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Chapter 43 - The Family Tree (Part II)

Chapter 43 – The Family Tree (Part II)

Weaver

I glanced at the glass leaves of my tree and saw the reflection of the man before us. Noah Hunter. The hunter who butchered the Brekahur tribe. And countless other strange faces, but I knew they mirrored the same man.

I felt incredibly weak, but I pushed myself to my feet and faced the intruder. Selene stood next to me, supporting me, concern and confusion in her eyes.

"How is this possible? How did you get here?" I questioned, my voice gruff. I detested the uncertainty and vulnerability I currently bore in my own realm.

Hunter stepped toward Selene and traced a finger along her collarbone. Selene shuddered and I snarled, "Do not touch her."

"Oooh, so testy," Hunter stated. He dropped his hand, but he circled around us, an infuriating grin on his face. He stopped, stood in front of me, and showed me a small, round object between his thumb and forefinger. "Your foolishness to gift a mortal with this pearl."

Any gift from the dream world was an invitation, an indisputable entry to the dreams. As Markus had once accused, I had known it when I presented the pearl to Selene.

Selene gasped as she realized her necklace was missing. She scowled and said, "That was what you were after earlier."

"Well, I wanted more than the pearl. I was hoping to get you on board and use you against him, but you're obviously smitten. Such a cliché. A mortal falling in love with a god," Hunter said, again cracking up. He would not cease chortling at his own ridiculous remark, he bent forward in mirth and propped his hand on my tree.

First, he touched Selene. And now my tree. I would not have any of this! I focused on my tree and wished it to vanish so Hunter would fall on his face, but nothing happened. I remembered I was now powerless.

Attempting to quell the anxiety building up in my chest, I growled at Hunter, "Who are you and what do you want?"

Hunter stopped laughing and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Why, I thought you'd never ask."

He walked toward me again and stood straighter, trying to appear taller and broader than I was. But even with his canine ornaments and even without my wings, he remained diminutive in comparison. He adjusted the tusks around his shoulders and asserted, "I am Acteon, son of Apate, deity of deceit, first daughter of Erebus and Nyx."

What?

Hunter—no, Acteon's grin grew wide when he saw the look of incredulity on my face.

"Apate, sister of Geras, Oizys, Moros, Momos, Eris, Nemesis and Keres, the gods of old age, anguish, tragedy, condemnation, strife, retribution, carnage and violent death. My mother and her siblings—the first progenies of Erebus and Nyx. They were all banished to Tartarus simply for doing their duty. In my own humble opinion, I think they were exiled because your daddy dearest feared he would be overpowered."

Acteon tapped his chin in feigned thought and said, "Hmm. I am certain Erebus would be crushed, dethroned and chopped into itsy, bitsy pieces. Well, that is part of the plan."

Acteon looked at me and his grin dropped. "Seriously, Erebus and Nyx never told you about us? It's so annoying how they are pretending they do not have other children. Except that..."

A gleeful gleam filled his eyes as he snapped a twig off my tree. I winced at the action. Acteon gazed at the leaves hanging on to the branch, taking a moment to admire his images. Had I the strength, I would've snapped his neck and thrown him in one of my tunnels. Except that they were no longer my tunnels.