Apostolos I Summon You to Human Form

Chapter 15

The clammy heat of Kalosis was nearlysuffocating. Gazing around, Kalosis looked oddly reminiscent ofMinecraft's Nether dimension. It was dark, sultry, and thepredominant colors were red hues, blacks, and greys. Every buildingwithin sight had a running theme of gothic and Greek. Motifs of deathand decay were aplenty. Even without knowledge of Accalia's location,it wasn't a stretch to consider this setting actual Hell.

Before she could gather her bearings,a heavy breath blew upon her from above and behind, and she heard asoft snort. She looked over her shoulder and gasped, wheeling around.Before her was a massive horse. No, not quite – she didn't rememberhorses being so big, let alone feature fangs and those massivecurved horns. The creature bumped her softly with its nose, sniffingcuriously. Accalia held perfectly still. This beast could end herlife sooner than she could count the ways it could kill her. Herheart pounded and avoided staring into the deep, dark abyss of itsblack eyes.

The creature wound up losing interest,and turned to canter back to its kin. Kae finally exhaled, realizingshe had held her breath. She breathed deeply to reset her nerves, andallowed herself to locate the only building worthy of Apollymi'stemple. It was the largest of all of them, built on the crest of alarge hill, with a large marbled silver dome. Several balconiespeeked out underneath the domed roof, with black metalembellishments. Vines and roses were a part of the design, which wasa dead giveaway.

Accalia headed up the cobblestone pathand followed the staircases built into the hill. Her steps echoedloudly, announcing her presence. All the while she could feel a chilltraveling over her spine, and goosebumps rose and stayed on her arms.The two guardians of the temple lifted their heads, and thenexchanged mischievous looks after seeing the mortal woman. Ofeverything she'd seen in Klaosis so far, these demons were the mostcolorful thus far. Charontes, according to her book about Acheron.Their marbled skin, wicked-looking horns, and imposing wings werequite an intimidating sight.

One of them asked her a question in alanguage she didn't recognize. It was melodious despite theunderlying gravel and hissing sounds.

"Uhm, I'm here to visit Apollymi,"Kae said in a shaky voice. At her clear uncertainty, the one who hadspoke grinned maliciously and rose to his full height. He steppedtowards her. Accalia could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Shetook a step back. She could see in his eyes a hint of his intentionsfor her. Before he reach her a loud, commanding voice rang out anorder.
"Stand down."

Both Charontes fell to their knees,facing the direction the voice came from. Approaching them was a tallwoman dressed in a slim black dress. Her hair was waist-length andpure white. Her eyes were a swirling silver. Her beauty left Accaliabreathless. Her appearance in person was so much more striking thanthe image she'd seen in Katoteros.

"Apollymi," she whispered in awe,bowing before her as well.

"Come, child." The goddess turnedand headed into her temple. Accalia followed as she was instructed.The foyer opened up into a large throne room built out of blackmarble with gray and silver accents. Roses and vines crept up pillarsalmost as if invading the space. Three stone thrones stood erectalong the curved wall; the middle one was taller than the other two.Apollymi sat down in that chair and fixated her gaze upon Kae.

Accalia began to kneel but the goddesswaved dismissively.

Kae stood. "Acheron is-"

"I know my son in is danger." Hereyes flashed fiercely, no doubt anger over his additional suffering.

"Can he be saved?"

"Just so he can continue servingthat Olympian bitch?"

Accalia shook her head. "She freedhim. She had promised to hand over the existing Dark-Hunter souls inreturn for my visit to you. He would no longer have to pay her forblood or for others' freedom."