And the evil Greek god, Apollo, had succeeded.
Which made Simi hurt most of all. While akri never spoke about it, she sometimes saw the handprint on his throat where that mean god had killst him.
Akri didn’t deserve it, and she wanted to make sure no one ever hurt or threatened her akri again. Akra-Apollymi was right. Akri was the bestest father anyone could have, especially a demon.
Simi burped, then giggled as she finished her food.
Laughing, Savitar stood and picked her up in his arms to carry her while he and akri walked through the crumbled streets that showed just how angry akra-Apollymi had been when they’d hurt her akri.
His human death had freed akra-Apollymi from her prison in Kalosis. The goddess had taken out all her fury over losing akri and Simi’s matera on the human world. Akra had almost eaten them nasty Greek gods, too, but Apollo’s sissy, Artemis, had tricked akri into coming back to life so that his mama would be trapped again and unable to kill the ones who’d hurt akri.
Simi wasn’t sure what she thought about the heifer goddess bringing back her akri. Other than she was glad she had her akri, even if he was sad lots of times because of it.
“She’s impressive, isn’t she?” Savitar asked.
Akri scowled at the question. “My mother or Simi?”
Savitar laughed. “Both, but I was speaking of your mother.”
With a deep sigh, akri looked around at the destruction his mother had wrought. “Yes, she is.”
She met akri’s sad stare. “The Simi’s seen akra make them Atlantean gods pee their dresses before.”
Akri arched a brow. “What?”
She nodded. “They was very scared of akra-Apollymi. When she gived the stone baby to Archon instead of my akri, that mean old god of war they had peed on himself. Goddess Akra Bet laughed about his doing it, though. She thought it funny ’cause she said they deserved it for wanting to hurt a baby.”
That made akri smile.
Until he suddenly stopped and looked at Savitar. “I can’t hear your thoughts.”
Savitar shifted her to his other side. “No, you can’t. And you never will. You’ll find that many of the higher beings of the universe will be silent to you. Some gods, demons, and other special creatures. We all have our secrets, but the comfort to you is that most won’t be able to hear your thoughts either.”
Like Simi. She never could hear akri’s thoughts. She could only feel his emotions.
“Can you hear my thoughts?” he asked Savitar.
“The answer you seek is no, but the truth is, I hear you, Acheron, and yes, I know all about your past.”
That made his heart hurt even more and Simi wanted to hugs him to make him feel better. “What of the others? Will they know my past, too?”
“Some will.” Savitar stroked her back while he carried her. “I don’t care about your past, Acheron. It’s your future that matters to me. I want to make sure that you have one and that you comprehend how important you are to the balance of power.”
Balance of power? Simi had never heard anyone talk about that before.
“I don’t understand,” akri said.
Neither did she.
“Apollo cursed his Apollite race.”
Akri nodded. “I know, and my mother killed them all.”
Savitar shook his head. “Many died when she destroyed Atlantis, but there are thousands of them who have spread over the Mediterranean and who live in many other countries now, including Apollo’s own son, Strykerius. All of them have been cursed to die on their twenty-seventh birthday. All of them.”
“Then how are they a problem? If they all die in a few years, they’ll be extinct.”
Savitar kissed Simi’s head before he started walking again. “They’re not going to die, Acheron. They will live and they will procreate many times over.”
