Taming Darkness: Artemis Lupine #4

by Catherine Banks

  Day Three

  Part of us missed our mate, but part of us was too sad about losing our other non-wolf, sort of mate. He had been nice and warm and smelled great. We missed his scent. Pain made me whine and then the howls tore out of our throat again.

  Day Four

  My stomach was hurting and I knew I needed food to feed the baby I was growing. Despite the weakness that I felt and the pain, I shifted to my human form and opened the door, walking down the stairs until we reached the bottom floor and opened that door. Cold air pierced my skin and I welcomed its pain. This pain meant that I was alive. It was good to know that I was alive, even if Achilles was not. I shifted forms again and raced towards the nearest restaurant, searching for scraps in the dumpster, too tired to hunt anything formidable. Luckily I was able to find meat scraps outside of a butcher’s shop and I ate what I could find, fighting off rats and stray animals. The wind whistled down the alley and a bright light shone at the end. Achilles! I ran down the alley, yipping in excitement as I chased after him. I knew he couldn’t be dead! I ran as fast as I could and pounced at the light, slamming into a building. I shook myself and looked up, stunned to see a blue lantern affixed to the building. No Achilles.

  I whined in sadness and then growled at my stupidity. He was gone and I had to deal with that fact. No matter how much I wanted him back, he was never coming back again.

  I ambled back to the house, shivering in the cold as snow landed on my back and muzzle. I shifted forms to open and close the doors and then crawled into the bed which had a very warm blanket on it and fell asleep replaying the memories which Achilles had shared with me when he had bound us together.

  Day Five

  The pain was gone and replaced by a vast numbness. I sat very still and became aware that I was not handling my grieving process very well. I growled in frustration and shook my head. I missed Achilles, but I could not be so immature and inconsiderate. Ares had saved me and I had abandoned him. I needed to finish my grieving and return to Ares.

  The memory of Achilles’ dead body flashed before me and I curled up into a ball on the bed. Tomorrow I would return to Ares.

  Day Six

  At some point I had moved from the bed to the couch, only to be awoken by the scent of vampires drawing closer to me. I held my position and kept my eyes closed, waiting for them to get closer.

  “We thought one of you might return to this place,” one of the vampires said sounding very arrogant for only seeing me. He still had to capture me before he could sound that smug.

  I opened my eyes and was shocked to find myself surrounded by vampires. Okay, maybe his smugness wasn’t so hard to believe. I growled and sprung from my sleeping position up into a crouch, ready to attack and shift if need be. “What do you want?” I asked as I assessed my options. There were twelve vampires in the room in a circle around me and several more out in the hallway, though I had no idea how many since they were not in view so I could have been vastly outnumbered. I could use my fire, but then I would end up burning down Ares’ house, which I was sure would not be okay with him. He would forgive me, but I did not want to burn down the pretty building.

  “We want you to come with us peacefully to see the King,” he said pleasantly.

  I could use my sunlight magic, but I had to be sure to get every vampire here, otherwise if I missed one he would go to Maurice and spill my secret.

  Wait.

  If I was taken to Maurice then I could kill him there! Even if they bound me and blindfolded me I could still use my sunlight magic. It could be a quick end to this entire battle! No one else would die needlessly.

  “Will you promise not to hurt me?” I asked softly, trying to feign a little bit of fear, “I am pregnant.”

  The vampires all blinked in silent shock at my news, but the leader nodded his head. “I swear we will not cause you or your unborn child harm if you come with us willingly.”

  I stood up and smoothed down my clothes. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  My answer seemed to shock them more than my announcement of being pregnant, but after a second of gawking, two of the vampires took me by my arms and led me out of the house. A third vampire came and tied my hands behind my back as we walked. I had wondered what measures they would take to secure me at least in some way. Not that I couldn’t break out of the ropes easily, but I let them have their imaginary safety. Now that we were out I could finally count the total number of vampires and was surprised and a little prideful that they had sent thirty vampires after me. Not that one hundred could have captured me if I had not wanted to be captured, but it still meant that they thought I was a threat.

  The vampires whispered to each other for a couple of minutes and then the leader asked, “If we allow you to fly, will you try to escape?”

  Were they really giving me this option? In normal circumstances I would have agreed and then immediately escaped. “I will not try to escape. I want this war over before anyone else I love dies.”

  He sensed my truthfulness and must have seen the pain on my face at the mentioning of my loved ones dying. “Very well. We will tie your hands in front of you to allow you to fly beside us. If you try to escape I will kill you.”

  I kept a grim look on my face and said, “I understand”.

  The vampire nodded his head and one of the other vampires untied my hands from behind my back and retied them in front. Once the vampire was sure the ropes were tight he nodded at the leader.

  “Let’s go,” he said. As one the vampires transformed from man form into bats. It happened in the blink of an eye and was quite impressive. I took a deep breath and gathered my magic, urging it into my back and forcing my wings out. The cool night air swirled around me and I drank it in in big gulps. I had stayed cooped up in the house too long and denied myself the outdoors.

  The vampires circled overhead, waiting for me with nervousness and anticipation as they waited for me to make a move. I could fly away and return to Ares. Or I could follow the vampires and confront Maurice. Part of me wanted to escape and return to safety, but a larger part of me knew I needed to face Maurice and end this war.

  I flapped my wings and joined them in the sky, much to the shock of them all. One of the bats squeaked and then they all took off. I flew along beside them, trying not to think about my impending fight and possible death. I had to live or Ares’ journey into Death’s realm would have been for nothing.

  We flew for what felt like an hour before finally seeing the Eiffel Tower. Why had they left the Eiffel Tower intact? Memories of my first visit to the city made me cringe and miss Ares. I had put my mate through more than any living being should have to endure. I had to end this war so that we could begin a normal life together. A life that did not involve me or anyone else dying until we were very very old. I laughed at the thought of how old Ares already was. I wasn’t exactly a spring chicken either. Where had the time gone?! I was over one hundred years old and having my first child. That would have been something I would have laughed at before I had met Ares. Before I had met Ares I had thought it was crazy for a woman over forty to have a child. Things had changed so much.

  The vampires switched forms, landing lightly on their feet in front of a palace. “Where are we?” I asked.

  “This used to be the king and queen’s when they were ruling here,” the leader said.

  How fitting that the vampire who thought he was supreme ruler would live in a palace that used to be a monarch’s. I followed them inside the building and was shocked to find it full of vampires. Several hissed at me or bared their fangs when they caught sight of me. I showed them my teeth and growled loudly. I may have surrendered, but I was not afraid of them and would protect myself if they attacked me.

  A man who was completely covered by a large black robe stopped our group. “What’s your business?”

  “We are bringing Artemis Lupine to King Maurice. She surrendered herself to us.”

  I took long draws of air in through my nose trying to catc
h the robed man’s scent, but I could not find it. Who was he? Better yet, what was he?

  “I will accompany you,” the robed man said and walked to the back of the group of vampires escorting me.

  “Who was that?” I asked, hoping to receive an answer, but sadly I only received silence from them.

  We continued forward, walking to a large ballroom where Maurice was sitting in a throne watching vampires dancing and talking. The vampire women were all dressed in extravagant dresses and wore hundreds of diamonds while the vampire men were dressed in tuxedos. As we entered the room his eyes found mine and a smile spread across his lips. “Welcome, Artemis Lupine, Queen of the Werewolves and Princess of the Sidhe. It has been too long since we last met.”

  I played polite dignitary and curtsied to him. “Thank you for your warm greeting, King Maurice. Your new place is very nice.”

  “Thank you. I very much enjoy it here.”

  “May I have my hands untied? I am with child and surely no threat to someone as powerful as you.”

  “With child? Is it the Sidhe’s or the werewolf’s?” he asked as he motioned at the robed man to untie my hands.

  “It is Ares’ child,” I said as I fought to keep the pain from my voice and hold in the whine that wanted to escape.

  The robed man stopped in front of me and I tried to catch a glimpse of his face, but the robe hung too far over. I took in a deep breath and still could not smell him. He cut the ropes with a dagger, being sure not to let his skin touch mine and then stepped away from me.

  I rubbed my wrists and smiled at Maurice. “Thank you.”

  “Come, sit beside me Artemis and rest your feet. I hear women’s ankles swell during pregnancy.”

  I walked towards him and wondered what he was up to. How could he be so calm and so at ease with me approaching him? I sat down and looked at the large group of vampires inside the room and the robed man. What were my best options for killing them all?

  “I bet you are wondering about my plan to defeat the little rebellion your group is involved with, aren’t you?” Maurice asked.

  I did not say anything because I figured he was not looking for me to speak, only for me to listen to his wonderful plan.

  “At this moment my vampires are moving to strategic points around the world. They will sit in hiding, waiting until they are given the word from me to attack. Once your group comes and challenges me the deployed vampires will attack, killing those that have been left behind. All of those submissive wolves, sidhe and elves won’t stand a chance against my vampires.”

  He was right that he would kill hundreds if not thousands, but now that I knew his plan, there was no way he would get away with it. Or did he think it did not matter? Did he want to try to scare me into stopping the assault on him?

  Did he not view me as a threat?! Did he really think that I was captured and now his prisoner?! My anger boiled over and I let my magic fill me. I pictured Achilles’ dead body and let it fuel my anger until my body was shining too brightly for any to keep their eyes open. I formed sunlight around me in a circle and sent it outwards in an ever expanding circle, killing the vampires in the room before they could even draw in a breath to scream.

  I looked at the throne and felt terror run through my body in a wild chill. Maurice sat calmly on the throne, examining his fingernails as the sunlight drenched him. “Why isn’t it affecting you?!” I asked as I backed away from him, stirring up the ashes of the dead vampires on the ground.

  “I am the original vampire, the first,” he said as he stood up and let his fangs fully extend. “Did you really think that a little thing like sunlight would kill me?!”

  I gathered my magic and tried to teleport, but doing so made me dizzy and nauseous. Was it from being pregnant? Or was it because I had not eaten in two days? I had to teleport. I had to escape! I tried again, but could not move anywhere.

  The robed man stepped forward and removed his hood. He was tall, ugly with a much too large nose for his face and had an evilly confident smile. “You cannot teleport so long as I, Merlin, the greatest sorcerer in the world, am alive.”

  I focused on my wolf, transformed into a half-shift and said, “Then I shall fix that issue.”

  I charged at him, but a sword appeared in his hand and he swung it at me, barely missing my stomach. I jumped backwards and formed a sword from my body. I would not let him win. I charged at him again, blocking his sword with mine and trying my hardest to disarm him. He parried each strike I made and did it with a smug smile. I formed claws from my left hand and sliced at his face, hoping to rip that smile off, but he dodged and Maurice stepped between us.

  I swung my sword at Maurice’s chest, but he turned his torso into mist and my blade went through him. “You cannot win, Artemis. I do commend you for your effort, but you are no match for me.”

  I screamed at him and formed fire, the only other thing that scared a vampire more than sunlight. He turned into mist and flew quickly across the ballroom, out of the fire’s path. Before I could gather enough magic to engulf the entire room in fire, Merlin started attacking me, using a magic staff in addition to his sword. Something about the staff made my hackles rise. I wasn’t positive what was wrong with it, but I knew I needed to keep it from touching me. He struck at me with the staff and I recoiled from it and the smell of death which permeated from it.

  I focused on my magic and the plants outside of the building we were in, drawing all of the magic to me while still battling Merlin. Maurice appeared behind me and I released my magic in the form of a fire circle. As I had expected Maurice turned to mist and flew up into the ceiling. I formed a ball around myself with the fire and grunted as I thrust the fire out, adding additional fire to it as it moved and making it expand. Maurice cursed and I smiled, knowing I had trapped him. The fire expanded until it engulfed the entire room, setting Merlin on fire and catching part of Maurice on fire just before he slipped out one of the doors.

  I wanted to chase after him, but I had pressed my luck too far as it was. I teleported back to Ares’ house and was shocked to find Ares and Victor sitting in the living room on the couch. How the hell had they found me?!

  “You want to explain to me why you let vampires capture you and take you to see Maurice?” Ares asked calmly with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “I had a plan. It was a great plan. It would have worked too if that stupid Merlin had not been there.” I said as I took deep breaths to slow my racing heart.

  “You thought you could kill Maurice with sunlight and end the war,” Victor said. “And no I did not read your mind I just know you.”

  “That is very like her,” Ares grumbled. “Risking herself to try to end this battle. Although I had hoped she would not do those types of things now that she is pregnant.”

  “They swore they would not harm me or the child while they took me to Maurice,” I said irritated. “It would have worked if he had not been immune to sunlight. I almost got him with fire, but he misted out a door.”

  Ares shook his head sadly. “And here I thought you would be in need of consoling, not saving.”

  “I was grieving and then they showed up,” I whispered, feeling insecure about not still grieving for Achilles.

  “One has little time to grieve in times of war,” Victor said, reading my thoughts.

  “How did you find me?” I asked without moving closer to them. Part of me wanted to run to Ares, but part of me felt like it would be a betrayal to Achilles whom I was still grieving for.

  “We thought of all of the places that we would normally think you would go to and then immediately crossed those off of our list. Then we made a list of all of the places that you knew of and picked the few that we thought you would go to and think we would not think of going,” Ares said. “It’s simple Artemis logic really.”

  “Simple,” Victor said with a chuckle.

  I glared at Victor and then turned away, looking out the window and trying to sort through my feelings. Once I was
calm again I turned around and they both gave me the look. “What?” I asked.

  “You cannot go off by yourself and try to take out the King of the Vampires,” Ares said sternly, as though he were lecturing a teenager. “You have duties, responsibilities and a child to think about now.”

  I resisted the urge to answer with “yes Father” and simply bit my tongue. Of course Victor read my mind and laughed loudly, turning away from us and heading into the kitchen.

  “I was thinking about my responsibilities. I almost killed him,” I answered as I plopped down on the couch. Now that I was not in a fight, a headache had decided to rear its awful head and begin torturing me.

  “What’s wrong?” Ares asked and then sat down beside me, moving my hands away from my face.

  “I just have a headache,” I whispered, wishing for once that his touch was not so soothing. Would the pain of Achilles’ loss ever leave? Or would I always feel this regret and pain when Ares touched me? Why did I feel like I was cheating?

  “It will get better,” Ares whispered as he pulled his hands away.

  I was not so sure about that. The only way I could see it getting better was to forget him and I would never do that.

  “We have had many die around us Artemis. Trust us. In time it will be bearable,” Victor said as he poured himself a glass of whiskey from the cupboard in the kitchen.

  “Are you here to bring me back?” I asked Ares. How could I face Hera and Zeus? Would they ever be able to forgive me for causing their son’s death? Was Ares upset at me for causing his brother’s death? They had only recently become close and now his brother was gone forever.

  “We mainly came to ensure that you were not getting into any trouble,” Ares said.

  “Which of course you were,” Victor said as he walked to the large reclining chair and sat in it with his glass of whiskey.