Deity (Covenant #3)(65)

Marcus sat in the only spare chair in the room. “And so the Apollyon was created?”

Apollo sat beside Aiden, which really crowded the bed. “An Apollyon can only be born when the mother is Hematoi and the father is a half-blood. It is the aether of a female pure combined with that of a half-blood which creates the Apollyon. It is similar to the way a minotaur is born. Apollyons are nothing more than monsters in the scheme of things.”

I frowned at his back. “Gee. Thanks.”


“Mixing of the two races was forbidden to ensure that there would not be many and the Hematoi were ordered to kill any offspring of a pure and a half.”

My mouth dropped open. “That’s terrible.”

“That it may be, but we could not have a dozen Apollyons running around.” He looked over his shoulder at me. “Two are considered bad enough. Can you imagine if there were a dozen? No. You cannot. And besides, one slipped through every generation as planned. Though, we do make mistakes every once in awhile.”

I was really beginning to dislike Apollo. “So I’m a monster and a mistake?”

He winked. “The perfect kind of mistake.”

I scooted away from him a little.

The grin reached his vibrant eyes. “As long as the Apollyon behaves himself, he is left alone to do his duty. But when there is a second in the mix, it ups the power of the First. This was something we had not accounted for. Zeus thinks it is a kind of cosmic joke.”

Marcus leaned forward. “But why do you even allow the second to live if one is such a threat?”

I shuddered.

Apollo stood again, apparently suffering from a hyperactivity disorder. “Ah, you see, we cannot touch the Apollyon. The markings are… wards against us. Only Thanatos’ Order can carry out a successful attack on the Apollyon and, of course, an Apollyon can kill another Apollyon.”

My head was starting to hurt. “And Seth would know this, right?”

“Seth would know all of this.”

I exhaled loudly. “I may just kill him.”

Apollo arched a brow. “Mankind and the Hematoi have something greater to fear than the daimon… issue. And by the way, the whole daimon problem can totally be blamed on Dionysus. He was the first to discover that aether could be addictive and he just had to show someone. Once Dionysus got so high off the stuff, he actually showed himself to a King of England. Do you know how many problems that caused?”

It was official. The gods were overgrown children. “That’s good to know, but can we get back to the whole greater fear thing?”

“The oracle had a prophecy upon your birth, that one would bring the true death to all of us and the other would be our savior.”

“Oh geez,” I muttered. “Grandma Piperi strikes again.”

Apollo ignored that. “She could not tell which one, though. And I grew curious. When Solaris came around, there had been no such prophecy. What made this time so different? So I checked in on you both throughout your lives. There was nothing particularly remarkable about either of you.”

“You’re really doing wonders for my self-esteem.”

He shrugged. “It is only the truth, Alexandria.”

“You did not tell the rest of the gods about Seth and Alexandria?” Marcus asked.

“No. I should have, and my decision not to has not made me many fans.” He folded his arms. “But then three years ago, the oracle foresaw your death if you stayed at the Covenant, which led to your mother leaving to protect you, although her prophecy did come true.”

It struck me then. “Because I came back to the Covenant…”

“And you did die,” Aiden finished, his hands curling into fists. “Gods.”

“The oracle is never wrong,” Apollo said. “I kept an eye on you up until the night before the daimon attack in Miami. I thought you had sensed me once. You were returning from the beach and you stopped just outside your door.”

My eyes widened. “I remember feeling something weird, but I… didn’t know.”

“If only I had stayed around…” He shook his head. “When I learned that the Covenant was actively seeking you, I disguised myself as Leon to see what was going on. I had no idea Lucian was aware of your true identity.”

“I never told him,” Marcus said. “I only knew because my sister confided in me before she left. Lucian already knew by then.”

“Interesting,” Apollo murmured. “I do believe I am not the only god hanging around.”

“Wouldn’t you know if there were other gods around?” Aiden asked.

“Not if they did not want me to know,” he answered. “And we could be moving in and out at different times. Although, I do not know what any god would have to gain by ensuring that the two Apollyons were brought together.”

“Do any of you want revenge?” I asked.

Apollo laughed. “When do we not want revenge against one another? We are constantly irking one another out of boredom. It would take no stretch of the imagination for one to take it all too seriously.”

“But what is the fear, Apollo?” Marcus asked. “Why would the Order try to take out Alexandria when she has done nothing?”

“It is not Alexandria they are trying to stabilize.”