Iridescence

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

ARTEMIS

After training ended, I stood with Faith. It was hard to convince Helios to leave her side, but he still feared me just enough to cooperate.

I watched her and noticed something in her eyes. "What saddens you, Faith?" I asked.

She offered me an unconvincing smile. "I'm fine, Gorgeous," she replied.

"Faith, talk to me," I insisted.

"It was great to meet Helios," she said, "but... Tana's mother is dead. I'm back, but she isn't, and that kind of sucks."

I hadn't thought about that. "I'm sorry," I said. "I was very fond of Ember. She was a good Queen."

"I kind of want to punch Chaos in the face right now," she admitted. "Why did he wipe out the Fire Nymphs specifically?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "They were powerful. I suppose he viewed them as a threat."

"I think it ran deeper than that... I feel like I'm missing something major."

"We'll look into it," I promised.

"There's something else... We should have been able to burn the venom out of ourselves, right? Why didn't it work?"

"That's an excellent question. If anyone could have survived his bite, it was the Fire Nymphs."

"Someone interfered... I feel like this wasn't just Chaos. He had followers... I destroyed most of the ones who attacked us, but there were others..."

"Faith, where are you going with this?" I asked in concern.

"Tana did something, Artemis... I think she hid a secret from everyone before she died... And I can't remember what it was, but it's important."

"You have all of Tana's memories, Faith," I pointed out.

"I think she deliberately had this secret erased from her own mind."

"Why would she do that?"

"To protect an innocent..." She shook her head. "Someone's in danger, Artemis. I can feel it. Follow me!"

Faith took off running. I followed behind her, confused but determined to help. Whatever was happening felt important. There was no time to ask questions.

What we found was a large number of people in long black cloaks. The had formed a circle around something.

"Get away from them!" Faith shouted as fire shot out of her hands. Several of the cloaks went up in flames. I spotted the problem as a few of the followers fled in fear.

Baby Doll and Genie stood beside each other in the circle. They appeared uninjured but were both in a trance. With so many followers still present, the threat to their safety was clear.

Faith and I began to battle against the followers. They reminded me of the fools who had followed Chaos, only they carried a different sort of darkness inside of them. Somehow, they felt much deadlier than the previous cult of imbeciles we'd had to face. They wore Greek comedy and tragedy masks, concealing their identities from us. Half of them wore the smiling mask of Thalia while the other half wore the frowning mask of Melpomene. Somehow, the comedy mask was more disturbing given the dark ritualistic setting.

I noticed as we battled that one of the followers seemed especially focused on Faith. At first, he kept his distance from her, focusing on the hostages instead. He didn't harm either girl, but it was clear he'd made it his mission to keep them away from the rest of us.

I moved to battle against him. I was determined to free the girls from the cult and return them to the group home safely. He hesitated for only a moment before fighting back.

I hit him with everything I had. Strangely, he continued glancing at Faith every chance he had. I didn't like the way he seemed to be obsessed with her.

I knocked him onto his back. He recovered remarkably fast and sent a spell at me. I sensed it just in time to dodge it. A tree splintered in half as it took the impact.

He'll pay for that, I promised the tree. I had no tolerance for men in general, especially those who harmed children, women, or nature. I nocked an arrow and aimed for his chest. I let it sail through the air and was satisfied when it embedded itself into his chest. That satisfaction was short-lived, however, when he pulled it out and I realized his wound had already healed.

"Our Lord has blessed me," he informed me.

"That won't save you from everything," I replied harshly.

He laughed softly before turning to face Faith again. She ran toward us with a ball of fire in her hands. "Step away from my friends, Loser," she said firmly.

He stared at her for a moment before putting up his hands in surrender. Then, he ran toward the other surviving followers. They fled into a portal, and I knew instantly that Viktor had opened it. That meant Eliza's father had been watching the battle.

"Genie, snap out of it," Faith said desperately. "Baby Doll, can you hear me? Come on, girls, wake up!"

"The trance is powerful," I said. "It will take more than simply calling to them to break its hold."

"Then what do we do?" She asked.

"We get them as far away from the followers as we can. There may still be some lurking nearby. Once they are safe, we should be able to free the girls from this state."

"Did they hurt them?"

"I don't think so. I don't know what the followers were planning when they abducted them, but they appear to be physically unharmed."

Faith hugged Baby Doll tightly. "You're going to be alright," she promised. She hugged Genie, too.

Suddenly, Genie mumbled, "Warm... So warm..." She clung to Faith as she shivered.

"Faith, quickly, hug the little one again," I said.

Faith released Genie and hugged Baby Doll. After a few moments, Baby Doll settled into the embrace and hugged her back. She had tears in her eyes.

"Do you remember anything, Baby Doll?" I asked.

"No," she replied softly. "Just cold..."

"What happened, Faith?" Genie asked. "The last thing I remember is following Baby Doll out of the group home. I was worried she was sleepwalking again."

"I'll explain later," Faith said. "We need to get you two somewhere safe."

We walked them back to the group home. That was when Faith turned to me. "Can you watch over them for a little while?" She asked.

"Of course," I replied, "but where are you going?"

"That one guy who was watching me felt familiar," she replied. "I can't shake it... I need to find him and figure out who he is."

"It's dangerous. I should go with you."

"Artemis... I feel like this is something I have to do on my own."

"I don't like this, Faith."

"I know... But I need you to trust me. I don't think he'll hurt me... Not yet. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it while I was torching his friends. He hesitated."

"It could be a trap."

"Artemis... There are maidens to protect." She motioned toward Genie and Baby Doll. "You're the only one I trust to keep them safe while I'm gone."

"That's cheating," I mumbled.

"But it's true." She winked at me.

"If you get into trouble-"

"I'll get myself out," she replied with a smile. "But I'll call for you if I need you. The talisman from Tana will lead you straight to me."

I wanted to argue, but I knew there was no point. When she made up her mind to do something, Tana had always been just as stubborn as I was. Faith was no different.

"I'll be back, Gorgeous," Faith promised before pulling me into her arms and kissing me.

When we finally broke the kiss, Faith looked at her terrified friends. "You'll be safe here," she said. "Artemis will make sure of it. I'll see you soon."

Baby Doll clung to Faith's leg, refusing to let go until Faith scooped her up in her arms. "You're going to be okay, Baby Doll," she promised.

Faith gently passed Baby Doll to me. I held her carefully as Faith said, "Take care of them."

"I will," I promised. "Be safe."

I carried Baby Doll inside as Genie followed behind us. Both girls looked exhausted.

Genie fell asleep quickly, no doubt too worn out from their ordeal to remain awake. Baby Doll was too scared to rest, so I climbed into Faith's bed beside her and held her as I softly sang a lullaby. Slowly, the little girl drifted off to sleep. I continued to hold her as I anxiously awaited Faith's safe return.