Iridescence

Chapter Forty-Three (Apollo)

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

APOLLO

Something was very wrong. The tightness in my chest wasn't just general anxiety about the coming battle.

"Artemis..." I whispered.

"What's wrong?" Eliza asked me.

"Something happened to Artemis. I can feel it... She's in trouble," I explained, trying not to panic.

"We'll find her, Apollo," Eliza promised she as she took my hand. Her touch grounded me, but it didn't change the fact that I knew something catastrophic had happened to my twin.

I didn't wait for the sun to rise. Instead, I went to our designated meeting spot with Eliza. She texted the other girls while I reached out to the Gods.

Most of the girls showed up quickly. Jenna brought Lucky with her. Emily stood with Jake, and Vanessa soon arrived with Billy.

Hermes, Prometheus, Ares, Nike, Poseidon, Morpheus, and Tethys joined us. I thought we'd assembled everyone who was going to come, but then I saw the last of the cavalry.

Hades came toward us radiating with power. He was visibly ready for battle. Beside him stood Hecate.

"I heard we may need a portal to reach Krissy," Hecate explained. "Hades was hoping that my magic can counteract Viktor's enough to give us access to the pocket realm."

One other ally had arrived with Hades, and I was genuinely shocked to see her. "Nemesis," I greeted her. "I didn't think you'd be joining us today."

"I brought this evil into the Universe," Nemesis replied. "It's only right that I help destroy it."

"And people thought Hera was a bad mom," Hermes joked. "At least she didn't call her children it."

"Altheos was never a child," Nemesis replied sharply as she pinned him against a tree, her right arm putting pressure across his throat. "He was the embodiment of pure evil, but no one ever listens to me or to Hades."

"Calm yourself, Nemesis," Poseidon said, radiating the kind of power only he and his brothers possessed. My generally mellow uncle didn't do this as often as Hades, and he certainly didn't do it as often as Zeus did, but the force of his voice was enough to make the ground shake. It stopped Nemesis in her tracks.

"Stop wasting time and release Hermes," Poseidon said in a much calmer tone.

Nemesis glared at him, but she released my brother, who wisely ran and hid behind our uncle.  

"Thank you for coming, Nemesis," I said politely, trying to calm our unexpected ally down. "We appreciate your assistance."

"Apollo... Faith isn't here," Prometheus said in concern. "When she left with Artemis, they intended to go back to the group home. I don't know if they made it there."

"I texted Faith along with the others," Eliza said. "She didn't answer."

"We need to go check the group home," I decided. I led the way. If any other deities decided to show up, they'd have to find us wherever we ended up.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes who stood in front of the group home. She looked terrified, and I suspected she'd witnessed something that had traumatized her.

"Hello, sweetheart," I said gently. "We're looking for Faith. Have you seen her?"

The child started crying. She looked at some of my scarier companions, namely Hades, Nemesis, and Ares, and cowered in fear.