Hunters of Artemis Daily

Pt. 5

~HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS DAILY~ The Lieutenant of Artemis isn't doing too good! After fighting a hopeless battle with Khione and the Boreads, she messed up and got blown away to an unknown land. Will she be able to escape without Ouranos catching her? Or will the Hunters of Artemis have to assign a new Lieutenant once again?

I rolled up the scroll that be and Stephanie had been reading. Stephanie had gone to check on the other hunters and hunt some dinner. 

 I hummed under my breath as I slotted the scroll back into its shelf. I felt a chilly breeze, which was weird because I was in a tent, and the magic was supposed to prevent any weather from getting in. Then, I saw something even stranger: I saw a snowflake fall on the wooden bookshelf in front of me. I blinked. The snowflake was gone.

Great, I thought, first I'm having desperate dreams about how to save the world that probably won't work, and now you're hallucinating about snowflakes during the summer.

"You're not hallucinating."

I startled so much that I dropped the new scroll I picked out to skim my eyes over.

The voice came from the entrance of the tent. I whirled toward it, wondering who spoke and why in all the gods it had gotten so freezing.

I knew my gods and goddesses. So I said, "Khione."

The goddess of snow smiled coldly. "Hello, Lieutenant."

"What do you want now? I take it you're with Ouranos in this fight?"

Khione snapped her fingers and two men appeared. One had a '90s style haircut, and the other wore a hockey jersey. Both had gigantic purple wings.

I drew my bow. "Zethes, Calais." The two Boreads looked surprised that I knew their names.

"Enough talk." Khione stepped aside, revealing a small mountain of their spiky wind bombs. I gasped. Khione grinned evilly. "I've been watching you, Rita Hovian. You should be honoured. It's not often Lord Ouranos requests a mortal to visit." She said the word "mortal" like it was a nasty taste on her mouth.

I gritted my teeth and let the arrow fly. I thought I was close enough that Khione wouldn't have time to move out of the way, but no. The snow goddess turned into a shower of snowflakes and the arrow flew straight into one of the wind bombs. They blew their destructive winds, setting each other off.

The last thing I heard was Khione's delighted laugh. Then the north wind blasted me to who knows where and I lost consciousness.

***

Hunters are immune to many things. Boys, love, aging, losing our weapons or our skills. But one thing we are not immune to are dreams.

The dream I had then was one of the worst.

It started with the hunters facing an army of monsters. This had been before I had joined the hunt, but I knew the time well. The war with the Titans a few years ago. But in this dream, everyone I loved died. I watched in horror as all the hunters I treated like family were slaughtered before my eyes. The Empire State Building—Olympus—crumbled, and Artemis fell through the sky with a knife in her throat, disintegrating.

I woke with a gasp.

The scene around was unfamiliar. Rocky white hills peaked above the ground. Snow fluttered down from the sky in a small storm.

AH. THE HUNTRESS FINALLY WAKES FROM HER SLUMBER. A voice rumbled from the sky. I saw the brutal face of a man drawn in the clouds.

I clenched my fists. "Ouranos! Why did you bring me here?!"

HA. PUNY DEMIGOD, YOU ARE NO MATTER TO ME. UNFORTUNATELY, YOU ARE SKILLED. I'LL GIVE YOU THAT. I WILL KEEP YOU IN MY PALACE UNTIL IT IS TIME TO DESTROY YOU.

"You little son of a—"

LET'S NOT BE LIKE THAT. IN THE MEANTIME, TRY NOT TO DIE. I'D HATE FOR YOU TO PERISH BEFORE I GET THE CHANCE TO DESTROY YOU.