Fear of Erebus

A Dead Man

AN: I suggest having a read of the prologue—it is part of the story!

Artemis

The instant snap of twigs and the wind running passed my ears were the only constant reminder of freedom as I ran through the darkening forest. The roar and snarls of devilish creatures could be heard in the distance. A battle.

It got louder, the dying wallows of desperate, unearthly beasts and the familiar clang of metal. The trees were thinning, the final rays of sun pouring in through the small gaps. I caught a glimpse of a clearing just up ahead, then it disappeared again. I urged my feet to run faster, hoping the others would keep up. The demonic sounds dying in my ears. I broke free of the forest's embrace, bow pulled and at the ready. The others stopped short behind me, breathing hard but ready for a fight.

Nothing attacked us. The once green glade was painted in gold dust, a light breeze teasing at the sands and scattering them apart. Tartarus had already claimed his children. The last remains of an empusa's arm dissolved into the ashes.

I kept my bow string taunt, narrowing my eyes as I surveyed the field. We were too late, the battle had already been fought but there were no trace to distinguish a clear winner.

"Search it!" I barked out the ordered, allowing the girls to inspect the field for a clue of any sort.

I took a step forth, a disgusting squelch erupted from the ground. Reluctantly, I looked down, my silver hiking boot half swallowed by a puddle of mud. I knelt down, examining the puddle. It was weird, there hadn't been any rain recently and there was no river nor stream nearby.

"Lady Artemis!" I didn't look up as my lieutenant came forth. I dipped my fingers in and brought it out quickly, surprised by the coolness of the liquid. "Lady Artemis?" I looked at my fingers, it was stained in muddy, red blood.

"Demigod."

"What?" I stood up and showed Thalia the blood.

"There was a demigod here. Judging by the amount of blood, there was most likely only one but they did sustain great blood loss—probably injured badly, they couldn't have gone far. Send a group of girls to search the area." I explained wiping my fingers on my pants as Thalia ordered a nearby hunter to create a search party. "What did you find?"

"Nothing but monster dust. A lot of monster dust. Are you sure it was just one demigod? I mean, some of the dust piles indicate some pretty big monsters, it would have been near impossible for just a half-blood."

Thalia had a point but it didn't mean it was impossible.

"Whoever did this was powerful and knew what they were doing. Find them and bring them to me. We need to know what their intentions are. Until then we camp here."

Thalia nodded and walked off to give the girls their orders. Something wasn't right, I had a bad feeling about this. If there was a demigod here, then why didn't I-

"Hey sis'!" I groaned mentally. Could my day get any worst? I turned around to face the bane of my existence; Apollo.

"What do you want?" I hated it when he dropped in for a visit. He ignored my question and looked around the field, giving out a whistle of awe.

"This your work, sis'?" He asked, gesturing to the plane of gold dust, whilst he took off his dark shaded sunglasses. I crossed my arms and gave him an unimpressed look. Why the Fates decided to punish me with a brother is beyond me. He is just so... annoying!

"What do you think?"

"Well, judging by your expression I would say you're pissed because someone beat you to the battle and you don't know who." He flashed me one of his cheesy smiles and wiggled his eyebrows in a bothersome manner. He knew he was right and he knew that it got on my nerves.