Page 28 of Artemis’ Bow (Halfling Academy #5)

“ S omething isn’t right here,” I mumble, scanning the surroundings just outside Phoenix.

“It’s the first time that it looks like it could possibly be night.” Raven glances at the sky. “Do you think she could have escaped?”

“No, take a good look at the sky. Those are storm clouds. There’s not a star or night sky peeking through.”

“What is that?” Jayden asks. “It looks like snow. That’s not right.”

I roll down my window and the chill sends a shiver down my spine as several snowflakes land in my palm.

“It is snow. What the fuck? This is supposed to be the desert.”

“It’s already starting.” Adrian gulps. “The balance is completely out of whack. This isn’t good at all.”

“Fuck, no more damn detours. We need to find Artemis already, before everything goes to hell.”

“It looks like it’s already there,” Thad mumbles.

We drive down the streets of Phoenix. My head is on a swivel as I gaze in several directions, seeing people breaking shop windows and stealing enough supplies to stock up for the apocalypse.

“It’s nothing new, Beth.” Jayden squeezes my knee. “Remember in LA when they were looting while demons were hunting them?”

“Yeah, it’s weird. Even when I thought I was a human, it never would have occurred to me to steal from a store just because the world was going to shit.” I shrug.

“Not all people are good people. We both know the truth in that matter.” Raven winks at me.

“Let’s just say not all beings are good and call it as we see it.”

The rest of the drive through the city is spent in tense silence as more snow accumulates on the ground around us.

“Is it even safe to drive in this?” I ask, chewing my lip.

“Probably not. Look.” Raven points at a car spun out on the side of the road not far away.

“This is Phoenix in the spring. No wonder people are freaking out. I bet most have never seen this amount of snow in the city,” Jayden says.

Sirens blare and Jayden stops the SUV so the fire truck can pass us to go to whatever emergency they are heading to. “They are probably beyond busy today with all the madness.”

“Hold on. Turn the radio up,” Adrian calls from the back.

“We are on day three of this unprecedented snowstorm that’s battering the citizens of Phoenix,” the radio host says. “There was no warning, not even the Doppler saw this coming.”

“That’s not entirely true,” another host corrects. “When the sun continued to shine for days at a time, scientists began to theorize that something happened to the moon and strange weather patterns could happen as a result.”

“But what could have happened to the moon?” the woman asks, aghast.

“That’s the strange part. They can’t even find it in space. It’s as if it just up and vanished. There were no meteors or asteroids in the vicinity prior to the moon’s disappearance that could have destroyed it either. No debris, no nothing to solve the mystery of what’s happening here.”

“There are extreme weather anomalies happening across the globe. Part of Canada is flooded and having an extreme heat wave which is melting the polar ice caps, thus the flooding. South America is frozen much like we are here in Phoenix. It’s a disaster.”

“Shit. How long do we have before we can’t fix this? The world is in deep trouble.” I scan the city again with new eyes.

They really must think the apocalypse is coming. It very well could be coming.

“Turn here.” Greyson points to the next left.

A man darts out into the street in front of us, carrying a huge box with a TV on the side, and Jayden has to slam on the brakes. The SUV fishtails for a second before Jayden gets it back under control and I huff out a relieved breath.

“People are fucking crazy. Maybe let’s drive slower. At least then we don’t have to slam on the brakes.” I tighten my grip on the handle above my head.

“We’re almost there,” Greyson says.

“Thank fuck for that,” Raven grumbles. “I need out of this car.”

“One problem with that. None of us dressed for a blizzard and I don’t have anything warm so we will probably have to stay inside.” I glance up at the ominous dark clouds.

“Hopefully they have power in this shifter hotel,” Thad says. “That stoplight is completely off.”

I glance at the stoplight in question and scan the rest of the buildings. They are all dark. The blizzard must have knocked out the power in the area. People can’t survive long in the snow without heat and especially in a place like Phoenix that never gets seriously cold.

“Why does it always have to get increasingly worse?” I groan.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure they have a backup generator at the hotel to keep the lights on. My pack has the same so that we aren’t completely reliant on the power grid in case of emergencies.” Greyson pats my shoulder.

“If not, I’ll keep you warm.” Jayden grins, winking at me.

“That was cheesy even for you,” I say as we pull into the circular drive for valet parking.

“Where is everyone?” Raven scans the area.

“Probably staying inside. Look, the hotel has power when everything else is dark.” I point through the glass doors.

We all get out of the vehicle, on guard in case something jumps out at us, but nothing does as we stride through the automatic doors. The icy chill thaws a little as we walk into the warm lobby. The place is devoid of life except for a lone figure sitting at the bar.

Tristan nods as we approach. “You guys have something to do with this? Why are my people always in some kind of trouble when you show up?”

“Just lucky, I guess.” I shrug. “We didn’t do this, but we are planning to stop it.”

“What’s going on? Why is my city under a blanket of snow?” Tristan raises a brow.

“We can’t tell you too much,” Greyson says.

“Whoa.” Tristan narrows his eyes on Greyson. “There’s something different about you. My animal is going crazy.”

“Not telling you that either.” Greyson shrugs.

“The most important thing for you to know is that we’re handling it,” I cut in. “We had no idea it had gotten so bad so fast.”

“Have you been living under a rock?” Tristan asks. “It’s crazy everywhere.”

“We don’t do electronics, remember?” Raven snarls. “How were we supposed to know it would do all of this within a week?”

“Sorry. I forgot.” He shakes his head.

“How could you forget the demon pigeons attacking because you pulled out your damn phone?” I ask with a snort.

Tristan visibly shudders and takes a long sip of his drink. “You gonna tell me any more about what’s happening?”

“If anyone overhears what we’re up to, they could inform our enemies.”

“That’s fair. There’s no one here, though.” Tristan scans the lobby of the hotel. “I have all my guys out helping with rescue efforts where needed and distributing food and water to those who can’t leave their homes in this mess.”

“Are there that many shifters in the city that can’t leave like this?” I glance out the window.

The snow is coming down even harder now. If it doesn’t stop soon, people will get snowed in and cars completely covered. It’s not just a blanket of snow anymore; it’s quickly becoming a tomb.

“No, not many shifters become frail the way humans tend to. I sent them to help the humans as much as possible. I have the resources to help them, so I do.”

I glance at Greyson because he knows shifter politics better than any of us. Greyson shrugs his shoulders, deferring to me on how much to tell the alpha. I sigh, resigned, knowing I need to tell him something.

“All right. Have your people’s animals become restless? Any troubles with shifting, especially the pups?” I ask.

“How did you know that?” Tristan growls.

“Hey, easy. We’re on the same side here.” I raise my hands in surrender.

Tristan eyes Greyson warily. “Shifters don’t take kindly to being reminded of weakness or bad situations beyond our control.”

“It’s not a weakness. It’s a side effect none of saw coming,” Raven says.

“It’s not affecting me yet because something made me more than a shifter a few months back.” Greyson shrugs.

“How?” Tristan asks, perking up.

“It doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t be able to do it yourself. We nearly died when it happened. A lone shifter wouldn’t stand a chance,” I say.

“I’m not weak.”

“No, you’re not weak, but can you do this?” I transport myself across the room and call my lightning to the palm of my hand.

“That’s wicked, and you’re right. Whatever almost killed you guys is not something I want any part of.” Tristan sighs. “So, what is this restlessness and inability to shift a side effect from?”

“The goddess Artemis is missing. She was taken and because she’s not there to raise the moon and keep Apollo in check, the Earth’s balance is out of whack.” I cross my arms.

“The moon goddess is missing? How is that even possible?” Tristan jumps from his chair and starts pacing. “This is so fucked. My wolves are slowly losing it. I have several pups here that I’m having to keep locked up so they don’t shift. How do we bring her back? Who has her?”

“Alpha Tristan,” Greyson barks. Dominance oozes from him in pulsing waves, nearly making me submit to him as well.

A whine escapes Tristan’s throat from his wolf because Tristan’s eyes widen in shock. “What did you just do to my wolf?”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“My wolf is all but showing his belly in submission at Greyson’s alpha bark. He’s always one of the most dominant wolves in the room, but he’s like a fucking kitten in your presence.”

“This is why I stepped down as alpha of my pack and moved to the academy. This much dominance can be dangerous. I don’t want to be a tyrannical leader of my pack, and I never would have known if I was making the right decisions or not because no wolf would dare go against me,” Greyson says, then sighs.

“That’s honorable. I would not have been so noble,” Tristan says, sheepish.

“And that’s why we will never tell you how it happened.” I nod. “A select few who we know wouldn’t abuse it know about what happened to the four of us and that’s how it’s going to stay.”

“I thought there was something different about you all too. I couldn’t put my finger on it, though.”