you find nothing exciting about the idea of a billion people screaming out for mercy when thereâs no one left who cares what befalls them. Of the entire earth being rained on by all manner of demons bent on ultimate torture and sacrifice. Them ripping and shredding human flesh as they claw in a drunken frenzy fueled by their hatred of everything. Drinking blood in an orgy of terror ⦠ahhh, the beauty of annihilation. Thereâs nothing like it.â
Kat would have been appalled had it not been a very typical thought for her grandmother. âAnd Iâm, well, not technically a goddess since I donât belong to a single pantheon, but I follow after my father, who likes to protect mankind, and I really donât want to see a bunch of demons eating people. Call me sentimental.â
Apollymi made a noise of extreme dissatisfaction. âThatâs the only thing I detest about your father. You two are, what is that human word you use ⦠wimps.â
âHardly. Dad and I can more than hold our own.â
Apollymi gave an uncharacteristic snort that Kat decided to ignore.
âAnd you still havenât answered my question.â Kat pressed on in spite of her grandmotherâs mood. âWhat are the Dimme?â
Now the goddess was irritated, which was manifested in her grabbing one of the sweet black pears that grew on the black-barked trees of her garden. She crushed it in her hand. âTheyâre Anu and Enlilâs final revenge on us all. While the gallu may be seen as the atom bomb that negated my Charontes, Anu created the Dimme as a nuclear holocaust.â
Kat wasnât sure what she meant. âHow so?â
âThe Dimme are seven demons unlike anything you can imagine. They are uncontrollable, even for the gods. Theyâre so dangerous that the Sumerians never even dared release them. From the moment they were created, they were put in a cell that has a time release. Every few millennia, whatever is holding them weakens. If the Sumerian gods are still alive, they reseal the seven demon sisters and life goes on as normal. But should something happen to the pantheon and there be no more Sumerian gods to reseal their tomb, the Dimme are unleashed on the world to destroy it and whatever pantheon is in charge. Itâs Anuâs last laugh against whoever killed him and his children.â
So Sin hadnât been lying.â¦
It made Katâs stomach ache to think of what the seven demons could be capable of. She already knew what the typical monsters could do. And the Charonte. There was no telling what the Dimme would be like. âDonât you think that harsh?â
Apollymi gave her an arch look. âI only wish Iâd thought of it myself.â
Kat shook her head. She didnât know why Apollymi hated her mother so much, since the two of them were pretty darn close in personalityâand thought similarly on most topics.
Apollymi licked the sweet juice from her fingertips. âBut that doesnât explain why youâre asking me all this, child. What about the Sumerians has you so curious when youâve never asked about them before?â
âWell, right now, I have their last survivor locked in my house.â
Apollymi went rigid. âYou what?â
âSinâs in my house, down the street.â
Apollymiâs swirling eyes began to glowâsomething they only did when she was highly agitated. âHave you lost your mind?â
Before Kat could defend her decision, Apollymi vanished.
Kat cursed. There was no doubt in her mind where her grandmother had gone. Aggravated, too, Kat flashed herself back to her house.
Sure enough, Apollymi was there and Sin was pinned to the wall.
âGrandma.â
âBack off,â Apollymi snarled.
Kat was stunned by her response. Not once in all her life had Katâs grandmother ever raised her voice to her. The next thing she knew both Sin and Apollymi were
Lisa Black
Margaret Duffy
Erin Bowman
Kate Christensen
Steve Kluger
Jake Bible
Jan Irving
G.L. Snodgrass
Chris Taylor
Jax