Chapter Twenty
"It's a trap. It's totally a friggin' trap," Arikos was saying as he sat at the dining room table in Apollo's palace. I barely heard him as I watched Hannibal pace with growing irritation. He'd been trying to call Menoetius for the last hour and a half and still no response. When he'd called Akin to ask if he'd stopped by, he said Menoetius had left half an hour after arriving-- almost two hours ago.
"I don't care if it's a trap," I told Arikos sourly, "I'm the reason Apollo is in this mess and I've got to get him back." Arikos just eyed me warily.
"Is this your guilt talking again or do you actually care?"
"I actually care, no stop trying to go therapist on me and call him on your phone," I ordered. Arikos looked annoyed at the command and shook his head, taking his phone out and waving it around.
"I already called him six times, not that he would pick up anyway. I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me," he actually pouted at that as he dropped his phone on the table and slumped over with his chin resting on his hands, staring at the phone like it was the phone's fault. I sighed, frustrated, looking back at Hannibal, who hung up and stopped pacing.
He looked eerily calm as he went to the nearest window, and threw the phone out into the garden, then came back to glare at us.
"Menoetius isn't picking up and my cell phone died."
"So you throw it out the window," Arikos asked dryly, raising an eyebrow, "Charge it."
"I don't want to. It felt better throwing it."
"Tell that to Akin when he finds out you threw your new phone out the window," Arikos replied. Hannibal actually looked a little guilty there for a second, glancing out the window as if he were debating running after it. A sharp fissure of power cut through the air and we perked up, Arikos shooting to his feet, as we turned to see Menoetius appear in the dining room, a bruise spreading across his jaw and bruising around his throat from strangulation.
Not that Hannibal seemed to notice them because he looked pissed as hell.
"Where were you? You said you were stopping by the apartment," Hannibal said. Even though there was no emotion in his voice, I could tell the way his mismatched eyes snapped fire that he was about to add to Menoetius's bruising. True to his military training, however, Menoetius didn't react more than just raising his eyebrow.
"I went out for a drink," he answered flatly. Hannibal glared at him.
"We've called you twenty-six times."
"Well, look at that. You can finally fucking count. Good for you. What'd you want? A cookie?" Menoetius asked snidely. Hannibal grabbed him by the front of his uniform and slammed him into the wall so hard that the plaster cracked all the way up to the ceiling, bits and pieces flaking off onto the floor. Arikos winced and ran past me to grab Hannibal's arm, not that he could pry the hybrid's arm away from Menoetius's throat. It was like trying to move a steel bar from his neck.
"Hannibal, stop," Arikos managed to wedge himself in between them, and Hannibal released Menoetius, taking a step back as Menoetius's feet touched the floor again and he just quietly touched his neck, looking a little pale, "Attacking him isn't going to make anything better. He's here now. We're together, so let's figure out what we're going to do." Hannibal narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
Arikos turned and whacked Menoetius in the chest, making him scowl at him.
"And you," Arikos said angrily, "Quit your fucking vanishing act. You're done disappearing on us. I get we're not the most cuddly bunch, and to be honest, I really do not give a fuck right now. We're in the middle of a war that could get everyone we know and love killed. So you, and Hannibal, both of you need to set aside this little family feud until afterwards. Then you can beat the shit out of each other. Until then, we're fighting on the same side. So shut up, and Anexius, please say something before I hit someone." I stared at him, impressed with his show.
Menoetius glared at him, but said nothing as he dropped his arm from his chest and looked at me grudgingly. Hannibal just looked at me and didn't look the least bit remorseful about his attack on Menoetius.
"All right," I said, taking a deep breath, "Atlan has Apollo, and Ulenon is working with him." Arikos made a weird noise.
"Wait, what? Ulenon? What happened to 'destroy all Khalian'?" He asked. I shook my head.
"I don't know. Ulenon must have done something to make Atlan change his mind, or at least, put off on killing him. We need to go through with St. John's plan right now. They have Apollo and we need to get him back."
"What do you plan to do when Atlan finds us," Arikos said quietly, "Demand he give Apollo back?"
"I'm going to ask him to exchange Apollo for myself," I replied and at his wide-eyed look of disbelief, I held up my hand, "And nothing you say will change my mind on the matter." Hannibal frowned instantly.
"What if you're the key?" He demanded. I frowned. Arikos scowled.
"Key? What key?" He asked. Hannibal and I exchanged looks before we told Arikos and Menoetius about the conversation we'd overheard between St. John and Aphrodite. Arikos's eyes widened as he looked at me.
"All the more reason for you not to even go with us on this mission! Anexius, believe me, I want Apollo back too, but we can't just hand over a key to the universe just to get a Greek sun god back," he explained. I glared at him.
"I don't want Apollo back because he's a sun god," I replied, watching Arikos raise an eyebrow and I averted my eyes, "I don't know why, but I have to get him back. It's more than just him being a god. It's more than just my owing him now that he doesn't own me. It's more than a lot of it and I don't have time to discuss it and the longer we stand here arguing, the longer Atlan has to torture him. If you're not going to go through with the plan now, then I'll do it on my own."
"And that would be suicide," Arikos ground out, then groaned, "Damn it, why did you have to fall for Apollo? Why not Kallisto? At least he doesn't act like a dick 80% of the time."
"We're all dicks 80% of the time," Menoetius deadpanned. Arikos paused to consider that and Hannibal just ignored him and looked at me after I cast Arikos a sour glare.
"Then we better get going before someone decides to talk some sense into us," he said. I nodded in agreement. Arikos frowned.
"We should let St. John know, though. If he doesn't already. If not Hades and the others, at least him since it was his plan in the first place. And we need details to take with us before we go," he explained. I wasn't too keen on the idea, mostly because I was still iffy where St. John stood, but Arikos had a point. The island could be like all the other islands in Atlantis; full of unfriendly venomous monstrous creatures hellbent on a bite of god butt.
As a group, we teleported towards St. John's power source, which was easy. It was like locating a nuclear power plant in the middle of a desert. Oddly enough, we found ourselves outside Hera's home. Hera's home was a bit different from the other gods.
Her luxury mansion was made to look like a Greek temple in the front, an open pavilion style, that stretched back into a more bungalow style home. All of this was surrounded by tropical plants that hissed and twitched every so often. Suffice it to say, Hera's home was certainly not the most inviting of the gods, but then again, Hephaestus lived in a volcano, so I suppose she had competition.
We entered through the front into a large open lobby with a pair of staircases that curved along the sides up to a balcony where a hallway disappeared to the bedrooms. I pinpointed St. John's location, following it between the stairs down the hallway that led to the kitchen. As we approached, I picked up on Zeus's power source, and the sound of his voice.
"You're probably the most beautiful creature I've ever seen in my life," Zeus said in a low seductive voice. I scowled, pausing at the corner and waving for the others to go calm. Hannibal gave him a dry stare, probably chiding me for eavesdropping yet again, but honestly, this was a situation I felt best not to interrupt-- at least, not right away.
After all, Hades did ask me to keep an eye on St. John.
Peeking around the corner, I spotted Zeus circling St. John in a hallway that veered off toward a party room. St. John looked completely at ease, not all concerned that Zeus was pretty much looking him up and down and probably sizing him up for his bed. He stood nonchalant with his arms folded over his chest, his pink eyes glinting with amusement as Zeus paused behind him.
"I don't need a petty byblow to tell me what I already know," St. John replied smugly. Zeus's eyes flashed menacingly and he moved so he was pressed up behind St. John and my eyes widened. I wasn't sure whether to intervene or not.
Zeus lifted his hand to slide it down St. John's arm and St. John's eyes grew heavy lidded, almost like he might enjoy the attention before the corner of his mouth quirked. A second later, Zeus grabbed him and slammed him up against the wall, pinning St. John's hands on the wall on either side of his head. St. John bit his bottom lip and hissed, still smiling as Zeus got in his face.
"I'm thinking you should check that tone," Zeus warned, though, he still had the balls to bury his nose against St. John's cheek, taking a deep inhale of him, sliding his knee up along the inside of St. John's leg, "And maybe find a different use for your mouth." St. John smirked and cocked his head, capturing Zeus's gaze and making the king god go rigid at the challenge.
"Sorry, as much as your invitation would normally turn me on, I'm afraid I can't consort with someone Lucifer deems an enemy, in which case," before Zeus could react, St. John had him blasted across the hallway into the wall. Zeus gasped hard, blinking wildly before he shoved off the wall and went to conjure a lightning bolt, but St. John caught his wrist and the electricity in Zeus's palm fizzled out. Zeus's mouth fell open, then snapped shut when St. John drew his wrist in so he could run his tongue along the inside of it up to the middle of his palm.
"Mn," St. John actually moaned before roughly releasing Zeus's hand and taking a step back, "Too bad, though. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than watching someone like you fall to their knees begging for me." Zeus's eyes glowed angrily.
"I don't beg. People beg me."
"You may have gotten away using that with Hades," St. John said, making Zeus's eyes widen, lips parting in disbelief, "But you won't get away with that from me." Zeus curled his lip and took a step close to St. John, sizing him up in an attempt to intimidate him, but St. John just gave him a wicked evil smirk that bared the glint of his fangs, his hand resting on his hip.
"You highly underestimate me if you think I won't snap your neck," he threatened. St. John shivered and waved his fingers around before he poked them into Zeus's chest.
"Try me, tough guy. I've eaten bigger gods than you for breakfast," he challenged. The sky overhead snapped fire through the black clouds that rolled in and Zeus's eyes glowed passionately with immediate hatred, electricity crackling his palms and St. John grinned, narrowing his eyes.
"You think a little storm is going to scare me?" He snapped his fingers and instantly the storm outside vanished and Zeus gasped, stumbling back to clutch his forehead. St. John came toward him until Zeus was backed against the wall and St. John cocked his head, giving Zeus a once over, as if he enjoyed watching the king god as he struggled to comprehend the fact that he'd found a god, or something, stronger than he.
"Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't touch me," St. John's eyes flashed to gold, his pupils becoming snake-like slits, and his fangs dripping purple ooze, "I'm the boogeyman." Zeus flinched and shoved him, storming past him down the hallway.
St. John laughed, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, closing his eyes before opening them again to reveal they had gone back to normal.
"I take that back. I'm really enjoying my stay here," he put his hands on his hips, "Alright, hybrids, Greek, and Atlantean blood beast. Come out, come out." I winced and we inched out from our hiding place around the corner and St. John turned to face us.
"I don't get why Lucifer hates this place so much," he ranted, gesturing with a thumb over his shoulder the way Zeus had disappeared to, "He'd have just as much fun as me if he was back to being his bitter bad self again. Now he's all fucking flowers, candies, and butt sex twenty-four hours a day. Do you have any fucking idea how annoying that is? I miss the old Lucifer, the fun Lucifer, not the tamed housewife Lucifer." He paused his ranting to screw his face up in disgust.
"Love. It's one of the most disgusting things Satan ever created," he scoffed. Hannibal appeared confused by that and I frowned at St. John, who smirked at me.
"Speaking of love, you're here to tell me you're gonna go off to Atlantis, pretend like the plan is all normal and cool, then when Atlan finds you, you're gonna offer yourself up in exchange for Apollo. As if he doesn't want you both for the same fucking thing," he paused to laugh at himself, "See, old Lucifer would've appreciated that joke. Now he just kind of grimaces. He says because Hades and I have the same sense of humor." Now he appeared offended.
"That's disgusting. I have nothing in common with that piece of crap Greek slime. You know, the world was a better place before Greeks showed up."
"Gee, thanks," Menoetius said dryly. St. John grinned at him.
"You're a special cookie," he assured, making Menoetius scowl, but St. John ignored him to look at me, "You can go ahead and try your stupid exchange plan, but it won't get you anywhere. Atlan's probably already butchered him and brainwashed him by now. He'll pretend to go along with your offer and you'll both end up in the same position the hybrids were in." Arikos and Hannibal looked sick to their stomachs and I glared at St. John.
"Is that a premonition or are you just being a jerk?" I demanded. St. John stared at me, his expression emotionless now.
"I'm offering one of the many possibilities of what could come of this. Either way, you end up fucked, literally and figuratively. You don't have to be psychic to know that. It's like I said, love is one of the most disgusting things ever created. It tears you apart and throws you aside. And that's exactly what's going to happen to you and Apollo."
"Worked out kinda nice for Hannibal," Arikos offered. Hannibal just remained stoic and St. John glared at him.
"Your love is just screwed up in so many different ways, but that's probably why it works. But I'm still right; you're still getting fucked," he deadpanned. Hannibal's eyes flashed in irritation, but he kept silent. Menoetius, however, was the one to snap on his behalf as he stepped forward and grabbed St. John by the front of his shirt.
"Shut your fucking mouth before I break it," he snapped, but St. John just smiled innocently, "You're disgusting standing here like some all-knowing pompous ass when you don't know shit. Big fucking whoop, your brother ditched you because he thought he was in love with Atlan and the whole world's gone to hell and you decide to make the rest of us feel like shit to justify why you're still alive. Boo fucking hoo. Everyone has problems, asshole. So shut up, give us the details on this stupid suicide mission, and let's get this over with before I go find Atlan myself and hand him the dagger to cut my throat."
Arikos's mouth fell open and Hannibal just stared at him like he was crazy-- which I had no doubt he was. It would seem a few centuries in Tartarus killed the last brain cell Menoetius owned. He obviously didn't see Zeus run away like a dog with its tail between its leg a few minutes ago.
I expected St. John to get absolutely furious, probably kill Menoetius even, but instead, St. John easily pried Menoetius's hand off his shirt, straightened his clothes, then looked at Menoetius.
"Normally I'd break your nose and make you relive your worst nightmares every time you blink," he said casually, and Menoetius's jaw clenched tight, "But I'm going to let Atlan kick your ass and knock some sense into you. Also, Hannibal seems to torture you enough as it is just by existing. So you know, tit for tit." Hannibal looked uncomfortable and averted his eyes while Menoetius's emotionless shield came down again and his face became cold. Arikos looked at me helplessly and I simply shrugged, frustrated that we had to take this detour through Dramaville.
Thankfully, St. John seemed to realize that no amount of insulting me was going to make me change my mind. He sighed, frustrated as he wiped a hand over his face before he gave me an irritated glare.
"Gods, no wonder why you couldn't make a decent deal with the Source. Stupidity runs in the family," he shook his head, "But fine, whatever. Go ahead. But take this with you." He waved his hand and a strange medallion appeared in his palm; about four centimeters in diameter made of gold and an exquisite floral-like madala carved into it, and at the very center was a gorgeous emerald, perfectly cut into a circle.
"What's this?" I asked.
"A summoning medallion," St. John replied, frowning, "There's an inscription on the back. Only read it if you need me to come to you. And only do it if you're having problems that directly deal with Atlan. I'll come and get you all to safety as best I can."
"I thought you were all-powerful," Menoetius said snidely. St. John cut him an irritating glare before his mouth twisted into a bitter smile.
"I was all-powerful at one time. Now I'm just better than you," he answered, making Menoetius roll his eyes before St. John looked directly at me, "And when you summon me, say Joxeia." I frowned at the unfamiliar word.
"Jo-cks-eye-ah," I repeated slowly to be sure. St. John flinched, but nodded as I tucked the medallion away, then frowned at him, "What does that mean?"
"It means creator," he replied, but there was an underlying bitterness to his response before he cleared his throat, "Now get the hell out of here. Oh, and Anexius, do me a favor?" I frowned at him and he returned to smiling in a way that reminded me of a fox, closed eyes so I couldn't read him.
"Tell Hades to stop fucking spying on me or I'll poke his pretty eyes out and wear them as earrings."
My mouth fell open at that, but I didn't have time to ask him anything before a sudden cloud of smoke swirled around me, wrapping around me more and more until I felt something in me pop and I gasped, my eyes widening. I tilted my head back up to see the ceiling overhead blank out before reappearing as a clear blue sky...
And then I was under water.
Water filled my mouth, nose, and eyes. I snapped my eyes shut and choked, trying to suck air in, even though logically I knew I would just breath in water. I thrashed in the water for a second, flailing to the find the surface before a strong current caught me and threw me onto a sandy beach. I gasped for air, dragging myself out of the water, breathing hard as my hair fell in wet locks around me, sticking to my face and shoulders as the water threatened to rip my clothes off.
I blinked rapidly as I scrambled out of the water and onto a white sandy beach. I looked up, bewildered to see several large boulders and rocks scattered around the beach and then a stretch of tropical forest that didn't really last long before fading to desert in the distance.
"I'm going to fucking kill him!" I jumped, startled by Menoetius's angry shout and I rolled over in the water to see Menoetius stomping onto the shore, wearing only a soaked tank top and boxer shorts. I raised an eyebrow, then grimaced as he splashed by me and fell down on the beach to throw his wet socks off into the water.
"He could've set us on the beach," Arikos's voice complained from further down the shore. I looked over to see Arikos trudging toward us, shedding sopping wet clothing until there was a trail behind him. I frowned.
"Where's Hannibal?" I asked. Arikos frowned and looked around, reaching up to push his hair back from his face, eyes searching the waters before he looked at me and shrugged. I rolled my eyes and heaved myself up, coughing a little and stripping my clothes off until I was down to my underwear, because the heat and the water were just unbearable.
"He just picks us up and dumps us in the ocean," Menoetius said angrily, "That's great. And let me guess, Hannibal was dumped in a big nice hotel somewhere." Arikos gave him a chiding stare.
"You shouldn't have been mean to him."
"Fuck him and his feelings."
"You know, we probably wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for that attitude of yours," I said in irritation, and he just glared at me cluelessly, "Ugh, no wonder Hannibal constantly wants to murder you in your sleep. I would too if I had to deal with this every day." Menoetius just glared at me in silence and Arikos sighed before he seemed to catch sight of something behind Menoetius and I.
"Hannibal! Nice outfit!" He exclaimed. Menoetius and I turned to see Hannibal stepping out of the thin forest, no longer wearing the military uniform designed by Hades. Instead, he was dressed in ideal desert clothing. A thin white cropped tank top and shorts under a thin black robe that was nearly transparent that was tied shut with a black belt, accompanied by a holster filled with various survival gear and weapons, another loose thin black cloak with a protective hood that he had pulled up, a loose black scarf meant to protect against sand storms.
"St. John left us gifts," he said flatly, then paused to look at Menoetius, giving him a pitying stare that Menoetius responded to with an obscene gesture before he flipped to his feet, kicking sand everywhere.
Arikos and I shook our heads before we followed Hannibal just to the other side of the trees to a large army green tent that had been sent up with several cots inside, a healthy stock of food and water, a small arsenal of weapons, and several changes of clothes.
Relieved, I rinsed off in the small outdoor shower before changing into the clothes St. John had left for us. Similar to Hannibal's attire, only where his was black, I'd gone for the red. I pulled the hood up of the cloak just as Arikos and Menoetius changed into their clothes; Arikos opting for brown and Menoetius for a dark forest green.
"Did he leave us any sort of map," I asked as I approached Hannibal, who was studying ancient scrolls laid out on the single desk in the tent. Hannibal shook his head, frowning at the maps.
"All of these are old, really old. They probably aren't useful anymore, and we don't know what the Source allowed back in and what it clung to. For all we know, there could be new oases or no oases. We'll have to pack whatever we can and start moving out before it gets dark," he explained, studying the maps. Arikos approached him to lean over the desk on his hands.
"Great. There could still be scuttlers for all we know," he muttered. I grimaced at that and Menoetius frowned.
"What're scuttlers?" He asked.
"They're giant centipedes," I replied, and Menoetius winced, "They're the size of a horse and devour anything in their path, if they're hungry. Like snakes, they eat a meal and they're good for a while, though."
"Yeah, but can you imagine how hungry they'll be after the Source pukes 'em back up?" Arikos asked grimly. Everyone paused to shudder at that and Menoetius scowled.
"Wait, speaking of horses. How does he expect us to get through a desert to a place we don't even know the location to yet?" He asked. Hannibal cocked his head, studying the scrolls for a moment before he picked one up.
"According to this, there's a tribe about ten kilos out to the east. They breed usofios," he read aloud. Menoetius threw his hands up in exasperation, making Hannibal give him an almost comical deadpan stare.
"What is so hard about telling me things in Greek, huh?" He demanded. Hannibal rolled his eyes and Arikos just smiled patiently.
"Usofios are basically horses with a horn on their foreheads. I think people call them unicorns nowadays, but these aren't the glittery ponies that give little girls rides through meadows. These things have fangs and night vision and can survive on blood for months," he explained. Menoetius stared at him, then turned to Hannibal.
"Why couldn't you people just create something normal for once?" He asked. Hannibal shrugged and Arikos smirked.
"There's a reason no one liked us, kid. Our people weren't just crazy; our environment and our animals were crazy too," he explained. Menoetius gave him a look that said that was a huge understatement, but we didn't have time to discuss the oddities of Atlantean fawna.
"We need to head to the camp then, now." I stepped away from the desk, grabbing one of the scrolls with a map to the camp. Hannibal nodded, grabbing a few more scrolls and a satchel from the chest nearby, stuffing it full of supplies. We did the same before we headed out east toward the camp site. We stayed along the tree line that ran along the beach as it provided more shade, but it was still unbearably hot.
Because of the nearby ocean, the air was sticky and salty, making me grateful St. John had given us the set up that he had; otherwise, we'd be walking in this sweltering heat in thick stitched uniform made with hydra skin.
Of course, Arikos didn't really care what we were wearing.
"This is the worst," Arikos complained as we walked, "I swear, I will never complain about another Hell winter again. Bring on the snow. Bring on the cold."
"You'd think living in a tropical setting your whole life, you wouldn't have much to complain about," I pointed out. Arikos grimaced, plucking at his top that was already soaked in sweat.
"Yeah, but the palace had cool breezes. Atlan hates the heat, so he made sure Xelius had a constant flow of wind around the main temples," he explained. I had never noticed. Then again, I didn't spend much time in the main temples. I preferred my temple by the beach. It wasn't too hot there, what with the sea breeze.
Arikos did most of the talking the whole way to the camp, complaints about the weather and discussion on why Hell was better and why he was going to make himself a permanent resident of the realm. Hannibal smiled every so often as if Arikos amused him. I could tell he'd gotten very attached to Arikos and it was amazing to see him grow so much from the silent servant who stood by Zeus and Hades all those years, just existing.
And while I didn't like Menoetius, I hoped one day Hannibal would learn to forgive him, for whatever it was that Menoetius had done that Hannibal had deemed unforgivable. I understood Menoetius's position a bit, the brother that no one could forgive, the one that made mistakes and was constantly berated for trying to do good. Xenon said he forgave me and while he did speak to me now and then, I could tell he was still bitter.
Not so much bitter about the fact that I punished a pantheon that was deserving of it, but the fact that our pantheon was deserving of my punishment. Xenon had lived under the illusion that our father was great and wonderful and good and kind. Now Atlan had cast that mask aside and revealed himself for what he really was; a monster. And it broke Xenon's heart.
We finally hit the ten kilometer marker when we came upon the tribe's camp in the distance. Several white tents were strung up, usofios milling around with reins keeping them tied to posts, people in desert garb drifting from tent to tent. Of course, they had sentinels lined up around the camp and they noticed us the moment we approached.
"Halt!" One of the larger ones shouted in Atlantean. He hopped off his usofios and handed the reins to a small boy who stood barely to the top of the usofios's leg. The sentinel was tall and incredibly ripped in a way that reminded me of Hannibal, and he wore a black and white keffiyeh that framed his dark handsome face. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of tinted black goggles.
"Who are you and what business do you have here?" He demanded, hand resting on the sword in his holster.
"We're just traveling through, but we need usofios to get to the other side of the island. We're willing to trade for four of them," I offered. It was difficult to gauge the sentinel's reaction considering his eyes were hidden by the goggles and he kept a pretty stern expression. He stared at us in silence for the longest time before his lip curled in repugnance.
"One of you stinks of Greek," he sneered. Thankfully, Menoetius's Atlantean was rusty enough to where he didn't catch the insult, so he just scowled at the sentinel, who continued to sneer at him. I frowned at the sentinel.
"He's just a servant. We're on a mission for the gods," I explained. The sentinel gave pause at that, scanning our faces for a moment before he paused on Arikos. He cocked his head for a moment, and I was almost afraid he'd recognize Arikos as Atlan's son, in which case we could be in serious trouble if this tribe supported Atlan's efforts.
"Which god?" He asked after a moment. Relieved he didn't recognize Arikos, I started to answer, but Arikos butted in with a smile, his elbow grinding my ribs, making me hiss past clenched teeth. The sentinel raised an eyebrow curiously as Arikos beamed at him.
"We're here with the True King of Atlantis, Hannibal," he informed, then cleared his throat and pointed at Hannibal over his hand as if trying to shield the gesture from Hannibal, who glared at him in disbelief. The sentinel's jaw fell open before he quickly recovered and bowed low. Hannibal looked extremely uncomfortable with the gesture as the sentinel shot back up, eyebrows knitted in a frown of apology.
"Many apologies, my Lord. Forgive me for my insolence. Please allow me to fetch our chieftain to prepare you before your journey," he said, and before anyone could say anything, he turned to the small boy, "Hanius, go to the camp and let Chief know that we have the True King of Atlantis here." The little boy's eyes widened and he nodded, scurrying off with the usofios in tow.
The sentinel turned back to us and bowed again.
"If you'll please follow me, my Lord," he said, then stood up and gestured for us to follow before he started toward the camp. As we walked behind him, Hannibal passed Arikos a look of obvious irritation and Arikos just smiled at him.
"Aw, come on. Being King for a day can't hurt you. Look what great service we're getting, and we don't even have to do any trading," he pointed out. Hannibal didn't look at all reassured. If anything, he appeared to be plotting Arikos's demise and Menoetius just rolled his eyes, whacking Hannibal in the arm.
"Quit being a fucking sissy and get over it, King of Atlantis." Of course, only Menoetius could make a respectable title sound like an insult. Hannibal cut him a glare, but Menoetius just "tsked" at him.
I suppose I sympathized with Hannibal, though. Being King of Atlantis should be an honor, but with the blood and betrayal on that throne paved by Atlan, it was an unnerving seat to take. Not to mention, I honestly wasn't sure what he'd do about Akin. Bring him to Atlantis with him? Atlantis was far too... sparsely populated. Maybe one day it could be bustling like Hell or Hades, but right now, it was still an infancy and Akin was a city person through and through, according to his friends and family. He'd go crazy living in such silence.
Then there was the fact that the other gods probably wouldn't warm up to his relationship with Akin very well. Half of them were bound to be offended by it and the other half would see Hannibal's obedience to Akin as a sign of weakness and probably try and fight him for the throne, which would lead to yet another civil war.
Yes, being King wasn't nearly as easy as people made it out to be.
It was why, despite my mild hatred for Zeus, I understood some of his actions in the past. His decision to send Hephaestus away, his decision to allow Heracles, and while his decision to send Hades away was certainly rooted in something darker, it also gave the Greek underworld a powerful and strong ruler, when before it was nothing, but a squandered wasteland similar to Hell in the beginning.
But right now, I wanted to snap Zeus's neck and it was mostly rooted in the fact that he hurt Apollo and treated him more like a child than a god. And Apollo could be a child from time to time, but he had his moments.
And now my heart hurt just thinking about him again. I had been trying to do everything I could not to think about Apollo, because it only made me depressed and panic at the same time. Even worse, knowing that we'd parted on such bitter terms after Hades reclaimed me and I agreed with the decision.
I quickly pushed thoughts of Apollo away, though. I had to focus on the task at hand, one step at a time, like Arikos said. We had to find the artifact. Find the artifact, Atlan finds us, we get Apollo back.
The camp was made up of fifty or so people from what we could see. Most of them dressed in very thin robes ranging in color from brown to white to black for men, and the women wore more brightly colored robes and dresses and head coverings to protect against the sun. A group of women carrying baskets of fruit passed by us, giggling and eyeing Arikos, who grinned at them and they laughed even more, scurrying away.
The tents were pitched in a cone fashion, several smaller ones surrounding one large one that sat at the center with its flaps tied open to reveal rows and rows of cots that belonged to the tribe members. The smaller tents appeared to be more for labor and planning. The rich scent of frying meat and Mediterranean seasonings wafted into the air around us from one of the nearby tents that was pulled open to reveal a couple of men and a couple of women cooking inside.
The sentinel led us to a slightly larger tent just beyond the center one and he pulled the flap back, once again bowing to us as he allowed us entrance. We ducked inside, one by one, and were awed by the interior of the tent, which appeared much larger than the exterior.
Inside, the tent was decorated with weapons and pelts, colorful rugs splayed out across the sand, embroidered pillows. A person was seated on each pillow, and at the head of the tent, was their Chief.
A gorgeous woman with her long black hair pulled into a braid that was coiled into a tight bun, her topaz eyes appearing larger with the black warpaint she had painted on like a bandit's mask. She only wore a red beaded cropped tank top and a matching transparent skirt that revealed a pair of red underwear. Tattoos covered every inch of her arms and legs, and a large mandala tattoo circled her pierced belly button.
"Their chief is a woman?" Menoetius asked dryly and Arikos elbowed him, making him wince. The Chief's eyes glowed at that, her eyebrow going up in challenge.
"If you think you can speak Greek in my tent, Greek, you are sorely mistaken," she said in flawless Greek. Menoetius stared at her, but said nothing as she smiled at him before looking at the rest of us almost suspiciously.
"Who among you is the King?" She asked. We pointed at Hannibal, who just kept eye contact with the Chief, who rose to her feet to reveal she was almost on eye level with Hannibal-- something I honestly had never seen someone do. She cocked her head at him, studying him and Hannibal just stared back at her, mismatched eyes cold and calculating. Then the Chief broke into a smile and stepped back out of his personal space.
"So you are. Welcome, my King," she bowed and I noticed Hannibal flinch very faintly, "My name is Leakos. I am Chief of the East Desert Fae." Hannibal scanned the other faces for a moment, then looked back at her.
"Just call me Hannibal," he answered. Leakos raised an eyebrow, like she wasn't prepared to do so, but then again, Hannibal was the King and disobeying him would certainly be against protocol. So she just inclined her head respectfully.
"My son tells me you wish to get to the opposite side of the island via usofios. May I inquire as to why?" She asked.
"We're looking for an artifact," Arikos spoke for Hannibal, making Leakos frown at him, "We have no idea what it looks like or where it's at. All we know is that it has the power of premonition." Leakos blinked, then turned to one of the other people in the tent, a tall slender man with his dark braided hair pulled into a ponytail.
"Do we know of anything like that, Akylus?" She asked. Akylus frowned thoughtfully.
"I'll ask the mystic," he responded, getting up and ducking out of the tent. Leakos watched him go, then turned to us with a smile.
"He will probably go into a trance in order to answer. In the mean time, allow us to feed you and give you supplies. You seem to have enough for three days, but if you truly plan to scour the desert for your artifact, you'll be out there for a least a month," she informed. My stomach plummeted at that.
A month? We didn't have a month. Apollo didn't have a month.
"We can't--"
"Thank you," Arikos cut me off and gave me a firm pat on the shoulder, making me look at him in distress, but he just smiled at Leakos, "Your hospitality is greatly appreciated." Leakos inclined her head and led us out of the tent to take us to where they were setting up food to eat. Of course, she seemed to think she could walk so close to Hannibal that they were nearly touching, but Hannibal didn't even look at her as she talked on and on about their tribe.
"We can't stay here that long," I told Arikos, making him glance at me, "Apollo doesn't have a month. Olympus doesn't have a month. Atlan can do incredible damage in just a month, Arikos. By the time we find the artifact, half the world could be gone." Arikos shook his head and I frowned as he studied the nearby tents, pausing to flash a grin at a couple of women hanging up decorations on their tents, earning wild giggles before they ducked into the tent. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
Faes.
If any creature could give an incubus population a run for its money, it was the faes.
"Anyway," Arikos said, looking at me, "Atlan won't act right away, and he needs Hannibal and Xiphrus to do launch a full scale war. Right now, he's just a single threat in a sea of threats."
"But he's the one closest to obtaining his goal."
"True. But what did I say about taking this one step at a time?"
"You said one step, not three hundred steps," I muttered, making Arikos smirk, "There are too many steps and Apollo could be dead by the time we reach the top of them." My breath hitched at that and Arikos winced.
"Anexius, don't think like that. I'm sure... he's still alive."
"I don't know what's worse, Arikos. The fact that he's still alive or that he could be dead," I whispered and Arikos fell silent. Neither of us spoke as we followed the group to the mess tent where several people were already seated on pillows and eating. Leakos snapped her fingers and ordered a couple of nearby tribesmen to fetch meals for us before she led us to a more secluded part of the large tent where we could have privacy.
"So, you know nothing more of this artifact you seek?" Leakos asked us after the tribesmen had brought us our bowls of food. Arikos shook his head.
"The god who told us to find it said we'd know when we found it," he answered. Leakos frowned curiously at that, tapping her finger on the table before she turned to Hannibal and smiled as she watched him eat in silence.
"So, you are our next King?" She asked. Hannibal blinked over the top of his bowl, then set it down and licked the juice from his lips before he nodded. Leakos smiled even more, topaz eyes glowing as she scraped her teeth across her bottom lip. Arikos choked on a laugh, covering it up by drinking his soup. Menoetius's eyes darkened considerably, but he said nothing.
"Do you have a Queen prepared to take her place?" She asked. Hannibal gave her a flat stare.
"I suppose you could say that," he said flatly. Leakos pouted.
"What species is she?"
"He's an angel," Hannibal replied, picking up a strip of meat and taking a bite. Leakos gave him a drawl stare.
"Then he cannot bear you children," she pointed out. Hannibal stared at her, then looked at me for help. I smiled, turning to Leakos.
"Hannibal isn't interested in having children, Lady Leakos. He plans to rule the pantheon as is," I explained. I didn't dare mention that Hannibal was giving up his throne to someone else. If the tribe were to suspect that weakness, they'd probably take him hostage-- or try to anyway. Of course, Hannibal seemed to know this, so he just shrugged when Leakos frowned at him.
"That's a pity," Leakos observed, reaching up to twirl a loose strand of hair around her finger, eyes darting down, then back up through her lashes at Hannibal almost flirtatiously, "I would imagine you would have fine children." I don't think I'd ever seen Hannibal more uncomfortable. I wasn't sure why the idea of children made him uncomfortable, but I suppose it was the fact that she was obviously trying to weasel her way into what she probably hoped would become a harem.
Her offer didn't surprise me, though. During the ancient times of Atlantis, and many other places, monogamy was unheard of. Everyone had at least one other side dish, and kings had their own harems. Even Dexius's father had four other mistresses and a male prostitute he visited frequently in town. Sexuality wasn't as scandalous then as it was now.
In fact, the Greeks believed that everyone was born bisexual. The Atlanteans didn't even have terms for things like "homosexual" and "hetereosexual". You saw someone you fancied, and you took them, and that was it. If it continued into marriage, so be it.
However, things had changed over the years and what Leakos was doing was more than inappropriate by modern standards. It seemed Hannibal had embraced the idea of being monogamous and solely dedicated to Akin. For some reason, a ripple of pride went through me at Hannibal's decision.
It was really a pity he didn't want to become King of Atlantis, as destiny requested of him.
"Trust me, he doesn't need to spawn," Menoetius muttered under his breath in Greek. Leakos's eyes flashed at him menacingly.
"I also neglected to ask why you have a Greek pig sitting amongst you as if he were friend," she said, turning those eyes back on Hannibal. Menoetius scowled, then looked at Arikos, who shrugged innocently as he picked up a strip of meat to nibble on.
"Pff, I dunno what she said. Must be her dialect," he said. Menoetius gave him a deadpan stare that said he didn't believe that and Arikos just smiled sweetly. I shook my head as Hannibal frowned at Leakos.
"He is my half-brother. Ignore what he says. He was dead for several centuries," he tacked on. Leakos gave him a droll stare.
"Yes, and I was imprisoned for several more. As you can see, I am quite sane... and available," she said, obviously not beating around the bush anymore. Hannibal cocked his head.
"Are you interested in my half-brother? You can have him."
"Absolutely not," Leakos exclaimed in disgust, "He's revolting. I don't want my bloodline tainted with Greek impurities. All the people of my tribe are pureblood Atlantean faes created by the goddess Viskos when Atlantis was first founded by the Great Gods." Hannibal gave her a flat a stare, then looked at me. I could just see the question in his stare, wondering how Leakos didn't know that Hannibal had two races running through his veins. Of course, I don't think it was the pureblood line that had Leakos riled up, so much as the fact that Hannibal was turning down her offers one after another.
Of course, the woman didn't let up. We finished our meal and made our way to the tent where their mystic was. The entire way there, Leakos walked close to Hannibal, laughing and talking about their rich history and fertile backgrounds, mentioning all sixteen of her children, including her currently pregnant son that was on bedrest after complications. Oh yes, Leakos was definitely all over Hannibal like white on rice, and I could see Menoetius getting more and more tense as time went on.
I had to give the woman credit, though. Most people would've given up by now, and most men would've caved into Leakos's advances. Hannibal truly was eternally devoted to Akin and the thought made me smile enviously.
How wonderful would it be to have a partner who never once looked at another person with sexual interest? It was one thing to recognize another person's beauty, and another to want to touch that beauty impurely. Hannibal ignored Leakos's attempts to scoot her breasts up to the top of her shirt, ignored her lip biting, her innocent touches on his scarred arms, and even her flat out offers to at least bear his children.
Hannibal was a stone wall and Leakos was looking more and more deflated by the time we reached the tent.
"Ayklus!" Leakos shouted as we stopped before the tent. Her irritability increased when she received no response, so she tore the tent open and ducked inside, waving us to follow. Sharing wary stares, we followed Leakos into the tent and I was instantly overwhelmed by the powerful scents of incense and oils inside. An exotic combination of sandalwood and frankincense filled the air in curls of smoke that left a haze in the air and a strange layer of it on everything, including our skin. Herbs hung from the top of the tent, on racks, and plants were scattered around the tent in pots.
Meanwhile, Ayklus was seated beside a surprisingly young man with a feminine lean figure with bleached blonde hair that he wore coiled into a loose bun, his eyes closed and lips parted. He was stark naked, except for numerous gold jewelry shaped like vines and leaves with moonstones and emeralds adorning them, and strange white tattoos marked his chest and arms. Something about him was incredibly surreal and mystical for sure.
"Atlantis?" Hannibal asked. Arikos and I scowled at him and the mystics eyes opened, revealing eyes that were as milky as the moonstones on his jewelry. A slow smile spread across his face.
"Master, you've returned to Atlantis. I felt your presence the moment you stepped foot on my land. It feels good to have you back, Master," he said with a slight inclination of his head. Hannibal looked embarrassed at the title the mystic had given him. At Arikos's curious stare, Hannibal cocked his head.
"He's the spirit of the realm that saved me from the Khalian when they were hunting me," he explained, and Arikos's mouth opened in an "O" and Atlantis took a deep breath of air, and an eerie sensation filled the atmosphere around us, as if the whole realm itself was breathing with him, and a strange calm settled over me as Atlantis smiled again.
"Please sit," he said, gesturing to the other pillows. We obeyed and Leakos went out of her way to get a set beside Hannibal, who pinched the bridge of his nose and kept his eyes downcast. Arikos stifled a laugh.
"You seek the Orb," Atlantis said, making everyone look at him as he closed his milky eyes to rest his hands on his knees.
"It's an orb?" I asked. Atlantis gave me a secret smile, making me arch a brow before his gaze locked on Hannibal.
"Not just an orb, but The Orb," he explained, "It is an ancient tool used by the first gods to see how their creations would fare in the state the universe was in at the time, and to see coming doom so they could prepare themselves for the next life."
"The next life?" Arikos asked. Atlantis nodded, then waved his hands around in a circle, using his magic to form a strange swirling purple and green glitter mass that reminded me of the Milky Way galaxy.
"The universe is a living breathing entity. It is the Source. It is the void from whence all things came. It is the birthplace of the first gods, the first creatures. Your demon, Xiphrus, his siblings, Joxeia, and Geara," he explained. My eyes widened in recognition of the term St. John told me to call out should we run into Atlan. It wasn't really a term, a call for help, but his name, his real name.
Judging from the way he'd flinched at it, however, he wasn't fond of using it.
"Like all living breathing things," Atlantis continued, stirring his hands through the magical mini galaxy, causing it to quiver, "There must be an end. The end will be the end of all things, except the first gods. The first gods will seal themselves into a gateway to the Source, and be reborn in the new universe when it takes place. And so will begin a new chapter in the neverending chronicles of life."
"That's kind of unsettling," I admitted grimly. What was the point of trying then? The point of living, if billions of years from now, everything would end?
"Because everything would begin again," Atlantis said, answering my thoughts and making my eyes widen slightly as he smiled at me, "And life will continue in great beauty. That is the way of the world. Fortunately for us, we probably won't be alive then. A new generation of gods and demons and creatures will take our place and continue in our footsteps." For some reason, Leakos thought it was appropriate to flash Hannibal an encouraging stare, probably for her proposal to bear his children and Hannibal just pretended not to notice.
"We were sent by St. John-- Joxeia, to seek the Orb," he responded. Atlantis smiled.
"Yes. The Orb holds great immense power, especially when it is paired with The Key," he explained, making Hannibal frown. I stared at Atlantis.
"And the key would be...?" I tried, but Atlantis just smiled even wider.
"You already know the Key. As for the Orb, you will seek it in the place only the hybrid knows" he responded, making Hannibal's eyes widen as if realizing something, then Atlantis paused to cock his head as if he were listening to something the rest of us couldn't hear, and his smile faltered, "If I were you, I would move quickly. You're not the only ones who seek the Orb."
"Atlan," I stated and Atlantis nodded grimly. Arikos sighed as he heaved himself to his feet.
"In that case, it's been really nice, but we should probably head out then," he said, and Atlantis nodded before Arikos and Menoetius ducked out of the tent first. I started to leave, but not before I heard Leakos give Hannibal one last friendly piece of advice,
"Try not to die, King of Atlantis. The fate of the universe depends on you."