Stalk the Moon

by Jessica Lynch

  Something’s obviously stopped him. Maybe… maybe he realizes where we are. Even in the Other, I’m betting that the floor of a dusty, old cave, right next to the freshly slaughtered carcass of a giant boar isn’t the most romantic place to have sex for the first time.

  Or maybe he remembered his promise. He said he would take me up the mountain, find the portal, and help me get home. Taking the time to get lucky wasn’t part of the plan. I’d be glad to add it, but Hunter doesn’t seem down.

  Whatever it is, he’s done. Rubbing his throat, running his pointer finger behind his ear, he pulls away from me. And this time? I know he’s not coming back for more.

  I let him go. It scares me how much I want to beg him to hold me for a few more minutes. I mean, I like to cuddle as much as the next girl, but we haven’t even gotten to the best part yet. A second later, I realize that we never will.

  He turns to look at me, the light of the forgotten torch reflecting in his gaze. That’s not the only thing, either.

  My stomach drops to my sandals.

  That’s regret, isn’t it?

  “Hunter, I—”

  “I’m sorry, darlin’. So sorry. I… I shouldn’t have done that.”

  Maybe not. With some space between us and common sense finally poking its head in, I know that giving into my lusts would’ve been a bad idea. But ‘sorry’ shouldn’t have been the first words out of his mouth. He has every right to slam on the brakes, like I should’ve done. I don’t blame him for that. But just because he stopped us, it doesn’t take back anything else that we did.

  I don’t regret it. Not one kiss. Not a single touch.

  That he might? It fucking pisses me off.

  And I know I wanted to make sure that this was something we both wanted and, up until now, I thought Hunter and me were totally on the same page.

  I guess I was wrong.

  “Don’t take all the blame,” I snap. His actions hurt and his words sting so I lash out. Sue me. Scowling, I cross my arms over my chest, hiding my nipples from him. I want my cloak. “That’s just selfish. Nobody forced me to do anything I didn’t want to.”

  He doesn’t answer. Instead, Hunter turns away from me.

  Oh, hell no.

  And I thought I was pissed before?

  Sudden fury lights a spark in my belly, knocking aside the desire that had my guts twisted up in knots. When he reaches for his hood to hide his face, that’s the last straw. I lose it.

  “If you dare put that hood back on, I swear to Zeus, my mighty father, that I will hunt you like a dog!”

  My words—Artemis’s words—echo in the cavernous space. They came out like a boom, and I swear I feel the earth rattling again. I brace my knees and glare. I mean it, too. He knows it. He barely hesitates, fingers twitching before his hands fall back to rest at his side.

  Hunter leaves the hood alone.

  His easy acquiescence doesn’t stop me. The familiar rush of power washes over me. I uncross my arms, holding one out in front of me. I already know what I’m about to find.

  The glow is so strong, it lights up the cave, giving everything a faint silver sheen.

  I stamp my foot. “Damn it!”

  “Noelle?”

  “She’s talking through me again and now this shit?” I shake my hand, as if that’ll actually dampen the glow. “Come on!”

  He hesitates, like he’s choosing his words carefully. “You’re havin’ a harder time controllin’ it, right? It’s fine, darlin’. You’ll be fine.”

  After what passed between us, control is the last thing I want to discuss with Hunter. But I also know damn well that bad things tend to happen when I’m angry and frustrated and I begin this glowing crap. I take a deep breath in through my mouth, out through my nose. Again.

  The glow gets even brighter. I think Artemis is doing this on purpose.

  Another deep breath.

  Exhale.

  That moment was for me and Hunter. No ancient goddesses allowed.

  In.

  Out.

  Go!

  The power seeps out of me as quickly as it came, leaving me drained and weak. My hand goes right to my temple. I sway. “Whoa.”

  “Noelle?”

  “I’m… I’m okay.”

  No, I’m not.

  The world goes sideways, or maybe that’s me. My knees buckle. I would’ve landed on the ground if Hunter hadn’t rushed forward, scooping me up into his arms the second that I begin to drop.

  He’s got to stop making a habit of this. This time, though? I let him get away with it.

  His strength is a boost to my ego. I’m tiny, yeah, but he always holds me like I’m weightless. Peering down at me, he wears a look of concern as he shifts me closer to him. He anchors me with one arm, reaching out with the other until his hand is pressed gently against my cheek. Either I’m feverish now or he’s ice-cold because the shock of ice against heat makes me moan. God, it feels so good. I don’t want to let him go.

  So I don’t.

  I sigh and lean into his palm. If Hunter hadn’t already pulled the plug on us, I would have. Between my stumble and his concern, I know I’ve killed the mood. I don’t even try to recover it. It’s hard to feel sexy when you’re being carried like a little kid, and the silver glow is just another reminder of Artemis.

  “I don’t get it,” I murmur. I’m angry and I’m confused and maybe just talking out loud. “Why does that keep happening to me?”

  I don’t really expect an answer. It was really more of a rhetorical question anyway. And then Hunter says, “Hephaestus got it right, I guess. You’re too close to Artemis to begin with. The longer you’re here, the more she shines through. No.” He shakes his head. “That ain’t right. You’re always her. You’ve been all along, you just never knew it. Goin’ back won’t change a thing.”

  He’s right. My time on this side of the mirror has already changed me. Okay, so maybe I won’t glow back in New Jersey or be a trickshot with a bow and arrow. I’ll still know who I’m supposed to be—and what could have happened.

  There’s so many friggin’ what-if’s running around my head, I have to force myself to lock them in a tiny box in my mind. I’ll go crazy if I don’t.

  His tone softens. “I might think that Hephaestus should’ve kept his mouth shut, but there’s truth in what he said. Here, in the Other, you can live your true potential. Be Noelle, just use Artemis’s strengths, her power. It’ll get easier in time. You can learn to control it instead of lettin’ it control you.”

  After what happened, it’s not only her power that’s in control of me. My wayward libido and the urge to jump Hunter’s bones has that one on lock.

  “The magic is strong here,” he continues softly. “Belief is everything. One way or another, the power’s got to get out.”

  “And if I go home?” I ask. “What happens then?”

  “Sorry, darlin’. There’s no magic in that world.”

  I don’t agree with that. Maybe the magic in the real world is different than what I’ve seen in the Other. Technology, for one. Fast food drive-thru’s. Booze that doesn’t knock you on your ass after two sips. It’s still real.

  But I don’t even attempt to argue with him, either.

  He’s still holding me, pressed tight to his upper body. We’re close. Too close. My lips feel bruised from his kisses, my heart pounding in my chest. While he spoke, his soft voice almost hypnotized me not to notice that fact. It’s hitting home now. I’ve never lost control like that before, as if I’d die if he stopped touching me. It felt perfect. It felt right.

  It felt like coming home.

  And that scares the ever-loving hell out of me.

  I wiggle in his hold, suddenly desperate to escape before I forget how exhausted I am and try to take this one step farther.

  Hunter takes the hint. Setting me down on my feet, he waits until he’s sure I’m steady before he backs away from me. Five feet. Ten feet. If he could protect me from outside the cave, I don’
t doubt he would be running for the mountain’s ledge if only to get away from me.

  Even though I’m the one who instigated it, the distance stings. I try not to let it.

  I fail miserably.

  30

  “Do you want it?”

  I’m not sure I heard him right. It’s the first thing he said since we broke apart, each of us retreating as far away as possible from the other. I know why I needed the space—it took everything I had not to jump Hunter then and there. From the dazed look on his face, maybe he was thinking along the same lines.

  Or maybe he’s regretting his recent lapse in judgment.

  Ah, hell.

  I glance up at him. To add insult to injury, I see he’s recovered a whole lot quicker than I have. His breathing is back under control, his anxious pacing slowed until he’s standing above the slaughtered boar, eyeing it curiously.

  “What?”

  He nudges the side of the boar with the tip of his boat. “I said, do you want it?”

  Is he serious? He can’t honestly believe I want a freshly killed boar carcass, right? What kind of weirdo gift is that? I think the kiss went to his head as much as mine. “Um… no.”

  “You sure? You drew first blood. Kill’s yours, darlin’. You deserve the spoils. The tusks, the pelt. I can butcher the boar down for more meat, if ya like. Anything you want.”

  After facing off against the beast, the idea of having bacon for breakfast doesn’t have as much appeal as it used to. I’ll probably change my mind in the morning. For now, though, I’m good with the bread and cheese Hephaestus packed for us.

  Part of me feels guilty that we had to hunt the boar when all it wanted to do was protect its space. Hunter hadn’t been to the cave in forever. He wouldn’t have returned if it wasn’t for me and my desire for a portal home.

  It was the boar or us. I get that. It wasn’t going to let us leave peacefully. We intruded on its territory and it would’ve charged us eventually, fire or no fire. We did what we had to do to save our own skins. Artemis might be proud of that. Noelle definitely isn’t.

  The last thing I want is a souvenir from the first time I willingly let Artemis in.

  I’m careful not to tell Hunter any of that. Instead, I shake my head. “I really don’t want any of it. You can have it. Do whatever you want with it. I just…” I swallow, knowing I’m going to admit it after all. “I kinda feel bad looking at it.”

  Hunter watches me closely. I try not to give anything away. He finally nods. “I won’t let good meat go to waste, but I don’t have to do the butcherin’ right away. Let me put it somewhere to keep ‘til morning. You won’t have to look at it.”

  There’s no denying my sigh is one of relief. “Thanks.”

  Crouching down, he turns the boar on its side so that he can reach for its hooves. He wraps his hand around the front legs. Is he going to drag that thing out of the cave?

  I don’t want to look at it. I definitely don’t want to touch it. Still, I ask, “Do you need help?”

  “Nah, darlin’. Sit tight.” The dead boar has got to weigh close to three hundred pounds. Hunter shoulders it like it’s a sack of potatoes. “Can you wait for me here? I’ll help you look for the portal when I get back.”

  I touch my fingers to my lips. Even if I stumbled on a portal by myself, I’m not so sure I’d take it yet. Not after that kiss and all the promise that was tucked behind it.

  “I’ll be waiting for you. Hurry back.”

  He bows his head. “Always.”

  I don’t go searching for the portal until Hunter returns. I spend the time reliving the passion of our first kiss while simultaneously trying to convince myself that choosing to wait isn’t a stalling tactic.

  I mean, I want to find the portal. Right? Nibbling on my bottom lip, I swear I can still taste Hunter. I know I want to do that again. But the portal—

  Just because there might be one here somewhere, it doesn’t mean I have to take it right away. No matter the reason, I’d have to be blind not to see the sparks flying between me and Hunter. With as many times as his touch has given me a jolt, there are literal friggin’ sparks between us. I can’t leave him behind without at least exploring it a little further.

  My obsessive need to find a portal hasn’t left me. It’s changed, though. I need to know that I can get back to Jersey as soon as I want to. And, after Hephaestus’s convoluted explanation on how time doesn’t seem to work here, I could spend a few more days with Hunter.

  Preferably somewhere with a real bed.

  This cave? Doesn’t have one. There’s a massive pile of furs in one corner that reeks like a mixture of old and fresh urine. That might have been Hunter’s bed once upon a time. In the time since, it’s been marked by the boar we hunted.

  I scoot away from it and cover my nose and mouth with my hands. Now that I’ve noticed it, the stench lingers. Phew. I can still smell it and it’s hella nasty.

  After Hunter came back from doing who-knows-what with the boar, he picks up the torch and hands it to me. With a quick swipe of his arm, he divides the cave in two. He’s got one side. I’ve got the other and, lucky me, it’s the side with the stinky pig furs.

  Without a word, we go to work.

  I try not to notice how much better my eyes are since Hephaestus nearly blinded me with his fire trick. I’ve never had a problem back home—I don’t have glasses or contacts or anything—but I’m not sure most people can see so clearly in the dark. I chalk it up to the faint glow I can’t quite shake anymore, plus the supernova light of Hephaestus’s magic torch.

  It illuminates every inch of the cave, making it way easier for me to search. I think of the shimmer that appeared in the scorpion’s part of the forest: about the size of an iPad, wavy like the ripple in a pond, reflecting a patch of a world so very different than the Other.

  I don’t know if the portal would show me my room like that last one. I don’t want to break up our imposed silence to ask Hunter. Shit, I don’t even know if the portal I’m searching for will even bring me back to my room. This is supposed to be Hunter’s portal. What if it takes me back to where he’s from?

  There’s hundred of portals popping up. That’s what he said. They can’t all be tied to my mirror so that means hundred of mirrors must exist, right? So, say I do find a portal. Who knows where I’ll end up? New Jersey? Georgia? Friggin’ Antarctica?

  Great. What a wonderful time to let that thought creep in. With my luck, I’ll find a portal, hop through, and end up on the other side of the world.

  Holding my nose again, I search around the mound of furs. I know Hunter told me that this used to be the cave where he stayed. I’m not sure I buy it. The discarded furs and pelts are the only signs that someone has ever visited it. It’s musty and damp and, even with me pinching my nose closed, it smells worse than Dudley’s litter box in the dog days of summer.

  No portal.

  I step lightly around a puddle toward the back of the cave, careful not to splash any of the questionable liquid on my sandals or my toes. It might only be dew or moisture from the damp, dark part of the cave. Then again, it might not.

  Holding the torch up over my head, I search for something, anything that might be out of place. Nope. Nothing.

  My stomach tightens. I… I don’t know if I’m going to find a portal here. I’ve lost track of how long we’ve been searching. It feels like forever. If Hunter’s portal was here—if any portal was here—shouldn’t we have found it by now?

  Hunter’s bent low, his cloak fanning out behind him as he peers at something close to the ground. Because he gave me the torch to work with, he must be having a harder time of looking through the gloom. I watch him for a minute. He leans forward, on his hands and knees.

  My heart catches in my throat. Does he see something?

  Abandoning my side of the cave, I join Hunter. He straightens the instant he senses my approach.

  “Did you find it?”

  He shakes his head. “I thought I m
ight’ve seen something but… I’m sorry, darlin’. I think we made the trip for nothing.”

  I can’t accept that. “Are you even sure this is the right cave?”

  “Noelle—”

  “No. Listen. You said it’s been a while since you came back. It… it might be the wrong cave. They all look the same. Maybe it’s the next one, or the one after that. We have to look. It doesn’t have to be your portal. Any fucking portal will do. I can’t be trapped, Hunter. I won’t accept that.”

  Hunter turns, placing his hands on my shoulders. The torch slips from my hand, landing on the rocky ground in a shower of sparks. Hunter kicks the wooden base away with the toe of his boot. Leaning in, we’re sharing the same breath as he gazes into my eyes.

  “It’s the right cave,” he tells me and I can see that it pains him to have to take away my hope like that. “But the portal, this one’s gone. It’s not waitin’ for me.”

  “This cave is nothing like Hephaestus’s place. I don’t believe you ever lived here.”

  Maybe throwing the big blacksmith in Hunter’s face like that isn’t the brightest idea. Calling him a liar, too? Ouch. Inches away from me, he winces, like I’ve reached out and slapped him. I should feel bad. I kind of do. But I’m not ready to believe him yet. I cling to the last shred of hope I have.

  It’s one thing to entertain the crazy idea of sticking around a bit longer. It’s something else to know that I have no choice.

  And then he murmurs, “I did. For a long, long time, I did.”

  “Prove it,” I dare.

  “Anything for you.” He nods and lets his hands fall from my shoulders to rest at his sides. “Wait here.”

  I’m too mixed up to do anything except what he said. Wait here? Okay. A hysterical laugh bubbles up in my chest and I force my lips to clamp shut before it echoes off of the walls of the cave.

  Hunter crosses to the other side, making a beeline for the soiled pile of furs. The smell doesn’t faze him at all. An air of determination surrounds him as he starts hefting them up and tossing them off to his left, armful by armful until there’s a more manageable stack.