Chapter Seven
"You think there's a spy amongst the Olympians?" Arikos asked.
We returned to Apollo's temple and gathered at the dining table to have a meeting of our own, and also to escape the fact that Zeus's guards were already taking up position around the property and pushing Apollo to the edge of his patience. In order to keep him focused on something aside from killing them, we talked him into sitting down to discuss our own plans.
"I felt something," I said quietly, a chill creeping through my bones as I remembered the eerie feel of eyes boring into me, "Someone watching me, and it felt malevolent and cold. I almost thought it was Artemis, but when I turned around, she wasn't looking at me anymore and I still felt someone's eyes on me for a moment longer before it was gone, but all the gods left at once." Apollo frowned, rubbing at his jaw warily.
"It might've been Hera," He offered, "The fact that none of us, except Hephaestus is her actual child, makes tensions with her pretty high. Hell, given what Hera did to him, even he can't stand to be in the room with her for longer than ten seconds." Arikos scowled.
"What'd she do?" He asked. Apollo gave him a droll stare, but I patted Apollo's hand, instantly making him melt like putty in my hands, making me smirk.
"Arikos wasn't around during that time," I reminded him, making his mouth form an "O" of understanding, and I smiled at Arikos patiently, "As you saw at the meeting, Hephaestus was born with a clubbed foot and Hera was disgusted by him, so she threw him from Olympus and he fell into the ocean, where an Oceanid called Eurynome carried him to shore where the mortal, Thetis, found him and raised him until he ran away shortly after his eighteenth birthday where he came across a band of pirates, who taught him the crafts of artisans, weaponry, sculpting. You name it. As an adult, he returned to Olympus with a gift for Hera, a golden throne, and when she sat on it, well-"
"He pranked her, hardcore," Apollo said with a toothy grin that I resisted rolling my eyes at, because he would be the type to be amused by a prank on Hera, "She sat the throne and couldn't get up. Hephaestus cursed it so she'd never be able to escape it. Unfortunately, Dionysus ruined all the fun and tricked Hephaestus into removing the curse and freeing Hera. Zeus found it so damn funny he kept Hephaestus on Olympus and Hera was infuriated, not that she could do anything about it."
"Zeus makes the rules." I said grimly. Arikos nodded.
"I noticed, but he's not that bad," He said, earning stares from everyone at the table, "What? When you've lived your entire life under Atlan's thumb, guys like Zeus look like fluffy bunnies. I can already tell the guy has an ego the size of Atlantis, but something about his tone told me he's pretty serious about keeping the mountain safe."
"Yeah, for himself," Apollo said with a wave of bitterness, that made Arikos raise an eyebrow, "Zeus comes off like he gives a shit, but everything has a hidden agenda. If anything, this situation is just as dangerous within the pantheon as it is outside." Arikos frowned.
"With Atlan as the outside force? I find that hard to believe." He said, but I shook my head.
"Apollo's right. Zeus is obviously plotting something behind the scenes. His idea to gather the Khalian, while intelligent to lure Atlan in, is very dangerous. Khalian can be controlled," I added, making Arikos frown curiously, and I sighed, raking a hand through my hair as I leaned on the table, "Over a decade ago, the Titans Prometheus and Epimetheus found an ancient ritual composed by a man named Daedalus. The ritual allows the caster to summon the Khalian and control them. It doesn't sound like Zeus is collecting the Khalian as bait."
"He's collecting them as weapons." Menoetius muttered under his breath, speaking for the first time the entire day. Arikos blinked, then suddenly looked uncomfortable.
"If Zeus controls the Khalian, he controls you and Xenon too." He pointed out. I nodded grimly and Apollo's eyes flashed angrily.
"Zeus can go fuck himself before he thinks I'm handing Callias over." He said angrily. Arikos sighed, wiping a hand down his face before drumming his fingers on the table, jaw flexing in irritation.
"This is bad," Arikos said, eyes searching the table as if he hoped it had all the answers, "Really bad. And here I was thinking Zeus isn't that bad." Menoetius made a noise that made everyone look at him and he just stared back innocently until a cell phone ring went off, playing Fall Out Boy's Immortals.
Menoetius gave us a finger and stood up, taking a cell phone out of his pocket and walking out of the room, speaking in a hushed tone. Arikos looked mildly amused by that and Apollo shook his head before looking at Arikos.
"The Titan has a point," He paused, made a face as if he couldn't believe he just said that before he continued, "Zeus is all about appearance. He's just trying to make it seem like everything's going to be okay. He did this during the last Titan war when Hades and Lucifer approached him for help and Zeus shot them down, only allowing them to choose ten gods to take into battle with them. We barely won that war if it hadn't been for Hades. Everyone knows it too, but no one would dare correct Zeus about it. Trust me, pointing out his flaws is grounds for immediate torture."
A flash of anger and hurt went through his eyes, then vanished. I frowned, feeling that strange painful urge to comfort him again. I had thought that this morning's good vibe was just an afterglow from the sex last night, from his hangover, but my protective instincts were still there and a streak of self-loathing went through me at that.
Now was not the time to let myself get carried away with soft, warm fuzzy feelings. I needed to hang onto the darkness just a little while longer, and maybe afterwards, maybe, I'd be willing to soften up a little. However, I wouldn't be able to fight Atlan if I let myself sink into that mindset, the mindset of a protection god.
"Question," Arikos said, making Apollo raise an eyebrow as Arikos leaned back in his chair, "Has anyone even tried to take the throne from Zeus? You know, aside from the Titans." Apollo snorted.
"No one wants to be king of the Greek pantheon, except Zeus. Not even Hades, and Hades has quite a power load in comparison. When Demeter asked Hades to try and take the throne, he'd laughed in her face and said something along the lines of do I look like I want to spend every fucking day with you people. Suffice it to say, no one wants the throne, but Zeus is constantly convinced someone's going to take it from him." He drawled. Arikos didn't look too surprised. He sighed.
"Well, from the looks of it, we have two problems to deal with. Atlan and Zeus. Both of them are pretty fucking awful. Even worse, we can't just tell him to ignore the Khalian. He'll know we're onto him and put guards on us. We need to pretend we have no idea what he's up to. In the mean time, I'll be the fly on the wall since he wants me to work with Ares and Athena. Ares, I trust. Not sure about Athena." He admitted. Apollo nodded in agreement and I frowned, but said nothing.
I personally held a lot of trust with Athena, but Arikos did have a point. Athena was loyal to the Greek pantheon and, unfortunately, that included Zeus, therefore by default she'd feel obligated to tell Zeus everything discussed at the meetings.
"Then what about Atlan?" I asked instead. Arikos worried at his bottom lip, rubbing at the back of his neck. His brows were furrowed in a deep frown that told me he was considering the situation. He knew a lot more about Atlan than even I did. Arikos had been forced to suffer Atlan for far too many years, in even worse ways than the rest of us had. My stomach churned to think what could've been done to him during his time with Atlan.
"We play along with Atlan's plan," Arikos said carefully, tapping the table, "But stay away from the other Khalian. I'm going to contact Hannibal about this. Knowing the bone he has to pick with them, he'll be more than happy to hunt them down and take them out himself. That way, Zeus can't nab them."
"What if Zeus finds out?" Apollo asked.
"I don't think Zeus will be willing to fight Hannibal over rights to the Khalian," Arikos said, then stifled a laugh as if the very idea amused him, "Trust me, Hannibal's got some tricks up his sleeve that'll have Zeus down on his knees if he tries to butt into it. The Khalian are Atlantean gods, and Hannibal is destined to be their king. He has more say in what happens to them than anyone else." Apollo considered it.
Although, I knew for a fact Hannibal probably wouldn't pull that king card on anyone. He refused to take his place as the king of the Atlanteans and had handed the island over to his mother, Lea, temporarily. Even Lea wasn't too keen on the idea of taking over the pantheon, or what will be left of it. No one wanted to rule a cursed pantheon, and something told me it was the same with the Greeks.
Starting to wish I'd been born into a different pantheon. Even the Egyptians have less drama than we do.
"So we have a plan then, for now," Apollo added grimly, sitting back in his seat, "We'll come together again after the next meeting on Olympus to catch up and make changes. In the mean time, Callias, I want you with me at all times. I don't trust Atlan not to send someone else in to come after you. It sounds like you're his gold mine and the Khalian are just the dirt in the way."
"I'm not afraid of Atlan," I admitted calmly, making Arikos look at me with an arched brow of skepticism and Apollo frowned slowly, his mood plummeting, but I think it was about time I stopped playing dainty princess, "I may be a slave, but I am still a god and I am still a warrior. I fought in two wars and sank the entire pantheon of Atlantis myself. Atlan can send whatever beasts he wishes to send and I'll happily return them all to him in pieces." Arikos looked impressed, but Apollo was less so.
"We need a minute."Apollo said without looking at Arikos, who sighed.
"That's fine. Our puppy disappeared and I'm in a mood to play the dog catcher. Try not to kill each other. I just met my brother and he's pretty neat." He told Apollo, who said nothing. The room was silent, even after Arikos had left and shut the door behind him. After a moment, Apollo got to his feet and started pacing. He didn't say anything for a while and I just watched him, almost getting dizzy with his frantic pacing before he finally stopped to whirl around, glaring at me and putting his hands on the back of my chair.
"I don't care how powerful you think you are," Apollo said at last, voice a low threatening growl, "You're not going to fight anyone. I'm not putting you in danger." I frowned.
"Apollo-"
"Master." Apollo corrected with a snarl.
Well, there goes his good mood.
"Master," I said calmly, "I was in danger the moment the Atlanteans were released from their prison. It was only a matter of time before they discovered what I had done and went after me. I'm honestly surprised it didn't happen sooner. I'm not the kind of person to sit back and let everyone else battle for me. I fight for myself and it's unnecessary to even hire bodyguards. The only reason I agreed is because we'll need more soldiers to fight against Atlan when he finally makes his big move, whatever that may be. I'm sorry if this frightens you, but rest assured that Atlan won't get away with the disruption he's caused. And if I die, well, that doesn't particularly bother me."
Apollo's eyes flashed angrily and he snatched me by the wrist, hauling me up out of my seat and throwing me against the wall. I clenched my teeth as the dips and curves on the wall design dug into my spine as Apollo pinned me there with his body. There was a strange wild look in Apollo's eyes as he grabbed me fiercely by the jaw.
"Like fucking hell," He sneered, fingers digging painfully into my jaw, "You're not going anywhere and you're not fighting anyone. Any other time, I would've handled your defiance rather well, but not this time, not now. You may be okay with dying, but I sure as fucking hell won't let that happen, even if I have to chain you up and lock you away, do you understand me?" I narrowed my eyes, snatching his wrist and shoving it away from me.
I was getting sick of his little power play. It was cute before, but now the war was nipping at our heels and I didn't have time to play pretty slave anymore.
"You can't do that," I seethed, invading his personal space with a few well placed steps, "I'm needed in this war. And if Atlan finds out you have me, he will come after you-"
"And I can handle it."
"And I can't? Why can't I?"
"Because I said so," Apollo practically shrieked and grabbed a handful of my hair, making me hiss as he yanked me back from his personal space, "I am your master and you will listen to me! You won't speak anymore, unless I give you permission!" I opened my mouth to protect, but the curse clamped down on my vocal cords and I choked. I went to shove him away, but he caught me around the waist and we vanished from the dining room to a small dark room with stone walls and a cold concrete floor.
A second later, Apollo threw me across the room against the wall. I snarled in pain, but still couldn't speak. I started to get up, but Apollo conjured a pair of heavy gold cuffs around my wrists, ankles and throat, chaining me to the wall. Panic rushed through me and I jerked my head up to glare at Apollo, breathing hard.
He can't do this!
Yeah, actually, he can.
But he shouldn't! This was all my fault, the Atlanteans returning, the Atlanteans coming after us, ruining everyone's lives all over again! It was my battle to fight and no one else! Atlan was going to shred through Apollo like tissue paper.
Yeah, right. That's what he'll do to everyone else.
To Apollo, Atlan would slowly torture him in front of me. Why that even bothered me was infuriating.
Apollo was nothing, but a self-centered frightened little child. I wanted nothing to do with him, except that the curse forced us together. My guard may melt around him, but it was hardened now and the only thing that was protecting Apollo from being slammed against the wall repeatedly until he was nothing, but a bloody rag doll, was the damned curse that kept my voice soundless and my struggles futile, my magical reserves plunged into a dormant state until Apollo gave me the go ahead to use my powers.
"I'm not going to let this happen," Apollo snarled at me, coming at me and grabbing me by the throat, hoisting me off the ground and I choked, sinking my fingernails into his arm, but it did nothing to make him release me, "I'm not letting you die, Hyacinth, do you understand me?" I froze at that, then met Apollo's deep blue eyes that flashed to an eerie shade of reddish orange, streaked through with gold, but they quickly flashed back to blue and he dropped me, moving for a wooden door that he threw open to reveal a narrow small staircase.
I opened my mouth, trying to call him back, but my voice didn't come out. Apollo slammed the door shut behind him and I listened to a lock click shut... and a moment later, a heavy barrier fell down around the tiny stone room and I was trapped.
No!
I tried to summon as much power as I could through the curse leashing my magic, but only sputters came out as I tried to blast the chains off me. I barked out angry silent curses and yanked at the chains plunged deep into the walls. I tried to blast the chains again, then slowed when I saw a symbol etched into the gold of the chains... and a silent scream tore my throat as I recognized the round circle with a triangle etched into the center along with a hammer and smith's tongs crossed over an anvil.
Hephaestus.
No god could break chains made by Hephaestus, not unless they were a direct god of the Source or Hephaestus himself released them.
Fury lashed through me and I wanted to destroy something, anything, but there was nothing else in the room, and the light only came from between the cracks of the stones in the walls, like an eerie glow in the dark paint. I yanked furiously at the chains to no avail, then settled for slamming my fist so hard into the wall, the bone in my arm cracked and shot through my flesh. I released another silent scream, a mix of pain and rage as I slammed against the wall and slid down, clutching my broken arm to my chest, knowing it'd heal in a couple of hours.
I was trapped.
Locked away.
Apollo wouldn't let Arikos or Menoetius or anyone get near me here. I had no coin to summon Xenon with, no phone to call Dorean, no powers to use to get me out.
Trapped.