Mystic Island

☼☼20☼☼
Raine

Artemis swept her tail around her renewed legs, her ears forward and alert. It was as if she had never engaged in war, let alone died. I felt such happiness, seeing the young moon goddess alive, that I ran past the other three demigods to her. Rose did not even protest. She stared dumbfounded at the beautiful wolf. I wrapped my arms around the furry neck. “You are alive! Hecate’s words were true!”
Then she had told you of the ancient decree of the Fates. They promised the rightful owner to a being that has been fought over for long would even turn death back. And that the killer of the true one would die and never return. Hecate is dead. She is truly dead.
“And you’re not!” I cried. I saw a flash of silver out of the corner of my eye---Heather stood at my side, gazing upon her mistress joyfully.
“Artemis, you are truly immortal,” Heather said. “And everyone that deserves to die is dead. Hecate, Sierra…”
I nodded, feeling a little spark reach my heart. Sierra did deserve to die---but not as most intended. She deserved to die because she’d be free of the cruelness the world had treated her with. Death was her peace at last.
Artemis looked to the sea, ears flat. Her form flashed, and there was the real form of Artemis, standing fully healed. “It is only midnight. Will, perhaps, my brother Apollo fly so late at night?”
“It’s really morning,” I said, still smiling with relief.
“Yes, but there is no sun,” she mused. “I do wonder if Apollo can travel past the boundaries of our safe land now.”
“It isn’t safe anymore?”
“I learned much in the short time I spent in the Underworld,” Artemis told me with her ringing voice. “I hid from the aides of my uncle Hades. He will not allow there to be travel by night. There will be Minors thick in the skies.”
“Why do you need Apollo?” I asked her.
“For passage.” She looked at me softly. “You did not intend to remain on the mystic island forever, did you Raine?”
“No,” I said, a smile spreading. “Maybe he can reach Chiron. He can send help.”
Artemis nodded, and then tilted her head. She was so young to have such ancient eyes. “I do not think you can stand another waking moment, Raine.”
“What are you talking about, Artemis?” I asked, stifling a yawn. But my jaws stretched a little, betraying my exhaustion.
The young Olympian smiled softly. “Sleep, Raine, and your friends as well. I will call for my brother. And I will tell you what has happened when I do reach him.” I nodded, dipping my head respectfully, and the whisper of wind blew, taking the goddess, a silver blur, with it.
I felt something strange stir within me, something I had not felt since I was at peace before. When I’d looked up at the moon and felt my serenity. Watching Artemis, where she’d been before, I understood what I had been feeling before. My missing piece. How I’d felt whole whenever I looked to the moon. It was my companion. I needed one thing to fill me. I needed to join Artemis, to become a huntress…

My dreams were full of sunlight and happiness. I walked through a summer-green field, filled with golden rays. I grinned gently throughout the walk, solely moving my equally gold eyes around to find what I could see. The entire dream was slow-paced and beautiful, the first real peace I’d felt in…well, years truly. But it could not last.
The sunlight faded from one single spot on my sunny field. The discolored, black-and-white circle shimmered, and with growing curiosity, I swiftly moved to it. When I reached the circle, a girl with dark hair and a caramel-colored face took the emptiness of the tuxedo-circled place in my dream land.
Her green eyes widened with mine, and when I held out a hand, she held one out as well. The young girl laughed when she saw me mystified. She spoke as well, in a childish voice, “What is it, Raina?”
Raina? No one had ever called me anything other than Raine before, though Raina was a variation of Raine.
The voice, the laugh, the green eyes. The billowing dark hair. The familiar girl waved goodbye and the vision of the meadow cut in half.
This was the first time I dreamed of the green-eyed girl. If only I’d known who I was truly meeting. But fate would take me by its claws and I would soon find this emerald-iris creature.

I opened my eyes gently. There was nothing that woke me but the normal span my body had adjusted to. Though it had probably been, oh, four or five hours, give or take, I’d become accustomed to less. The sky was a softer color---not blue yet, or even pink, but a steely gray, the beginning of dawn and the end of night. Sleeping bodies were spread around me. Every other demigod was asleep…but it probably wouldn’t have been long before another woke. I noticed Rose was far from me, as far as possible without being too separated from the group. I snorted. I didn’t care what she did; she was no friend of mine anymore.
There was the soft murmur of voices through the trees. I stood up , brushed the sand off my clothes, and began to stiffly walk to the forest. I feared the wood no longer---the land was safe after Hecate’s death. The race of the empousa was wiped out, unless there were few other places, and the shinytongues were at peace. There would be nothing that would stop me…nothing but a questioning demigod. I made sure I was careful as I stepped over and around beings that did not rouse.
Not far through the woods, I saw a stony brook that trickled quite quietly through past into perhaps the ocean. A flat boulder lay somewhat crookedly by the bank of the stream, and upon that stone sat a young girl with yellow eyes. She seemed much brighter, further shimmering with moonlight, silver in the light of dawn. Artemis looked up at someone who circled her frustrated.
I had only seen Apollo in person twice. I had witnessed him also in my dream, protecting his sister, only a young animal goddess then, from Hecate the Witch. Now he was older, and he was gazing at his sister worriedly and frankly, with anger.
His orange eyes burned. “Tell me now, Artemis, why you dared to step foot on this island?”
Artemis sounded exasperated. “I have told you why! Apollo, come on. There are demigods that need attending to…”
“Sister, you know you aren’t meant to disobey orders given so plainly by our father. Though I know you do anyway.”
“Brother, lighten up, will you?” Artemis suggested.
“I had learned of your death, little moon,” Apollo chided. “And I don’t think I can be any lighter! I am the sun god, don’t forget.” He raised his head proudly and cheekily.
“As if you let me forget!” Artemis beamed. “And you know I am not little!”
“Fourteen eternally! That is an insult almost!”
“It is an insult that you take it as such!”
Apollo circled around his sister protectively. “I will not lose you, Artemis. We have already lost our mother…”
What? Leto died? The way Artemis put it, I’d thought… It had to have been Hera.
Artemis confirmed my belief. “We were ordered not to speak of it. The three will not appreciate it.”
“I do not fear the three.”
“Neither do I,” Artemis agreed. Her pale eyes softened at her kin’s troubled face. “I am sorry I put you through that, Apollo. I did not mean to leave you alone.”
Apollo managed a smile. “And didn’t I warn you millennia ago to keep your distance from Hecate?”
“If you remembered everything like you do that, you’d be the brightest immortal!” Artemis taunted. “Only stupid things do you recall.”
“Your death is important. Any other god could have taken Hecate, but you…”
“You have not changed, Apollo,” Artemis said softly.
“That’s an understatement!”
She turned her head in my direction. “Hello, Raine. You’ve woken up.”
I nodded, and approached the archer twins. Apollo bared his teeth at me; right, I was the one who had brought Artemis to her death. Though the lively goddess still lived, watching me. She felt her brother’s anger. “Apollo, you should allow the boy to enter the island, now that you are certain of a safe passage. The others need to return to America.” Apollo glared at me, not showing any of his normal kindness. The young sun god swiftly melted to the sunlight, disappearing in the dawn.
Artemis looked up at me. “You looked troubled, like something is on your mind. What is the matter?”
“It’s nothing,” I promised, not feeling well enough to speak of what I wanted (to become a huntress) yet. I nodded to where Apollo had vanished. “So you reached your brother.”
“He was not happy one bit to learn of my death,” Artemis admitted, “which you certainly could figure, seeing his mood. But he is grateful for the moon’s resurrection of me.”
“Has he summoned help?” I asked, thinking of the boy Artemis had mentioned.
“Yes,” she said to my satisfaction. “One demigod left your camp to retrieve you. Do not ask me how; to tell you the truth, I do not exactly know. Apollo wanted me to see for myself.” She smiled. “And I suppose you will as well.”
“What did you learn of Hades?” I asked. “Had Apollo even told you anything?”
Artemis nodded solemnly. “Hades has taken control of many minor gods, more than we realized. Creatures that have long been diminished by our force millennia ago had risen from hiding. The Wonderables, creatures of what you call Africa, have returned and are wreaking havoc in that dreadful place. Stealing water, spreading disease you call malaria in the forms of mosquitoes, their ancient assets. And many others…I believe even Titans are waking. But I cannot imagine the beings that had once battled Hades serving him, frankly.”
“That’s awful,” I said.
“Yes, it is,” Artemis agreed grimly. “Thankfully the risen creatures and gods of old have not chosen sides as quickly as the Minors.”
“I have heard that said before,” I told her. “What are they exactly?”
“The Minors? Well they are the traitorous minor gods, of course! They have bound themselves in their own rebellious society. Warriors of Revolution. Right. Apollo calls them idiots, that’s what they are.”
I nodded. I must have still seemed antsy, for Artemis tilted her head. “Spare yourself anymore impatience, Raine. Tell me what is wrong.”
“You can help me,” I admitted. “I have felt out of place for a long time, for as long as I can remember. I would stare at the moon in the sky, and only then would I feel whole. Oh, Artemis…”
“I do not understand,” the young immortal said gently.
“I must become one of your hunters. One of your immortal warriors. I believe it will make me whole again.”
Artemis stared at me wordlessly. Her face was ashen and her eyes were wide with disbelief. “Raine…”
“Yes?”
“Oh, I would like to grant you immortality as a huntress,” she told me earnestly. But something hid in her gaze. “But I cannot.”
My heart fell and I was sure my face did as well. She rephrased, “No, no, Raine. Do not look so crestfallen. I do want to join me and become a huntress….”
“Really?” My voice was crushingly flat.
“Yes, yes, I would. But…Father would be angry.”
“He doesn’t think I’d serve Olympus like I have been if I joined you.”
“No. He does not like me tangling my fate with yours. He disapproves of my presence here at all.”
“Then…”
“I will not affect your destiny,” Artemis vowed. “But…if you so dearly wish to become one of nature…then I shall not grant you immortality. But you shall join me, if you like.”
My eyes glowed and my voice rose. “I would. I have had my heart chipped for too long. I want to learn the ways of the moon.”
“You shall,” Artemis told me, and her pale eyes met mine. Then the shouting of voices rang through the palms. Artemis’ head sharply snapped in its direction, like a bird. She told me, “We should return to the other demigods and my huntress. It seems Apollo has brought the help he promised, and I suppose your friends woke.”
I nodded, and watched a small hawk, silver of course, glide through the palms and I sprinted back, seeing the trees fly past contentedly. The snort of a horse surprised me, but when I appeared in the open again, there was the gleam of a familiar gold-orange pelt. I threw my arms around his head, feeling his velvety nose nudge me.
“Hi, boy,” I said, looking at Sunny’s sun-colored head and his deep brown eyes. His wings beat once, blowing my hair into my face. “Thanks,” I said sarcastically.
“Don’t I get a ‘hi’ too?” I turned to see a boy with curly brown hair and green eyes holding the reins of a bay horse, Hunter.
I rolled my eyes, but said, “Hi, Brayden. How’s everything been in Baltimore?”
“Ten homicides, fires, people disappeared, and gang shootings,” he said, shrugging. “Same old, same old. It’s been pretty boring around the mountains. I guess everything only happens when you three are around.” He waved to Heather, and she nodded curtly, dark eyes a bit wary. “What did I do?”
“She belongs to Artemis, she can’t act the same around you,” I said.
“So you saved her.”
“Captain obvious.”
Artemis, still a hawk, fluttered to perch on one of the rarer birch’s swaying branch. She blinked her yellow eyes and chirped once. I could tell right away she was furious with her brother for sending a boy to reclaim us. “Brayden. There are pegasi I haven’t seen before.”
He shrugged again. “Sunny rounded them up. See, I told you that you can’t him loose like that…”
My golden eyes flashed. “Okay. Stop talking.” I told Brooke, “Tell the others to pick any pegasus.”
I heard Brooke hiss to Rose, “Except Owleye! She’s mine!”
“And Raven,” Kayla said.
Brayden mounted his bay Hunter. The pegasus gelding flapped his coffee-colored wings and skittered to the side when a curious, wild chestnut mare sniffed at him. There was Heather’s old horse even, Harvest Moon, the pale palomino. Belle’s horse, Grapevine, the blue roan, was flipping his head, but I noticed there was a rope around his neck.
“Why…?”
Brayden snorted, rolling his eyes. “It isn’t easy getting eleven pegasi over the country when you’re the only rider. Some like to run away. Like Flameball, too.”
“Flameball?”
“The orange mare,” Brayden said, and I joked, “Wonderful name.”
Heather coughed, and I said, “Okay. Get up.”
Piper looked to her friends, and Conor nodded, glancing at me with his deep gray eyes. They were disappointed but flat. The daughter of Thetis dipped her head to me. “I’m sorry, but we cannot come with you. We have to stay behind and restore the Dapple.”
“We’ll miss you,” Conor said.
Brooke’s eyes clouded. “Will we ever see you again? After all, Conor, you are my half brother.”
Conor smiled weakly. “Maybe.” He nodded, and looked to Piper with eyes of respect. “You are our leader, Piper. What do you want us to do?”
Piper’s chin raised in pride. “We’ll wait until they leave. And then we’ll see what damage really has been done to the Dapple.”
Brayden stared at Piper reproachfully. I’d forgotten; the son of Hermes wouldn’t know who they were or what they were doing here. He addressed them quickly, “Well, I was only told that there were five others. You can keep those pegasi---they’re all wild anyhow.”
“What about Belle’s?” I asked, patting the dark blue-gray horse on the shoulder.
“Grapevine’s for Kayla. Raven was stolen.”
Who would steal the black pegasus? Oh, I wonder… I thought sarcastically. The image of the other daughter of Hades flooded into my head.
There was another chirp from the silver hawk, which seemed very uncomfortable near Brayden, and I waved farewell to Piper’s demigods. The Epic Three (and Kayla) mounted different horses, and with the flap of the wings of the gray hawk, fluttering off into the pale sky, I kicked Sunny’s sides and ordered, “Let’s go.”