Set Me Free

24. Kneel for Death

     "Let them go. Please." I quietly begged.

     "It is not your word to be used, only mine. These three work at my bidding," Apollos' father hissed at me. "Dare you not speak another plead. Or else they will be slaughtered."

     Fuck him and his fancy ancient talk.

     My mates were brought to the centre of the field, where Apollos and I were kneeling, below Zeus. Never did I think I would end up kneeling to the command of a demon lord from some kind of under world. The three "henchmen" threw Kyle, Woody, and Will to their knees as they were forcefully put behind me. Apollos kept his mouth shut.

     "Now, as you both understand, today is the day two of you will fall to my hands."

     "You tricked us!" I cried. "You're a fucking cheat-"

     "SILENCE!"

     I felt a painfully strong force around my neck as I was kneeling. Zeus' hand was stretched outwards, towards me, in a powerful position with his fingers on the verge of crushing into his fist. He was threatening to strangle me telepathically. One stupid move of mine, and I would say goodbye to this world before he would crush my neck and instantly kill me.

     The blood-red tears burned the tear ducts of my eyes as I winced out a single cry for my life. Intensity left my own band mates and friends speechless. I was absolutely terrified, trembling madly as I struggled to breath in the cold mist of the field. Zeus' face softened. By then I knew he had no intention of breaking my neck.

     "Do not plead again, human."

     "I won't," my voice gasped out as I panted.

     "Good."

     Within a single snap of his demon-like fingers, the three others came at his immediate wish. All four had their backs turned to us. This was my only opportunity to have a quick peek at the necklace that was hanging around my neck. Apollos nodded in a silent promise to watch out for me, in case his father caught me in the act of moving my head. I was pretty sure we had to be still as statues.

     My head slowly tilted down, now I was staring at the black stone, carved again with the symmetrical reindeer. Nothing. I sighed and let my head raise up again. Just in time too. Zeus was about to turn around again to face Apollos and I once more, this time with his three Helldeer demons standing in a straight line behind him.

     Apollos and I nervously glared in each other's eyes with worried expressions. I think we both knew what was going to happen. Then, Zeus handed his axe to the man on his left, who was the only one empty handed. Their daggers had somehow disappeared. The one in the middle gripped a spear in both hands as the Helldeer on the right held the disappeared three daggers.

     "Here you will stand," his father pointed directly in front of his furry feet, about three to five feet ahead of Apollos and myself.

     "Alright then," I murmured quietly and got up from my kneeling position, now in a nervous stance before Zeus.

     I had never been so close to such a scary thing in my life. This was even worse than the tarantula from the "Laura Palmer" music video. He snapped again and was handed his flaming axe by the Helldeer man on the left of him. This was it. I was going to be fucking murdered by a demon guy- right in front of four innocent faces, the eyes of my friends.