Chapter Twenty-Three

"No!" Arikos dropped the stone in his hands and Hannibal's eyes widened.

Ulenon yanked the sword out of Menoetius's back and Menoetius collapsed to his knees, hands reaching up to cover the gash in his stomach. Ulenon flung his sword back, sending blood splattering across the floor as he walked past Menoetius, making a path straight for me.

But he didn't make it very far.

Menoetius was on his feet and slamming into the guy so hard that he sent him smashing into the ground. Ulenon cursed and swung himself around, knocking Menoetius back across the corridor and slamming into the wall. Menoetius gasped and slumped to the ground, blood oozing past his lips and from the wound in his stomach.

That gave plenty of time for Hannibal to swoop in, snatch up the bag and roll with it so he slammed into the wall beside Menoetius, dropping the bag at his side and grabbing Menoetius up from the ground, pushing him up and reaching over to staunch the blood flow from his wound.

Ulenon whirled around to blast him, but Arikos was quicker and blasted Ulenon in the back, sending him flying through the air and smashing into another wall. The corridor shook and trembled around us from the force of it. Arikos sprinted over to drop to his knees beside Menoetius.

"Is he alright? Why is there so much blood?" Arikos managed, eyes wide in horror, his hands touching Menoetius's gut to help stop the flow of blood. Hannibal cursed, ripping off a strip of cloth from his shirt to press against Menoetius's wound, but it was soaked within seconds. The entire time, Menoetius just sat there, staring straight ahead like he wasn't sure what was happening to him.

With the intent to heal him, I started toward him, only to have Ulenon recovering out the corner of my eye, ready to send a god bolt my way, but I ducked it and let it fly past me before I sent a bolt of my own. Ulenon caught it and crushed it, making me curse under my breath. His white eyes locked on me as he lowered his arms.

"Father was right about you," he said with a cold calmness, his voice a few notes deeper than Teslius's, "You are the weakest of us." I narrowed my eyes, fury surging through my veins. It wasn't even the fact that he insulted me, but rather, the bitter reminder that this bastard had not only hurt Dexius, but he'd eternally scarred Teslius.

Looking at Ulenon now, the twins looked nothing alike. Teslius was far leaner than Ulenon, the body of a swimmer, and his hair was naturally textured from days spent on the beach. Although, now, Teslius was broken. He trembled constantly and his eyes welled up tears from time to time, and he was steadily losing the will to survive. Meanwhile, Ulenon stood here, tall and proud, muscles thick and honed for battle, his long black hair in a loose ponytail over his shoulder, a drop of blood sliding from the corner of his mouth after his faceplant into the wall, and his white eyes were the coldest, emptiest shade of white I'd ever seen.

"You sold out Teslius." The venom in my voice scared me, but my fury didn't let me back down.

Ulenon stared at me blankly, almost as if he had no idea who I was talking about before his eyes flickered with recognition.

"Yes," he answered coolly, "Any intelligent person would have. Teslius was always weak. He was always dependent. He could never think or do anything for himself. He was a constant parasite on my back and I saw my chance to get rid of him. Now he's gone." I wanted to throw it in his face that Teslius was so much stronger than that, strong enough to still be surviving today, despite the trauma Ulenon had dealt him. However, advertising Teslius still being alive was a bad idea. Instead, I curled my lip at him.

"You're disgusting. You've always been the selfish one. No wonder Atlan keeps you around; you're just as fucking crazy as he is," I accused. Ulenon's white eyes glowed.

"I would rather be crazy and king, than sane and enslaved," he responded. I almost scoffed at his ridiculous philosophy, instead opting for a cold response.

"You're stupid if you believe that." He was already enslaved, and he certainly wasn't sane. I had no doubt that Atlan had sweet talked him into obeying him, in exchange for not killing him. He had no idea what he was getting himself into, though. Atlan never kept his promises and he certainly didn't keep people close to him without the intention to kill them sooner or later.

"Anexius," Hannibal said, grabbing my attention when I looked to see him struggling to staunch Menoetius's blood, "He's punctured vital organs, we don't have time for this." He was right.

Though, Menoetius still seemed surprisingly calm for someone who had just gotten stabbed in the stomach. He wasn't gasping for breath or struggling in pain. He continued to sit there with a calmness so unlike him, and he wasn't even trying to help Hannibal and Arikos stop his blood flow. In fact, from where I was standing, it didn't even look like he was trying to heal himself.

"You got your friend killed for nothing," Ulenon said, making me look at him with a scowl, "Your Apollo is already dead." I froze, my heart dropping straight into my stomach.

No.

No, no, no.

Hannibal slammed his fist against the floor, harder this time, making me jump and look at him desperately.

"Don't listen to him, Anexius! If Apollo was dead, I'd feel Greece collapsing into chaos!"

"Aren't they already?" Ulenon asked dryly, folding his arms over his chest. Hannibal gave Ulenon an irritated glare.

"Shut up," I snapped, "Apollo's alive." Ulenon gave me a pitying stare and my stomach twisted into a knot when I recognized that look. It was the same look he gave me when I had found out about Dexius. His pathetic attempt at pretending to have a heart, pretending to give a shit about anyone, but himself. However, this time, I knew the truth. I saw the ugliness beneath Ulenon's visage and I would be damned if he trick me with it.

"Take me to Apollo," I commanded, struggling to keep my composure. Ulenon gave me a droll stare, like he was amused that I didn't believe him and my hope shriveled further, but Hannibal slammed his fist on the floor again to snag my attention.

"Anexius!" He commanded. I twitched, partially annoyed by his constant interruptions, but also grateful that he was trying to keep me on track. Ulenon, however, shot Hannibal a cold stare, cocking his head slightly.

"Hybrid," he greeted, and Hannibal tensed at the look Ulenon gave him, "How's your ass?" Hannibal's cheeks colored and his eyes sparked with anger. He didn't have time to react anymore than that, however, because Menoetius had shoved him aside and shot to his feet, lunging for Ulenon, who looked just as surprised as the rest of us that he could even move with a hole in his stomach. He caught Ulenon and slammed him into the ground, unsheathing a dagger from his holster and slamming it into Ulenon's shoulder.

Ulenon snarled, baring his fangs in Menoetius's face and shoving his hand up to push against Menoetius's stomach. Menoetius choked, blood bubbling past his lips into Ulenon's face. Ulenon caught him and shoved him aside so he slammed into the ground. Menoetius gasped, spitting up blood as Ulenon rose to his feet, curling his lip.

"Useless cur," he spat and slammed his foot down on Menoetius's gut. Menoetius shouted in pain. Arikos was on his feet and blasting at Ulenon, who deflected the blast swiftly and sent back one of his own. Arikos gasped and stepped back, but Hannibal was in front of him to deflect the flow of power into the ceiling. The corridor around us shuddered and creaked. Rocks and dust fell from the ceiling.

My eyes darted from Menoetius, who lay on the ground, unmoving now, his eyes closed and his hand slackened on his dagger. Hannibal and Arikos were almost literally backed into a corner. This wasn't the place for a magic fight.

I reached into the holster on my waist, hand trembling for a moment as I gripped the handle of the sword I'd gotten from the tent St. John had given us. I withdrew it and lunge for Ulenon, who ducked and spun away from me, trying to put distance between us. I slashed at him again and he leapt back. I cursed.

I was never very good with swords.

"Anexius," Hannibal called, "Help Menoetius-- Arikos and I will handle the Khalian." I nodded, watching him and Arikos part to pin down Ulenon. Turning away from them, I dropped down by Menoetius, wincing at the amount of blood he'd lost. He was pale and silent, but I could see his chest rising and falling with each breath. I cast aside my sword and gathered my magic in my palms before laying it across the wound in Menoetius's stomach. It hadn't been there for more than a few seconds before Menoetius's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, his eyes flying open to glare up at me.

"Menoetius," I said gently, then winced when something exploded into the wall nearby and I moved myself to cover Menoetius from the flying rubble before I settled back, "It's just me. I'm trying to heal you." Menoetius's grip tightened on me further. He wasn't speaking, just glaring at me, but I could tell he was thinking something, something bad from the way he gripped my hand and locked his jaw.

"Menoetius, let go of me so I can heal you," I commanded. Still, he didn't let go. Another explosion sounded overhead and I flinched, moving to cover Menoetius again and a rock struck the side of my face. I hissed in pain and moved back, watching Menoetius's expression screw up in confusion.

"Why do you keep doing that?" He asked me. I frowned.

"You're already badly wounded. The last thing you need is to be crushed by a rock. Now let go of me so I can heal your wound," I waited to see if he would obey, but he didn't even loosen his grip, so I resorted to an added warning, "The longer we wait around like this, the more chances Ulenon has to hurt Hannibal."

Menoetius's expression became almost... tired. He slowly released my hand and let me get back to work. I flooded power through him to heal the damage and he cringed. Frankly, I was surprised he wasn't screaming in agony, thrashing at least. All he did was cringe and dig his fingers into the soil beneath him.

"My sweet Anexius. Ever the helpful one," a voice murmured. I blinked and jerked my head up to see Atlan standing over us. My eyes widened and Menoetius cursed, shoving me back and getting in front of me, much to my surprise. Atlan only smiled at that, as if Menoetius's actions amused him.

"That's very cute," he commented, "Even half-dead, or would it be undead? You still fight to protect someone you couldn't possibly care less about. Or maybe it's not him you want to protect?" Menoetius narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth before making an obscene gesture at him. Instead of being anger, however, Atlan continued to smile. Menoetius was only entertaining him. And that disgusted me. He looked up towards Hannibal, Arikos, and Ulenon, all of whom had ceased their battle to stare at Atlan.

Atlan's smile vanished instantly and his expression became that of the cold, calculated killer he was. He approached Ulenon, who frowned hesitantly and took a step back from him. Before anyone could process what was happening, Atlan planted his fist in Ulenon's stomach, pushing under his fist came out from Ulenon's back. Ulenon choked and slumped against him, blood pouring past his lips. Atlan twisted his arm and drew it back sharply, dragging Ulenon's innards out with his arm, throwing them to the ground. Ulenon crumpled to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Atlan stared down at him, his expression not changing once, not even flinching at what he'd done. He pressed his foot against Ulenon's skull with the intention to smash it and a shudder wracked me.

"Stop!" I shouted. Atlan cocked his head and stepped away from Ulenon's corpse to turn and face me, expression becoming calm once again. Behind him, Hannibal was staring at what was left of Ulenon, like he was having difficulties comprehending what had just happened in a matter of seconds. Arikos was frozen, pale and shaken, staring at our brother's corpse in fear.

"Why..." I couldn't find words. The shock of what had just happened tied my tongue and I just stared at Atlan.

"He was about to make a very dire mistake and I don't have time for mistakes," Atlan told me with the patience a parent showed their child, and it made my skin crawl. That tone wasn't respectful or parental at all-- it was taunting. However, I had no idea what he meant by mistake, except that maybe Ulenon had plans to kill the hybrids, which would in turn make Atlan furious. That was my guess anyway.

I glanced at Menoetius to ensure he was out of the danger zone with his wounds, seeing his glare locked on Atlan. Confirming he was alright, I shot to my feet, glaring at Atlan.

"Where is Apollo?" I demanded. Atlan blinked, his expression one of mock surprise before the corner of his lips curled into a smile and my stomach clenched.

"Ah, yes, the sun god... Nothing is more satisfying than snuffing out the light of Greece." His words made me go cold. My instant reaction was denial. He was lying. He and Ulenon were lying. They were trying to manipulate me, trying to scare me, trying to hurt me. Apollo wasn't dead. He couldn't be dead.

I studied Atlan's face, struggling to grasp at anything that would indicate he was lying, but his sadistic smile was painfully sincere, as if he were remembering fondly his torture of Apollo.

No. Please no.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. He was lying. He had to be. Hannibal said he felt nothing wrong with Greece. They still had sunlight. They still had hope. Apollo was there and he was alive. He had to be.

"Tsk," Atlan approached me and I stiffened as he stopped in front of me, reaching up to cup my cheek, his thumb stroking my skin, "Poor Anexius. First Dexius and now Apollo." A cold chill shot up my spine and a low cry escaped my lips. I slapped his hand away and reached for his throat, but he caught my wrists and continued to smile at me.

Why is he smiling?! How...! Bastard!

"You bastard!" I choked hoarsely, jerking at his grasp before I collapsed to my knees, a sob shaking my shoulders. Atlan released my wrists and took a step back to watch me with pity.

"You shouldn't have betrayed me, Anexius," he murmured sadly, "You were the last one I wanted to hurt like this." His words barely registered through my grief. My ears were ringing and my chest was growing tight as I struggled to breath. My vision blurred over until everything around me was drowned out by tears.

This can't be happening.

Not again.

Please, please, not again.

"You son of a bitch," Menoetius growled at Atlan, rising to his feet. Atlan watched him with sick fascination that made my stomach churn as I blinked at the tears frantically.

"Careful, boy," Atlan warned gently, "Insulting the Source is grounds for eternal damnation-- then again, you know all about that, don't you?" Menoetius stiffened, his jaw locking tight for a moment before he snatched the sword out of his holster and slashed it at Atlan's throat, but Atlan tilted back out of the way and conjured a sword out of nowhere to smash against Menoetius's. The Titan flinched at the force of it and shoved him back, but Atlan recovered quickly and drew his sword back, whacking the butt of it into Menoetius's face, making him stumble back and grasp his bloody nose.

Atlan proceeded to slam his fist into his stomach and shove him back into the ground. Menoetius gasped, breathing hard in pain as he grasped his stomach, probably still tender from Ulenon's attack.

Hannibal darted at Atlan, slashing his sword at him, but Atlan spun and arced his sword at him, nearly decapitating him if Arikos hadn't flung his hand out and sent a blast barreling into Atlan's gut, sending him skidding through the dirt.

"That was unexpected," Atlan commented, looking down at the scorched front of his shirt, then lifted menacing silver eyes on Arikos, who swallowed hard and stepped back, "It seems the hybrid has undone all the training I spent so many centuries beating into you. But that's fine; I had fun teaching you, Arikos. I'll be happy to teach you again." Arikos stumbled back and covered his throat with his hand fearfully, as if he was remembering exactly what Atlan was referring to.

"And you," Atlan said, turning to Hannibal, who narrowed his eyes, "You're going to be a fun challenge. Arikos was so easy to break, but you? You might take some time." Hannibal's eyes flashed a startlingly shade of red and he bared his fangs that had elongated a couple centimeters. Atlan smirked, twirling his sword tauntingly.

"Menoetius," Hannibal ordered, and my heart skipped a beat at the way his voice had suddenly deepened into an animalistic growl, "Grab Anexius and Arikos and leave." Menoetius was on his feet, glaring at him in disbelief as he gripped his sword, his other arm drawn across his gut.

"Like hell. Make them leave. I'm staying." Hannibal shot Menoetius a frustrated glare that Menoetius returned ten fold and Atlan laughed as if the situation amused him.

"Don't bother, hybrid. Wherever you go, he'll follow. After all, it's the whole reason he's here," he told Hannibal, who scowled for a moment. Menoetius's jaw locked, but he said nothing as he readied his sword.

Panic rushed through me as I struggled to my feet. Denial clung to me, however. There was no way Apollo could be dead. It wasn't true. It couldn't be. Surely Zeus would have rained hell down on the world if Apollo was dead and there was no rift in the universe to signify Apollo was dead.

He's not dead.

However, everyone else would be if we didn't do something-- fast. Atlan was prepared to kill Menoetius and I to get to Hannibal, Arikos, and the Orb. Though, it appeared Atlan may already know about Menoetius being the Key-- a dangerous thought. But now wasn't the time to play the guessing game with Atlan. He was deadly either way and we needed to get rid of him. Time was critically short and I wasn't letting Atlan get away without giving me Apollo.

"Apollo," I managed, making Atlan look at me calmly, "I want him back. If Apollo is truly dead, I want his body." Atlan tilted his head.

"Now why would I do such a thing? You're already scarred by his loss. I don't think it'd be appropriate to show you his body, or rather, what's left of it." My heart dropped like a rock in my stomach and I grasped for some kind of control over myself as I felt the tears blurring my vision again. I swallowed the lump in my throat, refusing to back down.

"I want him returned to me. Now," I commanded. Atlan's silver eyes swirled for the longest time before the corner of his lips rose in a sinister smile. For the first time, I think I was truly scared of Atlan.

"Give me the Orb and you can have your sun god's corpse."

"Deal."

"Anexius!" Arikos exclaimed, starting toward me, but Hannibal caught his arm and pulled him back. Arikos looked at him bewildered, but Hannibal said nothing as he hoisted the bag up and threw it at Atlan's feet. Atlan appeared mildly surprised at our rapid response, then just smiled again before he snapped his fingers. A second later, a column of smoke spiraled around the room before dropping something onto the floor.

A cry of agony left my lips the moment my brain registered what I was looking at.

Apollo lay sprawled on the cavern floor, unmoving. Bloody gashes marked his body as if he'd been dumped through a paper shredder, and I was more than positive he'd lost a couple fingers. A deep ugly gash cut across his face from temple clear to the other side near his chin, bisecting his eye, his nose, and his lips. 

Suddenly forgetting about everyone else, I ran to Apollo and fell to my knees beside him, wanting to grab him in my arms and cradle him, but I was so afraid of touching him. A sob broke free from my throat as I clasped a hand over my mouth. Tears blurred my vision and fell down my face as I struggled to comprehend what was happening.

No, no.

I managed to scoot myself over, grabbing Apollo as gently as I could and hauling him into my lap, resting his head against my shoulder. His head fell back, lips parted to reveal blood stained teeth, and no breath fell against my skin. I brushed the hair back from his face with trembling fingers before I laid my head against his chest, closing my eyes and listening for a heart beat.

Nothing.

Silence.

Sobbing in agony, I held him against me tighter, overlapping my hands over his chest as I gathered up every ounce of magic pulsing through my body, sending it in to heal the damage done to him.

This'll work. It has to work. He'll be okay. I can save him. I have to save him.

I pushed hard against his chest, sending bursting of magic rushing through his veins and healing the gashes that marred his beautiful sun-kissed skin, leaving behind faint scars. I pressed my cheek to his bloody one and sent another blast of power into him to heal the damage done to his face. The wound stitched itself back together, leaving behind a light scar.

As I poured magic to him, I paused every so often to lay my head against his chest, struggling to find his heartbeat to no avail. Tears streamed down my face as I choked on a wail of agony when all I received was never-ending silence. 

What stupidity possessed me to think I could bring him back? I don't know why I was trying to heal a dead man. Another sob wracked me as that thought occurred to me.

Oh my god, he's dead.

He's dead.

"I told you," Atlan said softly, heaving the bag up from the ground. Hannibal and Arikos were absolutely still, staring at Apollo as if they, too, couldn't accept the idea. Menoetius gritted his teeth.

"He's not dead!" I don't know why I said that. It was obvious. Apollo wasn't moving, or breathing. His heart had no beat. There was only silence. More agony tore through me as I choked on another sob and looked down at Apollo in my arms.

There were so many scars on his body now. Zeus's scar was no longer discernible from the rest. It was a blend of horrendous scars on otherwise perfect skin. I cupped Apollo's cheek in my hand, and a shiver went through me when I realized how truly cold his body was. He'd have to have been dead for quite a while to get this cold, this clammy. Tears obscured my vision once more and I pressed my face to Apollo's, my forehead touching his as I tilted his head.

Apollo, I'm so sorry. 

For being useless, for getting you hurt, for treating you like garbage. It was only then that I realized why I had treated Apollo so poorly, and why he treated me so poorly. We were mirror images of ourselves. We both suffered and we both hid it behind coldness and anger. Unfortunately, now I could never truly apologize to Apollo. I could never make up for what I'd done to him, and worse still that he died angry with me, angry that I wanted to sacrifice myself to get rid of Atlan.

And he was angry with me because he cared about me, and damn it all to hell, I cared about him too, but now it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Apollo was dead, and it was my fault-- again.

I felt broken all over again. Truly broken. Apollo had healed me without my even knowing it. From the moment the Source cursed me to the moment I was handed over to Apollo, my entire life had been nothing, but a stream of blurry miserable days spent weeping over a lover I could never again hold in my arms. All of them spent aching for Dexius, with a heart that was shattered. And with Apollo, somehow, my heart was being steadily pieced back together.

He wasn't perfect, no. Apollo and I fought and we hurt each other, but somehow... After all this time of trying to convince myself Apollo was nothing, but a nuisance, I'd slowly begun to cave into him. And he slowly began to cave into me.

"It's strange," Denarius had said to me once, "Apollo is so docile now." I remembered scoffing at him.

"Docile? You call ripping his own bed apart docile?"

"Yes," Denarius was so sincere that it confused me, "He used to go on frequent rampages. He terrorized even the nymphs in the garden and scared off all his other servants. Since you arrived, though, he's been so calm and carefree."

I should've known then how Apollo felt, but I'd been so preoccupied with my own pain that Apollo's was irrelevant, and guilt suffocated me as I choked on another sob, cradling Apollo close to me, stroking his auburn hair back from his face.

Apollo, please. Please come back to me. I'm so sorry.

"Anexius," Atlan's voice made me jerk my head up with an angry gasp between sobs, "Enjoy living eternity knowing that once again, you've caused another lover to be killed." My heart splintered at his words and my vision blurred with tears, both from pain and anger.

"You bastard!" I choked. Atlan smiled.

"Meanwhile, I will be taking my hybrids with me," he said, making my eyes widen in panic. Hannibal swung around to face him with an appalled glare.

"You only asked for the Orb," he snapped. Atlan nodded.

"Yes, where Anexius is concerned, certainly. I didn't just come here for a silly ball, though. I want my favorite pets back," he responded, taking a step toward them and lifting his hand in preparation to attack them. Because he knew Hannibal wasn't going without a fight.

Hannibal drew back, grabbing Arikos with him and Arikos's face became one of panic as he stumbled back, gripping the back of Hannibal's shirt. Menoetius started toward them when his knees buckled and he collapsed, cursing aloud, clutching his gut. We turned to see him take his hand back from his gut to reveal fresh sticky blood from the wound Ulenon's sword had caused... the wound had returned.

Panic seized me as I realized I was taking back the magic I used on Menoetius, using it for Apollo. Agony spread through me as I looked down at Apollo, waiting and hoping for him to breath for me, but there was nothing. I was wasting magic on a dead man. Tears streamed down my face as I looked up at Menoetius, who doubled over in pain. Hannibal drew his sword, holding it out toward Atlan, who appeared amused at Hannibal's determination.

My eyes dropped to Apollo again, then caught the glint of something out the corner of my eye and I found myself staring at the medallion around my neck. My heart lurched at the sight of it and I snatched it in my palm, squeezing my eyes shut.

Use the medallion when you need me. 

"Joxeia!" I shouted. A moment of silence followed as Atlan whirled around to pin me with a stunned stare, his silver eyes widening in disbelief.

The air crackled suddenly with an incredible wave of power that stole my breath away. The hairs on my arms stood on end and the ground and wals around us shuddered. The ceiling split and sputtered more rocks and dust down on us as I covered my head. A screaming roar broke the silence and I looked up as a stream of gold smoke rushed from the corridor on the other side of the broken gate and swirled into the corridor we were in.

The smoke dispersed and St. John appeared, looking completely unprepared for a battle in a black cardigan, white silk shirt, and snug bleached jeans. However, the expression on his face... I'd never seen hatred so potent before. It chilled me to the marrow of my bones.

Atlan's eyes widened, and for a moment I had hoped he was truly afraid of St. John, until his lips spread into a smile.

"Joxeia. Long time no see."