Everything in her temple whirled in the vortex of his powers and rage. The only thing still grounded were the two of them.
"Artemis? I have a problem."
She flinched as she heard Astrid's voice in her head. "Not now, Astrid. I have a situation here."
"Let me guess, Acheron is angry?"
"I am past anger, Astrid." His voice was low, deep, and evil sounding. Acheron's bloody gaze pierced Artemis. "How is it Simi is wounded?"
Artemis's fear tripled. "The demon's hurt?"
"Simi's dying." Astrid and Acheron spoke simultaneously.
Artemis covered her mouth. She felt suddenly ill. Sick. Horrified and scared beyond belief.
If anything happened to his demon...
He would kill her.
Acheron used his powers to pull her roughly to him. "Where did Thanatos get one of my daggers, Artemis?"
A tremor of guilt went through her with that question. When she had created the first Thanatos seven thousand years ago, she had granted him weapons to slay the Dark-Hunters. At the time she had thought it divine justice that he use one of Acheron's Atlantean daggers to kill them.
As soon as Acheron had realized a dagger was missing, he had gathered all his weapons together and destroyed them.
Now she understood why.
He'd done it to protect his demon.
"I didn't know your dagger would hurt it."
"Damn you, Artemis. You have taken everything from me. Everything!"
She felt his pain, his sorrow. She hated him for that. If she died tomorrow he wouldn't care at all.
But for the demon, he wept.
Why wouldn't he love and protect her like this?
"I'll go get it for you, Acheron."
Acheron stopped her from leaving his side. "Don't you do anything, Artemis. I know you. You're not to help or try to heal her in any way. You just pick her up and bring her right back here to me. Swear it on the River Styx."
"I swear."
He released her.
Artemis shimmered from her temple to where Astrid, Simi, and Zarek were hiding underground. The demon lay on the floor with Zarek and Astrid kneeling beside it.
"I want akri!" Simi sobbed. She was screaming and crying hysterically.
"Shh," Zarek said, soothing her. He held a tourniquet over her wound. Both the tourniquet and his hand were covered in blood. "You have to calm down, Simi. You're making it worse."
"I want my daddy! Take me home, Astrid. I need to go home now."
"I can't, Simi. That power is taken from me until I deliver a verdict to my mother."
"I want akri," she wailed again. "I don't want to die without him. I'm scared. Please, please take me home. I just want my daddy."