He might be staying there to help with E.T.? It was as good an idea as any.
Without a word to the smelly girl demon, Simi headed back to New Orleans where Karma lived not all that far away from akri.
Her little pink house looked normal and pretty. Nothing unusual about it at all.
Simi headed to the door and knocked.
She heard Karma fussing under her breath as she came to the door and opened it. Surprise darkened her eyes. “Simi? What end-of-the-world apocalypse is happening now?”
Simi shook her head. “Akri’s looking for Thorn. Last time the Simi saws him, he was with E.T., so I was wondering if he came here?”
Karma scowled at her. “I haven’t seen him since Halloween when we went after our boy.”
That wasn’t good. Where could Thorny be?
“Is E.T. home?” Simi asked.
“Yeah.” Karma let her in the house, then hollered for her son to come to the living room.
After a few seconds, E.T. left his upstairs room in the back of the house. “Geez, Mom! I’m on an open mic. Do you mind?”
“Yeah. All the time. Just not when the orders come from my kid.” She winked at him.
E.T. rolled his eyes, until he realized Simi was there. “Hey, Simi.”
“Hey, baby E. I’m looking for the Thorny-man. I haven’t seen him since Halloween. Have you?”
“No. And I wasn’t hoping to see him again anytime soon given how mean he was at the club. I can do without being chewed out all the time.” He cut his gaze in the direction of his mother.
Ignoring what E.T. implied, Karma duplicated his frown. “Thorn’s missing?”
Simi nodded. “If you hear from him, please lemme know, okies?”
Karma looked as worried as Simi felt. “Absolutely. Let me know when you find him.”
“Will do.” Simi left them and went back to her room in Katateros. Here, she could be alone in the quiet and listen to the ether for Thorn.
Yet for once, she heard nothing. Felt nothing. It was as if he didn’t exist.
“Where are you, Thorny?”
It wasn’t like him to vanish, especially not from Simi. All these centuries, Thorn had been there. Like akri. He was stable and dependable.
But Halloween was always a dangerous time. Things came into this world when they weren’t supposed to.
And one creature in particular used that time to increase its powers.
Wanting to check on him, Simi teleported over to Bourbon Street. It was a huge, dark-gray mansion where she’d spent many years visiting. Her favorite times here had been when Cherise Gautier was still alive. The petite blond had always greeted Simi and brought her some of the best handmade eats. This was where Simi discovered hot sauce-covered Oreos—one of her favorite nummy treats.
Cherise had been amazing. No wonder Nick still missed her.
They all did. Even akri often visited her grave to put flowers on it. As did Nick.
Sighing over the tragedy of losing someone so precious, Simi knocked on the door and waited.
It took a couple of minutes before Nick opened it. He was dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans. His dark-brown hair was a bit shaggy, and he hadn’t shaved today. Still, he was incredibly handsome, even with the heifer goddess’s double bow mark on his cheek. “Simi? What are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for akri-Thorn. Have you seen him?”
