Devil May Cry (Dark-Hunter 11)

"Yeah, but I'm thinking right now your death might be worth mine."

"You wouldn't dare."

He growled, knowing she was right. If he died, it would unleash his mother on the world and mankind would go up in a fiery blaze. Damn him for caring about that.

He released a slow breath before he asked Queen Dense the obvious. "So how can I protect my daughter if you won't let me out of here for two more weeks?"

"If Katra needs you, you can go to her. But she has to be in danger first."

Ash paused at hearing his daughter's name for the first time.

"Katra? In Greek, it meant "pure".

Artemis nodded. "She looks just like you." Holding her hand up, she summoned an image of Katra's face so that he could see her.

Tears gathered in his eyes as he saw the beauty of his daughter, but he refused to let them fall. And as he looked at her image, he was stunned to realize that he did know her. It was the face he'd seen in his dreams. The blond woman he couldn't identify. Somehow his mind must have known she was out there and it'd been struggling to tell him.

"Have I ever seen her?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"Just once that I know. She was rushing out with the other koris when you showed up unexpectedly. You glanced at her before I made you look at me."

He remembered that. He'd been struck by the fact that one of the koris was obviously taller than Artemis when he knew that Artemis couldn't stand having a woman taller than her around her. "The tall blonde..."

"Yes."

Ash swallowed the pain that swelled inside of him. To think he'd been that close to her... it cut him deep. "Does she know about me?"

"I never kept the identity of her father from her. It was why she went to visit your mother."

A sick feeling settled deep in his stomach. "What did you tell her, Artie? That I rejected her?"

Her eyes snapped fire at him. "You know, Acheron, I get tired of you hurting me, too. Really tired. Had you been decent to me, you would have known all about her. So don't you dare take that hostile tone with me. I did the right thing. You were the one who walked out on her. I was there for her, raising her, while you were off pouting."

Pouting. Yeah. That was so him. He'd been learning to use his powers and had been trying to control a very young Simi who had never been in the human world before. Those early years after Artemis had brought him back had been hard and frightening.

And he'd had no one to turn to. His mother had been bitter and irrational every time he tried to speak to her. Artemis had nagged without cessation. If Savitar hadn't appeared to him to show him how to channel and use his powers, he'd have been completely lost.

But that was the past and he couldn't change it. All he could do was make sure that no one hurt his daughter from this point forward. "Simi!"

He'd barely finished the call before Simi appeared before him. "Akri!" She beamed in delight. "Can you come home now?"

He cast a malevolent stare at Artemis. "Not right now. But I have an assignment for you."

She looked a bit confused. "You do?"

"Yeah. I apparently have someone I need you to watch over. I want you to make sure nothing at all happens to her. Do you understand? "

Simi paled. "You don't want the Simi to watch over the bitch goddess, do you? 'Cause no offense, akri, that would just be wrong, and I love you, but that's more love than the Simi has for anything. Even Diamonique."

He smiled at her honesty. "Not Artemis, Sim. I need you to watch over a woman named Katra."

She scowled at his request. "Akra-Kat?"

A bad feeling went through him. "You know her"

She became antsy, which was never a good thing.

Artemis made a sound of disgust. "He knows she's his daughter, twit."

Simi turned on her with an arch look. "Twit? Moi? The Simi? Why, I do believe the bitch-goddess has done gone and gotten herself confused. She thinks she's me, not that I blame her. All women want to be me because of my beautoneousness and the fact that I have such stylish clothing and sparkliers. But believe me, I ain't no heifer-goddess."

"Oh, please, you stupid demon. Like I would ever want to be you."

Simi's eyes flashed dark so fast that Ash barely had time to grab her and hold her back from eating the bitch-goddess. "No, Sim. Leave her alone." Then he looked at Artemis. "Insult her again and she's the least of your concerns."

Artemis scoffed. "You can't hurt me."

"You're right. I can't. But you never said I couldn't give you over to my girl here."

Simi laughed happily. "Oooo, I finally get to eat the bitch goddess? Oh, goodie!"

Artemis vanished instantly.

Ash would have taken satisfaction in that if he wasn't so upset. He released Simi and turned her to face him. "You knew about my daughter?"

She lowered her chin like a child afraid of a spanking-something he'd never done to her.

"Is akri angry at his simi?"

He pulled her to him and held her against his chest. "How could I be angry at you?" She was the only thing in his life that had ever loved him without conditions or embarrassment. But it still didn't stop him from being hurt that she'd kept this secret. "I just wish you'd told me."

"But the queen goddess said it would make you cry to know. She said it would hurt you so much-like she hurts 'cause she can't have you with her. I didn't want you to sit and cry like akra does."

He tightened his hold on her. "I know, Sim. It's okay."

She pulled back to look up at him. "Are you sad, akri?"

"A little."

She took his hand into hers. "The Simi didn't mean to hurt you, akri."

"Oh, baby, you didn't hurt me. I'll be all right."

"Okay," she said gently, " 'cause if you're not all right, I'll eat the heifer-goddess for you and make it all better."

He smiled at her. "You can't do that."