Six Myths Under

Just Another Kidnapping

Slowly opening her eyes, Artemis saw where she was.

 She registered she was bound to a chair with ropes, a medical looking device boring into her arm. There was a tube sticking into her exposed vein, and she felt, for the first time in millennia, an unfamiliar sensation. Pain. It was drawing out a silvery, shiny, bluish substance, that trickled and gleamed. At the edges it vaporised, becoming a gas. She yanked it out, ignoring the golden blood, ichor, that seeped out of the wound. As a goddess, her blood was a golden colour, but her essence, what made her powerful, was silver. Maybe that was what it'd been pulling out. That would explain why she felt sluggish and weak. 

Her perceptive eyes immediately picked up on the bomb cleverly disguised as nail polish, painting of a bow that wasn't a painting, large oven and chest in the corner. With her nimble fingers and a helpful arrow she sliced through the ropes binding her. Who would bind a goddess? Alone in a tiny room, she pledged to discover the answer. Now, probing her memories... aha! There it was!

 She recalled hunting with Athena, Nemesis and Nike. They had happened upon a stag, a white one, and seen a mortal aiming a gun. Horrified, they had protected the stag. She had nocked an arrow and... and... AND...that was it. Nothing else until now. She searched the room. Nothing. Slamming her hand against the wall in despair, it trembled. It wobbled almost as though... it wasn't really a wall. 

Energised by this discovery, she resolved to demolishing the wall. Punching a hole in it, she saw Athena, Nike, Hecate (Hecate?), Nemesis and a few dryads. Kicking and gouging holes in the walls, Artemis walked to where the other goddesses were bound and tied, shackled to chairs with tape on their mouths. She ran to their aid, then noticed they were unconscious. Similar tubes ran into their veins, drawing out their essence. Nemesis' was jet black, Nike's bronze, Hecate's purple and Athena's grey and cloudy. Artemis pulled out the tubes, plastering bandages over the wounds. She left them to stir and wake while she freed the dryads, slicing their bindings.

"Back to your trees sisters," she said gently to the dryads, who obliged willingly. Pollen filled the air. The terrified dryads scampered away and vanished into clouds of leaves, pollen and flowers. One tall, silver-haired girl lifted a hand and she became silver dust. Artemis guessed she was the spirit of a she-oak, elm or willow. A lemon dryad vanished with a loud BANG and the scent of citrus filled the air. Finally, only one remained. A small, potted, laurel tree. Miniature eyes peered out of the trunk. Artemis lifted it carefully. "You are safe, brother dryad. I will protect you." With those words, she flung him out a window, where she knew he would be saved by the gardener. Athena coughed impatiently. With the dryads gone, it was time for the five goddesses to get back to work.

"First things first," said the ever-practical Athena. " How did we get here? We need to think."

" Dunno," yawned Hecate, her cat-like nature coming out in full capacity. Nike clenched her fist.

"Well whoever it is, they'll be sorry. For we are goddesses, and we'll not go down without a fight!" the warlike goddess proclaimed furiously.

Artemis shook her head.

" I agree with Athena. We should review our memories. I'll go first." She spoke so clearly and with such of a commanding air that the others had to fight the instinct to bow down and worship her. With the merest inclination of her will, she developed a holographic image that spun when pushed. It showed the scene from Artemis, Athena, Nemesis and Nike's memories.

"That's us. Now Hecate?" murmured Nemesis, her fists clenching as her thirst for revenge came creeping in.

"Fine," yawned the nonchalant Hecate, pretending to have no interest whatsoever in the situation. Again, the image flew up, this time of the same mortal mocking Hecate's priests and priestesses for their belief. Holographic Hecate zapped the mortal with a bolt that should have turned him into an ant. Instead, he absorbed it, actually growing taller with the energy it contained.

"What the," breathed the holographic goddess, before the image cut out.

"Well, let's get out of here!" roared the furious Nike. She was the goddess of victory and hated losing, to a mortal most of all. Artemis returned to her section of the half demolished room. Walking toward the cleverly disguised bow, she pulled it out of the canvas. She selected assorted weapons from the chest and tossed them to the other goddesses. Nike got a spear, Nemesis an obsidian sword, Athena a pair of throwing knives and Hecate got an enchanted bracelet that would channel her spells with ease.

Holding the bow in her hand, she transformed it into her goddess's bow and silver arrows made of moonlight. Plucking a talisman from the tabletop, Nemesis illuminated the words carved on the side. BELIEF BE GONE, it proclaimed. Artemis and Athena exchanged a look. They knew who had kidnapped them. His name was Typhon, doom of the deities. Whatever he had planned, it was certainly no good for them, and definitely meant more power for him. Artemis and Athena's expressions were twin masks of hatred and dislike. Clearly he was planning to hurt them in some way.

Artemis turned to Athena, Nemesis, Nike and Hecate. Her silver eyes gleamed as she told the others of her idea. Nemesis scooped Nike into her arms, preparing to throw her into the wall. Athena held Artemis' shoulders and Hecate sat down on the chair, spinning her bracelet idly. Artemis kicked her feet into the wall, slamming heavily into it. As the wall trembled, she was flung into the waiting Athena's arms. Athena hurled her back into the wall as her blonde hair whipped Artemis' face. Artemis kicked, hard, and a thunderous boom came surging out of the hollow she had just made. Nemesis hurled Nike to the wall, and Nike's feet left a huge dent. Nemesis caught Nike and held her, waiting for Artemis to lead the way.

Pushing her way through the hole of plaster and debris, Artemis entered a storage room. there was a door, which she quickly opened. It led to another room, this one clearly for sleeping. There was a large bed in the corner, a plush window seat and door which Artemis guessed would lead to a ensuite. She turned to open the window seat's compartments, but, as she did so, the ensuite door opened and a cloud of steam billowed out, framing a figure Artemis knew very well. It was her younger twin brother, Apollo. 

Thanks for reading, please remember to vote and comment!