The Hunters of Artemis: The Return of the Hunters

Chapter 9: Hello?

Saying, "Um... Hi?" isn't exactly the best way to introduce yourself to a group of girls who you are going to be spending the next week or so with. 

When the four girls came up to us, they stared at me as though I had fallen from the sky with wings instead of eyebrows, worms instead of arms and flowers instead of hair. 

They each wore silver parkas and jeans with gray sneakers. Their skin glowed slightly with an unearthly silvery sheen. It was a little creepy, but really cool at the same time. 

A girl with short strawberry-blonde hair crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. She scrutinized me and finally said, "What's your name?" I didn't know who this girl was, or why she wanted to know my name, but she looked a little intimidating. 

Anna answered for me. "I'm Anna, this is Jack and Rhea." She smiled brightly at them and I internally sighed with relief. But not for long

All eyes were on me when Anna finished introducing us. "Your name is Rhea?" asked a pretty blonde girl. 

"Um... Yeah..."

I saw the girls start whispering to each other silently. Then, the girl I had met earlier, Robyn, nudged the girl and said, "It's not her. I checked." I had no idea what the heck that meant.

Anna, Jack and I exchanged looks. "Um, do you... know Rhea?" Jack asked. 

"Which Rhea?" asked a tall muscular girl with silver-gold eyes.

Robyn elbowed her as the other two exclaimed, "Atlanta!"

"You don't just ask people which Rhea they are!" whispered the pretty blonde. She straightened and I could see her sparkling sapphire eyes. "Hi. I'm Lyra Belton. Nice to meet you." She stuck her hand out and I politely shook it. 

"I'm Rhea Montgomery." 

Lyra recoiled as though I had turned into a venomous snake. "What did you say your last name was?" she asked cautiously.

I threw my hands up in the air, fed up with this madness. Obviously these girls weren't the brightest crayons in the box as they couldn't understand what my name was. "I am Rhea Montgomery, daughter of Kat and Liam Montgomery. Get over it!"

The Hunters went still. The girl with short strawberry blonde hair mouthed wow. 

Anna saved me from exploding again by saying, "And who are you lovely ladies who are for some reason really obsessed with my friend here?"

Lyra smiled slightly and said, "Sorry. I'm Lyra, like I said earlier, this is Robyn, Hannah..." She motioned over to the red-head who flashed us a smile. "... And this is Atlanta." The tall muscular girl raised her hand in salutation. 

Jack whistled. "So, you're all, like, a hundred years old?"

"Just about," said Robyn. "I'm almost a hundred... I think... I've kind of lost track. Atlanta here doesn't have the faintest idea of how old she is."

Anna tilted her head to the side. "How come?"

"Because I'm a goddess," Atlanta replied tersely. 

I recoiled slightly. This girl, this seemingly sixteen year-old girl, was a goddess? But I had never heard of a goddess named Atlanta. Then again, I hadn't heard of any gods before this. 

"I'm a minor godess, mind you, but a godess." Atlanta waved her hand and Anna's brown hair waved around in the wind.

But there was no wind. It was just Anna's hair going crazy. It whipped around in her face. She bat around at it, hoping to clear it out, but it didn't work. Like, at all. Eventually, Jack helped her push it out of her face as Atlanta stopped the wind. 

Anna blushed as red as a tomato as he brushed the last strand behind her ear. But there was no time for romance. The Hunters all looked like they were about to throw up. 

"Flirting," I heard Hannah whisper. "It hurts my eyes." Lyra giggled but shut up when I gave her the evil eye.

I took a deep breath. "Okay, so, what's the plan? I mean, my mom could be anywhere. Where do we start looking?"

The Hunters shrugged. "I don't know, but maybe we could ask the last person that saw her," suggested Lyra. Her voice sounded strange though. Like she really didn't want to, but she had to. 

I nodded, ignoring the uneasiness in my gut. "That would be my dad. You probably haven't met him. Let's go." I turned around, not seeing the looks the Hunters were giving each other. Little did I know, the Hunters already knew my dad all too well.

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I smiled as we walked up to the Big House and saw Dad and Chiron talking on the porch. "Hey, Dad?" He turned around and a big smile crossed his face. 

"Rhea! I was wondering when you were going to come."

His eyes strayed from mine and his smile faltered. "And you brought friends," he said in a slightly less happy tone. 

Atlanta huffed. "Liam."

"Atlanta," Dad retorted. "You haven't aged a day."

Atlanta stuck her tongue out at him. "There's a reason for that. And if it weren't for you all those years ago, none of this would have happened!"

"You don't know that!" protested Dad.

Confused, I said, "Wait. You two... know each other?"

Lyra cut in. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have a mission. There's no time to have a reunion. As much as it pains me, we have to ask him for help." She turned to Dad. "Liam, we'll need to ask you a few questions."