Akri spread his hands out and a schematic of his temple appeared on the wall that showed the basement and the statues housed there.
As he spoke, the animation illustrated his words. “A dozen gods woke up while Simi was in the basement with Xirena, looking for Bet’anya, apparently as a birthday present for you. Since I was in Vegas with Sin and Katra fighting off gallu demons, and Tory was with my mother in Kalosis, the Simi and her sister were left alone to create well-intentioned mischief. As soon as the gods began to stir, Xirena ran to tell Alexion and Danger. The three of them grabbed Simi and escaped here to Savitar to let him know what had happened.”
“That’s when they called me in Minnesota,” Urian said. “And told me not to come home for a few days as we had ancient interlopers in Katateros who most likely would not host me a Welcome Back party. And none of them had better be playing on my Playstation.”
Akri sighed. “We’re also flying blind.” He motioned to his wall decoration. “We have that tidbit based on Simi’s recollection. After Simi and crew vacated the premises, Archon and the others have blocked out our sforas. None of us can see where they are or anything inside the main temple. We don’t know exactly how many gods are awake or what they’re doing.”
“Do we know who we’re up against at all?” Styxx asked.
Akri glanced to Simi before he answered. “We’re not one hundred percent sure. Because Simi was an infant when they ruled, she’s a little iffy on some of their identities and she was the only one who got a look at all of them. Best we can figure, it’s …” He again turned to the images on the wall—one of which looked more like Wreck-It Ralph than an actual god. “Dikastis, Ilos, Isorro, Asteros, Epithymia, Diafonia, Nyktos, Paidi, Teros, Phanen, Demonbrean, and we know for a fact Archon is with them as he’s the one we’ve been talking to. And of course everyone’s favorite dickhead, Apollo.”
Styxx let out an exasperate breath. “Beautiful. My ideal guest list … for a fete in hell.”
Simi felt terrible for him, but she understood. They were horrible gods.
Styxx went over them for the others so that they’d know who they were fighting. Unlike Simi, he knew the names and faces of every one of them … even Wreck-It Ralph AKA Demonbrean. Though to be honest, Simi preferred calling him Wreck-It Ralph.
Styxx used akri’s diagram of the gods he’d named to highlight each one. “Apollo’s not a problem. He’s an effing idiot when it comes to things like this. And he’s a bully with no courage who will back down to someone more powerful. He won’t be leading a charge but will stay back until he can land a punch from safety. Unfortunately, Archon isn’t any of that. He’s sharp and deadly. Vindictive as hell. Brutal. But out of the list, Epithymia and Asteros”—he highlighted them—“are the two we have to neutralize immediately. Do not underestimate them, especially Epithymia. She is absolutely lethal.”
He swept his gaze around the room’s occupants. “And whatever you do, do not let her touch you … Demonbrean is even dumber than Apollo, but he’s also the size of an effing house. His skin is armored, and he lives to crush things. Treat him like a python and don’t let him get his arms around you. Dikastis will hang back to get the lay of the situation and might not fight us at all. The rest are followers. Lethal, but pawns nonetheless. They were servants for Misos in war and only did what they were told to do. You take out Archon and they will stand down … Now what do we know of their demands?”
Savitar laughed bitterly. “Because I was their Chthonian, Archon contacted me, not knowing my relationship with the Grom. They want Acheron as a sacrifice so that they can use his blood and heart to bring back the rest of their merry band, except for Bethany. Archon blames her for this, as if he wasn’t the one who caused Acheron to be cursed … what were you telling me about his intelligence?”
“Steadfast denial is not the same as intelligence.” Styxx rubbed at his eyebrow. “Just out of curiosity, what was the game plan you had once you sent me in to die, and they discovered my blood and heart couldn’t bring back their dead?”
Savitar shrugged nonchalantly. “Buy us time to gather enough Chthonians to take them down.”
Simi was aghast that Savitar had planned to sacrifice poor akri-Styxx. That was awful!
And Styxx didn’t look very pleased either. “Thank the gods none of you were among my military advisors. We’d have had our asses handed to us,” he mumbled under his breath. Then louder, “Are they at full strength?”
Akri shrugged. “No idea.”
“Let’s assume yes.” Styxx ran over the facts. “So our numbers are basically even. The weakest link in our group is me…. What are our strengths?”
Simi opened her coffin purse and pulled out her barbecue sauce. “Demons ready to eat, Sir Akri-Styxx! Gimme!”
Laughing at her enthusiasm, akri jerked his chin toward his other daughter. “I don’t want Katra in harm’s way, but she’s a siphon.”
“I’m also a trained soldier, Dad.” Kat rolled her eyes at akri then looked at her husband, Sin, and warned him with her gaze not to say a word. She turned toward Styxx. “I was my mother’s primary kori, and unlike my seriously overprotective father and husband, she?—”
“Put her ass in harm’s way all the time with a blatant disregard for her safety that still pisses me off,” Sin growled.
Kat smiled and cupped his cheek. “Yes, baby, but had she not been so careless, I wouldn’t have you. Now would I?”
He grumbled under his breath.
“What else do we have that they won’t know about?” Styxx asked.
Set folded his arms over his chest. “For thousands of years, my son was the High Guardian for Noir in Azmodea.”
Seth nodded. “I’m used to battling angry gods. I can also get us a bird’s-eye view of anything you need. What I use, they can’t block.”
“We also have this.” Urian held up a shiny necklace Simi had never seen before.
Set’s eyes widened with recognition. “How did you get that?”
Urian snorted. “My enemy’s enemy is my best friend. We borrowed it from my father who was more than happy to lend it and wants us to tie it in a bow around Apollo’s neck.”
