Page 26 of Hell’s Half Acre

“You mean goodness?” Sorcha asked.

Simi shook her head. “No, silly. Godness. It’s them powers what makes you all fluttery inside. Well, not really his powers so much as his curses.”

“Simi…” The stranger made a pained sound. “Let’s leave some things out of this introduction. No one needs my whole biography.”

She gave him an unapologetic grin. “Sorry, akri!” But that tone said she didn’t mean it and would probably do it again. “The Simi forgets ’cause she thinks you’re so awesome that everyone needs to know how awesome akri is.”

Sorcha had no idea how to react to these newcomers.

Thankfully, Luke helped her out. “Sorcha, meet Acheron Parthenopaeus and his daughter, Simi.”

“Daughter?” She blurted that out before she could stop herself, especially since the two of them looked to be about the same age. And that age was a skimpy twenty-one at best.

Acheron chuckled. “I’m a lot older than I look, and Simi is older than I am by a lot more.”

Age took on a whole new meaning around Luke and those he traveled with. “And that age would be…?”

Luke grinned. “Ash is over eleven thousand years old.”

“Damn,” she breathed. “You must have the entire fire department on standby for your birthday cake.”

Simi laughed while Acheron chuckled.

Luke snorted. “Anyway, Acheron is an Atlantean god and Simi is a Charonte demon.”

Wait… What?

Gaping, Sorcha looked back and forth between them. “Atlantean as in Atlantis Atlantean? As in my hometown vanished from the earth and was never seen again? That Atlantis?”

Acheron inclined his head. “The same.”

And to think she’d wasted all those hours watching documentaries. Now she could finally have an answer. “So you know where the lost continent is?”

“I do.”

She was actually giddy. “And that is?”

“The bottom of the sea,” he said drily.

Sorcha rolled her eyes at the sarcasm in his tone. “You’re not helpful.”

“Funny. Lots of people say that to me.”

Simi nodded. “’Specially akra-Tory ’cause she wanted to find Atlantis likes you and that’s how they met. The Simi showed it to her ’cause it made her very happy, but akri didn’t want it found even though he told the Simi to make akra-Tory happy. See? So when akri and akra-Tory felled in love, akra-Tory let it still be a mystery to make akri happy. So if you want to know where Atlantis fell, ask akra-Tory. She gots a lot of trouble keeping secrets. You can find out all kinds of things talking to her, especially if she distracted.” The demon smiled wide.

Okay, then.

Sorcha wasn’t quite sure what to make of Simi. She spoke rapid-fire and appeared as adorable as a toddler.

Glancing at Luke, Sorcha struggled to understand all this. “Care to explain why you called in an Atlantean god and his demonic daughter?”

“Because in this case, they’re both very helpful.” He said that like they were only working one report.

Sorcha frowned. “This case being?”

Luke looked to Acheron. “Ancient powers know ancient powers.”

Folding his arms over his chest, Acheron inclined his head to her. “Luke’s right. It clings to you and is hard for one of us to miss. We can spot each other miles away. And you reek of it.”