Lord of the Eclipse

6 | Hunting

Perseus ran alongside Artemis and her hunters. Apollo had to leave and do his job as the sun god so they wouldn't raise suspicion. The hunters helped fill him in on some of the modern things he missed while Artemis led them.

She would occasionally kneel down and check something in the snow before muttering to herself and running again.

"What exactly are we doing, Artemis?" Perseus asked, glancing at his sister.

"We're tracking the manticore. Father has asked the hunt to target specific monsters so that they can't join the Titans."

"Right. I almost forgot about that. I die in the first Titan War, and as soon as I'm back, BOOM! I'm in another. Such fun. I love this."

Artemis laughed a bit. "Sarcastic as ever, I see?"

Perseus grinned. "Haven't changed a bit, sis."

Artemis stopped and looked at some imprints in the snow and ran her hand over the trunk of a tree. "It's close. Maybe a 15 minute run? This is recent though. See the marks on this tree?" She traced the indent carefully. "Some monsters do this. When they hunt down half-bloods, they practice their aim before going in for the kill. These look a few days old. That means we have to hurry."

Perseus and the hunters nodded and picked up their pace, but keeping as silent as the snow falling around them. "Okay," Artemis muttered. "We are going to stake out here. I feel like it's going to come out to this clearing soon. Hunters, get your bows ready. Perseus, don't do anything unless I tell you to or you feel like you need to."

Perseus nodded and secured his warglaives to his back.

Artemis turned to Zoë and told her to sound the hunting horn. Zoë nodded, and the sound echoed through the woods. Artemis then turned to her brother. ''Ready to see the hunt at work, Perseus?''

Perseus smirked. ''Proceed.'' He gave his sister one last glance before climbing up a tree so he could have a better view, and so he would not interfere.

Artemis smiled and drew an arrow from her quiver. She loaded the silver arrow and let it fly by like a streak of moonlight. There was a soft hiss as it sliced through the air with dead accuracy, and Perseus saw the arrow lodge itself in the manticore's shoulder through a break in the trees. He held in a bit of a laugh as the manticore wailed and cursed his sister. He whipped his tail towards the woods, letting loose dozens of spikes. Perseus had to dodge to left to avoid getting impaled on the head. He had just come back; he didn't want to die so quickly.

The hunters returned the volley with their own projectiles, intercepting the thorns and slicing them into two. Perseus was tempted to whistle, but that might ruin their concentration and give away his position.

When the manitcore let out a howl of pain, Perseus noticed the kids on the ground. One of the girls had wild black hair and was grasping a spear and a shield that looked a lot like Athena's. Another was a blonde, and she was holding a short bronze dagger in one hand and a hat in the other. There were two kids huddled on the ground, a boy and a girl, and they looked like siblings. A satyr stood over them and was playing some sort of tune on a set of reed pipes.

The black haired girl lept towards the monster, hoping to catch him off guard while he was injured, and jabbed her spear towards the manticore's chest. The manticore swatted her shield with his tail, knocking her aside.

The hunters emerged from the trees while Perseus got comfortable in his spot. He had faith in the hunters, he highly doubted he would have to do anything. They looked like a little silver army. The blonde recognized them, and the black haired girl groaned. Zoë stepped forward and drew her bow. ''Permission to kill, milady?''