Page 28

28

October 21, 2012

“ S imi … Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Absolutely.” Simi grinned at her sissy as they entered the basement of akri’s temple on Katateros. “Now where’s a light switch.”

“There’s not one.” Xirena breathed fire onto an old spider web-covered torch. As soon as one lit, it spread light to all the others in the dark marble room.

The flames danced along the wall, adding creepy shadows to the already creepy environment.

Simi stepped back to stare at the number of statues that were housed here. While she’d known they’d been placed here centuries and centuries ago and had gone over them with akri when he’d first comed to live here, she’d never again visited them, especially since they made her akri very unhappy. “The Simi didn’t remember there being so many … Akra really broke bad on all these non-quality peoples.”

“I remember.” Xirena’s tone was low and breathless. “It was not a pretty day.”

Simi arched a brow. “You were there, Big Sissy?”

Xirena nodded. “Xedrix, too.” Their brother had been Apollymi’s most favored Charonte after their mother’s death. But Rik-rik had deflected … no, defected when akri-Styxx opened the portal in New Orleans and let him out on the night he’d tried to kill akri.

That was what had made Simi so mad at akri-copy.

“Ooo, so what happened, Big Sissy?”

“The bitch-goddess Apollymi was furious. They all died screaming. Except for two.”

Simi started to correct her sister, but she knew Xirena would never warm up to Apollymi anymore than Simi would ever warm up to Artemis.

So, she ignored her sister’s insults and asked the question that was most dear to her heart. “Who two?”

“Dikastis and Bet’anya. Bet tried to keep the bitch goddess from killing her baby, but the bitch goddess didn’t listen. She yanked it right out of her belly and then turned her into one of these.”

Simi touched her own stomach in sympathetic pain. Poor Bethany and akri-Styxx. “Why was akra so mean?”

Xirena shrugged. “The bitch goddess was always mean. She only likes you and her son … and akra-Kat and Mia-Mia.” Kat was akri’s other daughter he’d had with Artemis. Akra-Mia was Kat’s daughter and akri’s grandbaby Simi loved to play with.

While the Simi didn’t like change per se, the Simi did love the fact that her family had grown a lot over the last few years.

It was why she wanted it to grow some more with akri-Styxx and his goddess.

Simi climbed up on the woman closest to her and poked at her stone eyeball. She’d called her meanie witch. But she wondered what her real name was. “Which one is she?”

Xirena spat on the ground at the statue’s feet. “Epithymia. She an even bigger bitch goddess. She used to pull the wings off Charonte who made her mad.”

Simi cringed, then poked harder in the goddess’s eye, hoping she could feel it. “Who the one who lost her baby? She’s the one the Simi needs.”

Xirena walked around them, looking at them, up and down, until she found one in the back. “This is Bet’anya.”

Or Bethany as akri-Styxx called her.

Simi headed over, then gasped. “She look just likes akri-Styxx’s drawings. She the one he loved so much.”

Biting her lip, she met her sister’s gaze. “Was she nice?”

Nodding, Xirena touched Bet’anya’s hand. “She was always very sad though. Even when she was happy, she looked so sad. Like something wasn’t quite right in her heart. Chara goddess used to say it’s because they took something from her long ago they shouldn’t have.”

Simi gave her sister a knowing look. “That’s ’cause she didn’t have her akri-Styxx. He loves her and so this is the Simi’s Christmas present to him. I told him on his birthday that wishes come true and his wish is for his akra to come home to him.”

“Yeah, but Xiamara, this …” Xirena shook her head. “I don’t think we should.”

“We gots to, Big Sissy. This the only time them portals things open. If we don’t do it now, akri-Styxx will have to wait a long, long time, and he already waited a long, long time. The Simi don’t like to see him so sad. He don’t get prezzies, and the Simi wants to get him the best prezzie ever.”

The ground beneath their feet rumbled. Simi’s eyes widened. “What’s that?”

Bug-eyed, Xirena shrugged.

Simi’s watch tingled, letting her know it was time. She had less than one minute to free the goddess. Using her wings, she hovered and placed the sacred anti-aima to the goddess’s lips. When akri had been frozen that time in New Orleans, she and akra-Kat had used this to free him so she was hoping it would work on Styxx’s akra, too.

Hmm …

Another rumble went through the room. Something akin to a dark shadow shot out and flew past Simi’s head.

Suddenly the other bitch goddess Xirena didn’t like opened her eyes.

And so did Archon …

Uh-oh.

Simi ran to her sister. “Go get help. The Simi will hold them off!”

Sissy left and Simi realized that it wasn’t that easy.

Them gods were waking, and they were angry.

Most of all, they didn’t like Charonte.

Simi tried her best to fight them off, but quickly learned one Charonte against a pantheon was just a bad idea.

Archon glared at her. “Xiamara! Where’s Apollymi?”

Uh-oh. He thought she was her matera. Simi let loose her leathery battle wings.

She wanted to fight but knew better. There was only one thing to be done.

Simi grabbed the goddess she’d come for and teleported to Savitar for protection and help because she knew akri would be furious over her waking up all of the gods and not just the one.

For a second, she considered going to Thorny. He’d definitely help her, but if the mean gods learned Bethany was in Azmodea …

No, Savitar was better.

’Sides, Savitar might be able to keep akri from killing her for being so stupid while he was busy.

Well, at least akri hadn’t pulled her wings off. That was a plus, but he was really mad. So mad that pulling her wings off was still a possibility.

Right now, he was off with Savitar and Urian, discussing what they needed to do to keep the Atlantean gods from destroying the human realm.

Simi was in New Orleans with akra-Tory and their baby boy, Bas. “The Simi’s so sorry, akra-Tory. I didn’t mean to make such and awful mess.”

With her long brown hair in a ponytail, Tory smiled at her. “It’s okay, Simi. You were only trying to help. What you did was sweet, and once Ash calms down, he’ll know that, too.”

“I feel terrible.”

Akra-Tory gave her a hug, then kissed her head. “Eat more ice cream and you’ll feel better.”

That was one of many reasons Simi loved Tory. Like Simi, she believed food could make everything better.

“Do you think Savitar can get akri-Styxx to help this time?”

“I’m sure, Simi. Just be patient.”

That was awful hard given that she’d made a mess of everything. Simi wasn’t sure what to do.

But as she looked at baby Bas and his cute face, she hoped that she hadn’t messed up everyone’s life.

Tory picked up her phone and answered it. She listened for a few minutes, then nodded. “You sure?”

Simi arched a brow, wondering what had happened.

Tory turned the phone off, then picked up baby Bas. “Ash wants us to go to Savitar’s island.”

“Why?”

“He wants us safe. It’s the one place the gods won’t be able to reach us.”

That made sense. But it also made the ache in her belly stronger.

Please don’t let me have destroyed everything by trying to make it better.