She couldn't look more harmless or beautiful.
But the newly awakened demon powers inside Simone sensed the lethal capabilities of the tiny woman. This was the gallu Dimme.
"I'm called Kerryna."
Xypher put himself between Simone and the Dimme. "The gallu and Charonte are vicious enemies. How is it they protect you?"
Kerryna held her hand out to Xedrix who went down on one knee by her side before he clasped it and held it against his heart.
Warmth spread through Simone as she realized that the two of them were in love.
But that didn't change the fact that Kerryna had killed Gloria and others-
"No, I didn't."
Simone blinked at Kerryna's soft words. "What?"
"I didn't kill Gloria. I've only killed two men since I was freed, and I assure you, they both deserved what happened to them. Even you would have ended their lives."
Xypher shook His head in disbelief. "I'm really confused. I was there when you broke out of your cocoon in Nevada."
Kerryna nodded. "I remember you and the god Sin and his woman, Katra. The other god, Zakar, chased me for days on end until I was able to finally escape him and hide. He is a persistent beast. And it was hard. I knew nothing of this world or its people and their languages."
Xypher could understand. Parts of it eluded him even with his god powers and having been here to help Katra and Sin. "Why did you come to New Orleans?"
She indicated Simone with a tilt of her head. "We are cousins. Her father was the brother to mine. It is my nature to need my family with me, but once I met her, I knew she wasn't ready to accept herself or me. Her powers had been bound. Her scent hidden. She believed herself human and I thought it best to leave her with that delusion."
"You know," Simone said, stepping around Xypher, "for an indiscriminate killer, she's remarkably lucid and thoughtful."
Kerryna smiled. "Out of fear, my sisters and I were locked away so fast that no one bothered to learn anything about us. While we are born of the gallu, we are not gallu. The goddess Ishtar gave us the gift of compassion and understanding. I think she knew what was to happen and wanted to make sure that we didn't destroy the world as our creator intended. That being said, should all of us be freed, I don't know what will happen. Two of my sisters are not so kind or caring. They do crave blood above all things."
Xedrix stood up and draped a protective arm around her shoulders. She lifted her hand to stroke his forearm affectionately. He held her back to his front while he glared his mistrust at them. "The gallu want to take her and use her. That I won't allow."
Kerryna leaned back against him. "They kill to draw me out."
Simone sighed. "You know, the more I learn about the gallu, the less I like them and the more I really hate sharing a genetic link with them."
Keriyna nodded her agreement. "The males are hard to take at times. Unlike the Charonte, they're domineering and cruel. To them women are only breeders or food."
Simone cast a meaningful look at Xypher over her shoulder.
He was completely unrepentant. "I can't help it if I resemble them. We're all creatures of our birth. But at least I listen from time to time."
It was true. He did, and that made him semitolerable. She smiled up at him. "Well, what can I say? You are, after all, a god."
The only clue she had that he was amused was a very subtle softening around His eyes. Not that she blamed him. When surrounded by a warrior class of demons, it was probably good not to show any land of humor.
Which reminded her of how important this was. "All right, we still have the gallu out there killing innocent people . . . and demons. How do we stop it?"
Xedrix rubbed his cheek against Kerryna's hair. "We've been trying to find a way, but as of yet there's nothing we've thought of. So long as we have Kerryna, they won't even discuss a truce."
"I won't go back to them. All of the gallu are disgusting." She looked at Xypher and blushed beautifully. "No offense."
"It's all right. I'm used to insults." Xypher cast a glance at Simone, who sputtered.
"I don't insult you . . . much,"
Xypher didn't respond. Instead he narrowed his eyes at Xedrix. "You know, I just thought of something . . . you can open a bolt-hole down to Kalosis."
Xedrix shook his head. "We've tried. For some reason, we're not able to do it."
Xypher tsked at the demon. "You're lying, Xedrix. I smell it."
"We refuse to go back," Tyris said angrily as he stepped forward. "We were slaves there. Xedrix served as the Destroyer's pet. She treated him like a simpleton, I won't be at her mercy for another day. It was a godsend that we escaped when we did. Better to die here as free agents than to return to what we were."
Simone scowled at Xypher, "The Destroyer?"
"An ancient Atlantean goddess named Apollymi. She was imprisoned in Kalosis by her husband eleven thousand years ago."
Simone wondered what the goddess had done to merit that sentence. "Nice, and you want to go visit her, huh?"
"No, I don't. I want to kill Satara."
At the mention of Satara's name, more than half of the demons made disgusted noises.
"Kill that bitch!"
"Feed her to the Destroyer."
"Rip out both their throats."
Simone was impressed by the venom. It appeared Satara and the Destroyer could both benefit from a seminar on how to make friends and influence people, or in this case, demons. "Wow, this Kalosis sounds like a rival for Disney World. Sign me up for the next trip."
"I would, but apparently a ride down there's a lot harder to come by than a spare Hannah Montana ticket in a middle school."
Simone laughed. "Nice, timely reference."
"You can thank Jesse for it. He has a crush on Hannah." Xypher met Xedrix's gaze. "What will it take for me to talk one of you into opening that portal?"
"There's nothing."
Xypher looked at Kerryna, and Simone knew exactly what he was thinking. Xedrix pulled her behind him and stiffened.
"Don't worry," Xypher said. "I wasn't thinking that. I would never threaten your woman. I was only considering how wrong I was about her."
Simone arched a brow. "Were you really?"
The offense on his face was deep. "Not you, too?"
"I'm sorry. You're right, I know better. But the way you looked at her ... in my defense, it was spooky."
Grimacing at her, Xypher turned his attention back to the Charonte. "I know there has to be some way we can help each other. Think about it. I need to get inside Kalosis."
Xypher duplicated his earlier gesture of clasping his hands together and holding them up. "Pieryot akati."
Xedrix inclined his head to him before he repeated the words.
Xypher pulled her toward the door, but before they went far, Kerryna stopped them.
"We are family," she said softly to Simone. She took the small red stone necklace from around her neck and placed it in Simone's palm. "If you need me, take the crystal in your hand and call my name. I will come immediately."
"Thank you."
Kerryna hugged her close. "There is strength inside you, Simone. Our bloodline was one of the strongest of the gallu. Never forget that."
"I'll remember."
Kerryna patted her hand. "I will work on Xedrix for you," she said softly to Xypher. "If revenge is truly what you want, I'll find some way for you to have it."
With that, she left them and rejoined Xedrix.
Simone turned to Xypher. "Not even dinnertime and it's been an interesting day. I'm kind of afraid to see what the next hour will bring. How about you?"
"Any minute I'm not being beaten with a barbed whip is a great one in my opinion."
Her stomach shrank at his dry tone and the reminder of the world he'd left behind. If Xedrix thought his was bad, he should try Xypher's. "Do you really have to go back to that?"
"If I thought there was a way to avoid it, believe me, I would. But I've already been sentenced. And you can't run from a god."
"What if I talked to Hades?"
He laughed, "Hades isn't going to listen to you. All we can do is take the time I have and try to expel the gallu so that you'll be safe when I'm gone."
When I'm gone . . .
Those words tore through her and brought a wave of pain so severe it actually took her breath. How could he have come to mean so much to her so quickly?
And vet there was no denying what she felt. She didn't want him to leave. Ever.
Don't think about it.
She would find a way to settle this. A way for it to end without costing Xypher his freedom. She had to.
The alternative was wholly unacceptable to her.