Set Me Free

20. The Black Key

     "Mate, again?" Woody made an unimpressed expression as he walked into the flat and removed his shoes. He sighed before heading into the living room to slump down on the couch beside Kyle.

     I sighed before gently sitting down on the couch opposite to my mates. "Sorry guys. It's just that Apollos and I met his mother this morning-"

     "Hold the fuck up," Kyle interrupted. "YOU FUCKING MET THIS DUDE'S MOTHER?!" My best friend gave a wide-eyed stare at the reindeer, who was startled by Kyle's burst of shock.

     "Calm down," I scolded.

     "Um, he's Kyle J. Simmons," Will sheepishly pointed out. "He can never calm down."

     Very true, William.

     "Explain," Kyle said with a bold tone.

     Apollos and I exchanged a glimmer of a smile in our eyes as I made a small glance at the faint glow of red around his neck. Kyle, Will, and Woody lost interest and began to make quiet murmurs of conversation with each other. A swift breeze ran through my dark hair, to the opening of the living room. A faint outline could be seen through the light of the sun.

     3.....

     .....2.....

     .....1.

     "You wished for me to return here to tell the story?" A woman's voice sliced the silence. "Where is my son?"

     "Here, mother," he peeped his head out from my right side.

     The sunlight that shined through the windows made Polia seem more majestic in a sense. She slowly made a trot to the centre between the two couches, her long reindeer legs nearly touching the coffee table that sat there. Her eyes trailed to meet mine for a swift second, before they trailed off and stared at the guys, then to her son.

     Apollos stumbled slightly as he shuffled to get himself off my couch and into a stance opposite of his mother's. Both reindeers' fur made a contrast to the other's. Silence followed. Apollos used his mouth to removed the necklace from around his neck, now hanging around a prong of his reindeer antlers. Polia made a single nod, and the neck was tossed to her antlers.

     "This here," her eyes went pure white, causing the jade to darken, "is the key to banishing Zeus forever, and possibly erasing him from the entire existence of this universe."

     "Wait," Woody blurted. "You're saying we can stop Dan and Apollos from losing their happiness forever?"

     "That deal was merely a blunt lie."

     Oh.

     "That cunt bluffed us?!" Kyle angrily stood up, not even meeting the height of Polia. She had to be at least seven feet tall.

     "He has so, but we can backstab him," she said softly. "With this."

     "What about that necklace?" Will asked with curious, periwinkle eyes. "Can it kill that demon deer?"

     "If only that was the case."

     Can this reindeer get any more confusing?

     "What do we have to do?" I queried with a fluster of curiosity inside my mind.

     She tossed the neckless into my lap.

     "A lure, a sacrifice of some sort, must be made to bid Zeus closer to you. Then, others should distract and risk their blood for his. Only the one with the true heart can successfully defeat this Helldeer and banish his soul forever. This stone here is a key, a black one, to the world of the Forgotten Realm. You can only unlock the door."

     "You." Polia glared at me, like rock set to stone. I was getting nervous now.

     "So Dan is the one who has to get rid of that bastard?" Woody asked. Apollos' mother simply nodded, not a gesture of assurance or emotion was in her face.

     The angelic reindeer turned, obscuring her emotions to the rest of us. Kyle gave me a questioning look, which was understanding, since I was just as confused as everyone else was. I noticed that the ground under her hooves began to brighten with a golden hue, as particles and golden flowers started to flower from the legs, making their way to the top of her head.

     But I need something more from her.

     "Wait!" I held out a hand as a desperate gesture.

     She turned. Her face was calmer than before.

     "Do you know where his father is?"

     Polia's mouth curved ever so slightly, a small smile of acknowledgement to my sudden, last-minute question.

     "The black key will tell you."

     Then she was gone.