Drowning in the Siren's Song

Chapter 15

Something was wrong. No, the problem wasn't a something, but rather it was a someone. To be more specific, a god.

After being in Pan's presence, he was confident in his ability to sense the aura of a god. When he'd met the satyr, he'd thought that his power was overwhelming, but after noticing this new guest, he realized that Pan was either was very weak or that a very high ranking god had come to the forest.

Though he loved Pan dearly, he desperately wished for the former.

"Tch!" He tripped over a rock, stumbling and almost falling over. He had adapted to travelling through branches and moving through trees and now that he was running in a place without them, he realized how hopeless he had become. 

It had been a while since he'd been forced to rush. After living in a forest, he was confident in his agility but not his speed. He was swift when he was among nature, but sprinting in a grassland, nope. 

Unfortunately, he had to since he was being followed by the god and her companion. He must've been stupid to try to run away from a god, but when he felt the overbearing and rather intimating presence, it was the only thing he could think of. It was fight or flight response.

There was just so much of murderous intent. There were just two people, and by the small glimpse he'd gotten, both were female and one of them really wanted him dead. He didn't remember doing anything to them (how could he? He didn't even know them) nor did he have any enemies. The only possibility he could think of was that they were chasing him because of his father. 

He couldn't really continue his line of thought because he was approaching a dead end and was getting pretty scared at that point. His ADHD had helped him in a lot of fights and helped his survive a countless number of times it seemed like it was not in the mood to help him that day.

He'd fallen right into his pursuers trap, and he'd only realized it now. They were good. They'd subtly cornered him right to a path which inevitable led to the backside of the very cave where he'd brought Luke, Thalia and Annabeth. Right now, all there was behind his back was a huge slab of natural rock which was flanked with closely knit trees which were over a few decades old.

A perfect trap. Maybe if he had more time he could've manipulated his surroundings, but there were two problems with that. Number 1, he was tired and wheezing and therefore was in no condition to concentrate. And number 2, he was being chased. 

Well, not anymore. Now he was dead meat. 

He was being stared down by two very scary looking ladies, one who had an arrow an inch from his throat. A very sharp arrow, to specify. 

The lady with the bow was obviously the one with the killing intent because she was glaring, hard. Percy thought of only three things after seeing her. One, she was angry. Two, she was scary. And three, she looked like royalty.

A regal face with an expression of frosty displeasure with a silver circlet braided in her black hair like a crown. She looked older than him by a few years and towered over him. She had coppery skin which seemed to glow and brown eyes which seemed to look down upon him. 

"You gave us quite the chase." The second lady said in a tone of mild curiosity. Maybe he hinted a whiff of grudging respect, but he wasn't going to place his bets on that. Her expression was like she was playing with her food and letting her prey enjoy a few moments of futile struggle. Scary.

She looked to be about a few years older to him, maybe 13-14, and had auburn hair which was held in a tight braid down her back. Silver eyes which looked older than her age and hunting clothes with knives of various shapes and sizes adorning her waist. 

With growing horror, he watched as the lady with the drawn bow shuffle closer, pressing the arrow to his neck. "What should I do about him, Lady Artemis?" 

Boom. His heart dropped to his stomach. He had been suspicious but was in denial, naively thinking that if he didn't acknowledge it, it wouldn't be true. Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid reality because reality itself decided to slap him in the face.

He had attempted to run away from Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Who had caught up to him. Who hated males. Whose subordinate had a bow and was ready to kill him in a blink of an eye. 

Yikes.

Fortunately, she didn't seem like she was in the mood to end the life of a very small, young, helpless boy.
"Hmm. I wonder." She tilted her head, looking at him over the black-haired lady's shoulder. 

"It's been a while since I've had fun on a hunt." Artemis nodded. "Let's hear his story. There are not many who can make me work hard and especially not a child." She gracefully set herself on a rock, crossing one leg over another and looking at him expectantly. 

"Step away, Zoë, you can kill him later." She said, making the girl who very much looked like she didn't want to, step back. He finally exhaled, realized that he had been holding in a breath. Zoë let go of the string, placing the silver arrow back in her quiver with a glare, but proceeded to flick open a knife which he was sure she wasn't shy to use. 

Artemis ignored her and focused on him with a chilling stare, making the hair at the back of his neck stand. 

"Start with you name, boy."