining momentum, “A world of hate and fear and misery. A world where the only important thing is feeding the vampires! They’ve killed millions of innocent people. They have killed my friends. They tried to kill me, which, in turn, would have killed Prince Achilles. They do not deserve to live. They are evil! They are darkness given form and it is our duty to kill them and right the balance!”
Everyone cheered and those with weapons raised them in the air. “When you go out on that battlefield, I don’t want you to fight for your king or your alpha. I want you to fight for the rights of every race! I want you to fight for the return of humanity! I want you to fight for the return of the light!”
The warriors all cheered and then started filing through the portal to the human world. Ares smiled at me. “Nice speech.”
I smiled at him and said, “Let’s go kill some vampires.”
Ares sighed dramatically, his hand against his forehead like a woman swooning over a man. “Isn’t she dreamy?”
Zeus laughed. “Yes, son, she is definitely a perfect match for you.”
I turned and headed into the portal, folding my wings close around my body as I walked up the staircase portal. We stepped out into the human world and I noticed that we had split into two groups, but they were mixed groups of halfbreeds and Sidhe as opposed to a halfbreed group and a Sidhe group. Finally, we were making headway. Hera stood in the center of the first group so I walked to the next group and waited until the last person had walked out of the portal and the ground had closed up behind him.
“Ready?” I asked those gathered around me. Everyone placed a hand on each other so that we were all connected by touch. Hera nodded at me to express her readiness. “Try not to throw up on each other,” I whispered just before I closed my eyes, and we spun through a spinning vortex. I opened my eyes and smiled at the sight of the Eiffel Tower lit up by lights in the distance. Several people groaned as they tried to settle their stomachs from the trip.
It was eerily quiet now that the humans didn’t inhabit France and as we followed Victor through the empty streets towards the battleground, I shivered. Straightening my back, I focused on my anger and ignored the chill of fear creeping up my spine.
Achilles slipped his fingers through mine and moaned when just the touch brought his powers. His wings popped out of his back, almost hitting Ares.
“Watch it,” Ares growled.
Achilles whispered, “I didn’t mean to do that.”
I rubbed his hand with my thumb and said, “Sorry.”
He shook his head and kissed my cheek. “You have nothing to be sorry for. That has never happened before so I wasn’t prepared.”
Victor gave us a scalding look so we stopped talking.
We walked for what felt like hours before finally coming to a field of burned wood and ash that used to be a lush forest. Several of the halfbreeds, including Ares and I, growled at the ruined forest. Thousands of trees had been destroyed in the obviously man-made fire. Whatever their reason had been for destroying the forest, it just added to the anger and the need to tear something apart in all of us, the Sidhe who value nature included.
The presence of evil pressed down upon me as we walked farther into the opening and then we saw the vampire army. A familiar figure stood at the front with hybrid vampires beside him. I swallowed nervously as I thought about the possibility of having to fight my brother. I pulled my bow over my head and nocked an arrow.
Apollo stepped forward and spoke in a commanding voice, “You are acting in treason against the King of the World, Maurice. Drop your weapons or we shall be forced to attack you.”
Zeus turned to Ares, Achilles, and I and waved us forward. “You’re the leaders.”
Ares and Achilles shrugged and Ares asked, “You want to respond?”
I smiled. “Sure.” I walked out past our group and let my wings fully extend and my body glow brighter. “There is no king of the world, only an old vampire overstepping his place and committing extreme crimes, including murder, treason and torture. We are all equals. Unless you drop your weapons and allow us to pass so that we can kill Maurice for his crimes, we will be forced to fight you.”
Apollo’s shocked face was priceless. He took a moment to compose himself and then he said, “You will not see reason. I have no other choice but to punish you.”
The vampires and dhampirs all hissed at us and licked their lips in excitement. I aimed my bow and released the arrow. Apollo jumped to the left, narrowly escaping the arrow, and it passed through the four vampires behind him, making them burst into ash at the touch of the sunlight on the tip of the arrow.
“Then let us fight!” I yelled.
Our army surged forward and the vampires and dhampirs ran to meet us. The screams of rage and pain covered everything else. Achilles, Ares, Koda, and Theseus took protective positions around me, preventing any from coming too close to me. I shot three more arrows, which killed an additional twelve vampires and two dhampirs. Vampires and dhampirs died all around me, while very few of our group fell, a good sign so far.
Ares and Koda fought side by side in half-shifts, cutting down our enemies with a speed that I only hoped to attain with practice. Achilles’ sword flashed, quick as lightning, as he attacked, his focus never wavering from the battle.
Despite all of the vampires and dhampirs the men around me killed, the enemy continued to crowd closer, pushing the men even closer to me and preventing me from fighting. The battle finally grew too close so I hung my bow over my shoulder, placed my fists together and th
en separated them, forming my sword of light.
I held the sword in readiness, but Ares and the others were still keeping the vampires and dhampirs a safe distance away from me. In this moment, I watched the skill of Achilles’ blade and the swiftness of Ares’ movements with awe. The vampires pressed closer and forced the men to move even closer to me. “Stop protecting me and let me fight!” I yelled over the sounds of the battle.
Ares growled, but after killing two more vampires he stepped forward to break the circle around me. A vampire charged in and I brought my sword up, slicing him cleanly in half. My blood pumped harder and my body quivered in excitement as I started fighting. The men moved out a little farther, opening their circle and killing faster as they plowed deeper into the advancing enemy. My wings retracted due to the now limited space, but my body continued to glow as I fought with everything that I had. Bodies piled up around us and I realized that the vampires weren’t just fighting, but fighting their way towards me. That realization didn’t frighten me like it would have years before. Instead, it made me smile and renewed the vigor with which I fought.
We had to move deeper into the swarming masses due to the immense amount of dead bodies around us, which were making it impossible to walk. Achilles stayed beside me while Ares, Koda and Theseus were separated from us by the crowding enemy. I reined in my power to keep my reserves up and laughed joyously as I killed again and again. When I thought I was human, I never would have enjoyed killing. Now I knew what I was made for. I was made to end the evil in the world and right the balance. Dhampirs backed away from me when they got too close and I followed after them, cutting off whatever was closest to me and finishing off the being as it screamed.
I turned to find Achilles and Apollo battling each other, but surprisingly Apollo was holding his own against Achilles.
I turned around in time to decapitate a dhapmir running at me. I battled with vampires while trying to watch the fight between Achilles and Apollo at the same time. A vampire grabbed my sword hand and twisted, trying to break my wrist, which only pissed me off. Sunlight began seeping out of my pores and the vampire burst into flames and then turned to ash, drifting along the wind.
Artemis Lupine- The Complete Series Page 61
