DANCE WITH THE DEVIL

by Sherrilyn Keynon

  "It was murder."

  "I swear, Artemis, you kill Zarek over this and I will walk out of that door and never come back."

  She transformed back into herself. "See. That's why he was banished. The bitch-goddess didn't want akri to leave her so she agreed to let Zarek live here just so long as other people weren't around him."

  Simi looked around the dismal tunnel. "Honestly, I think I'd rather be dead myself. This place more boring than Katoteros and I didn't know it could get more boring than Katoteros. I stand corrected. The next time akri tell me it not so bad at home, I might believe him. You don't even have decent food here. No TV, neither."

  Zarek stepped back and stared blankly at the wall as he tried to remember the past while Simi rattled on without pausing.

  He could still hear screams from the villagers, but now he wondered…

  Whose screams did he really hear?

  Astrid felt her way toward him. The warmth of her presence seeped into him. She touched his arm, making him burn reflexively. Something about her touch always rocked him and made him want to turn into her.

  Made him want to touch her.

  "Are you all right?" she asked.

  "No, not really. I want to know what happened to me that night."

  She nodded as if she understood. "Simi, is there anything that can undo what Acheron did to Zarek's memory?"

  "Nope. Akri infallible. Well, except for a couple of things, and we don't talk about those 'cause it makes akri cranky. I like that word 'infallible.' It just like me. Infallible."

  "Then it's hopeless," Zarek said under his breath. "I have no proof that I'm innocent and I'll never know what happened there."

  "I'm not so sure," Astrid said, smiling at him. "Don't give up on me yet, Zarek. If we get proof of what she says, then my decision will stand. You're innocent. No one will be able to argue against it. My sisters won't let you be judged wrongfully."

  He scoffed. "I was innocent when I was stoned to death, too, princess. Excuse me if I don't have a lot of faith in justice or your sisters."

  Astrid swallowed. It was true, the innocent often suffered, too. Her mother and sisters dismissed that fact as the way of the universe, even though her mother did strive to give justice to everyone.

  Sometimes unfair things did happen. There was no way around that.

  Zarek was a perfect example.

  Still, he needed to know the truth about what had happened to him. He deserved that much.

  "Simi? Is there any way you can show Zarek what happened that night?"

  Simi tapped her forefinger against her cheek as she thought that over. "I suppose so. Akri didn't say I couldn't 'show' him anything, he only said I couldn't talk to him."

  Astrid smiled. Simi had always been extremely literal in her interpretation of everything Acheron ordered her to do.

  "Will you? Please?"

  Simi walked over to Zarek and took his chin in her hand.

  Zarek started to protest, but something seemed to seep into him from her hand. It held him paralyzed.

  Simi angled his face until he could stare into her now red and yellow eyes and there he saw the past.

  Everything faded from around him and all he could focus on was Simi's eyes. The images flickered across her pupils, then straight into his mind. He didn't remember any of it having happened. It was like watching a movie of his own life.

  He saw the fires of his village burning to the ground. The bodies scattered. Things that had haunted him for centuries. But that wasn't all he saw this time.

  There was more…

  Forgotten images that had been taken from him.

  He saw himself stumbling upon the village. Bewildered. Angry. The damage had already been done; he wasn't responsible.

  Someone else had come to the village before him.

  He saw the old crone, whom he took into his arms as he always did. Only this time she said more than her usual accusation. "Death came looking for you. He killed everyone because he wanted us to tell him where you lived. We didn't know and it made him angry." Her old eyes had burned with hatred and condemnation. "Why didn't you come? It's all your fault. You were supposed to protect us and it was you who killed us. You killed my daughter."

  He saw the old woman's face. Felt his fury again as he saw what the Daimons had done…

  Zarek's heart pounded as he realized the truth.

  He was innocent of killing his charges.

  None of it had been his fault. He'd been making his normal rounds when he had spotted the fire and he'd rushed to them, but by then it had been too late.

  Thanatos had come to the village during the daylight and destroyed it. There hadn't been any way for him to save them.

  As he watched her eyes, Simi took him through his forgotten five-night trek to the Apollite village where he'd gone to seek those responsible for the deaths at Taberleigh.

  He had fought the Spathi Daimons every step of the way, and one of them had told him of the Dayslayer who would unite their people and destroy the Dark-Hunters. The Spathi had laughed as he died, telling Zarek that the reign of the Dark-Hunters was over.

  The Dayslayer would take back the human world and then they would take down the Olympians.

  As each night passed and the Spathis increased in number, Zarek realized exactly what the world was facing. Every human village he passed was destroyed. The people dead. Slaughtered. Consumed by the Daimons who didn't want to die.

  He'd never seen such devastation. Such waste.

  Had he possessed a Squire, he would have sent him on to warn the other Dark-Hunters or to find Acheron and bring him here to help fight. As it was, there was only him and he wanted to stop the destruction before anyone else suffered.

  Cold and hungry, Zarek had fought his way to the Apollite village that protected the mysterious entity who had slain his people.

  Zarek had arrived only an hour after sundown. As was typical, the Apollites had made their homes underground. The catacombs had been dark and frigid and completely devoid of any souls. Back then, the Apollites had often made their homes near the dead so that they could take the bodiless souls if they needed a quick pick-me-up. In addition, it provided them with a shield. Since Dark-Hunters were comprised of soulless bodies, those souls who needed bodies had a nasty tendency to want to possess them. So catacombs and crypts made the best hiding places for Apollites and Daimons.

  Since all the souls had been stripped before his arrival, Zarek had easily found his way through the catacombs.

  As he searched the corridors and rooms of the underground lair, he discovered there weren't any Apollite or Daimon families present, only evidence of them having left in a hurry.

  In one room, he found a woman with an infant who was weeping.

  She looked up at him with a gasp.

  "I won't hurt you," he said.

  She started screaming for help.

  Zarek had backed out of her home and shut the door.

  His thoughts had been focused on only one person.

  Thanatos.

  The thing the Spathi had told him had been sent by Artemis to kill all the Dark-Hunters. She who was their creator had betrayed them and created an invincible monster.

  Unless he stopped it first. He had hated Artemis then. Hated her not only for creating Thanatos, but for unleashing something like this on the world without warning anyone.

  As he moved through the catacombs, Daimons and Apollites attacked him. He fought them off, killing anyone who came at him with a sword. No, he hadn't cared if they were Daimon or Apollite. It hadn't mattered.

  Only his vengeance had.

  He'd found Thanatos down one of the longer corridors. He'd been with a dozen of his people in a chamber where the Apollites stored textiles.

  Zarek had counted five Apollites there and eight Daimons.

  But what had given him pause was the lone Apollite woman who had been standing beside Thanatos. She was dressed like the Spathis and stood ready to fight.

&nb
sp; Thanatos had smiled evilly at him.

  "See," he had said to the Apollites and Daimons gathered. "He is but one while we are many. The Dark-Hunters are not so fierce. They can't combine their numbers without it weakening them. We can kill them as easily as they kill us. Pierce his mark and he dies just like the rest of you."

  They had rushed him then.

  Zarek had tried to fight his way through them. But they had fought with more strength than he'd ever encountered before. It was as if they were drawing power from Thanatos.

  They had overtaken him and thrown him to the ground while they ripped at his clothes trying to find his mark.

  He'd already been wounded by previous fights. Weakened by his hunger.

  It didn't stop him from fighting with everything he had.

  "He doesn't bear the mark of Artemis!" one of them had cried out.

  "Of course he does." Thanatos had come forward to see.

  Zarek had taken the opportunity to get loose. He had gone for Thanatos's head with his sword.

  Thanatos had stepped back and shoved the woman in front of him to protect himself.

  With no time to react, Zarek stood there helplessly as she was impaled on his sword.

  When she didn't explode, he realized she wasn't a Daimon after all. She was an Apollite.

  Horrified, he had met her gaze and saw the tears in her eyes. He'd wanted to help her. To soothe her.

  The last thing he had ever wanted was to see her hurt.

  Never had he harmed a woman before… not even the woman who had accused him of raping her.

  He'd hated himself then even more than he hated Artemis, hated the fact he hadn't been quicker. That he hadn't killed Thanatos instead.

  One of the Apollites cried out.

  A man. He rushed forward to take the woman and cradle her as she died.

  The man looked up at him with hatred and rage.

  It was the face of the new Thanatos.

  Zarek tried to break away from Simi as he saw that. But she held him fast.

  Forced him to watch his past play out.

  Thanatos had grabbed him by his throat and shoved him against the wall. "Mark or no mark, you can still die if I dismember you."

  Guilt-ridden over the woman, Zarek hadn't even bothered to fight. He'd just wanted it to end.

  But as Thanatos went for him, Acheron had appeared out of nowhere.

  "Let him go."

  The remaining Daimons and Apollites had scattered in fear. Only the one man holding his now dead wife had remained.

  Thanatos had turned slowly to face Ash. "And if I don't?"

  Ash shot a blast from his hand into Thanatos, who instantly let go of Zarek. Zarek fell to the floor gasping for air through his swollen esophagus.

  "It wasn't a choice," Ash said.

  Thanatos had rushed to attack.

  Ash's eyes had turned a deep, dark red. Darker than blood, they were filled with a swirling fire.

  At the point where Thanatos would have attacked him, the invincible assassin disintegrated into dust.

  No one had touched him.

  Ash had stood there without moving, without flinching.

  The lone Apollite had charged him then. Ash had whirled him around and trapped the man in his arms with his back to Ash's front. The Apollite had struggled for release, but Ash had held him effortlessly.

  "Shh, Callyx," he'd breathed in the Apollite's ear. "Sleep…"

  The Apollite collapsed.

  Ash lowered him to the floor.

  Shocked, Zarek didn't move as Ash approached him. He didn't know how Ash had known the Apollite's name or how he'd killed Thanatos so easily.

  None of it made sense.

  Ash didn't try to touch him. He squatted down beside him and cocked his head. "Are you all right?"

  Zarek had ignored his question. "Why does Artemis want us dead?"

  Ash had frowned at him. "What are you talking about?"

  "The Spathis told me. She's creating an army to kill us. I was—"

  Ash held his hand up. It felt as if something had paralyzed Zarek's vocal cords.

  Indecision played across Ash's face as he stared at him. He swore he could feel the Atlantean in his mind, searching for something.

  Finally Acheron sighed. "You've seen too much. Look at me, Zarek."

  He had no choice but to obey.

  Ash's eyes were once again their strange, swirling silver color. Everything became hazy then, dark. Zarek struggled against the oppressive heat.

  The last thing he heard was Ash's voice. "Take him home, Simi. He needs to rest."

  Simi released Zarek then.

  He stood there motionless as her replay of the events that night filled in the sketchy details of his memory.

  He was stunned by what he'd seen. What he'd learned.

  "How did you show me all that?" he asked her.

  The demon shrugged.

  This was getting annoying. Damn Ash for giving her the order not to speak to him. "Astrid, please ask her my question."

  Astrid did.

  Simi looked at him as if he were dense. "Nothing ever goes away in the human mind. It just get misplaced, silly." She said to Astrid as she walked her fingers through his hair, "I just pulled the pieces out so I could see them and then he saw them too when he looked at me. Easy."

  Numb from all he'd discovered, Zarek looked over to Astrid who was waiting patiently for them to finish.

  "What is Acheron?" he asked her.

  "I don't know," Astrid said.

  Zarek stepped away, his mind whirling as he tried to remember New Orleans. "He did something with my mind again in New Orleans, didn't he?"

  Simi whistled and looked around the room.

  "Simi, did he?" Astrid asked.

  "Akri only does it when he has to. There were some things in New Orleans that were bad. Things them Dark-Hunters and Olympian gods don't need to know about."

  Zarek clenched his teeth. "Such as?"

  Astrid repeated his question.

  "I said none of you don't need to know."

  He wanted to choke the demon, but after what he had just seen Ash do, he thought better of it. "Why does Acheron hide?"

  Simi hissed at him and in her anger forgot Ash's order. "Akri hides from no one. He don't need to. Anyone hurt my akri, I eat them."

  Zarek ignored her. "Is he human?" he asked Astrid.

  Astrid let out a long breath. "I honestly don't know. Whenever I have mentioned his name to my sisters, they become evasive and quiet. He alone seems to frighten them. I've always wondered why, but no one on Olympus will talk about him much. It's really very odd."

  Her expression speculative, Astrid turned in the demon's direction. "Simi, tell me about Acheron."

  "He's great and wonderful, and he treat me like a goddess. Goddess Simi. That's me."

  Astrid winced a bit at that. "I mean, tell me about his birth."

  "Oh, that. Acheron was born in 9548 b.c. on the Greek isle of Didymos."

  "Who was he born to?"

  "King Icarion and Queen Aara of Didymos and Lygos."

  Zarek could tell that the answer surprised Astrid, but it didn't surprise him. He'd always suspected Ash was nobility. There was something inherently regal about him. Something that said, "I am the master, you the servant. Bow down and kiss my ass." It was why Zarek had never cared for him.

  "Ash isn't a demigod?" Astrid asked.

  Simi laughed uproariously at her question. "Akri a demigod? Puh-lease."

  Zarek frowned as he realized what Simi had revealed. "Wait, I thought Ash was Atlantean?"

  Astrid shook her head. "From the extremely rare rumors I've heard, they say he was born in Greece but raised in Atlantis. Rumor has it he's one of Zeus's sons. But like I said, most people are unwilling to say much of anything about him."

  Simi laughed again. "Does he look like old thunder-butt? No. Son of Zeus? How many insults can my akri have?"

  Zarek considered that for a minute, and then somethin
g else occurred to him. "Can Simi communicate with Ash right now?"

  "Yes."

  "Then tell him he'd better get his ass here and protect you."

  Simi's eyes glared. Her wings flapped.

  "Simi," Astrid said quickly. "He didn't mean it like that. Can Ash come here?"

  She settled down a bit. "No. He promised the evil heifer goddess that he would stay on Olympus for two weeks. He can't break his oath."

  "Then how do I kill Thanatos? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Ash is the only one of us capable of just looking at him and making him go 'poof.'"

  "Simi can kill him."

  "No, I can't. Akri said so."

  "Then how do we stop him?" Astrid asked.

  Simi shrugged. "If akri would let me, I could barbecue him, but since you don't breathe fire it might be kind of hard for you to do that."

  "I have a flamethrower."

  Astrid snapped her head toward him. "You have a what?" she asked incredulously.

  It was his turn to shrug. "It pays to be prepared."

  "Well," Simi said. "Those are nice for toasting marshmallows, but they'll only make Thanatos mad. Regular fire won't hurt him. I have this really neat gelatinous goo that comes out with my fire and it squirts my victims so that it don't come off. Wanna see it?"

  "No!" they said in unison.

  Simi stiffened. "No? I don't like that word."

  "We love you, Simi," Astrid said quickly. "We're just scared of your goo."

  Astrid hit Zarek in the stomach as he started to correct her about loving Simi.

  "Oh," Simi said, "that I understand. Okay, you can live."

  After ascertaining that there really was no food there, Simi sat cross-legged on the floor. She hummed to herself as she twirled a strand of hair around her little finger. "So, you got QVC?"

  "Afraid not, sweetie," Astrid said.

  "You got Soap Net?"

  Zarek shook his head.

  "You got any TV?" Simi continued in a voice that sounded like a petulant toddler's.

  "Sorry."

  "Are you kidding?" Simi rested her chin in her hand and looked up at him. "You boring people. A demon needs her cable. Akri done tricked me. He didn't tell me I'd have to go without cable. Don't you even have one of those itty-bitty TVs that has batteries?"