Ch. 4
Last Chapter…
Perseus sat back down in his chair, crossing his legs and resting his ankle on his knee.
"I was hoping to ease them into it but I suppose it's better to just get it out there and explain later. Thalia, this is Nico and Bianca Di Angelo, they are children of Hades." Thalia's eyes went wide but he continued before she could speak. "You three, as far as I know, are the only living demigod children of the three eldest gods. So if this prophecy comes to pass, one of you three will be the one."
Things started to come together for Thalia and a dark thought crossed her mind, "You're hoping to use one of us, whichever is willing to do what you want. You want to destroy Olympus, don't you?"
Perseus' lips curled and a smile crept onto his lips again, this one making Thalia shiver.
Now…
"You can go to Tartarus if you think I'd ever help you!" Thalia spat at him. If this guy thought she was going to do his bidding, he had another thing coming.
Perseus' eyes got a faraway look in them and his smile turned into a frown. Not an angry expression, just kind of sad.
"I'd prefer to avoid that, again." He said blankly. "You have no idea what that place is like, especially for an Olympian God… Or a former one." He stared off like he was lost in memories.
There were multiple things in his statement that made her eyes bug out a little. She tried to respond but the only thing that came out was a strangled noise that sounded more like a grunt. She composed herself and managed a weak, "What?"
"Yes," Perseus' eyes seemed to come back into focus. "Hell of a father we have, eh?"
"You were an Olympian?" She found her voice, it was laced with disbelief.
He just shrugged, "Long ago. It doesn't really matter though; it's been so long since I was that god that I barely remember it."
"Because Zeus sent threw you in Tartarus?"
Perseus didn't answer but his silence was confirmation enough.
Thalia didn't really know what to say after that. Her own feelings about Zeus were certainly mixed but she had no intention of letting him know that.
"You probably deserved worse." She finally came out with.
"Perhaps," he sounded like he honestly wasn't sure. "But we are not here to drudge up old memories."
"What are we here for?" The young boy Nico asked, his first words outside of a sob since Thalia had first seen him.
"To learn, young Nico." Bianca put an arm around her brother protectively trying to show that whatever he wanted to do to Nico would not be done without going through her first. Perseus just sighed like he was tired, "But not today. Today has been long enough for all of you. I will let Thalia answer the many questions you two might have. I think a little rest is in order, the upstairs belongs to you three, you can figure out the sleeping arrangements. There's a kitchen," he pointed to a room off to their left. "Anything you want to eat, you need only think it and it will appear, same with beverages. You can go out to the beach if you like but trying to escape would be pointless. Wherever you try to run, you will only arrive back here. I'm sure you will try but I assure you, you won't get far."
"It's the middle of the day, we don't sleep during the day." Thalia pointed out, not even sure why she cared to tell him that.
He just smiled and the sun vanished from the sky.
"I am the God of Night and I can choose when and for how long it remains night here. I'm afraid I have other business to attend to, so you three can get acclimated with each other and this home."
With those words his body melted into the chair and he vanished.
Line Break
A young dark haired child ran through the heavily wooded forest. He moved with such speed that he was barely more than a blur, a wisp of shadow that would be missed unless you were looking for it at the exact right time. The forest seemed like a second home to him; he knew every tree, every rock, and every low hanging branch he could use to swing himself over roots or bushes.
A second blur, this one moving just as quickly and like it was in hot pursuit of the first, streaked through the forest at impossible speeds. This one was silver and it followed almost an identical path as the first but out of this one, steaks of silver light, silver arrows flew at the first, all missing catching the darker one by milliseconds or mere inches.
At times, the scene would slow down, like it was paused and the face of the silver blur could be seen. A girl no older than twelve, Auburn hair flowing wildly behind her as she fired arrow after arrow, trying to catch her prey from behind.
But the darker blur, the young boy about the same age seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. Just as the silver arrows looked like they were about to hit him, he would cut to one side, letting them fly harmlessly into a tree.
He took a hard right behind a tree and three silver arrows thudded deep into the trunk to which he allowed himself a small smirk of satisfaction. He turned, looking for his pursuer only to realize it wasn't behind him anymore. He turned back in front of him just as the silver blur came out of nowhere and upended him by diving straight into his knees and sending him flipping end over end into another tree. The tree snapped in half, along with two more after it as his body crashed through them.
This of course would be impossible for a normal boy. But this was obviously no normal child. Even after the brutal crash landing, he rolled a few times and came to a stop in front of a large tree stump. His eyes were wide and he looked dazed. But within seconds, his black eyes snapped back into focus and he raised his hand, a dark sword appearing in it out of nowhere. The auburn haired girl slashed with two hunting knives, trying to take his head off, or so it seemed.
The boy blocked her strike and spun his body around, sweeping her legs right out from under her. Just as she hit the ground, his sandaled foot kicked her hard in the face. She rolled away and jumped to her feet. When she opened her mouth, her teeth were stained gold with ichor, the blood of the immortals.
Just as she tensed, ready to attack again, a woman's voice rang out through the woods.
"Artemissss! Perseusssss!" The voice sounded distant but still clearly heard. The auburn haired girl lowered her weapons and they vanished from her hands. Suddenly her lips twisted into a wicked looking grin with all the ichor in her mouth.
"A good chase, brother. You are getting better Perseus."
The boy's sword vanished and his own expression turned pleasant as he chuckled lightly.
"Sorry about that kick to the face." From his tone, he regretted nothing about it but the girl's smile just grew.
"I promise you'll regret that next time, little brother."
Perseus just rolled his eyes, "How about next time, I get to be the hunter and you the prey?"
Artemis laughed like the thought was amusing, "But you are so good at being prey, why would I want to lose my favorite training tool?"
Perseus scowled at her teasing but it wasn't angry, more annoyed like he had heard this response more times than he cared to remember. Artemis noticed his expression and smiled deviously.
"I'll make a deal with you, brother. You beat me back to mother and it will be as you say tomorrow. Is that not fair?"
He seemed intrigued by this, "Swear to it?"
She nodded, "On the Styx, you have my word."
Thunder rumbling in the distance and before she could react, Perseus' foot connected with her chest, sending her flying backwards and crashing into a tree. She hit hard and the sound of the impact could be heard for hundreds of yards. By the time she hit the ground, Perseus was gone, a blur moving through the forest at speeds only possible by immortals.
Surprisingly, Artemis just grinned at this and sped off in pursuit, determined to beat him there and keep him as her personal trophy prey.
Thalia woke with a start.
As her vision came into focus, she realized with a depressing sigh that everything from the day before had in fact happened. She was kidnapped; stuck with two children of Hades who had kept her up all night with questions about gods, their father, their mother, Perseus, half-bloods and just about anything else that came into their heads.
She'd tried to make a run for it but just as Perseus said, no matter which direction she ran in, she would end up right outside of their little beach house. Once she'd given up, she found the Di Angelos in the kitchen, taking full advantage of the enchanted kitchen. Despite the feeling like she was betraying herself, she was too hungry not to sit down next to them. Of course that turned out to be a mistake because that was when the questioning started.
She'd managed to get through the whole, the gods are real, you're a demigod and yes, you probably have cool powers or something spiel. She had to walk them into a bedroom with two beds and coax them into bed before she could slip out and escape Nico's annoying pestering about super god powers and whatnot.
She'd found another room a couple doors down and decided to go inside… Just to start to figure out how exactly she was going to get out there. But in the end, her body had betrayed her and she lost her battle with Morpheus.
She didn't know how long she slept; the dream had only seemed like it lasted a few minutes but then again, that wasn't a very accurate way to measure her sleep time. All she knew was that she was figuring out how to get out of there, if it was the last thing she did.
Line Break
Artemis found the entire council gathered when she appeared on Olympus. She had sent her hunters to Camp Half-Blood along with the satyr and demigod Luke. Although she hated sending them alone, she had little choice with Zeus calling an immediate meeting of the council.
When she walked through the doors of the throne room, the mood was immediately evident. No one spoke; they all sat in a tense silence, obviously waiting for her arrival. She grew to her godly height and got to her throne quickly. Once she was seated, she found most eyes on her. Some tried to hide their stares but her father, Zeus, made no effort to avert his piercing eyes.
"Apollo has informed us that he has returned. Tell me daughter, what happened?"
Artemis looked like she was going to say something but then changed her mind and waved her hand. An image appeared in the middle of the room showing the scene outside Westover Hall. It began when the hunters arrived and finished with Perseus disappearing with the three demigods.
It was hard to miss the looks she was sent after her fight with Perseus. She couldn't tell if they were pity or perhaps worry that he could have killed her. She honestly didn't care about any of their thoughts; she was far more concerned with her own internal struggles.
She'd secretly prayed for centuries for a chance to see her little brother again only for the cruel Fates to make it such a bittersweet reunion. She was relieved he was still alive and very much in control of his domains, clearly not in danger of fading. But the way he'd fought her… They'd always fought each other hard but this time was different. He would have killed her if he'd gotten the chance. She didn't doubt that. Those cold black eyes that used to soften for her showed nothing. There was no recognition, not even anger, just an indifference that cut deeper than any other emotion could. She would have welcomed anger or hatred; it would have showed he felt something. But to him, she was merely another foe, no different than he viewed a monster standing in the way of something he wanted.
She wasn't sure if it was possible to feel worse than she did. She couldn't blame him for hating her but she'd done what she thought was right. The way things unfolded weren't what she wanted but she couldn't lie to herself, she'd brought this on herself.
"Artemis!" Zeus shouted snapping her out of her mental anguish. She looked up and found her father looking concerned and perhaps a little suspicious, like he guessed what she'd been thinking about.
"Yes father, I'm sorry, I am weary from the fight with Pers…"
"Don't say his name." Zeus cut her off. "It's fine but do you understand what you need to do?"
She tried to hide the frown that forced its way onto her face.
"Hunt him." She made sure to steel herself and sound stoic. "He must be found."
Zeus nodded and watched her for a few more seconds before apparently seeming satisfied she meant what she said.
"Thalia must be found and rescued; it is your top priority."
Hera huffed indignantly but Zeus appeared to be in no mood for one of her fits.
"She is vital to Olympus!" He snapped at his wife. "She is the child of the prophecy. We cannot allow her to be influenced by outside forces."
"Father, Per.." Artemis stopped herself knowing saying his name would only enflame Zeus' anger. "He's not going to be easy to find. He is a skilled hunter and knows how to hide when he doesn't wish to be found."
"You have trained your hunters for millennia," he countered. "Surely they will be of some use to you in this task."
Artemis felt a surge of panic well up inside her at the thought of her maidens hunting for Perseus. She'd seen how ruthless he could be and couldn't put her hunters in that kind of danger. A monster was one thing but Perseus was a god, possibly the most dangerous god there was if what she'd seen was any indication of what to expect.
"They are no match for a god," she explained and Zeus looked annoyed by her resistance.
"What are you saying daughter? Are you unable to hunt him? Is he beyond even your power to track?" He knew exactly which buttons to push on Artemis to get what he wanted.
Her eyes flashed but she controlled the snarl she wanted to unleash at her father. This was her little brother, of course he wasn't beyond her skills.
"Perhaps a more divine hunting party would quicken his capture," she offered. "He is skilled but not beyond my skill. I only ask for help, for the sake of Thalia." She was not so easily played. She could manipulate Zeus just as easily as he could her.
"What do you need?" Zeus was getting irritated with the conversation and just wanted to get to the point so they could get started on finding his daughter. "Ares," he barked.
"No," Artemis interjected. "Ares is a fool. With his clumsy lumbering, it would take years to find Thalia. Two companions are all I need; Athena will help us outsmart Perseus and Hermes' speed will make sure he cannot escape once found."
Ares stood up red faced and ready to protest but Dionysus just waved his hand lazily, wrapping the war god in grape vines and pinning him back to his throne.
"The sooner you shut up, the sooner we can be done with this nonsense." Dionysus drawled, showing no interest in the problem at hand.
Zeus ignored Dionysus' comment and Ares' struggling and seemed to consider this.
"Very well Artemis." He leaned forward in his throne and looked directly into her silver eyes. "Do not fail me."
Artemis gulped at the veiled threat and nodded her consent.
"You leave at once. I wish him caught before the Winter Solstice."
With that, Zeus adjourned the meeting and vanished in a bolt of lightning. A number of the other Olympians shot Artemis looks of sympathy before they too vanished from the throne room until only the three from the hunting pack remained.
Hermes looked less than thrilled to be part of this mission while Athena already looked thoughtful.
Artemis had no idea what she was going to do; all she knew was that no matter what she decided, it was going to end badly for her.
A.N: Short filler but needed to be done. Can't have every chapter be action packed excitement but I have many interesting plans for this story, we'll see which ones I still like when I get that far.
Thanks for reading… Suggestions are always welcome.
