If you're confused about anything that happens in this chapter, you should check out visit-the-moon. tumblr. com because I've most likely either explained or hinted at it. If I haven't, send me a message asking about it.
Hera frowned. "What do you mean, unconscious? Could you not wake her?"
Artemis gave the queen an odd look. "Well, no, that is generally what I mean when I say unconscious."
Hera rolled her eyes. "Yes. But where is she?"
"In her apartment." Artemis glanced at Hermes. He had not even looked up since she'd announced she's found Lucy. The goddess' eyes narrowed. "Hermes."
He raised his head. "Yes?" His tone was flat and uninterested.
"Why haven't you reacted at all?"
"Because it doesn't really matter to me if you've found her."
"Why not?"
"She is a stranger. Why would I care if you have found a stranger?"
The other gods didn't speak, glancing at one another and trying to avoid the now awkward conversation. Artemis, who had no such qualms, glared at her brother.
"You wouldn't have said that a few hours ago. A few hours ago, you were prepared to fight Zeus about her innocence."
"A few hours ago, I didn't know what I do now."
"So just that small bit of information entirely changed your opinion? It was that easy to adjust what you believe in?"
Hermes' eyes flashed. "You try believing so absolutely in someone that you'd break the laws of your existence for them, then finding out that the person you thought you loved was a fake, created specifically to hurt you. Tell me how you'd feel about that person then."
The others winced, but Artemis didn't blink.
"You need to see this, Hermes."
"No."
"Why not?" Her voice rose. "You won't even consider the possibility that it wasn't her?"
"It was her! I know it."
"How? The same way you 'knew' it was her all those times before? I think your judgment is not something we can wholly trust."
Hermes glared at her. "What do you want, Artemis? You want me to go see her? You want her to yell at me again? You want her to tell me one more time how pathetic I am? I prefer to keep that horrible feeling to a minimum, thank you."
The moon goddess exhaled angrily. "I do not believe that was her, Hermes! How many times must I say that?"
"I'm not going, Artemis."
Without another word, she marched to his throne and dragged him off of it.
"Artemis, what are you—"
Her mouth set in a determined line, she refused to acknowledge her brother's protest. The other gods watched in shock as the Huntress disappeared, Hermes caught in her grip.
"Stop that, Artemis, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" Hermes yanked his arm from her hold, voice flat with irritation. He glanced at the goddess, who was staring at something in front of them. Following her gaze, he saw the familiar blue door and froze. He turned back to her slowly.
"No."
She crossed her arms stubbornly. "Yes."
"No, Artemis, I don't want to, I'm going back."
Her hand shot out to grab his before his could disappear again.
"No you don't. You are going to do this." Her expression was hard; her grip on his arm was harder. "You have to do this, Hermes. I don't care what you want. You are doing this. You have to face whatever it is that's making you like this." She gestured at him.
"Why? Why are you forcing me to do this?"
"Because." She twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. "You need to see her again. On your terms. And you need to see this."
She raised her eyebrows, tilting her head toward the dark inside of the apartment. He frowned at her but reluctantly walked in.
The interior was dimly lit, the curtains drawn across the windows tainting the light a dark blue. A blinking red light announced a number of messages on the phone. There was something not right about the atmosphere; something was off.
Hermes rubbed his temples, fending off the emotions that threatened to break through the barrier he had constructed. Artemis watched her brother carefully. He glanced at her.
"Where is she?"
"Bedroom." Her voice was soft.
He nodded, taking a breath and walking into the bedroom.
The room was completely dark. Had the two who'd just entered not been gods, they would not have been able to see anything. As it was, they took in the sight of the bed and, more importantly, the girl in it.
To a mortal, she would appear to be sleeping. Her hair was smoothed over the pillow, the covers drawn up to her shoulders. Her eyes were gently shut, her eyelashes splayed across her cheekbones. Everything was absolutely perfect; had there been no context, this girl might have been merely a peacefully sleeping mortal. But the two gods knew better, and what might have been ignored was prominent.
The covers, undisturbed and smooth, were too perfect, too untouched. The girl's face was curiously expressionless. No slight smile or frown hinted at what she was experiencing. And the gods could feel the absence of something significant.
"Where is it?" Hermes' voice is lowered to a whisper, unable to break the strange spell of the room.
"Mm, so you noticed." Artemis' voice is quiet as well, but hers takes on an almost musing tone.
"Where is it?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean, you don't know? You're a Huntress. How could you not know where it is?"
Artemis frowned at him, slightly disgruntled. "The same reason I didn't know where she was before. There is something at work here that is blocking me."
"But how can…" His voice was turning frantic. "She's still alive. But…"
"I know." She placed a hand on his arm soothingly. "Calm down. The point is that she's still alive. And I think this proves that you don't know all of what's going on."
"Mm." His eyes returned to the unconscious girl.
"You should try it."
The gentle suggestion caught him off guard. "What?"
"Go into her mind."
He gaped at her. It had never crossed his mind to do that. Though, because she was unconscious, his abilities as the bringer of dreams would apply. His brow furrowed.
"That wouldn't be right."
Artemis snorted. "Yes, because everything that has happened recently is so reasonable. Come on, Hermes. You know as well as I do that this is the only way to find out what's going on."
He sighed, but walked slowly to the side of the bed. He knelt and gingerly lifted Lucy's hand from the covers. He winced—the fingers were unnaturally cold. The god cleared his throat and shifted his hands around the small one he grasped. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and concentrated.
He reached out with his mind, probing the atmosphere, searching for a specific point of light. He felt the cool white radiance that was Artemis, was vaguely aware of the dim lights that represented the other mortals in the building, but could not find the light in the body of the hand he was holding. He pushed forward with frustration and found himself blocked by some obstacle. He shoved against it and could sense the presence of a light, but could not break through the obstruction. Discouraged, he pulled himself from his mindset and let go of the hand. He pushed off the bed as he stood, restraining a growl. Artemis watched him in concern.
"You could not find her?"
"No," he said hesitantly. "I think I found her. She's just…blocked."
"What do you mean?"
"There was some sort of barrier. I couldn't move past it. But I thought I could feel her soul on the other side. Someone's soul. I think it was hers."
"How odd." Artemis tapped her lip, deep in thought. Hermes frowned, thinking as well.
"I'm going to bring her to Olympus," he announced. Artemis' eyes widened.
"What?"
"Yeah." He nodded, as if actually cementing his decision just now. "I am."
"But, what if—okay," she said uncertainly.
Hermes pulled the covers back gently. He bent down and lifted the unconscious girl, one arm beneath her knees and the other supporting her back. Her head rested against his chest.
"Let's go."
Artemis, eyes still wide, nodded hesitantly. Hermes began to disappear and Artemis closed her eyes, feeling the direction of Hermes' path and following it, disappeared as well.
"You're bringing her to your suite?" The goddess took in the hallway they materialized in. She looked at Hermes, who nodded.
"Where else would I bring her?"
"I don't know, but father is not going to be—"
"What are you doing?"
The two gods winced at the angry shout that came from the end of the hallway. They turned slowly, both carefully constructing a neutral countenance. Zeus' face was a bright tomato red and twisted into a furious expression.
"What do you mean?" Hermes asked innocently. Of course, being Hermes, not to mention carrying the limp body of one of the currently most wanted mortals in Olympus, the innocent façade didn't go as well as would otherwise be expected.
"Why have you brought that mortal here?"
Hera sighed. "I think what he means to say is, why have you not brought her to the Great Hall to be tried?"
"Because there's no point in trying her when her soul's gone."
Zeus halted in his stampede up the corridor. "What?"
Hermes lifted his arms slightly, gesturing to the girl he was holding. "I tried to go into her mind. You know, because she's unconscious. It should have worked. But when I tried, something was blocking me."
"So…"
"So," Artemis replied, "she's still alive, we just can't reach her soul."
Hera adjusted the shoulder of her dress absently, a frown creasing her brow. "This is not good, then."
"I'd say not."
"But you still can't just bring her into Olympus like this, Hermes," Zeus insisted. They all looked to him.
"Why not?"
"What if this is a trick? What if she's suddenly going to wake up and wreck whatever havoc on us?" He shook his head. "I just don't like it."
"If this is a trick, then at least we'll have her someplace secure. And if it isn't, then we'll be able to figure out what exactly is going on. Either way, her being here is a logical thing to do."
Zeus looked helplessly at Hera, who shrugged. "He poses a rational argument, my dear."
Zeus huffed and turned back to the younger gods.
"Fine. Keep her in your room. But I expect someone to be monitoring her at all times. And the two of you do not count."
"What?"
"Why not?"
Zeus shushed the indignant protests. "Both of you have far too much fondness for this mortal. She would find it much too easy to trick you both somehow."
It was the younger gods' turn to grumble and turn back toward the entrance to Hermes' suite.
"I'll send someone in to watch her," Zeus called after them.
Artemis rolled her eyes. "I can't believe he doesn't trust us." She stepped forward to push open the door for her brother.
He shrugged his shoulders, walking through the doorway. "I'll get mad depending on who he sends."
He walked past the cream couches and straight into his bedroom. Artemis followed, pausing to pick up a photograph that lay on the glass coffee table. She entered his bedroom, where Hermes had already laid the girl on top of the large bed. He tucked her in and, when Artemis cleared her throat quietly, turned around.
She lifted the photograph so he could see and raised her eyebrows. He made a face, half sheepish, half pained.
"I haven't been back here since…Well…" He gestured at the unconscious girl. "Haven't had time to clear that stuff out."
"Good thing, I guess," she said casually, walking to the bedside. "If she's proven innocent, you'll be grateful you didn't throw it away."
"If she's proven innocent," he echoed. Their eyes turned to the girl.
"So where is Sleeping Beauty?"
The two gods turned again at the voice of a third, just in time to see Ares walk in. Hermes' eyes narrowed.
"You're the one he sent? Should've known."
Ares held up his hands. "Whoa, brother, don't be so hostile. Isn't that my job?" He laughed a harsh, scratchy laugh.
Artemis appraised the violent god. "Do not overreact to anything that happens with your usual vigor," she cautioned. "We do not know what might occur."
"But seriously, what's up with her? All father gave me was some sort of nearly incoherent angry mumbling about watching the mortal in your suite. What's going on?"
"We don't know exactly—" began Artemis. At the same time, Hermes spoke.
"She's trapped."
Another cliffhanger? Aw, that's just too bad, isn't it?
Mwah-ha-ha.