Healed by Fire (23 page)

Hephaistos smiled. “Sidhe enchanted.”

“It’s great, Hephaistos. I love it.”

He bowed. “I’m pleased you like it.”

Ares and Achilles stripped me out of the
armor and set it back on the table on top of the cloths it had been
wrapped in. I yawned and Koda put his arm around my shoulders.
“Tired, Darlin’?”

I nodded my head. “Yeah. It’s been a busy
week.”

He led me away from the table and the group
which had gathered. “Well, let’s get you some food and then get you
to bed. Tomorrow is a big morning.”

I leaned my head against his shoulder and
inhaled his scent. “It’s good to be back with you again.”

Koda smiled down at me. “It’s good to have
you back again. I missed you more than you’ll ever know.”

~~~

As the sun rose the next morning, the sounds
of activity were already high as people prepared for battle. Ares,
Koda, Achilles and I lay in the giant bed in Achilles’ chambers
staring up at the ceiling. I knew they were all worried for my
safety and the possibility of losing me again. I was worried about
the possibility of losing them and I admit, about the possibility
of my prophesized death. Luckily, I had avoided the topic with
Achilles and Ares, but it still did bother me. Even though I didn’t
know the date of my death, I knew others would die with me and that
was what truly bothered me. I had accepted my upcoming death, but I
couldn’t accept others dying with me.

Victor walked into the room and said, “It’s
time we all started to get ready.”

Ares nodded his head, but instead of getting
up, he rolled over and molded his body to my side. He whined softly
and nuzzled my hair with his nose.

I rubbed his back with one arm while I held
hands with Achilles with the other. Koda lay at the bottom of the
bed and snuggled my feet against his chest.

Victor sighed and then inhaled before he
yelled, “Ares and Achilles! Quit acting like a couple of sniveling
cowards! You’ve fought thousands of battles and this one will be no
different! Now get up and get ready!”

Ares growled and stood up out of bed. “Damn
pushy vampires.”

Achilles sighed and climbed out of bed too,
muttering to himself. Koda kissed the top of my foot and followed
the other two men into the bathroom to prepare. I fluffed up my
pillow and smiled at Victor. “You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

He nodded his head and sat on the edge of
the bed facing me. “I have a bad feeling about today, but I’m not
sure why.”

“Where are we fighting?”

“France. Hera and you will have to teleport
us all.”

I nodded my head and finger combed my hair.
“Okay, but I’ve never teleported from this realm to the human
realm. Maybe we should use the portal and then once we’re in the
regular realm again I can teleport everyone.”

Victor smiled. “Okay.”

My stomach churned and I clamped a hand over
my mouth.

“Are you alright?” Victor asked with concern
in his voice.

I shook my head and ran into the bathroom,
shoving past the three men who were showering and brushing their
teeth and made it to the toilet just in time.

Ares dropped to his knees beside me and
pulled my hair back as I threw up everything in my stomach.
“Artemis, what did you eat?”

I shook my head, but couldn’t talk as my
stomach constricted and I dry heaved.
Achilles, I didn’t eat
anything. I was just talking to Victor and had to run in
here
.

Achilles relayed my thought to Ares, Koda
and Victor, who had followed me into the bathroom. Achilles was
acting off, distancing himself from me. Was he just worried about
today? He hadn’t spoken to me or Ares much last night, but he
didn’t seem mad either. He was blocking me so hard that the corners
of his eyes were pinched from the strain.

“She’s probably just worried about the
battle,” said Victor quietly.

I wanted to argue with him, but I
was
nervous. Finally my stomach settled and I could lean back. “He’s
probably right.”

Ares helped me stand up and handed me a
toothbrush. “If you notice anything abnormal, tell me right away. I
don’t want you going out on the battlefield if you’re sick.”

“I’m a freaking halfbreed. I thought we
weren’t supposed to get sick,” I complained around my
toothbrush.

“We’re not, but you’re also unique,” Ares
said as he ran his hand through his hair.

I watched as his bicep flexed and then
relaxed as his arm moved. How was I so lucky that I snagged a guy
with such a great body? He ran his other hand through his hair and
I watched his bicep again.

All eyes turned to me and I realized that
I’d moaned. “Sorry,” I whispered as I looked down and resumed
brushing my teeth, a blush on my cheeks.

Achilles climbed into the shower and turned
the water on. His back was tense, but he relaxed after the water
flowed over him a few minutes. Obviously I wasn’t the only one
nervous.

Ares kissed my cheek and walked out of the
bathroom. Koda laughed and I spit the water I had in my mouth at
him.

He jumped out of the way and stuck his
tongue out at me. “Missed.”

Achilles pushed up the shower head and then
used his powers to increase the flow of water to reach Koda,
soaking the shirt he’d just put on. “I didn’t.”

Koda groaned. “You’re not supposed to gang
up on me. What happened to ‘bros before hoes’?”

I finished putting my hair up into a
ponytail, pointed at him and glared. “You better not have just
called me what I think you did.”

Koda raised his arms in surrender. “I was
joking.”

“And besides, which one are you?” I asked
teasingly.

Koda’s jaw dropped open. “That’s just
mean.”

I walked out of the bathroom and started
putting on the armor that Hephaistos had designed for me. I slid
the sheath of arrows onto my back and then draped the bow across my
back diagonally until I needed it. Seeing all of the people I loved
preparing for battle, preparing for their possible deaths made me
start to tear up. I walked back into the bathroom and wiped at my
eyes before anyone could see me.

Ares rubbed my back reassuringly. “It’s
alright to be nervous.”

I whispered, “Ares, if I lose you…”

He moved in one blink and had me wrapped in
a hug against his body. “Don’t think like that. I promise that we
will not be separated. Not even death could keep us apart.
Verus
amor vincit omnia
. Remember?”

I pressed my nose against his throat and
inhaled his scent, drawing him in and holding the smell in for as
long as I could. “I know. I love you, Ares.”

“I love you too, Artemis Lupine.”

I giggled and rested my head on his chest
for a moment before pulling away from him. “I’m ready.”

He slipped his fingers through mine and we
walked back into the bedroom and ate. Once I started eating, the
food stayed down and then we made our way out to the field where
the portal to the human world existed. Hera, Zeus, our pack of
halfbreeds and at least one hundred Sidhe stood waiting for us.

Everyone looked nervous and twitchy. One of
the halfbreeds turned to talk to his neighbor and I saw the brand
on his arm, a crescent moon with a star. Ares and my brand. The
anger I had shoved down the night before resurfaced and with it
rose my powers. My body glowed bright, my wings popped out of my
back and my vines sparkled.

I looked at the gathered warriors and said,
“We are going to fight the vampires. I know some of you are
fighting at the request of your king or alpha, but I want you to
know
why
we are fighting. The vampires have turned the world
which was filled with light and happiness into a world of darkness!
A world where humans can’t live freely. A world where Sidhe can’t
go out alone!” I paused to allow my words to sink in and then
continued, my voice gaining momentum, “A world of hate and fear and
misery. A world where the only important thing is feeding the
vampires! They’ve killed millions of innocent people. They have
killed my friends. They tried to kill me, which would have killed
Prince Achilles. They do not deserve to live. They are evil! They
are darkness given form and it is our duty to kill them and right
the balance!”

Everyone cheered and those with weapons
raised them in the air. “When you go out on that battlefield I
don’t want you to fight for your king or your alpha. I want you to
fight for the rights of every race! I want you to fight for the
return of humanity! I want you to fight for the return of the
light!”

The warriors all cheered and then started
filing through the portal to the human world. Ares smiled at me.
“Nice speech.”

I smiled at him and said, “Let’s go kill
some vampires.”

Ares sighed dramatically, his hand against
his forehead like a woman swooning over a man. “Isn’t she
dreamy?”

Zeus laughed. “Yes, son, she is definitely a
perfect match for you.”

I turned and headed into the portal, folding
my wings close around my body as I walked up the staircase, which
was really a portal between dimensions. We stepped out into the
human world and I noticed that we had split into two groups, but
they were mixed groups of halfbreeds and Sidhe as opposed to a
halfbreed group and a Sidhe group. Finally, we were making headway.
Hera stood in the center of the first group so I walked to the next
group and waited until the last person had walked out of the portal
and the ground had closed up behind him.

“Ready?” I asked those gathered around me.
Everyone nodded their heads, placing a hand on each other so that
we were all connected by touch. Hera nodded at me to express her
readiness. “Try not to throw up on each other,” I whispered just
before I closed my eyes and we spun through a spinning vortex. I
opened my eyes and smiled at the sight of the Eiffel Tower lit up
by lights in the distance. Several people groaned as they tried to
settle their stomachs from the trip.

It was eerily quiet now that the humans
didn’t inhabit France and as we followed Victor through the empty
streets towards the battleground, I shivered. Straightening my
back, I focused on my anger and ignored the chill of fear trying to
creep up my spine.

Achilles slipped his fingers through mine
and moaned when just the touch brought his powers. His wings popped
out of his back, almost hitting Ares.

“Watch it,” Ares growled.

Achilles whispered, “I didn’t mean to do
that.”

I rubbed his hand with my thumb and said,
“Sorry.”

He shook his head and kissed my cheek. “You
have nothing to be sorry for. That has never happened before so I
wasn’t prepared.”

Victor gave us a scalding look so we stopped
talking.

We walked for what felt like hours before
finally coming to a field of burned wood and ash that used to be a
lush forest. Several of the halfbreeds, including Ares and I,
growled at the ruined forest. Thousands of trees had been destroyed
in the obviously man-made fire. Whatever their reason had been for
destroying the forest, it just added to the anger and the need to
tear something apart in all of us, the Sidhe who value nature
included.

The presence of evil pressed down upon me as
we walked farther into the opening and then we saw the vampire
army. A familiar figure stood at the front with hybrid vampires
beside him. I swallowed nervously as I thought about the
possibility of having to fight my brother. I pulled my bow over my
head and knocked an arrow.

Apollo stepped forward and spoke in a
commanding voice, “You are acting in treason against the King of
the world, Maurice. Drop your weapons or we shall be forced to
attack you.”

Zeus turned to Ares, Achilles, and I and
waved us forward. “You’re the leaders.”

Ares and Achilles shrugged and Ares asked,
“You want to respond?”

I smiled. “Sure.” I walked out past our
group and let my wings fully extend and my body glow brighter.
“There is no king of the world, only an old vampire overstepping
his place and committing extreme crimes including murder, treason
and torture. We are all equals. Unless you drop your weapons and
allow us to pass so that we can kill Maurice for his crimes, we
will be forced to fight you.”

Apollo’s shocked face was priceless. He took
a moment to compose himself and then he said, “You will not see
reason. I have no other choice but to punish you.”

The vampires and dhampirs all hissed angrily
at us and licked their lips in excitement. I aimed down my bow and
released the arrow. Apollo jumped to the left, narrowly escaping
the arrow, and it passed through the four vampires behind him,
making them burst into ash at the touch of the sunlight on the tip
of the arrow.

“Then let us fight!” I yelled.

Our army surged forward and the vampires and
dhampirs ran to meet us. The screams of rage and pain covered
everything else. Achilles, Ares, Koda and Theseus took protective
positions around me, preventing any from coming too close to me. I
shot three more arrows, which killed an additional twelve vampires
and two dhampirs. Vampires and dhampirs died all around me, while
very few of our group fell, a good sign so far.

Ares and Koda fought side by side in
half-shifts, cutting down our enemies with a speed that I only
hoped to attain with practice. Achilles’ sword flashed quick as
lightning as he attacked, his focus never wavering from the
battle.

Despite all of the vampires and dhampirs the
men around me killed the enemy continued to crowd closer, pushing
the men even closer to me and preventing me from fighting. The
battle finally grew too close so I hung my bow over my shoulder,
placed my fists together and then separated them, forming my sword
of light.

I held the sword in readiness, but Ares and
the others were still keeping the vampires and dhampirs a safe
distance away from me. In this moment I watched the skill of
Achilles’ blade and the swiftness of Ares’ movements with awe. The
vampires pressed closer and forced the men to move even closer to
me. “Stop protecting me and let me fight!” I yelled over the sounds
of the battle.