The Dark-Hunters (269 page)

Apollymi returned the pillow to her lap as she dismissed the orange-fleshed, winged demon.

“You summoned me, Mother?” Stryker asked as he came toward her.

She forced herself not to betray the fact that she knew he had turned on her. He thought himself clever.

It was enough to make her laugh.

No one could ever defeat the Destroyer. It was why she was imprisoned. She could be contained, but never annihilated. It was a lesson Stryker would learn one day all too soon.

But not today. Today, she still needed him.

“It is time,
m’gios.
” The Atlantean term for “my son” was bitter as always on her tongue. He was a very poor substitute for the male child she had birthed. “Tonight will be the perfect time to strike. It is a full moon in New Orleans and the Dark-Hunters will be distracted.”

And she wanted that human child! It was time to put an end to her captivity once and for all.

Marissa Hunter was a mild sacrifice she needed to return her son to his real, living state. And by all the power of Atlantis, she would restore her son.

No other life, not even her own, was worth one tiny part of his.

Stryker inclined his head. “Indeed, Mother. I’ve already set loose my Daimons to wreak carnage. Desiderius will return with the child at midnight and when they leave tonight, there won’t be a single Dark-Hunter left breathing.”

“Good. I don’t care how many Spathi die or anyone else. I must have that child!”

She felt Stryker starting to leave.

“Strykerius?” she called.

“Yes, Mother?”

“Serve me well and you will be rewarded beyond measure. Betray me and there is nothing that can save you from my wrath.”

Stryker narrowed his eyes on the goddess, who refused to even look at him. “I would never dream of betraying you, Mother,” he said, masking the rancor of his tone.

No, he wasn’t going to betray her tonight.

He was going to kill her.

After leaving her temple, Stryker summoned his Illuminati together before he opened the bolt-hole that would take his men to New Orleans. There they would do his will while he stayed safely tucked away from the Destroyer’s notice. It was time he stopped the age-old conflict between human and Apollite.

A new era was dawning, and mankind …

It was time they learned their inferior place.

As for Acheron, now that he knew what the man really was, he knew how to neutralize him.

After all, not even the great Acheron could be in two places at once, nor could he stand against the assault that was about to begin.

*   *   *

Desiderius paused outside of a small voodoo shop. It was quaint and charming, and to most tourists, it looked like all the others.

The only thing that separated this store from all the rest that occupied designated areas of the French Quarter was the fact that here he sensed real power.

Closing his eyes, he inhaled the rich, musty scent of it. As a Daimon, he’d need her soul to live, but since he was in the body of a Dark-Hunter …

Killing humans was done for simple pleasure now, not for sustenance.

He smiled to himself as he stepped inside to find his target. It only took a second to locate her behind the counter, where she was waiting on a tourist who was buying a love potion.

“Hi, Ulric!” his victim said excitedly as the customer walked out of the store and left them alone.

Ah, good, she knew the Dark-Hunter. It would make killing her all the easier.

“Hi,” he said, stepping up to the counter. “How are you tonight?”

“I was just about to close. I’m really glad you came by. After everything that’s been happening around here, well … it’s good to see a friendly face.”

Desiderius’s gaze went past her shoulder to a small snapshot hanging on a calendar that advertised scented candles. It was of nine women, two of whom he knew instantly.

His gaze darkened.

“How are Tabitha and Amanda?” he asked.

“They’re doing okay. All things considered. Mandy’s afraid to leave the house and Tabby … you’ve probably met her on the street.”

Yes, Amanda was afraid to leave her house, which made their getting into it almost impossible.

But there was one way he knew to draw the sorceress out of her home.

He gave the woman behind the counter a tight-lipped smile. “Would you like for me to walk you home?”

“What a sweetie. Thanks, that’ll be great. Just give me a sec to grab the money envelope and I’ll do the paperwork at home.”

Desiderius licked his lips. He could already taste her blood …

*   *   *

The night was eerily quiet as Ash walked alone through the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 searching for Daimons who often came to claim the souls of the dead who had refused to move on.

The New Orleans natives called these impressive stone cemeteries the Cities of the Dead, a title that was wholly apropos. Because the town was below sea level, no one could bury the dead without the bodies making a most unwelcomed reappearance.

The full moon above cast distorted shadows of the statuary along the brick, stone, and marble crypts—some of which were taller than even he was. Although in places rather haphazard, most of the tombs were arranged into blocks that did in fact strangely mirror the layout and design of a city.

Each crypt was elegantly crafted as a monument to those whose remains it contained. There were three classifications for the tombs: wall vaults; family vaults; and society vaults that were reserved for specific groups, like the round Italian Society tomb, which was the largest crypt there, and one that dominated the cemetery.

Most of the tombs showed signs of their age by having broken pieces of masonry either missing or askew, along with collapsed roofs, and blackened mold that grew all over them. Many held scrolled wrought-iron gates and fences.

It was beautiful here. Peaceful. Although the strategically placed holes in the exterior walls that allowed muggers to come and go at will were a constant reminder of how some of the occupants had come to reside here.

Ash reached out and touched the grave of Marie Laveaux, the famous voodoo maven of the city. Her grave was marked with Xs from those who would pay tribute to her.

She’d been a remarkable woman and in his long life, she had been the only human to know him for what he really was.

Sirens sounded off in the distance as police headed for a new crime scene.

As he turned away, Ash felt a ripple go through him like a debilitating blow. He hissed in pain as he felt a fragile, forbidden doorway opening and felt the evil pouring out of it.

The Illuminati were leaving Kalosis …

Suddenly, his vision became cloudy.

Ash no longer saw anything around him, overwhelmed with sounds and images of souls screaming in agony as they died. It was a sound unheard by mortals, but one that cut through him like shattering glass.

The order of the universe was being altered.

“Atropos!” he called, summoning the Greek goddess of fate who was responsible for cutting the life strands of mortals.

Tall and blonde with furious eyes, she appeared beside him instantly. “What?” she snapped.

The two of them had never gotten along; in truth, none of the Moirae could stand him. Not that he cared. He had far more reasons to hate them than they had to hate him.

Ash leaned back against one of the old crypts as he tried to staunch some of his pain.

“What are you doing?” he gasped.

“It’s not me,” she said indignantly. “It’s something from
your
side, not ours. We have no control over it. If you want it to stop, stop it.”

She vanished.

Wrapping his arms around his stomach, Ash slid to the ground. The pain … it was biting into him even more. He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

The screams rang throughout his head until it brought tears to his eyes.

Without his bidding, Simi came off his arm. “
Akri?
” she said, kneeling beside him. “What hurts you,
akri?
”

“Sim,” he panted through the vicious stabs. “I c-can’t…” His words trailed off into a groan.

She doubled in size and transformed from a young woman into her demon form. Her skin and horns were red, and her hair and lips were black, while her eyes glowed a dull yellow in the darkness.

She pulled him away from the crypt long enough to slide herself between him and the stone, then she wrapped her body around his. Her midnight wings folded around both of them as a protective cloak.

Ash’s lips chattered from the agony as tears flowed from his eyes. He felt as if something were rupturing inside him. He had to block the screams or he would be useless.

Simi placed her cheek against his and hummed an ancient lullaby as she rocked him soothingly.

“The Simi has you,
akri,
and she’ll make all the voices go away.”

Ash leaned back in her arms and prayed she was right. Because if she didn’t restore him soon, there would be no one to repair what was being torn apart.

*   *   *

Tabitha was filled with such a sudden sense of pain that it stopped her dead in her tracks.

Gasping, she reached out for Valerius, who was walking beside her.

“Tabitha? Is something wrong?”

“Tia,” she gasped, her heart aching in a pain so profound that she wasn’t sure how she maintained her stance. “Something’s happened to her. I know it.”

“Tab—”

“I know it!” she shrieked, clutching his shirt. “Oh God, no!” She grabbed her phone and started dialing Tia’s number as she ran toward her sister’s store. They were only six blocks away.

No one answered.

She dialed Amanda, her heart thumping in her chest as she ran. This couldn’t be happening. She had to be wrong.

She had to be!

“Tabitha?” She heard the tears in Amanda’s voice.

“It’s true, isn’t it? You feel it, too?”

“Kyrian won’t let me leave the house. He says it’s too dangerous.”

“Don’t worry, I’m on the street and I’ll call you as soon as I know something.”

Tabitha clutched the phone in her hand as they neared the dark store.

Everything looked normal …

Valerius slowed down as he sensed death. There was an evil pall that hung over the store. He’d been a Dark-Hunter long enough to know even that much without any psychic abilities.

Tabitha tried the front door, which was locked.

“Tia!” she shouted, knocking on it. “You still here?”

No one answered.

She led him around back, into a small courtyard. The back door to the shop had been left ajar.

Valerius held his breath at the confirmation of his fears. Tabitha slowed down to a careful walk.

“Tia?” she called again.

Valerius pulled her away from the back door. “Stay behind me.”

“She’s my sister!”

“And I’m immortal. Stay behind me.”

Luckily, she nodded.

Valerius opened the door carefully as he looked for anyone to move on them.

No one did.

The back room appeared completely normal. Nothing was out of place. It looked just as it had a few weeks ago when Tia had tended him here.

His hand on the dagger at his waist, he carefully approached the door to the shop, which was also slightly ajar. He pushed it open, then froze when he saw the pair of shoes sticking out from behind the counter.

His heart stopped.

“Stay here, Tabitha.”

“But—”

“Dammit, Tabitha, stay!”

“I am not your bitch, General, and you don’t talk to me that way!”

He knew it was her fear that made her so angry. She never knew how to cope with strong emotions. “Please, Tabitha. Stay here while I look.”

She nodded.

Valerius pulled away and walked cautiously across the floor to where he saw the shoes. As he drew nearer, he saw the rest of the body.

Shit.

His chest tight and aching, he turned Tia over to see her glazed eyes staring out at nothing. Her neck was torn open as if a Daimon had attacked her, but her soul was still here. He could feel it.

Why would a Daimon not take her soul?

As he reached to close her eyes, he realized something else. Tabitha wasn’t with him.

Panic threatened to consume him. It wasn’t like her to really listen. Rising quickly, he dashed back to the storeroom, where he found her sitting before a video surveillance console that showed the flickering black-and-white images of Tia’s death.

Tabitha sat there with tears pouring out of her eyes as she held her hands crossed over her lips. Her sobs were silent, yet they shook her entire body.

“I’m so sorry, Tabitha,” he whispered before he shut off the monitor and pulled her into his arms.

“She can’t be dead!” she wailed as she clutched him to her. “This isn’t true. Not my sister. She’s not dead. She’s not!”

He didn’t speak as he rocked her gently in his arms.

She screamed out in pain before she shoved him away from her and ran for the storefront.

“Tabitha, no!” he snapped, pulling her back before she saw Tia’s body. “You don’t need to see her like that.”

She turned on him with a shriek and shoved him back. “Damn you! Damn all of you for this. Why didn’t you just kill me? Why kill my sister? Why…?”

Her eyes widened in horror. “Oh, God, they’re going for my family.” She pulled her phone out, no doubt to call Amanda again.

While she called her family, he pulled his Nextel out to notify the others what had happened. “Code Red to everyone,” he said, his voice tight. “Tia Devereaux has been slain inside her store. Everyone needs to pull back and secure their families.”

One by one, the Dark-Hunters and Squires checked in: Otto, Nick, Kyl, Rogue, Zoe, Jean-Luc, Ulric, Janice, Kassim—even Talon, Kyrian, and Julian. But there was no sign of Acheron.

Valerius tried to buzz him, then call him.

There was no answer.

His blood ran cold. Had the Daimons gotten to Acheron already and hurt him again?

“I love you, Mandy,” Tabitha said as her lips quivered from her grief. “You be careful, okay? I’m going to find this bastard and I’m going to kill him tonight.”

Valerius glanced to the now blank monitor screen. “Do you know who killed her?” he asked.