Iridescence

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

APOLLO

Something was wrong. I could feel it in every corner of my being. I searched for the source of my anxiety, but there was no visible trouble. I still couldn't shake the feeling.

"Something's wrong..." I mumbled. "Something's really wrong..."

I headed toward my collection of crystal balls, scrying bowls, scrying mirrors, and scrying stones, and tried to see if anything felt like showing me a vision to help point me in the right direction. My collection has been growing for my whole existence, making it very large. I have an entire building in the Land of the Gods set aside just to house them all.

I wandered for quite a while, stopping at various divination tools, but none of them felt right. I knew I had to keep going. There was a vision waiting for me, but my mind was too stubborn to let it come to me naturally, so I had to scry for answers. It annoyed me that such an important vision was evading me, but it also worried me. My mind only fought visions like this when my subconscious knew they were going to be traumatic.

After almost an hour of searching, a bowl I hadn't used in millennia filled with water and began to hum. I approached the small clay bowl cautiously. It was black and had never been decorated beyond that, but it had once been very reliable. I knew this bowl well. I'd used it often during the battle against Chaos.

The vision it showed me depicted a young woman whose face I couldn't see. She was dancing around a fire with her hands raised toward the sky. They were covered in blood.

As she spun around, she laughed with glee. Thousands of snakes began to slither around her. I could hear screams and sobs of grief.

"Abby!" Krissy shouted. I suddenly saw her on her hands and knees sobbing over her dead aunt. Eliza was also in tears.

Jenna's entire family was scattered in pieces around us. She was fatally wounded and had obviously fought to defend them. I had to look away, because seeing her like that hurt too much.

Vanessa screamed for her mother, whose body was a few feet away. Anger was all I saw in Emily's eyes. She and Faith attacked the girl, who simply laughed.

And then, I saw confirmation of something I already knew, but it still filled me with too many emotions to identify at once.

Altheos walked toward the girl with the smile I knew all too well plastered on his face. He cut off Emily's head effortlessly while the girl stabbed Faith in her back. Both Emily and Faith fell to the ground dead.

The girl hugged Altheos before saying, "Welcome home, Father."

I was screaming when Hermes snapped me out of the vision. "I take it that wasn't a pleasant one," he said gently. "Are you alright, Brother?"

I was trembling. "He's back," I said. "Theos is back."

"Yes," he replied patiently. "We knew this, Apollo."

"I saw him. It's really happening, Hermes."

"Did you have doubts?"

"I lied to myself... I told myself there was hope."

"There is always hope, Apollo. Even if Theos is back, there is still hope. We will stop him. We know the truth this time."

"What if that's not enough? Someone targeted the families of Iridescence. They were broken... Jenna was slaughtered... And Theos killed Emily, and..." I shook my head. "And a girl killed Faith. A girl who called Theos Father."

"Wait... Theos had a child?" Hermes asked in surprise.

"It appears that he did, yes."

"Where has she been hiding for all of this time?"

"I have a feeling we're going to find out very soon, Hermes... She's dangerous. I could sense her power levels, but I never saw her face."

"You once told me that visions are often symbolic, not literal. Tell me every detail you remember, and we'll try to break it down together,"

"You'll help me?"

"I just found my daughter, Apollo. I won't lose Rydia again. She may be Krissy now, but my girl hasn't changed, and I still adore her. Besides... There is no way in Hades I'm letting you lose Kleia ever again."

I hugged him. "Thank you, Brother," I said.

"Anytime. Come on. Let's put our heads together and get to work."

We were about to try that when I heard something in the air. I listened closer.

Apollo, Eliza called to me. Apollo, help! Please!

"Eliza..." I whispered. I took off running without explaining anything to my brother. Thankfully, Hermes had no difficulty keeping up with me.

We raced to Eliza's house, and when we arrived, I sensed trouble. I also saw blood splattered across the window.

I tried to open the door, but it was locked. Before I could break the window, Hermes picked the lock easily and got the door open. There had obviously been a struggle.

A woman lay motionless beneath the window. I recognized Eliza's mother. My first instinct was to try to heal her, but Hermes gently grabbed my arm. "She is lost, Brother," he said. "We need to focus on finding Eliza."

At the mention of Eliza, I realized he was right. Where are you? I thought. Give me some clue...

Suddenly, I knew. I raced up to the attic and found the door locked. "Eliza, it's me," I said. "Open the door."

She didn't respond. I almost panicked, but I heard muffled sobs coming from inside. Hermes tried to pick the lock and failed.

"It's a magical barrier, not a physical one," he said. "Eliza must have sealed it."

"Eliza, sweetheart, please open the door," I pushed. "We're here to protect you. You're safe."

"Apollo, we need a deity of magic... Perhaps Hecate can-" Hermes began.

"I can get through to her," I insisted. "Eliza... Kleia... My love, my consort... Release the hold on this door so I may reach you."

I focused on letting sunlight spread under the door, hoping she would feel me even if she couldn't hear me. A minute later, the door slowly opened.

I ran inside. Eliza had not physically touched the door, but I was certain she'd opened it. She sat in the furthest corner of the room, holding her knees to her chest. She was sobbing softly. She didn't seem to be completely aware of her surroundings.

"Eliza..." I called gently.

She didn't respond. I slowly moved closer to her. "Apollo, she's in shock," Hermes said.

"I can see that, Hermes," I replied. I examined her carefully. She was bleeding from her head. Her arm had a gash in it. I immediately began to heal her.

When she finally looked back at me, it was not Eliza's eyes I saw. "Kleia..." I whispered.

She smiled at me sadly. "Hello, my beloved," she replied.

I clung to her, filled with too many emotions to think of anything else. My beloved Kleia was back in my arms, and unlike Eliza, she remembered everything we had been through. I loved who she had become, but I missed her original soul at the same time.

"Kleia, I... I cannot believe this," I said. I nearly started to cry.

"I had to fully awaken," she explained. "Eliza is too broken to function right now. He would have killed her."

"Who would have?" I asked. "Who did this? Was it Altheos?"

"No, Beloved," she said softly, touching my arm gently to calm me. "This was not Theos... It was Eliza's father."

I stared at her in horror. "He killed her mother and attacked Eliza? Has he ever harmed them before?"

"No... He was not very emotionally supportive. Neither was her mother, really... They largely ignored her, but neither one has ever harmed Eliza physically, and her father never raised a hand to her mother... The two mainly did a lot of yelling at each other. Tonight, he attempted to abduct Eliza. Her mother interfered, so he killed her right in front of Eliza."

"My Gods..." I whispered.

"What made him escalate to violence? We saw her mother... It was gruesome," Hermes said.

Kleia looked heartbroken. I held her even closer, radiating with light to try to comfort her.

"His soul has awakened," she told us softly.

"Who was he?" I asked.

"Viktor," she replied.

"Viktor? He was a traitor, but Chaos eventually deemed him useless and killed him. Why wouldn't he continue hiding here, undetected and living his life?"

"I think Theos got to him and convinced him this was necessary... You know what a good talker he is."

"Where is he now?" I asked.

"Viktor is a deity of Doors and Portals. It was incredibly difficult to keep him out of the attic. I had to write a chant specifically against him."

"Thank goodness you were able to," Hermes replied. "By the way, despite the circumstances, it is lovely to see you again, Kleia. You were dearly missed."

"Thank you," she replied softly. She turned back toward me. "Apollo, my love, I must bring Eliza back... This is her life to live."

"How can I help her?" I asked.

"She retreated into her mind and processed this trauma through song, as I always have. I believe when she regains control of this body, that shall ultimately be how she copes. For now, just stay with her. The police must be called."

I knew my presence would be difficult to explain, even as I took the form of Mr. Ray. Still, I would not leave Eliza to face this alone.

"Go, Hermes," I said. "Make sure the other girls are safe. I will remain."

Hermes left. Kleia kissed me, and I momentarily forgot what I was supposed to be doing. Then, she said, "I love you."

"I know," I replied. "I love you, too." I sighed, knowing I had to act responsibly. "Go on, Kleia. I will take care of Eliza."

"I know you will."

Eliza suddenly regained awareness. "Apollo..." She whispered. "Something happened..."

"I know, my sweet Eliza," I replied soothingly.

She leaned her head against my chest and shed a tear. This one was magical. As it fell onto my chest, her memory was absorbed into my energy. It played in my mind as if I was watching a movie from her point of view. Kleia and I had been able to pass memories to each other just like this.

Eliza was in her bedroom when her parents began screaming at each other. At first, she tried to ignore it, but something felt different this time.

She cautiously headed downstairs. Her father smiled at her too warmly. She knew something was wrong.

"Dad? What's going on?" She asked.

"We're going on a trip, Eliza," he replied.

"You're not taking her out of this house at this hour," her mother said firmly.

Her father grabbed Eliza by her arm harshly. "Dad, you're hurting me," she said.

"Let go of her!" Her mother shouted. She grabbed his hand and tried to pry it off of Eliza's arm.

Her father suddenly dropped any pretense of playing nice. He flung her mother away from them. He released Eliza and rounded on her mother, attacking her savagely with a knife.

"Daddy, stop!" Eliza screamed. She ran toward them to try to help, but he slammed her head into the edge of the coffee table. It was sharp enough to draw a lot of blood and Eliza couldn't focus.

He concussed her, I realized, trying to ignore my growing rage.

Eliza still tried to fight, but she was in no condition. As her father stabbed her mother to death in front of her, she could do little more than scream, "Mom!"

When he was done with her mother, he turned toward Eliza. "You are coming with me, Kleia," he said sharply.

Eliza realized what was really happening despite her concussion. "You're part of this?" She asked.

"I am," he confirmed. "And you chose the wrong side. Again."

He tried to grab her, but she managed to flee. He caught her arm with his knife, slashing it open. She ran upstairs because he had magically sealed the front door. She locked herself in the attic and began to panic.

"Eliza..." I said softly as the memory faded. "I am so sorry." She remained silent as I guided her downstairs.

As the police pulled up outside, I realized Hermes must have called them. Krissy and Abby ran out of their house.

"Liz!" Krissy shouted frantically. "Liz, where are you?"

I sighed and asked, "Are you ready to face this?"

"No," Eliza replied softly, "but I'm going to do it anyway."