Page 68 of Artemis' Bow
“I know but he said there are several threads of fate and some of them I am forced to choose. There are some where I’m pushed too far and just say fuck it and leave them to fix their own messes.”
Jayden sits up, pulling me into his lap.
“I don’t know why he’s so focused on the threads that deal with you when it’s more likely that he's going to push me too far and I am going to just throw my hands up and peace out."
“He either doesn’t believe you would let innocents die because the gods are assholes, or he doesn’t believe he can push you far enough to make you quit.” Jayden grips my thigh.
“I warned him not to push because all that blood will be on his hands,” I say.
“I think if everyone just stopped with these bullshit dire warnings and let us do what we set out to one step at a time like we’ve been doing, everything would be much simpler.”
“They all have their own agendas; they all have their own reasons for the things they do and ask us to do. It will never be simple with them.” I shrug.
“You’re right.” He sighs. “I say we just ignore the dire warnings and their plans and just focus on the goal at hand. We bring Artemis back and go from there.”
“Yeah, I like that idea. There’s no sense in borrowing tomorrow’s problems for today,” I grumble.
“We should probably get on the road and solve this first problem as quickly as we can.” Jayden lifts me off his lap.
“No time to waste, I guess,” I mumble.
Everything sucks. I don’t know what the threads of fate hold. Nereus didn’t tell me, but if he’s contacting me, he’s worried, and if he’s worried, the world is in some serious shit.
17
“The reports coming out of Tuscan are terrible.” Tristan runs a hand down his face.
“What happened?” I ask warily.
“Some kind of monster ripped through there, but the reports are unbelievable.” He shrugs. “I’ve never heard anything like it.”
“We’re going to Tuscan, aren’t we?” Jayden asks with a raised brow.
“We would pass through on our route anyway,” Greyson says. “Might as well find out what’s really happening.”
“Agreed.” Raven nods.
“You know if it’s something from ancient times, we’re the only ones who can stop it. We can’t just let people get killed because we’re in a hurry.” I wrap my arm through Jayden’s.
“So you’ll go help them?” Tristan asks, hope tinging his voice.
“We have a duty to help. We aren’t responsible for it, but we’re probably the only ones who can.”
“Thank you. I’ll be forever in your debt.” Tristan bows his head to us.
“I might just call you on that debt in the near future.” I sigh.
“Anything you need. You help me every time we cross paths. It’s the least I can do,” Tristan says.
I open the passenger door to the SUV and set my bags on the floorboard and a chill runs down my spine. Something feels off and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. I glance around at the others. No one appears to be wary, so I shrug it off as dread and fear for the upcoming battle.
“Are we all packed up?” I ask. “We need to get moving. We still need to get gas.”
“I wonder what kind of crazy we will find at the gas station this time.” Raven giggles.
“I hope we don’t. The last time ended with a manhunt, and it wasn’t even our fault. Damn fox,” I say.
“I’m sure we will come across something interesting though, even if it’s just a crazywalking stick wieldingold lady.” Jayden rubs the back of his head.
