Page 101 of Acheron (Dark-Hunter 14)
Part I Chapter 23
Before he could protest again, his mother faded away.
Simi snuggled against him and laid her head against his shoulder. "I miss my mama, akri."
Guilt slammed into him at her whispered words as he held her close to him. But for him, her mother would still be alive to love her. "Where's your father, Simi?"
"He died before the Simi was born."
"Then I will be your father."
"Really?" she asked hopefully.
He nodded, smiling at her. "I swear to you that you'll never want for anything."
Her innocent smile warmed his heart. "Then the Simi has the best akri-papa in the world." She hugged him tightly. "Simi loves her akri." As soon as the words were spoken, she faded as his mother had done. But as she faded, his skin, just above his heart burned.
Hissing, Acheron jerked up his tunic to find a small colorful dragon emblazoned on his skin. He touched it gingerly, and heard Simi's laughter in his head. The tattoo inched its way up, toward his neck. Her motion on his skin tickled until she settled over his collarbone.
"Simi is a part of you now, Apostolos. While on your body, she won't be able to hear you unless you call for her. But she will be able to monitor your vital signs. Should she sense you're in danger, she will appear to you in demon form to protect you."
"But she's only a baby."
"Even as a baby, she's deadly. Never mistake that. The Charonte are by their very nature killers. She will be hungry and you'll have to feed her often. If you fail to, she'll eat whatever is near her . . . even you. Make sure she doesn't get overly hungry. And the last thing you should know is that her kind age very slowly. Roughly one year of a human's development equals a thousand years of theirs."
That did not sound good. "What are you saying?"
"The Simi you have is over three thousand years old."
Acheron gaped at the information. "Shouldn't she be with another demon who can train her?"
You are all she has in this world, m'gios. Take care of her. As you have said, you are her father now. You'll be the one to teach her everything she knows."
Acheron placed his hand over the tattoo on his shoulder. He was a father . . .
But how could he train and protect a demon daughter when he didn't even know how to use his own powers?
June 30, 9527 BC
Athens, Greece
Acheron was desperate to find food for Simi. He'd awakened to her this morning after she'd bitten into his hand. Luckily, he'd stopped her before she did anything other than break his skin.
"You're not supposed to bite your father, Simi," he'd told her kindly, but firmly.
"But the Simi's hungry and akri was lying there all still and yummy looking."
And he'd thought the worst that could happen was to look yummy to horny humans . . .
But now as they wandered through the streets of a once great city, he realized just how much damage his mother had done in the brief time she'd been released. The world he knew was gone. Roads and buildings had been leveled. People lay dead all over Greece . . .
Apollymia Katastrafia Megola.
Apollymi the Great Destroyer. While a small part of him was flattered by her love, the other part was horrified by what she'd done. So many lives gone. The entire world scattered into debris. All of Atlantis was now lost. Mankind had been thrown back into the Stone Age. All their technology and tools had been lost.
The survivors wailed in the streets that the gods had abandoned them when the truth was, they'd have been better off if they had. All of them were unfortunate victims of a war they didn't even know had been fought.
He gripped Simi's hand as they walked around, searching for a marketplace. In human form, she'd taken on an appearance very similar to his. They both had long black hair and while his eyes were the same swirling silver, hers were a light blue. She looked like any small girl out with her father.
"Hey, Simi. I have something for you to eat."
Acheron jerked around at the deep masculine voice that called out to them. There was a tall, dark-haired man whose beard was thick. His skin was dark like a Sumerian and yet he spoke flawless Greek. Acheron held Simi back to keep her from running to him. "Who are you?"
The man stepped around a fallen column to kneel before Simi. He set a basket down at her feet and uncovered loaves of bread, fish and cheese. "I know you're hungry, sweet. Dig in."
Simi let out a squeal of delight before she set on the food with a vengeance.
The man stood up and offered his arm to Acheron. "My name is Savitar."
Acheron frowned at the tattoo of a bird that marked his forearm before he shook it. "How do you know Simi?"
One corner of his mouth lifted. "I know lots of things, Acheron. And I've come to help you learn your powers and to understand your simi demon. She's too young still to be left to callous care and the last thing I want is to see either one of you hurt because of it."
"I would never hurt her."
"I know, but the Charonte have special needs you must understand. Otherwise she could die . . . as could you."
Acheron felt the brush of hackles rise and he wasn't sure why. There was something about this being that rubbed against his god-hood and made him wary. "Are you threatening me?"
Savitar laughed. "I never threaten. I just kill whatever annoys me. Stand down, Atlantean. I'm here as your friend."
