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Chapter 19: Ursa Major.

"Smokey the Bear?" I squinted at the truck-sized creature in the distance.

The bear let out a deep, guttural growl, loud enough to rattle my ribs. Pretty sure I just offended it.

"That'sKallisto, moron," Rey snapped, drawing her bow with shaking fingers. She tried to look calm, but her eyes told a different story—wide, anxious, locked on the beast.

"Ursa Major," Thalia added, already drawing her silver bow.

"You mean the big papa bear in the stars?" I asked.

"Mama bear, actually," she corrected flatly.

"But how? Zoe killed her!" Sasha blurted out.

The girl next to me flinched like she'd been slapped. "I—I never killed anything!" she said, her voice cracking.

"Not you," Rey said quickly. "Our friend. Her name was Zoe too."

Kallisto pawed at the dirt with its massive foreleg, muscles rippling under her thick fur. My instincts screamed to shut up and run, but my mouth had other plans.

"Look, I love a good chat, but Baloo over there looks like she woke up on the wrong side of hibernation."

As if on cue, Kallistoroaredand charged.

"Move!" Thalia shouted.

She and the Hunters dove right. I grabbed Zoe and hurled us left.

The bear missed us by inches anddemolisheda wooden cabin behind us. One second it was a building, the next it was splinters. Kallisto stumbled, stunned for a breath, then shook off the debris like it was glitter and roared again.

I fired a bronze arrow at her. The Hunters followed with silver. Our arrows hit—but Kallisto barely flinched. She turned toward us, her growl even louder. Treesshiveredfrom the force of it.

"How did your friend kill this thing?!" I yelled.

"Brute force and mad skill?" Thalia offered.

"She used an imperial gold arrow," Rey said, grimacing. "A gift from a friend."

Kallisto turned, sniffing the air, then locked eyes on the Hunters.

"Perfect time for someone to magically pull a golden arrow from your enchanted Hunter bag!" I shouted hopefully.

"We don't carry imperial gold," Thalia snapped. "Not standard issue."

Of course it's not.

Kallisto rose onto her hind legs, shadowing the trees—and then lunged.

"Dodge!" Sasha cried.

The Hunters scattered just before the bear's claws obliterated a tree like it was paper.

"We can't fight this thing. We need to run!" Rey shouted.

"If DiCaprio can survive a bear, so can we!" I called back.

"We need high ground!" Thalia said.

"Did you see what that thing did to a tree?!"

I racked my brain, and an idea sparked. "Thalia! Give me your bow. And an arrow!"

"What?! Why?"

"Remember the scorpion? Trust me!"

She hesitated, glanced at the recovering bear—then tossed me her bow some arrows.

"What the Hades are you doing?!" Rey demanded.

"Lo and behold…" I muttered, as I load a silver arrow onto the bow. The silver tip gleamed in the fading light. I aimed for Kallisto's exposed back—huge, impossible to miss.

"Please…" I whispered.

Thwip.

The arrow struck home—but nothing happened.

Thalia swore. "Aiden, you idiot!"

"What was that' supposed to do?!" Sasha cried.

I turned bright red. "It worked last time!"

Kallisto turned toward me, growled low and deadly, and began pawing the dirt again.

"Oh, I do not like this," I muttered.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm.

"Come on!" Zoe yanked me hard. "Back to the cage!"

"What? That's not a safe place—"

"Just trust me!"

No time to argue. I ran with her back to the golden cage and slammed the door shut behind us.

"You sure this'll work?" I asked.

She just nodded.

Kallisto came thundering toward us.

BANG!

Her massive skull slammed into the golden bars. The entire cage shuddered, but it held. When I opened my eyes, the bear was dazed, blood dripping from her forehead. She stumbled back and fell on her side with a growl of pain.

At a distance, Thalia had her hand over her mouth.

"Could it be…?" she murmured.

"That cage is made of imperial gold," Rey finished.

I turned to Zoe, stunned. "Your father made this?"

She shook her head. "No.I made it… They made me."

I frowned.They made her? The same people who kidnapped her?

The bear was staggering upright again. Bleeding. Dazed—but not down for good.

"Give me one of your arrows," Zoe said suddenly.

I blinked. "Why?"

"I'll turn it into imperial gold. You can finish it."

"You have the Midas touch?" I asked, stunned.

"Just hand me the arrow!"

I grabbed a bronze arrow and passed it to her. She touched the tip—nothing happened.

"What are y—" I froze.

She guided the arrowhead to her palm. "Hey, stop—!"

But she was faster. She stabbed herself with it. Her eyes squeezed shut, lips pressed together as blood trickled down her pale skin, soaking the metal.

I stood there, stunned. When she wiped the arrow clean, the bronze tip gleamed gold.

"How…?" I breathed.

"No time," she said, handing it to me. "Do it."

I hesitated, glancing at the blood on her hand. "You're hurt—"

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" she barked.

I flinched. Kallisto was getting up again, fur matted with blood, eyes murderous.

No time for questions. I loaded the golden arrow, aimed at the beast's head, and exhaled. I won't miss with this range.

"Please," I whispered again—and let go.

The arrow flew, cutting the air like a spear of light. It hit Kallisto between the eyes, sinking in until only the fletching remained.

She let out a final, echoing roar—then crumpled to the ground with a thunderousthud.

Silence.

"Badass…" I breathed.

"DUMBASS!" Thalia shouted as she stormed toward the cage.

This was the final available chapter in "Silver Son", which was the original version of this story published in 2015. Moving forward, we are touching new grounds. I hope you guys are excited.

Thank you for reading!

Please leave a review on what do you think so far!

And as always, see you next chapter!