Taming Darkness: Artemis Lupine #4 (12 page)

I turned my head away, fighting the emotions inside of me and the tears trying to leak out. “He did not know what he was doing. He had been brainwashed.”

“Achilles would not so easily forget your death,” Victor hissed.

I slapped him across the face before I thought better of it. “How dare you!” I screamed. “I have not forgotten Achilles’ death. I ache from his loss every day, but dwelling on the dead does not bring them back. Achilles came to me and told me to make amends with my brother and that is what I am trying to do.”

“She slapped you,” Dmitri whispered. “She actually hit you.”

“I know,” Victor said, standing statute still in shock.

I was
not sorry that I hit him and I was not going to apologize for it just to calm him either. He had deserved that slap and he knew it. Victor laughed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Artemis. Still, I cannot allow him to accompany us.”

I groaned loudly. “Why are you all so stubborn?”

“It’s alright,” Apollo said, “Just promise me that you will be careful?” he asked softly.

I smiled. “I
am always careful.”

Every one of them laughed at that, which I found incredibly rude.
Apollo closed his eyes and disappeared.

“Let’s continue,” Dmitri said.

I opened my mouth to say something to Victor, but he rested his hand on my shoulder and shook his head. “Let’s forget it,” he whispered, “I deserved your slap for being cruel.”

The sound of a dragon screaming filled the night air from far away and instantly brought tears to my eyes. Without waiting for the others or even thinking about the possibilities of this being a trap, I flew up into the air and flapped my
wings for all they were worth.

“Artemis, wait,” Victor called.

“No,” I said as I flew faster. “I will not abandon them in their time of need. I will rescue them. No one makes the dragons bleed. No one!”

VICTOR

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I
had hoped to shelter her from the fight that we would encounter when we found the dragons, but once she had heard the pain-filled scream of one, she would not be stopped. She flew ahead of us, her body glowing as she prepared to rescue one of the dragons whom she called friend.

It was still incredibly strange to me that the dragons and she were so fond of each other
. Then again who was I to judge a strange friendship? Many had found Ares’ and my friendship strange and unnatural and many still do. Perhaps I am too quick to judge others still despite my attempts not to.

We raced through the wooded area, following the path they had created by dragging the dragon and the sound of the fight ahead of us. It was hard to keep up with Artemis, but I refused to leave her side since Ares was not here.

The sound of fighting grew louder and then we finally witnessed the chaos that was ensuing. Forty vampires were attacking Draco Blu and the dragon was holding his own, biting, clawing and decapitating vampires faster than the vampires could defend themselves. I took in the scene in less than a second, but it was already too slow because Artemis had joined in the fight. She grabbed a vampire, ripped him in half and then tossed the halves of his body into two other vampires, which allowed Draco Blu to grab them and bit their heads off. The two worked easily together, never getting in the other’s way and seemed to anticipate the other’s moves. It was incredible and after two minutes my presence was completely unnecessary.

Bartholomew ran from the shadows of the trees and leapt at Artemis, attempting to grab her. She saw him coming and teleported behind him. Bartholomew spun around and would have grabbed her if Draco Blu had not been there. Draco Blu grabbed Bartholomew with one of his giant Dragon’s feet and slammed him into the ground, digging his claws into the dirt and pinning Bartholomew in place. Draco Blu growled at him and was about to engulf him in fire, but Artemis placed her hand on Draco Blu’s shoulder and the dragon stilled.

“What is
Maurice planning?” she asked Bartholomew, landing on the ground and folding in her wings so that she could stand and stare into his eyes.

“The King is planning on ridding this planet of the existence of werewolves and sidhe,” he said.

“You don’t have an army big enough for that,” I said.

Bartholomew smiled and I did not like it at all. “Our plan is strong.”

“You mean your plan to send vampires to kill the people who are not protected since all of the strongest warriors will be at the main battle?” Artemis asked.

Bartholomew’s face scrunched in anger. “How did you know that?!”

“Your king told me.”

“No matter, we will still rule.”

“Your plan will not work. We will kill any vampire who opposes us,” she said looking as regal as ever.

She turned away from him and walked to
the still body of a red dragon and knelt at its side. “Blu, you may dispose of the vampire however you wish.”

“You need me,” Bartholomew said.

“You killed my son. The only one who needs you is Death,” Draco Blu said and then breathed fire onto Bartholomew until even his bones disintegrated.

Artemis wept as she
lay across the dead dragon’s neck. “I am sorry, Fira. I should have gotten to you sooner. I should have kept you all away from this.”

Draco Blu
lay down beside Artemis, wrapping his neck around her and his dead son and hummed a sorrowful tune. We watched them in silence, but after an hour Dmitri whispered, “The sun, Victor.”

I rested my hand o
n his shoulder and teleported him and I to the darkened chambers he was sleeping in at Zeus’ place and then teleported back to Artemis. When I returned she had stopped crying and was glowing as anger replaced her sadness. “Let’s go get the egg back.”

“We already got the
dragon’s egg back before you regained your memory,” I reminded her.

“They took
the Pegasus egg that I was bringing as a gift,” Draco Blu said. “One of the vampires left the group as soon as they took it and returned to your King.”

“If we go there now we will be outnumbered and outmatched. We should wait for others to go with us,” I pleaded.

Artemis looked at me and I had never seen her look so much like a Queen before. “Then we will return and the war shall begin.”

SELENE

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

The battle between Ares and Koda was intense and very bloody. The ground around them was soaked in blood as they cut each other again and again, but their bodies healed the wounds and allowed them to continue on. The audience had originally numbered in the thousands, but after two days of fighting it had dwindled to just their other pack members, Artemis’ twin Apollo and myself. I had seen Artemis teleport away the first day, which was probably for the best. The further away she was from Ares, the better she would feel and the more likely the baby and she would get healthy again. If it were up to me I would send her and Ares to opposite sides of the world, but sadly it was not up to me.

The sounds of Koda and Ares’ growls were the only noises in the Sidhe realm. It seemed that they were trying to be respectful, but part of me wondered how many of the Sidhe were hoping for Ares’ loss and even his death. They had agreed not to end this fight by death, but in the heat of the moment things were known to happen and more than one werewolf had died by the angry hands of another despite their prior agreement. I doubted Koda would kill Ares, if he could, due to Artemis’ declaration that if Koda killed Ares, she would kill Koda. I had seen the hurt in Koda’s eyes and like everyone I knew that he loved her. How much pain was he enduring mentally as he fought his only remaining brother knowing that if he killed him the woman he loved would attempt to end his life?

I shook my head and sat down on the ground, smoothing out my dress as I did. Werewolf politics were always crazy and it seemed even with Ares and Artemis in charge that had not changed. I had already prepared my spell to use on Ares to cure him from Death’s curse and I was certain I would not fail. I just prayed to the Goddess that we could perform the spell before Artemis and her child were affected too badly. Koda and Ares backed away from each other and squatted down to rest for a moment. Koda’s face was a mask of anger while Ares’ was stoic as usual when Artemis was not around. Did he realize that his regal mask shattered the instant his mate was near him? I had known him hundreds of years and it was good to see him so happy with a mate.

Two of Koda’s sons walked out to Koda and Ares and gave them each one cup of water. Ares sipped it slowly while Koda gulped it down greedily. The brothers were not so different from each other really, but men refuse
d to see the similarities in one another, especially when they loved the same woman.

Ares turned and looked at me, his eyes the molten gold of his wolf. “Artemis?” he asked in a clipped word. He was so tired and so frustrated that he could barely speak.

I shook my head. “Still gone.” He growled and my hair rose at the predator’s growl. “She is safe. Victor, Dmitri Theseus and a couple others went after her to keep her safe.”

He stood up and growled again. Then, as I watched with astonishment, he stretched out his body and regained control of his wolf. He stood straight and tall and even though his eyes were still his wolf’s eyes, he was completely in control of himself. “Let’s finish this so I can go find her.”

“I would advise you to stay away from her,” I said.

He turned and looked at me and I could see that his control was a hair away from slipping if he was pushed the wrong way. “Why?”

“The farther apart you are the less sick she will be.”

He growled. “I don’t like being away from her or trusting others with her safety.”

“You will like it less if your nearness causes her death,” I said harshly to him.

He growled at me and took a step towards me. I was only slightly afraid
because in a fight he was much faster and stronger, but I could incapacitate him long enough to get away and I knew he really did not want to hurt me. I did not have to do anything though because Koda tackled Ares, taking advantage of his distracted opponent.

The brothers attacked each other again and again and despite my gnawing hunger I stayed where I was. Artemis would ask for details and I would be sure to have answers for her when she finally returned.

“Would you like some bread and cheese?” Zeus asked as he sat down beside me on the grass.

I took a piece and swallowed it whole before answering him. “Thank you. I am famished.”

“I see not much has changed in their fight,” he said, letting my rudeness slide without remark.

“Pretty much. They are both slower and more tired, but aside from that there has not been any progress,” I reported, “And both are still in control of their wolves.” Which was a very good thing.

“Any sign of Artemis?” he asked with pinched eyebrows and a tight jaw.

“No, but I am sure she is fine. Victor and Theseus would never let anything happen to her,” I assured him.

Zeus laughed and said, “I never expected the friendship between Ares and Victor to last so long. Most of us figured they would end up killing each other within the week, but thousands of years later their friendship is as strong as ever.”

“The hatred between the races seems to have died out especially in the last hundred years. It gives me hope that perhaps after we defeat Maurice we will be able to unite all of the races and live peacefully,” I whispered.

“That is the dream,” Zeus said wistfully. We ate the food and watched the brothers fight in silence after that.

As the sun set I prepared to nap a moment, but then Artemis appeared in front of me and sat down without even looking in my direction.

“Zeus, can you ask a servant to get me food?” she asked in a deep voice.

“They are already on their way to the kitchen,” he said, moving closer to her.

“Stay back,” she warned him. “Ares is losing control and I’m not at my best either. It would be best if everyone stayed a bit away so we do not feel threatened.”

“What happened?” I asked her.

“Vampires killed Fira and stole a Pegasus egg. We’re leaving to start the war in two days.”

“Ares and Koda will need time to heal,” Zeus reminded her.

“They will be left behind then,” she said coldly, “We don’t have time to wait for them.”

“I take it you have a plan,” Zeus asked.

She nodded her head. “Split up in teams. Save my Pegasus egg. Burn down any who oppose us.”

“What about your baby?” I asked her.

“I don’t have time to wait for him to be born,” she answered, “He will come after our fight.” She watched her mate and her packmate fight and said no more. What must she be feeling, watching them fight?

“Why the sudden change in attitude?” I whispered to Zeus.

He shrugged and then whispered back, “It could be the dragon’s death. She becomes emotionally attached to her companions and it makes sense that she would become focused after an event like this.”

I wasn’t so sure, but I dared not question her when she was so close to the edge. I rose and headed to my chambers to prepare for the spell and prayed to the Goddess that everything would go according to plan. For once.