Inbetween - Book 1 of the Guardian series

Chapter 15- Going backwards again, and the tour.

Leucothea's building had been stolen.

Apollo didn't feel the warmth that was Amelia anymore. He just stared at it, shock coursing through his body, shock and grief at what she'd taken. What she'd done to it. It was changed, here and there, she'd made it different slightly, but he knew it. He knew those stones. Knew everything about this building, every last dent, saw the roof tiles that he'd spent hours making while Leucothea worked on the tiles for the courtyard, saw the slightly uneven tiles in the courtyard exactly where she'd left them when she'd left the In-between.

Where she'd given birth. The bedroom she'd given birth in.

His son's room.

Leucothea's garden. Her fig tree. Amelia had stolen it all. 

"Sol, take her to the markets." Apollo couldn't look at her suddenly. He pursed his lips, shutting his eyes, feeling his affection for her fade fast. There were many things he could forgive. But, even if she'd done it without knowing what it meant to him, this had gone a bit too far for him. New or not. He couldn't look at her. She could merge with his world, take parts of his home, Apollo allowed that. 

Amelia couldn't take Leucothea's place. Not literally. Not symbolically. Not in any way. He had to get rid of her now before she did this again. Had to get the old women to re-bond her to a different Guardian. Apollo couldn't take it.

Amelia was confused. She had no idea what was going on. He'd gone from snuggly, and cuddling, and apparently wanting to touch her all the time... not something she could disagree with... to this. Cold. She was actually shoved away towards Apollo's brother.

"Apollo?"

"I've changed my mind, Amelia. About this." Nothing else. No look. Didn't even open his eyes. One second he was standing there, his fingers clenching into fists, then he was gone. Vanished. Amelia stared at the space he'd vanished from. 

Watched her home fall apart. Vanish. Crumble into ruins. It was just ...gone. All of it. It was just vanishing away, stone by stone, Sol yanking her back fast as every last tile, every last piece of ancient furniture, all of it gone. All that was left was the modern things, the bed, the chest of drawers, some other things, tumbling down onto a now bare patch of earth and breaking.

 Apollo stormed into the chamber of the three old ladies, ignoring Clotho's cheerful, "Hello!" and crossed his arms.

"Another one. You have to give her to another Guardian. I want to know where my wife is now."

"Not going to happen." Lachesis replied coolly. She didn't greet him. She just stared at him. Apollo didn't care how rude it was of him to barge in like this. Didn't care how fast they hid the weaving.

"She's taking pieces of my wife's world. I can't deal with this one. I need you to swap. I tried and I'm sick of it. Sick of this. I need to follow her now, beyond, living world, where ever she went. I demand-"

"Oh, demand, do you?" That was Atropos as she came out. "The agreement was one apprentice and we'd allow you to know where your wife had gone. We never said you'd be able to go to the Beyond or the living world, did we?"

They hadn't. Apollo shut his eyes. They'd used him. Used him again, as they always did, manipulating him to do some more work for the In-between when he was tired of it. "You tricked me. Used me."

"No, you used us." Lachesis snapped. "Always have tried to use us for information. Agreement has been made. You train Amelia to be a Guardian and then we discuss your wife and what else you may know. Get going. Get her dressed and take her."