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”What was her name, again?”
Dionysus tapped his chin. His purple eyes examined her. Artemis had forgotten how intimidating her younger half-brother could be, after he started spending all his time in this unrefined form. “Lina Abdul.”
“You just said her name was Laura Abbot.” Artemis shot him a glare.
“And you know why I do that. Her name,” Dionysus leaned forward, “is Lina Abdul. Cabin counsellor of Demeter, ex-girlfriend of the Hermes’ traitor boy. She was last seen a couple of months ago. Most likely, she was heading West towards Mount Othrys.”
Artemis led her Hunters through the dusty Texan wilderness.
It had been a month since she spoke to Dionysus, a month since she held the entire sky. Her father refused to admit that Luke Castellan was trying to raise Kronos again, but Artemis had been there with the demigods facing Atlas. She knew better.
And unlike other Gods, she was allowed to interact with mortals through the Hunt.
The Sun was setting. “Settle in, girls. We’re almost there,” she announced.
Sounds of the Hunt building a camp to rest surrounded her and she sat down on top of the next hill to meditate briefly. Then, she sensed someone approaching.
“Thalia. What brings you here?”
“My Lady. Why are we here? You haven’t told us anything. The others have been annoying me for the past month and it’s about time you explained something,” came the voice of Artemis’ half-sister.
Artemis sighed, opening her eyes and standing up. She was not going to get any meditation done tonight.
“Thalia, I will explain when I see fit.” The less they all knew about this treasonous mission, the less danger for them if Zeus found out.
A spark flew off Thalia’s right hand. “We’re trying to be patient but we don’t even know what you’re tracking. Phoebe said you would have told Zoë. I am Lieutenant now, so why-”
“DON’T speak on things you never could understand. I am protecting all of you, and you are not Zoë. She had more than a millennium of experience and you have nothing! You were already given the position of Lieutenant, you were already allowed into the Hunt despite your various attachments. It is I who has been more than patient with you today. Be a bit more grateful, sister ,” spat out Artemis, feeling the ache from Zoë’s loss flare up again.
Thalia laughed sardonically. “Grateful? You let me into the Hunt to save your own ass because none of you trusted me to take on the Prophecy. You should be grateful I accepted the offer.”
Before she could continue, Artemis slapped a hand over her mouth. “Shut up, shut up! You think just because you are his daughter that the King of the Gods will not strike you down for saying such things? Just because you are the Lieutenant of my Hunt that you are safe from Fate? Your little Luke died for his treachery and if you continue to speak that way I will have lost two-”
Then, she jumped back when she felt her arm burn with pain as electricity arced through Thalia. Her Lieutenant snarled. “Don’t talk about Luke like that. He’s probably been through more than you. Besides, Zoë died because of you —”
Artemis shouted with rage, and she nearly went into her True Form. The glint of a new constellation in the sky, the Huntress, caught her eye just in time. She took a deep breath.
She could not lose two Lieutenants in two months.
“Thalia, go to bed before we say anything more idiotic to each other. I will call a meeting to explain briefly – briefly – why we are on this mission. Please do not bring up Zoë so callously in the future. You are lucky her constellation stopped me from assuming my True Form.”
Her Lieutenant glared at her. “So you really are just another Goddess incapable of accepting anything other than complete obedience and lack of personal opinion.”
Artemis watched helplessly as Thalia turned around and stormed back to the hill where the rest of the Hunt were starting to settle into their sleeping bags.
The next day, Artemis started the girls early, drawing them out for a team breakfast. While eating, Artemis avoided looking to her right, where Thalia was undoubtedly glaring a hole through her face. Phoebe’s concerned glances from her left seemed to confirm that.
After the meal, Artemis stood. She pursed her lips, considering how best to start.
“Thalia brought to my attention that many of you have been questioning why we are headed in this direction, and why I have been so reluctant to share this information with you.”
Artemis looked around at her Hunt. Thalia was still glaring, arms crossed. The rest of the girls were eager to listen.
“As I told you all upon my return, my imprisonment under the sky was caused by a son of Hermes, and I was rescued by the brave actions of your old Lieutenant and your new Lieutenant. However, some of the others on that Quest were demigods, and in light of the severe threat that the brief release of Atlas signals, I have decided to help track down several important demigods.”
She gestured in the direction they had been travelling. “This is the path to the first of those demigods.” Artemis held up a hand to hold the Hunters’ silence a while longer. “I will not be answering specifics on who exactly the demigod is, nor who my source on these demigods was. The only reason the Hunt is here is because this is the safest way for everyone to get accustomed to the … change in leadership.”
The Goddess of the Hunt clapped her hands to dismiss them, and was pleased to see that most of the Hunters seemed satisfied with this reveal. The Hunters knew too much as is. To know that Lina Abdul was suspected of defection, and that the Camp Director was the one who had revealed this to her?
The few Hunters with decent relations in Camp Half-Blood, like Thalia or Naomi, would start causing trouble. Especially Thalia.
“You know, I’m aware that you had a meeting with Dionysus at some point.” Artemis turned to see Thalia. “Who, exactly, are we looking for?”
Artemis took a moment to consider telling her Lieutenant. However, Thalia was hotheaded. Beyond that, she was new, and thus an extra variable that Artemis did not need to be dealing with on this particular mission.
“Sorry, Thalia, but I won’t tell you.”
Later, Artemis led the Hunters through a forest, heading progressively towards the Mexican border. This was far too close to the Aztec pantheon remnants for Kronos to bother sending anyone, so perhaps Lina Abdul was not joining the Titans’ side, but simply running away.
Even worse.
Thalia had been irate after Artemis’ refusal, and her mood was spreading in the camp. Artemis was not deaf or dumb. She knew the whispers that danced around the fires, through the tents, along the streams.
Artemis only cares about her dead Lieutenant.
The Goddess of the Hunt doesn’t care about the living, that’s why she hunts.
We are being led into a trap.
It was another phase of difficult transition. It happened before, whenever Olympus moved locations, but there had always been Zoë to help her lead the members. How had she done it?
Artemis looked up at the Huntress in the sky, asking silently for guidance. She thought about the steadfastness of the lost Hesperide. Artemis found herself missing the security of having a Lieutenant who could so effortlessly lead the Hunters in ways that she could not.
Zoë had been so human, despite her immortal beginnings, and had been so excellent at being human. Artemis was a Goddess.
Then, she heard the tiniest noise.
It was Thalia. Hotheaded Thalia. Thalia who sparkled with demigodly power, who was so clearly more than human.
Thalia, who was not Zoë.
Thalia, who she had made Lieutenant.
Artemis sighed. Here she was, a Goddess praying to a constellation, doubting her decisions. Hermes was right, after all. Gods and humans were not so different.
“Lina Abdul, daughter of Demeter. Dionysus thought she was joining your Hermes boy. She’s not. She’s just running away. We’ll catch up to her tomorrow if we stay on pace.”
Her Lieutenant’s eyes widened in understanding. The demigod daughter of Zeus nodded in acknowledgement. “Phoebe is leading a small little celebration for morale. Thought you should know.”
Artemis nodded back. This was why she had chosen Thalia. This was why she had wanted to save Thalia from the Prophecy. This was why Thalia could so easily rile her up.
They were both so similar to each other.
Under the dim light of a New Moon, Artemis and her Hunters came across the small village. It had been ravaged, golden monster dust just settling down even now. The experienced Hunters quickly got rid of the last lingering few, but Artemis ran ahead, with Thalia quick on her heels.
They found Lina Abdul a hundred yards out of town, a trail of blood leading to her location. Her form was curled around a thin boy, who appeared around eleven.
Artemis heard Thalia shouting for the other Hunters to come and help her try to resuscitate. The Goddess reached out with her powers, feeling the wild struggle of the brave demigods against the monsters that had massacred the village.
She saw, in a glimpse, herself as Lina Abdul. Running from a war, finding a new brother, feeling conflicted, realizing too late she had spent too long in one place, trying to find a way back to Camp, getting caught, fighting, dying.
The Hunt buried the two children of Demeter, and the entire town of mortals. Monsters did not hunt mortals naturally. Artemis could no longer bring the Hunt with her on these particular missions.
Kronos was hunting, and the typically respected boundaries were being crossed. First, ordering monsters to kill mortals. Then what?
Artemis left a note to Thalia to tell the Hunt to slowly make their way towards Camp Half-Blood, and disappeared.
“You’re sure they always arrive together?” asked Artemis.
Dionysus nodded. “Yes. The other children have long thought they are courting. Aphrodite said they really were just friends, though. You know, she has some big plans for the Athena one. I really—”
Artemis clicked her tongue impatiently. “I don’t care what she has planned for Gareth Gibson. Tell me more about those two. Where can I find them?”
“Oh fine, fine. The Aphrodite one—”
“Benjamin Tripp?”
“Yes, that one, they’re both counsellors, actually. Anyway, Beckett lives with Grayson, in an apartment.”
“They don’t get attacked?” Artemis thought that two counsellors living together would have to deal with an untenable amount of monsters.
Dionysus laughed. “Monsters, attack those two? They would have to be suicidal.”
“Or be ordered to.”
Her half-brother stopped laughing.
Artemis found the apartment already collapsed. Dionysus had not given her any other information about the duo’s townhouse, and they were so exclusively close to each other, that no one else in Camp Half-Blood had anything to add.
It was already March. The Goddess of the Wild had struggled immensely to wade through the piles of paperwork in the urban Philadelphia city. Two entire months after leaving the Hunt in Thalia’s hands, she had finally found her next two investigations.
An incredibly dense carpet of golden dust slowly dissolved on the wood floors of the small living kitchen through the front door. Artemis saw the bathroom under the stairs, noting its largely untouched state, save for the coating of golden dust on the front of the door. She made her way up the two narrow flights of stairs, noting the thick, still wet, trail of blood. Upstairs, a blown out ceiling in what appeared to be Benjamin Tripp’s bedroom.
Artemis stretched out her powers, and saw the scene through the son of Athena’s eyes. Gareth Gibson heard a huge explosion shaking the house. He hurried out of his room, quickly grabbing his spear and shield. The son of Aphrodite, Benjamin Tripp, lay unconscious in a rapidly expanding pool of blood. The ceiling of the other bedroom had been blown open.
Then came the monsters. An enormous, endless horde. Gareth dragged his brother in all but blood down the stairs. One hand pressed on the amputated arm that spilled blood all over the stairs, one hand wielded the spear with incredible efficiency. Artemis felt full respect for the young man as he fended off nearly twenty monsters squeezing through the stairwell at once.
They fell out of the stairs, into the living kitchen. The fall woke Benjamin suddenly, the son of Aphrodite screaming in pain. Gareth made soothing noises, all the while holding back the army of nearly three hundred monsters with naught but an Aegis shield and deadly precision with a spear. The horde swarmed through the front door and the stairs, and the son of Athena defended stalwartly, justifying Dionysus’ faith in their abilities.
A dark slash in reality appeared, and Artemis watched in horror as a sword of mixed steel and Celestial bronze alloy appeared. Luke Castellan stepped out, offering Gareth Gibson a place in his army. Gareth asked if Benjamin would have a place. Luke sneered, but agreed.
A spear flew through the air, and pierced Luke in the ribcage. He roared with pain, and the monsters swarmed forward. Now weaponless, Gareth died, laughing.
Expelled from the vision, Artemis shook her head, trying to find herself again. Luke Castellan was alive. He was alive, and the horrifying Backbiter was real. She reached out for Benjamin Tripp.
The son of Aphrodite watched Gareth disappear in a wave of monsters, and cried out in pain. He shouted obscenities at the son of Hermes, who snarled in pain, leaving through the portal, which closed behind him. The monsters began to turn their attention towards Benjamin. Artemis watched as the son of Aphrodite gave a bloodcurdling scream of pure sorrow and anger at Gareth’s death, instantly killing the entire remainder of the monster army with just his voice.
She pulled out of his last moments before he could bleed out, clutching to Gareth’s remains with his only remaining arm. Artemis placed a drachma in each of their hands.
They had been heroes.
“I know this one!” Artemis said, delighted.
“Yes, yes, the Apollo counsellor. Violet Harrier, she volunteers at a senior center,” mused Dionysus. “If your theory is correct, she may not even be approached by the traitors. She’s easily the least powerful of the counsellors.”
“Counsellors and power are not the theory, though. It’s age. Camp has so few of-age demigods like the son of Hermes had been. If Lina was the first one he would approach for personal reasons, and Gareth and Benjamin are the two most powerful, Veronica Hanson is the oldest one. And she’s an excellent healer, and leader.”
Dionysus nodded. “Our grandfather will go after her, then. Please bring her back. The Infirmary doesn’t have anyone else trained enough to take over from her.”
Prayers get to every God differently. For Artemis, she heard the prayers of young maidens, and the Hunt most clearly.
In particular, she had always heard Zoë the loudest. Now, it was Thalia.
For the month she had spent wading through civic boundaries for the two powerful counsellors, her Lieutenant’s voice had been shouting in her ear, demanding her return. The Hunt had found strong monster resistance to their movements, and were only now struggling their way through Illinois.
Artemis sighed. Even if Luke would approach Veronica, her lack of pure power would leave this the safest time to bring in Thalia. Besides, it was best that Artemis be the one to break the news of his continued life to her.
Thalia appeared in the last beam of moonlight, as the sun rose on the outskirts of Providence, Rhode Island. She instantly swirled around, an arrow already flying through the air, right on target towards Artemis’ throat. Impressed at Thalia’s rapid increase in skill with the Hunters’ bow and still unsure how to approach her new Lieutenant, Artemis barely dodged, and the arrow hit her shoulder.
“My Lady! How… where am I?” Thalia was startled. Then, her anger kicked in. “Where have you been?! The Hunt has lost five members in the last month since you left! How was I supposed to know how to lead the Hunters so soon? Even when I left, we were pinned down in a fort by a group of elite dragon’s teeth skeletons.”
That one shocked Artemis. “Dragon’s teeth skeletons? Were those not hunting after Perseus Jackson during your quest? Why are they chasing the Hunters?”
Thalia kicked over a branch. “How am I supposed to know?” The Lieutenant also punched a tree. “Bianca’s brother, the little kid; he sent Percy’s skeletons into the ground. These are new ones.”
“Who are they tracking?” asked Artemis warily.
“Me, obviously.” Thalia rolled her eyes. “As you said, child of the Big Three. Fate’s gonna be a bitch regardless of the Great Prophecy.”
Artemis’ lips thinned. “Regardless, after it took me so long to find Lina Abdul, I thought I would do better finding the demigods of interest on my own. It still took me a month to find Gareth Gibson and Benjamin Tripp. Right now—”
“Aren’t those all cabin counsellors? You think Kronos is trying to replace Luke with a different trusted camper?” said Thalia, surprised at the theory. A wave of cold air suddenly hit them after she used Kronos’ name.
Artemis pulled her Lieutenant along into a run, only stopping when halfway through the city towards the senior center.
“Thalia, you need to be careful of using the names of Gods and Goddesses, especially as a child of the Big Three.” She glanced left, fully expecting the eye roll she saw. “Up ahead is the senior center where Veronica Hanson works. Dionysus thought she may not be approached, so I’m bringing you along, as I expect this to be less dangerous.”
Thalia’s face tightened. “So why bring me? It’s obvious that I’m only the Lieutenant because I’m his daughter. You could have brought Phoebe or Naomi or any other Hunter that’s more experienced.”
They exited the city park onto the street a block down from the location of interest. The Huntress in the sky had her bow drawn back, with the arrow pointed straight at the well lit building.
Artemis pointed at the building. “She’ll be here soon.”
Her half-sister only looked away, without responding. Artemis felt a little pit of guilt in her heart as Thalia sank to the ground to sit. Standing next to her mission and over her Lieutenant, she cursed silently to herself.
Too similar.
“I brought you here because your voice has become a distraction during your nightly rants. And, I thought we could use the time to become more accustomed to each other’s presence. I have not ever had a new Lieutenant who was also a new member. I am just as unprepared as you are for this situation.” Artemis tried to speak gently.
Thalia gave a sardonic smile. “You Gods actually hear prayers? That’s a surprise.”
Artemis frowned, confused at the non-response. Why did this fact seem to bother Thalia? Of course Gods heard the prayers meant for them. “What do you mean by that, Thalia? Of course I hear your prayers.”
She got nothing in return. There they stayed for the next minute, in a wordless war of attrition.
The Goddess broke first. “You have to tell me why this bothers you if you want me to help.”
The demigod stood up. “The fact that you don’t know is enough for me. Besides, that’s her.” Thalia raised a hand and pointed at the approaching figure.
Both of their eyes widened, as a dozen boulders flew after Veronica Hanson and three lesser hundred-handed ones along with an entourage of dracaenae suddenly beset upon the demigod. They exchanged a glance and instantly understood each other. They began to run forward, bows drawn back quickly. Arrows loosed forward, but suddenly, ten shields appeared out of nowhere, easily blocking the entire line of sight to the distant daughter of Apollo.
Ten dragon’s teeth skeletons emerged, encircling the Goddess and her Lieutenant. Their shields locked together, forming a turtle shell formation to keep them isolated from the daughter of Apollo. The skeletons all extended their spears, ready to close ranks and skewer the Goddess and Lieutenant duo.
Thalia’s mace canister suddenly appeared, transforming smoothly into a spear, as Artemis made her bow into a whip of moonlight that twirled around them, shredding the shields into harmless dust. The mortal daughter of Zeus’ Aegis shield expanded quickly from her bracelet, and the skeletons were briefly stunned, frightened by the mimicry of Medusa’s visage.
Just as suddenly, the whip of moonlight sliced through the ten skeletons, ending them.
The duo turned, immediately running for where Veronica Hanson had been fighting the trio of Hekatoncheires.
As they approached, Artemis felt her heart sink. A single figure lay on the ground, one large pile of golden dust nearby. Another fifty-headed monster had a golden arrow sticking out of its rump, and it whimpered painfully. Thalia’s spear pierced it easily.
The remaining hundred-handed one raised twenty boulders, but an enormous bolt of lightning struck down, ending the monster. Silver arrows rained over the snake women, leaving only one survivor. The final remaining dracaena was cowering, attempting to slither away. Artemis raised a hand to stop Thalia from slaying it.
“Dracaena, you will tell us how this attack came to be. Why was this demigod targeted?” Artemis commanded, stretching her domain of the Wild to bend the monster’s will.
The dracaena hissed. “The Crooked One’s chosen one approached this demigod vermin to join the winning side of the coming war. She was foolish, shortsighted. You will never win, Olympian. Your worst nightmare is true; we have found the coffin. It is only a matter of time.”
Artemis’ lip curled, and she lowered her hand. Thalia’s spear cut down, slicing off the dracaena’s head.
As it dissolved into golden dust, Thalia turned towards Artemis, angrily. Before the sparking demigod could speak, Artemis closed her eyes and realized she needed to get it over with.
“Yes, Thalia, it’s true. Luke Castellan is alive. And, apparently, he has found the coffin of our grandfather. I…” Artemis sighed, closing her eyes and swallowing her pride. This was her Lieutenant. They could not continue to be strangers. “I’m sorry. I should have told you about him as soon as I found out.”
Electricity arced around Thalia’s hands. Her electric blue eyes were piercing as they scanned Artemis’. The demigod’s left hand twitched, as if to send a bolt of power at her. Artemis just closed her eyes, waiting for the strike.
Nothing happened.
Artemis opened her eyes. Her Lieutenant still stared at her, but her hands were relaxed, and there was the smallest hint of a smile in her eyes. A sudden wave of relief washed through Artemis.
“I used to pray to you. I went to the library, read that you were the protector of young maidens. I thought you or your brother could help me and my—” Thalia choked up, unable to continue.
The Goddess Protector of Young Maidens closed her eyes. She would have remembered a prayer from a daughter of Zeus. How could she have missed these prayers? Her mind floated back to the time when Hera and Zeus had their most recent spat.
Then, she remembered. It had not been a prayer from a daughter of Zeus. It had been from a sister, a caretaker from far too young. Artemis had brushed it aside as just another one of a million miseries and pains she could not cure.
Back in the present, she felt her heart follow Veronica’s soul into the Underworld. Her mouth opened and closed. A thousand apologies and platitudes ran through her mind, and Artemis struggled to grasp the one which could make this right.
But Thalia was already moving on. Her Lieutenant was on the ground, gently brushing off golden dust from the corpse of the Apollo counsellor. A drachma passed from demigod to demigod, and Thalia whispered a brief prayer to Thanatos and Hades for a smooth passing.
“Come on, My Lady. We need to get back to the Hunt.” Thalia dusted off her pants, and smiled perfunctorily.
Artemis understood. She was forgiven, despite everything. The Huntress in the sky seemed to twinkle slightly brighter. Something in her felt like it was loosening, unknotting.
Perhaps Thalia was more similar to Zoë than any of them knew.
“The power couple, of course. Often described as ‘iconic’ by the children. Especially Charity Bee and that massive mutt of hers,” mused Dionysus.
Artemis raised an eyebrow. “Carrie Lee is iconic because of a dog?”
Her half-brother’s eyes twinkled with rare humour. “A mechanical one, obviously. And Andrew Munn is a particularly unusual son of Ares.”
“What, is Arthur Mann a pleasant person?”
“Hah! Obviously not, he’s a demigod.”
“And a male one, too.”
“Ehhhh. The kids must like him, otherwise they wouldn’t keep talking about him. And clearly there’s something redeeming if Cherise Gee would date him.”
Artemis was now thoroughly amused. “You’re being awfully nice about these two.”
Dionysus shrugged. “They spend half their year in the Waystation and half here, moving between every two or three months. Makes a hell of a headache for the cleaning harpies.”
She gave him a wry smile. “You know quite a lot about all these demigods you hate.”
The God of Wine spun around in his chair, standing up to face away from her. “We both know how I feel. Regardless, that’s all of the 17 and uppers. The ex-girlfriend, the best fighter, the most powerful, the eldest, the two most beloved, all the leadership in Camp Half-Blood. Except for my boys, Peter Johnson and the traitor’s own brothers.”
“Keep yours safe. I’ll be doing everything I can to bring all of them back alive.”
Dionysus walked to the door, gesturing for her to leave. “Who will you retrieve first?”
“Lina Abdul.”
After saying one last prayer of safe passage to her niece, Artemis suddenly sensed a familiar presence. Spinning around, the Goddess saw her current Lieutenant staring at a kneeling figure.
Artemis rushed to Britomartis’ side. Her old Lieutenant was clutching at her right arm, which had been severed at the elbow. Golden ichor flowed out onto the sidewalk, and Thalia fumbled for the ambrosia packs in her Hunter bag.
The Olympian Goddess summoned her minor influence over the domain of healing, trying to staunch the amputation. Britomartis, as a minor Goddess, would take a few weeks to recover from such a serious wound. Thalia managed to get the ambrosia into the Goddess of Nets.
As her breathing eased, Britomartis clutched onto Artemis, who ignored the thick liquid flowing all over her lap. “Artemis, you must go to the Waystation. My Griffins… they will die without someone to overlook them. Everyone there is in grave danger!”
“What are you talking about?” asked Thalia.
The bleeding Goddess narrowed her eyes. “Who are you, little girl? A new Hunter? Your aura is still fresh.” Then her eyes widened as she sighted the tiara. “You’re the Lieutenant? Where’s Zoë?”
“Britomartis, focus. What is happening at the Waystation? Are Hemithea and Josephine alright?” Artemis queried.
The other Goddess winced. “They were alive when I left. There is an enormous horde of monsters at the graveyard. The mortals were defending well, but I stepped in when he arrived. Artemis, you must…”
Suddenly, the former Hunter’s eyes rolled up and she collapsed into a dead faint.
Artemis handed the unconscious Goddess over to the new Lieutenant. “I will send you and Britomartis to the other Hunters. I must go to the Waystation.”
“You… you’re just leaving me with her? I don’t know how to heal her! I can’t—”
She grabbed her Lieutenant by the shoulders. “You must. She was my Hunter from so very long ago, and I am trusting that she is in good hands. I must go see what is happening at the Waystation. You can meet me there if the Hunters have resolved their situation.”
The graveyard was a field of walking souls. A circular field contained in an enormous roundabout road, with a small hill in the direct middle, with monsters converging inward on a small squad of defenders.
Arthur Mann, son of Ares, stood at the very center. His eyes and hands glowed red, as dead Confederate soldiers from the Civil War rose up from the dead. Weapons materialized in the hands of the ghosts, and they cut down row after row of monsters.
Carrie Lee, daughter of Hephaestus, led the counteroffensive. Her enormous mechanical hound crushed groups of monsters without delay, bounding around with joyous barks echoing through the cloudy day. The dog’s master wielded an enormous double bladed axe, chopping down with trained efficiency.
Her retired hunters Hemithea and Josephine rained down arrows upon the incoming waves. Britomartis’ Griffins Lewis and Bertha growled protectively around their child Abelard and the tiny child of her ex-Hunters, Georgina, who was crying.
All of this registered in an instant.
Then, Artemis saw what harmed Britomartis. She moved as quick as moonlight, slicing a large spear out of the air. At the edge of the graveyard, she approached her opponent.
The immortal presence turned, and for a moment, his jawline and smile nearly spoke of her twin, Apollo. Then, she looked closer, at the sweep of his nose and the long fingers that both twins shared with their mother, Leto. The glint of cruel amusement in his eyes, which reflected the one Artemis knew she and her brother both had.
“It is good to finally meet you, granddaughter,” the titan Koios said, smiling handsomely. “Father spoke to me of this meeting a long time ago.”
Artemis growled. “I have no grandfather. Neither you, nor your brother, are family to me.”
The Titan laughed. “Come along, granddaughter. Let’s talk and get to know each other. My conquest of this meaningless domestile can wait.”
Suddenly, massive elder hellhounds began to bound out of the shadows. Arthur’s spirits’ weapons did not seem able to strike them, and the hellhounds could not seem to chew the ghosts. With the hellhounds and spirits now in a stalemate, the remaining monsters began to bear down upon Carrie, Hemithea and Josephine.
“Oh, well. Looks like those reinforcements finally arrived. This will be quick and easy, then I can be given a more fitting assignment. The Waystation should have been Iapetus’ target,” sneered the Titan.
Artemis fired a flurry of arrows at the Titan of Foresight, and he sliced through them using his spear. She glanced over at the group of mortals. Arthur’s red glow was stuttering as the hellhounds began to gnaw their way through the spirits. Carrie’s hound was isolated, a lone mechatron in the horde of monsters on the east side of the graveyard. Josephine was forced to use a sword to help Carrie on the front lines due to the sheer number of monsters as Hemithea continued trying to pick off from a distance.
Koios, who had not even moved to attack her, simply smiled. Artemis hated that his smile was the same as her brother’s. “Granddaughter, now you see. This attack was always going to break through these meager defenses. The stronghold of Olympian power in the middle of their home country, torn down in one night. Come over to us, Artemis. Selene is faded; we have the space for a moon goddess.”
The Goddess of the Hunt chose not to respond. She sent a huge wave of arrows flying towards the horde of monsters, but the Titan waved his hand, and the arrows simply disappeared.
“I don’t wish to fight you, granddaughter, but I cannot allow you to save those mortals,” declared Koios, his bright eyes hardening.
Artemis subtly grabbed hold of her hunting knives, sending them flying at Koios. He attempted to make them disappear as he had done the arrows, but Artemis made sure to grab for his power, using their familial connection to redirect it, suddenly. Caught off guard, her grandfather failed to catch her move, and, instead of her knives, the back line of monsters approaching the center of the graveyard vanished, while her hunting knives landed along Koios’ arm.
He shouted in pain, and Artemis smiled, immediately sending a barrage of arrows at the Titan. His eyes flashed and the arrows clattered to the ground.
“You’re as much of a hypocrite as the rest of your little Godly family. Using familial connection while claiming you have none with me.” Koios sent a wave of pure power at her, and she glowed with power, trying to absorb it, but her silvery aura was stripped away, and she tumbled backwards.
He was too powerful. The monsters were too overwhelming. This battle was lost on all fronts.
“I wanted us to be family! Your father tore my brothers and me to shreds when Leto was just a baby. Then, I get disrespected and end up being the brother sent to this worthless desert! I tried to give you a chance, Artemis, but I suppose I did already know we would one day end up on opposing sides. I saw this coming the whole time,” Koios called out as he approached her.
Artemis grimaced in pain, pushing herself back up. How had the Titans come back to full power so quickly?
“I will repeat this only once more, Titan. We are not family.” Koios looked enraged. “And in many ways, neither are the Olympians, apart from Apollo.” Now, he was confused.
Then, a tidal wave of silver arrows hailed out of the South entrance of the graveyard, slicing through large swaths of the army.
Artemis smiled. “That is my family.”
Battle cries echoed out as the Hunters of Artemis sprinted into battle. Arthur fell to the ground, unconscious, and the Confederate ghosts disappeared. Carrie clutched at her fractured wrist, kneeling over the remains of her mechanical hound. The former Hunters joined their comrades, new and old, and followed Artemis’ half-sister and Lieutenant into battle.
Koios’ eyes were wide with disbelief as the army slowly began to realize how the tides were changing, turning to run away. Artemis hit him in the elbow with an arrow to regain his attention.
“Didn’t see that coming, did you?” she snarked, inwardly smiling at how she sounded like Thalia.
The Titan roared, charging at her with his spear held forward, only to be struck with an enormous bolt of lightning. He tripped during the discharge, clambering back to his feet as Thalia ran to Artemis’ side.
“Took you long enough,” they both said at the same time to each other.
Artemis glanced sideways, somewhat offended. “What do you mean I took long enough?”
Thalia shrugged, smiling wryly. “Just wanted to say it before you could.”
A spear lunged out of nowhere, and the Lieutenant’s Aegis rose to meet it. Thalia was sent flying from the Godly strength that Koios put into his strike.
The Titan looked crazed now, and Artemis was still painfully reminded of herself in his visage. She vaguely registered Thalia pushing herself back to her feet. “Fine. I’ll just kill you all myself, starting with the daughter of Hephaestus.”
Before anyone could react, the Titan Lord of the North spun around suddenly, and his spear arced in the air, piercing Carrie Lee in the chest. A scream of rage echoed from Josephine, and Hemithea quickly fell to her knees, attempting to control the damage.
Koios held out his hand, and the spear lurched back out of the dying mortal, flying back to the Titan. Artemis was horrified. Arthur Mann was the last demigod left of Luke Castellan’s age.
She leapt forward, taking out her hunting knives, and striking rapidly, using Thalia’s long range arrows as cover fire to distract the Titan. Even so, she could barely keep up with the strong and calculated swipes of Koios.
Then, she saw his eyes flash pure white, and Artemis’ eyes widened, understanding that the Titan of Foresight was seeing some future. Suddenly, his spear stabbed straight forward at her abdomen, and she was barely able to check the weapon between her blades. Using both arms, she kept her grandfather’s spear at bay, barely, but he grinned. Holding her back with one arm, another spear materialized into his other hand, and he turned and threw it with frightening speed at Thalia Grace.
Artemis screamed out for her to move, horrified to lose another Lieutenant to a Titan general, but Thalia’s back was turned as she speared a hellhound through the back.
At the last moment, Artemis’ knives clattered to the ground as she reached out with both hands. Meanwhile, Koios’ arm jerked forward, no longer held back, and his spear travelled straight into Artemis’ gut. Arthur Mann’s unconscious body vanished into moonlight, appearing right between Thalia’s unaware body and the enormous spear.
Koios’ eyes were wide, as he stared at Artemis’ golden ichor covering one spear, and the son of Ares’ body, staked through by the other. His hand fell to the spear that pierced Artemis, vanishing it as her limp body fell down into his arms.
“Why… did you do this? I…”
The Titan was cut off, as Hemithea suddenly rose up from behind him, holding an axe. Panicked, he tried to turn around, but Artemis grabbed his jaw, forcing him to look at her.
“You didn’t see this coming, grandfather?”
The Titan’s head was chopped off, and his body crumbled into dust, as Artemis fell to the ground. As she lost consciousness, she heard Thalia shouting at the other Hunters to bring over moonwater and nectar.
Surrounded by her family, dead and alive, Artemis drifted off.