The Dark-Hunters (338 page)

“I’m sure that she’s looking down on you and smiling.”

Marguerite kissed his cheek. In a weird way, she felt that he was right, and in that moment she realized that this day really was perfect.

And she had one person to thank for it, and it was the one person she intended to spend the rest of her life thanking. She squeezed that person’s hand before she took a seat with his help, and he sat down by her side.

As they started their meal, Marguerite smiled at Wren. There might not be another perfect day in their future, but they had this one and as long as she had Wren beside her, she knew that no matter what the future held, they would always face it like this. Together.

*   *   *

Savitar forced a blank expression on his face as he neared the lone figure who was sitting on his beach, watching the surf roll in. Dressed in a tacky Hawaiian shirt and a pair of surfer shorts, the dark-haired man was leaning back on his arms with his attention off somewhere else entirely.

He knew that faraway look. It was one he wore a lot himself. And it was why the beach was the only thing that offered him any kind of comfort.

The ocean, like time, was endless and ever changing. Vast. Empty. Overwhelming.

Folding his arms over his chest, he neared the man on the beach. “I delivered your present to them.”

Nick Gautier looked up at him then. From Nick’s face, Savitar could tell it took a few seconds for those words to register.

“Thanks for the favor, Savitar.”

“No problem. They’re good kids.”

Nick nodded as a sad smile hovered at the edges of his lips. “I would never have thought Maggie had it in her to fight for her future. Wren either for that matter. It’s good to see your friends happy, isn’t it?”

Savitar snorted. “How would I know? I have no friends. People basically suck and all friends will screw you over in the end. Take my word for it.”

“Then why am I here?”

“Hell if I know.” But that wasn’t the truth. Nick was here because Acheron had asked it of him and Acheron was one of the very few beings Savitar would never deny.

“Tell me something, Sav. Will they—”

“They’ll live happily ever after. Don’t worry. Raise lots of little tigers and think of you from time to time. Hell, they’ll even name their firstborn after you … of course it’ll be a girl, but little Nikki won’t mind her name. She’ll think it’s cool.”

Nick nodded, but even so, Savitar could feel his pain. Nick hadn’t wanted to die, and his death had screwed him over in more ways than one.

But life and death went on. He knew that better than anyone.

“C’mon, kid,” he said, inclining his head toward the waves. “Surf’s up.”

Nick rolled his eyes at him. “Are you ever going to train me as a Dark-Hunter?”

“Yeah, but right now, I’ve got bigger things on my mind. A twenty-footer is heading to shore and I want a piece of it.”

Nick sighed as he pushed himself up. Savitar was already dressed in his wetsuit as he waded his way into the water. A surfboard appeared alongside him.

He was grateful Savitar had taken him in since right now he couldn’t face Acheron without wanting to kill the bastard for what had happened the night Nick died. But honestly, he was getting tired of sitting on his ass, waiting for his training to begin.

His old life was over. He knew that. There was no way to go back to what he’d known. No way back to New Orleans.

Now, like Wren and Maggie, it was time for a new chapter to begin in his life.

And he could feel it coming, just like the wave that was cresting …

Glossary

Abadonna:
Atlantean term of honor. Means “the heart of the destroyer.”

Act of Vengeance:
In exchange for their souls, Artemis allows all new Dark-Hunters to have twenty-four hours to exact revenge on those who wronged them in their human life. After the twenty-four-hour period, they belong to her and are trained by Acheron.

Adelfos:
Greek for “brother.”

Agrotera, Katra (Kat):
She is handmaiden to both Apollymi and Artemis and serves as a bodyguard to Cassandra Peters. She has a mysterious affinity for Acheron, and is known as the Abadonna. In
Seize the Night,
Artemis releases her from her service in order for Apollymi to help Acheron.
    Agrotera is also one of the Greek names for Artemis, meaning “strength” or “wild hunter.”

Akelos Daimons:
A branch of Daimons who have taken an oath to kill only the humans who deserve it—murderers and criminals.

Akra:
The Atlantean term for “lady and master.”

Akri:
The Atlantean term for “lord and master.”

Akribos:
Greek endearment meaning “dear” or “precious.”

Alastor:
A demon who sometimes works with the Were-Hunters to cause mischief. Conjured in
Night Play
by Vane’s mother, Bryani, to bring Bride back in time to Dark Age Britain.

Alexander, Grace:
A down-to-earth psychologist, Grace has the fortune (or misfortune) to count psychic Selena Laurens as a best friend. She is the wife of Julian Alexander and heroine of
Fantasy Lover.
And yes, both she and her husband are immortal.

Alexander, Julian:
An ancient Greek general who trained and fought alongside Kyrian of Thrace (and was originally his commanding officer). He is a demigod who was cursed by his half-brother Priapus to become a sex slave. Julian is now the husband of Grace Alexander and a professor of classics at Loyola and Tulane. He is an Oracle, and the hero of
Fantasy Lover.

Alexion:
Atlantean word meaning “defender.”

Ambrosia and Nectar:
Food and drink of the gods. Consuming them will make a mortal into an immortal demigod.

Anaimikos Daimon:
A Daimon who feeds only from another Daimon in order to drain him.

Apollites:
Apollites are a race created by the Greek god Apollo. More beautiful and stronger than mankind, they were blessed with psychic abilities. Apollo loved his people and wanted them to replace mankind. They were sent to Atlantis where they intermarried with the Atlantean natives. Until the day that the Apollite/Atlantean queen, in a rage of jealousy, sent her people to kill Apollo’s Greek human mistress and his son. In retaliation, Apollo cursed his people threefold:

1. Because they made it appear that an animal had killed his beloved, they would have to feed off each other’s blood in order to live. They were given fangs and the eyes of a predator.

2. They could never again walk in his daylight realm.

3. On their twenty-seventh birthday (the age his mistress was murdered), they would all disintegrate slowly and painfully over a twenty-four-hour period until they were dust. (See also
Daimons.
)

Today many of them blend seamlessly into the human world while others live in segregated communes.

Apollymi:
An Atlantean goddess known as “the Great Destroyer.” Protects and uses the Spathi Daimons and keeps an elite group of around thirty Illuminati as her guards, in addition to Charonte demons and ceredons. She is Archon’s wife and Apostolos’s mother. For centuries, she has been trapped in Kalosis where she can see the human world and other gods, but not affect them. However, she can still control the Charontes.

Apostolos:
The son of Apollymi. He is the Harbinger who will bring about the end of the world.

Arcadians:
See
Were-Hunters.

Archon:
Atlantean counterpart to Zeus. He is the son of Chaos, who first established order throughout the universe his father had created. Mate of Apollymi. Also called Kosmetas, which means “orderer.” He is the one who ordered the death of Apostolos and who trapped Apollymi in Kalosis.

Aristo/Aristi:
A rare breed of Arcadian with the ability to wield magic effortlessly. They are the most powerful of their kind. Aristi are considered gods in the Arcadian realm and are guarded zealously by patria who would gladly die for them.

Artemis:
The redheaded, passionate Greek goddess of the hunt, and creator of the Dark-Hunters. She has twin obsessions with Acheron Parthenopaeus and her own comfort.

Astrid:
Astrid is the daughter of Themis, and the sister of the Three Fates. She is a Justice Nymph, an immortal impartial judge who is sent down to earth to rule on possible rogue Dark-Hunters. Olympian justice states that once accused, the defendant must prove himself worthy of mercy. Since the gods only accuse with good cause, Astrid has only been called in to judge guilty Dark-Hunters, and she is beginning to give up hope that there are any innocents. She is the heroine of
Dance with the Devil
and married to Zarek of Moesia.

Atlantis:
An ancient island nation with an advanced culture and its own pantheon of gods. It sank into the Aegean Sea eleven thousand years ago.

Atropos:
Oldest of the Three Fates, responsible for cutting the threads of lives. Daughter of Themis and sister to Astrid. Also known as Atty.

Blood Rite Squires:
The Squires called out to hunt rogue Dark-Hunters or to execute humans/Squires who betray their world. They are all marked with a spiderweb tattoo on their hands.

Blue Blood Squires:
Squires who come from a family with many generations of Squires.

Bolt-holes:
Portals between Kalosis and the human world, often used by Spathi Daimons to escape Dark-Hunters. Also known as laminas.

Brady, William Jessup:
See
Sundown.

Callabrax:
Spartan or actually Dorean (the ancient precursers of the Spartans) Dark-Hunter. One of the first three Dark-Hunters created by Artemis, along with Kyros and Ias.

Callyx:
An Apollite who seeks vengeance against Zarek for his wife’s death in
Dance with the Devil.
The most recent incarnation of Thanatos.

Camulus:
A Gaulish god of war, forced into retirement. Wants to reclaim his godhood.

Carvaletti, Otto:
Half Italian mafia, half Blue Blood Squire, with a Ph.D. in film from Princeton. He has a black spiderweb tattoo over the back of his knuckles. Now assigned to Valerius in New Orleans, where he often pretends to be a stupid, loudly dressed lout to annoy his boss.

Ceredon:
A creature with the head of a dog, the body of a dragon, and the tail of a scorpion. Several of them protect Apollymi.

Charonte demon:
An ancient type of demon that the Atlantean gods managed to tame. Fearsome, powerful, all but unstoppable, they can bond to gods, Hunters, or humans as companions. Once bonded, they can rest in the form of a tattoo on their bonded’s body. Charontes are all appetite—they love to shop, kill, and eat everything. They are very easy to annoy and very dangerous when angry. Simi is Acheron’s bonded Charonte, and like a daughter to him.

Clotho:
One of the Three Fates who is in charge of spinning the threads of lives. Daughter of Themis and sister of Atropos, Lachesis, and Astrid. Also known as Cloie.

Corbin:
Born an ancient Greek queen, Corbin was married and widowed young. She fought to keep her husband’s throne as her own, and was a beloved queen. Her reign was uncontested until her brother-in-law made a pact with a barbarian tribe to sack the city and burn it to the ground. She died trying to save her servants and their children.

Cronus:
Greek god of time.

Cult of Pollux:
Apollites who take an oath to die exactly as Apollo cursed them to die—to neither commit suicide nor turn Daimon.

Daimons:
Daimons are Apollites who refuse to die at age twenty-seven. They have to steal human souls to artificially elongate their life span. However, once a human soul is taken it begins to die, leaving Daimons always looking for their next victims. So long as they have a living human soul within them, they can continue to live indefinitely. Any Apollite who takes a human soul into his or her body is classified a Daimon.