She pulled back from him ever so slightly. Her face showed her confusion. "You know her?"
"I take care of her."
To his complete shock, bloodred tears filled her eyes. "You care for my sister?"
He nodded. "Always. She's like my daughter."
A single red tear streaked down her cheek. "My simi lives? She thrives?"
"Like a queen on a throne."
She threw her head back and let out an inhuman cry that sounded like a bizarre mixture of anguish and joy. She got off him and squatted by his side. Her wings curled around her body, forming a cloak. "Summon her for me, please."
He met Danger's gaze. She looked as confused as he felt.
Simi wasn't alone in the world? There were two of them? He wasn't sure if that was good news or bad. "I would summon her for you, but that's not exactly something that's done."
"Yes it is," she said in a very Simi-like tone. "You tell her to come and she must obey you."
"Yeah," he said in a tone that was a mixture of nervous humor and doubt. "Simi doesn't obey anyone but Simi."
Xirena shook her head. "She obeys her akri. She must."
"Well," Alexion said slowly, still afraid the Charonte might go back into attack mode. "In her case, her akri obeys her. And neither one of them is listening to me at present."
She scowled at him. "That is not natural. Once a Charonte is bound, it must obey. I refused the bond and am free, but my simi was bound as a small one to the cursed god. She must obey him. She has no choice."
Yeah, right. Never once had Alexion seen it work that way.
"In the case of Simi, I think it's more Acheron is bound to her, not the other way around."
She didn't seem to understand that. "But you can take me to my simi?"
"Yes."
She threw her arms around him and held him close. It lasted for about two heartbeats, before she pulled back and glared at him again. She grabbed him by the throat. "If you are lying to me, worm, I will rip out your brains and eat them all."
Alexion screwed up his face at the thought. Yeah, she was Simi's sister all right. Some things must run in their family. "That is really disgusting and no, I wouldn't lie to you. Not about this."
She turned to look at Danger. "Is she your female?"
"No."
"I'll kill her anyway if you are lying to Xirena."
"I'm not lying."
Danger didn't understand a single word of what they were saying, other than the name Acheron. She watched apprehensively as the demon got up, then helped Alexion to his feet.
"What's going on?" she asked him.
Alexion still looked a bit nervous and shaken. "It appears we have a new friend. Danger, meet Xirena."
Xirena came over to sniff her. She moved much like a bird, cocking her head at strange angles and with jerking movements.
"You are not human," the demon announced. "You have no soul."
"Thank you for the obvious. Did you know you have horns on your head?"