Mystic Island

☼☼14☼☼

Raine

The falcon was gone…

Seven days had passed since the 10th of June. Seven days had passed since Heather had visited me in my nightmare in Erebos. Seven days had passed since Heather had gone missing. Yet, only now were we certain of where she was. In that time, we had lost demigods and gained some. We gained Piper and Conor. And because of them, we’d gained Sam, the son of Apollo, Caroline, daughter of Demeter, and the red-headed boy, Jacob, son of Hephaestus. It surprised me how many major gods’ children there were here and it did not surprise me that they had felt abandoned by their parents. The gods did not usually care much for their children and maybe because of that, the major gods’ children had picked on the minor gods because of their parentage, because they felt superior. But I was not sure of Piper’s motive. Thetis was a minor god too.
And there were demigods we’d lost. To begin with, we had lost Heather. But hopefully we’d gain her again soon. And though I did not care for them, we’d lost Lea and her friend Caden as well. But most of all, the most surprising and fieriest blow was the loss of Andrea. She had turned so far away from us and Olympus in such a short time, less than a week, and, though I hated to say it, I understood why she had.
She felt as if Olympus did not need her. In a way, I supposed they didn’t, but after seeing what power she held, having her against Olympus was not the safest prospect. Andrea was going to lead an army of minor gods and Lea had mentioned something about…the Titans…
But the demigods we’d gained had left Sweden. Lea’s Sweden was breaking into smaller pieces and she was practically out of the way. Piper, Conor, Sam, Caroline, and Jacob had joined the Allies, America. And despite the danger that was so close, I was perfectly happy.
Conor was an excellent navigator, as others had said. Finding Hecate’s island must have been hard the first time and now he’d found it again. And Piper, although her mother was minor, was strong, strong enough to push a huge vessel like the Dapple miles without slowing. Though she did seem tired when we hit the shore and she returned to the deck, shaking water from her hair that had once been water as well.
I had never seen this shore before. We were in an…alley, I supposed, between two long slabs of rock that walled us in on both sides. The ocean behind us was pale blue with the dawning light. The ship floated into the stone alley with barely a sound and none of us dared to make any. No doubt Hecate had monsters swarming the entire island, searching in case any of us lingered or had returned. I did not see a single monster though when we pulled in the waters gradually; not even a rustle of leaves or eyes glowing in the bushes. Everything was silent except for the little trickle of water that was pushed aside by the Dapple.
When the stern was fully inside the alley, some of the demigods threw the anchor over the side and down the hull. It landed with a splash in the sea and the voyager heaved to a steady stop. Kayla was mostly healed, her wounds bandaged and she acted strong once more, even if she was still hurting a bit. Brooke tossed a spare sword that was found on the boat to the daughter of Hades and she eyed her carefully. I knew Brooke didn’t fully trust her now that she knew that she was the sister of our new enemy, Andrea. But Kayla didn’t seem to notice, or care, too much. Rose had Cascade ready, which I was surprised she hadn’t lost yet, and I gripped Lightning Strike and it grew to full length. Piper and some other demigods had bows and arrows and Sam and Caroline had their swords, blue eyes hard and flinty. Conor was armed with a sword as well, which Brooke thought was very un-Athena-child-like.
Piper, who’d seemed to take leadership of the former pirates, and I led the small parade of warriors off the ship and onto the island. Jacob had a thick bag under his arm and before we got too far, he said, “Wait.”
We all turned to see what he had to say. He emptied the bag and guns fell out. My eyes widened and I joked dryly, “You had guns and here we are with swords and bows?”
“They are flare guns,” Jacob explained. “We’ll use them in case we’re attacked. There are five in here.”
“But there are nine of us,” Caroline said.
“Well, maybe we should go in two or three groups,” Jacob said. “That way we are more inconspicuous and we can split the guns across the groups. We can give them to the ones who wouldn’t waste them.” He eyed Sam and Caroline purposefully.
“Hey!” the blondes protested.
“That’s a good idea,” Brooke said. “I think we four should be one group.” She gestured to Rose, Kayla, herself, and me. “Just because we are more familiar and comfortable with each other.”
“Okay,” Piper said. “I will travel with Conor and…Jacob?” She regarded the son of Hephaestus. “Maybe you could lead Sam and Caroline.”
“We don’t need leading,” Sam muttered. But the red-headed boy nodded. Conor gave the guns to Piper, Brooke, Jacob, Sam, and me. I was honored to have been given one because that meant the others trusted me. I straightened up proudly. Kayla snorted with amusement which I should have thought would hurt, considering she had an old wound from Andrea on her nose. But Kayla was fine; I shouldn’t have been worrying about her so much.
“Alright,” I said. “Let’s go.” The three of my group followed me into the somewhat unknown.

Though I was halfway positive that Hecate would have had a better security on the island that she knew would be invaded at some point, n monsters crossed our path while we searched for any sign of Heather. Though everyone else checked everything, I was only looking for a cave. But once we left the stony walls where our ship was anchored, there were no rocky parts. I remembered that in my dream, Heather had been tied up in a cave. I’d thought that the cave would be easy to find, because of the bright, colorful lights that had patterned the walls, but yet, we’d found nothing. Nothing. We’d seen nothing more than animals, like birds and the occasional pond of fish or mammal, trees, plants and more trees and plants.
That was what the entire island was made of! Plants, trees, and water! And of course, the mystic island was phantom…
* * * * *
Since the sun rises at about 6:30 in the morning, we’d arrived at maybe seven. And what wore me out at the thought of it was the fact that we had been searching for hours. How did I know? Oh, well, maybe, the sun was going down!
We had been shuffling through stupid, prickly plants for an entire day! We had crossed Piper and Conor’s path only once when the sun was highest, at noon, and they’d told us to meet them back at the rocky port when the sun was sinking below the trees. And when we’d seen Jacob’s group, we’d passed on the news. So fine. I’d agreed instantly to that proposal. Because by then, I thought we’d found Heather and would be bringing her back to the ship. Then we’d all escape without being discovered by Sierra, Hecate, or any of her minions. But because of that damn, plant-ridden, lousy pit of sand, we never, never found that cave!
And now the sun was sinking below the trees. We’d have to return to the port, in danger of being found without finding Heather. I desperately prayed to Artemis that we’d find her hunter on the way back, but we didn’t.
“It’s time to go back,” Brooke announced softly. She was sweating and visibly tired, as were Rose and Kayla. I was exhausted too but not willing to give up until I found my friend.
“I can’t,” I told her firmly.
“Raine,” Rose pleaded.
“No!” I said. “I can’t go back to the ship without finding Heather! I promised Artemis I’d find her!”
“And we will!” Kayla said.
“Perhaps Artemis has already found her,” Brooke suggested quietly.
“She would have told me,” I hissed, bad-tempered. “She would have told me right away.”
“Raine,” Rose repeated. She sighed, and then said, “Raine, Artemis is a goddess. She’s three-thousand years old and has probably seen millions of heroes. She has her own life to live and probably expects you to find out on her own.”
“She’s not like that!”
“Why do you assume she’ll put you aside from the rest of us?” Brooke questioned me.
I had a million ways to respond but said none. Her words echoed in my head. I will be your guardian, Raine. Anything you need and I will help. My gold eyes were fierier than the sun. I pursed my lips hard enough for them to turn white and my eyebrows were slanted downward at a sharp angle. I had a total stubborn look and I wouldn’t move. Kayla nudged me.
“Come on,” she said softly. “Please come back. Hecate won’t hurt Heather. She’ll be alright for another night.”
I was furious that tears were welling up in my eyes and I brushed them away angrily with my sleeve. My voice was choked with fear. “How do you know?”
“If she hasn’t harmed her yet, then I doubt she will tonight.”
That was good logic, I supposed, but there were little factors that might’ve given Hecate a reason to kill the hunter. We were back, for one. And so was Artemis. Out of fury of seeing her enemy, Hecate could want to do anything.
A shadow against the sun caught my attention. A delicate brown sparrow fluttered out of the sky to perch lightly on a thin branch, which swayed gently under the weight. It fixed me with its beady eyes, unusually yellow. It pointed its beak in the direction of the rocky cove, still regarding me out of the corner of its bright eyes. I sighed. “Alright,” I said. “I’ll go back.” I nodded to the sparrow which chirped at me impatiently.
Brooke sighed, relieved that she wouldn’t have to fight me to make me go back. “Good.”
“Let’s go back.” Rose noticeably kept her distance from me, but I tried not to get angry about it. Kayla, on the other hand, was right at my side like a loyal dog. Brooke was the one to lead us back and when I glanced back at the branch, the sparrow was gone. I watched the little shape of the small bird fly gracefully over our heads towards the setting sun.

When we returned to the stony alley, we were not alone. Piper and Conor had not returned yet, and neither had Jacob, Sam, or Caroline, but there was someone on the pebble shore, clearly waiting for us. She had dark hair, a pale face, and blue eyes. And she carried a sword made from magic flame and a glittering war helm. “Sierra,” I growled.
The daughter of the witch goddess smiled, not friendly-like, but in anticipation, eyes sparkling with hate. She tapped the tip of her sword against the toe of her boot. Two shinytongues, one Laliapas, another I didn’t know, climbed over the rise of the shore to stand by her feet. The one I didn’t know was pure black and had a gold tongue like Cheimon. But unlike Cheimon and Laliapas, two dazzling obsidian wings were spread on her back. The winged shinytongue lolled her gold tongue at us.
“Well, well,” Sierra mused, and the two dogs growled. “You’ve returned.”
I picked Lightning Strike from my pocket and grew it to full length. “You know where she is.”
“That doesn’t sound like a question,” Sierra sneered.
“It’s not.” My heart beat like a drum. “It’s the truth.”
Sierra laughed. “No, it’s not. This may come as a surprise to you, but I don’t know where the hunter is held, hero. Mother Hecate didn’t tell me.”
I didn’t know whether to call her a liar or smirk at her shame. It seemed Hecate didn’t trust Sierra enough to give anything away. Then again…that was a very well-planned, strategic move. Sierra was not exactly the most secretive and trustworthy person. Kayla drew her borrowed sword. Rose had Cascade at her side, not drawn, but s=her hand flickered to where it was. Brooke’s quiver was refilled with arrows.
Sierra had a smug face. “So what are you going to do, daughter of Zeus? Just stand there, or are you planning on doing something?”
“Don’t tempt me,” I muttered. Louder, I mocked, “Why should I do anything? Are you going to run to tattletale to your mother or are you planning on doing something productive?”
“How little you know,” Sierra snickered. She spat something to Laliapas and the shinytongue barked. A girl with long, ratty brown hair and brown eyes appeared from the shadows of the ship. A long sword was in her hands and she had rope burns on her arms. She scowled at us.
“I found your friend tied up in her own ship,” Sierra snorted. “As you can see, I had a little time on my hands, waiting for you, you know, and I did look around the deck. Good thing I found this one, huh? Is this how you treat allies?”
“No longer,” the other girl, Lea, said harshly. “They are not my friends. They are my enemies.”
“She will be a useful member in my mother’s force,” Sierra mused. “And if all goes well, a warrior in Hades’ army.”
“I lead myself,” Lea told Sierra. “And I decide whether I join this war or not. Me and my own warriors.” She motioned with her hand to the deck, and a cluster of armored and armed demigods walked in view. The son of Hermes, Caden, was leading them. “But if you give me vengeance against the traitors in my crew, then I will serve Hades.”
It was clear that Sweden was no more. Lea had lost the air of adventure to her and in its place came stony fury. She and the remaining demigods in her crew had turned to Germany. I grit my teeth and glared at the two girls facing us.
“Are your warriors ready to attack?” Sierra asked Lea. “My mother refuses to be patient for too much longer.”
“We will fight with you,” Lea promised. “It’s clear that they don’t care for an alliance. So we will fight,” she glared at us, “and we will destroy anyone necessary of death.”
“Good,” Sierra praised. “You’ll make a warrior of the Underworld yet.”
“Give me my revenge first,” Lea reminded her. “Then I will fight.”
Sierra grinned evilly at us. “You see? Do you see what happens when you don’t care for friends? They turn against you in a heartbeat.” She looked at Lea. “You can’t trust a hero. There never was one to trust.”
“And never will be,” Lea hissed at us. I was tired but raring for battle. I obviously felt readier than my friends because I could see wariness clouding their gaze.
“We can defeat them,” I told my friends low enough that our opponents could not hear me.
“Keep them talking,” Brooke advised. “We can wait for Piper and the others to get back…”
“No!” I hissed under my breath. “Brooke, we’re the Epic Three.” I regarded the daughter of Hades. “And Kayla. We can fight them on our own!”
“Are you insane?”
“I don’t know!” I admitted. “Rose, will you fight.”
The daughter of Poseidon nodded, eyes bright with readiness for battle.
“And me too!” Kayla said enthusiastically, but her voice was thick with tiredness. I began to have my doubts. Maybe Brooke was right. All of us were exhausted while our enemies were fresh. It would be suicidal to attack. But we weren’t given that option.
Sierra snorted at us. “Mother will be pleased to know that these annoying heroes are out of the way. Attack!” No one moved.
“Attack!” she repeated. Lea and her crew did not budge. She elbowed the daughter of Iris. “What’s the matter? Attack them!”
“I told you that I am the leader here,” Lea responded coldly. Her face was smooth and emotionless. “Sierra, my warriors are mine and not yours to command. They follow my orders only, and if I don’t want them to attack, then they will not attack. Do you understand me?”
Despite my anger towards her, I found myself admiring Lea’s leadership skills and hidden intelligence. She could see that this may have not been a battle she could win easily, and she didn’t seem to have her normal headfirst attitude.
“Traitor!” Sierra hissed.
“Do you understand me?” Lea repeated with a stony voice.
“Perhaps you’d like to rejoin your old allies, the demigods for Olympus?” She pointed her magic-fire sword at us. “As it seems you won’t do as I say.”
“Oh yes,” Lea said. “Because I’d love to rejoin the demigods who would have no remorse in killing me.” She snarled at us. “I don’t think so. But I have been in fights before, sorceress. I know when to strike. And now is not the time.”
Sierra hissed in fury.
Lea was stone-faced. “We will follow you to where Lady Hecate’s army is stationed. But we will not fight now.”
The demigods that were aboard the ship were now on the pebbles and sands. Caden narrowed his eyes at me.
Sierra was red-faced but she attempted to keep some of her dignity with her as Lea began to scale the hill, others following. Her blue eyes were blazing but she struggled to keep a steady voice. “Until we meet again, Raine. And then, you won’t get off without a battle. You won’t escape alive.”
The daughter of Hecate sprinted after her allies and then was gone.
* * * * *
Night had fallen and the stars were out as bright as the moon. Jacob kindled the fire he created with a stick while we told the others what had happened. Piper had seemed to take the responsibility of leadership with spirit, and she and Conor listened carefully. When Brooke had finished---after all, children of Athena had perfect memories and she replayed every word without flaws---Piper shook her head.
“I didn’t think Lea would even think to join Hades,” Thetis’ daughter said grimly. “That isn’t like her.”
“Yes,” Conor added. “She was never one to choose sides within disputes in the mythological world. Normally Lea does whatever she wants. She picks on both sides but picks none.”
“She’s angry,” Rose said bluntly. “She just wants to get rid of you. After that, she might go back to stealing from minor gods.”
“I…don’t think so,” Piper said. “I knew Lea. From what you told us, she will be persistent enough to join the Underworld force. It will be a sight to see her take order from Hades’ generals. Even better, they will be minor gods no doubt.”
“How ironic,” Caroline remarked.
“I want to see that,” Sam laughed.
I couldn’t take it anymore. Yes, it was important to discuss strategy, but whatever would happen, it would happen much later. I had to know about Heather. “Did any of you find anything?”
Piper looked at me sadly. “No, we didn’t see anything. The only demigods we found were your group, Raine. I’m sorry.”
“What about you?” I demanded, eyeing Sam.
“No, we didn’t see anyone either,” the son of Apollo replied. “Sorry.”
I huffed. “Did you see any caves maybe?”
“Raine,” Conor said. “If we saw any caves, don’t you think we’d be bright enough to look into them?”
I pursed my lips. I might have just given up and tried to sleep then…if I hadn’t noticed a faint flash of blue out of the corner of my eye. I turned it that direction, but instead of seeing blue, I saw purple. After a couple of seconds, I saw red. After watching it for thirty seconds, I saw the entire rainbow of colors. “What the…”
“Raine?” Brooke said. “Raine, were you listening to us?”
I hadn’t even realized they were talking. “Yeah, yeah. Sure, Brooke.” I stood up and walked across the rocky sand towards the faded lights that were changing colors. They were growing a bit in size as I grew closer.
“Raine,” Rose said. “Where are you going?”
“Where’s she going?” Sam asked.
“I don’t know,” Rose said.
“Raine!” Kayla called and stood up. She ran after me and soon caught up. “Raine, wait up.”
“Kayla, go back,” I sighed.
“Where are you going?”
“Gods, you’re nosy!” I said, exasperated. “I just thought I saw something.”
“Like?”
“Rainbows on the rocks,” I said slowly, not taking my eyes off of them.
Kayla followed my gaze but she frowned. “I don’t see anything…” she finally said at last. “Where?”
“You’re usually the one to see lights,” I remarked quietly. “You can’t see anything?”
Kayla closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She seemed deep in thought. “I…I see them now. A silver light, barely visible. It’s…it’s fading.” She opened her clouded eyes. “But I don’t see any rainbows.”
I looked to the rocks. “I have to see what it is. And since you refuse to leave…”
“That’s right.”
“…then I suppose you will come with me,” I finished. I pointed to a crevice in the side of the rock where I saw the lights. “We’ll have to climb up…”
“Nah,” Kayla snorted. “We don’t have to climb.” She grabbed my wrist and we melted into shadow. In seconds, we were standing on a gray ledge high above the beach where we were just standing. Brooke and the other demigods looked like bugs from our distance. Little, bugs attracted to the light; or at least, that’s what I compared my friends by the fire, only a little flicker of flame, to.
“You’re right,” I remarked finally. “Shadowing is a lot easier than climbing.”
Kayla snorted amusedly. “Maybe for you it is. Me? I am exhausted.” She emphasized every syllable of exhausted. She was silent for a moment, and I looked over to her and I clouded with concern. Her face was troubled, clearly stark with it on her face in the shadows the darkness made.
“Are you okay?”
She looked at me with curiosity. “I wonder how I do that.”
“Do…what, be exhausted?”
“No!” she said, cracking a smile. It quickly faded. “Do…what do you call it? Shadowing? I don’t know how I do that.”
“Kayla…”
“And the lights,” she continued, warming up. “The lights that I see. The gold, the yellow, the gold-yellow, the gray, the black, the red? And that fighting against Andrea. I’ve never been trained, hardly ever have I used a sword, and still, I was winning for a while! How, did I do that, Raine, how?” When she said that last question, her voice had quickened and went higher in pitch. She took a couple short breaths, growing softer the more she breathed. “I’m going crazy, aren’t I?”
“Kayla,” I said. “Kayla, I can’t explain to you exactly how you have done these things. Those are your powers, not ours, so…”
“Powers!” she scoffed. “Powers! I don’t have powers. I can’t create lightning whenever I need it like you. I can’t practice magic and move it like it was controlled by a remote. I can’t create water out of thin air and make it do what I tell it too.” She was sweating. “I don’t have powers!”
“What about the lights, the shadowing, and the fighting?”
“Lights! I’d sooner think I was crazy!”
“And the shadowing?”
Kayla bit her lip, eyeing me with brown pools of…fear. Kayla was afraid. She did not know what was happening to her, and Brooke was right. Kayla deserved to know who her father was. Especially if everyone else already knew. Well, not everyone else…
“Kayla,” I sighed. “I…I’m not sure how to say this…” She fixed me with a silent gaze, and for a moment, I lost my tongue. I took a deep breath and spoke again. “Kayla, your powers I can’t exactly explain, like I said before.”
“Then why do you look like something’s wrong?” Kayla inquired.
“Kayla, this is about your father.”
She was quiet for a few seconds, staring at me, and I figured out that she was waiting for me to get on. I could hardly see her breathing. “My…my father?” she unintentionally squeaked.
“I should have told you as soon as I knew,” I apologized. “But…I just didn’t think it was the right time. And then Andrea---” I shook my head. “I---I don’t know if I can…”
“Who is it, Raine?” Kayla snapped. “Just spit it out.”
My heart was hammering against my chest. “Kayla, your father is Hades.”
Her brown face paled. Her mouth hung open in a seemingly-frozen ‘o’ shape and her eyes were dull with shock. She blinked a few times rapidly. “The enemy?” she whispered.
“Yes,” I murmured back. “Look, I’m sorry…”
“Sorry?” she hissed. She flew into rage. “You say you’re sorry? Why didn’t you just tell me?! What, you didn’t think I could handle the truth?”
“No, I…”
“You don’t trust me!”
“I do, I do!” I pleaded.
“Then why didn’t you tell me the truth!” Kayla demanded.
“I wanted to protect you! I didn’t want you to get hurt!” I nearly yelled.
“Didn’t want me to get hurt?” Kayla repeated, angry tears in her eyes now. “You just don’t trust me! You could have told me that my father was Hades! I told Andrea on that ship! I would die for any of you, and that doesn’t change just because my dad is our enemy! I’m only hurt because you didn’t tell me who my own dad was when you knew!”
“I’m sorry, Kayla! Brooke warned me that I should’ve let you know, but you seemed to be my only ally at that point…”
“Brooke knew too?” she shrieked. “Did you tell anyone else? Does everyone except for me know that I’m a daughter of Hades?” Her eyes sprung into dark flames, literally, brown fire in her eyes, and she shut them hard.
“I’d expect this from anyone else, but not from you, Raine,” Kayla said harshly and dangerously softly. “But I guess I was wrong, wasn’t I?” She turned from me then and ran.
I watched her run for a few moments, but I saw that she was running towards the rainbow glow. “Kayla!” I called and sprinted after her. I could see faint footsteps in the thin layer of sand over rock. Soon I came across a cluster of bushes that held clumps of berries. The glow that had attracted my sight was exceptionally bright, just beyond the berry bushes. Kayla was crouched at these bushes---by the color of the berries and the sharp leaves, I assumed they were holly---and was clearly hiding from something.
“Get down!” she hissed under her breath. Her face was damp with tears and her eyes were uncharacteristic stone, but her voice seemed stable now.
I sank down to squat behind the holly bushes and I gazed at her kindly. “Look, Kayla…”
“Yes, Raine? Anything else you were hiding from me?”
“Kayla, please don’t be mad,” I implored. “Believe me; I wanted you to know…”
“I’ve heard what you said,” Kayla interrupted me flatly. “I’m not comfortable with being the daughter of the Lord of the Dead, our enemy, and I’m not thrilled about being Andrea’s sister either.”
“Half-sister,” I corrected.
“Related, nonetheless,” she said. She fixed me with steady eyes. “I just want you to know that I am fully loyal to Olympus and I won’t ever join the dark side.”
“The dark side,” I echoed, grinning a little. “Well put.”
“Raine…”
“I know that you are good,” I said firmly. “I didn’t ever distrust you.”
The daughter of Hades sighed heavily. “I know. I’m glad to hear it.”
“This seems very dramatic to be hiding to be talking about trust,” I observed.
“That’s not it,” Kayla whispered. She pointed to the light. “I finally see it. Now, shush. Listen to the voices.”
“Huh?” But I silenced myself, and strained my ears. I heard a faint buzzing of voices, and I forced myself to be perfectly still so I could hear better. The voices faded in like a radio being tuned.
“…see you’re still alive,” Sierra’s voice said. “Mother Hecate was beginning to worry you wouldn’t make it through another night.”
I nearly jumped in glee and my heart skipped a beat when I hard the weak, shaky voice of the responder. “I’m stronger than you think, witch. I’m not going to die.” Heather! Kayla exchanged a happy glance with me and I felt a tear of joy form in my right eye.
Sierra’s silver-bell laugh rang through the cave. I could only imagine her face when Heather said that. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that, huntress. My mother will only keep you alive as long as your life is necessary. When you are no longer needed, you will be killed quickly.”
My heart clenched. I had to get a closer look; I had to see my lost friend. “Wait here,” I ordered Kayla and the child of the Underworld nodded once.
I creeped along the bushes until I was momentarily out in the open. I dashed swiftly to the cave wall and slinked along the weathered stone, not letting my shadow fall. The rainbow lights were red on my face, and then orange, then yellow. I looked around the corner as the lights changed to green.
I first witnessed where the source of the lights had come from. The fire that was in a pool under Heather’s feet was magic; shifting colors like its patron, Hecate’s, eyes. One dog, the winged shinytongue from the pebble shore hours earlier, was keeping watch on the weary hunter of Artemis with unmoving eyes. I would have to keep downwind of the dog so she wouldn’t scent me. I gasped without sound when I saw Heather herself.
The non-aging daughter of Demeter’s brown face was unhealthily pale and her eyes were wounded but angry. Her gray camisole and her long gray skirt were tattered. There was a cut on her arm, probably from the shinytongue judging by the teeth-marks, but luckily Heather was more immune to injuries like a dog bite. Even if the dog was mythical.
She was tied to the long pole by magic wires like in my dream, drained of power more now, and the pole was stably in the same position. Sierra stared at the worn hunter with dark satisfaction.
“Kill me then, Sierra,” Heather said bravely. “If you can.” Sierra pulled her lips over her teeth angrily. “You can try to battle me, but don’t expect to win,” she taunted the witch.
“Don’t tempt me,” Sierra Sweeder warned. “I can destroy you in one blow, the way you are now. But don’t worry.” Her blue eyes darkened. “Your end is soon.”
Heather narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“How little you know, huntress,” Sierra teased with a hiss. “Your friends are on this island trying to hopelessly rescue you. They won’t last long.”
“Raine? Brooke, Rose?” Heather whimpered. “Belle and Brayden? They’re all here.”
“Only the Epic Three,” Sierra snarled, “and their traitor accomplices.”
Heather’s eyebrow flickered down, forming the look of confusion. “Who…”
“But even that is not the most irritating news,” Sierra added. “As we speak, your annoying mistress is looking for you herself. In fact, she may even be already on this island.”
“What?” Heather shrilled. “That’s impossible. Lady Artemis is not stupid. She wouldn’t come here.”
“She would for you.”
Heather’s dark eyes deepened with sorrow. “No…” she murmured. Her glare flashed. “Then she will destroy all of you on this piece of sand! And then I will be freed.”
Sierra laughed. “So you wish. Don’t forget it is me who is keeping you alive. There is no hunger here. There is no thirst. There is only pain and suffering. And you will be the first to know it.”
She turned to leave then, but she stopped. She remained perfectly still and her dog barked. Then her form shimmered and vanished.
But that was only until there was a shimmering light beside me. And then there was Sierra, standing in the moss and mud, blue eyes fierier than real fire. “Strike!” she hissed.
I flinched away from her, completely not prepared for her to show up next to me. “Huh,” the witch sniffed, coiling her body like a cat ready to strike, eyes glittering. “So Gonzalez was right. She expected you to come before we attacked, but I didn’t think you’d do it alone.” She laughed lowly. “But she also said you were one of the dumber ones.”
I snarled, “Excuse me?”
“Yes,” Sierra taunted. “She said your brain capacity did not compare to Brooke’s or Andrea’s. That you would be the only one stubborn enough to come here alone.”
“I didn’t come here because I was stubborn!” I hissed. “I came here to rescue my friend.”
“On your own?”
“No,” someone said beside me and Kayla flickered out of the night. “I wouldn’t let her go alone.”
“Ah, yes, the demigod that no one wants, not even their godly parent,” Sierra recognized. “Your parent still hasn’t revealed himself?”
“Yes, in fact, he has,” Kayla snapped.
“Oh yes? Then who is it?”
Kayla froze and her eyes gleamed dangerously. “That’s none of your business.”
“I’m sure,” Sweeder scoffed. “Is that it? Only two heroes? What, did only the smart demigods stay behind?”
“Get out of our way, Sierra,” I warned. “Hecate won’t get what she wants. We’re freeing Heather and then you’ll never see us again.”
“Won’t you?” she cooed. “We still have school together. After all, I am enrolled in Towson High next year.” I snorted.
“And?” I asked. “Artemis will kill you, along with Hecate. You won’t ever leave this island again.”
“Artemis will kill me? That’ll be the day.” At my flat expression, she continued, “Come on, Raine. Be realistic. The longest day of the year is in four…no, three days now. That is when Artemis and all of the other Olympians must be in Greece. You and your rogue friends can’t have the strength to fight anytime soon.”
“We can fight whenever we need to,” I said stonily.
“Brave words,” Sierra snarled. “But Hecate had an army with hundreds of warriors…”
“Monsters,” I spat.
“An army nonetheless,” Sierra hissed, shrugging. “And we are fifty times as big as you. Not to mention my mother is an immortal goddess. That leaves you outnumbered at least another hundred thousand.”
“Hundred thousand?” I echoed angrily and my hand in my jacket gripped my sword, ready to squeeze the hilt. Right, sure.” We’re not outnumbered, I thought suddenly, not if Artemis fights. But then I felt doubt. What if she wouldn’t? I couldn’t expect Artemis to do anything I wanted. She wasn’t a demigod. She wouldn’t need to fight, not like us mortals.
“Having doubts that you’ll lose?” the witch sneered.
“No!”
“Well, you should,” Sierra murmured amusedly. “For you don’t have too much time left.”
“What?” Kayla tilted her head.
Sierra’s irises spread out and soon her whole eyes were glowing sky blue. Her hair blew back as if a huge wing had gone through. She raises her hands and opened her mouth and her voice was monotone. I could completely understand what she said even though it was in Greek.
“To me, creatures of the dead,” Sierra hissed like a knife scraping stone. A low hum began, and I felt a cold claw crawl up my spine. She created a ball of light between her hands made of magic and it morphed into a long, three-foot sword. The ground let out a low spray of mist that thickened into fog and took control of the air.
In the mist, shadows began to appear and dot the fog with darkness. The humming became louder until I had to cover my ears to block it out. It was creepy and unnatural.
Kayla’s eyes darkened. “Sierra…Sierra, what are you doing?” I think I can ask her the same thing!
“Don’t you remember?” The witch’s eyes hadn’t gone back to normal so they were still flooded with a glowing blue. She met my own eyes. “My mother mentioned that she was a minor death goddess. And, as I am her kid, I have the power over the dead as well. And now, there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
The fog was pushed back, revealing the, oh, twenty, a guess, undead warriors. Thank the gods I wasn’t afraid of dead because to the more fearful, this was their worst nightmare. Only…I’d fought against skeletons before. How hard were zombies? Zombies in American uniform. I winced. That had to be a law somewhere that said someone wasn’t allowed to kill undead Americans if that person is an American citizen. I hoped there wasn’t. One because I had to kill them. Two because if there was…it wouldn’t make me think too many good things about the stability of our government.
The zombies each had machine guns…ooh, fun. I wielded Lightning Strike though I knew a sword couldn’t match up against twenty odd guns. I dared myself to look in the face of one of the undead American. I stared into his cold green eyes to see if I could see any emotion: no, I didn’t, in fact, I saw nothing at all. It was as if the zombie was recently dead; lifeless but intact.
Sierra widened her lips and exposed her snowy white teeth. “Well, Raine? Are you ready to admit defeat while you still have your life?”
I turned to Kayla. “No, I won’t admit defeat. Kayla, will you admit defeat.”
Despite the danger we faced, the daughter of the death god couldn’t help smiling. “No, I don’t think I will either, Raine. In fact, there won’t be anyone admitting defeat today.”
“Oh, there will be at least one,” I teased. But then I met Sierra’s hard face smoothly. I then focused on the undead people behind her. “Or twenty-one.”
Sierra frowned. Her eyes were still like radioactive blue pools. In a clipped tone, trying to hide her fury in her voice, she snarled, “Stupid. That’s what you two are. Stupid idiots. Stupid idiots who don’t know when to stop when their still ahead.”
“Hear, hear,” Kayla muttered.
Sierra bared her teeth. “Fine. If you won’t divulge in defeat, then my soldiers will. Attack!” she commanded the zombies, and the undead charged forward.
I was ready to strike down as many as possible, quickly working out in my head how to avoid being overwhelmed. Okay, I’ll slice up the first one or two that come first. If the zombies aren’t frightened back by then, I’ll summon lightning to finish off as many as I can before…
In the tension of battle, I forgot about the other demigod at my side. In a matter of seconds after Sierra ordered the soldiers to attack, Kayla was standing in front of me and when she flashed past me with startlingly quick speed, I saw her dark eyes gleam.
She now stood before me with a---was this just my tired brain running amuck---purplish shimmer around her form. She planted her feet in the cold earth.
Sierra laughed. “What is this? The pedigree-less demigod thinks she can fight for herself. How precious.”
Kayla scowled at her. “I am not pedigree-less. I know who I am.”
“And I’m supposed to mind…why exactly?” The undead soldiers stopped in their path to let their master speak. I didn’t put my sword down an inch.
“I can fight for myself,” Kayla snarled.
Sierra narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think so.” Her all-blue eyes spread out again. The zombie warriors launched forward and struck at Kayla…or so I thought. They began to twist around her, trying to claw at me with their gray-skinned fingers. One American-uniformed one aimed a rifle at me.
“No!” Kayla commanded. The zombies dropped their hands and took a step back. Their eyes bore into her.
My heart clenched. I wanted to stand beside her to protect her from the monsters, but I knew if I stepped forward, we would both die. The zombies looked to each other, confused, and one opened its mouth to question her, but the undead warriors had no voice.
“Stand back,” Kayla warned the demons. “Why attack us? I am your ruler, not her. I am the child of the Underworld, not her.”
I had originally believed that the zombies could not speak, but I was obviously wrong because one undead, American soldier took one step forward, staring at Kayla with sightless, long-dead blue eyes. He kneeled down on one knee, head dropped in respect. “Master,” he said in a dull and dry voice. I thought with dark humor, ‘It’s a wonder his head doesn’t fall off when he does that.’ The nineteen other soldiers did the same, dropping to one knee as well.
Kayla looked somewhat pleased, and she flashed her eyes proudly at Sierra. “You see? Even your own army seems to follow me better than you.”
Sierra scowled and her glowing blue eyes faded back to normal, seemingly darker irises. “How can that be possible?”
“It can.”
“Traitors,” Sierra hissed at the undead.
The twenty Army or Marines turned on her. Another American soldier, the one with the rifle in his hands, rasped, “We do not follow you, daughter of Hecate. We serve Lady Kayla now.”
“I am the child of the death goddess!” Sierra growled. “You listen to me!”
“Her father rules yours,” another zombie croaked.
“What?” Sierra shrilled, taken aback.
“Hail the child of the Lord of Death,” the first zombie said. “She has been found at last!”
“Perhaps now we may be freed.” The others nodded approvingly of the rifle-soldier’s words.
I don’t know whose eyes were wider, Kayla’s or Sierra’s. It somewhat surprised me that Andrea hadn’t run to Hecate for power, but it seemed that Sierra didn’t know anything of the two demigods’ discovery. In fact, I was almost certain that Sierra still believed that Andrea was with the others at the rocky cove.
“Well,” Sierra said without breath. Her face was white as a sheet. “Perhaps you will free the dead, daughter of Hades.” She spat the Underworld god’s name. “Or maybe Lord Hades will kill you before you even have a chance.”
Kayla stiffened. It occurred to me that now Kayla was in much danger as I was. I was being hunted down by whomever---or whatever---Hades sent to kill me, and since his own daughter had refused to join Andrea, he would be just as justified in taking her life. And what would stop him from doing it now? It wouldn’t take much to have a minion whose loyalties were not as easily swayed appear, especially now…when we were possibly facing death in the eye.
Sierra held out two hands like she wanted to push us, but instead a spiral of purplish light opened in each of her palms. Soon a shimmering wave washed over the surface of the thin layer of grass over rock, and the soldiers began to be engulfed with the violet light. And then, they began to disintegrate.
The warriors melted into dust, which scattered to the faint breeze that hinted in the air. Sierra put her hands down and she raised her chin with satisfaction. It was a moment before she spoke. And when she did, it was apparent that she was stifling a gasp for air. I knew that using their powers too much drained a demigod’s energy; I had just never thought about using magic tiring Sierra.
Her tired glare was just as fierce as if she were fresh. “Do you still want to fight?”
I tapped the tip of my sword against my shoe toe, saying nothing but with a brave face.
“Stupid,” Sweeder hissed. She whistled, and I heard the sound of paws scuffling against stone, claws scraping. The shinytongue with black wings loped out of the cave and bounded to her master’s daughter’s side. A low growl erupted in her throat and she showed her silvery, sharp teeth.
Sierra bared her teeth as well, and two bat wings unfolded from her back.
“Scary,” I muttered, my voice oozing with sarcasm.
Sierra, I noticed, had a pair of fangs like a vampire. “I am too much like my sisters. Wouldn’t you say?”
“Am I supposed to respond to that?”
Sierra hissed, and pointed at Kayla. “Well, Kayla? This fight is even now. Will you summon the zombies again to fight?”
Kayla glared indignantly, but she murmured, “I’m not sure how.”
Sierra laughed smugly.
“Shut up,” Kayla muttered under her breath.
“Stupid,” Sierra repeated, this time referring to Kayla. “This fight is even.” She inclined her head to the tall plants behind her. “Or so it was.”
Sierra turned to her dog. “Nixta. Call the others.”
The shinytongue called Nixta, which I understood to mean ‘night’, barked and the plants rustled. I expected empousae to crawl out of the shadows, but instead, a large pack of hellhound/gold-and-silver-dog mutts stalked into the purple-tinted rocky floor, growling in rough unison. Their pelts ranged in color from pale gray even to the purest black, the blackest being Nixta. A little thought in the back of my mind told me that the darker the hellhound was, the more dominant it was. That seemed to apply to variants of hellhounds as well, for Nixta was standing tall at the head of the pack of at least seventy shinytongues.
When Nixta barked once, the waves of dogs launched themselves forward, and soon, the earth was invisible and swarming with blackish-gray bodies. As the first monster leaped at my throat, I sliced it with my sword. The dog yelped, and then burst into gold sand. But as soon as one was gone, the next was there, biting and clawing. I smacked it away with my blade, and this one melted into silver dust.
Soon, more and more would attack at once. Two would strike at once. And then three…and then four, and then five. I had to make wider arches when I swung my sword. I had to work faster and quicker. Why didn’t I use my powers? Because if I struck the dogs, I’d strike myself too, and possibly Kayla.
One light gray dog nearly closed its teeth around my neck while I hacked at the one at my feet, and I lurched backward with a second to spare. The light gray one was dead in about the same time.
Kayla was doing about as well as I was, which is why she gasped, “We have to run!”
I didn’t have any moments to answer her, thanks to the constant waves of monster after monster, but when the ground was layered with metallic ashes, and the pack was diminished to a few, nervous ones, I turned. “Why? We’re winning.”
Kayla had scared eyes. “No. Look.” She pointed to the tall plants, and I gazed with astonishment at the gloomy leaves. No monster was easy to make out. Only the faint sparkle of eyes that I could see after a few moments heralded a second pack of canines.
I was breathless, and not to mention, dead-tired. As I thought about that, I swayed on my feet and caught my balance before I fell. I moaned, “Damn it.”
But that wasn’t all. The ashes that laid on the ground began to swirl off in a twister and before my eyes, the seventy dogs that we’d just worked so hard to destroy were standing a few feet away from us, leaning back on their paws, ready to pounce. I cursed under my breath. “Damn.”
Sierra, who had lazily stood behind the army of dogs the entire time, sneered, “Oh, didn’t I say? Gold-and-silver dogs can’t die. The hellhound part in them dispels them for a couple minutes, but that’s all.”
I was fuming with anger. “Coward,” I spat at her.
Sierra simply laughed. The other pack was edging out of the shadows now, snarling and baring their teeth. Kayla shrank back instinctively, and it took all of my will to stand my ground. But when one barked, I stepped backward. My heart hammered against my chest.
“Scared?” Sierra hissed with amusement.
“No,” I murmured with my reactionary denial.
Sierra snapped her fingers, and yet another wave of dogs padded to stand beside the many, many shinytongues. “Now?”
“N…”
“Really, Raine. How many more packs do I need to summon for you to give up? Are you truly that stubborn to see when you’ve lost?”
I glanced at Kayla, who trembled. “Yeah, I think we have to run too.” And so I did. I ran like hell for a few minutes until I stopped in my tracks. “Wait!” and so Kayla did.
“What?!”
“Heather,” I whispered.
“Not now!” Kayla hissed, and edged towards the direction we’d been running in. The sound of paws thudding became louder.
“But…”
“Us dead won’t help her!” She grabbed my hand, but I planted my feet firmly. But a silver light caught my eye. A ghostly deer stared at me with sad yellow eyes, and a voice whispered in the wind. Go…
I nodded to Kayla and we both ran back to the side of the cliff where we’d begun. And then…we were gone. The shadow dashed over the edge and zipped back to the fire where the other demigods waited anxiously. Behind us, the silver light intensified, and the howls and barks ceased. Everything was perfectly silent.