The Dark-Hunters (260 page)

“Like what?” Kyrian asked.

Tabitha pointed to the ground where Ash still lay.

Kyrian’s face went pale as his gaze focused on Ash’s body. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Tabitha said. “One of the Daimons did that to him and we need to get him to safety.”

Kyrian passed a grudging, angry look at Valerius. “We’re not through.”

Valerius said nothing as he moved toward Ash.

When he started to lift Ash up, Kyrian shoved him back. “Get your filthy hands off him, Roman. We don’t need your help. We take care of our own.”

“Valerius happens to be the only Dark-Hunter here,” Tabitha snapped at her brother-in-law. “He has more right to help Ash—”

“Greeks don’t want or need Roman help,” Julian said as he brushed roughly past Valerius.

Tabitha felt Valerius’s anger, his pain, but most of all, she felt shame from him.

Why?

“Val?”

As soon as it was out of her mouth, Tabitha realized she’d just made a strategic mistake. Kyrian let out a vulgar curse. “Oh, don’t tell me you’ve taken up with
him.
Shit, Tabitha, I thought even you had more sense than that.”

That was it! Tabitha went to stand in front of him. “Get off the cross, Kyrian. Literally.” She gestured behind her to Valerius. “He didn’t hurt you.”

Kyrian curled his lip at her. “How do you know? Were you there?”

“Ooo, childish much? No, I wasn’t there. But I can do math and I know how old he was when you were killed. What? You let a five-year-old nail you down?”

Someone grabbed her from behind. Tabitha started to attack until she realized it was Valerius pulling her back. “Don’t, Tabitha. Just let it go.”

“Why should I? I’m tired of the way they treat you. Aren’t you?”

Valerius’s face was completely stoic, but his heart wasn’t. She felt his pain. “I honestly don’t care what they think of me. I really don’t. And you don’t need to alienate your entire family. Just leave this alone.”

“Why?”

Valerius looked past her to Kyrian, then he stared at her. Hard. “This will wait. Right now, Acheron and you need to be safe. Go with Kyrian.”

Tabitha wanted to argue, but he was right and she wasn’t so stubborn as to not recognize that basic fact. The longer they stood out here arguing, the more danger Ash was in, especially since Simi wasn’t here to protect him.

Their first priority was to get Ash to safety. “You be careful.”

Valerius gave her a strangely tender Roman salute, then spun on his heel and left them.

“You’re unbelievable,” Kyrian snarled as he and Julian lifted Acheron’s body up from the ground. “I can’t believe you screamed at Amanda about me and you’d cuddle up to that bastard.”

“Shut up, Kyrian,” Tabitha said. “Unlike Amanda, I don’t mind staking you straight through the heart.”

“Where are we taking T-Rex?” Talon asked as he grabbed Ash’s feet and helped to carry him.

“Back to my house,” Kyrian answered. “After the attack of that demon on Bride Kattalakis when she was visiting us, Ash put some kind of mojo on it to make it safe. I figure whatever did this to him can’t come back and hurt him if he’s there.”

Talon nodded. “What exactly did this to him?”

Tabitha shrugged. “I don’t know. He was hit with something and poof, down he went. It happened so fast, I didn’t even see what they hit him with.”

Talon let out a slow breath. “Man, I wouldn’t have thought anything could bring down Ash. Not like this.”

“Yeah,” Tabitha agreed, “but at least he’s still alive. Kind of … in a freaky sort of way.”

She didn’t want to admit to them just how frightened she was of the fact that the Daimons had brought the powerful Atlantean down without breaking a sweat. If they could do this, then there was no telling what they could do to the rest of them.

Which begged the question of why the Daimons had left them alone when they could have killed them, too.

It didn’t make sense.

They wended their way down the darker, less traveled alleys, watching for Daimons and innocent passersby who might call the cops if they saw them carrying what appeared to be a dead body as they headed for Julian’s Land Rover.

Tabitha got in the backseat with Ash while Talon stayed behind to continue patrolling for Daimons. Getting into the front passenger’s seat, Kyrian remained sullenly silent while Julian drove them over to the Garden District where Kyrian’s mansion stood less than two blocks away from Valerius’s.

She wondered if either man realized just how close they lived to each other. They were practically neighbors and yet they were divided by infinite hatred.

Putting that out of her mind, she ran her hand over Ash’s hair. It had an odd, spongy texture. His eyes were half-open and for once the silvery color didn’t swirl. It was terrifying to think something could do this to him and none of them knew what it was or if they could restore him.

God, what would happen if they couldn’t?

What would happen to the Dark-Hunters if they didn’t have Ash to lead them anymore? It was a terrifying thought. He always knew what to do and to say. How to make things better for everyone.

Biting her lip, Tabitha fought her panic down. Simi would get help for Ash. There was no way she wouldn’t.

The men got out and pulled Ash from the seat, then carried him into the house with Tabitha one step behind them.

Amanda came off the sofa the instant she saw Ash being carried into her foyer. “Oh my God, what happened?”

“We don’t know,” Kyrian said as he and Julian carried Ash toward the mahogany stairs.

“Tabby?” Amanda asked.

She shrugged as she followed after the men. Amanda joined the procession up the stairs. As they reached the top landing, a tall African-American man came out of one of the guest rooms.

“Acheron?” he said, his voice thickly accented.

“We don’t know what happened,” Kyrian said in answer to his unasked question as they brushed past him.

“Hi, I’m Tabitha,” she said, extending her hand to the new Dark-Hunter who was guarding her family.

“Kassim,” he said, shaking her hand before they both followed the men into Ash’s room.

Once they had Ash safely tucked into the bed, Kyrian curled his lip at Tabitha. “Why don’t you ask your sister about her new friend, Amanda?”

“Kyrian,” Tabitha said in warning. “Lay off or you will limp.”

“What friend?” Amanda asked.

“Valerius Magnus,” Julian said. “They were rather friendly tonight when we found them.”

“Yes, we were,” Tabitha said. “And it’s none of your business.”

Amanda gave her a harsh stare. “Tabitha—”

“Shut up!” Tabitha snapped. “Look, I will gladly submit to the ‘jump all over sister Tabitha’ session
after
we help Ash. Right now, I’m going to start calling some people and see if anyone knows how to fix this. You guys can stand here with your thumbs up your butts and roast me all you want, but I’m not listening.”

Pulling her phone off her belt, Tabitha headed for the stairs, then down to the living room and called Tia, who was completely useless for this.

“C’mon, T,” Tabitha begged her sister. “There has to be an undo spell.”

“Not if you don’t know what caused it. Ash isn’t exactly human, Tab. One wrong move and we could really do some damage to him.”

Tabitha growled into the phone, then hung up. Amanda had just joined her in the living room when they heard something hit the front door so hard, it rattled the hinges.

Handing the phone to Amanda, Tabitha pulled her stiletto from her boot.

“Akri!”
Simi’s maniacal wail echoed through the house like vicious thunder. “Let the Simi in,
akri!
”

“What
is
that?” Amanda asked, her face ashen.

“It’s Ash’s demon.”

“Simi is making that godawful sound?” Kyrian asked as he and Julian ran down the stairs.

“Looks like,” Tabitha said as she headed toward the door.

Kyrian beat her to it. “No!” he snarled. “It could be a trick.”

“Trick my ass,” she muttered. “Simi? Is it you outside?”

“Tabitha, let me in. I can’t help
akri
if I can’t see him. I gots to help my
akri.
Lemme in or the Simi will barbecue this door, so help me.”

“You can’t, Simi. The shield would hurt you if you tried to. They have to invite you in.”

Tabitha froze as she heard the unfamiliar, gentle feminine voice on the other side of the door. It held just a faint hint of a foreign accent. “Who’s with you, Sim?”

“One of the bitch-goddess’s
koris,
they them people who serve her in her temple on Olympus. Katra good quality people who gonna help my
akri.
Now let the Simi in!”

“It’s okay,” Tabitha said to Kyrian. “I know Simi well enough to vouch that it’s really her out there.”

Kyrian gave her a menacing stare. “Yeah, and you know Valerius, too. That gives me so much faith in your judgment—not.”

Tabitha went rigid. “Amanda, if your husband’s balls have any meaning to you, I suggest you move him out of my way or he’s going to be singing in soprano.”

“Let her open the door, Kyrian.”

“Like hell,” he snarled. “My daughter is asleep upstairs.”

“Her niece is asleep upstairs,” Amanda reminded him. “Tabitha would never endanger Marissa. Now move.”

Kyrian made a gesture as if he’d like to choke both of them, then stepped aside.

Tabitha swung open the door to see Simi outside with an extremely tall, robed woman.

Neither woman asked where Ash was, they seemed to know instinctively.

“Don’t worry, Tabby,” Simi said as the unbelievably tall woman headed toward the stairs. “Katra will never hurt my
akri.
She loves him like us.”

Katra didn’t listen to Simi as she made her way up the stairs of the unfamiliar house. Then again, there was no such thing as an unfamiliar house to her. She’d inherited great powers from both her father and mother, including the ability to feel the essence and layout of buildings.

This house echoed warmth, respect, and love. No wonder Acheron liked to stay here whenever he visited New Orleans. This was a wonderful home and Marissa was a lucky child to live here. How she wished she’d known such a place as a little girl.

She opened the last door on the hallway to find Acheron lying prone on a large, four-poster bed.

Kat paused at the sight of Acheron there. Never in all these centuries had she been so close to him. As a young woman, she’d often tried to catch glimpses of him as he came and went on Olympus to see Artemis. Like all of the goddess’ servants, Kat was banished from the temple whenever he visited.

She more than any other was forbidden to ever be near him. And now …

She’d waited all her life for this one, single moment. For one chance to touch him. Know him.

To feel his arms around her, just once.

Her heart pounding, she crossed the room to stand beside the bed that didn’t really accommodate his tall, lean frame. The pallor and odd color of his skin did nothing to detract from the fact that he was without a doubt the most handsome man who had ever been born.

But he was so much more than external beauty.

Even in stasis, he was commanding and frightening. She could feel his powers reaching out to her. Calling to her.

He was power incarnate.

More than that, he was invaluable to the order of the universe. If Acheron should ever die …

It didn’t bear thinking on.

Using her own powers, which were second only to his, Kat shut and locked the bedroom door with her thoughts before she lowered her cowl and sat beside him. She wanted a few minutes alone with him where no one could observe them.

“You are so handsome,” she breathed as she traced the line of his eyebrows.

Since the moment she had first glimpsed him when she was a young child, she’d yearned to touch his hand. Yearned to have him call her by name.

Or better yet, yearned just to have him know she existed at all.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

Artemis would always stand between them. She had ordained centuries ago that no one, especially not Kat, could ever touch the sacred Acheron.

Yet here she sat, alone with him, far away from the goddess’s watchful stare.

Deep-seated emotions engulfed her. Unable to stand the tide of them, Kat lay against him and hugged him close, wishing he were awake to know her. To feel her.

But he wasn’t.

He would never know she’d been here. That she had been the one to help him. Simi was forbidden to tell him and as soon as she vanished, the others below would forget they had ever seen her, too.

“I love you,” she whispered against his ear. “I always will.” She placed a chaste kiss on his cheek before she pulled back and took his large hand into hers.

Tears streaked her face as she brushed his fingers against her cheek. “One day,” she breathed, “we will know each other. I promise.”

Kat unlocked the door with her powers, then pulled a small satchel out of her pocket. It held three leaves from the Tree of Life that only bloomed in the garden of the Destroyer, deep in the halls of her temple in Kalosis. It alone could break the
ypnsi,
the sacred sleep that Orasia had once dispensed from the sacred halls of Katoteros back in the days when the ancient Atlantean gods had ruled the earth.

This alone could restore Acheron to his full strength.

Kat wrung the leaves until they were moist. Holding them over Acheron’s lips, she twisted more until they were able to drip nine drops into his mouth.

She watched as the color spread from his lips, slowly, over the rest of his body.

He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes.

She vanished instantly.

Ash felt the air stir around him. He sat up quickly, then wished he hadn’t as pain swept through his body.

Wiping his lips, he grimaced at the bitter, nasty taste in his mouth.

“Akri?”

His heart stopped beating as he heard Simi’s hesitant voice an instant before she burst into the room and leapt onto the bed beside him.

Suddenly, everything came back to him. The Daimons.