Ch 6: Brides of Apollyon Part I

Before we leave, I leave my number with the girl at the register. She smiles at me knowingly as she takes the signed receipt. She winks at me.

"Thanks, Leon. Have a nice day and come back again soon. Sorry Sylwia couldn't be here to get this herself, she's being a bit shy."

"N-no worries." I say.

We exit the inn and start heading across the market square. People turn, greeting the women with smiles and friendly waves.

"There go our goddesses!" One man says.

"Thank you for keeping us safe!" a woman says.

A lot more comments like this follow. It seems that Ulyssa is well known in these parts. This makes me curious. Usually, inquisitors are like me. They use the shadows to move through society, always staying to the dark fringes. When they make their move, you don't ever see them coming. That's their usual MO.

As we continue down the streets of the city, dusk now starting to settle on the land, I decide to say something.

"So, I'm curious. How is it that you are such a big deal around here?" I say.

Ulyssa gets a dark look in her eyes. "Haven't you felt it over the course of the last century? The old world is resurrecting from beyond the veil. Despite all our efforts, the legacy of King Solomon is fading away as all things in the world must do." She says.

"That can't be." I say. "I personally monitor the integrity of the world note. It is stable."

"It is not a fault in your system that is causing it." Ulyssa says. "It is the Blood of Eden. It's too strong. The power of the godling families cannot stay in the shadows forever."

I think about what she is saying. As an Ashwater, I know that she is also referring to her own family. Can what she is saying really be true? Is the Blood of Eden growing that much?

"If this is true, what do you think the solution is?" I say.

"I have a solution in mind. This is part of the reason I have brought you here. We need more of us who devote ourselves to balance and order. Even the church is becoming a part of the problem."

"I don't have a lot of contact with any of the families. You'll have to explain the dynamics of the situation." I say, embarrassed about this.

She sighs. "I know. It must be hard on you, Leon. To always be hated and forgotten by the very people you are trying to protect." I nod before she continues. "Over the long course of centuries, it seems that many have lost their way on the path that King Solomon set us on in the beginning. He entrusted our families specifically to give The Appointed One support. Unfortunately, that purpose was corrupted and now I fear all the families care about is amassing power."

I lightly grab her arm, stopping her for a moment. I turn her towards me. Her slightly reptilian eyes are mesmerizing, but I keep my concentration.

"You are an Ashwater daughter. Why are you so accepting of me when the rest of your family has had me condemned as Apollyon, the Destroyer?"

She gives me a small smile. "I will show you how our eyes were opened to your greatness. Everything will be made clear at the house."

We continue on silently, eventually coming to one of the old churches in town. There is no one around as we approach the doors. Before we can reach them, the doors open from the inside by two figures. They are women, and beautiful ones.

"Welcome back, master." They say, bowing.

Then they see me, and their eyes go wide. Again, I get the horrible feeling that they are going to start screaming and behaving as if I am about to annihilate them from off the face of the earth, but no, their shrieks are excited, rather than fearful.

"You have brought The Appointed One!" they say, hands clasping falling to their knees, bowing their heads to me. "We are honored to be in your presence, Great One!"

I simply stare for a moment, then look at Ulyssa and Sophie for an explanation. What in the world? Is the whole sect made up of my fans?!

"Greetings Sister Alexa and Sister Raina." Ulyssa says in a voice that reminds me of a mother speaking with beloved daughters. "Will you make sure that Vice Sister Victoria has completed preparations?"

"Yes, master!" the women say, and they disappear quickly into a side corridor.

"You will have to excuse my underlings; they will be quite excited to meet you at long last." Ulyssa says.

"At long last?" I say.

Sophie gives an emphatic nod. "Yes, Ulyssa is our leader, but you are the reason we follow her!"

I look at her and I'm not sure I like the super intense look in her eyes. Why does her unfeigned admiration make me feel so weird? Shouldn't I be ecstatic to have so many beauties wanting to lay at my feet and worship me? The whole affair is making me feel quite heady.

The inside of the church is an ambience of gloom and candlelight. The windows are dim with depictions of the moon and stars against night sky. There are figures in the windowpanes. I raise my eyebrow when I see that each one is a depiction of women of all ethnicities, nude and in poses of praise. They seem to point towards the shrine at the other end of the chapel. The iconography of the Zero Night Church is quite different than the mainstream religions from around the world, all thanks to a doomsday prophecy called 'Zero Night'.

At the end of the chapel, I can make out a stone statue of some kind. Other sisters are gathered there, kneeling with heads bowed in prayer. I think the statue is of Christ or some other more well-known figure in religious history, but I find that it is none of the above.

It is not until I get right under the statue that it becomes clear to me. I gasp in horrified surprise. It's a depiction of me, completely naked, surrounded by three exquisite beauties, each pressed against me with expressions of lustful ecstasy.

I choke on my utter shock, alerting all the praying sisters to the fact that a man is in their sanctuary. They turn, looking at me all at once. Then they jerk their heads back to the statue of me in all my nude glory, then back to me.

They all bow and kneel as one. "The Appointed One! We are honored!" they say as one.

I don't know how much more of this my heart can take. I barely manage a small wave when Ulyssa steps in front of me.

"I have brought The Appointed One for a grave matter. Sisters, you will get your chance to be properly acquainted, please continue your duties."

"Yes, master!" they say, turning obediently and go back to praying. As we walk away, they all sneak glances at me, hungry looks in their eyes. Are they going to cook and eat me?! Somehow that thought is more comforting than the alternative.

We walk out of the chapel and into a stone courtyard. Other sisters are there, and they all bow and kneel to me as we walk by. When we through to the next section of the church, Ulyssa pauses and turns to me.

"I want you to understand something, Leon."

"Yes, what?"

"As the main body of the church strays, the smaller sects, such as mine here, become more and more fringe. We have less and less support from the echelons. That means less and less protection." She says.

"You're saying that if these echelons find out you are working with me, then you may be subject to some form of discipline, right?" I interject.

She shakes her head, her face grave. "Working with Apollyon, the Destroyer is forbidden. It would mean immediate excommunication. Me, the sisters under my care and protection, would be marked for exile and death."

"That's insane!" I say. "What is the meaning of this?"

She turns to a door and opens it, revealing a stone staircase leading down into the dark. She reaches to the sconce next to the doorway and removes the burning torch.

"Follow me and you will see."

I follow Ulyssa into the dark and as I look back once more, I realize that Sophie is not with us anymore. I point this out to Ulyssa.

"I trust Sophie with my life, yet she is not of the old world. She is a human, and I don't want to burden her any more than I already have. Most of the members of this sect do not have the Blood of Eden."

"It is rare to have such an organization such as this in operation." I say. "Why have they chosen to involve themselves with the godlings?"

"For protection." Ulyssa says.

"Protection?"

"Yes, they are all women who have been hurt by my kind. They realized their powerlessness against us. As the old saying goes, if you can't beat your enemy, join them."

"That seems kind of dark." I say.

Ulyssa nods. "Yes, and that is why I started this sect. To give those hurting women a direction for their pain."

I am afraid to ask my next question. "Okay, but I can't help but wonder what I have to do with it?"

Ulyssa stops and turns to me. The glow of the fire makes her skin seem like pure gold. It's beautiful.

She steps to me until we are almost chest to chest. She lifts onto her toes and then gives me a peck on the cheek.

She steps back, our eyes burning into each other. "You are the last Child of Eden. You are the last direct line to the Blood of Eden. My girls all want to be mothers, and they want to protect their future children by giving the strength of the most powerful genes. I gave them a savior, by promising them a man who would make their children the most formidable in this modern world."

I step back, astounded to what I'm hearing. "You can't mean-." I say, dumbfounded.

Ulyssa gives me a small smile. "When I show you what is down here, you will see why I have made the decision to make this sect."

"Ulyssa, what is this sect, exactly?" I say, no longer wanting to dance around the subject.

Ulyssa looks at me for some time before answering. "The Brides of Apollyon."

I face palm. "Are you freaking serious?!"

Ulyssa turns away and continues walking down the corridor. "Please don't be angry, Appointed One. We both want the same thing. To maintain balance in the world." She says. "Please, follow me and let me explain."

At first, I can't move. Part of me wants to run. Yet I know I can't do that now. I can't just walk away hearing what I just heard.

I give a resigned sigh and swear. With reluctance and trepidation in my heart, I follow Ulyssa towards the truth behind the Brides of Apollyon and the case of the dark dust.

Grace speaks up after being silent for so long. <Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this. guess your wildest dreams are coming true at last, Leon. Through no apparent effort on part other than existing, you have somehow stumbled a willing harem.>

<Shut up, Grace! this is no time for jokes.>

<Oh Leon, just admit you are excited about this development.>

<I think I'm going to have a heart attack.>

<From excitement? My, you just can't wait to get started, can you?>

<Grace, why are you making light of this?>

<It's just so easy.>

<That doesn't make it right.>

<When your corporeal self is locked away for thousands of years and you can only communicate with one virgin that entire time by ethereal means, tends to develop quite a teasing sense humor.>

I sigh in defeat. Ulyssa hears the sound and turns to me. "Everything alright?"

I give a perfunctory nod. Then I see that we have made it to the end of the corridor. I gesture to the door. "I'm guessing this is it?"

Ulyssa nods, putting an ancient skeleton key to the iron lock and turning it. The sound of metal echoes off the walls with an ominous click. "This is it."