Apollyon c-4

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  He barked a mad sort of laugh. One that usually meant he was close to pushing me into a corner. “Do you really think that’s what’s going to happen once you succeed in wiping out all the Councils? That Lucian is going to free the halfs and everyone is going to love one another?”

  I opened my mouth, but he kept going. “And let’s pretend that’s not absurd and we’ll all be high on happy pills. The gods are never going to allow it. They will risk exposing themselves to the whole mortal world to stop you. Innocent people will die. You will die.”

  My heart tripped up a little. “So I should do nothing?”

  “No. Don’t you know? The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

  “And whoever came up with that was a complete and utter idiot. To win the war, the enemy must be stripped down to their bare bones and destroyed.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You’re an idiot.”

  My lips twitched. “Shut up.”

  Caleb drifted over to me. “Alex, you have to break the bond with Seth. Break it and you will understand everything.”

  “No.” I backed up, running my hands along my hips. “You told me to not give up on Seth. And now you want me to?”

  “I don’t want you to give up on him,” he said, voice taking on a pleading edge. “There’s still hope for him, but only if you can truly reach him. And being the head of Seth’s fan club isn’t going to do it.”

  I laughed then. “That was so you when you were… you know, around. You totally had a boy crush on him.”

  “And I still do. He’s pretty awesome, but right now he’s high on power. Like a meth-head. No. Better yet. A crack-head and a meth-head rolled into one. He’s out of control. Good gods, he’s working with daimons! And if you get out of here and connect with him—transfer your power to him? It’s all over, Alex. He will drain you dry without even meaning to.”

  I gasped. “He would never do that.”

  “He wouldn’t mean to, Alex. But he would. And once he has, he’ll become the God Killer and no one needs you.” He shook his head sadly. “That’s if you even make it to him. Apollo will stop you. Every god will come down here to stop you.”

  Shaking my head, I refused to believe this. My Seth would never drain me. He needed me, like I needed him. And together, we would be unstoppable. We could change things. As the Apollyon, I wouldn’t lose people like I’d lost Caleb and my mom.

  I shook my head.

  “Alex,” he pleaded softly.

  “No. No! Because I’m powerful enough now that no one I love will ever die again!”

  “Alex—”

  Stupid, weak tears burned my eyes. “If I had been the Apollyon when we were attacked, I could’ve saved you!”

  His form flickered. “No, Alex, you couldn’t have.”

  “Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that.” My chest was too tight. He faded a little. “What’s happening?”

  “I have to go.” Caleb looked stricken. “Break the connection, Alex. It’s the only way to save you both.”

  I shook my head so fast my hair slapped my cheeks. Before I could utter a word, he flickered out and was gone. I stood there for minutes, maybe hours, staring at the spot where he’d stood, fighting tears and everything he’d said. I didn’t—couldn’t believe what he’d said.

  Caleb didn’t get it. He’d never lost people like I had—people like him. While he was in the Underworld playing Mario Go Kart, I was up here, knee-deep in the pain and anguish of losing him and my mom. I was dealing with the fact that my father was a damn servant.

  He didn’t get it!

  Being connected with my Seth was the only way to save us. By the time my Seth and I were done, there would be no more pain.

  CHAPTER 5

  I had the distinct impression that Caleb had failed somehow after he’d left, and I hoped he wasn’t going to get punished. I didn’t think Apollo would do anything to him, but then again, what did I know?

  Caleb’s visit left me tattered. Keyed up and with no way to expel the nervous energy, I paced the cell. Part of me wanted to rage and scream. A whole other side of me wanted to sit down and cry like a little baby. Seeing Caleb was like a gift, but all we’d done was argue. It left a stone in my stomach that just kept pulling me down, down.

  When Aiden appeared with a bag of takeout food, I almost threw it back at him, but I was starving. And I… had the strangest urge to tell him about Caleb.

  “Who’s here?” I asked between mouthfuls of mystery meat and soggy buns.

  He didn’t answer.

  I rolled my eyes, finishing off the burger. Rummaging around in the bag, I pulled out an extra-large order of fries. With all the exercise I was getting, my escape would involve me rolling out of here. “I know someone has shown up.”

  A handful of fries went into my mouth, and then another. Salt and grease coated my fingertips. Yum. “Are you not going to talk? Just sit there and stare at me like a creeper?”

  Aiden cracked a half smile. “You called me that once before.”

  “Yeah, because you are a creeper.” I frowned at my almost-empty carton. There were never enough fries.

  “Actually, I’d been watching to make sure you didn’t sneak off the island.”

  I remembered. It had been the night of Zarak’s house party, back when things had at least seemed simpler. Zarak… I wondered what had happened to Zarak. I didn’t think he’d been on the island when Poseidon had pitched a fit, but I didn’t know.

  Finished with the fries, I licked the salt off my finger as I lifted my gaze.

  Aiden’s eyes flared silver, and something warm unfurled in my stomach. I put my other finger to my lips—

  Holy baby daimons everywhere, what the hell was I doing? I grabbed a napkin, wiping furiously at my fingers. Across from me, heat roared off Aiden.

  By the time I finally looked at Aiden again, he was all kinds of coolness—the master of impassivity. He even arched his brow at me. Good for him. Whatever. He’d totally checkmated me, but now I knew who was upstairs—Laadan and Olivia. I remembered then that while I’d been on the Elixir, Deacon had told Aiden they were coming. Then I’d hid in the closet because Aiden had raised his voice.

  I’d actually hid in a closet.

  “You look happy,” Aiden commented as he unwrapped a chicken sandwich.

  Man, who scrapped the mayo off and only ate a sandwich on one bun? Aiden. That’s who. “Oh, I was just reminiscing about learning how to play chess and hiding in closets.”

  He’d only taken two bites, but tossed the remainder in his bag. A muscle worked in his jaw. “Alex, I hated seeing you like that. As much as I hate seeing you like this. So if you want me to feel guilty, I do. If you want me to hate myself for making that decision, I do.”

  I should’ve been doing a celebratory dance or something, because I’d gotten a nice little jab in there, but my shoulders sagged. Words were on the tip of my tongue, words I shouldn’t say. So I said nothing. We spent the rest of whatever time of day it was in silence. When he left, I didn’t reach out to Seth. Between Caleb’s surprise visit and the thing with Aiden, I was too out of it.

  Sometime later, maybe a couple of hours, I heard the door open and shut quickly—way too quickly and quietly to be Aiden, who always came down the stairs like a warrior preparing for battle.

  I popped up from the mattress, holding my breath.

  Two slender, denim-clad legs came into view, and then a billowy white shirt tucked into the front of jeans. The knee-high boots gave my visitor away. They were great boots.

  Olivia.

  Opportunity had just come a-knocking.

  She came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, her tight curls pulled back from her face. Olivia’s caramel-colored complexion was beautiful, even when it was pale. She looked like she was staring down a horde of daimons right now.

  “Alex,” she whispered, swallowing.

  Slowly, so I wouldn’t send her scurrying back up the steps, I approached the bars.
I knew the moment she got a good look at my eyes, because she backed up, hitting the bottom step.

  “Don’t go,” I said, gripping the bars. Pale blue light flickered. “Please don’t go.”

  Her throat worked again and she glanced behind her quickly before her gaze swung back to me. “Dear gods, it’s true. Your eyes…”

  I smiled wryly. “They take a little getting used to.”

  “No doubt.” She took a deep breath and stepped closer. “Aiden… he’s going to kill me if he finds out I’m down here, but I just had to see you for myself. He… they’re saying you have to stay down here—that you’re dangerous.”

  For once, someone else’s impulsivity was a benefit to me. “I’m not dangerous.”

  “They’ve said you’ve threatened to make a crown out of Deacon’s ribcage.”

  Aw, hell… “I haven’t done anything.”

  She looked doubtful.

  “Okay. You know me. I say mean things when I’m mad.”

  Her lips twitched. “Yeah, you do. Alex…” Her gaze flickered over the bars. “Damn…”

  I had to proceed with caution, but I had to do it quickly. Who knew how much time we had before Aiden realized Olivia was down here and ruined all my fun? Using a compulsion would be easy and the quickest way to deal with this, but… but a part of me, that stupid, stupid part of me, wanted to talk to her… my friend.

  And there was something I hadn’t gotten a chance to tell her, something important.

  Olivia inched closer to the cell. “You look… you look terrible.”

  I frowned. “I do?”

  “Have you been sleeping?” Her gaze drifted over me. “You’ve lost weight.”

  Sort of relieved to hear I hadn’t packed on the pounds, I shrugged. “You look great.”

  She touched her cheek. “I don’t feel great. You have no idea what’s going on out there. Everyone is freaked out, because of…”

  “Because of us.”

  “Us?”

  “Seth and me.” I leaned my head against the bars. “You went to New York, right?”

  Olivia shook her head. “We started to, but it’s real bad there. They’re not letting anyone in. The place is on lockdown, but there’s a lot of fighting inside, I hear.”

  The Elixir had stopped working there, courtesy of Lucian, and my father… my father was there.

  “The gods, they have these things surrounding the Covenants.” She shuddered and wrapped her arms around her slender waist.

  My interested piqued. “What things?”

  “I don’t know. They’re like half-bull, half-man—but machines. We ran into them when we were heading to New York. My mother continued on, but she didn’t want me there. She sent me here with Laadan.”

  A foggy memory resurfaced, one of Apollo and Aiden talking about those creatures. I wondered if my Seth knew about them. Probably. I let go of the bars and tucked my tangled hair back. The ends curled halfway down my chest and probably were in need of a cut. Around Olivia, I couldn’t help but compare myself.

  “Alex, things are going to get worse. You—”

  “I saw Caleb.”

  Her mouth dropped open, and whatever sales pitch she had was forgotten. “What?”

  “I’ve seen Caleb twice since he… passed.” I needed to get this out, and then I’d do what I had to. My Seth would call this need a weakness and it was, because I was wasting precious time, but Olivia needed to know. I’d promised Caleb I’d tell her, and after I escaped I had no idea if I would see her again. “The Order attacked me while I was still at the Covenant. One of their members killed me. I went to the Underworld—”

  “You died?”

  I winced at the shrill pitch. “Yeah, I was dead, and then I wasn’t. Long story. But I saw Caleb.”

  A hand fluttered to her chest. “Are you messing with me, because I swear to the gods, Alex, I will hurt you.”

  Cute, considering she couldn’t touch me, but I grinned. “Caleb’s okay. He’s really okay. He spends most of his time playing Wii, and he looked great. Nothing like…” The back of my throat burned. “He’s really good.”

  Her eyes glistened in the dim light. “You really saw him?”

  I nodded. “He wanted me to tell you something. I didn’t get a chance, with everything that’s going on.”

  “Understandable.” She choked out a laugh. “What… what did he tell you?”

  Olivia had always had manicured hands, but the nail polish was chipped and old. I kept my eyes on them. “I don’t know what this means, but he said to tell you that he would’ve picked Los Angeles.”

  There was a sharp inhale, and the silence stretched out so long I eventually had to look, and when I did, I almost wished I hadn’t.

  Tears streaked down Olivia’s cheeks, running over the fingers now pressed to her lips. An answering emotion rose in my throat and I bit down on my lip. Los Angeles must’ve meant something really important. I wished I were on the other side of these bars, not to escape, but to hug her. But I needed to be on the other side of these bars, and I needed to escape. There was no more time.

  “Olivia,” I said, and my voice was different, even to my own ears—softer, lyrical. Power hummed.

  She stiffened, and then her hands left her mouth as her eyes locked onto mine. Tears clung to her thick lashes, but they weren’t what made her eyes glossy now. It was the compulsion in my voice, an ability that had become innate upon Awakening. Part of me abhorred what I was doing. Olivia was my friend. Using a compulsion on her was wrong, but there was no other way. I had to get to my Seth. She would understand eventually.

  “Do you know where the keys are, Olivia?”

  She nodded slowly.

  “Good. That’s really good.” I reached through the bars, motioning her toward me. When she placed her cool hand in mine, I squeezed gently. “Where are they?”

  “With Aiden.” Her words were slow.

  Dammit. That wasn’t good. “And where is Aiden?”

  “He’s with your uncle and Laadan.” A soft sigh leaked from her lips.

  Crap. There was no way she could get the keys. My gaze slipped to the cage door and an idea took hold. Letting go of her hand, I gripped the bars and watched the flare of light. It was weak and didn’t reach the Titan mark on the ceiling.

  “Olivia, will you help me?” I threw as much power as I had into my voice, and her eyes widened. “You’ll help me, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Great.” I smiled as I hurried to the door. The weakest point was where the lock was; if both of us worked it at the same time, it might just be enough. “I need you to pull on this door, Olivia, as hard as you can.”

  She walked to the door in a daze, obediently placing her hands on the handle.

  “Put everything into it,” I urged softly. “Pull. Pull hard.”

  And she did. Half-bloods were unbelievably strong, and metal ground as the bars rattled. Olivia bent at the waist, digging in with her boots. I stepped back, wishing I had some shoes, because this was seriously going to hurt.

  “Keep pulling,” I ordered, and then I took a deep breath.

  Turning halfway, I spun and planted my heel into the bars around the lock. Pain splintered into my foot as shimmery blue light flared and faded quickly. An inch-wide gap appeared between the door and the bars.

  “Pull really hard, Olivia.”

  She grunted, bearing down.

  Caleb was going to haunt me for this.

  Leaning back, I hit the door again. Another gap appeared. With my foot going numb, I gave it one more kick. Metal groaned and gave way. The sudden force sent Olivia to the floor and the door… it was open.

  Not wasting time, I bolted through the gap, half-expecting to be cut down by some unknown defense, but then I was on the other side of the bars.

  I wanted to do a victory dance and shout, but I dropped down and clasped Olivia’s cheeks. She stared into my eyes, completely under my control. “Stay here, okay? Stay here until someone comes
and gets you.”

  Olivia nodded.

  I started to let go, but paused. “You won’t blame yourself for this. You will blame me.”

  “Okay,” came the soft, sleepy reply.

  I let go and started for the stairs. A bitter taste was in the back of my mouth as I glanced over my shoulder. Olivia remained on the floor, her eyes fixed on the spot where I’d stood.

  “Thank you,” I said, not that it mattered. She didn’t hear me or understand. She wouldn’t do anything until someone came down here, and then it would be like waking from a dream.

  I’d see her again. Once my Seth and I changed things, I’d see her again and I’d apologize.

  Reassured by that, I slipped up the narrow stairs, pausing at the door. There were no voices on the other side. Taking a second, I tested the bond for Seth. He wasn’t there, and I didn’t have time to wait around for him to show up. As soon as I was outside and knew where I was, I’d call for him.

  Inching the door open, I checked out the hallway. Empty. It was narrow, and paintings hung on the walls. It split two ways. Toward the right, natural light streamed in through a small window, beckoning me. I slid through the door, closing it behind me quietly as I took in my surroundings. I’d been on the Elixir the last time I’d been upstairs—the only time, actually—and I vaguely remembered that this hall led to the kitchen and a living room of sorts. Off the kitchen was the sunroom, which led outside. A strange feeling unfurled inside me, and there was a flash of Aiden and me in that sunroom.

  I pushed it out of my head and crept down the hallway. I seriously wished someone had left a dagger or something lying around. No such luck. Come to think of it, I should’ve asked Olivia where we were. I rolled my eyes. God, I sucked sometimes, but I’d been so concerned with getting free.

  As I neared one of the closed doors, I thought I heard Deacon laughing, and then Luke. Biting down on my lip, I slipped around the staircase that led upstairs—

  The door swung open and I came face to face with Lea. Crap.

  Mouth dropping open, Lea blinked and took a step back, bouncing into the wall.

  “Don’t—”

  Her high-pitched, shrill battle-roar cut me off, and then she swung at me. She actually freaking swung at me. Gods. With no time for a compulsion, I deflected her blow with a brutal swipe that sent her spinning. She caught herself on the wall and grunted. Before she could regain her balance, I swiped her feet out from under her just as Deacon’s shocked face appeared in the doorway.