Lieutenant

Chapter 9- Nine

The sound of a loud roar pierced through Zoë's sleep and she bolted awake in an instant. Was there a monster? If so, how had it managed to sneak in? Diving for her bow in the corner of the tent, Zoë stumbled to her feet and unceremoniously staggered out of her tent with the string drawn and an arrow in place.

What she saw not only surprised her but the other girls as well. Orion was gravely injured, two arrows had pierced his eyes, and large gashes decorated his arms and chest. An extremely angry and agitated white tiger paced around him, half ready to pounce, half ready to run.

Orion roared in anger, pulling the two arrows from his face with a sickening pop that caused dark blood like tar to run down his face. It was an upgrade from his previous looks in her opinion.

What would have put any other warrior out of fighting only made him angrier. He was a hunter down to the core, his other senses would only be strengthened by his newfound disability.

The other girls seemed more concerned about what had caused Artemis to turn on her 'prized' fighter than the actual fight at hand. Orion was large and imposing, it was what made him so threatening. He reached out quickly, with the poise of a viper, one of his large hands catching the tiger (Artemis) by the scruff of the neck.

Zoë had to give the goddess credit, she was a sight to see in her blazing fury. Her clawed paws swung aggressively at the blind giant, but he held her at a careful distance for a brief moment before giving an angry cry and hurling her small form away.

Zoë cringed as Artemis slammed into the treeline, the sound of wood splintering ringing through the clearing. Snapping out of her shock and surprise, Zoë ordered the other girls away from the conflict for the time being. She couldn't afford any of them getting mixed into the conflict and being hurt.

Once everyone was cleared out, Zoë stepped forward. "What is the meaning of this?"

Her words were harsh and demanding. Orion's head tilted to the side as he heard the string of her bow grow taught.

"Put the weapon down, little girl," he snarled, his more animalistic nature showing through. He was as uncultured as Zoë had originally thought. "This is not your fight!"

"It became my fight when you decided to anger my patron!" Orion was not pleased with this remark and made a move towards Zoë's smaller form. He didn't get far as another piercing roar, followed by a white streak, interrupted his attack.

Artemis slammed into the giant, toppling him to the ground, and attempted to tear her teeth into his throat. Orion grasped a rock next to his hand and, in a violent jerk, smashed it against her head with a violent crack. Artemis went limp and he brushed her off with ease.

Zoë fired at him, unable to keep herself from getting involved. Her blood boiled at his actions and her restraint failed. When Orion moved to his feet and attempted to strike again, a blinding light flooding the clearing.

Zoë squinted, shielding her eyes with her arm as a violent heat washed over her. Orion gave a hideous sounding cry of pain as the light began to fade. When Zoë opened her eyes, as the light faded, she spotted Apollo in a glowing form resembling the sun. His skin was gone and instead consisted of fiery gas as his figure. His hair was pure flames and his eyes were glistening fireballs.

"Your welcome has been far surpassed, giant." Apollo waved his hand and a golden bow appeared in his grasp. He didn't hesitate to fire at the enemy and within seconds Orion's form blistered over and dissolved into ash before scattering on the breeze. The dark ash cloud flitted upwards and glistened in the light. "A constellation? The fates give you a constellation? You deserve no presence in the stars!"