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9527 BC

I n a place the gods called Kalosis, Simi hesitated in the shadows of a small courtyard. Her big sister, Xirena, had told her this was a hell realm, but it didn’t feel like hell to her.

It felt like home.

Maybe it wasn’t as sunny and brights as wheres they used to nest, but still, Kalosis had her matera, her big brother and her big sissy, so to Simi it seemed very nice and special. Homey. Excepts for the fact that Simi couldn’t find her matera at the moment.

Not anywhere she looked. Where could she be in this dark place?

She missed her mommy.

Her matera had told the Simi that she was going ons an errand and that she’d be right back. But right back was a long time ago now, and that made the Simi’s heart hurt. It gave it a mighty pain that was only equal to the one in her belly that said it was time to eat.

And the Simi needed her mother. Not just because she was hungry and her heart ached. The Simi missed her mother’s hugs and warm tickles. So she’d snucked away from her big sissy who was always watching her and fussy about everything and everyone, and came here to where the beautiful goddess paced in a wide circle around the dark, shimmering pond that let the goddess see other places and things.

Only it wasn’t things the goddess looked at mostest. Mostest the goddess watched a boy Simi didn’t know.

With long white-blonde hair and swirling silver eyes, akra-Apollymi was the Atlantean goddess of destruction. She was also her mother’s bestest friend and Simi’s second mama-akra. Though others called the goddess scary and mean, Simi didn’t see that. Akra-Apollymi was forever nicest to her. She always had the bestest tasting treats and lots of toys and dolls.

And hugs. Lots of hugs.

Even when akra-Apollymi was upsetest, which the goddess seemed to be at the moment, she gave the Simi extra treats and warm, gentle hugs.

Maybe the goddess was missing Simi’s mama, too.

So Simi stepped forward through the doorway, in the dark, pretty garden filled with black roses and dark green shrubs. “Where’s the Simi’s matera, akra?”

Akra-Apollymi stopped pacing and turned toward her. The beautiful goddess knelt down and held her arms out for Simi so that she could run to the goddess and gets a hug that Simi was missing from her mother.

“She’s not back yet, sweeting. Soon.”

Simi pouted before she ran to her and threw her arms around akra-Apollymi’s neck. She put one small thumb into her mouth and buried her other hand deep in the goddess’s white, silky hair.

While it wasn’t quite as nice as her mama’s hugs, it was enough to make her feel better.

Akra-Apollymi tightened her hold on her.

Simi laid her head on the goddess’s shoulder as akra-Apollymi began to sing and rock her.

How strange, especially given that the goddess didn’t seem to be in the moods to sing. “Why is akra so sad?”

Standing up with Simi in her arms, akra began to pace the garden again. “I’m not sad, Simi. I’m anxious.”

“Is anxious like when the Simi eats too much and her stomach hurts?”

She smiled and kissed the top of her head. “Not exactly. It’s when you can’t wait for something to happen.”

“Ooo, like when the Simi is hungry and she’s waiting on her matera to feed her. Or like the Simi now wanting her matera to come for her.”

“Something like that.”

Then all of a sudden, Simi felt what she needed to feel. That slight stirring in the air that she’d been waiting for.

“Matera!”

Her beautiful mother flew in with her black wings fluttering. Like Simi, her skin was a swirling combination of red and white. The red of her skin matched her mother’s hornays …

Like Simi’s.

But her mother didn’t seem as happy as Simi was that she’d come back.

The goddess frowned at her mother. “What is it?”

Her mother, Xiamara, held her hands out for Simi. Without hesitating, she flew from the goddess to her to get the hug the Simi needed most.

But her matera was crying, and that confused her greatly. Why would matera’s eyes flow with water? Simi had only seen that happen when her mama thought about her papas who’d died.

And only when her matera thought no one was around to see her tears.

“Xi?” akra-Apollymi asked gently. “Tell me.”

“Why’s Simi’s matera so sad?” Simi asked, wanting to make her feels all warm like her matera did whenever the Simi had tears that flowed down her cheeks.

Rocking her gently, her mother clenched her eyes closed. “I don’t know how to tell you, akra.”

The goddess approached them fretfully. “Is he not well? I’m still a prisoner here, so I know he lives even though I can’t see him in my mirror at the moment.”

Her mother rubbed Simi’s back. “He lives.”

Who was he ? Was it the boy the goddess sometimes watched? Simi wanted to ask, but she knew from experience that it would anger her mother if she interrupted her while she spoke to their goddess.

“Does he not love me?” akra-Apollymi asked with tears in her swirling silver eyes.

To her deepest sadness, her mother set her down. “Go find your sister, Simi. I need to speak with akra alone.”

But why? Again, Simi knew better than to ask that out loud. Grownups often shooed her away, even when the Simi was trying to help them. And especially whenever she was trying to understand them.

Oh well …

Sucking her thumb, Simi skipped away from the garden back to the path that led toward their home. Even so, she really wanted to know what was so important that it made everyone’s hearts hurt.

Grown-ups. She’d never understand them and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. They’s all boring and bleh!

“Simi! Here! Now!”

Her eyes widened at the sound of her sissy’s angry shouts as she left the goddess’s temple. She removed her thumb from her mouth so that she could yell back. “What!”

Angry as always, Xirena rushed out of the shadows to scoop her up before she could even tell which direction her sister had come in from. Her sissy’s skin was marbled red and black, and her yellow eyes were tinged with worry. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Where have you been?”

As always, Simi was where Simi was. She never understood that question, nor the anger that came with it.

“Simi wanted Matera. But she done told the Simi that she can’t be with the Simi right now. She with akra-Apollymis so Simi had to leave and go away. Can we have food now, sissy? Simi’s hungry.”

Xirena let out a deep, aggravated sigh. The most frequent sound Simi heard from her older sister. “You’re always hungry. I don’t understand why you can never get full.”

To be fair, that was true. Simi didn’t know why either, but her belly constantly demanded food. So did her tastebuddies. They liked yummy things and in particulars really hot, yummy things.

But at least her sister didn’t yell at her like normal. Simi was tired of that, even if her sister was her protector. Xirena wasn’t her matera and she shouldn’t have a right to scream at Simi all the time. For some reason, her sissy thought it was her job to boss Simi alls the times.

But right now, Xirena held her close as her sissy flew her toward their home.

It was a small cottage set off by itself, which Simi didn’t understand as the other Charonte demons lived in a giant hall together, near the goddess. When she was littler, they had a much bigger place, but that was in Katateros—the heaven realm where the Atlantean gods all lived, and where akra-Apollymi had lived until the evil gods got together and cursed her here because she wouldn’t let them kill her baby son.

So long as akra-Apollymi’s son lived, akra-Apollymi couldn’t leave their Kalosis and so the Charonte stayed with her.

Simi didn’t blame the goddess for not wanting to leave. She wouldn’t let them kill her baby either. Or her sister, brother or mother. She would always protect what she loved. No matter what.

But it still didn’t explain why their house was off all by itself.

“Why do we have our own place when the other Charonte don’t?” Simi asked as they landed on the doorstep.

Sighing again in irritation, Xirena opened the door. “Don’t ask those kinds of questions.”

“But why?”

“It’ll make Matera sad.” Xirena set her down by her side.

Confuzzled by that, Simi skipped into the cottage to find their brother, Xedrix, leaning against the wall as if he was waiting on their arrival.

Xedrix jerked his chin toward Simi. “You know we’re going to have to tell her one day.”

Like Xirena, he had yellow eyes, but his skin was swirling blues that reminded Simi of a cloudy sky. But he could change that if he wanted. They all could. The one fun thing about being Charonte was that they could have any body color they wanted. And most of them liked wearing multiple, swirly colors.

Simi preferred looking like her mother the mostest. She had no idea who her brother and sister looked like or why they picked their colors. Those colors were pretty, but not Matera pretty. Just normal pretty.

Matera was extra special beautimous.

Xirena hissed at Xedrix. “It’s not our place.”

He shook his head before he scooped Simi up from the floor. “Hungry?”

She smiled happily. “Always!”

Xirena tucked her black, feathered wings down as she headed to the cupboard where they kept Simi’s favorite foods. “She’s an eating machine. I have no idea how she can stay so tiny and eat so much.”

“Maybe we should turn her loose on the Atlantean gods.”

Xirena hissed again. “Careful! What if one of them heard you?”

Opening the cupboard before Xirena could reach it, he scoffed, then moved aside for Xirena to pick through the icky healthy things to find Simi’s snacks. “They’re terrified of Apollymi. They don’t listen to what we do here. They don’t dare. If any of them showed their faces, Apollymi would rip their hearts out and feast on them. She’s just aching for an excuse to burn the entire world down and especially that pantheon. Which will probably happen as soon as her son turns twenty-one and comes into his powers.”

With a ragged breath, Xirena rubbed Simi’s back while Xedrix held her, then handed Simi a piece of dried beef. “I don’t understand Matera’s loyalty to her.”

“Because Apollymi is equally as loyal to Matera. And we’re lucky for that. If she wasn’t?—”

Xirena placed a hand over his lips to silence him. “Stop it! Matera doesn’t want our Simi to know.”

“Know what?” Simi asked.

“Nothing,” Xirena snapped.

Xedrix rolled his eyes. “She’ll learn. They always do.”

Simi frowned at her sissy and bro-bro. They often talked like this, but she didn’t understand, and they always refused to explain it.

All she knew was that akra-Apollymi had a baby boy which was why the goddess lived here in Kalosis instead of their old home in Katateros. Them evil Atlantean gods had trapped her here because they believed the baby akri would kill them all.

They were scared, but it made no sense to the Simi. Who could be afraid of a tiny little baby? A baby, even a god baby, couldn’t hurt a big god. It was stupid.

Them gods were silly things. Personally, she’d just eat the baby and not worry. But then, she was a Charonte and not a god. And while she didn’t know any Charonte who’d ever eaten a baby, babies might be tasty to the tummy.

And speaking of tasty …

“Can the Simi have more?” She held her hand out to her sister.

Growling at her, Xirena handed her another piece. “Isn’t it your bedtime?”

“No. It’s eating time.” Simi smiled at her so wide that she flashed her fangs.

That made Xedrix laugh.

Simi still didn’t understand why her sissy was so angry all the time. Or why she didn’t like akra-Apollymi who was always nice to Simi.

The world confuzzled her. But maybe one day, it might make sense.

Today, however, wasn’t that day. Today was just another day where Simi would aggravate her sister, eat some meat and try to figure out why her mother was so upset.