Cursed [malexmale]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

St. John, or "Joxeia", narrowed his eyes at Atlan's nonchalant greeting. He didn't speak for a moment, and I saw his piercing pink-red eyes surveying the damage around him before he looked at Atlan again.

"Seems like wherever there is catastrophe, you're always at the root of it, Atlan." Atlan smiled at his words, as if proud of his work. He shoulder the bag like he was taunting St. John with it.

"How is Xiphrus by the way? Have you two made up yet? It's never good when siblings turn against one another," he commented. St. John's eyes flashed gold for a moment, then returned to their normal shade of pinkish red. He straightened and folded his arms over his chest, looking at Atlan like he would a roach under his Italian leather boots.

"I didn't come here to listen to you pine for that bastard. I came to fetch my toys."

"Well, that answers that question," Atlan decided, making St. John tense, and Atlan smiled, "Normally, I would gladly take pleasure in grinding your face into the dirt-- again, but I'm running late for an appointment. So tell me, St. John, are you going to make the mistake of attacking me again or are you going to play it safe?" The look on St. John's face said he really, really wanted to test that threat and I honestly expected him to, but instead, he inclined his head.

"Have fun in therapy, asshole. You need it." Atlan merely chuckled, giving him a sly smile before he vanished on the spot. Stunned that St. John let him go, I looked up at him.

"Why did you let him go?" I managed, almost horrified at the fact that that bastard was allowed to walk after what he'd done. I almost wanted to slap St. John for it. Instead, the ancient demon looked down at me, his expression blank.

"I didn't," he answered, and at my confused stare, St. John merely turned to look at the others, "We're returning to Olympus, all of us." He stopped to give me an intense stare before his eyes dropped to Apollo in my arms and I teared up again against my will. For a moment, I swore I saw St. John's expression soften, but as quickly as I thought I saw it, we were teleported from the corridor in Atlantis to Olympus, and I was left wondering about that expression.

We appeared in the large meeting room of Poseidon's temple where the Twelve main Olympians were waiting along with Lucifer. The moment we appeared, I saw Zeus shoot to his feet with a horrified cry. I froze when I realized I still held Apollo's broken body in my arms. I had an overwhelming urge to spit in Zeus's face and withdraw Apollo's body from him, because I'll be damned if I let that abusive bastard near him. However, St. John put his hand on my shoulder and and something seemed to almost take control of my body, making me lay Apollo down on the floor before stepping back. I looked at St. John helplessly and he stared back at me in silence before I turned to see Zeus shove past Poseidon and Demeter, who were gaping at the sight of Apollo, equally horrified.

Zeus dropped to his knees to gather Apollo into his arms, his breathing ragged as he clasped Apollo's face in his hands. And I was stunned to see Zeus's eyes tearing up as he struggled to breath for the pain. For some reason, seeing Zeus weep over Apollo broke my heart and the tears returned to my eyes, but I fought them back, allowing only for a mist that obscured my vision.

I looked up to see the other gods were reacting in pretty similar ways. Artemis looked like she was in utter agony, clutching at her chest like she'd lost a piece of her, tears streaming down her face. Beside her, Dionysus stood completely frozen, staring at Apollo like he couldn't believe his eyes. Even Hades was watching with a grim expression, his lips pursed in a tight line, jaw clenched tight, arms folded tight over his chest. I think even he was stunned by Zeus's reaction.

"This is your fault," Zeus shouted suddenly, making me stiffen as he glared up at me, stormy blue eyes red with tears, "He would have never gotten involved with you goddamn Atlanteans if you hadn't come along and seduced him!"