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So what? Let the world die for all he cared Better everyone should perish than he spend fiveeveryone&039;s scapegoat For once he was going to think of hih, Arteh"
Greece, 7382 BC
Acheron felt a presence behind hi it to be another Dai hi upside down in a tree, her long, burgundy bat-like wings folded in against her child-like body She wore a loose black chiton and hiht&039;s breeze Her blood red eyes glowed eerily in the darkness while her long black braid dangled froround
Acheron relaxed and set one end of his staff against the darass as he watched her
"Where have you been, Si for the Charonte de about, akri," she said, s herself back and forth on the limb "Did akri miss me?"
Acheron sighed He loved Simi more than his life, but he wished he had a mature demon as his companion Not one that even at five thousand years old functioned on the level of a five-year-old child
It would be centuries before Sie?" he asked
"Yes, akri," she said, using the Atlantean term for my lord and master "I delivered it just as you said, akri"
The skin on the back of Acheron&039;s neck crawled There was so in her tone that concerned hi, akri But"
He waited as she looked about nervously
"But?" he prory on her way back"
He went cold with dread "Who did you eat this ti that had hornies on its head like me There were a bunch of thee moo-moo sound"
He frowned at her description "Do you mean cows? You ate cattle?"
She beamed "That&039;s it, akri I ate cattle"
Then as she so worried? "That&039;s not so bad"
"No, it was actually rather good, akri Why didn&039;t you tell the Simi about cows? They are very tasty when roasted The Siet us some of thenored her side commentary "Then why are you worried?"
"Because this really tallat the Si the cows and that I would have to pay for the about pay"
Acheron wished he could say the sa man, was he a cyclops?"
"What&039;s a cyclops?"
"A son of Poseidon"
"Oh see, that&039;s what he said Only he had no hornies He had a big, bald head instead"
Acheron didn&039;t want to discuss the cyclops&039; big bald head with his demon What he needed to knohat to do to make amends for her voracious appetite "So what did the cyclops say to you?"
"That he bethe cattle He said the horny cows belonged to Poseidon Who is Poseidon, akri?"
"A Greek god"
"Oh see then, the Siod and all&039;s fine"
He had to hide his sod, Siain, akri, saying no to the Simi Don&039;t eat that, Simi Don&039;t kill that, Simi Stay here, Simi Go to Katoteros, Simi, and wait for ave hi told no, akri"
Acheron gri in the back of his skull He wished he&039;d been given a pet parrot for his twenty-first birthday The Charonte deain
"So ere you calling the Simi, akri?"
"I wanted your help with the Dai on her limb "You didn&039;t seem to need any help, akri The Simi thinks you did quite ith them on your own I particularly liked the way that one Daimon flipped up into the air before you killed him Very nice I did not know they were so colorful when they exploded"
She flipped off the lio now, akri? Will you take Siain? I liked that last place ent The mountain was very nice"
Acheron?
He paused as he felt Arteh
For two thousand years, he&039;d been ignoring her
Still she insisted on calling out to hiht him out in the "flesh," but he&039;d blocked her from that ability
Her mental telepathy to him was the only contact he couldn&039;t sever entirely
"Co his journey that would take him back to Therakos The Dai on the poor Greeks who lived in a se
Acheron I need your help My new Dark-Hunters need a trainer
He froze at Artemis&039;s words
New Dark-Hunters? What the hell was that?
"What have you done, Arte to Olympus where she waited in her temple
So, you do speak to un to wonder if I would ever hear the sound of your voice again
Acheron curled his lip He didn&039;t have tinored her
She didn&039;t take the hint
The Dai faster than you can contain it You needed help and so I&039;ve given it to you
He scoffed at the idea of her help The Greek goddess had never done anything for anyone other than herself since the dawn of tih, you and I I have a job to do and no time to be bothered with you"
Fine then I shall send them out to face the Daimons unprepared If they die, well, who cares for a huht
It was a trick
Yet in his gut, Acheron kneasn&039;t She probably had made these Dark-Hunters and if she truly had, then she would definitely do it again
Especially if it would o to her teut tightened at the memory and it didn&039;t appreciate his jest
He looked to his demon "Simi, I need to see Artemis now You return to Katoteros and stay out of trouble until I surimaced "The Simi don&039;t like Arteoddess The Si
"I know, Simi, which is why I want you to stay at Katoteros" He stepped away, then turned back to face her "And for et back Especially not a human"
"But-"
"No, Simi No food"
"No, Simi No food," she mocked "The Si There&039;s nothing fun there Only old dead people ant to come back here Bleh!"
"Si
"I hear and obey, akri The Simi just never said she would do so quietly"
He shook his head at the incorrigible demon, then willed himself from earth to Arteolden bridge that traversed a winding river The sound of the water echoed off the sheer sides of the mountain that rose up all around hied
The entire area at the top of the es and ays, covered by a rainbow fog, that led to the various teods
The halls of Mount Olyos of the gods who lived inside theold, with a domed top and white marble colu froht in his youth
But that was before time and experience had jaundiced his appreciation To hi spectacular or beautiful here now He saw only the selfish vanity and coldness of the Olyods Acheron had learned about since his days as a huods had been full of co birth had been the only time the Atlanteans let their fear lead them-that mistake had cost all of theods to replace them
It&039;d been a sad day for the human world in e that led to Arteo, he&039;d left this place and hoped that he would never return to it
He should have known that sooner or later she would devise a scheer, Acheron used his telekinesis to open the oversized, gilded doors He was instantly assailed with the sound of ear-piercing screams from Artemis&039;s female attendants They holly unaccustooddess&039;s private domain
Artemis hissed at the shrill sound, then zapped every one of the woht of them?" Acheron asked
Artemis rubbed her ears "I should have, but no, I merely tossed them into the river outside"
Surprised, he stared at her How unusual for the goddess he reree of co her, it was highly unlikely
Now that they were alone, she unfolded herself from her cushioned ivory throne and approached hied the curves of her voluptuous body and her dark auburn curls glistened in the light
Her green eyes gloarh hi her again would be hard on hinored her su it were two entirely different things
He&039;d been unprepared for the emotions that threatened to overwhelain The hatred The betrayal Worst of all was the need
The hunger
The desire
There was still a part of hiive her anything
Even his death
"You look good, Acheron Every bit as handsome as you were the last time I saw you" She reached to touch him
He stepped back, out of her reach "I didn&039;t come here to chat, Artemis, I-"
"You used to call s I can&039;t do any she had taken frory at me"
"You think so?"
Her eyes snapped e him of the demon who resided in her divine body "I could have forced you to come to me, you know I&039;ve been very tolerant of your defiance More than I should have been"
He looked away, knowing she was right She, alone, held possession of the food source he needed to function When he went too long without her blood, he becaer to anyone who came near him
Only Artemis held the key that kept him as he was Sane Whole
Compassionate
"Why didn&039;t you force me to your side?" he asked
"Because I know you Had I tried, you would have ht His days of subjugation were long over He&039;d hadtasted freedoo back to being what he&039;d been before
"Tell me of these new Dark-Hunters," he said "Why did you create theer "I need no such thing"
"I and the other Greek gods disagree"
"Arte about this He was more than able to control and kill the Daimons who preyed on the huht about the first days of his new life He&039;d had no one to show him the way No one to explain to him what he needed to do
How to live
The new ones would be lost without a teacher Confused Worst of all, they were vulnerable until they learned to use their powers and there was no way Savitar would teach the in Falossos They hide in a cave that keeps theht But they&039;re not sure what they should do or how to find the Daimons They are men in need of leadership"
Acheron didn&039;t want to do this He didn&039;t want to lead anyone any more than he wanted to follow someone else&039;s orders He didn&039;t want to deal with other people at all
He&039;d never wanted anything in his life except to be left alone
The thought of interacting with others
It o his oay, Acheron knew he couldn&039;t If he didn&039;t train the ht and kill the Daimons, they would end up dead Dead without a soul was a very bad existence He, of all men, knew that one
"Fine," he said "I&039;ll train them"
She smiled
Acheron flashed from her teer The demon would only complicate an already complicated matter