3.19 Betrayal

“Apollo, can I talk to you?” Damian asked casually, as he pulled Apollo to the side. Damian was never casual. Something was up.

“Hmm? Oh, sure. What’s up?” Apollo had just woken up, gotten dressed and was about to head out to do some exploring. He hoped that Damian wouldn’t stop him.

“I need your assistance in another stakeout, would you be interested in helping?” Damian asked.

“Not really, no. I’d like to roam around Moonlight Falls some more,” Apollo admitted.

“Wrong answer.” Damian shook his head. “You will be meeting up with Tommy at the library in an exactly an hour to follow the same individual from before.”

“I’m not doing that,” Apollo protested. He felt a bit uneasy.  What was it about that guy that Damian was so enraptured with? Ethan was a nice guy, he didn’t seem the least bit dangerous. But then again, neither did Mason.

“I can assure you that last time’s mistake will not repeat itself. Tommy is much more suitable for work with others than David is,” Damian said calmly.

“Will you at least tell me what you guys are looking for?” Apollo looked up at the well composed man. Something was off about his explanation. He was trying to break into the Vault of Antiquity, when only four elites could get into it. Everyone here should know that and it seemed a little off that he didn’t. Either the fault was on Damian’s part of Ethan’s, and he was betting it had to do with the headmaster himself.

“Like I said before, Ethan is trying to-” Damian began but was cut off by an angry Apollo.

“How do you know his name is Ethan?” Apollo lowered his eyes at the one person he was positive was on his side.

Damian cleared his throat before speaking again. “Excuse me. Did you forget that I sent Tommy on recon, right after you?” Apollo paused for a moment, deep in thought. Apollo could buy that, Ethan was in fact a very friendly person. He seemed to spill more than enough information to Apollo that night. What was really bothering Apollo was how Damian, David, Tommy and even Frost, all claimed that the headmaster could account for ALL of the citizens in Moonlight Falls. If that was the case, and Ethan was a suspicious individual, how could he get a job right under Damian’s nose, especially so close to the palace? It didn’t make sense. “Apollo, are you alright?”

No, I’m not, he wanted to shout, but he kept his mouth shut tightly. Suddenly he had become uneasy with Damian’s presence. If he couldn’t trust Damian, then he sure as hell couldn’t trust Tommy. He would do the stakeout to draw attention away from him, and then he’d tell Frost that he wanted to go home that night. Everything would work out, he hoped. Once he was at home, he’d rid himself of the guardians and Damian. “Should I change”

“That outfit is fine, just be as alert as you were before. Your intelligence will impress Tommy, isn’t that what you want?” Damian smirked. Apollo wished he would wipe that smirk off of his face. Don’t act like you’re doing me a favor, he thought.

“Right, I’ll head out right away.”

“What do you mean?” Apollo exclaimed. “We can’t go inside!” They were standing in front of the library. Apollo feared that if he went inside, Ethan would see him and that would cause more trouble than it was worth.

“Of course we can. My tactics are a bit different than David’s. We’re going to act like we’re just reading at the library, totally unattached.” Tommy shrugged. “It’s fool proof.”

“Is it?” Apollo frowned.

“Listen, he probably won’t even recognize you from last time, and if he does, he just thinks you’re at the library without your boyfriend. If you act suspicious, he’ll think you’re suspicious.”

“Wait…he told you!?” Apollo panicked. “It was his idea! I wasn’t trying anything on your boyfriend.”

“I know,” Tommy glared. “He was cleaning up your mess. You should be glad that he thought that quickly.”  Looking at the man in front of him, he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the guy he used to know. He wanted to see that raw passion and vulnerability. Instead, he saw Damian’s cold, ruthless minion. How did that even happen? Even if time had skipped, four years was still a short time to make such a turn around. “Let’s just go inside, you sit by the computers and look productive. I’ll be in the back by the books. Don’t stare at him, it’ll draw attention.”

“How do you even know that he’ll be here?” Apollo asked.

“I saw him go inside, don’t slow me down with that idiot attitude.” Tommy walked away.

Apollo did as he was told and sat by the computer. This was absolutely ridiculous. Apollo quickly looked around to make sure Tommy wasn’t in a distance that he could see what Apollo was typing. Like he had said, Tommy was all the way in the back. There was no sign of Ethan, but honestly, Apollo didn’t care. He wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. He couldn’t fight the feeling of looming danger above his head. He opened the internet search browser and began to type away furiously, terrified that Tommy would see what Apollo was looking for. “Vault of Antiquity.” 

He found a newspaper article, and skimmed it. The Vault of Antiquity was indeed shut down to the public. So far, Damian’s story checked out. What caught his eye was the date. 1924? Damian was still the headmaster back then? Unless, it was his father. Were vampires immortal? That led Apollo into his next search which gave him the definite answer, not all vampires had the luxury of being immortal, only those with pure bloodlines, but they did live much longer than their human counterparts. Damian was immortal and the vault was closed down under his rule as headmaster. What did that all mean? There had to be some sort of significance in that information. It finally came to Apollo. If the vault was closed in 1924, and is still closed today, then that meant that it would be common knowledge for the townspeople. Ethan would have to be new to the town not to know that information, but he was the one who asked Apollo if he was new to Moonlight Falls and he had a job here, so that couldn’t be it. That meant only one thing. This was a cover up for something much bigger. What could they want from Ethan?

“Are you stalking me? First I see you here, and then at my job and here again. Small town.” A playful voice rang out, causing Apollo to shut the computer quickly. He turned to face the intruder with wide eyes. “You were in quite a hurry to shut that page down, are you looking up something you shouldn’t?”

“I….” Apollo stammered, not able to get any words out of his mouth.

Ethan laughed. “It’s natural for you humans to be fascinated with the occult, but just watch what you search for in public. You never know who’s watching you. One wrong move, and it’s off with your head.” Apollo became even more frightened. Damian would kill him for sure. He really hoped that he was overreacting. “I didn’t mean for you to get so scared. What I’m saying is the price of peace here isn’t exactly cheap. Just clear the history and you should be safe.”

Apollo booted up the computer again and waited for the internet to load so he could delete his history. It was a good precaution. He spoke, barely above a whisper. “Are you trying to say that the headmaster is up to something?”

“I can neither confirm or deny that, especially not here.” Ethan’s eyes looked around the room for any signs of wandering eyes.

“Of course not,” Apollo sighed. It would never be that easy. “Can I ask you something, totally unrelated?”

“Sure, shoot.”

“Do you come to the library often? Like you’ve said before, we’ve seen each other twice already here.” Apollo phrased his words carefully, not wanting to draw a wrong reaction out of the male.

“I’m here everyday,” Ethan admitted. “I was never much of a bookworm, but when you want to find out more information, you find that you can’t take your nose out of a book.”

“Information?” Apollo questioned, hoping he wouldn’t come across as nosy.

“Myths and legends fascinate me. I read as much as I can, because I have this silly idea that they’re actually based off of real events.” Ethan chuckled. “It sounds stupid when you say it out loud, like I’m living in a fantasy world.”

“This would be a fantasy world to me,” Apollo looked around. “But, it doesn’t sound stupid. Maybe you’re right. I didn’t think vampires or wizards were real, but here I am. What if there really were gods back then? I couldn’t tell you, but it isn’t a stupid thing to look into.”

“You know, Apollo, I like you.” Ethan grinned. “You’re smarter than half of the supernaturals here.”

Apollo was about to thank him when he felt a tap on his shoulder. “We have to go, dinner is getting cold.”

“What?” Apollo asked absentmindedly, forgetting he was supposed to be undercover.

“Your boyfriend called. He made us dinner and it’s getting cold,” Tommy said as if it was obvious.

“Why is his boyfriend calling you?” Ethan questioned, his body going stiff.

“Because this idiot left his phone at home,” Tommy said. “You’re lucky I’m here, otherwise David would be pissed.” Ethan stood against the wall, arms crossed, smirking. “What?”  Tommy asked, annoyed.

“Nothing,” Ethan shrugged. “I just don’t like how you interrupted us. You could have been nicer.”

“And you can mind your own business, but I don’t see that happening either, so I guess we’re even,” Tommy spat.

“Tommy, stop,” Apollo begged. “This is uncalled for.”

“Is it?” He asked. “Let’s just go. I’m giving you two minutes, I’ll be outside.”

Apollo stood to follow but was stopped by a serious looking Ethan. “That’s why you were here. You’re the one I was warning you about.”

“What are you talking about?” Apollo could feel his heart sinking.

“You’re working for the headmaster,” Ethan pointed out. “That guy, is with the headmaster. I’ve been watching him. I had no idea that you were.”

“Not by choice!” Apollo said quickly. “I don’t really know what I should be doing. I thought he and I were friends. That guy who stormed out, I came here, looking for him. I thought I loved him, but now I’m all wrangled up in this. I just don’t know..” Apollo didn’t know why he was telling all of this to Ethan, a man who was supposed to be his target, a man who he only knew for a few days.

“Whatever,” Ethan looked away. “Like I said, you never know who’s watching you.”

“Ethan…” Apollo began.

“What did you tell them?”

“Nothing…” Apollo stuttered.

“Of course you won’t tell me.” Ethan looked down, disappointed in himself. “I’m just glad that I found out before I got attached to you.”

“Wait, I did tell them something. You mentioned a name, Ella, but they don’t know who she is…” Apollo tried to explain himself.

“You told him about Ella?” Ethan’s eyes widened. “Do you even know what you did? Get the hell out of my face!” Ethan began to shout at him.
Apollo left the building frantically, feeling more hurt than he should. What was that all about?

“What the hell was that?” Tommy asked. “You knew the subject all along?”

“The subject? What the hell? No, we met at this clothing store and he recognized me from the stakeout. What’s your problem?” Apollo demanded. “I did nothing wrong!”

“You withheld information, crucial to us!” Tommy yelled.

“Withheld? All I knew was his name! Apparently, Damian knew that already. You shouldn’t be mad at me, when you guys are the one hiding shit from me!” Apollo yelled back.

Tommy glared at Apollo. “Damian won’t be happy to hear about this.”

“What the hell happened to you? I never pegged you for the kind to be anyone’s pawn. Where’s the old Tommy?” Apollo looked Tommy straight in the eye, demanding an answer.

“That guy died a long time ago, because of you. Go and find your own way back, Asshole, ” Tommy said before storming off.

Dinner that night was quiet. Even Frost had nothing to say. That was, until Damian came in wearing a casual sports jacket.

“What are you wearing?” Frost snickered.

“A sports jacket. I can’t run in a suit,” Damian said.

“You run?” Frost asked in disbelief.

“I’ll have you know that I’m in great shape,” Damian told the girl. He turned to Apollo and Tommy. “What’s wrong with you two? The investigation didn’t go as planned?”

“Never does with Apollo,” Tommy held his fork up from his plate.

“What happened?” Damian asked.

Tommy looked over at Apollo, hesitant for a moment but then spoke. “Apollo is apparently friends with the subject.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? He could get more information if the guy thinks that they’re friends,” Frost said.

“He withheld information?” Damian asked, all knowing. “He didn’t really. I’ve been watching Apollo and he’s only met Ethan once, that’s how I know his name.”

“You were watching me?” Apollo asked, a little disappointed.

“Apollo, we need to talk!” Frost said, getting up from her chair frantically.

“We’re busy now, Frost. This can wait until later, can it not?” Damian asked in an emotionless voice.

“You sealed the portal, haven’t you?” Frost asked in fear.

“I’ve asked you several times, Frost, to give Apollo to me, but you haven’t cooperated. Now we have to do things the hard way. I’ve watched you today Apollo, and I’m glad that Tommy stepped in. He did exactly as he was told. Ethan is nothing but a troublemaker but for some reason, given your past, I don’t think you’ll do as I say anymore.” Damian stepped closer to Apollo. “You told him that we know about that girl, and now he’ll go through bigger lengths to hide her away from me. You shouldn’t have done that.”

“I…” Apollo began but he felt his body crumbling to the ground as he peered into Damian’s pale pink eyes.

“Apollo!” Frost shouted. She tried to rush to him, but she was struck as well.

“Damian, that’s enough!” Tommy stood from his chair.

“You’re pathetic. Do you think that I’m actually your friend?” Damian scoffed. “You were such an easy target to manipulate, and David, well he was working for me the entire time. He doesn’t care about you at all.”

“This is like some sort of fucked up movie,” Tommy breathed, shielding Frost and Apollo.

“You’ve done nothing but trash talk both Apollo and Frost Bite. It’d be stupid for you to give your life for them, because that’s what I’m going to do. Kill them. I’ve thought long and hard about this, and I don’t really like the guardians or Mason coming into MY territory, telling me how to run things for a ‘better future.’ Better future? Are you kidding me? My people live here in peace and unity, why? Because we don’t have any outside forces telling them what to do,” Damian growled.

“That’s because you’ve told us what to do. We can’t defy you, otherwise this will happen,” Tommy stepped forward, gathering more confidence.

“And? They’re happy, are they not? I mean, you came crawling to me, with your broken heart after you found out Apollo was dating your step sister. Who knew, all I had to do was give you somebody that you could pretend loved you. You were putty in my hands,” Damian stepped closer to Tommy, both of their bodies nearly touching. “You believed that I could give you a better life out here, and I could have if you just followed directions.”

“Damian!” Apollo shouted. “You’re angry at the guardians, right? So take that out on me! Take me out, I’m what they’re trying to protect. Leave them alone and attack me!”

“Your wife is pregnant, the guardians don’t need you anymore, they needed your blood and they have it now. You’re useless to them,” Damian smirked.

“It isn’t true!” Frost tried to pull herself off from the ground, but she was having a tough time. “We have made a lot of mistakes, Apollo. I’ll be the first to admit that. We tried to cover our asses up by keeping you in the dark, but, really, we have your best interest in mind. A better future is for everyone. We want one because we care about all of the people in the universe, otherwise we wouldn’t be trying so hard. We’re trying, Apollo, but we’re not perfect, we can’t always get it right on the first try…”

“Enough!” Damian shouted. He pulled his arms back and launched some sort of attack.

“I’m sorry, Apollo. For everything.” Tommy spread his arms out wide, blocking Apollo and Frost from the incoming force.All that Apollo could hear was Tommy’s piercing scream before everything went black.

“Ethan…where have you been?” Cora asked.

“Are we going to do this everytime?” Ethan snapped.

“What’s wrong, you never snap.”

“Nothing, alright?” Ethan mumbled.

Suddenly, Ella fell to the floor. “Ethan…” She breathed. “Something isn’t right.”

Ethan kneeled besides her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“That boy…I have a bad feeling about that boy…” Ella tried to catch her breath as waves of visions came to her.

“You mean Apollo? Yeah, he’s working for Damian,” Ethan said angrily.

“No, that isn’t what I mean….he’s in trouble. Ethan, he’s in trouble.” Ella kept repeating those words over and over again. “You need to do something Ethan, the headmaster, I think, well I think he may be involved, I can feel his power being unleashed. i don’t like this. You said that the boy was a human, he’s going to die. I don’t know why I’m feeling this so strongly, but  you must go and save him. For me, if not for you!” Ella pleaded.

Ethan looked at her. “How am I supposed to do that?” He asked.

“The mirror…” Ella breathed one last time before slinking against the wall. “Ask the mirror.”