The Sacred Thievery

Chapter VI: Dreams.

I saw a female deer walking through a forest, which was thick with trees. But there were two unusual things about it. For one, the deer looked to be made of solid gold, its pelt glistening beautifully in the moonlight.

And the other thing was that all the trees' leaves, wood, and grass in the forest were silver, in contrast to the doe's pelt.

So, there was a golden deer prancing through a silver forest in my nightmare that was happening in the middle of the afternoon. I could deal with that. But the thing that actually surprised me was having the dream. I'd never had dreams before that one unless I counted when I zoned out in math class.

But that wasn't all that was unusual. I recognized this deer. I was sure I'd seen it before, but I wasn't sure whether it was in real life, or if it was in a graphic novel about the trials of Hercules. It was the Golden Hind, or the Ceryneian Hind, the sacred creature of Artemis that Hercules was instructed to capture, which made sense to me. Though the Hind was golden, Artemis' color theme was silver, which explained the silver forest. This must be some kind of sacred area to the goddess and the Golden Hind by association.

But behind a tall silver tree, I saw something lurking. I saw flickers of a fire, and I didn't think that that was a good thing in a forest, especially in one made of silver. But as the creature moved further, I noticed that the fire was shaped unusually, not like the shape fire usually takes. It was bushy and flaring in multiple directions, like strands of flame. Almost like hair.

Then I saw the face. It looked humanoid, with feminine features, a sharp, pointed nose, and lips as red as blood. But her eyes were glowing yellow, and her teeth were razor sharp, with fangs twice as long. She was wearing a black shirt that also had dots of blood, which glistened under the silver leaves. Her jean shorts were the same color, and below them, I saw her legs; one looked normal, but instead of flesh and skin, it was made of shiny copper, like a fresh new penny. And the other leg was that of a horse. Tattooed on that leg was the name, Jessica, which was unnervingly close to Jesse's name.

She licked her lips with her pointed tongue as she looked at the Hind. I wish I could tell it to run, but when I tried, no sound came out. As fast as fire, the creature struck, lashing out with claws like daggers, a stream of flame racing behind her head. She pounced on the Hind, grabbing it by the neck. The Hind shrieked a shrill equine sound, slightly muffled by the demon clutching her neck. The beast suddenly disappeared in a cloud of mist. No, not mist. It was the Mist.

Pieces fell into place. I had one of those sudden moments when my brain actually worked. The legs and flaming hair should have let me know sooner. It was an empousa. Demons of Hecate, goddess of magic. I remembered discovering them in one of the various books the library had on Greek mythology. Another thing was Leroy said the Mist changed what mortals see. It had to be some sort of magic. What if it could affect demigods as well with enough of it? If so, that must be what the empousa did, changing what was seen with magic control of the Mist, so no one saw her and the Hind, even demigods, or possibly, gods. But I was able to see through it.

In my vision, the cloud of mist dissipated, clearing. Jessica was running, surprisingly fast with her mismatched legs. She weaved through silver trees, and turned quickly when a wolf snarled at her, smelling or hearing her and the Hind. It howled upward, signaling someone. Or many people.

Out of nowhere, multiple girls in slick black clothes emerge from behind a cluster of trees, like they'd been waiting for their cue. They wore black combat boots, silent on the silver grass. The group would've been stealthy if the surrounding area wasn't a bright silver color. They had quivers on their backs, bows in their hands, and bronze swords and twin daggers at their sides. I counted seven of them, each with a falcon on their shoulders and timber wolves at their feet. I knew who they were. They were the Hunters of Artemis. I didn't see Artemis herself, but I knew gods could take many forms in the myths.