The demon didn't. Before he could escape, she placed a small orb to his heart.
Acheron screamed out as pain tore through him. Never in his life had he felt anything like this, and given the tortures they'd put him through, that said much. It was as if there was poisonous fire in his veins, ripping through his entire body.
From the center of his chest where the orb rested, his skin changed from tawny to a marbled blue . . .
As the pain and color unfurled through him, images and voices screamed out, piercing his eardrums. Scents assaulted his nostrils. Even his clothes burned against his skin. He fell to the ground and curled up into a ball as every sense he had was assailed.
"You are the god Apostolos. Harbinger and son of Apollymi the Destroyer. Your will is the will of the universe. You are the final fate of all . . ."
Acheron kept shaking his head in denial. No. It couldn't be. "I am nothing. I am nothing."
The demon lifted his head. "Why are you not happy? You are a god now."
Fury rode him hard as he grabbed her. He didn't understand his powers or anything else that was happening to him, but all the years of his life, all the degradations and horrors tore through him. Those he let travel from his mind into hers.
The demon cried out as she slung her head back. "Ni! This was not supposed to happen to you, akri. Not this . . ."
He grabbed her and forced her gaze to meet his. "It was bad enough when they thought me the human son of a god. Can you imagine what they'll do to me now? Take these powers away from me."
"I cannot. They are yours by birthright."
Acheron fell back, banging his head against the stone floor. "No!" he shrieked. "No! I don't want this. I only want to be left alone."
Xiamara tried to embrace him.
Acheron pushed her away. "I want nothing from you. You've done enough damage to me."
"Akri—"
"Out of my sight!"
Her eyes glowed with reluctance. "Your will is my own." The orb she'd held against him appeared as a necklace about his neck. "If you need me, akri, call and I will come."
Acheron pressed his hand against his skull that ached and throbbed with new voices and sensations. He felt as if he were going mad and perhaps he was. Perhaps the cruelty had finally shattered his sanity.
He heard the demon leave as unknown voices whispered and shouted through his mind. It was as if he could hear the entire world at once. He knew every thought, every wish, every fear.
His breathing ragged, he wanted an escape from it. He snatched at the necklace, but it wouldn't break. Instead, it glowed in his palm.
Crying out, he wanted to jump again. Unfortunately, he couldn't even stand. He was so dizzy. So ill . . .
What had they done to him now?
Apollymi paced the small courtyard in Kalosis, waiting for Xiamara's return.
"Where's the Simi's matera?"
She turned slightly to see Xiamara's youngest child in the doorway. Named for her mother, Xiamara, Simi—which was Charonte for baby—was almost three thousand years old and yet she looked no older than a four-year-old human child. Unlike humans and gods, Charonte demons were very slow to mature.
Apollymi knelt down and held her arms out for Simi. "She's not back yet, sweeting. Soon."
Simi pouted before she ran to her and threw her arms around Apollymi's neck. She put one small thumb into her mouth and buried her other hand deep in Apollymi's hair.
Apollymi closed her eyes as she hugged the small demon. How she wished she could have held her own son like this. Just once. Instead, she'd contented herself with lavishing her love on Xiamara's simi while she waited for her son to grow old enough to free her.
Simi laid her head on Apollymi's shoulder while Apollymi sang to her. "Why is akra sad?"
"I'm not sad, Simi. I'm anxious."
"Is anxious like when the Simi eats too much and her stomach hurts?"
Apollymi 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."
"Something like that."
Apollymi felt a movement in the air. She looked to the shadows to see the outline of Xiamara's body. For a full minute, she couldn't move as she waited for her best friend to join her.
But there was a hesitancy to Xiamara that made her heart stop. "What is it?"
Xiamara held her hands out for Simi who gratefully went to her mother. The demon held her daughter as tears fell down her cheeks.
Apollymi felt her own eyes mist as fear gripped her. "Xi? Tell me."
She clenched her eyes closed while she continued to rock her daughter. "I don't know how to tell you, akra."
The more she hesitated, the more fraught with worry Apollymi was. "Is he not well? I'm still a prisoner here so I know he lives."
"He lives."
"Does he not . . . love me?"
Xiamara shook her head before she set Simi down. "Go find your sister, Simi. I need to speak with akra alone."
Sucking her thumb, Simi skipped away from them.