I gripped my knife before leaping, the sound of the creatures shrieking assaulting my ears. I knew what it was, it was a Lamia, the daughter of Poseidon and the birth of hate from Hera. I grumble as I jump onto her large form, slamming my knife into her chest as her talons scratch into me.
She tries to shake me off, but I keep grip on the dagger and instead it plows even deeper into her. I drag it down when she finally throws me off, black ooze seeping from her wound and falling onto the ground like heavy goop. I slam open the bathroom door because I know my knife won't kill her, it isn't iron and isn't salt.
I rummage through the flight attendant cart and find packets of salt, ripping them open and pouring out as many as I could. Somehow the entire plane is oblivious to us, and it looks like they're all asleep before me.
Fucking Lamias.
Her scream announces her before her claws scraping down my back do, my body whirling around and thrusting the salt deep into her wound. She screeches even louder as the skin around it begins to bubble, using the distraction to stab her repeatedly before haggardly slicing her neck off.
It's jagged and not a clean cut, some of the bones still attached as I pour even more salt down the now open hole. Her screams ring through the air, her skin bubbling and oozing out even more black goop. She finally becomes a pile of ash and black goop, the only sound of the plane now being my ragged breathing and the planes engine.
I walk back to my seat, watching as the people around me begin to waken. I flop back down just as the three wolves wake up, looking disoriented and hung over. Jaxon looks around before looking over to me, his eyes practically popping out of his head.
"What the fuck!" He shifts in his seat and grabs me, his body shaking as blood coats his skin.
"I'm okay, it was a Lamia. Somehow she put everyone on the plane to sleep, how it kept flying, I have no idea." I reached into my carry on, pulling out a small tub of salve I made before we left.
"Why didn't you wake us up?" Riley asks as he watched Jaxon begin to spread the paste on my back, my face scrunching as Mona stands and crouched before me. She takes some of the salve and puts it along my arms, giving me soft smiles when I scrunch my face in pain.
"Didn't have time, plus it wouldn't work. I think she either got an Alp or a Baku, which is surprising. Usually Greek creatures work with other Greek creatures, and the Alp is from Germany while the Baku is Japanese." I bit my lip once thy were finished, leaning back into Jaxon's arms. I was exhausted, my body ready and willing to shut down and take a million hour naps.
"Okay, so remind me why we're going to Greece if all these creatures are trying to kill you?" My lips quieted up as Mona asked that, the sound of Jaxon's growl vibrating the chest behind me.
"I'm going to see if Zeus will stop Ares, or at least help out in the war. I can't stop Ares himself, and if he continues he'll send us a war that will kill more than hundreds of people. It's the way Ares works, he's a douche." Jaxon chuckles, running his thumb over my bare hip absentmindedly.
"If he doesn't help?"
"Then we're fucked, and we'll have to deal with the Hunters and Rogues ourselves."
-
The Greece airport is busier than the American one, with people shouting and running back and forth. I almost got knocked onto my ass three times, and it took a lot for us to keep Jaxon from ripping whoever it was head off.
The drive to the base of the mountain was even worse, with our Taxi driver not speaking any English at all, and driving us around town twice before finally understanding where we needed to be brought. Cars were sticks together in one part and people that were littering the streets all at the other part were so thick our car couldn't go through.
I finally stood in front of the mountain, looking up at the makeshift stairs the Demigods had made hundreds of years ago. They were half stone and half wood, enough for me and the wolves around me, but if a human tried to climb them they probably would've fallen and died.
I sighed and quickly began my trek up, Jaxon, Riley and Mona falling in quickly behind. My eyes kept flashing around, looking for monsters that could be hiding, or even worse. There are worse things than monsters on this mountain, things that lock you up and keep you for years at a time. The worst part of it is, you don't know you're being locked up. You think you're in a fantasy world living out your greatest desires.
I finally found myself in front of a small opening, only big enough for us to scrape by. I pushed myself through, turning and watching as the other three came in behind me quickly. I smiled and turned to the little elevator shaft, digging into my backpack I brought with us and fishing out a drachma. It slid into the slot silently, before a lift lit up near the ceiling and the doors opened.
When the doors shut the lights began flickering wildly, shooting the elevator up so fast we all fell back. I grinned while they shrieked, this was always my favorite part. It slammed into the end, the door finally shuddering open to reveal Olympus.
White columns covered in Ivy and roses, soft classical music playing throughout the air. Sunlight filtered through the lawn we stepped out onto, a table in the center with a group of men and woman laughing and eating.
I rolled my eyes as we walked up, the wolves obviously gobsmacked by the gods and goddesses surrounding us. Once I stood before them, they all stopped and looked to me, a few giving me grins and a few glaring slightly at those behind me; especially Zeus. Guess he still wasn't over their descendant feeding him human meat.
"Artemis, what do we owe the pleasure?" I looked away from Zeus's harsh gaze to the man beside me, Poseidon. His hair was a chocolate brown with curls ringing all along his head. His eyes were as blue as the ocean he reigned over, his skin tan and muscled from the work he puts into controlling the waves.
"You know what, Ares has sent you all messages has he not?" Ares is a smart ass with a huge ego, and constantly sent out little messages and warnings when he escapes his punishment of holding up the world. I knew if we didn't bring him back to his position, the world will crumble.
"We have, but we trust you." I grit my teeth, turning to look at Zeus.
"You can't be serious, you know I can't take on a God all on my own!" He tore his hard eyes from Riley and Mona, flickering over Jaxon before finally landing back onto me.
"I have given you more than you could comprehend Artemis, have you not told your, companions, of your upbringing." I practically growled at him, loathing him even more for bringing up my childhood.
"What does he mean Art?" I turned to Mona slightly, all three of them sending me curious looks.
"I grew up on Olympus, instead of Earth. I didn't talk to my family until two years ago, and instead dead raised by the Gods and Goddesses here." I spoke through clenched teeth, watching at Zeus's smirk grew even more.
"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it." Dionysus taunted me as he sipped on his wine, his grape vines wrapped around his head. I grit my teeth even more, itching to whip out my arrow and plow it through his forehead; even if it wouldn't do anything.
"Oh yes, I enjoyed slaughtering hundreds of creatures for all of your amusement. I enjoyed watching regular humans get fucked by all of you just so you could create your demigods, even more so I loved drinking your blood because you wanted to experiment and see what it would do to me!" I growled out, watching as their eyes darkened and their face hardened. "The only ones that ever helped me, was Apollo, Artemis, and Selene. Now, will you help me now?"
They all looked to one another, communicating inside of their minds to one another. I could feel the anger practically radiating off of Jaxon, as well as both Mona and Riley, and felt their skin vibrating as their wolves desperately wanted out. I turned and looked at the three, raising my hand slightly above their heads.
"Calm." Their bodies immediately stilled, their skin growing skin and their eyes hanging back to their original colored irises.
I turned back to the twelve Gods and Goddesses sitting before me, including Hades and his wife. It seems they must've came from the Underworld in anticipation for this meeting. Persephone sat at the table wit a plate of pomegranates before her, her eyes flashing back and forth between me and the plate of red fruit.
"We've come to our decision." Poseidon spoke, his eyes flashing different shades of blue like a brilliant ocean. I looked to Zeus as he sat straighter, a small flash of lightening crackling between his fingertips.
"You will face Ares and his army, on your own."
***
A/N:
I'm so sorry for the wait! First my cousin had a baby, then my mom had to go the hospital for chest pains, and then I got a new piercing that swelled up and hurt like a bitch. A million apologizes, the next update will be a lot faster than this one.
Also, would you guys read Dragon Rider stories? I started writing one about the fort female rider and wasn't sure if anyone even read those so, let me know. (: