DANCE WITH THE DEVIL

by Sherrilyn Keynon

  Even though their lives were in danger, she felt oddly safe here.

  With him.

  Or so she thought.

  In the stillness, she heard a strange scratching sound above them.

  Zarek jerked up.

  "What is it?" she whispered.

  "Someone's upstairs in my cabin."

  Horror consumed her. "You think it's Thanatos?"

  "Yes."

  He moved her gently off him and stood her against the wall. Terrified, she remained perfectly still as she listened to his movements and to those above.

  Zarek grabbed a grenade, then reconsidered. The last thing he wanted was to trap them underground. He pulled on his spare set of silver claws that covered every finger of his left hand, and moved down the hallway back toward the trapdoor that was underneath his stove.

  He heard light footsteps above him.

  Then a curse.

  Suddenly, there was silence again.

  Zarek strained, desperate to hear who was up there and what they were doing.

  A strange shiver went down his spine as the air behind him stirred.

  He turned expecting to see Astrid.

  It wasn't her.

  Chapter 13

  Standing behind him was an odd demonic woman with long blond hair, pointed ears, and large, batlike wings. She was cute in a very strange sort of way.

  She stared at him without moving.

  Zarek attacked.

  Instead of fighting, she turned with a squeak and ran for the back of the cave.

  Zarek followed her, intending to stop her before she reached Astrid, but he couldn't.

  The demon ran straight for her and to his astonishment she rushed behind Astrid and put her between them. The demon's wings constricted and folded in around her body as if to protect her.

  The demon placed a hand on Astrid's shoulder as she eyed him cautiously. "Tell him to leave me alone, Astrid. Else I'll have to barbecue him and make akri angry at me. I don't want to make akri angry."

  Astrid covered the demon's hand with hers. "Simi? Is that you?"

  "Yes. C'est moi. The little demon with hornays."

  Zarek lowered his claws. "You two know each other?"

  Astrid frowned as she faced him again. "Don't you know her?"

  "She's a demon. Why would I know her?"

  "Because she's Acheron's companion."

  Completely stunned, Zarek gaped at the small creature who did have odd eyes much like Acheron's. They were pale and glowing, but hers were rimmed with red. "Ash has a companion?"

  The demon snorted. She stood up and whispered loudly in Astrid's ear. "Dark-Hunters are cute, but very stupid."

  He gave her a peeved glare as Astrid choked back a laugh.

  "What are you doing here, Simi?" Astrid asked.

  The demon looked around the tunnel and pouted in a way that reminded him of a small child. "Feeling peckish. Is there any food? Something not too heavy. Maybe a cow or two?"

  "No, Simi," Astrid said. "No food."

  The demon made a rude noise as she stepped away from Astrid. " 'No, Simi. No food,' " she mocked. "You sound like akri. 'Don't eat that, Simi, you'll cause an ecological disaster.' What is an ecological disaster, that's what I want to know? Akri says it's me on hunger binge, but I don't think that's quite right, but that's all he'll say about it."

  Disregarding both of them, the demon began searching through his weapons.

  She grabbed a grenade and tried to bite into it.

  Zarek snatched it away from her. "That's not food."

  The demon opened her mouth as if to speak, then snapped it shut. "Why are you in a dark hole, Astrid? Did you fall?"

  "We're hiding, Simi."

  "Hiding?" She snorted again. "From what?"

  "Thanatos."

  "Pffft…" The demon rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively. "Why you hiding from that loser? He wouldn't even make good barbecue. Barely take the edge off my peckishness. Hmmm… How come there's no food here?" She looked speculatively at Astrid.

  Zarek stepped between them.

  The demon stuck her tongue out at him and returned to searching his supplies.

  "Why are you here?" Zarek asked.

  The demon ignored him. "Where's Sasha, Astrid? He'd make good barbecue. Something about that wolf meat. Very tasty once you get all that hair off. Barbecued hair not particularly tasty, but it'll do in a pinch."

  "He's not here, thankfully. But why are you here without Acheron?"

  "Akri told me to come."

  "Who is akri?" Zarek asked.

  Simi ignored him.

  "Acheron," Astrid explained. "Akri is an Atlantean term for 'lord and master.'"

  He scoffed at that. "Well, la-di-da. No wonder he has such a big head, with a pet demon following him around, calling him 'lord and master.'"

  Astrid gave him an agitated look. "He's not like that, Zarek, and you'd best not insult him around the Simi. She tends to take such things personally, and without Acheron here to call her off she's deadlier than a nuclear bomb."

  He looked over at the small demon with new respect. "Really?"

  Astrid nodded. "Her race once held dominion over the entire earth. Even the Olympian gods were terrified of the Charontes, and only the Atlanteans were ever able to defeat and harness them."

  Simi looked up and gave him a wide, toothy grin that revealed her fangs evilly. She licked her lips as if savoring some tasty morsel. "I would like to barbecue those Olympian gods. They are very tasty. One day, I'm going to eat that redheaded goddess, too."

  "She doesn't like Artemis," Astrid explained.

  So he gathered.

  "The Simi hates her, but akri says, 'No, Simi, you can't kill Artemis. Behave, Simi, don't shoot fire at her, don't make her bald, Simi.' No, no, no. It's all I hear."

  She glared at Zarek meaningfully. "I don't like that word. 'No.' It even sounds evil. The Simi tends to barbecue anyone dumb enough to say it to her. But not akri. He's allowed to say no to me; I just don't like it when he does."

  Zarek frowned as he watched Simi hop along from box to box like a butterfly. She exclaimed giddily when she found his store of gold and jewels that Artemis paid him with every month.

  "Look!" Simi said, scooping up a handful of diamonds. "You got sparklies like akri. He gives all of his to me." She held an emerald necklace up to her throat. "He say I look beautiful in sparklies, 'specially them red ones that match my eyes. Here, Astrid," she said, bringing another necklace over to them and fastening it around Astrid's neck.

  "I know you can't see it, Astrid, but it is very lovely, like you. You need to wear that and then you have sparklies, too." She looked up at Astrid's head. "But still no hornays. We need to fix you up with hornays one day so you can be a demon, too. It's fun being a demon—except when people try to exercise you… Wait, that's not the right word. I forget, but you know what I mean."

  There was something strangely charismatic about her, but she didn't seem to be quite right… in more ways than one.

  "Is she okay?" he asked Astrid. "I mean, no offense, she sounds more mental than I do."

  Astrid laughed. "You have to remember that Acheron, shall we say, indulges her a lot and Simi's not fully grown."

  "Yes I am," Simi said in a tone that reminded him of a five-year-old child. She had a peculiar singsongy accent unlike anything he'd ever heard before.

  "The Simi has needs," she continued idly. "Lots of needs. I need akri's plastic card, for one thing. It very nice. People give me lots of stuff when I hand it to them. Ooo, I really like the new plastic card he gave me with my own name on it. It blue and all sparkly and it says Simi Parthenopaeus."

  She looked up like a giddy child. "Doesn't that have a nice ring to it? I have to say it again. Simi Parthenopaeus. I like that a lot. It even has my picture in the corner and I am a very attractive demon if I do say so myself. Akri says it, too. 'Simi, you are beautiful.' I like it when he tells me that."

  "Does she always ra
mble on like this?" Zarek whispered under his breath in Astrid's ear.

  She nodded. "Trust me, it's wise to let her ramble, too. She gets rather upset if you tell her to be quiet. She once ate a lesser god who did that."

  Simi cocked her head as if another thought came to her addled mind. "And I particularly like men all of a sudden." She looked over at Zarek who involuntarily cringed. "But not that one. He's too dark. I like them blue-eyed people 'cause they remind me of my card. People like that Calvin Klein model Travis Fimmel who was on this big billboard in New York the last time akri took me there. He mighty fine and makes me want to do things to him other than flame-broil him. He makes me all warm and tingly."

  "Okay, Simi. Warm and tingly. I think we need to switch topics," Astrid said.

  Zarek wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or insulted by her comments about him. But he definitely agreed a change in topic would be nice.

  Astrid turned to where she thought Simi might be, but Simi had already moved.

  Again.

  The demon seemed to have an aversion to sitting still.

  "Simi, why did Acheron send you here?"

  Simi pulled a sheathed dagger out of a box and examined it with a skill that made Zarek arch his brow. Childlike she might appear, but there was nothing childish in the way Simi handled his weapons.

  She tested the balance of the blade like a pro. "To protect you from Thanatos so that your sisters don't get all freaky and destroy the world. Or something like that. I don't know why all of you fear the end of the world. It's not so bad, really. At least then akri's mama be free. Then she wouldn't be so cranky at the Simi all the time."

  Zarek started at her words. "Ash's mother is still alive?"

  She covered her mouth with her hand and dropped the dagger. "Oh, akri get mad whenever I tell that. Bad Simi. I not talk anymore. I need food."

  Zarek rubbed his head as Simi went back to opening boxes. Oh, this was great. He had a nymph to protect, a psycho something out to kill them, and now a mental demon to contend with.

  Oh, yeah, this got better and better.

  He looked over at Astrid, who had her brow furrowed as if thinking over Simi's disclosures.

  "Just who are your sisters, Astrid, that they can destroy the world?" Zarek asked.

  Astrid cringed a tiny bit and shifted uneasily.

  This was about to get worse.

  He knew it.

  Cringing even more, she whispered, "The Fates."

  Zarek went cold. Oh, yeah, his life, as bad as it was, just went careening down to Shitsville and there was no off ramp in sight.

  "Your sisters are the Fates," he repeated, saying each word slowly and enunciating it clearly so that there could be no misunderstanding.

  She nodded.

  Anger enveloped him. "I see. Your sisters are the Moirae, the three Fates who are in charge of everything. Women who are known to have no mercy or pity on anyone. Women who the gods themselves fear."

  She bit her lip. "They're really not so bad. They can be almost nice, if you catch them in the right moods."

  "Oh, jeez." Zarek raked his hands through his hair as he struggled to keep his temper from exploding. No wonder Ash had sent Simi. If anything happened to Astrid, there was no telling what could happen. "Please tell me there was a family argument and you and your sisters don't speak to each other. That they can't stand the mention of your name."

  "No, no, we're extremely friendly. I'm the baby of the family and they are more like three mothers to me."

  Zarek actually whimpered at that. "So you're telling me that right now I'm responsible for Acheron's beloved pet and the favorite sister of the Fates?"

  Simi widened her eyes. "Tell Fang-boy I'm not a pet. If he doesn't take a nicer tone to me, he's going to be really sorry."

  Astrid ignored Simi's comment. "It's not all bad."

  "No? Then by all means tell me something good, Astrid."

  "They'll probably side with me when I judge you innocent."

  "Probably?"

  She nodded lamely.

  Zarek growled at that. Leave it to him. Whenever he got screwed by something it was never in a little way.

  Astrid turned back to the demon. "Simi, why aren't you talking to Zarek?"

  "Because akri said not to. He didn't say I couldn't talk to you, though."

  "Do you do everything he tells you to?" Zarek asked her.

  Simi ignored him.

  "Yes, she does," Astrid answered. "But the good news is, Simi can't lie, either. Can you, Simi?"

  "Well, why would I? Lies are too confusing."

  Oh, yeah, like she wasn't. He'd never seen anyone or anything more confusing than this demon.

  "Why did Acheron tell you not to talk to Zarek?"

  "I don't know. That redheaded bitch-goddess got all angry when he told me to come protect you. It went like this…"

  The demon flashed from her form into that of Acheron. "Protect Zarek and Astrid. Now."

  She transformed into Artemis. "No!" she snapped. "You can't let her go, she'll tell Zarek everything."

  Simi, looking like Artemis, put her hand against her cheek and whispered loudly to Astrid. "This the part where the redheaded goddess went on and on about what happened in Zarek's village and akri got all upset at her. Don't know why he won't let me kill her and get it over with, but finally he say…"

  She flashed into Ash's body once more. "Simi, don't speak to Zarek but make sure Thanatos doesn't kill either one of them."

  Simi returned to her small, slight demonic self. "So I said okay and here I am not talking to Zarek."

  "Wow," Zarek said as she stopped her one-demon show. "She's a camcorder, too. How convenient."

  She leveled a murderous glare at him, but directed her words at Astrid. "I miss the days when the Simi could pick off Dark-Hunters and no one noticed."

  Astrid moved forward to find Simi who took her hand and faced her with a benign, sweet look. It was obvious the demon liked her.

  "What happened in his village that Artemis doesn't want Zarek to know about?"

  Simi shrugged. "I don't know. She's all paranoid all the time anyway. Afraid akri is going to leave and not come back, which I keep telling him to do. But does he listen? No." Her next comment came out in Ash's voice. "She's not your concern, Simi. You don't understand, Simi."

  She made another rude noise. "I understand, all right. I understand the bitch-goddess needs the Simi to barbecue her until she learns to be nice to people. I think she'd be rather attractive on fire. I could make her look like that old sea hag or something."

  "Simi!" Astrid stressed her name and took her by her arms as if trying to keep the demon on the topic. "Please tell me what happened in Zarek's village."

  "Oh, that. Well, the Thanatos thing, not the one after you now, but the one who came before him, went all wild and killed everybody. Them poor people didn't stand a chance. Akri was so mad he wanted the bitch-goddess's heart for it, only I say she don't have no heart to take."

  Zarek felt as if someone had just slugged him. "What are you saying? You mean I didn't kill them?"

  Astrid's mind whirled with what Simi was revealing. If Zarek were innocent of destroying his village, then why had he been banished?

  "Zarek didn't kill them?" she asked Simi.

  "Of course not. No Dark-Hunter would kill their charges. Akri would eat them if they did. Zarek killed them Apollites— which made everybody mad."

  Zarek frowned. He didn't remember anything about Apollites. There had never been any around his village. "What Apollites?"

  Astrid repeated his question.

  Simi spoke slowly and carefully as if they were the ones who had trouble sticking with the conversation. "The ones that Thanatos gathered to use for cannon fodder. Jeez, don't you people know nothing about the Daimons and Apollites? Thanatos can summon them up and make them do things for him. He can do it with people too sometimes.

  "He was sent by Artemis to kill some Dark-Hunter up in Scotland, th
en after he did that, he went after all the other Dark-Hunters so that he could destroy them and all the Apollites could live in peace and feed off the humans without worrying about any of you guys."

  Astrid shivered at Simi's words as she remembered where she had been nine hundred years ago. "Thanatos is the one who killed Miles in Scotland?"

  "Yes," Simi confirmed.

  "Then he went after Zarek?"

  Simi made an agitated noise. "He's a Dark-Hunter, isn't he? Are you two having some sort of strange human thing that you can't follow what I'm saying?"

  Astrid patted Simi's hand hopefully to calm her a bit. "I'm sorry, Simi. You're just telling us some things we knew nothing about."

  Simi cocked her head and looked at Zarek. "Oh, I guess that's okay then. Still… you should know something about Thanatos. Him being able to kill you and all."

  Astrid sensed Zarek was about to speak. She gave him the kill signal while she continued to question Simi.

  "Simi, why doesn't Zarek remember the first Thanatos coming after him?"

  " 'Cause he's not supposed to. Akri had to kill Thanatos in front of him and he made it so that Zarek wouldn't remember anything about all that mess."

  Zarek let out a slow breath as her words seeped in. Ash had made it so he wouldn't remember.

  "Acheron scrambled my brains?"

  Astrid's face filled with relief. "You're innocent, Zarek."

  Rage tore through him. "So I was banished to this godforsaken hellhole because Acheron killed Thanatos? What kind of bullshit is that?" He paced the floor angrily. "I'll kill that bastard."

  Simi shifted instantly into the shape of a "small" dragon.

  One that was wedged into their tunnel. Her eyes blazed angrily as she hissed at him. "Did you insult my akri?"

  Ready for battle, Zarek opened his mouth to tell her yes and found Astrid shielding him. She stood between them and held him behind her.

  "No, Simi. Zarek has a right to be angry. He's been exiled for something he didn't do."

  Simi shifted back into her humanoid form. "No he wasn't. He was banished because he killed the Apollites."

  Simi took on the form of Artemis. "See, I told you, Acheron, he's insane. He knew better than to kill them."

  She became Acheron. "What was he supposed to do? They were throwing themselves at him, trying to kill him. It was self-defense."