Mystic Island

☼☼12☼☼

Raine

I woke up breathing harder than I ever had in my life. I was drenched in sweat and I was shaking more than Kayla had on the shore. My heart was hammering from immense fear and my gold eyes were searching the room for enemies. I sighed gratefully when all I saw were snoring demigods. My heart quieted a little.
I laid back on my bed for a moment, letting the cool sheets comfort me and to calm down a little. I had almost screamed, which would have woken anyone up for miles, and I was happy I didn’t. The others would ask too many questions that I didn’t want to answer. But I swore there was just a demon about to bite my throat. I was still for a heartbeat. No demons. Only soft snores.
I raised myself from the bed, trying to avoid as many creaks as possible, and got up. I had no shoes on so my feet were soundless as I walked pass the beds where tired heroes were resting. When I passed the curled up Kayla, who I knew was a deep sleeper, I stopped and leaned down. I opened one of her eyelids, knowing she wouldn’t see me, but her sightless iris was still brown. I checked Andrea’s. Hers was brown too. I sighed with relief. But suddenly there was a breeze that had somehow flown in through a closed door, wind I could see.
“What the…” I murmured softly. The wind was silver and the air smelled with the slightest scent of the woods. I walked up the stairs to the door which I opened. It made a small creak and I flinched. But no one awoke. I continued on.
I walked out onto the moonlit deck and the air was comfortingly warm but somehow cold at the same time. The light that was all around the deck was pure white and it was like daylight out in the open. I walked forward slowly, looking out. It was not morning; the night sky was as dark as ever. It must have been four or five in the morning. I did feel somewhat rested, despite the horrible nightmare I’d had twice and the battles. I was calm. I was content. And I was not alone.
My eyes scanned the deck until they rested on someone sitting on a ledge. She was wearing silver clothes and a silver aura outlined her shape. Her dark brown hair played faintly with the wind and her pale yellow eyes were soft and clear. The silver edge around them blended in and showed no hostility or anger. And she was tranquil, her head slightly tilted.
“A-Artemis?” I stuttered. “Is that you?”
The young goddess smiled faintly. She put her hand on the ledge next to her, gesturing me forward. I silently walked over to the immortal and sat down.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her.
“Waiting for you.”
“Why?”
Her eyes smalled a little. “I needed to speak with you.”
“Are you mad?”
“No, of course not. Why would you say that?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s just the last time I saw you, you were seconds from killing me.”
A slow smile spread across her face. “Sorry.” Her teeth were whiter than the moon.
“What’s the matter? Have you found Heather?” I felt a glimmer of hope.
Artemis looked upon me sadly. “No…”
I looked down. “Oh.” I shivered slightly, but Artemis saw it.
“What? Are you cold?”
“No, no,” I said. “This nightmare…”
I told Artemis about my nightmare, not leaving out anything. I wasn’t sure exactly the reason but I felt as if I could trust the goddess…like…like a friend. She listened silently, her pale eyes thoughtful, and when I finished, she looked worried.
“Do you happen to know your friends’ parentage?” she said with her voice laced with worry.
“No, I don’t,” I said. “Kayla’s isn’t Apollo, is it?”
“My brother? No, I would know…” She shifted restlessly. “Who is the immortal?”
“What?”
“Is it their mother or their father? The godly one,” Artemis said.
“Oh,” I said. “Oh, from what they can figure, their mothers are the mortal parents. Andrea and Kayla’s fathers are gods.”
“No,” she murmured. “No, no…”
“Why?” I asked. “Do you know who their parents are?”
“Parent,” Artemis said solemnly.
“Really?” I said high-spirited. “That’s great! Kayla and Andrea are half-sisters!”
Artemis’ yellow eyes had an unnatural light to them. “No, that is not great!”
“Why not?”
She took a short inhale. “Do you know who their father is?”
“No…” I said slowly, but as I said it, something clicked in my head. The image of the black-haired god by the poplar was fresh and stark in my head. He was familiar…
I backed away. “You can’t mean…”
Artemis said nothing with sad eyes.
“Hades. Children of Hades,” I whispered. “How? How?”
“Father was right not to trust them,” Artemis murmured, looking away. But instead of calming me, that fired me up.
“What?” I said sharply, causing Artemis to turn her head towards me again, eyes flashing with surprise. “Zeus doesn’t trust Kayla and Andrea? Because of who he thought their dad was?”
“Yes.”
“But that’s not fair! They’re loyal to Olympus. What does it matter who their dad is?” I said. “Andrea and Kayla haven’t done anything wrong!”
“Haven’t they?” Artemis murmured softly. My gold eyes were hard.
Artemis frowned. “I’m sorry. I know they are…good. Kayla is loyal, innocent, and she does care for you and the others. She is loyal.” She paused. “And Andrea…”
I blinked. I felt a wave of exhaustion rise above me, and I leaned forward unintentionally, nearly passing out. My eyelids fluttered. Artemis sighed. “You’re tired. I should leave…”
“No,” I said suddenly. “I’m not tired. I can sleep when I’m dead.”
Artemis laughed at that. Then her eyes clouded. She stared up at the moon. Her moon; and no one else’s. Unless…
“Thanks,” I said.
“For what?”
“For saving my life,” I said. “For destroying Hecate’s army and protecting us.”
“Oh,” she said.
“That’s more than any other Olympian would’ve done for us,” I said with certainty.
Her face was tinged with gold. Though humans blushed red, it was because the color of our blood and since gods’ blood was gold ichor that was why she blushed gold. “It was not anything. Anyone would have done it.” She looked away.
Not really. The other Olympians weren’t as kind. Something nagged at my mind. “Did…” Her eyes flickered back and I almost lost my tongue. “Did you steal the moon?”
Her gaze was wide. “What do you mean?”
“Hecate told me that the moon belongs to her,” I explained. “She told me that you stole it from her.”
“Hecate,” Artemis echoed wistfully. “She said that?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Did you?”
“Did she give her reasons for her belief?” Artemis asked, avoiding the question, which I took to be a yes.
“She said her mother promised her the moon when she was little. That was what my dream said too.” I told her of my dream of the three moon goddesses. A smile flickered on her face, barely seen in the mask of sorrow.
“Who is her mother?” I asked.
“Asteria,” Artemis answered quickly. “Goddess of stars. My mother’s sister.”
“But I thought only Demeter and Hestia were Hera’s sisters.”
“Hera?” Artemis echoed with surprise. “Hera is not my mother.”
I frowned. “But your father is Zeus…”
“Yes.” Artemis looked at me like she was waiting for me to get to the point.
“I just thought…” I shook my head. “Never mind. Then, if your mom isn’t Hera, who is she?”
Artemis’ eyes were distant. “Her name was Leto. She was a minor goddess, nothing special in the eyes of most. But our father found her beautiful. And then my brother and I came.
“Hera was furious. She wanted Apollo and I to never come, to never be born. So she tried to make sure that never happened.”
“But she failed,” I said.
“Yes,” Artemis said. “But she still tries to show her hatred. Not so much to Apollo; she tries to make him forget our mother. But she openly disgusts me. I’m the run-away. She wants nothing of me.”
Her gaze dropped to the deck floor. I felt sorry for her; even immortals had problems. But Artemis looked back up with a flickering fire in her eyes, hard. “And because Hera took such an interest in my brother, treating him as her own son, I had a lot of time when I was young. I became friends with my mother’s niece, Hecate, an only child. And we were for some time. But I asked my father Zeus if I could remain a child for eternity. Fourteen forever. And he complied. And Hecate grew older, past me.”
“But...” I began. “That’s not why Hecate doesn’t like you. You did promise the moon to Hecate.”
“How much did you see?”
“Everything. You promised you’d share the moon. That you and Hecate would rule it together.”
“Share…” Artemis said wistfully. Her eyes were thousands of years away. She blinked hard. “I know what I did, Raine.”
“You told her that you’d become an Olympian along with her. But you didn’t.” I felt a surge of anger. “Did you keep any of your promises?”
Artemis said nothing.
I stood up. “Maybe you’re no better than the rest of the Olympians.” I began to walk back to the stairs, and Artemis stood up soundlessly behind me. In a flash of wind, she was standing next to me.
“Wait.”
I glared at her. I should have been afraid of defying her, of being turned to dust. But she showed no anger; only sorrow, her eyes pools of sadness. “What?” I demanded.
“I...I did not forget my promise, Raine,” Artemis said. “I didn’t.”
“Really?” I said with flat sarcasm.
“Yes, I...” Artemis insisted. “I could not let Hecate have that kind of power. I just couldn’t.”
“You wanted it all for yourself.”
Her eyebrows knitted together. “Is that what you think of me?”
“I don’t know.”
“I did want her to have what she dreamed of,” Artemis said. “But she…changed. How did she seem to you?”
“She’s insane. Now I know why,” I said harshly and Artemis flinched.
“That is why I could not give her the moon,” Artemis said softly. “She became too ambitious, too crazed for power. And to own the moon…that is a lot of power.”
“You should have at least told her,” I snapped.
“I did,” Artemis admitted. “She nearly killed me then. And she vowed that she would someday, for what I’d done.”
I pursed my lips. Artemis did look pained; maybe she regretted what she had done.
“Though I cannot imagine why she’d take Heather,” Artemis said. “What could she gain from that?”
I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully. “Wow, you haven’t been in many wars, have you?”
Her eyebrows rose. “I have been in more battles then you’ve blinked. I am three-thousand years old.”
“I thought you were fourteen.”
She rolled her eyes. “If you’ve been in so many wars,” I said, “then you’d know the aspects of war.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hostage negotiation,” I explained. “Hecate has apparently been after you for a long time. She knows your strengths…and your weaknesses. So she’s holding Heather as a hostage. It makes sense now.”
Her eyes lit up. “You are probably right.” She looked out to the starry horizon. “Then I must go to her island.”
“What?!” I exclaimed. “Are you crazy?”
Artemis’ eyes flashed. “I have to.”
“No!” I hissed. “You’ll be killed!”
“So?” Artemis asked. “I have to save her, if there is a chance. And Hecate should be offered the chance to accomplish something, right?”
“No. She’s evil!” I hissed. “Look, I’ll go back. If you go back, it will look like I’m doing what she told me.”
“Excuse me?”
“Hecate told me to bring you to her island. It was that or she’d kill my friends. I said no…”
Artemis took a step back, eyes burning.
“I told her no,” I protested. “You can’t go. You’ll die.”
“I am going to have to,” Artemis said determinedly. “If there is any chance, I have to try.”
“I’m going too,” I said with equal determination. We were silent for a moment, eyes hard, waiting for the other to back down. But that never happened.
“Fine,” Artemis said finally. “But you have to understand this war to fight Hecate.”
I tilted my head.
“You cannot fight her with blinded strength or even a clever escape route. You must think about the war.”
“What do you mean?”
Artemis brushed her dark hair out of her face and for the first time, I noticed the similarity of Hecate and Artemis. Their blazing eyes, their cold appearance, their dark brown hair. Only Artemis appeared years younger. “Think of this war as World War II.”
“I’m listening.”
“Hades and his followers are the Germans. They are the Nazis. They are attempting to build an empire and to accomplish their hatred-fueled ambition. And the Olympians are the Allies. The British, the French, the Italian…”
“I’m part of the Allies?”
“No,” Artemis said. “You are America. You were not always a part of this war. But you found a reason to fight with the Allies. America was the Allies’ hope when the Nazis seemed to be so close to their ambition. You are the light. Do you understand?”
“I think so.”
Artemis’ face brightened. “Good. Except for your friend, the daughter of Iris. She’s Sweden, through and through.”
“She won’t take any side in the war,” I agreed. “But she’ll fight with us. I…think.”
Artemis smiled. She seemed happier again, but then she saw something behind me and she stiffened. Her eyes flared. I looked behind me, but nothing was there.
“What is he doing here?” Artemis murmured so low I wasn’t sure if I’d really heard it. But then a little shadow of smoke rose over the side of the ship.
Artemis hissed at the smoke. She bared her teeth, and the smoke shuddered. And then it grew. Her eyes widened.
“Raine, look out!” I was confused, but just then a ball of smoke was thrown at me. I dodged out of the way just in time to see a crater in the deck where I’d just been standing. I was sprawled on the floor at Artemis’ feet. Her face was fierce and hostile and her eyes had morphed into yellow cat eyes. A low growl rumbled in her throat. The smoke shuddered again and a little ball of smoke was tossed at me again. Artemis hit it away with her hand and leaped over me.
When she landed before me, her body had morphed into a feline form. She had sandy fur and was huge. The cougar snarled at the smoky shape, now somewhat humanoid, and it hissed with laughter. The Artemis-cougar’s tail lashed angrily and she yowled. The tan-furred cat pounced upon the smoke with unbelievable speed and grace and the smoke yelped.
Her hefty paw swiped at the smoke’s throat, batting it away. The smoke swung at the cat’s pelt, and Artemis staggered. The black-eared cougar spat and raised a paw high and clawed at the smoke shape. She bit its throat and the smoky shadow melted into nothing. The cat sat back, licking its lips in satisfaction, and it melted back into Artemis. She stood over where the smoke had been, her face hard and cold.
“You…you saved my life,” I murmured, and Artemis looked back at me. She still had cat eyes, but when she blinked, they were human again.
“Who was that?” I asked her.
“Thanatus,” Artemis said with disgust. “A minor death god. They are still after you, I should have known.”
I was frozen. “I should have been more careful,” Artemis muttered. “They followed my trail…it’s not safe anymore.”
“What?”
She looked back at me with eyes of fire. “Hades’ minion. He sent Thanatus here to kill you. He followed me here, knowing that you’d be here.”
“Hades still wants to recruit me?”
“He is far beyond that,” Artemis said solemnly. “Thanatus came here to kill you.”
I took that in. Artemis looked out to the stars.
“He will not return but Hades will know soon what had happened,” Artemis said swiftly. “You must go now. Wake the others. Tell them you have to return to Hecate’s island.”
“Artemis…”
Artemis was flickering with silver sparks. “You must go now. It is not safe for you here.”
“What about you?”
“I will go to the island as well,” Artemis said. “Go.” Her form waved and melted away into the silver moonlight. The light intensified, and then was gone. The moon dimmed as if someone had turned out the lights.