Iridescence

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

ARTEMIS

To say I was horrified when Apollo told me what happened is an understatement. My first instinct was to hunt down Eliza's father and put an arrow in his chest. Instead, I focused on finding a way to ensure Eliza remained safe while still being able to train with the other girls.

I went to see Athena and explained the situation. "Viktor's return is troubling," she said. "If he is working with Altheos, he will not stop until he captures Eliza."

"The mortal police wish to assign her bodyguards, but we cannot risk them witnessing anything that hints at the upcoming battle. What do you suggest?" I asked.

"Demigods," Athena replied. "I have a daughter in the NYPD, and Ares has a few children there as well. They make excellent bodyguards against supernatural foes. Have Apollo go to the station closest to Eliza and ask for Detective Simone Adams. She'll help him."

"Thank you, Athena," I said. "What do you suggest we do next?"

"The girls must come into their full powers... I think you should bring Psyche to help them unlock their knowledge."

"Kleia has fully awakened inside of Eliza. As for the others, each has begun to stir."

"There's no time to proceed gently, Artemis. They must embrace their past selves if they hope to survive facing off against Altheos and Viktor."

"There is more... Apollo had a vision of a girl... Theos has a daughter, and we have no idea who she might be. I suspect she is close to the girls... Perhaps a classmate?"

"That is all the more reason to awaken them, Artemis..."

"Eliza's soul was awakened by trauma," I said cautiously. "Do you believe that is how the others must awaken as well?"

Athena offered me a sad, understanding smile. "It is possible that the only way they can unlock their full powers in time is through trauma. The Universe is often unkind."

"I need to go," I said suddenly.

"To your dear friend, Tana?" Athena guessed.

"I just... If her soul unlocks, I should be there," I replied. "Especially if it is through trauma."

I didn't add that I had a horrible feeling stirring inside of me. I am not a prophetic Goddess, but in that moment, I knew with absolute certainty that Faith was about to face something she could not survive on her own.

"Go, Artemis," Athena replied. "Help her through what is coming. As tough as Tana has always been, there are some things that are simply too much to bear alone."

I hurried away, not really certain what I would do when I found Faith. It was barely after six o'clock in the morning. She was probably still asleep.

There was only one thing which could stop me from getting to Faith... A maiden in distress.

The little girl could not have been more than seven. She was wearing a pink nightgown. Her blonde hair was messy, like she'd been sleeping. Her blue eyes looked at me in terror.

I knelt in front of her. "What is your name, little one?" I asked.

She didn't answer me. Instead, she reached for my hand. I allowed her to guide me to whatever she wanted me to see, sensing the urgency of the situation.

We reached an alley, and I felt a terrible sense of dread as I entered it. The child would go no further than the entrance. She raised her hand slowly until she was pointing at a dumpster.

I moved closer to it, trying to brace myself. What I discovered was a teenage girl. Her face had probably been quite pretty but was now covered in fang marks that could only belong to one creature.

"Snakes," I said aloud. "She was attacked by dozens of snakes..." There was no way this had happened naturally on the streets of New York City. Snakes were not typically found slithering across the sidewalks, yet this was the second incident in less than twenty-four hours.

I gently brushed aside a bit of her hair. "Who were you, child?" I asked. "Why would they target you?"

The little girl grabbed my hand again, making me realize she'd come closer to the dumpster. She frantically pointed toward the back of the alley.

"It's alright," I said soothingly. "I will protect you. You're safe with me."

She shook her head, and tears began to fall from her eyes. I looked for the source of her panic and realized why she was so frightened. A pair of glowing red eyes watched us from the darkness. I knew those eyes all too well.

I moved the child behind me and prepared to loose an arrow, although it would not do much good. This was only his astral projection, after all, but it was a reflex to nock an arrow.

"Artemis..." The snake hissed. "I did not do this. Tell the others. I do not want this war any more than you do."

"You thrive on war, Apophis," I reminded him. I used his name, refusing to call him by his title of Chaos. I did not fear him.

"I no longer wish to be involved in such affairs," he insisted. "Mortals create more than enough chaos to sustain me."

At the end of the first war against Chaos, we'd destroyed much of his life force. The rest had been trapped inside of a cell he could not emerge from. In the early 2000's, he'd escaped. Another war had taken place, but this one had lasted a few years instead of a few millennia. Once again, much of him had been destroyed. The rest had changed. He had essentially retired from wreaking havoc across the Universe and had chosen to spend his time in seclusion instead. The self-imposed isolation seemed to work for everyone, and we hadn't really seen or heard from him since.

I hated that I believed him, but I knew he was telling the truth about this. "Was it Altheos?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied. "And he drew the child here knowing a young maiden would be the best way to bring you into a trap. She was sleepwalking."

I tensed and searched for trouble. I sensed no immediately threat aside from Apophis. "What trap?" I demanded.

"Were I not here, he would have poisoned you, Artemis. He gained the power to control snakes long ago, while he was still serving me."

"And he no longer serves you?"

"I never should have agreed to work with him. Viktor and the others were loyal to me, but Altheos intended to betray me all along and seize control of the Universe for himself. You and your allies were not the only ones fooled by his lies."

"Are you saying you are on our side now?"

"No. I am on my side. I will remain in seclusion and will not join this battle. However, I very much support Altheos dying another death, hopefully an incredibly painful one. Good luck to you all."

"Apophis, if you don't want to get involved, why are you here?"

"Your destruction at the present moment would cause the wrong sort of chaos. Besides, I did not want the others to hunt me down for a crime I did not commit." He paused. "I know Tana has returned. Altheos did this to break her."

"I don't understand... Who was this girl?" I asked, suddenly very concerned.

"You will understand soon." His astral projection vanished.

I turned toward the little girl. "Do you know who she is?" I asked, pointing to the one who had perished.

The little one nodded slowly. I hesitated before asking, "Do you know a girl named Faith?"

The child began nodding faster. She started crying, flinging herself into my arms. Her tiny body trembled violently as I tried to comfort her.

I scooped her up and carried her out of the alley. I used a bit of magic to hide the older girl's body before heading to the group home where Faith lived. Once I arrived outside, I focused on Faith.

I'm outside, I projected into her mind.

Two minutes later, Faith joined me and the little one. Her eyes widened in surprise as she spotted the child.

"Baby Doll, what are you doing out here?" She asked.

Baby Doll began sobbing again. She left my arms to run into Faith's. "What happened?" Faith asked me as she tried to comfort the child. "Where did you find her? Is she hurt?"

"Does she live here?" I asked.

"Yes," Faith replied. "What's going on, Artemis?"

"She was lured into an alley by Altheos," I explained. "She was sleepwalking."

"Did that bastard touch her?" Faith demanded.

"I do not believe so... Faith, when I found her, she led me to the body of a teenager."

"Oh, Gods..." Faith held Baby Doll a little bit tighter.

"We were met by Chaos," I explained. I was used to not saying his true name around others. It tended to summon him, and I would not risk their safety. This went triple for Faith, who he'd already taken from me once. "He informed me that he is not responsible for this tragedy, but that Altheos killed the girl to hurt you."

Faith tensed. "To hurt me?" She repeated. "Who did he kill, Artemis?"

"I do not know her name, but I can find out."

"Take me to her."

"Faith-"

"I'll bring Baby Doll inside and make sure someone watches over her, and then, you're taking me to the body."

I knew she wouldn't take no for an answer. Another teenager stepped outside at that moment and looked at us curiously. "Is everything okay, Faith?" She asked.

"Baby Doll was sleepwalking," Faith replied. "She does that sometimes. Can you bring her inside and stay with her, Genie? She's pretty shaky, but my girlfriend and I have to go take care of something."

I'm not going to lie; I may have felt something as Faith called me her girlfriend. I was confused by it, especially since we had made no such declaration of our relationship status. Still, I didn't contradict her in front of her friend.

"Girlfriend? Oh, hi! I'm Faith's roommate, Genie," the girl replied. "So it's official now, Faith?"

"It's recent," she replied. "Very recent. This is..." She hesitated.

"Artemis," I supplied. I refused to lie about my name, and there were enough mortals named for me that it wasn't so odd to use it.

"That's a beautiful name," Genie gushed. "She was always one of my favorite Goddesses."

"Thank you," I replied. There was something familiar about Genie. Her features marked her as Greek, which may have been the reason she felt familiar. I often oversee the births of children in Greece to ensure the infants make their way safely into the world.

Genie knelt in front of Baby Doll. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's get you back inside," she said soothingly.

Baby Doll looked at Faith, who nodded to encourage her. She let Genie take her hand and lead her inside.

"Alright, let's go see the body," Faith said.

"Faith... It is not an easy thing to see the body of someone you cared for, especially when it is covered in marks from snake fangs," I warned her gently.

"My father and uncle died in a fire when I was a kid, Artemis. I saw my dad's body. I can handle dead bodies, even of people I love."

I sighed. "Alright," I replied. I began leading her to the alley.

As soon as we arrived, Faith walked to the body. She looked at the girl and her face went from horror to grief to rage so quickly it was hard to identify one emotion before the next showed itself.

"He'll pay for this," Faith said firmly.

"Faith, who was she?" I asked.

"Her name was Liana," she replied. "She was my roommate. She ran away, which she does- did pretty often, but she always came back..." Faith cycled back to grief. "I'm sorry, Li," she whispered softly.

"I know this is difficult for you, Faith," I said gently. "How can I help?"

"I thought I was safe... Eliza lost her mom, and everyone else except Emily had family they needed to protect, but I wrote off my family... Because that's what foster kids are; a family. A dysfunctional one, sure, but we still have each other's backs... I should have searched for her when she didn't come back." She shook her head. "It's not my fault, and I know that, but it sucks, Artemis."

I nodded patiently. When I noticed a stray tear at the corner of her eye, I gently wiped it away with my thumb. Faith pulled me closer to her, and the next thing I knew, she was kissing me.

"It hurts," she said softly, her lips still resting against mine.

"I know," I replied, not daring to move away.

"This doesn't hurt. This feels good. I need that... I need you." She hesitated, and I knew she was waiting for permission for once.

I started to kiss her gently, letting her know that it was okay. I let her take the lead. Soon, we were lost in each other's embrace, kissing as if our existences depended on it. I was stunned by how natural it felt.

Suddenly, I understood the truth. Tana was my consort, and now, she was Faith... And I liked kissing Faith perhaps more than I should have. I'd never understood why people were so obsessed with kissing each other, but now that I had connected to Faith on this new level, I was starting to realize that forming a connection this intimate was worthy of the hype.

Damnit, I thought. I hate it when Aphrodite's right.

When we finally released each other, I took a deep breath. "You told Genie I was your girlfriend," I said.

"Yeah... It was the most believable explanation for why I was leaving with you... Are you mad?" Faith asked.

I considered this. "I don't think so," I finally replied.

She smiled sadly. "We need to do something about Liana," she said after a minute.

"I can bury her in a sanctuary in the woods," I offered. "It would be easier than having to explain this to the police."

Faith sighed. "She's a runaway with no blood family that cares about her, and the people at the group home will break if they see her like this," she said. "I guess it's the best thing we can do for her." She bent down and touched her fallen friend's forehead. "I will make him pay for this, Liana. I swear."

I reached out to my brother. Faith and I need a ride, I thought.

Moments later, Apollo arrived in his chariot, which was disguised as a red sports car. He stepped out to greet us. Spotting Liana's body, he frowned.

"Not a joy ride then?" He asked.

"I'm afraid not," I confirmed.

He moved closer to Liana. "Venom," he said softly. "Are you alright, Faith?"

"I'm pissed," she replied. "I'm going to kill Altheos when he finally shows his face."

"Excellent. That sounds like fun." He shook his head. "She was young."

"She was my age," Faith replied.

"Did Chaos do this?" Apollo asked me.

"No... It was Altheos," I replied. "In fact, Chaos showed himself just to tell me that."

"He did what?" Apollo was visibly starting to panic. He looked me over frantically. "Are you hurt? Did he attack you? Do I need to ask Hermes to fetch the anti-venom?"

"Apollo, I'm fine," I reassured him quickly. "He did not attack me. He simply told me Altheos did this in an attempt to break Faith."

He checked me over a final time before seeming to accept this. "And did it break you, Faith?" He asked gently.

"No," she replied. "It pissed me the hell off, but I don't break, Apollo. That's not my style."

Apollo nodded. He transformed the sports car into a black van. He gently picked Liana up in his arms and carried her to the vehicle, cautiously laying her across the back seat. I got into the van with Faith, sitting beside her in the middle row. Apollo got in the front and began to drive.

He didn't ask me where we were going. Apollo knew where I buried young maidens who fell in battle. He brought us there and, for once, he remained silent for the entire drive.