Notes of clarification: I realized after posting the last chapter that I had actually forgotten two of my characters…. Yeah I know, embarrassing. But it had been a year so I hope you guys will cut me a little slack. Really embarrassing. So, after the story is over and done I will be going back and editing them out or rewriting them a little. They were Albert Porter and his wife. So, for now ignore their existence until I work out how I'm to fix the huge, gigantic plot hole I just created.
Other notes: Right, this chapter is really thick on the Greek Mythology part of the story so I will be clarifying a few of the Greek gods that I introduce or mention.
Athena: Greek goddess of heroes and of wisdom and is also known as a god of 'peaceful' war. She was born out of her father's (Zeus) head fully grown and dressed in armor.
Apollo: Greek God of archery, of medicine and healing. Twin brother of Artemis. One of the son's of Zeus.
Artemis: Greek goddess of the hunt and the wild.
Eros: Is the Greek equivalent of cupid. He is the God of lust, love, and sex, and let's just say that he's a pesky bugger…. He once shot his 'love' arrow at Apollo and made him fall in love with a nymph named Daphne. She had herself turned into a tree after that when she scorned Apollo. He is a 'grandson' of Zeus.
Hermes: The Greek god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of commerce in general, and of the cunning of thieves and liars.
Hebe: Is the goddess of youth and daughter of Zeus, wife of Heracles.
Nike: My personal favorite, she is the goddess of victory and a distant cousin of Athena and all other children of Zeus. Her wings symbolized the fleeting nature of victory. She was a companion of Athena. And yes, the shoe company did name themselves after her. The correct pronunciation is Nee-kay, but I prefer Ni-kee, just like the company.
Chapter 29: Deception and Revelation
The world suddenly seemed to be very fuzzy and opaque, Zaid realized as he trekked through the nearby forest. He cursed his stupidity again as he looked around him in the thick fog that had settled around him, making it hard for him to see much of anything. When he had gone out the cabin door, he immediately knew he had done the stupidest thing in the world and now he was paying the price. When he had taken two steps out of the door, he turned to go back in he saw each of his companions disappear into thin air as they followed him out.
That had been two hours ago and he had spent much of that time searching around the cabin and when he had become too frustrated at the lack of anything he had started out into the forest that surrounded the large lake. He had been at it for almost 30 minutes and he had come across nothing except for a lot of trees and a lot of fog.
He stopped and leaned against the nearest tree as he wiped his brow and tried to look through the fog. He continued on after that and the fog just became thicker until he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face. And then suddenly with a sickening thud he ran into a large tree that happened to be right in the middle of his path. Cursing vehemently with stars bursting through his now aching head he tried to kick the tree he had ran into. But he missed and his foot only grazed it as he slipped on the damp leaves and other forest matter that littered the forest floor. With another thud he made contact with the ground and lost consciousness, lying completely alone and cold in the middle of nowhere.
When he finally came to about an hour later he was warm and comfortable (except for the terrible ache in his head) on a small bed, surrounded by the earthen walls of a cave. He groaned and tried to sit up but his head swam from the effort and he settled back down. He began to wonder who his savior was as he looked around at his surroundings. He only had to wait for a few moments to find out exactly that was.
She was amazingly tall (she probably matched his own 6 feet 5 inches) and slim with her small breasts bared for all the world to see. There was a short, thin skirt that covered her bottom half that was made out of a flimsy looking cotton like cloth. Her blonde hair was cut short in a crazy array of curls around her head. Her pale face was angular with high cheek bones and large blue eyes. Though her arms were slim like the rest of her, Zaid could plainly see the muscles beneath her skin and knew instantly that this was not your average woman. She turned around to put down the two dead rabbits that she had come in with and when she did Zaid's eyes widened at what he saw. Instead of the smooth skin of her back that he had expected to see there was instead a mass of pure white feathers that covered two large wings that were folded tightly to her back. Was this an angel? He wondered in a daze as she turned back around and spotted him awake and staring at her.
"Oh good you are awake I was hoping that your injuries were not of the severe nature," she said, greeting him in a very heavy Irish accent.
A bit taken aback by not only her appearance but also her speech he only blinked at her for a minute before responding.
"I… uh… yeah, thanks I don't think I'm too badly banged up."
"Excellent!" she cried, beaming at him with a wide smile on her thin face. "I am Nike, Goddess of Victory, and you are?"
His mouth hanging open he struggled to say something. He was so shocked that for a moment he couldn't think of exactly who he was. She looked at him with great concern as he continued to stare at her.
"Perhaps you are banged…. You don't seem to be all there," she spoke softly.
"What? No, no I'm fine! I, uh you just surprised me is all. It isn't often I meet a woman with wings. I am Robert Zaid, from Cornwall," he finally answered.
"I am pleased to meet you Robert Zaid, from the kingdom of Cornwall. Tell me, Robert Zaid, a man of your immense presence," she began gesturing to his tall frame and muscled arms, "you must be a warrior or maybe even a young prince of this Cornwall."
"No, I'm not any of those things, Cornwall isn't a kingdom but a county, it's part of bigger country," he tried to explain to her at the confused look on her face.
She studied him for a moment, her piercing blue eyes traveling up and down his body and Zaid had the impression that she glanced across his "nether regions" with unique interest.
"This country you call home must be very wealthy to have… counties," she purred, making the word counties sound like she was mentioning some deep, dark sexual fantasies or fetishes. "Tell me about these… counties."
"Uh…," he started to say as he became aware for the second time that she wasn't wearing a shirt or even a bra and that her breasts were just there.
Was she putting some sort of spell on him? He began to wonder as she meandered towards him, her hips swaying and her long, long legs coming into sharper focus. He had to admit there were really nice legs. Really nice, damn fine actually. They went on forever. He hadn't known he was so into legs, he always fancied himself an arse kind of man. Then suddenly the wings were gone and her hair had turned a fiery red and was growing before his eyes down her back. Now Ginny was standing before him, gloriously naked. His eyes flicked back down to her breasts and noted that they were now fuller and the nipples a slightly darker rose color.
"Oh damn," he croaked out as she straddled his waist, her light brown eyes bright with arousal and lust as her own hands traveled up her torso to cup her breasts.
For some cruel, inhuman reason he couldn't seem to move to touch her. Move! He screamed at himself, wanting nothing more to prove to her that he was the man for her. What did Potter have that he didn't have anyways? His mind flashed back to that night and remembered it all. The feel of her, the smell of her, the taste of her. He wanted her so bad that he couldn't think strait. He needed to be in her. He felt right then, in that very moment that if he didn't feel her around him that he was going to die. Yes, he was surely going to perish, but still he couldn't move.
While he was thinking about his inevitable death from lust she was pleasuring herself with two long fingers. She was biting her lip now, soft whimpers coming from her as she neared the sweet bliss of ultimate completion. He watched her, silently begging the Gods to let him do something. At that very moment he would do anything to grip her hips, touch her breasts, or to join his thick fingers with her own. He would do anything to be inside her, to have her crying out his name, while he proved to her she was his.
"Nobody owns me," said a voice inside his head, it was Ginny's voice, but it wasn't the Ginny that was with him now.
Suddenly something within him snapped and realized that this was wrong. This wasn't Ginny, it couldn't be Ginny, and it wasn't the Ginny that he wanted. Whatever was above him was something he didn't want. Realizing he could move now, he gripped her around the waist and threw her from him. He gasped for breath as he watched her vanish before she could even hit the floor. What was happening? Was he going mad? Before him, in the place where Ginny would have landed, Nike now stood, her face laced with concern. The winged woman had never been Ginny, Ginny had simply been a thing of his imagination.
"You have the fever," Nike said to him, her hand shaking as it brushed against his damp forehead.
Zaid was shocked to see the same arousal that had been Ginny's eyes in Nike's. But she wasn't throwing herself at him.
"You saw what I saw?" he rasped out, his throat seeming dryer than it had ever been.
"Yes," she answered, her once pale cheeks flushed. "This place plays tricks on your mind. The land we walk on just doesn't exist, it breaths and it thinks. It knows completely the people that step onto it. It knows your desires, your fears, and your nightmares. You desire that woman," she stated simply.
"Yes, more than anything."
"Why?" she asked him, her eyes losing their earlier lust and becoming a steely blue.
"Because I do," he replied, confused at her sudden change in demeanor as she swept away from him to go towards the magical, smokeless fire burning in the middle of the cave.
She stirred something that was cooking over the fire and went to the other side of the cave and pulled on a short tunic, her back towards him. Nike now firmly ignored him as she took the two dead rabbits and strolled outside.
Horribly confused and now, more then ever, wanting to find the others, he got out of the bed and pulled on his shoes. He walked out the way she had just left and found her sitting in a chair just outside the entrance, skinning the two rabbits. He watched her for a moment as she worked and realized that she was muttering quietly to herself in her native language as she angrily hacked away at one of the rabbits. Strangely he felt like he had always known her even though they had just met 15 minutes ago.
"Why are you upset?" he asked her, wondering why he cared so fast.
"You men are so blind," she hissed to him, pointing the blood and rabbit hair covered knife in his direction.
She glared at him for a moment before going back to her task and continued muttering to herself, he was now certain that she was muttering curses at him. Wondering if she had anything else to say he waited a second for her to continue but when she didn't he opened his mouth to speak. But before he could get a word out she was speaking to him again.
"You want a woman that can't possibly love you in return and yet you continue to torture yourself. I saw your thoughts when you imagined me as that woman. All you do is think about her, even when she's in love with another man. All you do is think about your pain."
Now Nike was standing and the knife lay discarded on the chair next to the rabbits. Her hands were on her hips and she was standing before him, legs slightly spread as if she was waiting for battle.
"She could love me," he said loudly, trying to convince himself just as much as her. "And what do you know anyways!" he yelled, his anger heightened by the sneer on her face.
"Don't you dare raise your voice at me!" she screamed back, her hands now balled into tight, unyielding fists at her sides. "I have powers that you will never think possible. You're going to hurt her Robert. You think you love her but you love your own pity more. You're going to force her to choose between you and the man who needs to her. You don't need her and all you'll do is break her. You tell yourself that you'll never hurt her, but you are too selfish to just stand by and watch her be happy with anybody but you. You are no man Robert Zaid," she growled to him.
"You don't know shit! You don't me!"
"I know you better than you know yourself. You're going to fuck everything up and then you are really going to die!"
He was so angry that he picked up the little stool that sat near the entrance of the cave and threw it at her with all his might. Pain clouded his brain and he tried to block out her accusations. She easily stepped out of the way of the flying stool with the ease and grace of a seeker and then with a war like cry she rushed towards him. Her wings were spread out now and they seemed to give her extra speed as she reached him in an instant. She landed a hard blow to his jaw before he even knew she had moved towards him. His head whipped back from the force of it and he staggered back. She landed another hard blow to his gut before he gathered his wits and tried to block her next blow. This was no woman, she was born a warrior and stronger than any mortal man so he completely blocked in the wrong direction. She feinted in the left direction, acting like she was going to hit him again in the face, before she suddenly swung her entire body around, her tunic whipping around her and landed a kick to his gut. All of the air whooshed out of him and his knees buckled.
She was their again and pushed him roughly to his back, her breath coming out in quick angry pants as she placed her foot at his throat. "You have no idea…" but before she could finish he had acted quickly and had swept her feet out from under her. Suddenly she too was on her back.
He rushed over to her, his blood pumping through his veins with lightening speed. Before she could again rise herself to her feet, he was pinning her to the ground. He straddled her upper thighs and captured her flying fists in his hands and then pinned them above her head. He looked down at her as her eyes flashed with anger and something else entirely. He could hear her heart beat and his in the silence of the forest and the sound seemed to surround them. There was a third heart beat as well, but it came from deep within the ground. It seemed to whisper to him, telling him what he really wanted. He then realized that she wanted him. Is that why she had been angry, because in his warped imagination he had turned her into Ginny? Was she jealous? Was it even possible that his own body was raging for her after only half-an hour? He didn't know but he was going to find out.
"Get off me you bloody son-of-a-bitch!"
"No! You asked me why I wanted Ginny and I want her because I had a taste and now I can't have another. I do love her, but I don't know how deep it goes. I look at her and I get confused. I don't like being confused and right now I'm more confused than I've ever been. I want you right now, more than I ever wanted her. It's like you put a spell on me, this place has put a spell on me," he said, watching as she stilled beneath him. "Tell me you want me."
Her eyes held no more anger but now just lust for him but there was resistance behind them. "I've put no spell on you, if this land has placed the spell then it is only because you do want this. Do you love her?"
This place, this woman had filled him with such doubts that he didn't even know anymore. If he did love her then wouldn't it be absolute? He wouldn't have these doubts if he truly loved her. Had she been right, did he just love his own pity? Had it been for selfish reasons that he told himself that he loved her? He didn't love her, but he cared about her. After all they had been through, he'd be a dead man not to care for Ginny at least a little.
"No," he groaned out, the revelation seeming to cost him a great deal.
"Then take me, I want you."
His lips crashed down to hers in a frenzied, hard kiss and her body arched up into his, begging him for more. He took.
While Zaid lost himself to the lust, Hermione was in a predicament all her own. Feeling sick that she had led them into what was certainly one the circles of hell. For all she knew the others were dead. She thought of this and then thought of Ron and her belly clenched in absolute terror. If only she could find him then she would be certain everything would turn out okay in the end. An hour passed and then two and with every passing minute Hermione became ever closer to the end of her tether. She had seen no one since they had all vanished before her very eyes. She had called their names and had of course gotten no response.
Deciding that she could see any possible danger better if she had a high vantage point, she climbed up onto the roof and looked down over the edge. And then she waited for someone to find her. Surely this spell or whatever it was that had made them all disappear couldn't last forever, after all Athena would be back and hopefully she could reverse it. She waited some more.
Then, about two hours after everyone's disappearance, out of the corner of her eye she saw an outline of a person walking around the cabin. It was actually very funny looking, this outline. It wasn't a ghost, it was even less solid then a ghost and the outline flickered in and out with every step it took. Watching it closely she saw it flicker brighter then ever and then almost go out completely. She had definitely seen red hair, she was one-hundred percent sure of it. But she couldn't tell if it had been Ron, George, or Ginny. The outline continued to flicker a little but did not become bright enough to see any details again.
"Ron!" she called down where the outline was. She didn't know why but she could just feel it in her very bones that it had been Ron. "Ron!" she called again when the outline did nothing different.
But then she heard something, something very faint, like something was whispering to her from the ground.
"Hermione…" it called ever so quietly.
Her heart jumped to her throat when she realized who the voice belonged to. "Ron!"
She scrambled down off the roof and stopped in front of the outline. She was certain it was Ron. She bellowed his name to see if it did anything. The outline stopped in front of her and she could see it look around. Had he heard her?
She bellowed it again and then the outline seemed to look strait through her.
"Hermione?" Ron's very distant voice seemed to call to her again.
How could she make him see her? There had to be a way. She just couldn't give up when he had so clearly heard her. Taking a deep breath she raised her arm and hit him across what she thought was his shoulder as hard as she could. Instead of her arm passing through him like she had feared it would it hit solid mass. She heard a very quiet curse of pain and her heart rejoiced. But then, Ron of course not knowing what had just hit him, hit back, his flying fist just grazing her cheek. She yelped and jumped back as he took another swing, he missed this time.
"Ron, it's me!"
He stopped and lowered his fist as he looked around. With hesitation he slowly started to feel around in front of him, looking for the invisible Hermione. She stepped in front of him and placed a hand on his cheek. He jumped and felt his way to her own cheek.
"Hermione?" he asked.
She nearly cried when the outline became Ron and with a look of surprise on his face she too became visible. He pulled her into a bone crushing hug as they swayed happily on the spot.
"Did I hit you? Are you okay?" he asked worriedly as he kissed her.
"I'm okay Ron. I'm so glad you're here, I was so worried!" she said, pulling him back into a hug.
"Have you seen anyone else?" he asked.
"No, just you."
Ron cursed again and received a half-hearted wack across the head from Hermione. "What are we going to do?" he asked her.
"I'm not sure…. I'm hoping Athena will return soon, but if she can't see us either, I don't know what we'll do."
Athena whistled as she walked, it was a habit that she had picked up through the centuries and it had yet to break. She walked along the forest path carefully, and a man walked beside her. He was a great deal taller then Athena and looked like the complete opposite of her. His hair was blonde and it curled down to the nape of his neck, and his face was sharply shaped and handsome with dark brown eyes.
"So tell me, sister, about this war that you say is surely coming," he spoke, his grin wide.
Athena turned her head towards her half-brother Apollo and looked at him strangely. "Why are you so happy for war?"
He shrugged and looked around at their surroundings. To him there was nothing but trees and shrubbery, nothing at all that he found interesting. He'd been there for a few centuries and was now bored, literally, out of his mind.
"I'm bored 'Ena, I need something to occupy my time. Sometimes I hate being immortal."
"Are you saying death would have been better than being banished here? This place isn't so bad, at least we have some family here," Athena reminded him as they continued along the winding path.
He stopped and grabbed his sister's wrist to also stop her. "It was family that betrayed us and our father."
"I don't consider those people family," she spat, before wrenching herself out of his grip and continuing on.
"'Ena, I'm sorry, you know I don't consider nay of those traitors family," he said, deciding to change the topic. "So, exactly who are we going to go see? It's been so long that I've seen anyone besides you. Of course that's not a terrible thing, you make wonderful company."
"Right now I'm going to go see Nike and then I was thinking that maybe Eros would like to join our cause."
"You're joking! Please tell me you're joking," he cried, stopping again, looking absolutely horrified. "You can't mean Eros! Why he's the son of not one but two traitors, and I hate him if you remember correctly. Damn little freak and effing arrows, he should be killed I tell you! Killed!" he yelled again.
Athena raised one eyebrow in amusement at his fright. "I thought that whole business was over between you and Eros?"
"Over! How could it ever be over? It is his fault that Daphne was turned into the tree," he stated sullenly.
"Alright then, I won't invite Eros to our cause."
He looked relieved and wrapped his arm around his older sister's shoulders. "You almost gave me a fright. Who else were you thinking about?"
Athena was silent for a moment as she thought about all of her various relations that had come to settle in this land. Many were not fit to fight, or she knew would be unwilling. At least she knew Nike would be up for anything, even if the others would turn them away.
"What do you think about Hermes?"
"Hermes? Do you really think we can trust him? I mean think about it, he did steal my cattle," Apollo grumbled.
Athena sighed. "If we keep doing this then we won't have anyone to try to recruit. At one point or another we all probably wanted to kill each other. Even if Hermes did steal your livestock, he was always loyal to our father, that has to mean something."
"True but he did have a child with Aphrodite, that has to be considered. His own child was in the army that we fought," he noted, looking smug.
"Fine then, no Hermes, I get the point, how about Hebe?" she suggested.
Apollo actually considered this one as he stroked his smooth chin. "Not bad, do you think she's up for battle though?"
"We were at one time good friends before she married Hercules, don't let the whole 'Goddess of youth' thing get in the way. She's been in a battle before."
"Alright then, we can go call on Nike and Hebe," he relented, as they reached a clearing in the middle of the thick forest.
"Is this Nike's?" he asked as he looked around and then towards the cave at the other side of the clearing. The cave itself backed up against a tree covered hill.
"Yes, I think so, we haven't seen each other in a few years, I hope she hasn't moved on," she whispered as they approached the cave entrance.
Apollo grabbed her wrist once more and dragged her back towards him and away from the cave.
"What's wrong now?" she hissed in annoyance.
"Don't you feel it?" he whispered to her, his mouth close to her ear.
"Feel what?"
"Can't you feel the beat of it, can't you taste it?" he whispered again, his breath tickling her ear and making shivers go up and down her spine. "I can even smell it you know."
Becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the closeness of Apollo's body to hers she elbowed him in the stomach and felt the whoosh of air as he jerked away from her. She turned around and glared at him.
"Have you completely lost your mind!"
He groaned and raised his eyes to hers. He was still clutching his stomach. "Sorry, 'Ena."
"What is wrong with you?"
"Well, besides the fact I think you just rearranged my insides and I just made a fool out of myself, I'm fairly certain that Nike has male company, if you get my meaning," he muttered, standing up strait. "Seriously, can't you feel it?"
Athena paused and looked away from him; she closed her eyes and was still for a moment so that the only thing she could hear was her own breathing and Apollo's. There was a steady pulse coming from below her feat. This pulse was just like a beat, a steady rhythm of two combined heart beats. They seemed to travel up her legs and to the very top of her head, leaving her skin tingling and desire pooling between her thighs. Her breathing hitched and she heard Apollo's quicken.
"Why would Nike lying with someone cause this?" she breathed, as she opened her eyes.
Apollo had turned around and now had his back to her. His breathing was fast and he seemed to be trying to control himself.
"That bad?" she asked, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice.
"Yeah," he rasped out. "I haven't been with anybody in a few centuries, it starts to take its toll. Don't come any closer, don't touch me or anything, I'm afraid I might attack you."
Athena laughed.
"What's so funny? I'm being serious!"
"You, attack me? For heaven's sake Apollo, even if you tried, you'd find yourself turned into some animal," Athena said as the pulsing beneath their feat slowed and then stopped all together.
He took a few more deep breaths and then turned back towards her. She raised an eyebrow at him in question. He nodded and shrugged, looking sheepish.
"Do you think they're done in there?" Athena asked him as they turned back towards the cave.
"Maybe, I would think so since the pulsing stopped," he replied.
They slowly crept towards the entrance to the little cave and peaked around the corner. It was fairly dark inside and there was only a very light fire burning, it was the only source of light in the room. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness they could clearly see two figures lying in a sweaty heap on a small bed. Their legs and arms were intertwined and the clash of dark and pale skin was electrifyingly erotic. Nike's naked, now wingless, back was towards them and her skin glowed with a light sheen of sweat. There was a light blanket pulled up that covered the couples' lower halves. Athena's eyes narrowing she realized who the man was.
"Mr. Zaid! What in the world are you doing here? I told you not to leave," Athena cried out as she took two hesitant steps into the cave.
The couple on the bed jumped and he pulled the blanket up to their chins, looking around the room with shock at their visitors.
"Athena!" Nike said in shock, she then turned towards Zaid and said, "you know each other?"
Zaid looked between the two of them before realization dawned on his face. The desire for her had made him forget why he was even there.
"Oh shit…. I forgot," Zaid groaned as he sat up.
"What happened?" Athena asked.
He quickly explained to her what had happened and watched as Athena's face fell as he told her everything. In particular her eyes widened when he briefly (very briefly) described the spell like daze that had made him forget everything except for Nike.
"Nike?" Athena asked at this.
"You know it wasn't me 'Ena, I wouldn't do that," Nike whispered, and Zaid noticed that there was a certain hitch to her voice. Was she embarrassed, he wondered?
He touched her arm gently and she jerked her arm out of his reach. Athena looked between them and realized that for the first time that the feeling of awkwardness was spreading through out the room and it was thick enough to cut with a knife.
"Um… I'll be right outside with Apollo while you two, uh, get your selves together. Nike, I need to talk to you about something when you're done," she said, before hurrying out of the cave.
Nike got out of bed and pulled back on her discarded clothes, all the while she didn't look at Zaid. After several moments of silence, Zaid got up to and pulled on his jeans.
"Nike?" he whispered, walking up behind her and touching her shoulder, he also placed a kiss on the back of her neck.
She moved away from him.
"I don't understand you," he said, looking at her confusedly.
"The only reason that you even looked at me was because of whatever spell you were under," she stated, turning around to look at him. "You're still not thinking strait."
"What? No, I did want you, if there was a spell, it doesn't mean it completely blinded me."
It was then that he realized something was different. "What happened to your wings?"
"I can make them go away for awhile if I want to, most men are put off by them. I know I'm not beautiful, and they don't help matters any."
Zaid blinked at her and when she turned back away from him to walk out he grabbed her arm and dragged her back around. He tugged her towards him and captured her lips in a hard kiss. Her hand was on his chest to push him away but it was half-hearted and soon she was melting into him.
He broke away from her and placed a kiss on the skin below her ear and whispered, "I'm not under any spell now and I do think you're beautiful. Who ever gave you the idea that you weren't?"
She shrugged but didn't pull away from him. "I pale in comparison to the rest of my family; I've always known that I wasn't beautiful."
He kissed her again and she gently pushed him away. "I'll be back, I have to go see what they want, it sounded important."
She walked out, leaving him in the middle of the room. He sighed and ran a hand over his hairless head and looked around. He didn't really know what to do with himself and not only that he was really confused. Ginny popped into head and he realized that he couldn't really remember why he thought he was in love with her. Nike was right, it would only lead to pain on both sides if he pursued her. He pulled on his shirt and walked towards the exit.
Athena and a man he didn't recognize were outside with Nike and they were talking quietly. The man saw him and pointed this out to Nike who turned around and motioned for him to come foreword. They were still talking when he reached Nike's side.
"Are you in?" Athena asked Nike.
"You know I would be. You don't even have to ask. Who else is going to be joining us besides the mortals?"
"Right now, I don't even know. I know many will turn us away and some are simply unable to fight," she answered her, looking in the distance.
"What about Artemis? I'm sure that…" Nike began but was cut off by Apollo who was shaking his head.
"We've already asked her, she doesn't want to," he answered, a trace of bitterness in his voice.
Nike looked taken aback and gazed at Apollo for a moment before turning back to Athena. Athena shrugged and looked a little melancholy.
"I'm sure if we just talk to her again, she will see reason."
"No, she won't. I know my twin, she won't want to come out of seclusion for a war she does not believe is her own," Apollo said, looking angry. "I would have hoped sharing a womb would make her trust me to know what is right but apparently not."
Athena shook her head and changed the subject. "There's nothing we can do right now. For now we have to find Hermione and the others, if they experienced the same sort of disappearing act as Zaid did then they could be in a world of trouble."
They all agreed and before they set off Nike went back into her little cave and came out with a holster around her waist (it held a long, gleaming sword) and a quiver of arrows and a bow across her back. Her wings were back now, and Zaid thought she looked like some ancient Greek statue. It came to him then that there were probably Greek statues of her. She took off into the air and began to circle above them, looking for the others while Athena, Apollo, and Zaid set off on foot.
A/N: I'm sorry about the longer wait for an update but I got discouraged with the whole, forgetting entire characters thing… and I only received one review each for the last two chapters. I'm not going to hold chapters hostage if I don't receive reviews but if you are reading this story please review. I get about three or four new story alerts with each chapter that I post but no one reviews.
Thank you to all my readers (even if you guys don't review), I do appreciate people just reading. :)
