“Why you in a dark hole, Astrid? Did you fall? (Simi)We’re hiding Simi. (Astrid)Hiding? From what? (Simi)Thanatos. (Astrid)Pfft. Why you hiding from that loser? He wouldn’t even make good barbecue. Barely take the edge off my peckishness. Hmmm…How come there’s no food here? (Simi)”

“What are you doing here, Simi? (Astrid)Feeling peckish. Is there any food? Something not too heavy. Maybe a cow or two? (Simi)”

“I have a flamthrower. (Zarek)You have a what? (Astrid)It pays to be prepared. (Zarek)Well. Those are nice for toasting marshmallows, but they’ll only make Thanatos mad. Regular fire won’t hurt him. I have this really neat gelatinous goo that comes out with my fire and it squirts my victims so that it don’t come off. Wanna see it? (Simi)No! (Zarek/Astrid)No? I don’t like that word. (Simi)We love you, Simi. We’re just scared of your goo. (Astrid)Oh, that I understand. Okay, you can live. (Simi)”

“Tell him to leave me alone, Astrid. Else I’ll have to barbecue him and make akri angry at me. I don’t want to make akri angry. (Simi)Simi? Is that you? (Astrid)Yes. C’est moi. The little demon with hornays. (Simi)”

“Simi, why did Acheron send you here? (Astrid)To protect you from Thanatos so that your sisters don’t get all freaky and destroy the world. Or something like that. I don’t know why all of you fear the end of the world. It’s not so bad, really. At least then akri’s mama be free. Then she wouldn’t be so cranky at the Simi all the time. (Simi)Ash’s mother is still alive? (Zarek)Oh, akri get mad whenever I tell that. Bad Simi. I not talk anymore. I need food. (Simi)”

“No, Simi. No food. (Astrid)‘No, Simi. No food.’ You sound like akri. ‘Don’t eat that, Simi, you’ll cause an ecological disaster.’ What is an ecological disaster, that’s what I want to know? Akri says it’s me on hunger binge, but I don’t think that’s quite right, but that’s all he’ll say about it. (Simi)”