by Sadie Anders
“It appears that it is time,” he said. He turned to Kai, who nodded.
A portal opened before us, the blue light swirling into a large oval.
Apollo looked at us. “You should go. They won’t stay in there for long.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
Apollo took a small bow.
“Kai,” I said. “Are you coming?”
Kai’s normally joyful faced looked far more reserved. “No, I’m going elsewhere. When we left Aporia, I knew that it was time to rejoin him.” He nodded towards Apollo.
Tears began to fill my eyes. I hadn’t realized how close I had become to Kai.
“You’re not coming back with us?”
He smiled and shook his head. I ran over to him, giving him a hug.
“Thank you for coming. For helping us. I don’t understand what’s going on, but thank you.”
“You’ll understand someday soon,” he said. “Tell my friends at the Kylix about our journey. I promised them a thrilling tale, after all.”
Apollo opened another portal, next to the one he had created for us. Instead of blue light, it shone with golden beams, flashes of white light escaping through the opening. I tried looking inside, but all I could see was a blinding brilliance.
“Come,” Apollo said.
He took Kai by the hand, and they walked through. The portal closed behind them.
Another resounding boom sounded from the hidden room.
Raphael pointed towards the portal. “Go, Lexi! We’re right behind you.”
I ran as fast as I could towards the swirling vortex, jumping in head first.
18
My eyes were closed, but I could hear stifled movement around me. Wherever I was, the room felt like it was full of people but oppressively quiet, like the space was filled with onlookers who were trying to be still but not succeeding very well.
Cold rock pressed up on my body. I was on the floor.
I opened my eyes, and I saw someone towering above me. A beautiful young man gazing straight ahead.
Apollo.
But it wasn’t him. It was his statue.
I was back in Apollo’s temple in Delphi.
This time, though, the faintest hint of a smile crossed his face.
How peculiar.
I sat up. Several people around me gasped.
The people in the amphitheater.
The temple’s glass roof allowed me a glimpse up the slope of the mountain, and I saw that the seats were completely filled with inhabitants of Delphi.
How did they know I was returning? And how long had they been waiting there?
Time was different across realms, after all.
Perhaps the priest had sent out a message, gathering the people for our return. He was Apollo’s priest, and the town was known to live for these prophecies. Of all the strange things that had happened to me recently, this one didn’t bother me. I didn’t need an explanation.
I stood up and looked around. I was alone. None of my traveling companions were nearby, and I became frantic.
They had to have returned from the Empyrean. I couldn’t be the only one.
They couldn’t leave me all alone.
I heard a groaning, like someone was in pain. It was quiet, though, and I couldn’t locate its source.
I searched around frantically. But nobody was there.
“Uncle Julian? Raphael?”
As I spoke, the groaning picked up, getting louder and more urgent.
I searched the room from top to bottom. Still nothing. The place was cold and empty, nothing but marble and gold.
Apollo looked straight ahead as ever, his stone eyes lifeless in comparison to the vibrant being I had recently met. I considered him, wondering what kind of power he had here, in Asphodel.
“Help me,” I whispered, putting all of my hope, all of my desire to find the hurt person into those words.
A small click sounded, and the base of Apollo’s statue opened, revealing a hollow space beneath. Two people were inside, their bodies bound and gagged.
Eryx and Apollo’s priest.
I rushed over to them, untying their bonds, my fingers fumbling in the urgency of the situation. The knots were tight and difficult to remove. I focused my powers, and heat moved through my hands, singeing the ropes away. They fell to the ground in a heap of ash. My powers had become much more focused, which surprised me.
Eryx climbed out of the cavernous area below the statue, removing the gag from his mouth.
“I think he’s unconscious,” he said, pointing to the priest.
We pulled him out together, spreading him flat against the ground. I opened my bag, seeking out the last healing potion that I had with me. Opening his mouth, I poured it inside.
The priest’s eyes flew open, and he sat bolt upright.
“You’ve returned. I knew you would survive the Empyrean.” A small smile crossed his face.
I laughed quietly. “That’s your first thought right now?”
“Our thoughts are our thoughts,” he said gently.
“What happened?” I asked. Before I could receive an answer, Eryx placed his hand on my shoulder to grab my attention. His voice was urgent.
“You’ve got to help us,” Eryx said. “Where are Raphael and the others?”
I wasn’t sure myself. “I don’t know. They were supposed to follow me through. I thought they would be here.”
The priest pointed towards the outside. “You’re the only one who was consecrated to be in this room, the holy space. Your companions have likely been sent back into the city, not the temple.”
Not knowing what they might be walking into, I bolted through the temple, making my way to the front exit. As I ran through the last doorway, I stopped dead in my tracks, nearly falling down the stairs ahead of me.
In front of the temple, lined up as far as I could see, was a legion of forces.
An army, and one that was intimidating as hell.
Soliders were lined up in precise rows, not flinching or moving a muscle. Their purple tunics and silver armor reflected the indigo light overhead. Armor on each soldier’s chest was emblazoned with a sigil—three women with bat wings and snakes for hair.
Ug.
The Furies, or at least the less attractive versions of them.
Standing at the head of this mass of men was Galba, that pretentious jerk. He didn’t look alarmed or pleased to see me. In fact, he didn’t even acknowledge my presence as he stared straight ahead. Panic raced through me.
Had the Furies sent him to intercept me? How did he get so many soldiers here so quickly? It had taken us a long time to get here ourselves, and we weren’t even moving a ton of people and gear with us.
Or maybe we had been gone longer than I thought.
“We are pleased that you have returned,” someone said, their voice echoing off the hillside. “And even more pleased that it wasn’t your opponents who returned. I do not fancy having to confront Ember again. You, on the other hand, well. Let’s just say I won’t mind facing you.”
A man stepped out from behind the shields of several soldiers.
Cleon.
I felt tricked.
And I felt like I should have known better.
How had I been so stupid to think that he was actually helping me? That he considered me a friend?
Cleon made his way up the steps and approached me.
“Where is your guardian? Did he burn in the light of the Empyrean?” He looked positively hopeful about that.
I didn’t answer him.
“Fine. If you won’t have a little cordial conversation, then I’ll have to insist on taking the device now. How unceremonious.”
He extended his hand, expecting me to turn over the Phos Eos. I glared at him.
Cleon impatiently waved his fingers, beckoning me. “Come now. I haven’t got all day.”
“I don’t have it,” I said.
“Now, that isn’t true, is it? I told you exactly how to find it, if you had
half a brain anyway. And the fact that you’ve returned has told me all I need to know. That you were the victorious one.”
He leaned in conspiratorially.
“I don’t pity Heliodor and Ember. Truly. Tisiphone will be so upset with those traitors, with their absolute failure. Maybe they’ll get to see her true nature soon. I sincerely hope so.” He smiled at the thought, relishing her cruelty.
“Maybe she won’t have the chance. I killed them in the Empyrean.” I wasn’t sure why I had said this. I had no love for Ember or Heliodor, but I loathed the idea of any of the Furies using their ghastly powers on people. It was truly horrifying to witness. Nobody deserved that.
I took a look at Cleon’s smug face as he was backed up by a sea of well-trained, professional troops.
On second thought, maybe I was wrong.
Some people deserved an ass whooping.
Cleon flicked his hand at me, swatting me away like a bug. “Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t have it in you to kill anyone, nor could you kill those particular foes. Too weak. Ember and Heliodor will return, and when they do, Tisiphone will make short work of them, if they’re lucky.”
“You knew who Ember was all along,” I said. “In the marshes.”
“When you work for the Furies, not much escapes you, especially knowledge of the powerful players in Asphodel.”
Eryx emerged from the temple and came to stand nearby. Anger was written across his face. I wondered about everything that had happened while we were gone, about how he had ended up bound and gagged in the temple. After his hospitality to Cleon, he deserved so much better. My anger flared, and I felt sparks stretching across my hands, leaping from fingertip to fingertip.
A blaze of light flashed near us, distracting me from setting Cleon alight. A portal had opened in the middle of the street, and two bodies tumbled through onto the Sacred Way. Raphael and Uncle Julian lay sprawled on the ground, looking confused. Not their usual graceful entrance, but I was so happy that they had returned, even if the circumstances were terrible. At least we could face this together.
When they noticed the troops standing before them, they scrambled to their feet.
“Lovely,” Cleon said, rolling his eyes. “The guardian has returned.”
Raphael bounded up the steps toward me with rapid speed, trailed by my uncle. He placed his body between Cleon and myself, instinctively knowing what was happening and ready to protect.
“Don’t you think bringing Galba was a little much?” Raphael asked, his voice seething with anger.
Cleon shrugged. “When you have a former Roman general in your employ, you don’t have many opportunities to put him to use. Well, not to his full potential, anyway. I had to.”
“Full potential? We aren’t an army,” I said. “It’s not exactly a fair fight.”
“It’s the closest thing we’ve had to a real battle in a long time. I’ll take it.”
“If you keep it up, I’d say you’ll have more battles on your hands. If you treat your friends like this, then your enemies will surely take note. Those rebels won’t be settling down anytime soon.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Cleon said quietly. He turned towards the army. “Did you hear her? She threatened to fight us more. I’d call that treason, wouldn’t you, Galba?”
Galba nodded, still looking extremely bored. “Yes, yes. Treason.”
“And in front of all of these witnesses,” Cleon added. “How careless.”
Eryx leaned over my shoulder, whispering. “We can retreat to the temple. They cannot enter. Such an impiety would never be forgiven.”
I didn’t think Cleon would care too much about being impious, but I did remember that the priest had told me before that the temple could damage or kill a vampire. It was worth a shot. Maybe we could make a plan.
“Go,” I whispered.
Raphael gathered me in his arms and ran inside, his speed like a flash of lightning. I couldn’t tell what was happening until he placed me on the marble floor inside the first room of the temple. Eryx and Uncle Julian came in moments later. I was relieved that they had made it unscathed.
Uncle Julian began chanting, his voice low and melodic. I felt a power begin to emanate from him and spread wider and wider, like a bubble of power growing to encompass the entire building.
A protection spell.
Flaming arrows rained down on us, and with the glass ceiling, it looked as though they would set us on fire at any moment. The spell held, however, and the arrows bounced off of the protection dome like they were nothing.
Raphael rushed to bolster the door, piling incredibly heavy objects in front of it. Small statues of solid marble. Thick wooden tables encrusted with gold. His strength was amazing to witness.
A sharp intake of breath came from my uncle.
“I don’t know how long I can hold the field,” he said. The magic was feeding off of his power, but something seemed to be wrong. I looked down, and Uncle Julian was bleeding profusely. He must have been injured when trying to enter the temple.
I turned to Eryx. “Can you heal him?”
“Not without supplies. A wand. Some potions.”
Oh. I realized that his powers were different. He wasn’t an elemental. Magic didn’t work the same for everyone, and I had forgotten about the limitations of typical practitioners. They needed something to focus and channel their magic through. It wasn’t instinctive in the same way it was for me.
“Raphael,” I called out. “Help him.”
He rushed over and quickly assessed the extent of my uncle’s injuries. I was amazed at his ability to ignore the blood in front of him. It had pooled around Uncle Julian’s ankle, a thick mass of dark burgundy.
“He was grazed by an arrow, but it didn’t go through. He will be fine, but we need to stop the bleeding.”
Raphael grabbed my arm roughly, closing his eyes, channeling my power. A spell, barely voiced, whispered across his lips. I looked down, and Uncle Julian’s bare leg began patching itself up, as if time had sped up, a thick scab growing on the surface of his skin.
I looked at Raphael. This person, this incredible being, and our power together was beyond my understanding.
He opened his eyes and let go of my arm. He ran his hand over my uncle’s leg. Satisfied with his work, he looked back at me.
“I have to secure the rest of the temple,” he said.
I nodded. “Go.”
I looked up at the protection barrier through the glass ceiling overhead. As arrows continually pelted it, I could see the energy in parts of the dome beginning to shake. Before long, it would give way.
Raphael had been able to channel my power through him, like a conduit, and combine it with his own. I wondered if I could only do that with him, or if I could add my power to Uncle Julian’s.
I placed both hands on Uncle Julian’s and looked up at the dome overhead, its pale yellow light shimmering as the onslaught continued. He grabbed my hands and began chanting once again. I concentrated hard, willing the protection to hold. The dome began shifting, its shimmering surface solidifying, turning harder and more crystalline. Before long, the arrows were not merely bouncing off of the surface. Instead, they broke instantly on impact, crumbling into nothing but ash.
Uncle Julian’s mouth dropped open.
“That should buy us some time,” I said.
“I should say so,” he responded.
I let go of him and sat back on the ground, trying to think of what to do next.
A few moments later, Raphael reemerged, followed by the priest. Raphael turned and bowed to him.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Be safe, guardian,” the priest replied.
I was confused. What was Raphael thanking him for?
My thoughts were interrupted by a piercing and thunderous noise.
“I have a message for the witch.”
Cleon’s amplified voice resounded, echoing off the walls of the temple. We waited in silence. I wasn’t sure if he
thought I would peek my head out of the temple to hear the message, but that surely wasn’t happening.
After a moment, he continued. “Come out now. Bring me the Phos Eos. If you do not, the residents of Delphi will pay the price.”
“He’s going to shoot them with flaming arrows?” I asked Raphael, panic in my voice.
“I don’t know,” he said. “There is no way he has the authority to do so.”
Cleon’s booming voice broke our discussion. “For every minute that you make me wait, I will turn one of these lovely citizens. They will make solid additions to our forces. You can never have enough vampires.”
“Are all of the soldiers vampires?” I asked Raphael. That would be an incredible amount, much more than I had thought existed in Asphodel. Not to mention that I didn’t think vampires were that keen on being commanded.
“No,” he said. “They aren’t. Anyways, he’s not allowed. Vampires must seek permission to do that, especially if the fledgling isn’t a human. He’s bluffing.”
“He’s not.” Eryx looked at me, his eyes holding back tears. “He turned her. My sister. He already turned Lyra. That’s why I tried to fight him.”
Raphael shot a glance towards him, rage filling his face.
“He can’t.” His voice trailed off, and he became lost in thought.
Raphael hadn’t realized, or it hadn’t sunk in yet. The rules didn’t apply anymore. Things had gone sideways.
The world wasn’t the same.
The Furies and their minions ruled with arbitrary power. Power that was absolute. There was nobody to stop them. Not really.
“Oh, I get the feeling that Cleon does pretty much whatever he wants now, Raphael,” I said. “He’s a con man and a criminal, and he knows that nobody will stop him. He’s too close to the Furies.”
“I tried to lash out at him, convinced that the choice hadn’t been her own,” Eryx said. “But then his army came. It was too much. We couldn’t resist them. Delphi wasn’t ready. He rounded us up into the amphitheater. He wanted us to watch what would happen.”
“He needed witnesses for his victory. His petty cruelty,” I said.
Cleon and Galba had taken over this entire town, one that had been nothing but warm and welcoming to outsiders. There was no need for such cruelty. These rulers of Asphodel merely wanted to impose their presence, show how powerful they were. Rumor would spread throughout Asphodel that the Furies would be willing to crush a compliant town full of peaceful citizens. The rebels would be that much more reluctant to take up arms.