Page 23 of Artemis' Bow
“What?” Raven says.
Her eyes snap open and she stares at the red metal glinting in the too bright sun.
“You did it. This is amazing.” I bounce on my toes, clapping for my bestie.
“How did you do that?” Dax asks. “Is this because you’re a mutant now?”
“That’s not funny, Dax. We aren’t mutants.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“That was fucking rude,” Raven snarls and punches Dax in the stomach.
All the air rushes out of him as he doubles over in pain. His knees weaken and he drops to the ground, wheezing for breath.
“Shit, Raven, I think you cracked a rib with that thing,” Dax grumbles.
“You’ll be fine, you big baby. That’s what you get for being a dumbass.” Raven crosses her arms over her chest. “And no, I don’t think it’s because I’mgods touched. I always had it. I just didn’t think I needed to use it for anything other than calling weapons to me.”
“You’re going to have to show me how sometime but not right now. Believe it or not, I had a purpose for coming here.” Dax gets to his feet and dusts himself off.
“Other than being a jackass?” I ask.
The word mutant runs through my head on a loop. Is that what the other students are calling us now? I guess we are kind of mutated gods, but the word makes me cringe and reminds me that I’m an even bigger freak than before. No matter how manytimes the others try to tell me otherwise, I know the truth. Even among demigods I’m different.
“You need to get on with the reason you’re here before I let my shadows loose on you for putting that look on her face,” Jayden says, glancing at me.
Dax’s eyes widen as he turns to face me and grimaces. “Sorry, Beth, I don’t really think you’re all mutants; my brothers and I just like to tease our little sister.”
“Well, stop it,” Jayden says. “Beth is already sensitive about being different and your bullshit isn’t helping.”
“Why are you here, Dax?” I ask.
“Kira needs you at the forges. She asked me to grab you and hurry.” Dax waves in the direction of the volcano.
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
Is Kira all right? If something happened at the forge, everyone could be in danger and Dax is just sitting here being a dickhead. I race away, not even checking if the others are following.
Kira, a daughter of Hephaestus, and I have become close since Claud our giant cyclops friend started helping in the forges after we helped Hades retrieve his helm in the underworld. That feels like a lifetime ago when in reality, it was only a few months ago.
Claud. What if something terrible happened to my friend? He’s had a terrible life already, imprisoned in Tartarus for millennia. Can’t the gentle cyclops catch a break?
Racing through the forest is much easier than normal. The Dryads don’t appear to want to stall me which, while it should be a relief, has dread pooling in my gut as I sprint through the trees.
“Fuck,” Raven growls behind me. “We’re in a hurry. You assholes stop smacking me with your branches.”
I guess their hatred of Raven overrules everything else and they are only helping me through the forest.
“If something’s happened and the forge explodes, your trees will be destroyed,” I yell to the Dryads.
The phantom giggles from the trees quiets and Raven grumbles something about little green bitches under her breath as we race down the worn path to the forge. I’m not even sure if I would be able to help if something catastrophic happened at the forge but Kira wouldn’t send Dax for us if it wasn’t important.
When I reach the base of the mountain, I stumble to a stop at the scene before me. “What is this?”
My gaze narrows on the new structure sitting just to the side of the entrance to the forge. It’s huge with marble columns and gigantic double doors, tall enough that I think Claud could even fit through them.
Kira stands on the stone steps just in front of the entrance with a beaming smile on her face. “Welcome to your new armory.”
“What are you talking about? I thought something terrible had happened.” I run a hand down my face.
