Page 57 of Artemis' Bow
“Ahh, so you are a smart one. How long did it take you to figure that out? I have been in hiding for millennia, you know.” Pan narrows his gaze on me.
“It was the way you spoke of the wilds like living breathing places all their own and your heartbreak over losing so much of them. Once we left and the store disappeared, I figured you were the god of the wilds.” I shrug.
“Very smart, young one.” Pan smiles at me.
“What are you doing in California? This exact store was in Virginia not long ago,” Jayden says.
“What is left of the last wild places in the human world are all connected, and I can move this place through them at will. The question is, why was I compelled to move the location here?” Pan asks, always cryptic.
We wait several moments for him to explain but when he doesn’t, I sigh. “Why were you compelled here?"
"There were brave demigods and a goddess in need of me and here I am to assist however I am able.” Pan steps around us and moves farther into the store.
We dutifully follow behind him and I rack my brain for a reason that Pan would choose to help us or how he even knew we would need him, but I come up short.
“You’re great friends with Artemis, right? That seems odd to me since you’re the god of wild things and she hunts those wilds,” Adrian says.
“Artemis has indeed been a friend for many millennia. You know what I love about the best hunters?” Pan asks. “They only take what is needed and show respect to the animals and the wild places they hunt in.”
“I can see the symbiotic relationship there. Hunters thin out the population so the wilds aren’t destroyed by overpopulation and as long as they don’t take more than needed, the land and the animals there flourish,” I say with a nod.
“Yes, very smart. The wilds need the hunter just as the hunter needs the wilds.” Pan nods.
“So, the reason you’re here is because Artemis has been taken and the wilds are in as much danger as the humans are,” I say.
“It is both that simple and exceedingly more complicated than that, but yes. Artemis’ hounds found me about a week ago, the first day the moon didn’t rise.” Pan clenches his fists at his sides.
“Wait, her hounds found you?” I ask. “Why would they do that?”
“I have heard of the many gifts you have received over the past months, but I was unaware speaking to hounds was one such gift.” He chuckles.
“Does the shifter count?” I ask with a grin. “I can communicate with him.”
Pan bursts into laughter. “You are absolutely delightful, young one, but no, the shifter in his human form does not count.”
“You can speak to animals?”
“Only the ones I have a connection with. I gifted Artemis her hunting hounds so I can communicate with them. They are lost and scared without the goddess to lead them.”
“Poor puppies,” I whisper. “Do you know where Artemis was when she was taken?”
“I assure you they are not puppies.” Pan chuckles.
“What about the location she was taken from?”
“They are not as intelligent as the hellhound in Jayden’s pocket. They only had a vague direction but fled to find me at Artemis’ order. That’s why I’m here in California, because the goddess requested I find you and help you however I can,” Pan says.
“What direction? Can we see the hounds? Maybe we have some questions that you hadn’t thought of.” I glance around at my friends who are all nodding.
“They are wild things, not pets. They will either be there or they won’t. We cannot expect them to sit and wait for us to see them and ask our questions.” Pan shakes his head, and I step back, away from the long ram horns on his head before I’m impaled.
“You really should be more careful with your horns.” I grimace.
“Apologies, I forget about them, especially when living with just my wife, who doesn’t bleed like normal mortals,” Pan says.
“Can we at least see if the hounds are there?” Jayden asks. “They might be able to help us figure out if we are going to the right place to find her.”
“Artemis was weakening without her bow,” I say. “Anyone could have taken her.”
