Set Me Free

14. The Helldeer

     So, the previous night, I went to sleep with tons of questions that had to be answered. This morning...it narrowed down to one. I wanted to know what these black reindeer really were. I only remembered two words, and that was the supposed place where Apollos' father seemed to lurk. Twilight Shadows...I recalled the location. I wondered where that was, losing track of where my gaze fell as I began to stare out the window, into the night.

     "Listen," Apollos suddenly cut in as we were sat on the floor, staring at the screen of my iPad.

     "Huh?" I paused the film.

     "I think you deserve an explanation for yesterday's occurrence..." his ears guiltily folded inwards.

     "You mean when those three..." I paused and tried to find a suitable word.

     "...Helldeer." Apollos said. "The darker in colour their fur is, the more powerful and higher ranking they are." His eyes went all dark and depressed. I actually feared he would have some sort of mental breakdown if he started telling me all about those...Helldeer.

     "Um...and your father's...broken antler?"

     "Call him Zeus," Apollos murmured. "That's what he was called in 1117."

     King Zeus...that's pretty unsettling considering that his name is from one of the most powerful known gods in Greek mythology...

     "Right, and what's with that antler of his?" I sat myself into a comfortable criss-cross position on the floor of my living room. "Did karma get the best of him or something?"

     "You could say that," Apollos looked away for a moment at the evening sky.

     "Apollos..." I laid a firm hand on his furry back. "You didn't kill him...did you?"

     He perked his head up and looked curiously at me in the dim light. It wasn't an action that would make him seem guilty or anything, don't get me wrong. However, the way he did it...it was like he was shocked, seemingly not knowing it was a possibility of why his father's antler was bent at that crooked angle. Apollos shook his head to my question soon after.

     "He actually took his own life by throwing himself off the same cliff that I was pushed off of."

     "Really?" I tucked my legs against my chest and pulled up the quilt I had draped over my shoulders.

     "Yeah."

     "So who's the other Helldeer that was there?"

     "Oh, right." He seemed disappointed that I had brought up the subject of the third entity. "That guy, or girl I should say...she's my sister. Older sister."

     "Let me guess," I shuffled slightly. "She was to be the next heir to the throne and you ended up taking that spot after you were born?"

     "I see you've been educated well on ancient monarchies..." he shrugged a quick smile. "Yeah. She was pretty pissed."

     "So why were all three of them in my...flat?" I made an awkward expression as I asked. I had never interviewed someone as intensely as this. Normally I was just that "nosy" guy who was curiously about everything.

     "Remember that deal you made with Dad?" He itched at the back of his ear. "The reason he wanted our happiness, was because...the Helldeer actually feed off the souls of the dead, or the happiness of the living." Apollos did that funny shaking motion that reindeer, or just deer in general, did whenever they were itchy in a certain spot.

     "I need to know- is it painful when someone's happiness is taken from them? Like gut-wrenching pain? Or just a sting, or nothing at all?" I bit my lip and clutched the edges of the quilt closer to me.

     "They're called Helldeer for a reason, Dan."

     Fuck me.

     "Well I guess I'm screwed," I shrugged and jokingly smiled.

     "There might be a chance that you're immune to them..." Apollos quietly added in.

     "Immune?" I gasped. "Really? Why didn't you tell me?"

     "Because it's like...one in a trillion people that can be immune..." he sighed loudly. It was almost as if I had caught him red-handed for hiding information from me, which I guess I technically did.

     I figured it was no use asking him for the circumstances of being immune, given that I was the least unique human being ever. I yawned silently and stood up from the rug on the floor. My teeth had been brushed two hours earlier since I didn't feel hungry anymore, so I walked straight to my room and tiredly sat on the side of the bed.

     Apollos followed inside about five minutes later and thought it was a good idea to try and shove his large body into the covers with me. I couldn't help it though, he was actually really soft, and I ended up wrapping my arms around him. Since Apollos' back was faced to mine, I couldn't tell whether he was still awake, I just knew he was probably having the same overwhelming thoughts as me.