Dea

CHAPTER FOUR

Daimons expression couldn’t contain the shock,  “you’ve never asked that before. Do you really not remember?” This time, my expression couldn’t hide my annoyance, “well, we haven’t known each other long! And no, I don’t. I’m sure I would have asked before! It was the first time I was physically MURDERED by your father.” He didn’t even bother to hide his physical  cringe. A small tweak of guilt pained my chest. I wasn’t trying to hurt his feelings but I was just simply telling the truth. “He struck you with a White lightening bolt. It’s his favorite bolt, it does the most damage to anything it hits, he only lets Athena use it.”  

Was that jealousy in his tone? 

“That's too bad he didn't teach me how to use his power because then I would have been able to defeat him with his own  White Lightning Bolt.That's probably why he made it to where I didn't remember being struck if I can't remember being struck I can't remember how to use it,”  I said sarcastically, ” it would have been  such a joyous moment watching the shock on his face the moment I struck him with his own Bolt.”

Daimon did not look like he approves of my idea. I thought it was quite an ironic way to go about things.

“You're close to what I was  Thinking do you know what the two best ways to kill an immortal God permanently?”

“ Decapitation with a pure gold knife or their own  powers, so either I'm gonna have to get really close to Zeus where I need to learn his power but i doubt he's gonna willingly teach me his.”

“That's just the thing you can still kill Zeus with his own power all you need is to stab him with a branch of  a tree that has been struck by lightning. I even know way to summon Zeus if you would rather bring him here to your territory.”

My head was shaking even before he finished his sentence. “ This isn't my territory I don't even know where I am technically or even how to get to Olympia from here. I wanna do it in Olympia where it all started and where I'm going to end it so then all of the other gods and Titans no who defeated Zeus and to finally know that me and Prometheus are back and we're not leaving.”

“That's exactly what you said last time, Dea! Then you went on this stubborn walk to this place and wasted all that time trying to find the fathers cabin! What could possibly be so important there that you risked all that we have accomplished together, and then die all over again?” His yelling caught me by surprise. Clearly if I’ve said it once already I meant it. What makes him think my restart would change my mind? Remembering I had written that I could walk alone now sounds foolish. Could I possibly be hiding something  from myself, or someone? 

“I don’t know how I found out about it, but according to me, there is something in this cabin that’ll help me defeat Zeus!”

“But I already know how! Why don’t we do it my way? Let’s go back to New York and finish training you so we can get back to Olympia! Nothing has changed in almost three thousand years! Together we can bring Olympia back. We don’t have time to waste!” Daimons voice boomed loudly, I could see the resemblance to Zeus with a voice like a  thunderstorm.

This made me all the more mad. “Where is it, then? Hmm? A piece of Lightning, huh? Or are we going to have to wait until the next storm and HOPE we find one? Or are you going to manage to train me to become strong enough to get the upper hand, so I can get close enough to behead your father? Hm? Does any of that sound less time consuming, or can we do it my way and go to a cabin that’s in the same freaking state as us?”   My voice may not sound like a storm, but even I could hear the power behind my words. 

His hazel eyes seemed to glow white with fury, his chest heaved with each breath as though he can inhale his anger then settle it down in his lungs. I mimic his breathing so calm me down. I get unbearably close to Daimon, this close I can smell him, he smelt like a forest after a night time rain as the first sun rises. Putting my hands under my armpits in an attempt to keep myself from touching his fair skin I but my lip and begin to think of what to say Next. Standing close helped me calm significantly. Daimons breathing has stopped, quickly I meet his gaze. Where his eyes glow white when angry, they turn a deep green while studying me.

“ do you remember this?” He whispered, low and husky, his voice sent shivers down spine, spreading goosebumps along my arms. 

“I don’t mentally remember a damn thing, but my body and emotions seem to remember everything… like just now, I knew being close would calm me.” I  whisper back while taking another step closer almost clogging the last inch between us, gently I reach out and place my hands on his shoulders. 

Leaning forward,I slowly embrace  him in a hug. When he doesn’t return my gesture I start to release when suddenly he pulls me back to him, squeezing me with an impossible strength. 

I don’t object. 

Because my arms are wrapped his neck and his around my waist I’m pulled to the top of toes. His face is buried in my neck where I can feel his hot rigid breathing.

“I’ve missed you, Dea. When you left to come to Montana I didn’t think you meant it, I thought you’d come back after a few weeks. But when you never returned I tried to follow your trail but it was too late, I was weeks behind. You covered your trail so well I couldn’t even find it. I got so worried. I’m sorry, I made you mad, I’m sorry I lied. I ruined your relationship with Sarah. I deeply regret it.”

I untangle my libs from his neck and take a step back, “what do you mean you ruined our relationship? I talked to her. She sounded... normal, I suppose. I  reacted the same with as it did you. Like it knew she was… comfort.”

With that, he finished separating us by walking to the desk and sitting down on the chair with the back facing me. Without him so physically close I felt small and cold. 

“We’re getting off track, we’ll cover that bridge when we burn it.” Daimons face was slack, emotionless and unreadable. 

I Grabbed the warm quilt from the bed, wrapping it around me to hide my shivering. I’m facing Daimon while sitting on the couch. Though my position made looking at him 

slightly obstructed it was the best I could do without getting too  close. “Okay, what happened after I was struck? How did I end up out of Olympia and in the United  States?” 

“It was your brother. After everyone had their fun making fun of your attempt against Zeus he carried your burnt  corpse to the edge of Olympia and… threw you. We know you landed in a large body of water, you sank, disappeared. Your mother demanded he look for you but you were gone. I don’t know where you went. We-  I, didn’t start looking for you until twenty four  years ago, took me fifteen to find you. Back then I looked the same, skinny, weak unimpressive boy, older but not smarter.. You remembered me then as you do now. Nearly took my arm off twisting it behind my back. I tapped out,” he laughed, “I was impressed with your skill then. I tried talking to you about my plans for Zeus and out home but you had none of it. You..” here he paused, scratched the back of his then massaged his neck before continuing “ you broke my neck. Naturally it only sedated me for a few hours. When I woke, you were gone. Completely disappeared but replaced by another woman I was not surprised to see. Then we were in Idaho, I lost you until New York, nearly nine years later. This time I won and you agreed to train with me under the condition we kept our training a secret there were -are – people tracking you.”

My hand flew up before he could continue. “ I need a minute.” 

Deep breaths.

 In and out.

 One two, 

three four. 

Repeat. 

Deucalion threw me away.  My baby brother. The little bit I envied while watching him grow up in Olympus, make friends and enemies learn his power and hone his many skills. Listening to the other children tell the story of their houses being coated in eggs the day after bullying Deucalion because I fought back silently for my brother’s honor. The brother or family was so proud of. 

My younger brother threw me out of our home like I was nothing. 

Fighting back tears, desperate to not appear weak I gathered my composure. “ Okay. Ouch, got it. Who was there in Idaho when you woke up after I defeated you?”

Daimon  sighed heavily “ that brings on the portion of our ever entwining story. Before I begin I need

You to understand, things have changed in the past nine years.” His Hazel eyes meet mine, looking for something on my face. I dig my best to remain unreadable. “ Artemis was there when I came to. Father had sent her after you, blissfully unaware of my plan to aid you. She was furious, finding me with my neck snapped around like an owl. She had sworn to kill you before vanishing into the thickets. Many, many times our paths crossed as we both needed finding you.  I found ways to deceive her long enough for you to unknowingly escape.  Four years ago I found you… Artemis has beaten me, finally. Her weapons are all God Killing weapons, her bow, sword, knife, dagger… all of them. Her dagger was on your throat. Neither had noticed me trying to find a way to sneak attack without harming anyone. She let you go, though. You made a run for it. I don’t know why she let you go when father desperately wanted to watch you suffer.” 

Artemis. Of course. I knew her,  slightly. Daughter of Zeus, Goddess of The Hunt. I would admire her training, watching her hint in the Mortal Realm, the way her struck was always true, the way her body seemed to endure the physical toll of sprinting, leaping, almost soaring through the dense forests as if she knew where each branch would be where her steps should land to make the smallest amount of noise. Artemis. Back then her hair reached the small of her back, her whisky bangs sticking to her eyelashes when she began to sweat, her skin always clean of any permanent scars or piercings leaving no open weak spots for attacks. Only naturally would Zeus send the Goddess of The Hunt after a woman dribbling through the Mortal Realm with no memory other then her death. 

“Two years ago I started to notice how little I saw Artemis while tracking you through The States, I would catch glimpses of her being in plain sight. Finding different ways to blend in with her surroundings to watch you. Never did she try to attack you again. When I found you in New York, I needed you to keep our training a secret.  I finally found why Artemis had stopped boldly attacking but instead began to blend and mingle.”

Daimon seemed to have aged within minutes, looking more like his father now then he did a few hours ago when he appeared on the threshold of the inn. 

“Artemis has always been bold. Cunning, smart. Trying to figure why she had quit the Hunt for you was nerve racking. One night after training I had indulged you in my assumptions, curious as to what you could know, you were utterly unaware of her tracking you. I fear that talk was really what sent you to walk to your father cabin.”  He stopped here, looking exhausted as though reliving this part of our history. 

I needed to know more. I felt I knew what he was leading up too, but I needed to hear it. I needed to know how far everything had gone. “Daimon, look at me,” his eyes held skeletons I’ll never understand turning more green, having a striking resemblance to a Artemis’. “ please… I need you to continue.”

He nodded slowly before finishing in a quiet voice that seemed more gravely then before, “she stopped hunting for the kill. Somewhere during her Hunt, she befriended you, fell in love with you.  The night I revealed who she was, you went home and was gone the next morning, only revealing Wendy you were planning through static infused phone calls. You promised you’d be okay. And you were until Artemis started trying to use her skill if the Wild And appear to you, trying to persuade you to let us  join, but alas, you refused. The last we heard from you was three weeks ago.”

Floored. I was floored. Here in front of me is a man I know I wanted in ways our parents would forbid, but hating not only him, but Artemis too felt this way towards me left me doubting the tale Daimon was spinning, his eyes bore the truth with each word though they hid a hint of malaise anger. 

“Who was she to me? What… what was she to me?”

“You loved her back in more ways then I realized. You two became the best of friends. She wanted more but you took it slow. Before I had finally realized what was going on between the two of you, I kept my mouth shut about it but continued to demand our  secret training. I was unsure of how well she would react to our news.”

“Daimon… who is she?”

“Sarah. Sarah is Artemis, your roommate, CO worker, enemy and possible lover.”