Page 27

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June 23, 2012

S imi sat on akri-Styxx’s bedroll in his tent, waiting patiently for him to feed his animals and return inside. She shouldn’t be here with akri’s twin brother, but given the way she’d treated him before, she had to come back and apologize.

Styxx wasn’t the awful monster man she’d thought him to be. And he was akri’s twin. Family was important.

Even family they was sometimes mad at.

The moment Styxx returned inside his tent, he froze. Not that she blamed him. The last time she’d met akri’s copy had been terrible. She’d been furious because akri-copy had hurt her akri.

He’d stabbed her akri in the heart and almost kilted him.

So, she’d done what she was supposed to. She’d made akri-Copy pay, only to learn that things weren’t always what she thought.

There had been a lot more to akri-Styxx than just bad actions. He actually loved her akri enough to risk his life for him. He’d gone and saved akri’s wife and almost gotten kilted by the bad Daimons.

All to help a brother who was mad at him.

That made her feel terrible for what she’d done, and she wanted to make it up to akri-copy.

Though the suspicion in his steely blue eyes said that it might not be possible. He was very cautious about Simi and why she’d come.

Moving as slowly as he could, he put his hand on the .38 he kept in a holster at the base of his spine which she found amusing. A human weapon wouldn’t hurt her. It’d only make her very angry.

Akri even more so.

So, she smiled, trying to make him understand that she had no intention of harming him. “Hello, akri-copy.”

His gaze narrowed on her. “What do you want?”

Feeling awful, she sighed heavily. “The Simi come to say she sorry for what she did to you. But see, you hurt my akri and the Simi loves her akri so anyone who attacks her akri gets eat, even those who look like akri, see?”

His expression said that he didn’t.

She stood up.

Akri-copy immediately backed away.

Well, this was just awful. He wasn’t really listening. He was too busy being scared. Akri was right. She needed to think more before she acted.

Cocking her head, Simi frowned. “You look so strange like that. Why you wear eye makeup, akri-copy?”

He shrugged. “Protects my eyes from the sun.”

“That’s why you gets sunglasses, silly. Don’t nobody tell you that?” She bent down and picked up her red heart-shaped backpack that had black demon wings spanning out from it. She wrinkled her nose at him. “Itn’t it cute? Akra-Danger gived it to me at Christmas. Now less see …” She rummaged around until she pulled out a bottle of barbecue sauce with a ribbon tied around it. “Happy birthday, akri-copy!”

When he didn’t move to take it, her smile faded. She stepped toward him, and he quickly took two steps back.

Her shoulders and wings dropped as she pouted. “Why you so skittish of the Simi?”

“I don’t know. Call me stupid, but the last time we met, you killed me.”

Her wings drooped even more as shame and regret filled her heart. “I know. It was wrong to do that to you. But that was before you saved akri and akra-Tory and gave Baby Bas his horse he loves to play with. So, the Simi glad you didn’t stay dead, and the Simi promises I won’t kill you again. Friends?”

He gave her an incredulous stare.

After a few seconds, he let go of the gun and reached for the barbecue sauce. “Thank you, Simi.”

Her wings shot back up as a smile curved her lips and happiness filled her. “It the Simi’s favorite that she only give to special quality people. See …” She pointed to the label. “Hot, hot … though it hot here in the desert, you might not need it. But it’s good on everything.” She beamed a giant smile at him.

He inclined his head to her. “I appreciate it. Thank you very much.”

Simi scowled. He didn’t mean those words. Not really. And here all she wanted to do was apologize. “Why you so sad, akri-copy? You got aches in your heart?”

“I’m fine, Simi.”

No, he wasn’t. He was far from fine, and she knew it. Her frown deepening, she glanced around the tent. “Who you gots coming to celebrates with you?”

Styxx sighed. “I don’t celebrate birthdays.”

Eyes wide, she gaped. “No! Birthdays are always special cause they’s the days when you were welcomed to the world and people be all happy when babies are born.”

Akri-copy set the barbecue sauce down next to his pack. “You should probably go back to Acheron before he misses you.”

Instead, she sat down on his bedroll.

“What are you doing?”

Determined to make him feel better before she left, she opened her backpack. “Akri got lots of people who celebrate with him on his birthday, and akri-copy got nobody. That makes Simi sad for akri-copy. Nobody should be alone on their birthday so …” She pulled out a package of Ding Dongs and held them toward him. “We have birthday cake!”

He smiled sheepishly. “I’ve never had birthday cake before.”

“Never?” She couldn’t believe it. How could anyone go without birthday cakes? They was some of the bestest.

He shook his head.

Simi pressed her index finger to her lips as she thought about what to do to make his birthday extra special. “We need candles, but you so old that we’d have to have cakes the size of a … battleship … Hmmm … that’s okay.” She reached into her pack and pulled out a glowstick. “Less pretend this is one. But you can’t blow it out, but we pretend you do. How’s that?”

“Sure.”

“Okays. Now akri-copy sit.”

A bit reluctantly, he sat down across from her while she carefully opened the package and left the cakes on the wrapper.

Then she snapped the glowstick and shook it.

“Now you make your wish and blow out the candle.” She held the glowstick up in front of his face.

With a smile, akri-copy blew on it.

Suspicious, she narrowed her eyes at him. “You didn’t make a wish, did you?”

“I don’t have anything to wish for.”

Simi knew that wasn’t true. “Everybody has wishes, akri-copy.”

“I’m not everybody.”

He thought he was nobody, but she knew better. He was akri’s brother, and he’d done his best to help akri even though they hadn’t gotten along in a very long time.

That made him extra special. He’d admitted he was wrong and had tried to make amends.

So, she wanted to make amends, too.

Simi took his hand into hers and placed a cake in it. “Then the Simi will make your wish for you. The Simi wishes you will be happy like the Simi and her akri.”

He gave her a gentle smile. “Thank you, Simi.”

She touched her cake to his then ate it. “You gots to eat yours all in one bites,” she said with her mouth full. “’Cause we gots no candles to blow out, you have to eat in one gulp for the wish to come true.”

Laughing, he shoved the cake into his mouth and ate it all in one gulp like she said.

Nodding, Simi licked her fingers. “Good, right?”

He swallowed the cake. “The best ever.”

Happy that she’d given him a wish, Simi got up on her knees and kissed his cheek then hugged him. “If you want, akri-Styxx, the Simi can love you, too. ’Cause hearts are amazing things. They get lots bigger to make room for new people to love alongside the old people you love.”

She patted her chest. “The Simi gots lots of room to love you, too, if you want.”

Sadness darkened his eyes before he nodded. “I should like that very much.”

She hugged him again and patted his back. “Okay, the Simi have to go now, but she’ll be back to see you soon. And remember akri-Styxx that wishes are powerful, powerful things that come true when you believe in them. And the Simi believes you will be very happy, very soon.” Because she was going to make sure of it.

People deserved to be happy, especially one who looked so much like her akri. Akri had found his Tory, and they loved each other so much.

Everyone should have that, especially akri-Styxx who still ached for the goddess he’d lost.

Bethany had been particularly kind. And Simi knew where she was. She just needed to wake her up, and Styxx would never be sad again. It might make akri angry, but she wanted to repay akri-Styxx for what he’d done. He’d given her a new matera and a little brother named Sebastos.

Now it was his turn to be happy.