"Yeah."
Tabitha cursed, then bolted off her stool. "I have to get to Amanda."
"Otto, meet us at Kyrian's." He opened the line back out to the group. "Janice? Talon? Zoe? Can you start searching for Jean-Luc?"
"Who left you in charge, Roman?" Zoe sneered. Valerius wasn't in the mood for this bullshit as he went after Tabitha. "Stow it, Amazon. This isn't about my heritage. This is about your brothers-in-arms and their lives."
Julian came back at him. "I'll meet you at Kyrian's."
"No, please. Stay with your wife and children. Make sure they're safe."
"All right. Let me know what you find out." Tabitha was already in the driver's seat of her Mini Cooper. Valerius got inside and slammed the door shut.
She threw it in reverse and didn't bother to open the wooden gate. She crashed through it as she squealed off into the street.
Valerius braced himself against the dashboard while she careened them through traffic at a deadly pace, toward her sister's house.
Once they reached it, she didn't stop at Amanda's tall iron gate, either. Valerius held his arm up to shield his face as she drove straight through it and tore the iron posts off their stone facings.
Tabitha skidded to a stop just in front of the door and launched herself from the car without even turning it off.
Valerius didn't hesitate to follow.
From the outside of the house, everything looked normal. The lights were on, and as Tabitha kicked open the front door, they could hear a television somewhere upstairs.
"Mandy?" Tabitha screamed out in a shrill tone.
Her sister didn't answer her.
"Hey, Dad?" someone called from upstairs. "Your dessert's here."
Artemis paused outside the cemetery where she sensed Acheron's presence. She shivered in revulsion. She'd always hated such places, while he seemed to prefer them.
"Acheron?" she called as she walked through the stone wall.
The dark ground was uneven, making it hard for her to walk. So she floated through the area.
"Acheron?"
A flash of fire shot near her head.
Artemis ducked and moved to return the blast until she caught sight of Acheron's pet. She curled her lip at the demon until she saw Acheron lying in its arms. He looked terrible as he writhed there as if in the throes of torture.
"What have you done to him?" Artemis demanded of the creature.
The demon hissed at her. "The Simi did nothing, you heifer-goddess. You the one who hurts my akri. Not me."
Any other time, Artemis might argue with it, but Acheron lay there as if he were in excruciating pain.
"What happened to him?"
"It's the souls them Daimons are eating. They scream when they die and there are too many of them tonight. The Simi can't make it go away."
"Acheron?" Artemis tried again as she knelt beside him. "Can you hear me?"
He recoiled from her.
She tried to reach for him only to have the demon lunge at her.