Devil May Cry (43 page)

He laughed bitterly. “I'm heir to shit and prince of nothing.”

“Nay. You are Apostolos, son of Apollymi. Revered by all.”

“I am Acheron, son of no one. Revered only within the confines of a bedroom.”

She stepped slowly down before him. Her wings tucked themselves around her body. “You don't remember your birth. I understand. I was sent here by your mother with her gift for you.”

He was trying to follow her words, but his mind was too numbed by drink. The demon was insane. She must have him confused with someone else. “My mother is dead.”

“The human queen, yes. But your real mother, the goddess Apollymi, is alive and wishes you all of her love. I am her most faithful servant, Xiamara, and I am here to protect you as I've protected her.”

Acheron shook his head. He was drunk. Hallucinating. Maybe he'd already died.

“Get away from me.”

The demon didn't. Before he could escape, she placed a small orb to his heart.

Acheron screamed as pain tore through him. Never in his life had he felt anything like this and given the tortures they'd put him through, that said much. It was like there was poisonous fire in his veins, ripping through him.

From the center of his chest where the orb rested, his skin changed from tawny to blue …

And as the pain and color unfurled through him, images and voices screamed out, piercing his eardrums. Scents assaulted his nostrils. Even his clothes burned against his skin. He fell to the ground and curled up into a ball as every sense he had was assailed.

“You are the god Apostolos. Harbinger and son of Apollymi the Destroyer. Your will is the will of the universe. You are the final fate of all…”

Acheron kept shaking his head in denial. No. It couldn't be. “I am nothing. I am nothing.”

The demon lifted his head. “Why are you not happy? You are a god now.”

Fury rode him hard as he grabbed her. He didn't understand his powers or anything else that was happening to him, but all the years of his life, all the degradations and horrors tore through him. Those he let travel from his mind into hers.

The demon cried out as she slung her head back. “Ni! This was not supposed to happen to you, akri. Not this…”

He grabbed her and forced her gaze to meet his. “It was bad enough when they thought me the human son of a god. Can you imagine what they'll do to me now? Take these powers away from me.”

“I cannot. They are yours by birthright.”

Acheron fell back, banging his head against the stone floor. “No!” he shouted. “No! I don't want this. I only want to be left alone.”

Xiamara tried to embrace him.

Acheron pushed her away. “I want nothing from you. You've done enough damage to me.”

“Akri—”

“Out of my sight!”

Her eyes glowed with reluctance. “Your will is my own.” The orb she'd held against him appeared as a necklace about his neck. “If you need me, akri, call and I will come.”

Acheron pressed his hand against a skull that ached and throbbed with new voices and sensations. He felt as if he were going mad and perhaps he was.

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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

DEVIL MAY CRY

Copyright © 2007 by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Excerpt from
Acheron
copyright © 2008 by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

ISBN: 0-312-94686-4

EAN: 978-0-312-94686-9

St. Martin's Press hardcover edition / August 2007

St. Martin's Paperbacks edition / April 2008

St. Martin's Paperbacks are published by St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

eISBN 9781429917421

First eBook edition: February 2014

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