Healed by Fire (25 page)

Koda turned his head, breaking the silent
stare he’d had on Artemis’ body.
Huh?

“Do I go after Artemis or stay here and let
her rot?” I asked.

Victor groaned and threw his hands up into
the air. “You’re impossible! Koda, does he go, possibly to his
death, to
try
and possibly fail to get Artemis? Or does he
stay here safe, happy and alive?”

Koda looked at Artemis’ still body and then
met my eyes.
Bring her back.

Koda was the most emotional of my brothers’
and the lack of emotion in his eyes frightened me. It could only
mean one thing, he was bottling it up. That could result in a
catastrophic event for him and me if he didn’t release soon,
especially since he was staying in wolf form. I debated whether to
force him out of wolf form, but Zeus walked into the room
interrupting my thoughts.

“Finally, someone who thinks logically.
Please, talk some sense into your son,” Victor begged.

Zeus ignored all of us and walked to
Artemis’ side. He dropped to his knees and cradled her small hand
between his two giant ones. “I am so sorry, child. We should have
been there to save you. I should have been fighting beside my son.
I have failed you.” Silent tears slid down his face as he kissed
the back of her hand. “I will never forgive myself for this.”

Victor sighed softly. “So much for
logical.”

“Father,” I whispered.

Zeus placed Artemis’ hand on her stomach and
walked to us. “Yes?”

“Do you think I should venture to Death’s
realm to try to barter for Artemis’ soul? Or let her death be?”

Zeus shook his head. “I will have no part in
this. I’ve lost one son and one daughter. I will not help you
decide and possibly cause your death as well.”

“Tell him not to go,” Victor pleaded. “Tell
him to stay.”

Zeus shook his head again. “No, it is his
decision. If he goes than he does so with my blessing. If he stays
than he does so with my blessing. I am neutral and will remain
neutral.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Zeus gripped my shoulder in a sign of
affection and left the room.

“I’m going, Victor. I must. And I need to go
now, before her body fully dies and Death permanently holds
her.”

Victor hissed angrily and turned towards the
door. “Well I’m not going to sit by and watch you die.”

“Thank you, Victor.”

He met my eyes and shook his head. “I hope
you get her back. I do not wish to bury your body.”

“I love you too man,” I said in a silly
tone, reminiscent of the human’s stereotypical hippie voice to try
to lighten his mood.

Victor shook his head and left the room.

Hades had followed us in and now stood
silently beside me. I could sense he did not want to do what I was
asking, but I also knew that he would do it if I asked.

“Send me. I have to get her back,” I
whispered without taking my eyes from Artemis’ face.

“You know you might not be able to get her
back. If Death decides to keep you there too, I cannot return you
to your body either. You may both die this night,” said Hades in
warning.

“I have no reason to return to my body if I
can’t bring her back,” I answered. I kissed her lips and whispered,
“I’m coming, Sunshine. I’m coming to bring you back from the
darkness.”

I lay down on the ground beside her and
closed my eyes. “You’re in charge,” I told Koda who only huffed in
response. I should have tried to console him since he was my only
living pack mate at the moment, but I didn’t want my focus to waver
from Artemis.

Hades put his hands on my head and chest and
spoke quickly in Latin. Pain surged through my body, but it was
nothing compared to the pain I felt losing her. This pain I could
handle. This was only physical pain. Darkness rolled over me,
through me and then surrounded me.

Nothing moved. Nothing breathed. Nothing was
anywhere. I growled angrily and closed my eyes, focusing on my
senses and searching for any movement. Any sound. Any smell.

“Death!” I yelled into the void.

I still couldn’t sense anything and my wolf
side did not like that fact. It was too close to being in a cage or
being trapped for me. I inhaled and yelled, “Death! Show
yourself!”

The darkness stirred and a hooded figure
stepped out in front of me. Its cloak looked like it was formed
from the darkness that surrounded us and made me wonder if it could
consume a person if placed over them. The scythe it carried was at
least seven feet long, a full foot taller than Death and had a
wicked sharp edge that gleamed even in the darkness.

It raised its hand and instead of the black
void where I had been, I now stood in a royal chamber and Death sat
upon the throne. The carpet and upholstery were black instead of
red like most kings would have. I supposed that black was a fitting
color for Death’s throne room, though I personally would have gone
for a less cliché color myself, probably blue. Or purple, like
Artemis’ eyes.

Death stroked the scythe, which was now
sitting beside it like a king would stroke his scepter. “Ares
Lupine,” it said in a voice like rocks grinding against each other,
“I have longed to see your face in my realm.”

“I regret to inform you that I am not yet
dead.”

Death laughed and said, “I am aware of that,
Ares. I am also aware of the fact that you are here for the two
souls I received during your battle.” It was odd not to see a face
while talking to someone, but then again Death wasn’t really a
person.

“I will take Achilles’ soul back with me if
you permit, but if you only allow me one soul than I will take my
mate back. It is not her time. She still has a prophecy to
fulfill.” I walked closer to Death, wondering what game I was going
to have to play to get Artemis back or what price might be asked of
me.

Death stood and motioned for me to follow.
It walked down a hallway lined with what looked like black velvet
and with sconces made of bones. Pictures of beings in various
states of torture hung every ten feet along the wall on the right
side while paintings of battlefields pooling with blood lined the
left side. I knew this was all just a conjured image, but it was
going a long way to keep up the charade for me. Was there some
point it was trying to make?

The sounds of moaning and wails began to
echo down the hallway. The hair on the nape of my neck stood up and
the wolf within me grew uneasy. Was this a trap? Or perhaps it was
going to test me somehow?

The hallway ended at a large metal door and
Death pushed it open. The wailing grew incredibly loud as I stepped
through the door to stand on a stone balcony overlooking a black
river. Glittering silver specters swirled around inside the river
and I realized that’s where the moaning was coming from. “The river
Styx?” I asked in shock.

Death nodded its head. “Some of the beliefs
of each religion are true. It is unfortunate the humans could not
come together to understand the complete truths of each.”

A young girl, no older than seven years old,
walked across the bank on the opposite side of the river towards
the water. Her eyes were lost and full of fear as she stepped into
the water, but as soon as it closed over her head her fear
evaporated and a smile spread over her face.

I stared at the writhing black water a
moment longer before asking. “Why did you bring me here?”

“There are some who would die to see this,”
Death quipped.

Death was trying to joke with me. At another
time I might have laughed, but there was no humor in my heart at
the moment. “Are you going to make me swim through it to find my
mate’s soul?” I asked.

Death laughed. “You would not survive the
waters. The others would eat you alive if the water did not take
you first. No, Ares Lupine, I have brought you here to see the
truth of fate. There is no heaven or hell. Your soul simply glides
around the waters until I release it to disappear and let you
rest.”

That was partially reassuring since I’d
always assumed I was going to Hell for all of the beings I’d
killed, but also slightly disheartening to know we simply
vanished.

Death walked back to the first room and sat
on the throne. “Why have you come to me?”

“You know the answer to that question,” I
replied angrily.

“Yes,” Death said with amusement in its
voice, “But apparently
you,
do not.”

It waved a hand and Artemis appeared in
human form beside Death. A light pulsed where her heart was, her
soul, but a second light pulsed in her stomach as well.

“I’m surprised that you would so easily give
up the soul of your unborn child,” Death said mockingly.

I stared in shock at the small pulsing light
in my mate’s stomach as Death’s words sunk in. Artemis was
pregnant. That’s why she had been throwing up. I’d thought it had
been nerves, but obviously it was more than that.

“What price would you pay for your mate and
your child’s souls?” asked Death as it ran a hand along Artemis’
side.

I did
not
like it caressing my mate
in such a manner. I tried to reign in my anger so as not to upset
it. I couldn’t afford to piss it off and lose my mate and my child.
How could I have been such a fool? How could I have let this go
unnoticed? “I have given you thousands of souls and I will give you
thousands more for their lives. Give my mate and my child back to
me!” I commanded, losing control at the sight of it continuing to
touch Artemis.

“Only gods may command me, Ares of the
Werewolves,” Death answered slowly. The taste of its fear tickled
my tongue and excited the wolf within me. How long had it been
since Death had been afraid? I wasn’t naive enough to assume I was
the first to frighten it, but I was angry enough to want to be the
last to. It grabbed its scythe, standing up and blocking my view of
Artemis.

My body began glowing as my anger grew and
my Sidhe powers released. I moved faster than a human eye could
track, stopping inches from Death. I had no fear of this thing and
I had no fear of death. It had angered me and I was tired of its
games. I yelled, “I AM THE GOD OF WAR! Give them to me!”

###

Keep up to date on the
Artemis Lupine Series at the following sites:

Artemis Lupine Series
Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/artemislupineseries

Catherine Banks Author
Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catherine-Banks/178755468846638

Catherine Banks
Blog:
http://www.catherinebanks.blogspot.com

Catherine Banks
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/catherineebanks