Page 40 of Artemis’ Bow (Halfling Academy #5)

“ S hit.” I roll away from the huge paws that nearly just took me out and hop to my feet.

“You’re playing too rough, Cerberus. We were just in a battle.” Jayden chides the giant puppy.

The middle head whimpers at his tone and bends down, licking my face.

I could really live without the hellhound drool covering the whole left side of my head.

I scratch Cerberus behind the ears anyway.

He’s apologizing for nearly flattening me, after all.

I don’t want him to think I don’t accept his apology.

“It’s okay, boy. I know you’re just excited to stretch and play,” I say.

“We probably should get back on the road soon,” Adrian says.

“I know but he’s been cooped up and needs to stretch before we bottle him back up in that tiny thing.” I frown.

I hate that’s the only way he can come with us, but he knew and consented to only coming out when we need him. That fact doesn’t make me feel any better, though.

“If you calm down and sit, I’ll give you a snack before we have to leave.” I point my finger at him.

Cerberus sits and the tongues of all three heads loll out of their mouths in happy smiles. I pull the bag of beef jerky from my pack and toss a piece to the right head. The other two lunge for it and the three of them tear the piece apart between them.

“Guys, I have enough for all of you. Stop being jerks,” I huff.

“They’re like this anytime anyone feeds them. It has to be done at exactly the same time or they go feral,” Jayden says, shaking his head.

“Fine, let’s try this again. Jayden and Raven, will you help?” I shoot Cerberus a stern glare and all three heads whimper.

“I’m in.” Raven steps up next to me.

I grab three long strips of beef jerky and give one to each of them, keeping one for myself. “Jayden, you’re left and Raven, you’re right. I got the middle.”

Coordinating feeding this guy is a logistical nightmare.

“On three,” Jayden says.

Cerberus’ tail thumps against the ground in his excitement for more of the treat and all three sets of eyes are focused on the dried meat in our hands. The drool dripping from their fangs is disgusting but they are adorable.

“One,” I say.

“Two,” Raven goes next.

“Three,” Jayden yells and the heads lunge forward as we all throw the jerky to them at the same time.

They each catch a piece, snarling at the other two if they look too closely at them. They really are feral beasts, even to each other, but I can’t help but smile at their playfulness.

“They are freaking adorable.”

Cerberus growls and narrows his gaze on me. I guess the big scary hellhound doesn’t appreciate being called cute. I scratch him behind the ears on the left head in apology.

“Cerberus is a strong, scary hell beast, aren’t you, buddy?” Jayden pats the middle head.

The hellhound nods and shoots me a scathing glare.

“Okay, okay, but girls think cute and adorable is a compliment.” I plant my hands on my hips.

“Not Raven.” Greyson coughs into his fist.

“What was that, mate?” Raven raises an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing, babe. I had something caught in my throat.” Greyson clears his throat for real this time.

“I really think we should get moving,” Adrian says nervously.

“You’re right.” I sigh.

I shoot Cerberus an apologetic smile but all he does is headbutt me gently in the stomach and let out a sound close to a purr.

“And you say you’re not adorable?” I kiss his head and jump back as one of his paws swipes at me.

“Behave, Cerberus, she was only teasing you.” Jayden grabs the cylinder from his pocket. “When this is over, I promise I’ll take you to the academy and you can terrorize the other demigods for a couple hours.”

“Please, please, please go after Mia and scare the shit out of her,” I beg the beast.

“You’re diabolical, B. But I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t enjoy the hell out of that. Can you imagine the look on her face when this sweet puppy goes to her to play?” Raven cackles.

I can’t help it. I join her in big belly laughs until I’m bent at the waist and it’s difficult to breathe. Cerberus cocks his heads to the side in confusion.

“We know, buddy. Girls confuse us too.” Jayden pats his back.

He presses the rune to send Cerberus back into the tiny cylinder and I frown again, wishing he didn’t have to do that.

“So, what’s the next stop?” I ask Adrian since he’s the resident seer of the group.

“I think the next place we need to go is Houston. I didn’t see anything specific, just that’s the route we need to take.” He shrugs.

“At least we don’t have any obviously dire warnings. Let’s get back to the SUV and get out of here.” I take one last glance around the forest before we trudge back to the vehicle.

As soon as there’s a break in the trees, the red and gold firebird comes into view, circling the sky above us. It definitely waited for us in the sky above the forest. The ominous feeling I have anytime I catch sight of the damn bird isn’t helping my anxiety that we may need to get rid of it.

Jayden must catch me watching the little spy because he bumps his shoulder with mine. “How did a bird follow us across multiple state lines?”

“It’s not a normal bird; it can’t be. I can’t shake this bad feeling when I see it or feel its gaze on me. But I can’t bring myself to harm it in case it’s not one of the queen’s spies. What do we do?” I ask.

“We keep an eye on it and be ready for any problems. It’s what we always do.” Jayden wraps an arm around my back and kisses my temple. “Whatever is going to happen will happen. No sense in worrying over it until it shows its hand.”

“What if one of you gets hurt or worse because I didn’t trust my instincts?” I ask.

“Do your instincts tell you definitively that the bird is on one side or the other?” Jayden asks.

“No, they are all over the place.” I sigh.

“Then it wouldn’t be your fault. You don’t have a clear answer.” Jayden pulls me closer. “Stop putting the weight of everyone else on your shoulders, Beth. Not one of us is going to be upset if we get hurt because you just weren’t sure.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better. I will still be upset if my mistake gets someone else injured or we get into a situation that we can’t get ourselves out of,” I say.

“We haven’t yet. I promise it’s not all on you. You listen to us as much as we listen to you. That’s the mark of a great leader. You know what we’re capable of and we work together in the capacity that we are all comfortable with and that maximizes our strengths.”

The SUV comes into view. “We have a long drive. Let’s get this over with.”

“Yes, Houston is a bit of a drive. We need to hurry as much as we can.” Adrian nods as he opens the back passenger door.

“What’s going on, Adrian?” I ask.

“We just need to hurry,” he says, evasive.

“Do you know of a time frame that we don’t?” I ask again.

“You know I can’t tell you everything I saw.” Adrian crosses his arms.

“Yes, I do know that, but how close of a timeline are we talking here?” I narrow my eyes on the seer. “Is there a chance we could be too late?”

“I keep seeing different possible futures and it’s fucking terrible, Beth. It’s urgent. We need to leave.” Adrian pulls at his hair.

“I understand. Let’s get out of here and see if we can get a straight shot to Houston. It’s a long drive, but if we can get there, we will be that much closer to New Orleans and Artemis.” I shrug.

“I thought we weren’t even sure that Artemis is there?” Jayden says.

“She has to be, or we are all fucked,” I say.

I hop in the passenger seat of the SUV and Jayden closes the door behind me, then races around the front of the vehicle to hop behind the wheel.

The SUV is silent as we pull back onto the highway, heading to Houston.

My brain won’t shut off and the unease of being watched is only heightened the closer we get to the city.

Thad and Adrian are asleep in the back, taking the long drive to catch up on much-needed sleep. If only I could be so lucky, but my brain is running on an endless loop. I have no idea how they do it but I’m envious all the same. As the exhaustion settles in my bones, Jayden briefly glances at me.

“Why don’t you sleep for a few hours? It’s a ways yet to Houston.” Jayden squeezes my thigh.

“How can I even think about sleeping when everything is up in the air like this and even though we don’t know what may happen, I’m almost certain that something bad is going to happen at some point either on the way to Houston or in the city itself.”

“You need rest, though,” he says softly.

“I need to stay vigilant. The more I think about it, the more I think there is something ominous about that bird.” I shake my head.

“Yeah, it’s too quick and has endless energy to follow us around. Do you think it could be one of Hephaestus’ creations? That it’s mechanical?” Jayden asks.

“I don’t know. My instincts tell me it’s not one of his. I’ve seen his creations and this doesn’t feel like one of them, if that makes sense?”

“I get that. It makes the most sense to me too, that this is something wholly different. I’m just not sure what yet and that’s the terrifying part,” Jayden says.

We sit in tense silence for much of the drive but eventually the highway clears of all traffic. An eerie silence fills the vehicle as everyone sits on the edge of their seats.

“Should it be this still during rush hour just outside a major city?” Raven whispers.

“No, this is wrong. There’s a heavy presence like something or someone is trying to ward away all the humans.” I shake my head.

“Whoever is doing that isn’t up to anything good,” Jayden says.

I glance up at our constant shadow for any indication that it’s in on this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach, but it just circles the SUV as we slow.

“Why are you slowing down?” I ask Jayden in horror. “I don’t think we want to tangle with anyone who is a part of this.”

“It’s a ward, Beth. We don’t yet know if it’s meant just to keep the humans out, or if maybe it’s designed to keep us in as well.” Jayden tightens his grip on the steering wheel.

Raven sits forward between the two front seats. “What do we do?”

“We keep moving until we can’t anymore. I don’t like the idea of us being sitting ducks waiting for the slaughter.” I glance back at my friends.

The grim determination in their gazes is much like my own. We will not let the enemy stop us. We will fight until we can’t anymore if need be. We will win this battle and save Artemis from whatever hellish captivity she’s in, and then we will wage war on the queen. There is no other option.

My head snaps up when a loud squawk fills the air, more like a trill of a battle cry. Instinctively, I know that the bird in the sky is giving some kind of signal and dread pools in my gut.

My own inaction led to this moment. Even when my instincts told me to both be cautious and shoot the damn bird out of the sky with my lightning, I hesitated, and it may just cost us our lives.

“The bird isn’t an ally. I think it just called reinforcements,” I say, pissed at myself.

If we all die, it’s my fault because I could’ve prevented it. I could have killed the damn firebird before it enacted its plan, but I was too soft and didn’t want to hurt it in case it was helping. I’m a fucking idiot.

“What is it doing now?” Raven asks, staring up at the gray sky.

The bird flies in a circle for a minute before it nose-dives and spirals around the SUV. Flames erupt from the bird’s feathers and a gasp escapes me as an inferno of purple fire ignites around our vehicle.

“Oh gods, I know what that is,” I whisper in awe tinged with horror.

“Shit,” Adrian curses as he must realize what I have.

That is no ordinary bird, and I probably should give myself a little more grace when thinking about the creature’s plan and that I haven’t ended the creature myself.

I couldn’t have ended it. How do you end something that rises from the ashes of death?

“Adrian, what do you know about the history of the phoenix?”

“Motherfucker,” he swears, staring up at the phoenix.

If this wasn’t so dire, I would make a joke about the phoenix following us since we left the city of Phoenix.

“What is it?” I ask, turning in my seat to stare him down.

“The phoenix is also known as the sun bird. In Ancient Greek history, the phoenix answers to my father. There’s only one that repeatedly lives and then is reborn from the ashes. I think we’re under attack.” Adrian gulps.

“There’s no doubt that we’re under attack, but did your father underestimate us by only sending his spy, or is there a bigger force waiting to take us out?” I ask, scanning the street but only seeing searing purple flames.

“We’re surrounded by phoenix fire,” Thad mutters. “I don’t even know if my sea demigod powers can put out the flames. They’re damn purple, they’re so hot.”

“I’m not sure it will do any good, but the phoenix is revered. What happens if we kill it?” I ask.

“Even though the bird is known to belong to Apollo, I don’t see how we have much choice. It signaled someone or something. I’m sure of it.”

“Yeah, that piercing cry was definitely a battle cry,” Greyson agrees.

“So what do we do?” Jayden asks. “If we move any closer to the fire, the tires are going to pop and melt into the pavement. We need to stop, but then we’re sitting ducks waiting for whatever army the phoenix has called.”

“We stand and fight no matter what. I still just don’t feel right about hurting the damned bird,” I grumble, cursing my conscience.

I have killed tons of ancient monsters, but one immortal firebird bothers me this much?

I always respected and idolized a creature that could rise from the ashes of its death.

There’s something symbolic in that. I rose from the ashes of my life that burned spectacularly to the ground when my mother sacrificed her life for mine when I was eighteen.

“We will avoid killing the burning pigeon until it decides to barbecue us, and then all bets are off,” Raven says.

“Agreed,” Adrian says. “My father is the god of prophecy, don’t forget. He sent the phoenix because he knew you would be hesitant to kill something you weren’t sure was innocent or not. He planned this perfectly using his gifts.”

“That bastard,” I seethe. “Do none of the gods value life?”

“The only lives they truly value are their own.” Raven shakes her head.

“We can’t do what he’s expecting us to or we will fail, and if we fail, the world will be destroyed, along with everything and everyone.”