Taming Darkness: Artemis Lupine #4 (3 page)

ARTEMIS

CHAPTER
TEN

My body felt stiff and uncomfortable, but I knew I had to get up because something was happening. I could feel Ares touching me, but people around us were shouting and dragons were roaring so loudly that I could not hear Ares.

I opened my eyes and whispered, “What’s going on?”

Ares lifted his face from my stomach and I felt the wetness that the tears from his face had left.  “Are you hungry?” he asked softly.

Of all
of the things I had expected him to say, that was not one of them. I nodded my head and started to stand up, but he picked me up in his arms and cradled me against his chest. I relaxed against his familiar touch and the wonderful warmth of him, letting his body heat warm me up.

He walked passed a crowd of smiling people who all looked at me with awe. What had happened while I was asleep? Ares set me down on a padded pew in a large and empty cathedral and a young girl brought a bowl of soup to me. I sipped the soup and then my hunger took over and I gulped it down in eager swallows. Ares took the empty bowl and handed me a plate with two
slabs of meat on it. I ate those just as quickly as I had eaten the soup and more food was brought to me. After thirty minutes of stuffing my face and gorging on food, I was finally full. I leaned back against the pew and patted the spot beside me.

Ares sat down
next to me and hugged me tightly against him. I hugged him back and gently rubbed his back. “Ares, what has happened? Why were you crying when I woke up?”

He pulled back and ran the back of his hand gently down my face
, caressing me and smiling tenderly at me. “What is the last thing you remember?”

I tried to think back, but the last thing I remembered was
the fight and… I gasped. “Achilles! Oh no, Ares please tell me that he is alright.” My heart constricted and I knew the truth without Ares having to say it.

Ares
took my hands in his and whispered, “During the battle he was stabbed in the heart and instantly died. You both fell and because you were bound to him you…”

“I died,” I whispered.

Ares nodded his head and swallowed, trying to keep his emotions at bay. “Yes.”

I shivered
in fear and shock and climbed into his lap, hiding my face against his chest. I couldn’t believe that I had died. “How did I come back?” I asked softly.

“I demanded your life back from Death,” Ares said
in a serious tone.

I looked up at
him. “You did what?!”

He smiled. “With Hades
’ help I entered Death’s realm and demanded your life back.” He put a hand on my stomach and whispered, “As well as the life of our baby.”

I stared at his hand sitting on my flat stomach and said, “You’re joking.”

He shook his head and said, “You’re pregnant. That is why you were throwing up and so moody.”

I was pregnant. I stared in disbelief at my stomach a moment before closing my eyes and focusing on my body. There, in the center of my stomach, I felt the power of another being, small, but still
very much there. I was pregnant. “I’m going to be a mom,” I whispered. I looked at Ares’ happy face and smiled. “We’re going to have a baby.”

He kissed my lips and I melted against him, kissing him back as though it
had been years since we had last kissed. His lips burned mine and I shivered from the difference in our body heat temperatures. How long would it take my formerly dead body to heat back up? After a few minutes he pulled away with a somber expression on his face. “I am sorry that our news is tainted. I would have preferred we were able to fully enjoy this.”

I stood up and stretched
my stiff body. How long had I been dead? I was not sure what to expect, but I would have thought that my body would be stiffer than it was. “I agree, but we have had our moment of joy. Perhaps it is time to deal with our grief and begin grieving,” I said. Until I saw Achilles’ body, I could not believe that it was true that he was dead. It had to be a cruel joke. He had been so alive when I met him. I remembered his fierce face during battle and the compassion he showed me when we were alone. I could not believe he was dead now. It did not seem possible.

Ares
linked his fingers with mine and led me down a stairway into dark catacombs. Koda bounded inside in his wolf form and knocked me to the ground, licking my face happily. I laughed and pushed his face away, wiping the slobber off. I pet Koda’s head and asked, “Why are you in wolf form?”

“Because he thought you and I were gone and not going to return,” Ares answered for him
with a bit of anger in his tone.

I tapped Koda’s nose in a playful discipline. “You should know better than that.”

Koda grunted and then looked up at Ares. Apparently he had been in wolf form too long and could not change back on his own. Ares grabbed Koda by his scruff and growled into his face as he used his power to force the change. Koda whined and then moaned as he shifted into his human form. Ares released Koda and grabbed my hand again. “Eat something and then wait for us to summon you.”

“Yes, alpha,” Koda said softly as he panted
, naked on the floor.

Ares led me down a hallway to a
nother room which had five Sidhe males guarding it. The guards stared at me in surprise for a moment before stepping aside and opening the doors. Apparently they weren’t used to seeing people back from the dead.

The room was cold and empty except for Hera, Zeus and a table with Achilles’ body
lying on top of it. I pulled out of Ares’ hand and walked to Achilles, feeling like I was in a dream. He looked so much more handsome than I remembered him being and so at peace. I reached out slowly and rested my hand against his cheek. Instantly tears rolled down my face as the warmth that usually radiated from him was gone. He felt cold, like stone.

I sobbed and cried as I held his lifeless hand in mine. He had died protecting me. It was cruel that I was alive again while he was not. He had watched me and loved me since I was a child. He
had bound me to him to protect me and had endured so much for me. I had not been able to spend enough time with him. I loved him, but not as he had deserved to be loved and he had not been allowed to love me as he had wanted.

Ares wrapped his arms around me to comfort me, but that only increased my sorrow. If Achilles had found me first, what would things have been like? Would I be carrying Achill
es’ child now instead of Ares’? Would I have been fighting this war or would we have been somewhere safe, away from the battle which took both of our lives?

The sounds of sorrow poured from my mouth, but all I could see or hear w
ere memories of Achilles and the awful understanding that I would never experience them again. I would never see his smile. I would never see his vines glow or his power open when I touched him. I would never see his wings spread and watch him take flight. I would never again hear his voice in my head. I would never again hear him speak Latin to me.

He was gone before I had ever gott
en to have him. It wasn’t fair!

I felt my body begin to heat up, but I did
not care of the repercussions. Ares said something to me, but I pushed him away from me. I climbed onto Achilles, straddling his body and called my power. I called to all of the plants and trees. I called to the moon and the stars. I called to the goddess or god or whatever being created us. I called them all to me and pulled the power into my hands.

Ares was yelling at me, but I ignored him.

I raised my hands and prepared to pour the power into Achilles to try to resurrect him when Zeus touched my arms and whispered, “You must not mourn the times you did not have, but remember and cherish the times you did have.”

“I can raise him. I can bring him back,” I said in a voice that sounded strange even to me.

Zeus shook his head. “You could raise him from the dead, but he would not be the Achilles you loved or the son I loved. His soul has been gone for too long. Besides, you would not be bound to him anymore.”

“I
can bring him back,” I insisted.

Zeus gently grabbed
my arms and whispered, “He died to save you because he loved you. Do not let his sacrifice be for nothing. Release the power before it kills you and the child you carry. Let his soul rest.”

I screamed in grief, pain and loss and released the powers. Zeus
caught me before I fell and whispered, “Remember Artemis. That is all he would want. He would only want you to remember him.”

Ares reached for me, but I
jerked away from him. I could not let him comfort me over Achilles’ death. It was not fair to Achilles. I used some of my power and teleported to Ares’ house in Russia, knowing that no one would be there and that it was one place Ares would not look for me.

The living room looked just like I remember
ed it and thankfully there was no one inside. I collapsed onto the couch and let the tears flow again. Achilles was dead and I had not been able to help him. If only I had been faster. If only I had not been a burden to him. I had been pushing him away and now he was gone forever. All I wanted was one touch. Just one whispered word. I wanted to hear his voice and feel his skin touch mine. I tried to stop crying, but could not.

Hours passed as my sorrow poured out of my body in cries, sobs, and screams of agony. I was tired of losing people whom I loved.

The day turned into night and the river of tears turned into a trickle. I knew I should eat, but the grief I felt over losing Achilles was too much to bear. I buried my face into the pillows and let more of my grief lose by way of tears and uncontrollable sobs.

Day Two

The pain became so unbearable that my wolf took over and I shifted forms despite the small fear I had that I would not be able to change back again. My wolf felt as sad as I did and instead of cries and sobs I released my pain in heartbroken howls. Why hadn’t I been able to protect him? I missed him.

Day Three

Part of us missed our mate, but part of us was too sad about losing our other non-wolf, sort of mate. He had been nice and warm and smelled great. We missed his scent. Pain made me whine and then the howls tore out of our throat again.

Day Four

My stomach was hurting and I knew I needed food to feed the baby I was growing. Despite the weakness that I felt and the pain, I shifted to my human form and opened the door, walking down the stairs until we reached the bottom floor and opened that door. Cold air pierced my skin and I welcomed its pain. This pain meant that I was alive. It was good to know that I was alive, even if Achilles was
not. I shifted forms again and raced towards the nearest restaurant, searching for scraps in the dumpster, too tired to hunt anything formidable. Luckily I was able to find meat scraps outside of a butcher’s shop and I ate what I could find, fighting off rats and stray animals. The wind whistled down the alley and a bright light shone at the end.
Achilles!
I ran down the alley, yipping in excitement as I chased after him. I knew he couldn’t be dead! I ran as fast as I could and pounced at the light, slamming into a building. I shook myself and looked up, stunned to see a blue lantern affixed to the building. No Achilles.

I whined in sadness and then growled at my stupidity. He was gone and I had to deal with that fact. No matter how much I wanted him back, he was never coming back again.

I ambled back to the house, shivering in the cold as snow landed on my back and muzzle. I shifted forms to open and close the doors and then crawled into the bed which had a very warm blanket on it and fell asleep replaying the memories which Achilles had shared with me when he had bound us together.

Day Five

The pain was gone and replaced by a vast numbness. I
sat very still and became aware that I was not handling my grieving process very well. I growled in frustration and shook my head. I missed Achilles, but I could not be so immature and inconsiderate. Ares had saved me and I had abandoned him. I needed to finish my grieving and return to Ares.

The memory of Achilles’ dead body flashed before me and I curled up into a ball on the bed. Tomorrow I would return to Ares.

Day Six

At some point I had moved from the bed to the couch, only to be awoken by the scent of vampires drawing closer to me. I held my position and kept my eyes closed, waiting for them to get closer.

“We thought one of you might return to this place,” one of the vampires said sounding very arrogant for only seeing me. He still had to capture me before he could sound that smug.

I opened my eyes and was shocked to find myself surrounded by vampires. Okay, maybe his smugness wasn’t so hard to believe. I growled and sprung from my sleeping position up into a crouch, ready to attack and shift if need be. “What do you want?” I asked as I assessed my options. There were twelve vampires in the room in a circle around me and several more out in the hallway, though I had no idea how many since they were not in view so I could have been vastly outnumbered. I could use my fire, but then I would end up burning down Ares’ house, which I was sure would not be okay with him. He would forgive me, but I did not want to burn down the pretty building.

“We want you to come with us peacefully to see the King,” he said pleasantly.

I could use my sunlight magic, but I had to be sure to get every vampire here, otherwise if I missed one he would go to Maurice and spill my secret.

Wait.

If I was taken to Maurice then I could kill him there! Even if they bound me and blindfolded me I could still use my sunlight magic. It could be a quick end to this entire battle! No one else would die needlessly.

“Will you promise not to hurt me?” I asked softly, trying to feign a little bit of fear, “I am pregnant.”

The vampires all blinked in silent shock at my news, but the leader nodded his head. “I swear we will not cause you or your unborn child harm if you come with us willingly.”

I stood up and smoothed down my clothes. “Okay. Let’s go.”

My answer seemed to shock them more than my announcement of being pregnant, but after a second of gawking, two of the vampires took me by my arms and led me out of the house. A third vampire came and tied my hands behind my back as we walked. I had wondered what measures they would take to secure me at least in some way. Not that I couldn’t break out of the ropes easily, but I let them have their imaginary safety. Now that we were out I could finally count the total number of vampires and was surprised and a little prideful that they had sent thirty vampires after me. Not that one hundred could have captured me if I had not wanted to be captured, but it still meant that they thought I was a threat.

The vampires whispered to each other for a couple of minutes and then the leader asked, “If we allow you to fly, will you try to escape?”

Were they really giving me this option? In normal circumstances I would have agreed and then immediately escaped. “I will not try to escape. I want this war over before anyone else I love dies.”

He sensed my truthfulness and must have seen the pain on my face at the mentioning of my loved ones dying. “Very well. We will tie your hands in front of you to allow you to fly beside us. If you try to escape I will kill you.”

I kept a grim look on my face and said, “I understand”.

The vampire nodded his head and one of the other vampires untied my hands from behind my back and retied them in front. Once the vampire was sure the ropes were tight he nodded at the leader.

“Let’s go,” he said. As one the vampires transformed from man form into bats. It happened in the blink of an eye and was quite impressive. I took a deep breath and gathered my magic, urging it into my back and forcing my wings out. The cool night air swirled around me and I drank it in in big gulps. I had stayed cooped up in the house too long and denied myself the outdoors.

The vampires circled overhead, waiting for me with nervousness and anticipation as they waited for me to make a move. I could fly away and return to Ares. Or I could follow the vampires and confront Maurice. Part of me wanted to escape and return to safety, but a larger part of me knew I needed to face Maurice and end this war.

I flapped my wings and joined them in the sky, much to the shock of them all. One of the bats squeaked and then they all took off. I flew along beside them, trying not to think about my impending fight and possible death. I had to live or Ares’ journey into Death’s realm would have been for nothing.

We flew for what felt like an hour before finally seeing the Eiffel Tower. Why had they left the Eiffel Tower intact? Memories of my first visit to the city made me cringe and miss Ares. I had put my mate through more than any living being should have to endure. I had to end this war so that we could begin a normal life together. A life that did not involve me or anyone else dying until we were very very old. I laughed at the thought of how old Ares already was. I wasn’t exactly a spring chicken either. Where had the time gone?! I was over one hundred years old and having my first child. That would have been something I would have laughed at before I had met Ares. Before I had met Ares I had thought it was crazy for a woman over forty to have a child. Things had changed so much.

The vampires switched forms, landing lightly on their feet in front of a palace. “Where are we?” I asked.

“This used to be the king and queen’s when they were ruling here,” the leader said.

How fitting that the vampire who thought he was supreme ruler would live in a palace that used to be a monarch’s. I followed them inside the building and was shocked to find it full of vampires. Several hissed at me or bared their fangs when they caught sight of me. I showed them my teeth and growled loudly. I may have surrendered, but I was not afraid of them and would protect myself if
they attacked me.

A man who was completely covered by a large black robe stopped our group. “What’s your business?”

“We are bringing Artemis Lupine to King Maurice. She surrendered herself to us.”

I took long draws of air in through my nose trying to catch the robed man’s scent, but I could not find it. Who was he? Better yet,
what
was he?

“I will accompany you,” the robed man said and walked to the back of the
group of vampires escorting me.

“Who was that?” I asked, hoping to receive an answer, but sadly I only received silence from them.

We continued forward, walking to a large ballroom where Maurice was sitting in a throne watching vampires dancing and talking. The vampire women were all dressed in extravagant dresses and wore hundreds of diamonds while the vampire men were dressed in tuxedos. As we entered the room his eyes found mine and a smile spread across his lips. “Welcome, Artemis Lupine, Queen of the Werewolves and Princess of the Sidhe. It has been too long since we last met.”

I played polite dignitary and curtsied to him. “Thank you for your warm greeting, King Maurice. Your new place is very nice.”

“Thank you. I very much enjoy it here.”

“May I have my hands untied? I am with child and surely no threat to someone as powerful as you.”

“With child? Is it the Sidhe’s or the werewolf’s?” he asked as he motioned at the robed man to untie my hands.

“It is Ares’ child,” I said as I fought to keep the pain from my voice and hold in the whine that wanted to escape.

The robed man stopped in front of me and I tried to catch a glimpse of his face, but the robe hung too far over. I took in a deep breath and still could not smell him. He cut the ropes with a dagger, being sure not to let his skin touch mine and then stepped away from me.

I rubbed my wrists and smiled
at Maurice. “Thank you.”

“Come, sit beside me Artemis and rest your feet. I hear women’s ankles swell during pregnancy.”

I walked towards him and wondered what he was up to. How could he be so calm and so at ease with me approaching him? I sat down and looked at the large group of vampires inside the room and the robed man. What were my best options for killing them all?

“I bet you are wondering about my plan to defeat the little rebellion your group is involved with, aren’t you?” Maurice asked.

I did not say anything because I figured he was not looking for me to speak, only for me to listen to his
wonderful
plan.

“At this moment my vampires are moving to strategic points around the world. They will sit in hiding, waiting until they are given the word from me to attack. Once your group comes and challenges me
the deployed vampires will attack, killing those that have been left behind. All of those submissive wolves, sidhe and elves won’t stand a chance against my vampires.”

He was right that he would kill hundreds if not thousands, but now that I knew
his plan, there was no way he would get away with it. Or did he think it did not matter? Did he want to try to scare me into stopping the assault on him?

Did he not view me as a threat?!
Did he really think that I was captured and now his prisoner?! My anger boiled over and I let my magic fill me. I pictured Achilles’ dead body and let it fuel my anger until my body was shining too brightly for any to keep their eyes open. I formed sunlight around me in a circle and sent it outwards in an ever expanding circle, killing the vampires in the room before they could even draw in a breath to scream.

I looked at the throne and felt terror run through my body in a wild chill. Maurice sat calmly on the throne, examining his fingernails as the sunlight drenched him. “Why isn’t it affecting you?!” I asked as I backed away from him, stirring up the ashes of the dead vampires on the ground.

“I am the original vampire, the first,” he said as he stood up and let his fangs fully extend. “Did you really think that a little thing like sunlight would kill me?!”

I gathered my magic and tried to teleport, but doing so made me dizzy and nauseous. Was it from being pregnant?
Or was it because I had not eaten in two days? I had to teleport. I had to escape! I tried again, but could not move anywhere.

The robed man stepped forward and removed
his hood. He was tall, ugly with a much too large nose for his face and had an evilly confident smile. “You cannot teleport so long as I, Merlin, the greatest sorcerer in the world, am alive.”

I focused on my wolf,
transformed into a half-shift and said, “Then I shall fix that issue.”

I charged at him, but a sword appeared in his hand and he swung it at m
e, barely missing my stomach. I jumped backwards and formed a sword from my body. I would not let him win. I charged at him again, blocking his sword with mine and trying my hardest to disarm him. He parried each strike I made and did it with a smug smile. I formed claws from my left hand and sliced at his face, hoping to rip that smile off, but he dodged and Maurice stepped between us.

I swung my sword at Maurice’s chest, but he turned his torso into mist and my blade went through him. “You cannot win, Artemis. I do commend you for your effort, but you are no match for me.”

I screamed at him and formed fire, the only other thing that scared a vampire more than sunlight. He turned into mist and flew quickly across the ballroom, out of the fire’s path. Before I could gather enough magic to engulf the entire room in fire, Merlin started attacking me, using a magic staff in addition to his sword. Something about the staff made my hackles rise. I wasn’t positive what was wrong with it, but I knew I needed to keep it from touching me. He struck at me with the staff and I recoiled from it and the smell of death which permeated from it.

I focused on my magic and the plants outside of the building we were in, drawing all of the magic to me while still battling Merlin. Maurice appeared behind me and I released my magic in the form of a fire circle. As I had expected Maurice turned to mist and flew up into the ceiling. I formed a ball around myself with the fire and grunted as I thrust the fire out, adding additional fire to it as it moved and making it expand. Maurice cursed and I smiled, knowing I had trapped him.  The fire expanded until it engulfed the entire room, setting Merlin on fire and catching part of Maurice on fire just before h
e slipped out one of the doors.

I wanted to chase after him, but I had pressed my luck too far as it was. I teleported back to Ares’ house and was shocked to find Ares and Victor sitting in the living room on the couch.
How the hell had they found me?!

“You want to explain
to me why you let vampires capture you and take you to see Maurice?” Ares asked calmly with his arms crossed over his chest.

“I had a plan
. It was a great plan. It would have worked too if that stupid Merlin had not been there.” I said as I took deep breaths to slow my racing heart.

“You thought you could kill Maurice with sunlight and end the war,” Victor said. “And no I did not read your mind I just know you.”

“That is very like her,” Ares grumbled. “Risking herself to try to end this battle. Although I had hoped she would not do those types of things now that she is pregnant.”

“They swore they would
not harm me or the child while they took me to Maurice,” I said irritated. “It would have worked if he had not been immune to sunlight. I almost got him with fire, but he misted out a door.”

Ares shook his head sadly. “And here I thought you would be in need of consoling, not saving.”