The Muses

Nothing Is Free

I lay down on my sleeping bag, groaning. I'm so sore, and exhausted.

"So, what happened? And who is she?" I ask, trying to sound casual. Am I jealous of the ethereal beauty who just randomly shows up with Ambrose and the others? No. At least, not that I'll admit out loud.

"Well, after you and Hypnos left, me and Calliope needed to hide. Thankfully, she's really good at that. She had a small hiding place that's soundproofed and had a decent amount of food. I stocked up, by the way.

"Then, after about an hour, I decided to check things out. Since everything was clear, I let her out and told her to stay with me. Then Hypnos showed up with her, still have no idea who she is, and said that you were in danger. Calliope found your boot prints and ran after you. And that's when we-- Kory?!"

I lean over the other way and puke everything in my stomach up. I feel tears slip down my cheeks, pain consuming me. My body feels like it's on fire, but I feel so cold at the same time.

"Kory, what is that?" He asks, sounding horrified. I don't have the energy to look at whatever it is. It's taking all of my energy to not collapse in my own vomit.

He touches my arm and the pain increases tenfold. I scream, which causes me to puke again.

I look at my arm, wondering what the hell just happened.

"Is... Is that a snake bite?" He asks slowly.

I cuss under my breath. That fucking snake! I parried Eris, but I didn't pay attention to the snake. I didn't feel anything, so I assumed it missed.

"Hypnos, come here!" Ambrose yells, gently laying me down on my side.

Hypnos and the strange woman are next to me in a heartbeat.

"What is it, child?" The woman says calmly, her voice comforting.

"She's been bitten by a snake. It's really bad," he says, sounding nauseous.

She feels my forehead, then gasps. She looks at me and places a cool hand on my cheek. "What did this to you?"

I swallow, my mouth suddenly extremely dry. "S-snake. Eris... She attacked... Then left... Thought it... Missed..." I mumble. I feel woozy and hot. My tongue feels swollen and hot. Everything feels hot, except I'm shivering and the air is cold.

"Eris? It must've been a descendant of my brother's horrible serpent," she says, frowning slightly at the mention of her brother.

I look her over for a minute, everything falling into place. The dark chocolate color of her skin that seems to radiate moonlight, the silver bow and arrows, her gentle demeanor toward me.

"Artemis," I mutter quietly, smiling. Am I relieved that the beautiful woman is a maiden goddess who has no interest in men? No, shut up.

She smiles back and nods. "Yes. I am the goddess of the hunt, and of maidens."

I feel my hope dropping by the second. "I'm... I'm not exactly innocent."

She frowns a little, but nods. "You are, however, very important. You are also a huntress, like me, except that you are a huntress of mankind. You have my protection, as do your... Associates."

I frown, losing track of her voice. My stomach feels really weird. It takes me a second too long to realize what's going to happen.

I only have time to shove her backwards before I vomit everywhere. The pain starts back up, paralyzing me.

She glares in indignation for a moment, but relaxes when she realizes it wasn't a threatening movement. She also looks relieved that I didn't decide to puke on her.