She shrugged. "He was the only rock star I knew who wore leather and chains and sunglasses—like you had on that day. You also had long purple hair and an earring. Later, I kept telling everyone about this punk guy who saved my papou. My idolizing you is a big part of the reason Kim and Pam ended up Goth . . . ironic really."
She glanced over to where Simi was still sleeping against the wall. "It wasn't until I saw Simi again last night that it all clicked into place for me." When her gaze locked onto his, the intelligence and accusation in it actually made him cringe. "You're the one who dug my grandfather out of his burning house when he was seven years old and brought him over from Greece. The man who watched over him the whole way here and told him the stories about Atlantis that he told to my father and uncle."
Ash wanted to deny it, but how could he? She now knew everything. "Yes."
She nodded. "That alone is why I'm controlling my anger at you for lying to me and humiliating me in public after I was doing nothing more than telling the stories you, yourself, told my grandfather. How can I be mad at a man who braved a Nazi attack to pull a seven-year-old boy out of the wreckage of his house and save his life? My grandfather said that you bandaged his eyes and then carried him in your arms for days until you reached the docks where you had to bribe the snot out of everyone to get him out of the country. He was so scared and griefstricken from the loss of his family. The only thing that kept him sane was the deep voice of Acheron telling him that he'd be all right. That he wouldn't let anything else bad happen to him while the man held him and soothed his tears . . . that was you. You were the one who found the American family who adopted him, who helped him finance his first deli, and all his life you were the man he met in the park on Sunday afternoon to play chess with." She sniffed back tears that made his own eyes water. "How could I ever hate you?"
Ash looked away as his own emotions tangled. Everyone else had hated him. How could he expect her to be any different?
Tory swallowed and looked at Simi. "I've spoken to her so many times on the phone and through e-mails. My cousin Geary and I even named our expedition the Simi Project because Simi was the one who helped us find the location of Atlantis."
Ash's eyes widened at something he'd had no knowledge of. Anger snapped to the forefront of his emotions as he wanted to choke the demon. "Simi did what?"
"You told me to, akri," Simi said from her place on the floor before she yawned loudly. When she spoke again, her voice was a perfect duplication of his. "Watch her, Simi. Keep her happy and make sure she has everything she needs and wants." Her voice returned to normal. "So that's what the Simi did, akri. Just what you told me to do."
"That was for one afternoon."
"Akri didn't say that to the Simi. You say make her happy so the Simi did. If you wanted me to stop, akri, you should have said so."
Ash raked his hands through his hair as he realized how much pain he'd brought to Theo when all he'd ever wanted to do was help the boy—that he'd exposed himself and revealed the location of Atlantis without meaning to. Damn it. "I know better than to interact with humans. How could I have been so stupid?"
Tory leaned over him, her face so sweet and inviting even though to him, right now, she was the greatest threat. "You can't live alone all the time, Ash . . . or is it Asheron, Acheron or Apostolos? I don't even know what to call you."
Call me yours . . .
It was such a stupid thought. And he knew better than to ever let that one out. He was owned body and soul by Artemis. "I don't care which one you use. I answer to all of them."
"You must have a preference."
"Only his mama, Akra-Apollymi, call him Apostolos. Ooo and sometimes that Jaden demon man and Savitar who is always so nice to the Simi. He always brings the Simi good things to eat. But I think akri likes Ash best cause that's what he tells most people when he meets them nowadays."
Ash gave her a dry stare. "Thanks, Sim."
"You're welcome, akri," she said, oblivious to his sarcasm. "Now the Simi's head hurts. Can I sleep on you where it's comfortable until it stops aching so much? I don't like the floor anymore. It hurts the Simi's wings."
He held his arms out. "Of course you can, Simykey."
Smiling, she transformed and flew as a black mist onto his body to form a small dragon tattoo on his shoulder.
Tory narrowed her gaze on Simi's form. "Now I know the secret of the ever-changing tattoo. You got anymore surprises for me?"
"I suppose that depends on what else I said last night. Damn. At what point did I pass out?"
"From your point of view, not soon enough I would imagine."
If he were able to get the sick lump of dread out of his stomach, he would have laughed at that. As it was, the best he could muster was a grimace. "You are taking all of this remarkably well."
She crossed her legs under herself before she shrugged nonchalantly. "What am I supposed to do? I mean it's not like I have some precedent for dealing with this. I don't know anyone who's ever met a guy who turned out to be a god with his own personal demon. Inner demons, yes, but a tattoo that becomes a demon . . . no. Definitely off the grid."