A God's Mercy (Apollo x OC)

Chapter 20

The plates of his armor were, of course, made of iron. They pressed down incessantly against Melantriche, effectively compressing the air right out of her. She could feel every nail, chip, screw encrusted digging, pressing hard against her soft breasts. Sweat pooled down her face as she struggled to glance up, to breathe, but it was fine. The glimmer of gold in the darkness identified the intruder well enough.

He stalked forward smoothly, carelessly, as if he were simply witnessing a charade between children. Several feet away, he stopped and placed his hands leisurely against his supple hips.

"Well, well. Look what I've found." He hummed thoughtfully, leaning forward. "What a shame. We can't even trust our own soldiers to protect us. It actually makes me a little sad, to be honest."

"You." Melantriche felt the rumble of Aegeus' chest as he growled lowly. Her stomach filled with terrible dread. Aegeus was a boulder of a man and Mr. Honey-seller was much more lithe than that. As far as she could tell, he didn't have a weapon either. Nevertheless, it felt like a truly authentic miracle that he, of all people, had shown up here. Something tingly fluttered in her chest. Please, she begged in her mind, Oh please don't kill him.

Aegeus lifted himself from the ground, nearly kicking Melantriche in the process. She scrambled away, using one arm to hug her front as she heaved deeply through her nose.

"I knew there was something dodgy about you, but to think. You were tailing us? I have to wonder what you were planning."

The blond man shrugged nonchalantly. "Probably not much worse than what you were doing just now. I would call the guards, but I figure that would just cause more trouble, wouldn't it?"

"Snarky little bastard." A flash, a scrape of metal, and his sword was poised at his burly side, its sharp edge winking silver against the dim torchlight, as if heralding what he was about to do. Melantriche's heart leapt against her throat. Without thinking, her legs sprung up taut and she ran, grabbing at Aegeus' arm, slapping at his bulging muscles before once again she was knocked aside by a smarting fist against her cheekbone. A cry bounced around within the chamber of her mouth as she stumbled back again.
"Get back!" He snarled with the ferocity of a wolf intimidating its prey. She couldn't help the involuntary reaction of shrinking against the back wall. Her eyes darted here and there, repeatedly finding its way bouncing between Aegeus' broadsword and the honey seller's beautiful hair. There was no way out.
He pointed his blade against the man. "You make it sound as if you're better than me, but I know your type. You think I didn't see your game earlier, trying to bait out this little harlot with your honey bullshit?"

Even from the distance she was, there was no denying the glint that flared in the blond man's eyes. Verily, it seemed at that moment they glowed with a sort of aura that made Melantriche shiver uneasily, as if something momentously terrifying was afoot.

"Oh, Aegeus. I knew you weren't a most likeable fellow, but really. Now you've got me peeved." The man sighed, evidently exasperated as he shook his head, yet his voice seemed to reverberate throughout the alley. He took a large step forward, a move that Aegeus didn't seem to take too kindly. Nonetheless, Melantriche could tell he was more than a little apprehensive by his new tone of voice. Maybe he felt it too.

"Who the hell are you?" Aegeus hissed, the tip of his blade slightly wavering. "How do you know my name?"

Melantriche stared. The blond man's eyes glowed too vibrantly to be humanely possible. He smirked broadly.

"You're a fool, Aegeus. The gods know everything."

She couldn't explain the fear she had then. For some reason, at first, she couldn't have been so surprised. She should've known better. The man certainly was beautiful. Too beautiful to be human, but somehow Melantriche has been expecting something... more. Flashing lights, perhaps? A great thunderstorm called down to smite her? She didn't know, but a strange resigned terror quickly spread through her legs, causing them to shake uncontrollably, her back's pressure point feeling as if it were being pulled to the earth. Her mind spiked rapidly with thoughts here and there, but the context was the same:

So this is it.

"Do... don't be foolish!" Aegeus shouted back, impassioned if anything else could indicate his shaking sword. Really, from his earlier actions Melantriche could've taken him for a smart fellow. Perhaps that's why the dumb don't speak. "You think you can put yourself on the level of the gods? We wouldn't fall for that. I've fought Spartans more intimidating than you, and..."

The blond divinity didn't seem to care. He stared right past the large soldier and Melantriche felt herself trembling too hard. Almost... dizzy. He gave her a strange smile that sent volts straight down her legs with something akin to terror or excitement. Maybe both.

"And speaking of which, I also have a bone to settle with you too." He scoffed. "Using a decoy? A guard? Goodness, I knew mortals were foolish, but this is hitting just below the iceberg, don't you think Melantriche? Do you really think we're so stupid?"

Again, she was reminded of the tight band of wax over her jaws, but she couldn't even shake her head. She felt more tears coming. This... this was it. She was going to die. No one was coming to rescue her, no one could. From now on she would always be remembered by bards as Melantriche of Athens, the woman who thought she was more beautiful than Artemis. Maybe they'd throw in the entirety of this foolish scheme too, to make it more interesting. Wouldn't that be nice? After what felt like a very long few seconds, she tore her gaze away from the god-man. She felt her head bow limply, hopelessly. What it would feel like, being smote?

A few seconds... stretched into a minute. It didn't matter; she didn't dare raise her gaze again. Then she heard a scoff.

A snap. A roar.

She saw a sudden bright redness through her lids. A flare of hellfire heat slapped her across the face. The terrible sound of it made her eyes pop open again. Her head shot up. A numb horror seared her heart as she watched the spot where Aegeus once stood burst into a pillar of white red fire. She could see the plume of his helmet spark like a match, his armor melt into a pool of bronze liquid, seeping into the cracks between the pavement stones. His screams of pain could barely be heard through the crackle and roar of the flames, which seemed almost living as they licked the air hungrily, expanding, seeking more victims. Melantriche stumbled backwards, hearing the screaming become louder. A second later, she realized it was her own screaming, trapped inside her mouth, with nowhere else to go but out her ears. Her shaking hands gathered into fists, which she balled against her soaking eyes.

This... this was too much. This was a nightmare, or something else. It couldn't be anything other. The heat of the bonfire felt as if it were singeing the entire first layer of her skin, the scent of Aegeus' roasting body permeating Melantriche's nose, making her feel sick—oh, so very sick. She was going to throw up...

She felt long cool fingers stretch over her shoulders and she flinched away, a helpless sob filling her mouth. After what Aegeus had done, it was hard not to. She... she didn't want to be touched, didn't want to be hurt, didn't want to turn into a human torch...
The hands shook her, squeezed her cheeks, forced her to open her eyes. Oh please...

He was looking down at her, grinning softly as if there wasn't someone burning alive in front of them. He stroked her hair, but his gentleness seemed mocking now.

"Don't look away, Melantriche." He whispered as she struggled to look back at him through the tears. "Wrath is an effective way to amuse oneself."

And then the world went black all too suddenly.