In The Beginning, Chapter 137
Charlie POV
The battle was definitely going our way, even I could tell that, the wolves were ruthless in how quickly they took down an opponent, so why did everything hurt? And why were my ears ringing like I had been hit? I couldn’t really hear anything, or process that I was staring at the sky for a moment. I ran my hands over my body looking for wounds, but it just felt bruised, and by that, I mean everything felt bruised. I grasped my power on instinct, the pain easing quickly thanks to Theia’s tutoring, and sat up, looking around, trying to understand what happened. Daniel rushed to my side moments later.
“Are you alright? What was that?” He asked me, but I had no idea what he was talking about, I just shook my head.
“Theia?” I called, forgetting she couldn’t help, the memory of our conversation only coming back to me after I had called her. After she had made the birds on the front lawn, she had walked back into the house like she had done no more than a cheap parlour trick and began examining the map anew. While the rest of us were too stunned to move, when we eventually pulled ourselves together enough to follow her back inside, everyone had questions.
“Why in the fuck are we risking our men when she can do that shit? She is obviously powerful enough to take them out on her own! What the fuck is this?” Lander had demanded to know, laying into Daniel angrily, while Daniel was staring at Theia like he wanted to rip her throat out.
“I would like to know the same thing.” He had replied quietly, his quiet rage almost radiating off of him.
“I have been learning about our enemy for eons. The only creature closer to Zeus than Hermes, is Apollo, it could be Dionysus, but I doubt it, he is a specialised tool, only deployed when you want to maximise casualties. I am almost certain that Apollo will be the one to attack, it is the only thing that makes sense... and I cannot fight him.” Theia replied, her shame obvious to everyone.
“That’s not good enough.” Daniel growled.
“Enough, all of you out, I need to speak with my aunt.” I stepped between them, the Lycans all growling, their displeasure obvious, even Daniel. “Now.” I ordered, letting out my version of their Alpha aura, another thing she had been teaching me, at the time it helped that I had a lot of rage over Daniel and the succubus, and nowhere to put it. The three Alpha’s were the only ones able to resist, for a few moments at least, I pulled it back when I felt Lander almost submit, allowing them to leave of their own volition and save face, Theia wasn’t my only teacher after all. I could hear their argument continue into the living room as I closed the door, turning to her with a look of slight desperation. “You gotta give me something here! They are this close,” I brought my index finger and thumb together until they were almost touching, “to walking! We can’t fight this battle without all of them!” I pressed, while she couldn’t meet my eyes.
“I cannot fight him.” She sighed, taking a seat. “Physically, I cannot fight him. When he stole from Deo and me... It never goes away, as long as he keeps feeding it, part of us exist in him, we are not like you, our mother made it impossible for us to hurt ourselves, so whenever I face him, my powers fail. I can help you protect yourself, and aid you, but I cannot fight him. I think it is also the reason everything dies around us when we fight... some programming or a failsafe she built us with... I am sorry, I only meant to reassure them, that I... what is the phrase... had it covered? I would be beside you if I could and will be when we fight Zeus.” She swore.
“You need to tell me absolutely everything. You keep promising you will only for me to find out you have been hiding something, and I’m sick of it!” I snapped, still angry. “I have to explain this to them.” I stated, shrugging and heading for the door.
“You cannot! You swore to me you would keep Deo’s secret!” Theia cried, jumping up and coming after me.
“I have to tell them something, and as crazy and fucked up as it is, the truth kinda makes sense, I think they will get it. So, I have no choice, I have to tell them something, anything, before they walk!” I snapped, ripping the door open and storming into the living room, my anger growing as the men paused their screaming match, but were all openly hostile towards me.
“Don’t even try to defend her if you haven’t got the best explanation in the world.” Daniel warned me, adding fuel to my burning fury.
“She knows the woman Zeus raped to create Apollo, and Theia was the one that helped her when she birthed him, at which point, after stealing from his mother’s soul, he stole from hers. She can’t fight him, because she would be killing a piece of herself, which her creator would not allow. Her powers won’t work against him. And as he was the first of his kind, she had no way of knowing this when he was born, so she had no way of protecting herself. Is that a good enough explanation?” I snapped, none of them dared say a word, but I saw a flash of guilt in Daniel’s eyes before I turned on my heel and walked away from them.
“She can’t help us, baby, you need to get up!” Daniel’s voice pulled me from my memories and jangled thoughts. I let him help me to my feet before I realised, he was human again.
“Why aren’t you shifted?” I asked confused.
“The blast hit me hard, what was that?” He asked looking around us concerned.
“I have no idea.” I replied, before Daniel threw me behind him, blocking me with his body.
“I did warn you it wouldn’t hold me for long!” Apollo called, those that could, either scrambled to him, and the east of the meadow, or to the west, where many of the wolves had been thrown. More of his reinforcements started bleeding through the trees, at least a hundred bitten, possibly two, led by Asclepius and his daughters they swarmed around Apollo. Creating a perimeter around him.
“Hey!” I called, trying to buy some time, but also confused. “If Zeus is the One True King, why do you go by King of the vampires?” I asked him, looking for a rise.
“My father, Zeus is The One True King... mine is merely a nickname my children bestowed upon me; the King knows it is just jest.” He smiled, but I saw the click of his jaw.
“But... aren’t all of you vampires?” I pressed. “Don’t all of you need to rob innocent people of their sparks?”
“There are the purebred, and the mongrels. I am a purebred, this lot... putting them out of their misery would be kinder, than allowing them to continue, don’t you think?” He jeered. Lander and Kasa made their way to us as we prepared to fight again, several men were being treated by Hyacinth and Ethan and a man I had met but I could not remember his name, against the hedges at the edge of the meadow. Several bodies littered the battlefield between us, many more of them than us, but it was still loss. Those that could be, had been dragged towards our side, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to cry, and speak to each family member, and grieve, but I didn’t have time, so I got angry. Daniel growled loudly, getting everyone’s attention, he pounced forward, so he was leading them, shifting as he did. Instantly, those that could, shifted and moved into their position, as I walked up to the Alpha.
“How many did we lose?” I asked, genuinely confused by the number of pieces of bodies scattered in the blast everywhere. I was glad there were no trees above us as I watched limbs and a head dangle precariously from the bare branches opposite.
“Sixteen, seven from our pack, five from Lander’s, four from Kasa’s.” Daniel replied sadly.
“Seven?” I asked, horrified.
“All but one were our new members, they’re going to think I did it on purpose.” He sighed.
“No, you gave them a choice, they could’ve gone with everyone else as protection, or run the borders, you gave them options. They chose to fight!” I insisted, running my hand through his soft fur. The men were waiting on the order, but Daniel’s eyes were following a small bird, hovering above Apollo, who was arguing with some of his men. I jumped in shock when he suddenly drew a sword and decapitated the creature arguing with him, it was one of the goat’s. He saw me recoil in horror at how he was treating his family, because that’s what they were, either his children, or his brothers'. Some may even be siblings, and yet he had killed one so easily, and grinned at my repulsion moments later, it was unnerving. Especially with his face, so similar to the one I saw kill Daniel, I had thought them the same person at first, my panic had me blocking Daniel’s chest with my body, terrified the dream was becoming a reality. As I looked at him now the differences were obvious, Apollo had jet black hair, straight, but shorter than his father, whose hair almost glowed blue. Apollo was also paler, and with a broader chest and shoulders. He was arrogant, without empathy, and willing to do anything to achieve his goal. And the gold wings that were meant to be intimidating, made him look like he was ready to head to Comicon. I looked at the once beautiful meadow and the bodies that littered it and let my anger grow. It was as wide as a football field is long... roughly, and could fit three or four pitches within its length, and where there once was beauty, and nothing but wonderful memories, they had bit by bit turned our haven into a nightmare, almost all of it was corrupted by blood.
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