Chapter Sixteen

"Atlan was in Olympus?" I demanded.

Kallisto sank back below the water, peering up at me through the little waves that licked at my legs, and I noticed his fingers stroking the tops of my toes as if he were fascinated by those than the fact that the most wanted criminal in the universe was in Olympus.

Yes. Atlan big scary god. Kallisto chewing bone Anexius left for him, watch god come in and take papers. Kallisto explained, peering up through the water at me. I swallowed hard, trying to go through a list of things Zeus may have had that would be helpful to Atlan, but honestly I couldn't think of a thing and if Zeus knew Olympus was compromised, he would probably go on a purging rampage to ensure his own safety.

"This is bad." I whispered, more to myself than anyone else.

"What's bad?" Apollo asked, approaching me. I blinked and looked up as he approached, frowning curiously at me. Would telling Apollo be alright? He was prone to panic, yet another dislikable trait he'd gotten from his father. The last time he had a meltdown, he locked me up. I couldn't risk him doing that again and while he'd done so much for me, I was protecting him by doing this. Apollo, nor the other gods, could know that Atlan had appeared in Olympus.

"Nothing," I said after a moment, then smiled, "Kallisto's hungry is all." Kallisto tilted his head and Apollo blinked, then scowled.

"Right, I forgot they eat like six times their weight. Greek or Atlantean, merpeople are all the same. Food this, food that. It's any wonder they're not so fat they sink." He grumbled, heading out of the pool house, probably to fetch Kallisto food, which made him perk up and swim to the pool edge to peer over it after Apollo.

Food?

"Kallisto," I said, making him look up at me, "Do you think maybe you know anything about the papers? Where they were at? What might've been on them?" Kallisto wrinkled his nose adorably, making me shift one leg over the other to avoid him curiously getting near my crotch. Kallisto appeared to have a touching habit as he'd returned to pulling and pinching my toes and feet.

Kallisto cannot read Greek letters. Kallisto cannot read. Weird little markings don't feed him. They stupid... But papers looked different from other papers.

"How so?" I asked. Kallisto paused twiddling my toes to frown at them for a moment, brow knitting together as he concentrated on the memory of the papers, then looked up at me.

Looked softish. Very flimsy. Markings were very fancy, swirly.

So, it was handwritten, I think. No one would really take their time to make the font on printed documents look elegant. It was strict cold business. And soft paper, flimsy...

"Did the paper have any special markings on it? Writing or otherwise?" I asked. Kallisto scowled.

Kind of. Little ridges on the edges. Is the paper that land monsters use for eating.

Eating...?

A napkin? Why would Atlan go out of his way to break into the fortress that was Olympus just to snag a napkin? I partially wondered if Kallisto explained it wrong or if there really was something on that napkin that Atlan needed. Either way, it couldn't be good.

"Kallisto, whatever was written on that paper is enough to have Atlan breaking into Olympus to get it. Even worse, sending a Kirati to destroy Zeus's temple? It's got to be important." I murmured thoughtfully. Kallisto didn't seem too particularly interested, not that I blamed him. He was in a whole new world and wanted to explore, that and the fact that politics probably didn't interest him. He was a merman. He was easily pleased.

A ripple of power made me tense and Kallisto bared his teeth at the door to the pool house as I stood up and turned to see the door open, expecting to see Apollo returning with a meal, only to find Ares looking grim.

"Ares?" I asked.

"We have a problem," Ares responded, pausing to glance past me, raising an eyebrow at Kallisto, who hissed and flashed his teeth, but wisely stayed behind me at my feet in the water, "I see you found your merman. You wouldn't mind leaving him for a bit, would you?"

"What's wrong? Is it Teslius?" I asked, concerned. Ares nodded and just made a gesture with his finger to indicate that I follow him. I turned to Kallisto, who looked up at me with an annoyed look on his face.

"I have to go. When Apollo returns, he'll bring you food. If he asks where I'm at, just say I'm with Aphrodite at the market place and I'll be back soon." I informed. Kallisto cocked his head at me, reaching over the side of the pool to touch my feet.

Little god not be happy about Anexius going places.

"No, but I have to do this. Teslius is my brother." I answered, even though a bitter part of me still wanted to make Teslius suffer for what he'd done to Dexius. Although, I suppose it was safe to say that Teslius already paid for his mistakes. The thought made me wince and I turned back to Ares, giving him a nod. He came forward, touched my shoulder and we vanished from the pool house, teleporting to Ares's home on the other side of the mountain.

His home was fenced off by a wrought iron fencing that was lined by hedges, several dog toys lay sprawled around in the bright green grass, several rows of pines trailing the sides of his home. An old antebellum mansion with wrap around porches, and a huge front door that was opened with Aphrodite standing there, looking uneasy, despite the three large Rottweiler dogs sitting around her feet, who were all whimpering and rubbing their noses on her legs.

"Is he still in his room?" Ares asked as we approached her. Aphrodite nodded, rubbing at her arms.

"I had to soundproof the room. Otherwise, Zeus would know he was there." She responded. Ares nodded, leaning over to give her a kiss on the temple and a murmured "thank you" before he gestured for me to follow him inside. We came inside the foyer, a gigantic room big enough for a party that involved all the gods of Olympus, and traveled up a wide staircase, passing several other dogs that milled around as if everything was normal. We even passed a couple of hellhounds that stood near the top of the stairs, lowering their large black heads to Ares, and he patted one on the head, giving him a little scratch behind the ear before continuing on up another staircase.

We came around to a hallway and followed it to a heavy wooden door at the end of the hall, and I could feel the power pulsing around the room, making me frown as I looked at Ares.

"Ares, what's going on? Is he alright?" I asked. Ares paused, cocking his head, almost as if he were listening to something I wasn't. A dog trotted past us, pausing to give Ares a timid little lick on the hand before scampering off. We watched the dog leave and I looked at Ares, who was staring after her still.

"Her name is Missy," He said, and at my weird look, Ares shrugged, "Aphrodite named her. Anyway, I found Missy when I was riding through New Mexico, last year. It was almost a hundred degrees out and I remembered it was so hot, I wasn't even wearing my riding gear. I pulled over to grab some water at a gas station and I heard a crowd shouting. When I got near, I saw this tiny little pitbull in a cage with two other dogs, a couple of Rottweilers hopped up on steroids, and the crowd was taking bets on how long she'd last in the pen and she wasn't doing so hot when I showed up." He made a gesture at his throat.

"She had a choke collar on so tight it was digging into her throat. She was infested with fleas and heartworms. Even if I called the cops, they would've been forced to put her down. When I knocked out the humans and killed the other two dogs, she tried to maul me, but she wasn't doing it because she was evil or because she was a monster. She was doing it because she was scared. She had to fight for her life. What was left of it anyway. When I brought her home, Aphrodite told me there was no way we could hang onto her. She attacked three of the other dogs and would slink away under the coffee tables and sit there and growl. She even bit Aphrodite." He added. I stared at him, confused by the story, and my heart breaking for the poor dog.

"Anyway," Ares continued, "It's taken her an entire year to get to the point where she'll give me even a lick on the hand. Every time I try to reach for her, she'll snarl and run away. The point I'm trying to make here is that people, just like dogs, just like any animal really, will react defensively. Poseidon and Heracles really screwed Teslius up. I just want you to keep Missy's story in mind when I let you in there. I can't go in because he won't let me."

Won't let him? Now that worried me. Anything that kept Ares away was dangerous.

Ares gave me a nod and stepped back as I opened the door and stepped into the room, pulling up short. The bedroom was probably beautiful at some point in time with gold and brown coloring in the soft plush rug laid over hardwood floors, an antique vanity and armoire set, a table and a couple of chairs, a massive four poster bed. The wood was in splinters, the sheets and curtains torn up, the rug cast aside against the wall, anything glass smashed to pieces, and bloody footprints led me to the bathroom. A master bathroom with a bathtub beside a window that looked out over a gorgeous backyard. Everything in the bathroom was destroyed, and the mirrors were all smashed, more blood trailing from those and the smears on the wall to the shower case that was settled in a niche on the other side of the bathroom.

A lump formed in my throat and I struggled to swallow it down as I quietly stepped past the glass, approaching the shower case, expecting the worst. And I wasn't surprised, not really.

Teslius was curled up into a tight little ball against the furthest corner of the shower case, his knees drawn to his chest, head resting on them, arms wrapped around his legs. He was healed of the damage at Zeus's place, but he now had wounds from destroying the room. Gashes on his legs and legs, blood soaked jeans and a t-shirt that he appeared to have tried to rip off.

"Teslius." I murmured, coming into the doorway. Teslius instantly tensed and he jerked his head up to stare at me with wild white eyes, fear whitening his features. I took a step in, careful of the glass from the broken shower door, but Teslius screamed in horror and seemed to try and bury himself further into the corner of the shower case, breaking off into a round of heart wrenching sobs.

"Stop! Leave me alone! Get away from me!" He screamed. I went still, swallowing again.

"Teslius, it's me, Anexius. I'm not going to hurt you-"

"Liar," Teslius shouted breathlessly, eyes darting around the shower case anxiously, "That's a lie! You-You're the one who trapped us in the Source! You're the one who put us in the dark for nine thousand years!" I frowned.

"I won't deny that," I responded, making him choke on another sob, "And I won't apologize for it either... Teslius, I did what I did because you hurt me. You hurt Dexius and you knew it would hurt me, but you did it anyway." Teslius sniffled helplessly.

"W-What? Who?" He managed. I glared at him, irritated now and Teslius sensed it, because he quickly hugged himself and curled tighter into himself.

"Dexius," I snapped impatiently and Teslius flinched, "Dexius! The Atlantean prince that you knew I was planning to make my consort. You knew I was going to take him into my home and keep him there. You knew I was in love with him and you played along with our siblings in their stupid sick joke of torturing Dexius and killing him so I couldn't have him and don't you dare tell me you don't remember him." Teslius trembled violently, his voice shaking as he looked around the shower case, avoiding my eyes.

"I had no idea you were involved with the Atlantean prince!"

"Okay, that's a fucking lie."

"It's not," Teslius cried helplessly, uncurling to turn and face me now, his eyes red and puffy from crying and voice hoarse from screaming, "I had no idea you were with the Atlantean prince! I know of him because Vinion came to Ulenon and I asked if we wanted to go see the prince and I wanted to go, but Ulenon told me to stay put. He said he had a bad feeling about this, so I listened to him because I always listen to him..." Teslius broke off into a round of screaming sobs and I winced, but his words tore through me.

Teslius wasn't involved either? But that couldn't be right. All of my siblings had been involved, and if not, they knew what was happening. That was what I had been told, what I found out through asking other people, nymphs and faeries and other gods. With so many similar stories, surely it had to be the truth, especially against Teslius's story. But something about the way Teslius told his story...

No doubt Vinion would've been the one to recruit them, especially Ulenon, who was always eager to jump on a chance to spend quality time with Vinion. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the two had more than just your average sibling relationship. And Teslius worshipped Ulenon. He'd done anything Ulenon had asked, followed him everywhere, went along with everything he said.

And now, because of Ulenon, Teslius was...

"Teslius," I said softly and Teslius whimpered in response as he hid his face against his knees, "What happened that day Vinion came to you?" Teslius sniffed tearfully, wiping at his eyes, but it did nothing to cease the tears streaming down his face.

"She showed up around noon," He answered softly, "She asked us to come with her to see the prince. She said something about some celebration for him and Ulenon told me I had to stay behind. He bribed me by saying that one of the mother whites was going to have her pups soon, so I went swimming instead... When I got in the water, the sharks weren't preparing for the birth of pups, they were antsy. They were gathering more and more, even from different packs and I was confused, so I followed them and I saw something in the water, but there was no way I could get near them. Feeding frenzies can be dangerous even to gods."

"You didn't even try to investigate afterwards?" I demanded. Teslius flinched.

"I couldn't. Ulenon was heading back to the house and I didn't want to be caught disobeying him, so I went back."

"You let them...!" Anger overrode my calm and I started across the shower case to him. Teslius screamed bloody-murder and scrambled out of my reach, running around me and sprinting out of the shower case. I cursed and ran after him, nearly stomping on the shattered glass, which Teslius ran right over, like it wasn't even there.

An instant later, I remembered Ares's story. Teslius was having a mental break down. He couldn't feel the pain from the glass, and if he did, it was probably a mild relief to what he was probably feeling, something that no one should feel, no matter how angry at Teslius I was. I shouldn't be, shouldn't bother, because no matter how angry I was, it wouldn't bring Dexius back and it certainly wouldn't make him love me.

Right now, Teslius was the one in pain. The brother he loved so much, the brother he worshipped, had betrayed him and left him for the worst kind of torture at the hands of his enemies. Now he was terrified and hurt and confused.

"Teslius, wait!" I protested as I ran after him into the bedroom. Teslius grabbed up one of the chairs and threw it at me, but I ducked and it smashed into the doorframe, exploding into splinters around me. I cursed and went for Teslius again, who screamed and tried to throw the sheets at me, but I cast them aside and managed to snag his wrist.

"No! No! Get off me! Let go of me! Please, stop! Stop!" Teslius shrieked, moving to punch me, but I caught his fist and jerked him against me, my arms going around him tightly. He writhed and squirmed, choking on sobs and screams, trying to bite me and headbutt me, but I managed to squeeze him. It took me a moment to realize how weak he felt in my arms. He felt much thinner. I could feel his ribs through his clothes, notice the sickly pallor to his once olive skin tone, the dark purple circles under his bloodshot eyes. Even odd, I had never really noticed that Teslius was shorter than me, not by much, but enough to be noticeable to me for the first time.

And it struck me in that moment that I had never, ever, hugged any of my siblings, except Xenon, and even then Xenon was very careful about touching me. Even now, Xenon was hesitate about my touch and would only relent to a hug if the situation was dire and he felt as if either one of us was in danger.

This was the first time I had ever truly hugged Teslius, felt the tremors wracking his body, his tears soaking my shirt as he slumped in defeat in my arms. His legs gave out and I carefully lowered us to the floor so I was sitting on my knees and Teslius was slumped against me, sobbing as if his heart had been ripped out. I stroked his back gently, gulping back tears that burned and blurred my vision anyway.

"Ssh, Teslius. It's all right. I've got you. I'm right here." I whispered. Teslius wept until his voice was shot, until the last of his energy was spent on a last shuddering sob and he fell asleep against me, exhausted from his attack, exhausted from sobbing, and exhausted from fighting. I held him against me, brushing my fingers through his hair that was matted with oil and blood and sweat.

A moment later, the door to the bedroom opened and Ares came inside. Not once did he stop to look around the room to survey the damage or to chide me for forcing him to hold onto Teslius, nor did he even blame me for the wreckage. His cool blue eyes stared directly at Teslius.

"How long has he been asleep?" He asked. I cleared my throat before speaking, glancing down at Teslius before looking up at Ares.

"About an hour. I'd give him something to help, but I don't think the Heaven's Kiss will numb what happened to him." I murmured. Ares nodded grimly.

"It's going to take more than magic to make him feel better, Anexius. Teslius needs help. His horrors are still fresh wounds that no amount of magic will heal. He needs rest and therapy."

"Who's going to give therapeutic assistance to a Khalian?" I asked. Ares shrugged.

"We'll get to that bridge when we cross it. For now, let's lay him down and give him a chance to rest. I'll keep the barrier around his room to keep the other gods from finding out where he is. I have a couple of hellhounds on patrol at all times, so I'll know if anyone gets past them to get to him." He explained. I nodded my thanks, then looked down at Teslius, who had pretty much latched onto me and slept with his head against my stomach, lips parted slightly.

I stood up slowly, lifting Teslius up into my arms, still stunned by how light he was. He couldn't weigh more than a hundred and twenty pounds, definitely not healthy for someone of his stature.

I looked up, then blinked twice to make sure I wasn't crazy to see the bedroom back in order. The broken chairs were all repaired, sitting around the tiny table, vanity mirror fixed, bed and mattress returned to normal. It was if Teslius had never torn anything apart. I looked at Ares, who pretended to be interested in something out the window. I bit back a smile at his kindness and went to the bed to lay Teslius down, pulling the covers up over him.

He curled up into a fetal position and continued to sleep, twitching every so often as if, even in his dreams, he wasn't safe. A little sliver of fear went through me at that.

Teslius was weak. He was exhausted, fragile, broken. This was the perfect chance for Atlan to swoop in and do something horrible to him. Would he really risk exposure by striking Teslius now, in Ares's home? Something told me he wouldn't be that stupid, but he was apparently stupid enough to be roaming Olympus alone. Part of me didn't want to leave Teslius here, but I honestly couldn't think of a safer place than Ares's home. Ares and Aphrodite were one of the few gods who could tolerate hellhounds, massive beasts that would tear even a god apart if they wanted to.

Not to mention, Ares might be Teslius's best shot at some mental healing. Ares may be more of a dog whisperer than a god whisperer, but surely he could do something to make Teslius feel better.

"I'll be back in the morning," I told Ares at last, making a decision and Ares inclined his head, "But let me know if he has another episode. Thank you again, Ares. I appreciate this and I swear, if you ever need anything..." My voice trailed as Ares waved the offer away.

"I don't need anything. Not right now anyway. I have everything I need." He responded. I only nodded before he showed me out and I teleported back to Apollo's temple, outside in the garden to walk to the pool house. From outside, I could hear splashing around and a smile touched my lips as I entered the pool house to see Kallisto happily feeding on whatever was left of what Apollo had given him and judging from Kallisto excited splashing and devouring, it was something big.

I wisely waited until Kallisto was finished before he swam over to the edge of the pool, a strip of meat hanging out of his mouth before he slurped it up and licked his lips, his pupils dilated. He rested his chin on the edge of the pool and as I drew near, I heard a growling sound... No, not growling.

Purring.

"Enjoy your dinner?" I asked. Kallisto shivered, giving me an almost dreamy smile before he seemed to notice something and his smile faded as he slid back against the water, cocking his head at me.

Anexius looks disturbed. Very sad. Is because Kallisto ate two cows? Next time, I save you a piece. He added with a splash of his tail fin. I laughed quietly as I kicked my shoes off and sat on the edge of the pool. Kallisto flipped under the water, did a full circle, then swam back up to come up in front of my feet, which he spit water at.

"It's all right, Kallisto. I'm actually more of a vegetarian anyway."

I do not know that word.

"Someone who doesn't eat meat." I responded. Kallisto made a noise of agony and I laughed as he splashed at my legs before coming up out of the water enough to fold his arms over my knees, pretty much getting in my lap. I avoided looking at his incredibly ripped torso, though it was hard considering Kallisto had a body built to be touched. I swallowed as Kallisto pouted at me.

We are creatures of meat. You must eat meat.

"I'm not a fan of the constant chewing."

So just swallow.

"My throat doesn't expand to accommodate that much food, Kallisto. Besides, I like fruit." I added, and Kallisto made another noise, this time obviously disgusted with my diet. I withheld a laugh as Kallisto slid back off my lap and swam back through the water.

So why Anexius make sad face? Did you not go see brother? How is brother? He asked. A heavy rock sat in my stomach as I thought about Teslius and his episode. I'd never seen anyone react like that before and I wanted to help Teslius. The animosity I had felt for him earlier when he told me about Dexius had faded and my rationale mixed with protective instincts made me want to help him, to protect him and keep him safe.

"Teslius is... hurt," I said after a moment, and Kallisto frowned, swimming close to me now, "He's very scared and he doesn't know how to deal with it. He always had our older brother Ulenon there to help him. Even though they're twins, Ulenon was always the one who took charge and Teslius let him. He trusted Ulenon and Ulenon betrayed him. Now Teslius has no one to lean on. He needs me, and I don't know what to do to help. Even worse, Atlan's lurking in Olympus. He might be here to kill me and my siblings, to kidnap Hannibal and Arikos, to destroy Olympus, or all of the above." Kallisto's eyes flashed at that.

If big scary god touch Anexius, Kallisto kill him. He said, and I smiled warmly at that, watching pink color his cheeks, and he sank further down to the water until it was just over his mouth, his eyes downcast before flickering back up to stare at me seriously now. Family is difficult. Betrayal also very difficult. Very happen to Kallisto, family very honest. But Kallisto seen much in land creatures. It like poison.

"And I don't have the cure." I whispered, resting my elbow on my knee, chin in my hand. Kallisto swam closer until he was right up to my legs, looking up at me.

Yes. Anexius have cure. See, when Kallisto was very little, very very little, Kallisto also killed by net. Net have sharp point things and not let him get away. Kallisto's mum come save him and after, Kallisto very scared, but mum was there and she help Kallisto get better again. Cure of betrayal is to be honest, to be there, to help. He explained. I smiled at that, but a small pool of guilt returned knowing that Kallisto would never be able to return to his mother. My heart broke for him, but he didn't seem to bothered by it.

I sighed.

"I just wish everything was peaceful, normal, quiet. This near death and destruction lifestyle is going to send me to an early grave." I said.

"One can only hope, Anexius." I froze at the sound of a deep baritone voice I hadn't heard in centuries, the gravelly tone shaking me to the core. Kallisto's eyes widened before he hissed and bared his teeth. I shot to my feet and whirled around to see Atlan standing inside the door of the pool house, looking completely calm and at home. Horror balled up in my throat and I wanted to scream, but I couldn't make a sound. My entire body locked up, muscles frozen and nerves pinched, as I watched Atlan reach up to remove the hood of his military cloak, revealing sleek gold armor made of drakon skin and black leather. His dark hair fell in haphazard waves around his square jaw coated in four days worth of beard, his piercing silver eyes an exact match for Arikos's.

"I see you've made a new friend," Atlan said casually, pushing off the doorframe he'd been leaning on to come forward, looking at Kallisto, who hissed and growled, his tail fin splashing the water angrily, "I remember you from Zeus's aquarium. It's so wonderful to know that at least some of Anexius's humanity has remained." He approached me until he was standing right in front of me, and my chest hurt from holding my breath, and the pain only increased as Atlan reached up to cup my cheek, his thumb stroking my chin.

"Anexius," He murmured, tilting his head slowly, eyes flickering over my face to study me intently, "My precious Anexius..." Finally my breath left me in a gasp and I went to hit him, but he snatched my wrist, catching mean and slamming me flat on my back on the tiled pool side. Kallisto released an animalistic roar and Atlan shot him a dirty look before looking back down at me, his hand squeezing my throat, making me choke for air.

"I don't understand it," Atlan seethed down at me, his silver eyes flashing angrily, "I gave you everything you could have ever wanted. I gave you power, I gave you life, a home, a family, everything. Yet, as payment, you destroyed everything we worked so hard to build. You killed all of our worshipers, you imprisoned your own family." I wheezed until he loosened on my throat, enough for my first breath to come out as an angry shriek and I latched onto him.

I rolled us over so I was pinning him down, and judging by the way he went boneless, he wanted me to do this, so I grabbed his throat, not choking him, but squeezing hard enough to show him I had more power than he thought.

"How dare you ask me that question," I snarled venomously, "Because of you, Dexius is dead! He's trapped forever in Xandria! And that's not even the beginning! You ignored me for centuries in favor of my bastard siblings! You're an evil son of a bitch and I knew it! And you knew I was getting too close, that's why you killed him, you fucking bastard! You killed him to distract me from the fact that I was getting closer and closer to figuring out who you truly are! A fucking monster!" Atlan's eyes filmed with a glimmer of tears and he reached up to place his hand over mine on his throat.

"Anexius. You were getting to close," He murmured, making my eyes widen, "Too close to that prince. You were supposed to stay pure, to stay beautiful and perfect. All your other siblings dirtied themselves, even Xenon, even Drulius."

"Drulius?" I sputtered. Atlan's eyes darkened menacingly before he cleared his throat, gently removing my hand from his throat and touching his lips to my fingertips, sending shudders of revulsion through me.

"But you were perfect. So clean and refreshing and precious, innocent and loving. You were the god of healing and protection, friendship and loyalty. Everything you did was pure goodness, but that prince," He spat Dexius's title hard enough to make me flinch, "That prince was corrupting you, steering you off the path I made for you. I couldn't let him live, Anexius." Rage clouded my vision and I snarled, snapping my teeth in his face, but he suckerpunched me in the gut and a groan escaped me as I slumped over on my side and Atlan rose to his feet over me, his eyes flaring.

"Never attack me, Anexius. You are not a god of battle. Only one beast can match me and I hear he's in the vicinity," He paused to glance wistfully out the window toward the temple, "I'll have to come back for my pets some other time. Today, I have a single goal in mind..." His voice trailed as he turned to pin me with a menacing glare.

"To punish the demon who sank my Atlantis."

He reached for me, and a second later, Kallisto was leaning out of the water and sinking his fangs down into Atlan's arm. Atlan snarled and went to throw Kallisto off him, but Kallisto sank his teeth in to the bone and tore Atlan closer, snatching him into the water with a loud splash. Panicked, I scrambled to the water's edge, watching the blur of movement that was Atlan and Kallisto, followed by blood spreading like eerie tendrils through the water.

"Kallisto!" I cried. I couldn't even hear Kallisto's snarling and growling, just watched his tail fin hit the water as Atlan struggled to disengage himself from the merman's powerful jaws. And just when I thought it would never end, there was a sonic boom and bubbles flooded the surface of the pool, making my eyes wide in horror.

Unable to stand it anymore, I tore my shirt off over my head and leapt into the water. I waved my hand, conjuring a bubble of air and placing it over my mouth and nose, opening my eyes and seeing that I was surrounded by blood. A sob caught in my throat, but I withheld it. The bubble only allowed so much air and I had no time to waste it on crying.

I waved my hand out to clear the blood away, magic pulsing through it to clean the mess and second later, a strong grasp caught the back of my head by my hair. I snarled in pain and thrashed against the grip to no avail. I was hauled to the surface and thrown over the edge of the pool, gasping for breath before someone yanked me across the tiled floor and I slammed into a group of lounge chairs.

I panted hard, jerking my head up to see Atlan stalking toward me, sopping wet and leaving massive puddles in his wake. Horror gripped me when I realized Kallisto hadn't resurfaced. Atlan noticed my panic and smiled.

"I've decided to give the merman a taste of his own medicine." He assured me and I started to move toward the water, but Atlan caught me around the waist and threw me through one of the windows of the pool house. I went flying through shards of glass and literally bounced twice through the garden, each violent smash into the ground knocking the breath out of me. I panted hard, jerking my head up as Atlan came after me, only to pull up short as several pulses of power pierced the air.

Atlan's eyes darkened as he turned to me.

"I'm not going to kill you yet," He said in a deadly growl, "I'm going to kill each of your siblings first. Teslius, Xenon, then Lea and Zetnos. I'm going to imprison your pathetic hybrid mongrels and I will have my Xiphrus back. And when I do, only then, will I kill you slowly and painfully. You will suffer, Anexius, as I have suffered." A second later, Atlan vanished. As soon as he did, Apollo, Ares, Athena, Hermes, and Zeus all appeared in the garden, but I ignored their questions as I remembered Kallisto and ran for the pool house.

I nearly slipped and fell on the tiles before I dove into the water and sent out a blast that cleared the water, and revealed a lump at the bottom of the pool. I swam closer, and horror gripped me as I realized there was a long thick chain connecting the floor of the pool to Kallisto's ankle.

Ankle?!

Instead of the long beautiful reddish gold tail and gorgeous fins riding his back and arms, Kallisto was completely human, and drowning. He was choking and coughing, confused as to why he couldn't breath. I swam at him and gathered up energy into the tip of my finger, slicing the chain and grabbing Kallisto around the waist, shooting for the surface.

I threw him over the side of the pool and climbed up with him as the other gods approached from nearby. I looked up to see Kallisto trembling violently, his arms wrapped around himself and his newly acquired legs bent at the knees and laying out on either side of them.

"Kallisto." I whispered helplessly, coming over to him. I touched him to see if it was alright, and when I was positive he wouldn't attack me, I took him in my arms and he appeared too traumatized by the switch from his tail to these legs, to the fact that he almost drowned.

"Isn't that my merman?" Zeus demanded, glaring at Apollo, who arched a brow at him.

"Does that look like a merman to you?" He asked. Zeus scowled for a moment, appearing confused before he glared at me.

"What happened? I felt a foreign power. That should be impossible." He snapped. I glared back at him, clutching Kallisto to me tightly as Arikos and Menoetius arrived from the house to join the group that was gawking at Kallisto.

"Atlan," I snarled at him and Zeus stiffened, either at my tone or my news, I wasn't sure, "He got past your weak barrier and he attacked us! Your plan isn't working, Zeus, and you can cut the bullshit charade about pretending to give a shit. You're trying to lure Atlan and the Khalian in so you can use them to elevate your own power! Well, news flash, asshole! Nobody wants your damn throne! You're the only pigheaded god stupid enough to want to sit on something tainted with enough blood to overdose an entire vampiric population!" Apollo's jaw dropped and Arikos stifled a laugh. Athena and Hermes paled.

"How dare you," Zeus roared, cheeks mottled red with rage as he took a threatening step toward us, "I am-"

"Father," Athena said quickly, moving in front of him and making Zeus's eyes turn red for a moment, "Please, have mercy on him. He's frightened and upset. We need him if we want to capture Atlan. I never ask you for anything, so just this once, I beg you to walk away from him." Zeus was breathing hard, nostrils flaring and power crackling at his fingertips. Thunder exploded in the sky overhead, dropping a heavy load of rain that pelted the top of the pool house like bullets, and flooded the walkways of the garden. Lightening flashed through the black rolling clouds overhead, and I swore Zeus was borderline tornado mode before he curled his lip back from his fangs as he looked at me.

"One more word that comes out of your mouth in my presence, and I will just have to tell Atlan it was too bad he wasn't present when I skinned you alive." He sneered, then vanished with a loud clap of thunder. I clenched my teeth, wanting to rattle on an angry tirade against the god, but Kallisto managed a helpless whimper that stole my attention as I looked down at him.

What is happening? Body hurts. It hurts so much. Kallisto is confused. Kallisto's body hurts. He moaned miserably. As I held him to me, I sent magic through his system. There was no way I could reverse the effects of whatever Atlan had used on him, but I could see why Kallisto was in so much pain. His lungs were burning from being unable to breath, his legs sore from kicking frantically in the water, a slight concussion from the beating.

"I'm so sorry, Kallisto." I whispered as I cradled him close. I looked up as Apollo grimaced.

"Looks like we won't be needing the pool house anymore." He muttered grimly. Arikos nodded in agreement. I barely noticed what the other gods were discussing as I held Kallisto in my arms, squeezing my eyes shut as pain assailed me.

Damn you, Atlan. Damn you to the rotten depths of the Source!