Artemis the Chosen by M. Jade Glock (ebook reader TXT) 📕

question.

Artemis set the book down on the back seat, started his car, and began to drive.

"Where are we going?" Erica felt compelled to ask.

"My place," he said flatly.

"You aren't taking me to Olympus or anything are you?"

Under normal circumstances Artemis would have laughed at the notion, but he answered her with a snarky attitude that matched the tension in his muscles.

"Yes I'm going to take you through the clouds where you will meet the others. No, that's not how things work. I line in a house, just like you do."

Erica withdrew from him and tried to shrink into her seat.

"You don't seem to grasp how important this is." His voice didn't rise in volume but it might as well have.

"I'm sorry that I don't completely grasp your vague comments and explanations. Maybe if you would explain things a bit better then I would understand more," she retorted.

"The fact that the entire human race is at the hands of a vampyre doesn't seem important to you?"

Erica didn't say anything, couldn't say anything.

"Loos," Artemis continued. "The first vampyre, our ancestor, my father, is planning a massive carnage and he must be stopped. He's going to gather together all of the vampyres and enlist them into his cause. They are going to take the lives of every human being, young, old, men, women, and children."

"What will they gain by doing this?" Erica was confused.

"Isn't it obvious? To repopulate the earth with vampyres," Artemis explained.

"That won't work though, those vampyres aren't like me, they crave blood. Getting rid of humans altogether would force them to turn on each other."

"Do you think my father cares about other lives other than his own? That's just what he wants, to see everyone turn on each other because it was his idea and he made it happen."

Erica didn't know what to say or do. She couldn't see how she was different from other vampyres and what made her special from the rest of them.

"According to the book you're to have the mark of Artemis tattooed somewhere on your body."

He was trying to be more civil towards her, though she acted like a dunce. Erica didn't say anything. Artemis looked at her for a second. He panicked.

"Please tell me you have this tattoo, if you don't then I have the wrong vampyre!" He exclaimed.

"Calm down, I have it." Erica said exasperated.

Artemis breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because it's something that I don't like to talk about okay?" Erica was becoming irritated with his badgering.

"What? Is it in an embarrassing place or-"

"It was branded into me okay?" Erica shouted the words at him.
Chapter IV

"Branded?" Artemis asked, disbelieving.

"Yes, I woke up screaming in the middle of the night as it mysteriously burned into my flesh."

Artemis winced. "How old were you?"

"Thirteen," Erica said, shortly. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

The care became silent and was so for the rest of the drive. They came to a modest abode that Erica wasn't expecting at all.

"You thought I would be living in a mansion didn't you?" Artemis asked.

"Pardon the expression, but yeah, I thought you would be living somewhere that best fit a god." Erica admitted.

Artemis lead her to the front door and unlocked it with a key on a key ring that his car keys rested on as well. Opening the door he let Erica walk inside before he did. When Erica and Artemis both entered Artemis locked the door behind him, Erica notices and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm being cautious," he explained with a smile.

She didn't question him further, it was a logical explanation. He lead her to a spare bedroom that he had set up, seemingly just for her.

"Were you expecting me to be staying here for a while?" Erica asked, skeptically.

"Let us just say that I was being prepared for a situation such as this," He smiled as he looked into her face.

He stared into her eyes for what felt like forever. Erica averted her gaze, unable to meet his intense one. He made her nervous and her heart raced. He began to lean in towards her. Erica froze at his nearness. He went to brush his lips against hers. He breathed his hot breath on her mouth.

"What do you think about a vampyre and a god being together?" He asked as he completely closed the gap between them.

A few seconds went by and he pulled back, staring into her eyes again.

"It will never work," she said, breathless.

"Why not?" He prompted.

"Because you'll be dead." Erica grabbed both .45's from their holsters, pointing one at Artemis' stomach and the other at his forehead.

"Erica, what are you doing?" Artemis showed fear in his eyes.

"You're going to keep up that facade ever after I kill you?" She challenged.

Artemis' face made the transition from fear to an evil smirk.

"What gave me away?"

"Other than the fact that you reek of vampyre?"

His expression wavered slightly but he maintained his smirk in the end.

"Impressive, I must congratulate you on your keep detective skills." Artemis clapped, mockingly.

He then swiped the guns away from his body. Erica reacted a fraction of a second too slow in pulling the trigger making the bullets fly into the floor, the ammunition made holes in the carpet. As she took time to recover Artemis grabbed one of her weapons and held her to his chest, the gun pointed at the side of her head.

"You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" Artemis said, being condescending.

"Hardly, I like the challenge." Erica spoke.

Erica ducked away from the gun, crouched, and swung her leg out, knocking him to the floor. In an instant and without missing a beat, she grabbed the other gun that hung off of her belt, pointing it at Artemis' chest only to be met with her other gun turned onto her own chest.

"Oh my, what a predicament we're in," he said, feigning surprise.

"I'll say," she returned.

They stood there for a full minute.

"Join me, Erica, you can be my queen, second most powerful being on the entire earth." Artemis tried persuading her to his side.

"You promise much, Artemis, but by experience I know what a liar you are."

Artemis' eyes narrowed.

"You aren't a god, you're but a cursed man who struggles to be greater than he is."

"You are the same as me." Artemis retorted.

"Unfortunately, I am," she said, sadness filling her eyes.

Without warning, shots were fired. It echoed throughout the building and slightly surprised both of them because of the intensity in volume.

Blood began to pout out of Artemis' mouth.

"I guess this is the end," he said as his life slipped away from him.

"Indeed," Erica answered back.

Blood began to appear on Erica's chest. She fell to her knees.

It is over,

Erica thought. I will no longer be a vampyre.

A pain filled her and darkness began to cloud her vision. She waited patiently for death to claim her body. She turned to Artemis and saw that he was dead.

"My mission is complete," Erica smiled despite the pain.

Darkness finally enveloped her and all pain left her, now she felt nothing.

Chapter V

Erica lie motionless on the floor next to her ancestor and father of all vampyres. Her heart beat faded and there seemed to be no life left in her, but the goddess had been watching over her.

Justice had been served in such a way that the goddess couldn't possibly let Erica die this way. Appearing on earth, in the very same room as the female vampyre, she crossed to her.

"Get up, young vampyre. You are no longer a monster, but a human, and I bestow to you, the gift of mortality." The goddess said into the air.

Erica's chest began to rise and fall with regular breaths. Her heart beat was restored to her. One last thing that the goddess did was take Erica's body and transport it back to her apartment.

In just a few seconds the goddess restored and fixed her apartment, laying Erica to rest in her bed. She implanted memories into her head so that she wouldn't remember the pain of being different, she put in their place the memories of growing up with a loving human family.

"Use your gift well. You have served your earth and for that, I spare you and give you a second chance."

The goddess disappeared from sight and went back to where she came from.

Erica stirred from her sleep and opened her eyes. She sat up in bed and rubbed her head.

"Oh man, what a weird dream that was."

And that, my friends, is the end of our vampyric tale.

Imprint

Text: M. Jade Glock
Images: Deviantart
Editing: M. Jade Glock
Publication Date: 12-19-2012

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