I sat on the ground, picked up the fruit, and brought it to my face. It smelled like a fruit salad, like a mix of watermelon and grapes and other sweet things. I gathered the fruits, the bread, and the bottle and put them back into the satchel. I put the strap over my shoulder and continued my walk through the woods. I didn’t know how long I’d be operating out of the cave, and knowing the area immediately surrounding it, including hiding places that could be used by me or someone who wanted to surprise me would be important.
In my walk, I found a small trickle of a stream with water that looked fairly clear. A few wild bushes with some type of berries on the branches grew not too far from the stream. I had no idea whether the berries were edible or not, of course.
As I started making my way back toward the cave, the sky erupted in thunder and lightning, again. Rain started falling in fat drops that splattered when they hit my face. I quickened my pace as the storm started picking up in intensity.
By the time I reached the cave, my clothing and hair were soaked through. I was not walking around the Nether naked again. So I sat against the wall of the cave, and curled into a ball, trying to feel warm. Everything was cold, and damp, and I was starving and lonely and I had no goddamn idea what to do next or anything else.
I was starting to feel pretty miserable when movement near the mouth of the cave caught my eye, and the giant cat walked in. It settled itself next to me in the cave, curling up next to my hip like some kind of over-sized house cat. But it was warm, and I wasn’t alone for the moment, so I could hardly complain.
How pathetic. I’d spent twenty-four years of my life totally alone, and now I couldn’t stand even a day by myself without becoming all depressed and weepy.
Just for now, then. Tonight, I’d be weepy, I told myself. And then tomorrow, I'll be a badass again. And I hugged my knees and listened to the rain beating outside the cave, and I thought about home.
Chapter Two
When I woke up, I was alone in the cave again. It was for the best. I really didn’t need the emotional punch to the gut I got every time I saw that damn cat.
I needed to decide what to do next. Did I approach Tisiphone or Hades first about ending the war? Could I even trust them? I sensed that they both cared for me; emotions don’t lie. But you could care for someone and still be a liar, and they were gods, and they’d already lied to me about so many things, so… yeah. Probably not.
Which left me, where, exactly? I stood up and stretched, flexing my wings along with my arms and legs. I needed this war to end as soon as possible so I could try to open the gateway again. It was in the gods’ best interest to let me do that, because their power was severely limited without access to the mortal realm. Eunomia had explained it to me. The gods were strongest in their own realm. Beings like my father, a creature of the Nether, were at peak strength there. And beings like Zeus, from the Aether, drew their strength from their realm. But, no matter whether they came from the Aether or the Nether, they needed the connection to the mortal realm to be at peak strength. Something about the energy in my world, and how they were incomplete without it. It didn't make much sense to me. I was stronger in the Nether, usually, than I was at home, and, now that I was stuck there, I wasn't feeling any ill effects of the loss of contact with my world.
Well. Other than the obvious heartbreak and losing everything that had ever mattered to me, of course.
But gods were prideful, arrogant, stubborn assholes and most of them kind of wanted me dead. And if they didn’t want me dead, they wanted to use me somehow. From the gods I knew, that was pretty par for the course.
Except for Asclepias, I reminded myself. He’d never asked me for a thing in return for helping the shifters, and he could have. And when he’d joined Hades’ side in the war, fighting against many of his fellow gods of the Aether, it had surprised more than a few. He wasn’t political, from what I’d learned of him. He was definitely not a fighter. So for him to specifically choose a side, and choose against Zeus… that was kind of a big deal.
Okay. Maybe Asclepias would be the first one I approached. Of course, that would mean exposing myself to one of them, and if he turned out to actually be just like the rest of them, then I’d given up my element of surprise. Since no one had come hunting for me yet, I had to believe the cat or whatever it was wasn’t in a hurry to see me dead or captured.
It was the "captured" part that freaked me out the most. Chances were good I could come back from the dead again, probably. I’d been held captive once before. I could live several hundred lifetimes and still wake up in a cold sweat, remembering what it had felt like to be that helpless. And with gods as captors…no. I didn't even want to think about it.
I ventured out, carrying the satchel of food the cat had left for me. I still hadn’t been brave enough to try any of it, and my stomach growled. The good thing about the Nether was that all of the power emanating from it fed me. So while I had physical hunger to deal with, at least I had no hunger for power, or fear, or pain, the way I did back home if I’d gone too long without feeding. Home, I’d sated myself by feeding on the fear and pain of the troublemakers I hunted.
God, I missed being the top of the food chain.
I made my way toward Hades’ city. The ever-present sounds of battle still permeated the air, though Zeus had finally let up on the rain in favor of almost constant rumbling thunder. I didn’t enter the city itself, but stayed to the woods that surrounded it, watching, listening. As I approached the edge, I heard nearby sounds of battle and shrank back a bit, angling myself to get a better look. Two satyrs held off a trio of sprites, and they all cursed at each other as the fight raged on. It would have been kind of mesmerizing to watch, these mythological creatures engaged in battle, had it not been for all of the blood.
Satyrs and sprites weren’t gods. They could die at one another’s hands, and their deaths would be permanent. I was about to step forward and stop it, figuring I could use my mind powers on them to make them forget me if I had to. At least, I hoped so. I took a step, and then I felt something, and completely forgot what I was even doing.
A pulsing, wild energy signature that was so similar to Brennan’s that it made my heart race. I froze, looked around. Knew it was impossible that it was him, but my stupid heart dared to hope anyway. I took a breath, produced my sword, the satyrs and sprites forgotten.
A figure came out from behind a nearby clump of trees. A lithe figure with long sandy-blond hair, wearing brown clothing very similar to what I wore. She held her hands in front of her in a gesture of peace, kept her eyes on me.
Artemis.
I knew her from afar. Tisiphone had pointed her out to me one time as we’d walked through the Nether. I’d never interacted with her in any way before this. She was another Aether god who’d joined Hades’ side in the fight, even though her brother, Apollo, was solidly allied with Zeus.
She smiled at me. "Your pulse went mad when you sensed me. Did your shapeshifter mate ever tell you that the scent of your adrenaline is nearly intoxicating?"
I kept the sword out. "What do you want, Artemis?"
"Why did you react so strongly when you sensed me? I wonder if you even know why, yourself. How perceptive are you, Fury?" She approached, circled me where I stood, studying me, never quite getting close enough to make me feel overly threatened, but still closer than I would have preferred.
I didn’t answer. Watched her, poised to respond to any sudden movements she made. Artemis was a strong fighter, a hunter of renown. I wasn’t surprised that if one of them had to track me, it had been her.
She finally stopped circling me, stood and crossed her arms as if she was satisfied about something. "Relax. If I wanted to harm you, I could have easily done so while you were regenerating on the mountainside."
"You’ve been following me all that time?" I asked, my heart sinking. I hadn’t even known.
"Not the whole time," she said, and then she let out a low whistle, and two huge black cats, identi
cal, came out of the surrounding forest. They sat on either side of her, and watched me. "There is a war going on, and I can’t be here without drawing too much attention to you. Why haven’t you eaten the food we gave you?"
"I don’t trust it. Or you. Or them," I said, gesturing to the cats.
"Why did you respond to my presence so strongly?" she asked again. "Be assured that I already know why. I’m just asking to find out if you do."
I stayed silent. Brennan had already been put in danger twice because of our relationship. I wouldn’t let it happen again. She seemed to sense what I was feeling.
"I would never hurt the shapeshifter you have claimed, Mollis," she said softly. "I know you have no reason to trust or believe me. And that is smart. But I’d never hurt him."
"Why not?"
She smiled again. "We should get away from the city. It would be too easy for them to sense you here." And with that, she turned and started walking through the woods, toward the mountains. I took a breath. One of the cats stayed and watched me, waiting expectantly, and, in the end, I followed her. I was not stupid enough to put my sword away, though.
We made our way deep into the forest, and even the sounds of battle faded a bit. Artemis stopped when we reached a small clearing, and she sat down on the leaf-littered ground. I sat several feet away on a fallen tree trunk, and watched her. "Answer my question, please," I said. "Why wouldn’t you hurt him?"
"Answer mine first. Why such a strong response when you felt my power signature?" She picked up a leaf and started crumbling it with her fingers, brown bits of leaves falling to her lap like confetti. The giant cats both looked on, sitting still as statues.
This was annoying, and it was clear I wouldn’t get any answers from her until I answered the question. "You feel like him," I finally said.
"Explain," she said, nodding.
"All shapeshifters have a similar energy signature. Kind of wild feeling, almost bursting with hyperactivity."
She nodded again. "And?"
"Brennan’s is that, but a little different. His energy has this strong, steady pulse to it. It just feels so much more than anyone else’s," I finished, focusing on sensing for her. She was calm, pleased.
She nodded in approval. "You are as perceptive as I’d hoped you would be. Though you likely attributed his ‘moreness’ to some ridiculous romantic notion or simply believing that he was just that much more powerful than other shifters."
I ignored the "ridiculous romantic notion" comment. "Well. He is more powerful than others."
She smiled. "Obviously. How many shifters do you know who can shift into any animal they choose?"
I watched her. "Just one."
"And how many do you know who can take the form of one of those?" she asked, gesturing at one of the giant black cats.
"Just one," I repeated.
"Well. Now you know two." And the air shimmered around her, and where the goddess Artemis had been sitting, now sat a majestic, enormous black cat, blue eyes glowing as it looked at me.
"I am going to assume this is not some kind of coincidence, then," I said, once I was sure my voice wouldn’t waver.
Artemis shifted back, and sat there, calm and still. "There are no coincidences. Not where immortals are concerned, anyway." She paused. "Want to hazard a guess?"
"He’s not your son," I said. "He knew his parents."
She shook her head. "No, not my son. He is my great-times-a-few-hundred grandson."
I just watched her. "Care to elaborate?"
She smiled. "How much do you know about me?"
I shrugged. "Not much. Huntress, goddess of childbirth and virgins and the wilderness. Though my limited knowledge usually mentions bears or deer as your favorite animals, not cats. And nothing about shapeshifting."
"Before they started calling me Artemis, I was known as Bastet by the ancient Egyptians. Cat, warrior goddess and symbol of motherhood. Some of the Greeks called me Ailuros, which they basically thought of as Artemis in cat form." She shrugged. "There is an element of truth to most of the stories about me."
I watched her. "So. Brennan," I said, hoping to get back to what I actually wanted to know.
She sat still a moment. "I was hunting, oh, a few thousand years ago in mortal time. Jungles, this time, even thought I preferred forests where I could find the bears and deer I liked so much. But this time, I was in a jungle, and came upon a sleek black cat. Not as large as me, in that form, but close. Upon getting closer, I recognized him for what he was."
"Shapeshifter?" I guessed.
She nodded. "He shifted, and he was just as amazing in his human form as he was a cat. And things happened from there." She smiled, remembering. "I am not a woman who particularly needs the company of a man to be happy. I am fine in the forest with my bow and nature for company. But that man… thousands of years later, I still remember how good he felt."
"TMI, I think," I murmured, and she laughed.
"Anyway, I left him, because obviously I had no intention of staying. But I had a little something to remember him by. I gave birth to my son. I would have kept him in the Aether with me, happily, but when he came of age he wanted to learn more of his father’s world. I gave him my blessing, and let him go. And my line has continued to this day, your mate being the youngest."
"Are there others?"
"A few. Only the oldest child in each family inherits the traits of my line. The rest of the children in the family may very well be shifters, but they will not be like your Brennan."
"So it’s passed from the oldest child in a family, to their oldest child. What if they produce no offspring?"
She grinned. "They always produce offspring. Surely you’ve noticed how energetic–"
"Okay. I get it. Enough," I interrupted, and she laughed.
She watched me, warmth in her eyes. "Your child will be amazing. All of my power, plus Hades and Tisiphone’s? I can’t wait to meet him or her."
I blushed, looked away. "Uh. I’m not sure that’s going to happen."
"Why not?"
"Have you noticed that I closed the gateway? I’m here, and he’s there."
"You intend to open the gateway. I think you’ll succeed," she said simply. "And the good thing is, even if it takes you a while, you’ll have plenty of time together later."
"Yeah?"
"Of course. My line is exceptionally strong, as you already know. My descendants are also blessed with long lifespans."
"His father and mother both died young."
"They were killed. It happens. I’m talking about natural life, old age, all of that. He’ll live a good long time, as long as he stays smart and on guard."
"I am pretty sure he never lets his guard down," I said.
"As it should be. Which brings us back to you, lovely girl."
I watched her, waited.
"I am removed, but I am very fond and proud of my descendants. And I know that, not only are you mated to my grandson, but you also brought Asclepias in to heal him when he would have died. You were ready to tear the Nether apart when you found the Guardians had kidnapped him. And, just to top it off, you raised a demon army and then left them in your realm, where they serve and protect him."
"I didn’t really intend for that to happen," I admitted. "Just luck. I’m glad they’re on that side, with Brennan, rather than here."
"Precisely. And from what I’ve heard, your imp army is nearly as devoted to him as they are to you."
"Brennan is nicer than I am," I said, trying to brush it off.
"So, you’ve saved his life, and you still protect him, even when you can’t be there. All I want is to help you here, to keep you safe, to let you accomplish what you need to in order to get back to him. I want him to be happy. For that, he needs you."
"This is too good to be true," I muttered. "You came in on Hades’ side of the war. Why?"
She looked at me like I was crazy. "Because his was the side defending you, of course," she said. "My brother is very unh
appy with me, by the way."
"I’m sure," I said. "I still don’t trust you."
"Good. You shouldn’t trust anyone here. But I will swear to you, nonetheless, that I honestly do want to help you. That I will do whatever I can to keep you safe, for my grandson. I have no interest in politics. I want to get back to the hunt. War bores me."
"This is so fucking weird," I said under my breath.
"Not so strange," she said. "You already knew he was different. You just didn’t know why." Then she smiled. "I could not have chosen a better mate for him if I’d tried," she said, and she nearly squealed with delight. "Tell me about him."
I shook my head. "What do you want to know?"
"What is he like?"
"He’s brave. Strong. Loyal. He has this ridiculous, boundless amount of energy. He’s cocky, and bossy, and he takes care of me in a way I’ve never imagined anyone would. The first time we met, he challenged me to a fight. For fun." I looked up at her. "Maybe he gets that from you."
She grinned. "Probably."
I met her eyes. "Know this. I don’t care what pretty words you say right now. If you mess with him somehow, if you hurt him, or bother him, or even look at him funny once the gateway is open, I will kill you myself. Slowly, painfully, physically and mentally, and there will be no coming back once I’m done with you."
I held her gaze a while, both of us refusing to look away.
"I like you," she finally said. Then she grabbed one of the fruits out of the satchel I’d been carrying and took a big bite. After a few minutes, I followed suit.
♦ ♦ ♦
When Artemis and I parted, I didn’t end up going back to the cave. She’d been helpful. Showed me where to gather edible fruit. The things she’d given me had not made me sick. In fact, I felt good. The fruit tasted like watermelon and strawberries. Delicious.
I missed coffee. Add it to the list of thing I missed about home.
So she’d been helpful, but I was not falling into my old routines of trusting and then being screwed over. I wouldn’t go back to the cave. Not right away, anyway. I knew she’d be able to find me if she really wanted to. She could track me. She and the cats all had my scent now. But I would not sit in one place and make it easy for her if (when?) she decided to betray me.
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