Iridescence

CHAPTER SIX

ARTEMIS

I stood in the woods preparing for the first lesson. My idiot brother was standing nearby watching me but not interfering. He's a fool, but he is smart enough to know not to get in my way when I'm working.

I'd chosen these woods because I knew them well. Kissena Park was large, but not nearly as large as Alley Pond. I could control the area better because it was familiar to me.

I was a little concerned the girls wouldn't come, but I relaxed as I saw five of them heading toward me together. Jenna led the way looking both determined and curious. Faith and Krissy both seemed eager to begin, and Vanessa had a peaceful expression on her face as she approached me. Eliza looked incredibly nervous.

"Welcome," I greeted them. "Today, we will begin your training as a team."

"Looking forward to it, Artemis," Faith replied with a grin that was nothing short of flirtatious. I ignored that.

"What are we called?" Jenna asked.

"What do you mean?" I replied in confusion.

"If we're a team, we must have a name, right? What is it?"

"I... That's not important," I replied firmly. "This isn't some school club, girls. We are here to work."

"Iridescence," Apollo replied.

"What?" I demanded.

"We'll call them Iridescence."

"Why would we call them that?"

"Because iridescence is a symbol of hope from the heavens, and these girls are the only hope the world has of defeating a great evil. Besides, physically, iridescence is the effect of light on colors that causes them to appear to change based on different angles, and between them, these girls cover a lot of different angles. The six of them are very different."

"There are only five of them here, Apollo," I pointed out.

"Actually, Sis, there are six," he replied with a grin.

Emily slowly walked through the trees toward us. My heart filled with a bit of pride as I saw her. I knew how difficult this was for her and was pleased she'd already decided to come back to us. "Emily, welcome," I said with a smile. "You're just in time."

"Welcome to what, exactly?" Emily demanded. "I came for answers. That doesn't mean I'm staying."

"Welcome to Iridescence," Apollo replied cheerfully. I sighed, realizing we were stuck with the name. My brother had a love affair with pretty, flowery words. Once he'd chosen it for the girls, it had become binding. Names had power. We couldn't change it now.

"Iridescence... I like it," Vanessa decided. "It suits us."

"Yeah, even if it is a mouthful," Krissy added.

"There is a great evil rising, girls," I explained. "I am afraid we're still working out some of the details, but what we do know is that this world is in danger, and you six are destined to help save it from ruin."

"No pressure or anything, right?" Faith joked. She winked at me.

"I will turn you into the warriors you are meant to be," I promised. "Each of you will learn to control your unique magic and to work as a team. You will also learn to engage in physical combat. I will oversee your training and the other deities will assist as needed. Now, to begin, I want each of you to choose the weapon which calls to you."

Faith immediately picked up an enchanted sword which had an aura of flames when at its full power. I smiled, unsurprised by that choice despite the fact that she couldn't see the flames yet. Jenna chose a javelin. Krissy selected a trident. Vanessa selected an athame. There were many other weapons available, but Eliza and Emily hesitated.

"Eliza... Go on. The weapons don't bite," Apollo encouraged her.

She nodded and took a deep breath before selecting an exquisite bow and arrow. The set was one of my favorites and I approved of her choice.

"Emily," I said, "it is your turn."

"I think I already found mine," Emily replied. She pulled out a golden dagger. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Where did you find that?" I asked.

"Hades sent some annoying guy named Jake to stalk me, and he gave it to me when we got attacked by an army of dead warriors from Ancient Greece."

"You were attacked?" Eliza asked in horror.

"Were you injured?" Vanessa added quickly.

"Not really," Emily replied. "Jake and I were able to defeat them."

I was impressed. "You have had no training, yet you defeated an army of raised warriors?" I asked.

"I just followed my instincts."

"They appear to be quite strong, Emily. You may keep the dagger. I believe you are correct and it is rightfully yours."

"No offense, but I was keeping it either way."

I admired her courage to be so firm when speaking to a Goddess. I had a feeling Emily was going to be a powerful asset to the group. "Come on, girls. Your training begins now."

I motioned toward the obstacle course I had created. I clapped my hands twice and an army of enchanted enemies appeared. They attacked without further warning.

Emily immediately began to fight back, using her dagger well in battle. Faith joined her. She impaled one with her sword and it began glowing with fire. She cried out in delight at this development and began fighting harder. Jenna immediately took her javelin and ran toward the nearest warriors, throwing it and easily defeating them like she'd been using the weapon for her entire life. Each time she threw it, it returned to her hands after defeating her enemy. She seemed surprised but pleased by this. Krissy let out a cry of surprise as three of the warriors attacked her at once. Water burst from her hands in the form of a powerful wave and knocked them all away from her, sending them deeper into the woods. Vanessa clung to her athame and closed her eyes. As she did, the warriors attacking her transformed into puppies. She smiled and allowed them to kiss her hands as she played with them.

"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it's effective enough for now," I said to my brother.

Eliza had been hiding at the edge of the training area, but one of the warriors spotted her and ran toward her. She watched this in terror, frozen and refusing to fight back. "Eliza, nock an arrow and take aim," I said.

"I... I don't want to hurt them," she protested.

"They aren't real, Eliza. I created them for the purpose of this exercise."

"I... I can't, Artemis. I'm sorry."

As the warrior lunged at Eliza and knocked her to the ground, Apollo used his bow and loosed an arrow into its back. It vanished. "Artemis!" He scolded me. "She could have been killed! You can't just unleash chaos onto a battlefield and expect a bunch of untrained kids to know how to fight back!"

"The others handled the situation perfectly fine," I pointed out.

"The others aren't as gentle as she is." He shook his head and knelt beside her. "Are you alright, Eliza?" He asked gently.

"I'm fine," she replied too quickly.

I noticed a cut on her arm at the same time as my brother. "You're injured," he said in concern. He immediately began to heal her wound. Eliza looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I really don't like violence."

"We are about to go to war, Eliza. You're going to have to learn to fight," I replied.

"Go easy on the kid, Sis," Apollo said. "She's scared. This is all new to her."

"I understand that. You are stronger than you think, Eliza. You'll figure out how to fight soon enough. Apollo, since you're so keen to get involved, why don't you train her privately in addition to our group sessions?"

Apollo suddenly smiled. "I can do that," he replied a little too eagerly. "I'll turn you into an expert archer in no time, Eliza!"

"I think all of the deities who blessed the girls should have a hand in training them," a new voice said.

I looked up and was surprised to see Prometheus standing beside Faith. He put a hand on her shoulder and added, "This one's mine."

"I don't swing that way, and for the record, I don't belong to anyone," Faith replied.

He chuckled softly. "She's a feisty one, right? I'm sure you'll be impressed with her, Artemis," he said. "Faith, allow me to introduce myself. I am Prometheus."

"Ah. That makes sense. I know the myth."

"I have been with you since you were very small... The day fire tried to claim you."

Faith tensed. I wondered what Prometheus was babbling about, but she didn't allow him to elaborate. Instead, she said, "Let's get back to training. I was enjoying the fight."

I could hardly refuse that request. "Alright. Let's try training in pairs," I suggested. "Apollo, work with Eliza. Krissy, work with Vanessa. Emily-"

"I prefer to work alone," Emily said quickly.

"That may be the case, but I would like for you to work with Jenna. Both of you handled yourselves extremely well and I think sparring together will help each of you get even stronger."

"I'm in," Jenna replied. "Come on, Emily. We're supposed to learn to work as a team, right?"

"Fine. Whatever," Emily mumbled.

"And that leaves Faith, who will be working with me," I said.

"I should do it, Artemis," Prometheus replied.

"Not yet. I want to see what Faith is capable of."

I knew Prometheus was a more logical choice for Faith's sparring partner but I had seen how fierce she could be and I wanted the chance to see if she could keep up with me in battle.

We began to spar. I didn't take it slow. I'd already figured out that Faith was as impulsive as fire and knew she had the reflexes to adapt to tougher attacks. I was impressed as she dodged my attacks and countered with her own. I watched her carefully, studying her fighting technique. For over ten minutes, she held her own beautifully. Finally, I swept her legs out from under her while she was focused on my fists.

She landed on her back pretty hard. I looked down at her with concern. I knelt down beside her when she didn't immediately get back up.

"Faith, are you alright?" I asked. "I didn't mean to injure you."

To my shock, Faith grabbed my arms, shifted, and used her momentum to flip me onto my back and pin me.

"Who's injured?" She asked with a wink.

"Holy Mount Olympus! Are you okay, Sis?" Apollo asked me as he stared at us in shock. Everyone else was watching us, too.

I took a deep breath as I recovered from my shock. "That was excellent, Faith," I informed her.

Faith offered me her hand with a charming smile. I took it, but instead of allowing her to pull me up, I flipped her through the air and onto her back. I shifted until I had her pinned.

"Lesson Number One: Never assume your enemy is down for the count until you know the fight is officially over," I said firmly. Then, I smiled and added, "Which it is now." I offered Faith my hand. She took it and I helped her back onto her feet.

"Okay... Can you teach us to fight like that?" Krissy asked in excitement.

"That is the purpose of our training sessions," I replied. "Now, Faith has earned a break. Since the rest of you stopped to watch us, it is our turn to observe you. Get to work."

"I am quite proud of you, Faith," Prometheus said. "I will return tomorrow." With that, he left us.

Faith and I watched the others spar for a bit. I corrected stances and techniques where I could while Faith took turns rooting for whoever was impressing her more.

Eliza was very reluctant to fight. Apollo mainly worked with her on stances and showed her a few basic kicks. When he tried to show her how to throw a punch, she couldn't bring herself to put any force behind it. He shifted his technique, showing her a high kick instead. When she attempted it, she lost her balance and nearly fell. He steadied her. I saw something familiar in his eyes as he held her for a moment until she got her bearings.

He had better not be crushing on one of my girls, I thought. That's not what he's here for.

Still, as I watched them I realized it was more than one of his usual passing whims. The look in his eyes wasn't lust, but genuine affection. This puzzled me, as Apollo barely knew Eliza, yet he looked at her like he'd loved her for centuries.

Whatever was happening in his head and his heart, it wasn't just going to pass when he got bored. That could be a problem. I decided I'd need to talk to him before either of them ended up getting hurt.

I shifted my attention to Krissy and Vanessa. Krissy was still learning to use her trident, but she seemed to have a good grasp of her Water magic and was using that to make up for her lack of training in physical combat. Vanessa adapted well to each attack, countering them with her athame as best she could. She had figured out how to use it to create shields, which was a good start.

The athame wasn't like the other weapons. It didn't physically cut things, instead focusing on cutting energy and entities in their spiritual or astral forms. It would work on demons and on anything that was astral projecting, but not on humans. Of course, I knew this athame was unusual and had a special secret I was hoping Vanessa would unlock.

Within a few minutes, the athame transformed in Vanessa's hands, becoming a sword as Krissy aimed the trident at her. Vanessa's weapon met the trident and stopped it from getting any closer to Vanessa as a shield burst from within it.

"Whoa! Where did the sword come from?" Krissy asked as she pulled her trident back.

"I just... imagined it was a sword, and all of a sudden, it was," Vanessa replied in confusion.

"Excellent work, Vanessa!" I said. "The athame can transform into anything you envision. Your power over Dreams allows you to manifest them in reality."

"That explains the puppies earlier," Vanessa replied with a laugh.

Jenna and Emily were still sparring. I watched as they continuously attacked and countered each other. They didn't pause or hesitate. As I'd hoped, they were bringing out the best in each other. Neither had gotten the other down for more than a few seconds at a time.

"Alright, that's enough for today," I decided. "Go on home now, girls. It's getting late. We will meet again tomorrow."

"Thank you, Artemis," Jenna replied. "This was pretty incredible."

Emily said nothing as she left, but I was certain she would return the following day.

"That was so cool!" Krissy declared.

"It was fun," Vanessa agreed.

"I'm sorry I can't keep up," Eliza said awkwardly. "I understand if you don't want me to be involved. I'll only hold everyone back."

"Nonsense, Eliza," I replied. "You haven't had any experience fighting before. I'm certain you can learn and catch up with a little extra help."

"You mean I can stay?" She asked in surprise.

"This is your destiny. There is a reason for that. You belong here. We will get you ready for what is coming, I promise."

"Thank you for being patient."

Apollo snorted. "I don't think my sister has ever been called patient before," he said, still laughing.

I rolled my eyes. "Make yourself useful and take Eliza and Krissy home," I replied.

He smiled. "Of course, Sis. Come on, girls."

"We don't have to take the motorcycles again, do we?" Eliza asked nervously.

"No, we're not far. We'll walk," Apollo promised. He led both girls away.

"I'd better get on a bus and hurry home before my mom starts to worry," Vanessa said.

"Come on," Jenna replied. "I need to take the bus, too. I'll walk with you."

As they walked away, I realized Faith was still standing with me. "You should get home, too, Faith," I said.

"Will you walk me home?" She asked with a flirtatious smirk.

"You hardly need protection," I replied.

"No, but I wouldn't mind some company."

I paused as I studied her. She was confident and skilled in a fight, but there was something in her eyes that made me reconsider leaving her to walk alone. "Very well," I replied.

We walked together for a short time. "You know, I had a lot of fun today," she informed me.

"I am pleased you enjoyed yourself, but this isn't a game," I replied. "It is not about having fun."

"I get that, but I don't get a chance to spar like that often. I trained myself in Martial Arts by watching videos online, but I don't exactly get to test stuff out on other people. They frown on that sort of thing where I live."

"You mean your parents?" I asked.

"No... My dad died when I was little and my mom's in an institution again."

"Again?"

"Mom has nervous breakdowns every couple of years. She's a good person, but she has mental health issues. I end up in a group home when she has episodes. It's not so bad. The staff tries to be there for the kids. They know me pretty well at this point. I know a lot of kids in the system end up getting abused but I've been really lucky."

"Faith... I had no idea," I replied. I wasn't sure what else to say. I didn't know enough about my girls. I decided I needed to remember that they were more than just warriors and get to know them a little better.

"It's not a big deal," Faith insisted. "I'm remarkably well-adjusted, all things considered."

"Are you certain you're safe in this place?"

"Yeah. The staff treat me like family, and the kids are too scared of the crazy pyro to cross me." She laughed. "One guy they hired tried to get creepy with me when I was ten. He regretted it when I set his crotch on fire. No one else ever tried to touch me after that."

"You are impressively brave and strong," I informed her.

"Does that mean you'll let me ask you out?"

"Faith, that would be highly inappropriate."

"Highly Inappropriate is my middle name," she replied with a grin.

"Faith-"

"Alright, so it's actually Candice."

"Faith-"

"The offer's on the table. Let's leave it at that. See you tomorrow, Beautiful." She headed into the group home and left me staring after her.

I sighed and mumbled, "That one is going to be quite a handful..."