~ ☼ ~

The look Aria had in those deep brown eyes could put my fangirling ways to shame. It was like she'd just met Patrick Stump. I swear, if I hadn't grabbed her arm, she would've fallen to her knees.

I'll admit, I was a bit shocked too. But it was more out of confusion. This was Artemis - the Artemis? My name sake was a scrawny, red haired teenager?

That being said, even if she looked 14, she did have a startling aura around her, like an alpha wolf leading her pack.

The goddess walked forward, her maidens behind her, and nodded at each of us. "Half-bloods. What are you doing here?"

"We're on a quest," Kiera answered, coming up beside her friend - Aria - and putting a hand on her shoulder. "We're going to Chicago to find the sword of Peleus. I got a prophecy from the Oracle at Camp Half-Blood. My name is Kiera Bane."

Artemis narrowed her eyes. The dark-skinned girl next to her watched Aria warily. And the other one, with the freckles, smiled at Kiera.

"I know you," she said, stepping forward. "You were on border patrol the day I came to life."

Kiera grinned proudly. "That's me. And you're Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus."

I blinked.

I'd never seen Thalia before, but I thought back to what the girls told me, about she and Percy and a few others questing over the winter before she joined the Hunters of Artemis.

Last summer, Aria had told me she desperately wanted to meet Artemis, and join that same team. The team that had 3 members standing in front of us right now. No wonder the girl was still slightly quivering.

"This is my best friend, Aria Nalau'i," Kiera said, patting Aria's head like she was her new puppy. "And over there, that's AJ Hood, daughter of Apollo, and Lucas Burgess, son of Athena."

Artemis flicked her gaze towards me, and gave me a sort of knowing expression I couldn't completely decipher. Behind her, the other girl scowled.

"4 people on a quest? That's bad luck."

Lucas frowned, Kiera dropped her hand, and Aria shifted uncomfortably. Bad luck? That's news to me.

I tried not to glower at my questmates, but it was useless anyways, as they were all avoiding my eyes.

"We're doing our best," Kiera stated sharply. "What are you here for?"

I winced at her tone. Artemis may have looked like a 9th grader, but she was still an all-powerful goddess. And one of the toughest ones, at that.

"We've been tracking a creature for weeks," Artemis replied. "It's called the amphisbaena. It commonly makes its habitat in the desert, but we've followed it from Santa Fe through the heartland to here. It follows groups of people, and we worry it's making its way towards Camp Half-Blood."

"We think it's here in the canyon," Thalia added.

Kiera clenched her jaw. "So... you think you'll be able to kill it before it gets too far?"

"That's our plan." Artemis gestured for the third hunter to hand her something. "Etisha, hand me the map."

Etisha handed her the map.

Artemis opened it, and an accordion of folds fell out; the goddess simply rolled her eyes and picked up the opposite end. It was kinda nice to know that gods, too, got frustrated by complicated travel brochures.

"The path down to the river is just outside," Thalia said, looking over her lady's shoulder. "It could be down there in the silt. Closest thing to desert sand here."

"Very astute."

Artemis swung her long ginger braid  around her shoulder and looked up at the four of us again. "Good luck with your quest, heroes. I hope you get to Chicago."

Then, she and her hunters walked straight forward and out the door, all 3 bumping into Lucas as if he wasn't even there. Lucas eyed me, and I could tell he was trying not to feel insulted. I just gave him an amused smile.

Aria watched them go, still trembling slightly. And then she looked at me.

"We have to help them."

"Help them?" Kiera asked, her eyebrows furrowing. "They're the Hunters of Artemis. I doubt they need our help."

Finally out of her stupor, Aria threw her arms up. "Exactly! It's Artemis. She is BY FAR the coolest goddess. No offense, Lucas." She grimaced at the Son of Athena. He just shrugged.

"As if she'd even let us follow her..." Kiera trailed off.

"She might," Aria said. "I've heard she's always looking for new recruits. Maybe she'll let us assist her, just for this one thing. And then we can get back to the bus and Chicago."

I couldn't tell if Aria noticed, but Kiera was getting mad again. She clenched her jaw and looked out the window, her eyes following Artemis. I looked, too, seeing there were many more hunters in the parking lot in addition to the two we'd met. All of them had their hair cut short or braided back or pulled up, and all of them were wearing those silver jackets and circlets. I knew Aria would fit in perfectly with them.

When I glanced back to Kiera, she was glaring at me. I winced.

"Well-" Aria pursed her lips- "Not to be rude, but I'm going. And you guys can either follow or hang out here for hours."

And just like the goddess of the hunt before her, Aria left the visitor's center dramatically (Albeit, she closed the door a lot more gently than Artemis had.)

Lucas sighed. "I doubt Lady Artemis will appreciate me, but I think we should follow her."

"Okay," I replied, knowing this wasn't really my place to argue.

Kiera, meanwhile, grit her teeth. "Fine."

———

When we reached the hunters, Aria was eagerly explaining her goal, looking like an island of green in a sea of shiny gray. The other hunters - there was probably around 20 or so in total - parted to let us through to her.

Artemis watched out of the corner of her eyes, still keeping her attention on her devoted fan all the while. When Aria finished, the goddess considered her for a moment, then said, "All right."

"Really?" Aria exclaimed, before cringing (I assume because of how loud she was.)

"Sure." Artemis nodded at Thalia. "You can follow Lieutenant Grace. We have new intel that there are multiple amphisbaena - perhaps as much as 7."

My skin went cold. I'd been so caught up in keeping track of Aria's dream and Kiera's irritation that I hadn't stopped to think about how the Hades we were going fight this thing.

What even is an amphisbaena? I wondered to myself. Well, for a few seconds it was to myself. Then I whispered the same question to Lucas. We were standing right next to each other - close enough that I could
smell his cologne - so I hoped it wouldn't raise too much attention.

He turned, seeming a bit surprised, then murmured back, "It's a snake with a head at either end. It feeds on dead bodies. It's kind of terrifying."

A word I probably shouldn't say went through my head before, in a very Indiana Jones-esque manner, I thought, Seriously?! Why does it always have to be snakes?!

I've never been too scared of snakes. And after last summer, when I'd beat a dracanae on my own and cut off Python's head with the help of my siblings, you'd think I'd be confident. But I think the more time I spend around serpents, the more uncomfortable with the thought of them I become.

Realizing Lucas was waiting for a reply, I said, "Oh. Okay. Thank you."

He nodded.

In front of us, I hadn't even realized what was going on. Artemis was dividing her group into 7 smaller sections, each with three members. Aria, apparently the only one who was paying any attention, pulled us over to the one with Thalia.

Up close, and no longer in the shadow of a god, Thalia was electrifying. I wondered if this was what all the kids of the "big three" gods were like - truly magnetic with the vibes of their parent. The only other person I knew who was that... I don't know, aesthetic, was Alec. That guy was like pure sunshine, even when he was mad.

For a minute, my homesickness returned. Hoping it would help me feel better, I focused back in on the task at hand, and watched Thalia as she laid out our instructions.

"Amphisbaena aren't that hard to kill," she told us. "But they're tricky to find and tricker to defeat before they flee. Follow me, and watch your feet, no matter what. If you think you hear something behind you, check."

She knocked an arrow in her bow. I grabbed my sword. Aria smiled warmly. Around us, the Hunters dispersed, and we went into the woods.

———

Weirdly enough, I almost regretted getting off of the bus.

I know, I know. If I was still on the bus, I'd be miserable. Then again, it probably looks to you like I'm always slightly miserable. Maybe I am.

But it wasn't misery that made me want to go back to safety right now - it was discomfort. I wasn't afraid, really, just uncomfortable as Hades. The way the Hunters walked, the way they talked, their stealthy dynamic... it kind of felt like I was invading a secret society. I mean, it's not like I was the only one who didn't know what they were doing. Lucas didn't even have a weapon. But that didn't make me feel much better.

My fears only got worse when I felt a rumbling beneath my feet.

I stopped in my tracks, and Lucas did too. Kiera, walking moodily behind me, came up beside us, eyes wide.

"Did you guys feel that?"

After nodding slowly, my body went tense. In front of us, the Hunters and Aria kept walking, oblivious. But the ground was leavening beneath them, shaking and crumbling like a geyser in the desert.

"Aria!" Kiera hissed.

Aria turned, and so did Thalia and the other 2 Hunters. I barely caught sight of the shock in Aria's eyes when something exploded from the ground, blocking my vision.

A giant white snake with a head at either end, like Lucas explained, flew up in the air and arced over the Hunters. We all spun to face it as Thalia immediately shot an arrow, bringing it to the ground.

The arrow wound - right in in the nose  of the one head - began spitting blood. However, it wasn't enough, as the thing leaped back underground.

The Hunters moved in a flurry while Thalia yelled orders I didn't understand (of course). But I didn't try to follow them - my focus was on the ground shaking beneath me.

I quickly ran to the side as the Amphisbaena came up again, this time on the opposite edge of our group - perfect distance for me to slash it.

So, in a panic, I did.

I couldn't even see what I was doing, but my heart was pounding. Look, I may have been starting to love adventure, but that didn't change how stressed I got in the middle of a fight. Especially with 3 strangers watching me.

When the Amphisbaena's top head came falling down with my blade, I almost jumped for joy. Then I realized that wasn't the end.

"Shoot!" Thalia called.

So Aria and the Hunters shot, their 4 arrows landing directly in the stub my sword had just sliced against. I was kind of awed by Aria's accuracy, and wondered who exactly her mother was if not Artemis (or Apollo).

The now-tail end of the Amphisbaena fell down to the ground, leaving one very angry head to turn around and slither towards us. But before the Hunters could even finish knocking more arrows, Kiera lunged into the air out of nowhere, swiped off the other head, and plunged her knife into what was left.

As the dust flew up around my acquaintance, the Amphisbaena dropped dead. Laying limp on the ground, it looked like a giant, white noodle.

(Ew, maybe I shouldn't have used that metaphor.)

Then, it dissipated into golden dust, and I looked over at Lucas, who just blinked in surprise. Meanwhile, Kiera panted as she looked up and across to the Hunters. Aria seemed shocked - but she gave her best friend a proud smile nonetheless.

"That... was... awesome!" Aria exclaimed. She turned towards Thalia. "Are battles usually that quick and fun?"

Fun? She thinks this is fun?! I thought to myself. I almost said something, before someone responded first.

That is, Thalia. She shrugged, her circlet shifting as she lowered her bow. "Depends on the monster."

In reply to this, Aria just shook her head. She couldn't stop grinning - first at Thalia, then at me, then at Kiera.

But Kiera wasn't smiling back. I don't know how Aria couldn't see it, but her friend was angry. And I was worried where it would lead us.

~ ☼ ~

A/N: Sorry to my 2 readers for kind of going off of schedule here, but I hope you enjoyed his chapter! I'm from PA, but I've never been to the PA Grand Canyon... although I've heard it's beautiful! It was cool to write some scenes there :)

(Also, side note... does anyone know why my gifs aren't working? They used to work but I don't know if it's a glitch or an update that's freezing them now.)

Thanks for sticking around if you have! Please vote and comment. Until next time, positive vibes. Stay awesome!