"Apollymi."
Alexion told Xirena to stop in Charonte, but she didn't listen.
"The Daimon queen?" Danger asked again.
"Daimon queen?" Xirena made a sound of complete contempt. "No. She is the Destroyer of all things. The bringer of plagues and pestilence. She is the force that will end the world for all time. She is the ultimate in power and destruction. Her will is divine law."
Danger looked thrilled by that. "Oh, goodie. That's just what I wanted to hear."
"Relax," Alexion told her. "Apollymi's contained. She's not going to destroy anything in the near future... I hope."
Danger only heard part of that. The rest of her thoughts returned to what Xirena had said a few moments ago. "So Ash is a god and not a Dark-Hunter. Is that what you've been protecting?"
A tic worked in Alexion's jaw.
"You might as well admit it. That's what the demon said, and unless I'm stupid, which I'm not, he is a god."
Alexion gave her a harsh, penetrating stare. "No one can ever know that about him. He'll have a fit of titanic proportions, and trust me, a pissed-off god is not something to relish."
Danger let out a long, exasperated breath. Suddenly everything was clear to her for the first time ever.
"You know, Ash as a Daimon made a lot of sense. But this... this explains everything, doesn't it?"
He looked away from her. No wonder he was sworn to secrecy.
But why wouldn't Ash tell them? What was the point of keeping that to himself?
And as her mind grappled with this new tidbit, she thought of what Alexion had told her about Ash and Artemis's relationship. "That's why Artemis needed us, huh? She can't just command another god without some major leverage."
"No, she can't."
She had to say that it sucked to be said leverage. Poor Acheron, to be controlled by them. It was a wonder he didn't hate every one of them. But for them, he would be free. "So we are her pawns while she and Acheron play games with each other."
"No," Alexion said, his sincerity burning into her. "Acheron never uses human life as a pawn. Ever. He doesn't find anything entertaining about playing with people."
He sighed. "But Artemis isn't so kind. She doesn't understand humanity the way Acheron does."
"How is it he's so fortunate?"
"He lived as a human," he said simply. "That's the cursed part Xirena refers to. He was born as a human baby and he died brutally as a human man."
That didn't make sense to her. "But he's a god."
"A cursed god."
"Why was he cursed?" Danger asked.
The veil fell over his face. "That is something best left undiscussed. He'll be angry enough over this little bit having escaped. Let's not tweak him any more, shall we?"
Xirena's attention pricked up at that. "Is he an angry god, like the Destroyer?"
"No," Alexion assured her, "he's remarkably calm ninety-nine percent of the time. It's that one percent, though, that's a killer... literally."
The demon nodded as she poked at the television. "Your warning is taken."
"So what are we going to do with her?" Danger asked, indicating the demon with a tilt of her head.
"That's a really good question and I have absolutely no answer for it. I'm completely open to suggestions of any sort." Alexion sighed. What could they do with the demon? Simi had spent a lot of time around humans and she was still less than civilized.