The Hunters of Artemis: The Return of the Hunters

Chapter 23: Her Return

The Day Before The Quest

It was dark. Darker than Kat had ever experienced. And cold. Very cold. As though the room hadn't ever heard of heating.

Her mouth was dry and her lips were cracked. Her leg was still in immense pain, and when she reached down to touch it, she felt something wet and immediately knew it was blood. The cut that her kidnapper had given her was deep, and long, and ensured that she wasn't to escape from her confinement. She opened her eyes wider, but the pitch black swallowed any light that could have come into the room. 

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," said a girl's voice from across the room. 

Kat raised her head and tried to search for the person. "Who's there?" she rasped. 

"I'm offended that you don't remember me," the girl said mockingly. "And after our past together? Kat, I expected more from you."

She racked her mind, trying to place the sound of the person's voice when she heard footsteps. In her current state, Kat could do nothing to protect herself, and when the swift crack of the slap made her head turn painfully to the left. 

"You think that you're so powerful," hissed the girl. "But really, you're just a weakling who got lucky a few times in life."

Suddenly, it came to her. "R--Rhea?"

A laugh came from the girl. "Oh, so you do remember me. I was so worried for a moment."

"How did you escape from the Underworld?" Kat growled. "What are you doing here?"

"It was really quite easy to escape," Rhea said. "All you have to do is sneak out when no one's watching. And, honestly, no one's paid enough to care if one soul escapes. As to what I'm doing here... I'm back for revenge. You put me through over twenty years of torture," she said with loathing in her voice. 

Kat let out a small laugh, which resulted in another smack. "You did that to yourself," she sniffed. "I regret nothing but the loss of my friend. Little did I know, I lost my friend long before she died."

"I'm not going to kill you," Rhea said, ignoring Kat. "I want to save you until all of our old friends come so that I can kill you in front of them, to show them what should have happened all of those years ago. All of those twenty-four years ago."

"You know you'll never succeed," Kat said quietly. "They'll stop you. Like I did."

Rhea retreated. "I heard you got married," she said scathingly, choosing to let Kat's words slide over her like oil. "Let me guess. Liam?"

"Yes."

She snorted. "You're a fool for marrying that idiot."

"I love him, and he loves me. And if it's foolish to marry the man I love, then so be it. I'm a fool. I am no more a fool than you are for choosing your path."

There was silence for a moment before Rhea spoke again. "I also heard that you had a daughter."

Kat was suddenly filled with fear. How did Rhea know about... Rhea? "What's it to you?"

"So, it's true. Ha. I'd bet that she has your dark hair," Rhea said, her voice filled with hatred. "And your flawless tan skin. Oh, I'm sure she's just gorgeous, just like her mother." She spat out the word mother like it was a terrible taste in her mouth. "And I'm guessing she's got Liam's hazel eyes. The perfect combination of the two of you. What did you name her? Something prissy like Lia, I bet. A play off of Liam."

"I named her after you," Kat said quietly, defeated.

Rhea stopped ranting. "You... You what?"

"I said, I named my daughter Rhea... After you." Kat let out a deep sigh. "And she doesn't look anything like Liam or me. In fact, she is the mirror image of... you."

There was a silence that followed Kat's words that made Kat wonder if Rhea was in shock, or planning out a way to see if she was lying. 

"But that's impossible," Rhea finally said. 

Kat laughed. "That's what I thought. You can imagine my surprise when I held her for the first time and saw the eyes that had belonged to my dearest friend staring back at me." She smiled fondly. "She has your spirit, too. Rebellious, and passionate. At least, the spirit you used to have before you turned cold and callous."

It was a moment before Kat realized that Rhea had left. How she had left, Kat didn't know, but all she knew was that she was alone in the cold, lonely, blackness of the room once again.