“Days?!” I asked in shock.
He nodded his head. “Koda is alpha material. I noticed it the day we went to rescue your little friend, Bret. If Ares were not around, Koda would be the logical choice for alpha. He is dominant enough and he has a leader’s mind.”
“Part of me does hope that he takes over as alpha,” I admitted.
“Why?” Victor asked.
“Because then it would mean that Ares and I could relax and raise our child together in peace somewhere,” I said longingly.
“You would still be the next in line for the Sidhe throne,” he said.
“Do you really think Hera or Zeus are likely to die anytime soon?” I asked sarcastically.
He shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”
I thought of Achilles and his early death and turned away from Victor. Victor patted my back and said, “We should head out. I have a feeling that we are going to be in for a very long night.”
“What if your father has them?” I asked him. “What can we do?”
“Let’s deal with that later if it comes up. You need to start thinking positively.”
I pushed my wings out of my back and flapped them, sending me up into the air. “Fine. Let’s start looking. I am getting more worried about them the longer that we stand here.”
Victor transformed into a bat and flew after me as we headed out of the mountain and towards the Sidhe mounds which were entrances to the Sidhe realm. The cold air blasted against us as we exited the mountain and I was forced to squint my eyes against the snow and wind.
We flew and we scanned the terrain below us. Halfway there I began to get lightheaded and was forced to land, but I was happy to have not found anything yet. I sat on a log and looked at the forest around us. It was so quiet and peaceful and relaxing that I did not want to get up.
“It seems the closer we get to Ares, the worse your symptoms become. Perhaps it would be best if you returned to the Dragon’s lair and stayed with them?” Victor suggested as he watched me from the tree he was leaning against.
How could he look so normal in a place where he should seem so out of place? “I cannot sit on my hands and worry. I have to do something.” Plus having idle time was not the best idea for me. I would think of the worst outcomes and freak myself out more than was necessary for the baby.
I stood up and walked towards Victor. “I never thanked you,” I said to him.
“Thanked me for what?” He asked.
“You have been a great friend, Victor. Thank you for protecting Ares and staying beside him when I was away. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to deal with him those hundred years that you were all searching for me.”
He smiled. “Ares is my best friend. You do not need to thank me for anything.”
The baby started kicking and I grabbed Victor’s hand and placed it on my stomach. “Feel it?” I asked him.
He stared at my stomach with such awe and softness that it almost made me forget that he was a vampire and capable of as much, if not more, damage as Ares. “Such strong kicks,” he whispered. “Does it hurt?”
I shook my head. “No.”
He pulled his hand away and smiled. “I am glad that Ares has you. He is a very lucky man.”
I laughed. “Right. He is so lucky to have a troublemaker like me. I think I have caused him more headaches than he was expecting.”
Victor smiled. “You may be right about that, but I saw him when you were stolen and again when you died and know that he would rather have you giving him headaches than you no longer in his life.”
We made camp since it was so late and slept until the sun rose before heading out again. The day lagged on and still we found no trace of Draco Blu or Fira. I was just starting to lose hope when I inhaled to say something and smelled smoke. “Do you smell that?” I asked him. He nodded his head and we both flew up into the air. I followed the scent of the smoke and gasped when we came to the scene. The forest abruptly ended in a ten mile wasteland of ashes. There was no doubt in my mind that this was a scene of a dragon’s fight. I hovered above the destruction and searched for any clues that might answer what the outcome of the battle had been.
“There are a lot of dead vampire ashes here,” Victor called to me from the ground.
“How can you tell?” I asked him. To me the ashes looked the same as the burnt trees and bushes.
“I can tell,” he whispered as he examined another streak of ashes.
I flew to the edges of the burnt forest, searching for signs of escape. Halfway around the damaged area I finally found marks, but the sight of them made my fear and worry skyrocket. Victor teleported to me and sighed when he saw the very large drag marks. He followed the marks and then returned to me. “They dragged him about a mile and then picked him up. He must be at my father’s castle.”
“Will he kill him?” I asked. And who was it? Was it Blu or Fira?
“No, he will not kill him. He will keep him prisoner to bait you into trying to rescue him and he will try to find ways to use him to his benefit,” Victor said seriously.
My stomach clenched so hard that it made me gasp in pain. Victor grabbed me and said, “There is nothing we can do right now. We need to return and advise everyone what has happened.”
“No,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Hello, Victor,” a deep voice said from behind us.
Victor did not turn around, but his entire body tensed up. Judging by his reaction, he had not heard the being arrive behind us. “Hello, Bartholomew,” he said bitterly.
“I had expected Artemis to come in search of her dragon friends, but I had not expected you to be with her,” Bartholomew said as he circled around to stand in front of us.
He was tall, dark and handsome. He was also very powerful and judging by his calm demeanor, not that scared of Victor which was not a good sign for us. I looked at Victor. Is he susceptible to sun? Victor shook his head.
“I came to assist her in her investigation,” Victor said.
“Ah you have always had a soft spot for the werewolves,” Bartholomew said with a shake of his head. “Your heart is your biggest downfall.”
“Would I be able to use fire on him without you getting burned as well?”
Victor laughed once and shook his head. “You only think that because you have no heart.”
“Better to have no heart and be able to think clearly then to have a heart that clouds your thoughts and judgments.”
“Where is the dragon?” I asked Bartholomew. The conversation between Victor and him was not going anywhere that would help us.
“He is with the King,” he said, “Don’t worry, you will be united with him soon, after I take you there.”
“I have visited the King recently and I have no desire to go back to him so soon,” I said with a smile. I turned to Victor. “What are we going to do?”
“First Victor will die and then you will accompany me willingly to go see the King,” Bartholomew said.
I rolled my eyes at Victor who smiled. “He has always been overly cocky. I think we have a couple of options, but I would prefer not to discuss them in front of Bart,” Victor said as he moved a step closer to me.
I knew he wanted to teleport and I knew that we probably should, but at the same time I did not want to return to Ares and have him force me to stay in the Sidhe realm. I needed to find Blu and Fira and I needed to do it quickly, before any harm came to them. I made up my mind and before Victor could say anything I unleashed fire, covering Bartholomew.
He screamed and tried to turn to mist, but it did not matter, I kept the fire on him until he was forced to fly away from us to save himself. Victor turned and looked at me and laughed, completely shocking me. “I cannot believe you made him retreat. That is the first time he has been forced to retreat in one hundred and eighty years.”
I shrugged. “I needed him to leave and I did not want you to teleport us.”
“Clearly,” he said with a shake of hi
s head.
“Alright, let’s go. We need to find Blu and Fira,” I said, taking a step towards the path of the drag marks.
Victor touched my arm, stopping me. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We should at least talk with Zeus…”
“No!” I yelled. “He will tell Ares and then I will be held captive. I have to do this without telling Ares. I thought we had already gone over this?”
“I know, Artemis, but if Bartholomew is involved then that means that all of the highest leveled vampires are involved. It is something too dangerous for just you and me to tackle,” he said, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look at him so I could see how serious he was. “It is something that not even I should face alone. I will need the help of allies to face them.”
“Then why don’t you teleport and get Dmitri, Theseus, a couple other vampires still your allies and a couple other halfbreeds if you think we need that many.”
“And what are you going to do while I do that?” he asked me suspiciously.
I sat down, crossing my legs and said, “I will be right here.”
He stared at me a moment and then asked, “What is the real reason that you do not want to return to the Sidhe realm?”
“I have been over this with you. I do not want Ares to keep me there.”
“And?” he prodded.
I growled. “You can already read my mind so why are you asking me to say it out loud?” Vampires were so frustrating.
“Because you must say things out loud so that you make them real and realize your fears. It is not healthy to bottle things up.”
“Do you pull this with Ares?” I asked him.
He smiled. “Yes and that is one of the only reasons that he is sane right now.”
“Fine, I will answer you. I am afraid to return to the Sidhe realm and to Ares’ side because the closer I am to Ares the sicker I get. If I stay away from him the baby will not be in as much trouble.”
He smiled. “Was that so hard?”
“You’re an ass.”
He laughed. “Alright Artemis. I can tell that you are determined to go after the dragons so I will teleport and bring back enforcements. I do not like the idea of leaving you here, but I agree that it is better for the baby if we leave you here, farther away from Ares then he would normally let you be. You better be here when I get back.”
I smiled. “I cross my heart.” He rolled his eyes and then disappeared. I exhaled and rested my hand on top of my stomach. “What are we going to do little one? Your father is going to be extremely displeased with me for running away from him despite the fact that it is best for you. You will learn that he is very stubborn.” I laughed. “But he is the greatest man I know. He will love you and you will be the greatest gift he has ever received.”
Thinking about Ares made me think about the current predicament he and Koda were in. What would happen if Koda became the alpha? What would that mean for Ares and me? Would we be able to raise our child in peace while Koda helped the pack? The thought alone made a smile spread across my lips. A life where we could enjoy each other and spend time alone sounded mythical. I had to hope though. I had to keep hoping that someday it could happen.
Victor, Theseus and Dmitri popped into existence in front of me. Victor smiled and I smiled back. “You didn’t think I would be here, did you?”
He laughed. “I have to admit that I assumed you would be on your way after the dragons already.”
I stood up and said, “I’m trying to act mature. I believe a being over one hundred years old should start acting their age.”
“Father and Ares are…” Theseus began.
I held up my hand, stopping him. “I do not want to hear about it. I will find out the result of their stupid fight when I return.”
“Ares did ask about you when he saw me teleport in,” Victor said.
“What did you tell him?” I asked.
Victor smiled. “I grabbed these two and teleported out without answering him. I did hear him roar before we left though.”
“Good. He can deal with not knowing for a while.”
“Shall we go?” Dmitri asked. “The night will fade soon.”
I nodded my head and Victor grabbed my hand, helping me stand up. “I’m not that pregnant yet,” I said teasingly.
He smiled. “No, but it is gentlemanly to assist a lady.”
“So, did you wear one of those white curly powdered wigs back in the human time in Europe? The ones like the judges wore?” I asked him.
He walked next to me and said, “I did wear a peruke and I looked fantastic in it.”
“He looked like a ninny,” Dmitri said.
Victor rolled his eyes. “You did not look any manlier in knee length breeches and stockings.”
“Can we please not focus on the fashion of such a dreadful time period?” Dmitri asked. “Can’t we focus instead on the nineteen seventies? Those were wonderful years.”
“That was a terrible time!” Victor exclaimed. “You have terrible taste in dress.”
"Says the man wearing a puffy pirate shirt in the twenty two hundreds," Dmitri said as he pointed at the shirt Victor was currently wearing.
I tried not to laugh out loud, but I could not help it after the indignant look Victor gave Dmitri.
“Artemis,” Apollo said behind me.
We all spun around and Victor moved in front of me in a protective stance.
“What are you doing here?” Victor hissed.
“I came to aid Artemis,” he said.
“How did you locate us?” I asked him. “And how long have you been able to teleport?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just closed my eyes and focused on the tingle that tells me where you are and when I opened my eyes I was behind you.”
“Wait, you can locate me?” I asked him.
He nodded his head. “Don’t you feel it? Can’t you feel the tingle in the center of your head?”
Now that he mentioned it I could. I had just assumed it was part of the sickness of Ares’ or because of the baby. I never imagined it was because he was my twin. “I never really thought about it,” I answered softly.
“Go back,” Victor said harshly. “Ares is already fighting one person because of you.”
“That is hardly fair,” I said angrily to Victor. “Apollo has done nothing to me since he surrendered and has tried to prove his desire to turn around from his previous life.”
“He killed Achilles,” Victor reminded me.
I turned my head away, fighting the emotions inside of me and the tears trying to leak out. “He did not know what he was doing. He had been brainwashed.”
“Achilles would not so easily forget your death,” Victor hissed.
I slapped him across the face before I thought better of it. “How dare you!” I screamed. “I have not forgotten Achilles’ death. I ache from his loss every day, but dwelling on the dead does not bring them back. Achilles came to me and told me to make amends with my brother and that is what I am trying to do.”
“She slapped you,” Dmitri whispered. “She actually hit you.”
“I know,” Victor said, standing statute still in shock.
I was not sorry that I hit him and I was not going to apologize for it just to calm him either. He had deserved that slap and he knew it. Victor laughed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Artemis. Still, I cannot allow him to accompany us.”
I groaned loudly. “Why are you all so stubborn?”
“It’s alright,” Apollo said, “Just promise me that you will be careful?” he asked softly.
I smiled. “I am always careful.”
Every one of them laughed at that, which I found incredibly rude. Apollo closed his eyes and disappeared.
“Let’s continue,” Dmitri said.
I opened my mouth to say something to Victor, but he rested his hand on my shoulder and shook his head. “Let’s forget it,” he whispered, “I deserved your slap for being cruel.”
The sound
of a dragon screaming filled the night air from far away and instantly brought tears to my eyes. Without waiting for the others or even thinking about the possibilities of this being a trap, I flew up into the air and flapped my wings for all they were worth.
“Artemis, wait,” Victor called.
“No,” I said as I flew faster. “I will not abandon them in their time of need. I will rescue them. No one makes the dragons bleed. No one!”
VICTOR
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I had hoped to shelter her from the fight that we would encounter when we found the dragons, but once she had heard the pain-filled scream of one, she would not be stopped. She flew ahead of us, her body glowing as she prepared to rescue one of the dragons whom she called friend.
It was still incredibly strange to me that the dragons and she were so fond of each other. Then again who was I to judge a strange friendship? Many had found Ares’ and my friendship strange and unnatural and many still do. Perhaps I am too quick to judge others still despite my attempts not to.
We raced through the wooded area, following the path they had created by dragging the dragon and the sound of the fight ahead of us. It was hard to keep up with Artemis, but I refused to leave her side since Ares was not here.
The sound of fighting grew louder and then we finally witnessed the chaos that was ensuing. Forty vampires were attacking Draco Blu and the dragon was holding his own, biting, clawing and decapitating vampires faster than the vampires could defend themselves. I took in the scene in less than a second, but it was already too slow because Artemis had joined in the fight. She grabbed a vampire, ripped him in half and then tossed the halves of his body into two other vampires, which allowed Draco Blu to grab them and bit their heads off. The two worked easily together, never getting in the other’s way and seemed to anticipate the other’s moves. It was incredible and after two minutes my presence was completely unnecessary.
Bartholomew ran from the shadows of the trees and leapt at Artemis, attempting to grab her. She saw him coming and teleported behind him. Bartholomew spun around and would have grabbed her if Draco Blu had not been there. Draco Blu grabbed Bartholomew with one of his giant Dragon’s feet and slammed him into the ground, digging his claws into the dirt and pinning Bartholomew in place. Draco Blu growled at him and was about to engulf him in fire, but Artemis placed her hand on Draco Blu’s shoulder and the dragon stilled.
Taming Darkness: Artemis Lupine #4 Page 10