Well, that explained it, but it didn't help. The Tablet was sucking their powers out of them. Oh, fabulous. No wonder they demons had been able to take Zakar and kill Kytara.
Kessar laughed before he headed toward Kat with a deadly intent.
To her shock, Sin put himself between them. Kessar swung at Sin, who jumped back and struck him a fierce blow in the chest. It didn't faze Kessar as he kicked Sin so hard, it lifted him off his feet.
"Simi!" Kat shouted at the top of her lungs. It was time to put a stop to this.
Simi and Xirena instantly appeared. "What?" Simi asked until she saw the demons.
Both she and Xirena exploded into demon form. Kat stumbled back... it was the first time she'd ever seen the whole of Simi's true form. Her skin was a deep bloody red with black lips, hair, wings, and claws. She wrapped herself around the nearest demon and ripped his throat out.
Kat turned away from the awful sight.
Kessar pointed the Tablet at Simi before he spoke in Sumerian.
Xirena laughed. "We're not gods, you moron. We're demons, and that has no effect on us." She flew at him.
He dodged, grabbed the chains holding Zakar, and vanished with him.
"No!" Sin shouted, trying to catch them before they vanished, but he was too late.
And he had no powers to follow.
Kat felt the grief she saw on his face as he turned to look at her while Simi and Xirena finished off the demons they were "eating." She'd never seen any man look more stricken.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
There was no forgiveness in his expression at all as he stalked toward her. His eyes were filled with utter agony. "You keep saying that."
"But I'm sincere."
He raked her with a sneer. "Sincerity doesn't fix any of this, now does it?"
No, it didn't, and it didn't bring back Kytara's life. How the hell had they managed to kill her? It didn't make sense. "What happened?"
He let out a tired breath as he wiped the blood from a cut over his left eye. "When I came back, Kessar had Zakar in chains and was holding the Tablet in his hand." He gestured toward Kytara. "He must have used the Tablet to drain her. She was already dead when I arrived."
"How did he get his hands on the Tablet?"
"Damned if I know. I had it locked in the safe in my bedroom."
This was awful. Kat covered her eyes as guilt and pain settled deep in her soul. This was all her fault. All of it.
If not for her, Sin would still have his god powers and there would be no danger to the world.
Kytara would still be alive...
How could she even begin to make this right? Everything was falling apart because she'd made a really bad decision centuries ago. Her heart sank to her stomach as she tried to imagine the coming attack from the Dimme. "We're doomed, aren't we?"
"Yeah," he said, his voice thick. "We are. If you have any last wishes to accomplish before total annihilation hits, I suggest you get started."
Still in demon form, Simi approached them with an ecstatic gleam in her eyes. "Can I eat the bitch-goddess?"
Kat sighed in resignation. "I'm afraid the only bitch-goddess around right now would be me."
Simi shook her head. "Akra-Kat isn't a bitch. You're always nice to the Simi."
"But I wasn't nice to Sin." She walked slowly toward him, wanting him to understand the depth of her sorrow and guilt. "I know you don't believe me, but I am sorry about all this. More than you'll ever know."