Welcome… to Chapter 11 *evil laughter* I didn't forget; I said I'd try to do an update a week and I'm going to do my best to uphold that.
Kitty: Gee, thanks so much! That means a lot! I hope you enjoy this next chapter! :)
The bow was pulling less hard than it had before, and I think every single one of us noticed. Instead of having to run, a fast walk was plenty fast to keep up with it. Faith was holding it (I might've been a little scared after Stabby's story) and I could tell she would've loved to snap it in half.
"What's the plan when we actually find the owner, anyway," Vaz prompted.
"We question them about Mom and Dad," I said firmly. "If they refuse to cooperate, we use force."
"Luke, whoever owns this bow is probably much more skilled than the three of us combined." Faith shook her head. "If we try a full frontal attack, there's no way we'd have an advantage."
"So how do you guys think this is going to work?" I scowled. As much as I hated to admit it, they were right. I hadn't thought my idea through very well. We couldn't just approach this dude and demand answers. Chances are, he was the one who had shot at Vaz and I before. It wasn't like he was going to welcome us with open arms.
"We have leverage," Vaz replied, gesturing at the bow. "Faith will keep an arrow knocked on her own bow, Luke will hold it, I'll draw my sword, and we'll ask for a trade. The bow for answers. If they attack, we run."
"Run?"
"Yes Luke," Faith turned to me, appearing concerned. "Do not, I repeat, do not approach him."
She sounded an awful lot like she knew who she was talking about. It made me wary-if she knew something that we didn't, why wouldn't she tell us? Her history with the PoP was bloody and brutal, but what if she still had ties with them? I traded looks with Vaz and I could tell she was thinking the same thing. Maybe that's why she wanted me to hold the bow when we met up with the mysterious archer.
"You don't trust me," the descendent of Apollo stated after a moment of silence. "I understand."
"But-" I started to protest.
"You guys are right. I do know something. But I'm not sure if it's true and if it isn't, I don't want to be wrong. You get it?"
Vaz's expression hardened. "If you know something, tell us. If you MIGHT know something, tell us. Whatever information you're harboring could be useful later on."
"You'll find out in due time. Let's just say the owner of this bow and I have a bit of a connection, if he's who I think he is."
My mind whirled. Connection? Was he a relative? An old friend? An old boyfriend? Nah, something about Faith told me she would sooner skewer a boy through the chest than hold his hand. But that left the other two options… and was the connection just surface level? Or did she have any emotional connections? Oh my gods, if I didn't start getting answers, my head was going to explode. It felt like every moment of our journey, the whole situation got more and more confusing. What started out as a quest to find Mom and Dad turned into a spaghetti mess of magical weapons and dark pasts. Maybe being a demi-god isn't all I thought it was cracked up to be.
I thought about Stabby. I acted like he wasn't a threat to the girls, but a part of me was extremely worried that he might come back. Even though he had given us some useful information, he was still the enemy, and needed to be treated as such. I wondered if the girls still felt like I should've let him fall and die.
My mouth went dry. For some reason, I thought of Jade. Was this the world she had grown up in? While I was off stuffing cheerios in my mouth and learning how to color, was she learning how to hold a sword and where to hit different monsters? Part of me still despised her, but the longer I spent time with Vaz and Faith, the more I realized how difficult it was to live as a god's child. I wondered if she had had a birthday party after everything that had happened. I wondered if she was upset when they found out I was missing (and her best friend). I wondered if she would care if I never came back.
"Luke! Ow!"
"Oh, sorry," I mumbled. Without paying attention, I had accidentally run right into Vaz. She gave me a dirty look before turning back around.
"You guys are amazing," I said out of nowhere. Both of them stopped to turn and look at me incredulously.
"Did you hit your head or something?" Vaz joked.
"No," I continued earnestly, "but I mean, seriously. Fighting off monsters all the time and living without knowing when your next battle will be but still enjoying life and laughing and smiling… I don't know how you demi-gods do it."
"Practice." Faith shrugged, but I could see a little smile tugging at her lips. The bow was tugging on her arm still, but she ignored it. It struck me how green her eyes were… when had they changed from purple?
A strange sound came from our left, and I felt a huge rush of adrenaline. Before I could get a sense of my bearings, I had already pulled out my blade and was in a fighting stance. When my vision cleared, both girls were gaping at me.
"That was just the wind, Luke," Vaz said, but she wasn't making fun of me. Her eyes were wide.
"What?!" I asked.
"That was the fastest I've ever seen you move," she replied. "You're improving, stupid."
For some reason, the mixed compliment made a warmth spread from my chest. I couldn't stop the grin on my face. "You really think so?"
"Definitely," Faith nodded, responding for her. She looked down at my blade. "What do you call your knife, by the way? Every weapon deserves a name."
I almost didn't tell them, but then I caved. "I named my knife Cheese, because so far that's all I've used it for."
"Cheese." Vaz nodded. "A fitting name."
They both were holding in laughter, but I didn't care. The atmosphere felt the most relaxed since Vaz and I had come across Faith, and it was nice to pretend like we were just three normal teenagers for once. I put Cheese away and tried to enjoy the moment while it lasted.
"Shouldn't we keep going?" Faith said after a couple of seconds.
"Yep. Onward and upward, boys." Vaz smiled.
So onward and upward we went.
Thank you SO SO SO much for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed this latest chapter. I know it wasn't as exciting as some of the other ones... please feel free to give whatever feedback you can, and let me know what you think of the characters. I'm always looking for ways to improve my OCs :)
