Artemis, Virgin Goddess of the Hunt

“Look Out!” Loki shouted as a spider warrior fell from the ceiling.

“Shit!” Luke thought failing to dodge.

Splat!

Both the God of Siring and the Goddess of Tricksters stood amazed as the giant spider was impaled into the wall.

“Gungnir!” Luke shouted in amazement.

“Aw shit, don’t die on me just yet,” Loki said rushing over to the pinned creature.

Luke watched confused until Loki pulled a dagger out of thin air and stabbed the fey-monster in the head.

“Ooooh ya, that’s the good stuff,” Loki purred.

Luke shuttered as he recalled that warlocks gathered their soul energy by killing. Steeling himself, Luke scanned the ceiling for more threats.

“This isn’t good, this location is compromised. The Los Angeles Life Coven is attacking both Rebecca’s mansion and Fertility Super Center,” Luke said looking around.

“Da, of course, the LA coven would attack here. It’s their territory. You said it yourself; you became a wizard at their Sunny Day Mall Breeding Day Ritual,” Loki said rolling her eyes.

“Whatever, let’s keep moving,” Luke said summoning ‘Gungnir’ back to his hand.

“I was hoping to rally some help here at the mall, but it’s full of enemies …” Luke said before closing his eyes in concentration.

“Then let’s leave,” Loki said confused by Luke’s pause.

“I can feel there are a dozen of my baby mamas in the Fertility Super Center. But I fear if I use my ‘Daddy Jump’ power to teleport to them it would be a trap,” Luke said before opening his eyes.

Loki studied Luke’s face before letting out a deep sigh.

“Fine, let’s rescue your captured women before we help the ones stuck in your mansion … I could use the ‘**** Energy’ anyway,” Loki said waddling down the hall.

The two demigods slowly made their way deeper into the supercenter. They killed a few more warriors on the way but didn’t find anyone else.

“Wait,” Loki said grabbing Luke’s arm.

Luke looked where Loki was pointing. Nothing was there.

“Do I have to do everything?” Loki said annoyed.

Loki’s hand glowed blue. A second later a rune trap appeared glowing the same color as Loki’s hand.

“There’s a trap expert here. Maybe even a demi-god, by the looks of the craftmanship,” Loki said examining the rune trap.

Luke considered the potential gods who would side with the L.A. Life Coven and be experts in traps.

“Artemis, maybe?” Luke whispered.

“Well, whoever put these traps down, they’re no match for me,” Loki said destroying the trap with a wave of her hand.

‘Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt’ frowned as her traps were being deactivated one by one.

The goddess looked at her prisoners bunched together in her rune prison.

“Freya was right, Luke did enslave Loki. Only he … I mean she … could deactivate my traps so quickly,” Artemis mused.

“Huntress,” a voice whispered in Artemis’s head.

The Goddess turned to one of her spirit beasts.

“Report, Falcon,” Artemis thought to her summoned falcon familiar.

“The spider warriors you contracted to patrol the halls are not reporting in,” Falcon thought to Artemis.

“Change of plans. Luke Smith isn’t alone. Loki is with him. Call all remaining warriors back. No need to feed Luke’s pet warlock more mana,” Artemis thought to her familiar.

The Goddess turned back to the prisoners.

“Luke Smith is coming to save his partners, as Freya predicted,” Artemis thought eyeing the dozen heavily pregnant women.

“I hate Male Sorcerers,” Artemis thought in disgust.

“Eventually all Life Wizards go mad and start fucking everything,” Artemis whispered as she thought of her father Zeus.

“Wait, let me. I have enough mana for a proxy now,” Loki said before clapping her hands together.

Pop!

A second female Loki appeared, but thinner than the first. Luke noticed she was naked, but he didn’t mind.

“Dam, I was hoping for a male avatar. At least she isn’t preggers,” the first (pregnant) Loki said in relief.

“How many avatars can you make and control?” Luke asked examining the new Loki.

“With enough mana, I can control four or five. Which is more than other gods. Most have trouble focusing after three,” the pregnant Loki said proudly.

Luke didn’t mention his ‘Lesser Omnipresence’ ability allowed him to control 50+ avatars without breaking a sweat.

“Do they all come out naked?” Luke asked recalling all his avatars appearing with clothes.

“Hey, I was stuck in prison for hundreds of years. Give me a little time to replenish my mana,” the thin Loki said defensively.

“... No, most avatars are summoned with a uniform. Like the silly robes, your avatars come with,” the pregnant Loki said pointing to her blue outfit.

Luke ignored the jibe.

“Regardless, why did you spend the mana to make an avatar? Damage to one avatar is duplicated to all other avatars. That’s dangerous in a fight,” Luke said remembering his combat experiments.

“True, but I’m not taking both avatars into a fight. … You don’t expect me to run around and fight with this,” the pregnant Loki said pointing to her giant belly.

Luke blushed before regaining his composure.

“My tutors seem to fight just fine with their heavier figures,” Luke said with a cough.

“Well, I’m not a Life Witch stuck getting pregnant to gather mana. And even if I was, I prefer getting close and personal. Fighting with just spells is not my style,” the thin Loki said poking Luke in the chest.

The main Luke and the thin Loki left a Luke avatar and the pregnant Loki in an empty office room.

“You sure you want to keep your attention split between two avatars? You’re new at being a god,” the thin Loki asked adjusting her blue robes.

“I will be fine. We are heading into a trap. Where the enemy has multiple high-value hostages. I can’t be worrying about the safety of your pregnant body,” Luke said gripping his spear tighter.

Thin Loki couldn’t repress a smile but quickly recovered. He left an avatar behind for her.

“You sure this is the only thing you can summon,” Loki said adjusting her outfit.

“Yes, but I can change it after it’s summoned,” Luke said thinking of his ‘Alteration’ ability.

“Great, make it black,” Loki said tightening her robes close to her thin figure.

The God of Siring and the God of Tricksters crouched in a private office. They were listening through the wall adjacent to the cafeteria.

“You sure they’re in there?” Loki asked for the second time.

“Yes, I can sense they’re there,” Luke whispered back.

Bang!

Both demigods jumped up. But before they could step back.

Crash!

A giant red ghost bear burst through the wall. Luke was pushed back but stayed on his feet. He didn’t see Loki anywhere in the room.

“Well shit. ... I fought Dr. Blood. ... What’s a giant ghost bear got on me?” Luke thought summoning ‘Gungnir’ to his hand.

The bear locked eyes with Luke.

“Holt, Kuma,” a gruff female voice shouted.

The bear moved away from the hole in the wall.

“Come, Luke Smith. I am eager to meet the man who took my uncle’s city,” the voice called out.

“And bring your pet warlock. But keep her under control. I hate tricks. And we wouldn’t want any of your lady friends to get hurt,” the voice said ominously.

Luke kept his anger suppressed as he spotted each of his women. The young couples: Penny + Ashely, Katie + Brinda, Jesse + Ellin, Lilly + Susy sat close together. While his more mature partners: Holly, Rose, Amber, and Tai stood protectively around the younger women.

“What have you done to them,” Luke said turning to Artemis.

“Nothing, I just put them in a simple runic bubble. They haven’t been hurt and are quite safe. They can’t hear us, so please ignore them,” Artemis saidcalmly.

“What do you want?” Luke asked narrowing his eyes at the huntress.

“I want to fulfill my debt to Glinda the Good, without ending up knocked up. You have a nasty reputation Mr. Grand Breeder,” Artemis said smiling.

“I’m not like Zeus,” Luke said hotly.

“Maybe … but tell me. How many female friends do you have that aren’t carrying your babies?” Artemis asked.

Luke didn’t answer.

Artemis chuckled reading Luke’s face.

“That’s what I thought. You’re the God of Siring. … and I am the Goddess of Hunting and Chastity. I need to be careful around men like you,” Artemis said tapping her flat belly.

Suddenly Artemis’s hands blurred as she strung an arrow and pointed it at Loki.

“That’s far enough trickster. Step back and stand by your master. The adults are talking,” Artemis said in a voice more animal than human.

Luke noticed all the ghostly animal-familiars glow brighter. They all tracked Loki as she stepped back to Luke’s side.

“Again, I ask, what do you want? Or what does Glinda want?” Luke asked.

“Simple … Glinda doesn’t want to be your **** Mr. Jailor. Nor does she want to fight the other Gods. She can’t help that her leadership has created the strongest Life Coven on Earth. Is that so much to ask,” Artemis said smiling.

Luke could then see the Huntress had extended K-9 teeth.

“I didn’t want to be the “Divine Jailor”. I just wanted to be left alone,” Luke said raising his hands and dropping his spear.

‘Gungnir’ didn’t fall to the floor. Instead, it stood floating in place. Artemis relaxed a little at the gesture.

“Excellent. That is great news. But why didn’t you argue your case and reject the job as Earth’s Enslaver? … The Arbiter is all-knowing and all-powerful. He knew you were a ‘Jinn Binder’ capable of binding gods before giving you your mantle. Why didn’t you let the Arbiter settle your disputes with the other gods? … That’s his job,” Artemis said in a rush.

“I … I’m sorry, I didn’t pick this fight. I just want my family back,” Luke said defensively.

“Oh, you think you’re justified? Glinda has helped the United States become one of the most prosperous nations in the world. She has brought magical stability after the other War Gods ran around enjoying World War I and World War II. What have the other level 30 Soul Casters done with their divine powers? … not much … But now … Glinda’s the bad guy for causing the 1950 baby boom? Get real,” Artemis said angrily.

Artemis stared daggers at Luke.

"Did she just imply Glinda is a War God?" Luke thought to himself.

“I clearly don’t have all the facts. But no one knows what the Arbiter would have done for me if I was attacked by all the gods,” Luke said trying to defuse the situation.

“Please consider my perspective. I was one of Glinda’s Breeding Day victims. And my co-workers and I formed a coven out of fear of the L.A. Life Coven’s power and its breeding methods,” Luke said pointing to his women trapped in the rune bubble.

“… Little good it did us. I was later cursed by a Royal Siren and only barely avoided being enslaved by a Jinn Queen. But my trouble didn’t end there. Fate demanded I duel with three Noble Jinn ‘Mind Casters’. … ONLY for that to lead to my **** because I disrupted Jinn politics,” Luke said calmly.

“Don’t you think, I deserve some rest after all that? … Instead … I was the only one on Earth that stepped up to defend the 20,000 Sirens being attacked by Dr. Blood. … But even after saving Atlantis, I am seen as a threat to the other demigods. … Don’t blame me for avoiding conflict with 100 gods who fear Jinn-Binders. I accepted the shit job of ‘Divine Jailor’ because it was the lesser of two evils. I would gladly do everything to avoid harm befalling my family,” Luke said looking toward his baby mamas.

Artemis was silent for a long moment before speaking.

“You’re better than my father. I give you that. He never tried to defend his actions,” Artemis said sourly.

Everyone was silent for a long moment.

“So, what now?” Luke asked.

“Now we make a trade. I give you your women back, and you promise never to have sex with me. … Or …we fight. But I don’t think you and yours will leave unscathed,” Artemis said pulling back on her bow.

“What about your debt to Glinda?” Luke asked.

“I have confronted you, challenged your past actions, and shared my views on your dumb job and my love for Glinda. I have paid my debt to my friend.” Artemis said coolly.

“Then you have my word. I promise to never have sex with you … if you release my women and … never attack my coven again,” Luke said raising his right hand.

“You have a deal,” Artemis said raising her right hand in turn.