Stygian (Dark-Hunter #27)

She tsked. “Two mighty Daimons cuddling babies, asleep while watching Toy Story. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”

Rubbing his eyes, Urian scoffed. “What are you talking about? What kind of mom lets their kids watch this movie? Woody’s a psycho bastard, homicidal loon. And Sid? Holy shit. I so relate to him, which means no kid should be watching this for entertainment. I picked up pointers from both of them. Again, not a child-friendly show.”

Davyn laughed as he woke up on the floor. “Good thing they weren’t here for your earlier diatribe. Or they’d never let you watch their kids again.”

Wulf shook his head as he checked on Tyr and Phoebe, who were curled up on each side of Davyn while Jeff was asleep on Urian’s chest and Erik was tucked in at his feet on the couch.

Cassandra scowled. “When was Jeff’s last feeding?”

“I don’t know. ’Bout eight?”

She gaped. “He’s never slept this long. You need to stay over more often.” Taking the infant, she carried Jeff upstairs.

Wulf sat down in his chair. “Are you two staying the night?”

“Nah, we’ll head out.” Urian carefully extracted his feet from his nephew’s hold while Davyn got up without waking his two charges.

While Davyn gathered his things, Urian pulled a small box out of his backpack and handed it to Wulf. “I got that for you the other day.”

Wulf opened the antique box to find an old medallion that glowed a peculiar shade of burgundy. “What is this?”

“Your soul medallion.”

He gaped. “What?”

“Since you didn’t have yours, I did a little horse-trading with Loki and got it back for you.”

“Horse-trading, how?”

“Don’t worry about it.” When he started to leave, Wulf grabbed his wrist to hold him there. “Why did you—”

“For the kids. I didn’t want anyone else owning a piece of you.” And seeing the god mark on Styxx’s back and some of the stories he knew about it had gotten his mind going into dangerous places. So long as Loki held that soul …

This was safer for everyone. Especially with what was coming for them.

No one needed their souls in the wrong hands. First rule of life. Be careful with your soul. It’s the only one you have. And once you sell it, it’s hard to get it back.

“I feel like a thank-you is so inadequate. What can I do for you in return?”

Urian snorted. “Don’t lose it again. And remember that Helios is on the move. I don’t know what he’s planning, but keep Cassandra and the kids on lockdown.”

“I always do.”

That was true.

Inclining his head, Urian and Davyn left. But Urian still couldn’t shake the bad feeling in his stomach. The gods were stirring for war again.

And they were in the center of it.





December 21, 2012

“Simi … are you sure this is a good idea?”

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

“There’s not one.” Xirena breathed fire onto an old spiderweb-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 at the number of statues that were housed here. While she’d known her akri had putted them here centuries and centuries ago, she’d never actually visited them, especially since they made her akri very unhappy. “The Simi didn’t remember there being so many … Akra had broked bad on all these nonquality 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.” Xedrix was their brother who’d been Apollymi’s most favored Charonte after their mother’s death. But Xed had deflected … no, defected when akri-Styxx opened the portal in New Orleans and let him out. Now he owned a club in New Orleans where the Simi got to eats lots of good seafood.

“Ooo, so what happened, Big sissy?”

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

“Who two?”

“Dikastis and Bet’anya. She 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. “Why was Akra so mean?”

Xirena shrugged. “The bitch-goddess was always mean. She only likes you and her son … and Kat and Mia.”

Simi climbed up on the woman closest to her and poked at her stone eyeball. “Which one is thisest 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 losted her akri-Styxx’s 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.”

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 don’t gots her akri-Styxx. He loves her and so this is the Simi’s Christmas present to him. The Simi tolds him on his birthday that wishes come true, and his wish is for his akra to come home to him.”

“Yeah, but Xiamara, this … it’s bad.” 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 her 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.

Hmmm.…

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!”

“Don’t be a stupid Charonte!” Xirena grabbed her arm and hauled her upstairs.

Alexion was just walking back from the kitchen when he almost collided with two screaming Charonte.

“They’s alive!” Shrieking, they jumped up and down, around him.

“Who’s alive?”

“Them gods in the basement bottom!”

Alexion had no idea what they were talking about. But suddenly the floor beneath his feet rumbled and shook. The glass rattled in the panes.

Danger appeared at his side. “What did you do?”

He gave his wife a blank stare. “Why do I get the blame?”

“I know I didn’t do it, Alexei, so that clears me.” Hands on hips, she tapped her foot in irritation.

He pointed to the demons.

Simi grinned nervously.

“Them gods alive!” Xirena repeated between clenched teeth.

Well, that didn’t sound good. Especially combined with Richter scale activity going on under their feet.

“I think the demons woke something that was sleeping in the basement. Any idea what Ash might have hidden down there?”