Twins of the Hunt - Book 1: The Golden Hind ✔️

Chapter 20: Apparently, Dad Bribes People Now

1323 words

When I woke up, Dad, Zoë, Raiden, Agro, the hind, and I were all on an airplane. Don't ask how Dad managed to get the hind past airport security, because I had no idea. The hind kept shifting between looking like her true self and looking like a tiny Chihuahua. Gods, the Mist was weird.

I was sitting next in the middle of three seats with Agro at my feet, Raiden on my left in the window seat, and Dad in the aisle seat on my right. Across the aisle, in another three seats, sat Zoë and the hind. Zoë was sitting in the window seat, while the hind was lying very awkwardly across the remaining two seats.

"Oh, hey," Raiden said, seeing that I was awake.

"What happened?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"Well, after you collapsed, we all took a taxi to the airport in Seattle," Raiden explained. "Your dad bought 4 tickets for a direct Delta flight to New York. We had a bit of a problem at the security checkpoint. You were unconscious and Agro and the deer were the size of a hind, so your dad had to use the Mist to make Agro and the deer look like Chihuahuas and make you look like you were actually awake. Then, we all got on an airplane. That's it. We're almost there, actually. think we're over Pennsylvania right now."

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"About 7 hours," Raiden said calmly.

"What?!" I exclaimed, jerking my head forward so fast it spun.

I suddenly became aware that there were bandages wrapped around my right eye. I touched the bandages gingerly; they were still wet with blood.

"Your dad tried to heal you, but he couldn't," Raiden said, watching me. "He tried feeding you ambrosia, but still no luck, so he did the next best thing and wrapped you up in bandages."

"Why couldn't he heal it?" I asked.

"No idea," Raiden shrugged.

"What happened after we left you?" I asked, suddenly remembering the events at the Needle.

"Well, I managed to knock all of the security guards unconscious, actually," Raiden said.

"What?"

"Yeah, I know," Raiden said. "I still can't believe it either. The person behind the desk had started to call the police when your dad arrived. He managed to smooth the whole thing over with some Mist manipulation and money bribery. Then, we came up to the top to find you."

"Okay," I said. "Thanks for telling me."

"No problem."

"Kid," Dad said suddenly. "I need to know what happened while I was gone. Where did your brother go? What happened at the top? Raiden's filled me in on what she knows, so don't bother with that part of the story."

At the mention of my twin, my heart was ripped in half again, and anger filled my soul once again.

"He joined Kronos," I said quietly.

Dad gripped his armrests very hard at my words, and Raiden spat out the sip of water she at just taken and sputtered, "He did what?!"

"I SAID HE JOINED KRONOS!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Ainsley, it's okay," Dad said soothingly, though his expression was a mix of anger, hurt, and worry.

"IT IS NOT OKAY!" I yelled. "HE PERMANENTLY SCARRED ME AND BETRAYED OUR WHOLE FAMILY!"

"I realize that kid," Dad said wearily. "I understand that you're hurting, and I know it's hard, but I need you to explain what happened."

So, I did. I told him of my battle with Aidan, how Eros had shown up and pierced me with his arrow, how I had terrified him and broken his bow, and how Aidan had seemed to be in a trance and not care about me at all.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Dad said gently, leaning over and giving me a side hug.

I was touched. Dad had not called me 'sweetheart' since I was 6. He only ever did it when he knew I was hurting.

An hour later, our plane landed at JFK Airport. We got off the plane, made our way through the airport, and Dad rented a van so we could all fit in. Zoë into the front passenger's seat with Snow sitting at her feet; Raiden, Agro, and I took the middle row; and the hind had the very back row.

"Where are we going?" Raiden asked, as Dad pulled out of the airport onto Highway 678.

"The Empire State Building," Zoë answered.

"Why the Hades are we going there?" I asked, confused.

"That's where we'll find Artemis," Dad explained. "Mount Olympus is anchored above it."

"Um...okay," I said, trying to picture a mountain above a skyscraper.

"When we get there, Ainsley, you'll tell the guy at the front desk in the lobby that you need to get to the 600th floor," Dad said, as though this were perfectly normal. "When he says there's no such floor, show him the hind and explain the situation. Then, he'll give you his keycard. Once he does, go into the elevator, make sure there's no one in there, and then swipe his keycard through the scanner on the wall. That's how we'll get up to Olympus."

"Okay," I said, trying to remember all of the info.

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When we got to the Empire State Building, I went up to the desk. As it was late on a Friday evening, there weren't many people in the lobby.

"I need to get to the 600th floor," I said to the guy behind the desk.

"No such floor, kid," the guy said, without looking up from his book.

I gestured at the hind. "But we need to return Artemis's sacred hind."

The guy looked up from his book, annoyed. "You mean the Chihuahua? That's not a deer, kid."

I was furious. After everything I had gone through; after Aidan's betrayal; after Aidan scarring me, there were still obstacles blocking my path. Anger bubbled up in my gut again.

"Give me your stupid keycard!" I shouted, slamming my fist down on the marble desk so hard it cracked and glaring at the guy behind the desk.

The guy, seeing the expression on my face, suddenly looked terrified.

"H-here," the guy stammered, handing me his keycard.

I snatched the keycard from his hand and stormed to the elevator, pushing the button down so that the doors stayed open for the rest. Once everyone was inside and the doors were shut, I looked around and saw the scanner Dad had been talking about. I swiped the keycard through the scanner, and the elevator began to move upward.

When the doors opened, I stepped out and gasped. The elevator was floating 300 feet above Manhattan and in front of me, floating in the clouds was a mountain peak lined with palaces.

"Follow me," Dad said, and he walked out of the elevator, onto a barely visible walkway, and toward the mountain peak. On our up the mountain, we passed golden palaces, parks, and streets bustling with people. I was guessing that the people might be minor gods and other mythological creatures.

We walked up the slope. People stared at us as we passed; some whispered when they saw the hind. We arrived at the foot of some white marble steps. Dad led us up it, and then we entered the Hall of the Gods.

The blue ceiling high above glimmered with constellations. Around a central hearth, the thrones of the Olympians stood in a U-shape. The hall was the size of Madison Square Garden, and it made the Grand Central Station look like a look like a broom closet. Every throne was occupied, and I could feel the power crackling through the room.

"Go to her," Dad whispered to me.

I knew who he was talking about. I approached the throne on the third from the left, with the hind behind me. I stopped just in front of the throne and kneeled before the throne.

"Mother," I said, not daring to look up at my mother, Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt.