Page 19

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July 6, 1970

S imi paused as she saw akri-Thorn sitting alone in one of the booths in Sanctuary. It wasn’t like him to hang out in the bear restaurant, as he preferred much swankier kinds of places. She very rarely saw him here.

And it definitely wasn’t like him to be all mopey.

Hmm …

Worried about her friend, she headed toward him and took a seat across the table. Without a word, she slid her bowl of ice cream over to him.

He looked up with a scowl that turned into a smile. “What are you doing?”

“You look like you could use some hot sauce covered chocolate magic. It never fails to make the Simi feel all better whenever she’s feeling all bluesy.”

Laughing, he pushed it back toward her. “While I appreciate your thoughtfulness, I don’t think this is going to help. I’d rather you enjoy it.”

Simi pursed her lips. “You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okies.” She took a bite while he returned to being fretful. “So, what’s wrong, big guy? You look like akri when one of them Daimons eat too many human souls.”

“I feel like Acheron when the Daimons eat too many human souls.” Sighing, he rubbed at his forehead. “I just found out that Cam did what all of us told her not to do.”

Simi licked the spoon. “She a goddess. She kind of does what she wants all the time. Isn’t that the whole point of being a primal goddess?”

He didn’t appear amused by her comment. “It’s bad, Simi. There’s a baby out there that Cam intends to use to birth a Malachai when the poor girl’s old enough. None of us know where Cam’s hidden that baby or who she is. It’s an innocent child who’s going to be used and abused and that’s wrong.”

Yes, it was. No one should be born for no other reason than to suffer. Yet, that did seem to be the fate of so many.

It wasn’t right and she wished she could help.

“Can’t akri find her?” Surely with all his powers, her akri could locate such a poor baby girl and save her.

Thorny shook his head. “None of us have the ability. We’ve all tried. So long as Cam is shielding the child …”

That made her feel worse. “It just like akri when he was a baby. No one could find him, neither.” Not until the evil Apollo god had kilt him and her matera.

He winced as if he had a bad headache. “There’s something else going on, Sim. Something I can feel. A lot has been happening, and I can’t figure it out.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s like the universe is realigning.” He looked up at her and his eyes turned a bright red. “Can’t you feel it?”

“No. Are you sure it’s not hunger pangies?”

“Definitely not. But I want you to promise me something.”

His tone sent a wave of fear over her. “Okies.”

“If I ever turn to my father’s side, you won’t hesitate to kill me.”

Simi froze at the last thing she expected him to ask. “Wait … what, akri-Thorn?”

“I’m serious, Sim. It’s hard to do the right thing. And it’s getting harder for me every minute.”

“Maybe you should move to another dark castle, akri-Thorn. Get away from your evil daddy.”

He laughed bitterly. “I wish it was something that simple. Geography won’t change anything. It’s the part of me that I was born with. I can feel it growing stronger as I get older, and it scares me.”

Simi covered his hands with hers. “But you not a demon, akri-Thorny. You are decent.”

Thorn wished he could believe her. But a decent person wouldn’t have condemned his son. More than that, he made hard decisions every day. Who to save. Who to cut loose.

Who to damn.

Every one of them took its toll and made him want to lash out, more and more.

He didn’t know how much longer he could hold on. Or even why he bothered. Humanity was heading to a dark place. Maybe he should just sign on with Adarian and let him know what was already in the works.

Damn humanity.

But as he felt Simi’s hands on his, he wanted to fight for all those like her.

To make it one more day.

Because she believed in him when no one else did. When everything was bleak, she was there.

He wanted to be the man she saw him as. If someone as pure of heart thought he was worthy, maybe he wasn’t so bad, after all.

Simi squeezed his hands. “You’ll be fine, akri-Thorn. The Simi knows it.”

He could listen to her lilting accent and happy tone all day. There was something so infectious about her. Something that made even the worst day better.

“Don’t ever change, Simi.”

“Don’t plan to.”

Good because he’d lived through enough changes. Some things should be immune from the cruelty of time. He wanted Simi to be one of them.

Ageless. Timeless.

Eternal.

Unlike other immortals he knew, she had never lost her faith or her child-like enthusiasm. She was as bright-eyed now as she’d ever been.

Being with her reminded him briefly of times when he’d been optimistic.

He missed that boy who had been obnoxious and cocksure. So blind to the future that was barreling down on him. Maybe that was why people had children. So that they could be reminded of a time when life had been worth living. When every day had been miraculous instead of a never-ending trudge that just led from one tragedy and disappointment to the next.

Though, to be honest, he couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever felt as if life had been worth living. It was what had made him such a fierce warrior.

Put simply, he’d never cared if he lived or died. It made no never mind to him.

Now …

He still didn’t know why he bothered. Except that these little snatches of time spent with his handful of friends made it bearable. Made him forget what he’d done to his only child.

Please forgive me, Cadegan.

He deserved Cade’s hatred, and he knew it.

Taking a drink, he watched the way Simi ate her food. With gusto as if she’d never eaten before, and yet she was older than he was. How did she manage to keep her enthusiasm?

That was the only thing he’d ever envied.

Simi’s happiness over absolutely nothing.

It was adorable.

“Do you ever worry about the future, Sim?”

She looked up and frowned, then wiped her mouth on a napkin. “I only worry about losing friends and family. Akri says that to lose things is just a dang shame. Losing people who lives in your heart … that’s tragic. Simi agrees. So long as my peeps are okies, Simi’s okies. Lucky I have friends and family with lots of powers. So, the Simi tries not to think about a tomorrow where one of them might not be here because that’s just too painful.”

Because hearts always grew bigger to accommodate new family and friends. He knew her philosophy.

“Don’t ever leave me, Simi. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She smiled at him. “You sound like akri. Don’t worry. The Simi’s not going anywhere. I likes my eats. Love my akri and am pretty fond of Thorny-man.” She winked. “But you got to promise the Simi something.”

“Sure.”

“Don’t go evil, akri-Thorn. The Simi and your Hellchasers need you. Pay no never minds to them awful Necrodemians who think you’re evil. They just can’t see your real heart. The Simi sees it, and I know how hard you’re fighting. You can do this. The Simi believes in you.”

Thorn just prayed that would be enough to keep him from following in the steps of his father and the demons who wouldn’t let him live in peace.