“That is?” Ash cocked his hip as he waited.
He counted them off on his fingers. “I want Simi, with a fresh bottle of barbecue sauce.”
“I can do that. I’d planned to send her with you anyway to keep a certain goddess from eating your head for breaching her portal.”
“Good.” Xander stepped back, clapped his hands together, and made a sound like a hollow cymbal. It echoed through the room with an ethereal recoil. “Shadow!” The call was low and deep. Not the typical kind of shout.
Oddly enough, particles in the air began to swim about as if caught in a vortex. Light formed a cone.
An instant later Shadow appeared. He glanced around the four of them, then grimaced. “Why? Why is it never Emma Stone? Gal Gadot? Hell, I’d settle for Artemis. Nah … it’s always one of you losers whining for me.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Why, Lord? Why?”
“Stop … we have a favor.”
“Of course you do. Figured you didn’t want a weather report, and I know you didn’t call because you were worried about my health or wanted to play Parcheesi. You’re all a bunch of selfish assholes. So what can I do you for?”
“We need to get into Kalosis.”
He laughed a much higher-pitched sound than Xander’s. “What? You’re serious? Who’s been knocking back Drano shots?” He narrowed his glare on Urian. “Remember what happened the last time I opened a portal for you? Didn’t end well for me. I’m still bleeding through my T-shirts.”
“True. Would it help if I said I appreciate you?”
“Not even a little. I thought you had a sister for this?”
“She’s preoccupied with her brother.” Urian indicated Xyn.
Shadow growled. “Have I said today how much I hate Hunters?”
Urian grinned. “Yeah, but we’re not listening.”
“Hope you all get eaten by Apollymi.” Shadow looked to Acheron. “Except for you. You’re to stay here. ’Cause I don’t want the world to end. It might suck, but not as bad as it would if she and her kin were in charge.”
“No worries. I know the drill.” Ash winked. “Simi? Human form.”
The tattoo on his forearm peeled itself off to manifest before them into Ash’s teen Goth, demon daughter who was wearing an adorable panda onesie. She blinked at all of them, yawned, and then changed into her typical skirt and corset wear, complete with a set of purple and black cyber falls. “Are we having a party, akri?”
“No, Simikee. Sorry. I need you to go with them to visit Apollymi. Do you mind?”
“Not at all! The Simi loves her goddess-akra. She’s the bestest!”
Ash nodded, then paused as he met Xander’s gaze. “What?”
“Just thinking … this would be better if we had a kerling going in.” He looked at Shadow. “I know you don’t, but do you have any friends?”
“I do have friends, for your information.” Shadow turned toward Urian. “Think we can pry Brogan off Blaise for a little soiree?”
He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “It’s worth a try.”
Xyn was still baffled by that little device. It was quite impressive.
Meanwhile, Simi came over and took her arm. “What’s your favorite people to eat, akra-Dragon?”
“You know, Simi, I haven’t eaten any in a while.”
“Oh. Akri has you on a diet, too. That’s just so wrong. He won’t let me eat hardlies anythings. It’s just so hard. But is how I maintains this girlie figure at my age.”
Before she could comment, Urian slid his phone back into his pocket.
“I have good news and bad news.”
Xander made a face that said he felt a bit sick at the prospect. “What?”
An instant later, Blaise and Brogan both appeared.
“I got your kerling, but she comes with a two-hundred-pound tumor.”
Blaise appeared baffled by his comment. “What?”
Acheron snickered as he clapped him on the back. “Inside joke at your expense. Sorry, Blaise.”
“What else is new, Ash? Everyone takes a potshot at the dragon. We’re low-hanging fruit. So large, we’re easy to hit. So everyone takes a shot.”
Brogan lowered her hood to expose her braided dark hair. The petite fey witch was absolutely exquisite. Like Simi, she appeared so frail and harmless and yet was capable of extreme and utter violence.
She held her hand out toward Xander. “You must be the reason Urian called. I’m Brogan.”
“Xander.”
“And this is Blaise.”
Xander smiled. “A kerling Deathseer who commands a mandrake and a Crom. That’s something I’ve never seen before.” He clicked his tongue. “I take back what I said, Shadow. You have impressive friends.”
“Yeah, remember that next time you insult me.”
As they made ready, Xyn caught the look in Urian’s eyes. She stepped over to him. “Are you all right?”
He nodded, but she knew better.
And as they headed into Kalosis she had a bad feeling that things were about to go all kinds of wrong. Something about this wasn’t right. Trouble was, she’d been dormant for so long that a lot of her powers weren’t reliable yet.
She still felt weak from whatever spell had been used on her.
Urian hung back from the others. He let them go through the portal. But when Xyn started to go, he kept her with him.
She looked up with a questioning brow. He sensed that she wasn’t at her full strength. Yet she said nothing about it.
For him, she was going into this not knowing what they’d face. He didn’t take that act of loyalty lightly. Nor was he willing to risk her lightly.
Summoning his powers, he let them flow into his arm, then lifting her chin, he kissed her.
Xyn felt the surge Urian gave her and it wasn’t just from his kiss. He’d handed over a portion of his strength to her, as well. “What have you done?”
He smiled down at her. “I’m trained to fight at half strength. You’re not.”
And with that, he fell back into the portal.
Stunned, she met Acheron’s swirling silver gaze.
He shrugged at her. “Tory thinks I’m headstrong? I’ve got nothing on that one. I haven’t been able to do anything with that dumbass since the day I met him. May the gods have mercy on you.”
Rolling her eyes, she went in after Urian, cursing him with every sickening twist of the vortex. Which thanks to Shadow, didn’t drop them into the main hall at Stryker’s feet.
Because Shadow was able to manipulate the Nether Realm between the worlds, he took them in so that they arrived not far from her old cave. She actually envied him for the powers … in a way.
They would be nice to hold for a bit, but with them came a profound loneliness and solitude that made what a dragon endured seem kind in comparison.
As soon as they landed, she caught the look on Shadow’s face. Feeling for the dark demon, she went over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
Startled, he stepped back from her.
Xyn scowled at his reaction. “You act as if no one’s ever thanked you before.”
“They don’t normally. Not sure how to handle kindness. It terrifies me.”
That was the biggest tragedy of their kind. Or perhaps that was the biggest indictment against humanity. When kindness and decency became so rare that people no longer knew how to respond to it, or when having witnessed a kind act they felt the need to comment on something that really should be so commonplace that it never should be newsworthy.
If anything should ever be so common as to be taken for granted, surely in the name of the gods, it should be kindness and not cruelty.
Shadow glanced around the dull gray landscape. “Ahh, I see today’s forecast is gloomy with an overcast of doom and despair. I like it. Should we build a summer home?”
Blaise laughed. “My soulmate! We should hang out more.”
Brogan appeared offended by that. “You fickle beast. I thought I was your soulmate? Now you’re making overtures to Shadow? I can’t leave you alone for five minutes.” She sighed heavily.
“Would it help if I said he’s not as cute as you?”
“Not really. Damage done.”
Xander sighed. “I’m thinking this might have been a mistake.”
Shaking his head, Urian laughed. “Brother, I think that every day. Shall we?”
*
Ash had just returned home when he found Styxx waiting for him.