by Linsey Hall
“What kind?” Ares asked.
“You have entered the realm of Artemis, goddess of forests and the hunt. It will not be easy to pass through, but if you hope to make it out alive, I suggest you find her temple and make an offering.”
“A sacrifice?” Ares asked.
“Yes.”
“But not a dead animal or anything?” I shuddered.
“No. Artemis frowns on others killing the animals in her realm. She is the only huntress here.”
“Okay, then something of value,” I said.
“Exactly. And I have one more thing to assist you. Something that I gave to the hero who came before you.”
“Hercules?” Ares asked.
“Indeed.” Hermes held out his hand, and two pairs of golden, winged sandals dangled from his grip.
My heart leapt. No freaking way.
So far, being the chosen one had mostly come with a lot of danger and fear. But this? This was really cool.
“Thank you.” My voice was breathless.
“Thank me after you have learned to use them,” he said. “Because you’ll need to be skilled to escape Artemis on her hunt.”
“Oh, shit.” My skin chilled. “So, we’re looking at the deadliest game, huh?”
Hermes shrugged. “Artemis doesn’t normally make a habit of hunting people, but she doesn’t like trespassers. You must make it to her temple and leave an appropriate offering in order to avoid her wrath.”
But first we have to make it to her temple.
I took the sandals from Hermes and handed off a pair to Ares. Before we could strap them on, Hermes stepped forward and waved a hand toward us. A blast of warm, dry air rushed over me, drying my clothes instantly.
“Thanks.” I smiled.
Hermes nodded.
We put on our sandals over the tops of our boots. As soon as I’d tied the last lace, I shot straight into the air. My head bumped on a tree limb. Pain shot through me.
“Ow!”
“Careful!” Hermes called. “Envision where you want to go. Send your will to the sandals.”
I imagined fluttering lightly to the ground. I dropped suddenly, struggling to slow my descent right before I crashed. Next to me, Ares hovered effortlessly above the ground. I glared at him.
He shrugged. “Vampire reflexes.”
“I’m trying again.” This time, I wobbled slowly upward, but managed to keep from nailing the branch again.
Victory.
Hermes winced, clearly not agreeing. “Because I’d like to ensure that you complete your mission against Drakon, I will lead you to the temple of Artemis. At least that way, you can focus on your flying instead of your dragon sense.”
“Thank you!” I would take it. A guide was not to be turned down. No way.
“Just follow me, then, and avoid the arrows.”
Arrows? Shoot.
Ha. Bad pun.
Hermes launched himself into the air, gracefully ascending above the trees. I wobbled my way up to him, grateful to have Ares at my side. By the time I crested the tops of the birches, I had the hang of it. A bit. At least, I was no longer wobbling.
Hermes darted off across the treetops. I imagined following him, and my sandals complied. I zipped across the air after him.
Joy filled me as we flew toward a large white temple on a hill. It looked like the Parthenon, though we were definitely not in Athens.
By the time the sound of thudding hoofbeats sounded below, I was floating on cloud nine.
“Incoming!” Hermes shouted.
I startled, looking down. A glorious woman rode a massive steed, cantering between the trees, her bow pointed upward. Golden hair flew behind her head. An arrow flew fast and true—straight for me.
Shit!
I dodged left, barely missing the arrow and scraping against some tree branches that clawed at my hair. I righted myself, darting after Hermes and Ares. The next arrow sailed for Ares, but he nimbly dodged it.
“That’s the way!” Hermes did an excited loop-de-loop.
I struggled to keep my balance, my gaze constantly darting to Artemis on her horse. Her bow was an incredible work of art, a masterpiece.
One that was shooting straight at me.
I dodged left, hearing the arrow whistle past my ear. Sweat broke out on my skin, chilling in the breeze. I darted after the golden Hermes. The temple was only fifty yards away, now. The massive white columns gleamed in the sun.
Ares dodged another arrow, lunging high into the air. The next one came for me. Though I darted, scraping the tops of the trees, the arrowhead sliced through my arm. Pain blazed.
I ignored it, grateful that the arrow shaft wasn’t embedded in my flesh, and hurtled through the columns of the temple. I dove for the ground and rolled to a stop on the marble floor.
Hermes stood calmly after a perfect descent. So did Ares. I scrambled to my feet in the open space. The roof soared high above, but there were no walls between the massive columns that supported it.
“We’re here to make a tribute!” I called.
Hermes winced. “Not necessary to say it out loud. It is quite obvious from the fact that you are here.”
“Oh, okay.” I nodded awkwardly. “Just wanted to make sure we didn’t get shot again.”
“Again?” Ares’s sharp gaze darted over me.
I held out my arm. The arrow had sliced so cleanly through my jacket sleeve that the wound wasn’t visible underneath the leather, but it stung like the devil. “Just a flesh wound. Let’s worry about it after the tribute.”
He frowned, clearly not liking the plan, then nodded.
Good. Glad he was on board. Getting shot again was definitely a bigger threat.
I studied the open, empty space of the temple, noting the large altar on the other side. I approached it, Ares at my side. We stopped in front of it, staring at the empty space.
“Too bad there are no other tributes,” I said. “It’d be nice to have a hint.”
“Something that is valuable to you,” Hermes said. “That’s what the gods like best. Then it’s a true sacrifice.”
“Hmm, all right.” I racked my brain. “I don’t have anything of value on me right now. And if I conjure it, then it can’t be that special, can it?”
Ares shook his head. “That won’t work. But I do have my shadow sword.”
He drew it from the ether. The blade flickered with black flame.
Hermes whistled low. “That is impressive.”
“No!” I touched Ares’s arm. “You made the offering to the Hephaestus. I should do this one. Anyway, it’s my challenge.”
And he’d never be able to replace that sword. I couldn’t let him give it up.
“What if I offer to help Artemis find anything she wants—anything in the world?” I hesitated. “As soon as we’ve defeated Drakon, that is. It’d be a risk for me if she wanted something dangerous. Perhaps even deadly.”
“Hmmm.” Hermes tapped his chin.
The clip clop of horse hooves sounded, then a feminine voice. “Oh, quit trying to look thoughtful, Hermes.”
Hermes scowled, then disappeared into thin air.
I turned. Artemis rode her horse into the temple, tall and strong.
Whoa. Bad-ass.
“Would that work?” I asked. “I rarely help anyone find anything. It’s a carefully guarded skill. But I’ll do it for you, as my tribute.”
A thoughtful gleam entered Artemis’s eye. “Yes, that will do.”
She dismounted in a graceful leap, then strode toward me. Her leather armor was studded with iron. Very cool. She flicked her wrist, and a piece of parchment appeared in her hand. Then a quill.
She stopped in front of me, silver eyes assessing. Then she nodded and handed over the quill and parchment. “Your blood will act as ink.”
“Uh, sure!” Ugh, gods.
“Just press the tip to your wrist.”
Oh, man. This was dumb, wasn’t it? Making a blood vow to the gods. I steeled myself
—this was necessary—and pressed the tip of the quill to my wrist. Pain flared and blood welled. The quill soaked it up. I withdrew the writing implement.
When I unrolled the parchment, I saw that my vow was already written in dark ink.
“Sign beneath.” Artemis smiled, her gaze glinting. Clearly, she was already imagining what she’d have me hunt down.
I sucked in a deep breath, ignored Ares’s worried gaze, and scrawled my signature on the parchment. I expected to have my voice sucked out of me, just like in The Little Mermaid when Ariel had signed her voice over to Ursula, the Sea Witch.
Well, this was a first. A blood oath to a god.
Oh, I was in over my head.
Chapter Six
I handed the parchment back to Artemis, which she took with a satisfied smile, then I pulled the mirror from my pocket. Breath held, I looked.
My heart dropped. “Shit. The sky is dark.”
“He’s close,” Ares said.
“Very.”
“Come.” Artemis waved us forward. “There’s no time to waste. We must beat him to the Tower of Athena.”
My gaze darted to hers. “You’re helping us?”
“I want my favor.”
I grinned. “Then, by all means.”
She turned and strode to her horse, waving her hand to make the parchment disappear. Then she vaulted onto her stallion and cantered out of the temple. Ares and I ran to catch up.
We sprinted out onto the main entrance steps. Two large black horses waited just at the edge of the steps. I climbed into the saddle of the nearest one and followed Artemis. Ares followed, an expert rider. I held on for dear life as we galloped between the trees. Large birds fluttered around us, escorting us to the border. They reminded me of Jeff.
Where was he, anyway? Normally, the little dragon would be here for this kind of thing.
“We’re not far, now!” Artemis called back.
The trees began to thin, marking the edge of her territory, I had to assume. The sky began to darken quickly. Magically. I could almost feel the evil crackle of Drakon’s magic.
By the time the trees gave way to open field, the sky was almost pitch-black. An unnatural glow illuminated a dark tower on top of a hill, about three hundred yards in the distance.
“The Tower of Athena,” Artemis yelled back. “Be ready for anything.”
Since this was the gods’ last shot at protecting the stone from Drakon, it had to be good.
Tension prickled my skin as I galloped across the field, waiting for whatever Athena would send at us.
When low, deep growls sounded around me, I shivered.
The beasts charged out of the dark, monsters the size of cows but with the bodies of giant bulldogs. Except that there was nothing cute and doglike about them. Their heads were skeletons, with huge horns and fangs that looked like they could tear through flesh in an instant. Scales covered their bulky bodies, and their feet were tipped with talons that dug into the earth as they hurtled toward us from a hundred yards away.
“Athena’s beasts of war,” Artemis cried. “Only iron arrows will defeat them.”
Artemis raised her bow, firing in quick succession at the nearest beast. It took three arrows to fell the creature, which finally tripped and tumbled to the ground.
I conjured my bow, along with an iron arrow. The material felt strange in my hand as I fired. It flew toward a hound that was only fifty yards away, sinking into its leg. The beast hissed like a giant snake, but kept coming. I fired again and again, finally taking it out when it was only twenty yards from me. I could make out the black flame of its eyes as it fell. Could feel the dark stain of its magic and its desire to tear me limb from limb.
The three of us galloped across the field, the thundering hoof beats unable to drown out the snarls of the beasts of war. Artemis fired her arrows like the goddess she was, with deadly precision and speed that made my head spin. I tried to keep up, but managed to fell only one beast for every three that she took out.
When a beast got past our arrows, heading straight for Ares, he drew his shadow sword and leaned over, slicing cleanly through the neck of the galloping creature. The skull tumbled to the ground.
Bad-ass. Apparently they could be felled by iron arrows and shadow swords. What couldn’t that thing cut through?
Ares galloped ahead, directing his horse toward a cluster of beasts that raced toward us. His sword sliced through the air so quickly it looked like a blur. Skulls tumbled to the ground as he decapitated the beasts.
I fired three arrows at once, taking out a monster that was nearly upon me.
“There!” Ares pointed to the top of the tower. It glowed with a pale white light.
The stone of Synnaroe.
We were still a hundred and fifty yards away when the first burst of lightning cracked in the air. My heart jumped.
Drakon!
He was supposed to arrive when the lightning lit the sky.
“Go!” I cried, nudging my horse to go faster. He galloped across the plain, nearly flying.
Up ahead, a dark shadow stretched across the ground.
“Slow!” Artemis cried. “There is a crevasse.”
She was right. I was only thirty yards from it now, and could make out the breadth—too far to jump—and depth—probably deep enough to kill me.
A horrible shriek rent the night air.
I looked up. In the distance, Drakon appeared, flying toward the tower. He was massive, his wings the color of coal, and flying so fast that I’d never catch him on my horse. The crevasse wouldn’t stop him.
Lightning struck, illuminating his terrifying figure.
The difference between him and me was so clear in that moment.
Dismay gouged at my chest.
How would I get across the crevasse?
This was when I needed Jeff.
A flash of red and green appeared out of the corner of my eye.
Jeff!
As if he’d heard me, he appeared. But he was bigger. So much bigger. At least thirty feet long. So that was what he’d been doing all this time—growing.
My heart leapt as he flew toward me, red wings raking the air. He screeched, a joyous sound, and flew alongside my galloping horse.
Without stopping to analyze, I scrambled up into a crouch on the saddle, and then leapt onto Jeff’s back. I clung to him, gripping the rigid spines on his back. He screeched and wheeled away from the horse, headed straight for Drakon.
Wind tore at my hair as I adjusted my seat, getting a good grip. This was nothing like riding a horse or even a griffon. Jeff’s massive wings whooshed through the air. Joy and terror made my heart thunder.
“Get under him!” I called.
Jeff blew a massive blast of fire and flew faster toward Drakon. My enemy was close to the tower now, only fifty yards away. We were twenty from him, but Jeff’s determination made him fast.
I drew my sword from the ether, a trick that Ares had taught me, and gripped it. I had one chance. I didn’t think I’d hit his heart last time. This time, my aim needed to be true.
The tower loomed as we neared, the stone shining bright and white from its perch at the top. Lightning struck all around, the thunder deafening.
As we neared Drakon, Jeff blew a blast of fire at his tail. The bright orange flames lit up the night, singeing Drakon.
The shadow dragon didn’t even notice.
But his attention was fully on the stone. I could almost feel his greed, just under the surface of the dark magic that radiated from him, sickening me.
“Lower,” I called to Jeff.
He darted beneath Drakon, then rose up. I squinted, searching for his black heart. There, in the middle of his chest, glowing black.
I lunged up with my sword, striking hard.
It sank into his chest, but he shrieked and swooped away.
Damn it.
Not a direct hit.
He whirled around, his black gaze on me. Debating.
Would h
e strike?
He turned, flying for the tower. His goal was the stone, and he wouldn’t be diverted.
“One more try, Jeff! Be fast!”
Jeff burst forward. I clung to his back, the wind ripping at my hair, as he darted under Drakon and shot upward. The massive black dragon blocked out the dark sky. My heart thundered as I rose up on Jeff’s back. My focus zeroed in on Drakon’s heart.
I struck, stabbing my blade through his shadowy form until the tip of my sword pierced him straight in the heart. For the briefest second, I could see it so clearly that I could taste the victory.
Then an electric shock darted down the blade and into me, sending pain tearing through my muscles and bones. Drakon thrashed in the air, roaring loud enough to shake my brain in my skull. He thrashed, one of his massive wings knocking into Jeff. The same electric current shot through my dragon.
Jeff shrieked, the blow sending him pinwheeling in the air.
My muscles had turned to jelly and my mind to mush. I could barely hang on to Jeff. We fell, plummeting toward the ground, wind tearing at my clothes and hair, roaring through my head. At some point, I must have let go. We fell side by side, but the drop was short.
I slammed into the ground, pain flaring through my back.
Hazily, I blinked, turning my head and searching for Jeff. For Drakon.
Jeff lay near me, limp on the ground. Slowly, he raised his head. I clung to that, desperate to take it as a good sign.
Fifty yards in the distance, at the base of the tower, Drakon lay in a lump.
My heart leapt. Was he dead?
But the great black dragon shuddered and rose. He crawled the last few yards to the base of the tower, using his massive wings like limbs. He was evil personified, his eyes blazing with dark light.
Then he began to climb the tower, a dragon version of King Kong. Great claws at the tips of his wings plunged into the tower stone as he dragged himself up.
“No!” I scrambled unsteadily to my feet, my muscles screaming.
“Nix!” Ares’s shout sounded from behind me.
I turned. He galloped toward me, leaning over the side of his saddle. He must have found a bridge over the crevasse! I reached up and he grabbed me, swinging me onto the horse behind him. I landed on the horse, clinging to Ares, and he galloped faster, headed straight for the tower.