Kat manifested in the main foyer and had to take a moment to locate her grandmother with her thoughts. As was typical of her grandmother, Apollymi was outside, in her garden.
Out of respect, Kat walked the short distance through the throne room to the gilded doors that opened out onto the grounds. Her grandmother didn't like for people to pop in on her unexpectedly-Kat was the only one who knew why. Once as a child, she'd done that and caught her grandmother weeping hysterically in grief and pain-it was something Apollymi couldn't stand for other people to see.
As the Great Destroyer, she only wanted people to see her strong and ruthless. But Kat's grandmother was much more than just that. She had a heart and she ached, just like everyone else in the universe.
All Apollymi wanted was to have her son, Kat's father, returned to her. A son she'd loved more than anything and one she'd only held twice in her life. Once briefly when he'd been taken prematurely from her to be hidden in the womb of another woman and on the day the Greek god Apollo had killed him.
There wasn't a day Apollymi didn't mourn their separation and ache for her son to come home. And she reacted harshly to anyone who caught her weeping. She was a strong, proud woman who didn't believe in showing any weakness to anyone.
Not even her own granddaughter. But Kat could feel Apollymi's sadness and grief in all its harsh bitterness. Kat's father's empathy was one of many things she'd inherited from him. It was why she would never embarrass Apollymi or anyone else if she could help it.
So Kat approached slowly, just in case Apollymi needed time to compose herself. There was a light breeze whispering by. The garden itself was surrounded by high black marble walls that shone so much they reflected images like mirrors.
Apollymi sat on a black chaise with her back to Kat. Two Charonte demons, a male and a female, flanked the chaise. The male demon was dressed in a loincloth that left the whole of his lean, muscular body bare. His skin was a pale maroon that had yellow mingled with it. His eyes were as black as his hair and wings. The female was orange and red in skin tone and dressed in a black leather halter top and shorts. Her hair was a dark brown bob that only emphasized the sharpness of her features and the redness of her eyes. The demons were as still as statues, but Kat knew they were highly aware of her presence and watching her every move.
Dressed in a black flowing gown that left her shoulders bare, Apollymi cradled a small pillow in her lap. It had been a gift that Simi, Acheron's personal Charonte demon, had brought to her years ago. And because it held Acheron's scent Apollymi kept it ever near her so that she could feel closer to the son she could never touch.
Kat's grandmother was absolutely beautiful and appeared completely serene. With long white blond hair and swirling silver eyes, she didn't appear any older than her mid-twenties. Her pale skin was luminescent, and small drops of glitter sparkled in her hair.
She turned her head slightly to greet Kat, but Apollymi's welcoming smile turned to a frown as she saw Kat's broken arm. "Child," she breathed, moving from her chaise. She placed the pillow on her seat before she crossed the short distance to Kat so that she could inspect her arm. "What happened?"
"I got caught in the cross fire."
"If that bitch Artemis-"
"Please!" Kat said between clenched teeth. "Enough with everyone insulting my mother. Am I the only one in existence who loves her?"
Apollymi arched a brow. "Of course you are. Everyone else sees her for what she is."
Kat growled at her, "Be that as it may, if not for her you wouldn't have me. So could we please not insult her and just make my arm better, okay?"
Apollymi's features softened instantly. "Of course, my baby." Apollymi touched Kat's shoulder and immediately her arm was cured.
Kat took a breath in gratitude as the pain finally receded. She'd inherited her grandmother's healing powers, but unfortunately, they didn't work on herself. Only on other people. Which really sucked when she couldn't get to her grandmother for comfort. "Thank you."
Apollymi smiled, then kissed her lightly on the forehead before she fanned Kat's long blond hair around her shoulders affectionately. "I haven't seen you in a while, agria. I've missed you."
"I know and I'm sorry about that. Time tends to get away from me."
Sadness darkened Apollymi's eyes as she patted Kat on the shoulder before she stepped away. "I wish I could say the same."
Yeah, it was hard on Kat's grandmother to be trapped here in what had once been the Atlantean hell realm. Eleven thousand years ago, Apollymi's entire family had banded together to imprison her, and so long as Acheron lived, Apollymi could never be free.
Kat felt deeply for the solitude her grandmother suffered from even though Apollymi commanded an entire army of Daimons and Charontes. They still weren't her family and they didn't make her happy.
"How are things with Stryker?" Kat asked. Stryker was Apollo's son and he now led the Daimon army Apollymi controlled. When Apollo had cursed the Apollite race to die on their twenty-seventh birthday, he'd unknowingly cursed his own son and grandchildren to die as well. Since that day, Stryker had hated his father and had plotted his destruction.
The only reason Stryker was still alive was because Apollymi had seized the opportunity to make Stryker her adopted son so that she could use him against Apollo and Artemis. For centuries the two of them had been united in their hatred against the Greek gods.
Then three years ago, after a rough confrontation between the two of them, Stryker had begun turning against Apollymi. It appeared to be an unending battle of one-upmanship.
Kat's grandmother laughed angrily. "We are at war, agria. So he sits in the next building, plotting my death as if I'm too stupid to know it. What he forgets is that far better men than he have tried to kill me and while I may be in prison, they are dead-which will be his fate once he grows enough nerve to openly attack me. But that's not why you're here, is it?" She took Kat's hands in hers. "What has you troubled, precious one?"
There was no need to sugarcoat her inquiries and Kat was nothing if not blunt. "Have you ever heard of a gallu demon?"
The two Charontes hissed vehemently the instant the word "gallu" left her lips. Kat's eyes widened at their unexpected response. She'd never seen them do that before, or even anything similar to it.
"Relax," Apollymi said soothingly to her bodyguards. "There are no gallu here."