Chapter 24: Carina
My sword, Silver Wind, turned into a swirling silver barrier of protection around me. For a second, I was thankful for Neesik's weapon training program, but then remembering the icy cold morning swims in the lake I took that thought back.
Slicing another scissor in half, I whirled around and saw Sarah. She was fighting alongside Pranu. Pranu was stabbing everything in sight while talking conversationally to Sarah, who nodded every so often. Then, Sarah spotted me and came over to help.
"Hiya!" I said, concentrating on not slicing her in half along with the Scissors.
"If you could just step in a little..." I continued. Sarah got the gist of what I was saying, and quickly stepped near me. I turned so we were back-to-back.
We made a great team, Sarah and I. Since Sarah was the daughter of Hades, she could summon skeletal warriors and create big fissures in the ground. Now the scissors were looking at us warily, no longer daring to come too close. Everything was going to end soon.
Artemis
While every ignorant fool was intent upon the battle itself, I turned my mind to more important matters. Such as, say, the still-burning fire. Ugh.
I approached it cautiously, then lept into the air, becoming a hawk. I soared over the flames and looked down into their heart, and almost tumbled out of the air in shock. I righted myself again, and dived with open claws toward her face, but two ravens intercepted me, throwing me off balance. I landed straight into the hands of that despicable girl.
Immediately, I recognized her. It was the young girl that had saved me from the gigantic energy bomb that had nearly decapitated me for at least a decade. But... she appeared to be in a different form, a more powerful-and mysterious- one. She dropped me, and I immediately landed on my feet, before flipping backwards.
"What do you want?!" I shouted, for I knew I had to pay off my debt. She knew it too, for she smiled a bitter smile.
"I think we should concentrate on her," she said, pointing at a figure which had suddenly blurred into view. She blurred again, and almost in slow-motion, she was heading towards me. Or wait! It was slow motion. I looked toward the other girl again. Of course!
The time-controller. Ergh, what a unfair and unjust power!
I quickly dodged, and I almost fell to the ground with shock when a voice in my head appeared.
'I can also read minds, by the way..." I scowled at the girl. She was more formidable than I first thought.
I could sense it. The girl who was blurring in and out had amazing potential and power for one her age. Then I was sent flying backwards. I felt as though my very atoms were being ripped apart. I quickly dissipated before inertia could kick in and hold me together. If it did, I would ripped apart instead of feeling as though I were being ripped apart.
That would be a rather undignified sight for the Goddess of the Hunt.
A faint smile lit up the face of the time girl. I frowned to myself and shoveled my personal thoughts into a crater in my brain for later analyzation.
'I believe I shall leave this to you. And, of course, alive is preferable to dead.' the girl's voice sounded once again in her head. and then the infuriating time girl shimmered and disappeared. Time resumed its natural course.
I gripped my hunting knives and assumed a defensive position. A small smile flickered across my face. After all, this was what I had done for the past few millennia. Then, my face fell again. I had other duties. For instance, the Council of the Gods had decided for me to hunt down the monster Dracohydrae, and cleanse that evil from the world.
Suddenly I had an idea. I couldn't do this, but what about one of my huntresses?
Thalia
Where was Artemis? I looked all over for her but I couldn't find her. A silver arrow suddenly shot past, embedding itself in a tree. A note was stuck to the tail.
Thalia, I have a job for you.