Chapter 76 – Artemis
“I feel like a part of my soul has loved you since the beginning of everything. Maybe we’re from the same star.” Emery Allen
Artemis
The heart is a delicate organ. Floods of blood shot through it in a life–sustaining cycle, and it made me feel both alive and dead at the same time. What many cannot understand is that the heart is also a part of a chain, connecting its life force to another. Forged bonds and soul ties attach themselves to the crimson bodies of two beating hearts, connecting those individuals beyond the visceral. Bonds are created between people, animals, and emotions. The heart serves a grander purpose beyond sustaining life, and the visceral pain of when one bond is severed is unimaginable.
My heart hurts. The bond it treasures the most is nothing more than a flickering lightbulb unable to handle its burial under pitch–blackness. Imprisoned just like me, frantic to cling onto the spec of light keeping it alive. But the darkness is intelligent and conniving. Malevolent whispers bombard my ears like a bully’s torment while tightening the reigns around the gilded cage Halima trapped me in. There was no escape,
Pathetic.
Useless.
Pitiful.
I couldn’t cover my ears. The dark was too loud. Air was knocked out of my lungs, the area enclosing around
me. It wanted me to die.
Failure.
Well, I did fail. My beloved Kiya surrendered to darkness, and it was my job to safeguard her heart and soul. Together, we fought the demons lingering in the corners of her mind daily. I’m her anchor and her guardian. If the human strays, the wolf pulls them back into the light because we can’t bear to lose them. As much as Kiya needed me, I needed her as well.
Alone in the darkness, punished by being unable to hear the rich melody of her voice summoned a broken howl from the ocean of my despair. My body shook from the chill of her absence and the silence reckoning in my mind was murderous. I wanted Kiya. I needed Kiya.
I…I miss her so much.
With every attempt I made to reach her, I met an impassable block. Once, twice, thrice; I never stopped trying to connect with her, ignorant to the looming fear that Kiya might be lost to me. Are we lost to Selene as well?
Growling with tears blotting my vision, I threw my body at the steel–like bars for the thousandth time like at ball in a batting cage. My body ached, my bones ached, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was getting to Kiya. The darkness snickered, enjoying the spectacle of a caged animal attempting to escape. Snickers grew to echoing laughter, advising me to give up the fight.
I admit, shamefully, that surrendering had crossed my mind a few times when the darkness and the pain became too much. One could only withstand this amount of horror for so long before it destroys them. But
1/5
I’m not like anyone else. I refused to give up, so if that meant breaking my body until I’m out, then I never needed my bones, anyway!
And I was rewarded for my efforts.
High above me, as I recovered from my recent hurdle, a strip of white light broke through the darkness. Shaped like an angel with celestial wings. Rippling laughter fell to silence. The light warmed a patch of my fur, and it uttered three basic words that revitalized the lambent hope in my heart.
Don’t give up!
The light grew bigger and suddenly I was cased in warmth from all angles–from the tip of my ears to my paws, repairing my injured soul and invigorating my determination. Over time, the light intensified by the familiar warmth of two people, doubling in size. At that moment was when I felt the fleeting sparks of the sacred bond. The missing piece of my heart. I grabbed onto the fading sensation, growling with newfound hope.
Now, anything was possible!
Hang on, Kiya! I’m on my way!
Roaring. I threw my body against the cage again. It budged! Again; the bars weakening under the holy light. On the third try, the door swung open, and I rolled out like a log. Finally! The light weakened above me; the darkness coming back with its own ammunition.
Without hesitation, I hopped on my paws and took off running to where I last saw Kiya and Halima. The makeshift pond. The light guided my way, fading behind thick wisps of black as it gradually took over the area again. I’m stuck in the dark once more, but not before reaching my destination. The thick sheet of ice on the surface barred many cracks, water dribbling through.
“Kiya!” I pounded my paws against the ice as hard as I could, more cracks sprouting from the impact. “I’m here! I’m coming!” After a couple more hits, the ice shattered and separated, revealing the murky waters rippling underneath. Pushing chunks of ice from the hole I made, I sucked in a sharp breath and plunged into the deep pond.
Padding through the current, I searched long and low for Kiya. The fleeting sensations of our bond were my guide, pulling me to where my human was. The waters threatened to consume me as it did to Kiya, grabbing onto my legs, but I pulled away. I’m not a victim and will never be a victim.
Soon, I found Kiya with Halima clinging around her torso, swinging her legs as she struggled against the tangible black hands pulling her deeper in the black. I padded faster than I ever done before and when I got close enough to Kiya; I bit on the collar of her shirt and swam to the surface, dragging her and her inner child
with me.
Kiya gasped for air once we reached the surface, coughing and wheezing along with Halima who shook in the woman’s arms. I barred my teeth in a wolfish grin when I searched for any injuries on Kiya’s person, only to find none. She’s here! She’s alive! She… she’ll be okay!
a:
“Artemis…” Her beautiful brown eyes held my own, a small smile awakening on her face as she panted. Her hand reached out to caress my wet fur, love pouring from her touch. “I missed you…”
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Chapter 76 – Artemis
Relief burned in a conflagration of panic when a dark hand broke through the icy surface of the black pond and grabbed hold of Kiya’s legs. Halima shrieked and Kiya screamed as they were being dragged back to the water again.
“Artemis!”
Kiy
Halima burrowed her small head into my chest, her arms tight around my waist like a belt. Screams for Artemis burned my throat as I used one arm to grip onto my inner child and the other to reach out to my wolf.
“No!” Artemis bellowed. She latched her jaw onto my arm, teeth sinking deep into my skin as she pulled me toward her.
A painful tug–o–war begun with my body as the rope. Both sides jerked backward and forward, my limbs screaming for relief. Blood dripped from my arms from the wounds she created with her teeth, but I didn’t mind. I found comfort in Artemis‘ electrifying cyans, refusing to give me up to the darkness again. Through the pain, her love for me seeping into the pores of my skin.
Tears dripped down my cheeks. Artemis, my guardian angel, fought as hard as she could for me. Her growls saturated with determination and resolve echoed through the space between us. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. After I surrendered into the darkness, she shot out like a bullet and pulled me from the seductive allure
back into her.
I don’t deserve her. I betrayed her.
“I. Won’t. Let. You. Go!” She shouted through her snarls. I know she wouldn’t, even when I gave up on myself.
It all seemed hopeless until a miracle happened.
Tendrils of luminous silver sprouted underneath Artemis‘ paws and coiled around her limbs. Balls of light danced with the strands of her snowy fur like lovers on the dancefloor before sinking into her flesh, steadily transforming her into a silver silhouette. Artemis, catching on to the spectacle, growled in confusion.
The outline of a wolf shifted into the outline of a human.
Two warm and firm hands wrapped around my wrists, pulling me far from the pond. The hand slackened its hold and retreated to its domain after ribbon of light shot at it like a lightning bolt. I caught my breath, finally, feeling my heart pound to the beat of a drum in my chest.
I’m okay. I look down at Halima to see she is unharmed. We’re okay.
The light disappeared, and Artemis wasn’t there anymore. A mirror image of myself emerged, except the image adorned white glowing hair instead of black and piercing blue eyes instead of brown. Everything else, from the shape of the nose to the plump lips, matched my own.
Her hands released my arm, her fingers dancing across the deep wounds decorating my skin. Blues reflected in gentle sadness as I allow her soothing touches to trace around the cuts. Sitting up on my knees, Halima stared
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at the woman in hushed awe, perching herself on my thighs.
“I’m sorry…” She said, thumbs wiping the blood away. “I didn’t mean to hurt you like that…”
“Artemis?” I asked, perplexed. She arched an eyebrow and nodded, confirming her identity.
“Yes, it’s me.” A charming smile appeared on her lips. She cupped my cheeks, gentle and loving, “I have so many questions, but are you okay?”
“Oh, Arty!” I pulled my wolf–er, ‘human‘ into a tight hug, burying my face in the crook of her neck. Tears dripped down my cheeks again, falling onto her shoulder. Artemis chuckled, returning the hug but squeezing me tight, rubbing her cheek on the top of my head. My heart soared with sheer happiness to feel my other half again. After being buried in darkness for so long, I almost forgot what she felt like.
I felt a shuffle on my thigh. When Artemis and I separated, I look down to see Halima lingering less than a foot from us, averting her gaze from us with her bear in her arms. Uneasiness perfumed out of her, her fingers fidgeting at her sides. “Halima?” I asked. Her eyes, back to brown, found mine. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t deserve a hug.” She whispered, bowing her head. “You’re mad at me because of what I did, right?”
Her small voice tugged at my heartstrings. I scooted to her, our knees touching. My hand gripped her shoulder, urging her to look up at me. Tears brimmed at the corner of her eyes as she awaited my response. Was I angry at her? No. Should I be? I don’t think so.
I understand why Halima did what she did–all she wanted was for me to hear her. To be with her. She hated any interference in what she wanted because her desires were always denied. Trapped in a blackened world with only a teddy bear to talk to, it was the perfect recipe for Osiris to manipulate her. He manipulated me because Halima is me. I was angry at that snake, not my inner child..
“No.” I answered, firm. “I’m not angry at you, Halima.”
“Are you telling me the truth?”
“Yes.” I caressed her damp hair with my palm, pulling her into our own hug. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Halima stiffened in my arms, then relaxed. Seconds afterward, her muffled sobs reverberated around us as she cried her heart out in anguish. I tightened my hold around her, giving her the freedom to cry without shame. Artemis moved closer to us, wrapping her arm around my shoulder, giving me her shoulder to lean on while the other rubbed Halima’s back.
It was a tender moment shared by my wolf, my inner child, and I.
Until the clacking of heels echoed around the space.
Artemis and I looked up to see a new contender approaching, her energy so poignant and dark that Halima’s cries transformed to frightful whimpers. Darkness danced around her form like court jesters obeying their queen, and a queen of darkness she was.
Lady Sanguine.
“Kiya, why must you constantly insist on struggling?” She asked, shaking her head. “We created this dark paradise for you to relax, and yet, like a rabid bitch in her cage, you want to leave?”
Chapter 76 – Artemis
“A world created by Osiris is a world I don’t want to be in.” I snapped back, rubbing soothing circles on
Halima’s arms.
Lady Sanguine let out a wicked cackle. “Yes, Osiris had a hand in enhancing this world, but this world is your creation, dear. Out of this black heaven, I was born, so you’ve created me as well. You forget that I’m a manifestation of your thirst for vengeance, a merger of both your pain and fury. Isn’t it marvelous to see the creations of the mind come to life?”
Artemis pulled me closer into her arms, tightening around me in protection. Lady Sanguine noticed this action and scoffed, rolling her eyes as she flipped her bone straight hair to her back.
“Relax. I will not harm my creator.” She smirked. “I love Kiya very much, Artemis. More than you do. I’m a hairline close to achieving victory over the people that harmed us because I had the courage to stop her pain at the source!”
“Killing people won’t solve anything!” Artemis shouted.
“Oh, murder solves a lot of things.” She smirked, wagging her finger. “Just wait. Our endgame is approaching, and we’ll welcome it with open arms, right Kiya?”
“No.” I’ve seen all that Lady Sanguine has done from murdering Odessa to kidnapping Neron. Hell, I might as well say I’ve done those things because she extends from my forbidden emotions. I pushed Halima into Artemis‘ arms before rising to my feet, glaring down at my darker side, scowling at me. “I want this madness
to end.”
Lady Sanguine raised an eyebrow. “Hmm? Are you going against me? Are you defending your abusers?”
“Listen, there are very few people I care about in this situation. Jonathan and the Lanes can suffer–that emotion I will own. I hold no remorse for them. However, what I won’t allow is for you to take over and force me back into the darkness. I don’t belong there, and you know that!”
“It’s the only way I can keep you safe, but I can’t do that if you’re being so fucking difficult!” Lady Sanguine huffed, running a hand through her hair. But she suddenly laughs again, her flaming eyes piercing through the darkness. “But, that’s alright, Kiya. You’re not leaving nor stopping me. You’ll just have the front–row seat to watch me kill both Jonathan and Neron. After that, the world is ours for the taking. You should thank me!”
“I rather die a thousand deaths than to have that future! And I won’t let you harm Neron!”
“Then, do something about it.” She snarled.
I did. I tackled her to the ground, therefore beginning our battle.
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