The Huntress [ Sam Uley ]

Prologue

(A/N: Any changes to the storyline, minor and major, have been made to make my life easier. So, please excuse them.)

Secrets are tiny little things we keep close to our hearts. It doesn't matter if they're painful, we store them in the red organ that beats in our chest. We shroud them in lies and deceptions, hoping that if we use strong enough thread, our tapestry won't break and reveal the dirt underneath.

Secrets come in all shapes and sizes. Some people have one secret that can be either monstrous or inconsequential. Others might have the luxury of not knowing what their secret is at all. But then there are those whose secrets pile up alongside the little white lies they spill to keep the people they care about safe.

Artemis Swan kept her secrets filed neatly in the mahogany bookshelf she pictured in her head. They were put in two different sections. One was where she kept the ones that protected herself. The other held secrets that could put her sister and father in danger (Artemis and her mother, Renée, didn't get along). Both were ordered by the importance and necessity of keeping them hidden.

In section one hid the simple ones: the fact she had a photographic memory, skipped three grades, and was forced to attend Brown University at fourteen by Renée.

In section two burrowed her beastly secrets: the fact she could shield her mind from nosy Cold Ones, the silverfyre dagger that could kill the supernatural she conveniently carried with her, and the late nights Artemis spent reviewing course material she'd missed in class due to the manic shapeshifter she'd had to hunt down. So, it can be said that Artemis was a busy eighteen-year-old that just graduated college and wanted a break from the supernatural. Specifically her murderous role in it.

When she was a child visiting her father, Charlie, in Forks, Washington, Artemis got lost in the woods while playing with Bella and Jacob Black. Jacob was the son of Billy Black, one of Charlie's friends, and lived on the La Push Reservation with the Quileute tribe. She had decided that the woods would be a brilliant place to hide since Bella was scared to go inside and Jacob would follow her sister around like a lost puppy.

Artemis wasn't frightened while walking aimlessly around the dense, dark, forest. She should have stopped walking earlier, stayed close to the treeline so Charlie wouldn't worry, but something was pulling her forwards. And her curiosity was poison that would soon contaminate everything she knew to be true.

The child heard a soft giggle coming from the heart of the clearing she'd just entered. Light spilled from the sky, painting the soft green grass in a hue of gold. A gentle breeze brushed the vibrant flowers that grew in the area. The warm brown on the tree trunks designated a border or boundary around the safe-haven that seemed untouched. Except for the two human souls in it. Or supposedly human.

Sitting on a large circular tree stump in the very middle of the clearing was a girl who looked no older than nine. She had wavy, red curls that barely brushed her shoulders, and a myriad of freckles smattered the bridge of her nose. The girl's clear blue eyes twinkled, a bright smile splitting her whole face as she watched the delicate butterfly perched on her dainty finger.
Then there were the things that took longer for her to notice. Like the small obsidian horns that grew from her head and grew backwards, spiraling slightly. And her pointed, elf-like ears. Artemis looked on in awe of the girl before her.