The Dark-Hunters (507 page)

Xypher looked at Kat, whose face was ashen.

“Don’t,”
his inner voice ordered. But as he considered it more fully, it made complete sense. He was going to die anyway. What difference would two weeks really make? Other than giving him more memories of Simone to torture himself with.

More time to love her.

More time for her to love him.

No, it would be easiest on both of them to end it all now. Rip the Band-Aid off and let the wound start to heal.

His heart breaking, he nodded. “It’s done, then.”

Kat gaped. “You can’t do this, Xypher.”

“Yes I can. It’s the only way I can guarantee Simone’s safety.”

Satara paused at the side of a Daimon to draw a short sword from his waist. Her walk was seductive as she neared him. She angled the sword at his heart. “We have a bargain?”

He nodded.

Satara stabbed him straight through the heart. “Sorry. I didn’t want you to change your mind about dying.”

Xypher staggered back, gasping as the pain swept through him.

He sank to the ground.

Kat knelt by his side. “Xypher?”

“Don’t tell Simone what I did. Let her go in peace … please. Tell her it was quick.”

Kat held him close, but hers wasn’t the face he wanted. He wanted to see Simone one last time. But in doing this, he was protecting her and that was all that mattered.

He glanced down to his arm where his vow of vengeance was written. The words dissolved while he struggled to breathe.

It was over now …

Kat watched as the light went out of Xypher’s eyes and he expelled his last breath.

Satara smiled.

Kat curled her lip at the smugness on Satara’s face. “You selfish bitch.”

“Oh, shut up, Kat. You have what you came for, now go.”

Kat stood to her full height, dwarfing Satara. “One day, someone’s going to give you exactly what you deserve. I can’t wait to see it.”

And with that, she returned to the club.

Refusing to look at Simone, Kat handed the antidote to Kerryna who smiled her thanks before she drank it.

“Where’s Xypher?”

That question from Simone tore through her.
I don’t want to do this …

But she had no choice. Turning around, she felt ill. Simone’s face looked so hopeful—it was obvious she was expecting Xypher to appear at any second.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she reached out and took Simone’s hand into hers. “He didn’t make it, sweetie. He went down in the battle.”

SEVENTEEN

Simone staggered back. No. It couldn’t be. “That’s not funny, Katra. I don’t like to play those games.”

“I wish I were playing, but I’m not.”

Simone saw the look of horror and pity mixed on the faces of those around her and it snapped her back to when she was a child.

“The poor thing saw it all. Her mother and her brother died right before her eyes. It’ll haunt her forever.”

It was the same expression they all had now—staring at her like she was a freak. And deep inside they were all grateful it was her and not them. They wouldn’t say it, they were too polite for that, but she knew the truth.

Jesse held his hand out. “Simone, are you okay?”

How could she be okay? Xypher was dead.

She felt that burning in her eyes that signaled they were changing to red. She wanted the blood of whoever had killed him. “Tell me what happened,” she demanded, her voice a demonic growl.

“I promised him that I wouldn’t. He wants you to live in peace and to go on with your life.”

Go on with her life … She was tired of picking up the pieces and going on.

“Did he get his vengeance against Satara?”

Katra looked away sheepishly and suddenly Simone had total clarity.

“So that’s it, then. He chose vengeance and death over coming back to me. At least he died happy. He got what he wanted.”

Kat had to bite her tongue to keep from telling her the truth. But now she understood why Xypher had asked her not to. If Simone knew he’d given up his life to save hers, it’d kill her.

Just like it would kill Katra to lose her husband. To have him sacrifice himself for her would only hurt more and she would never have peace from that guilt and anger.

Simone looked to where Xedrix stood beside Kerryna, holding her hand.

She would never touch Xypher again. Drawing a ragged breath, she turned toward Gloria and Jesse. “I want to go home.”

Acheron stepped forward. “I’ll take you.”

“Thank you.”

He held his hand out and she took it. The instant she did, they were all back in her house. No, not all of them. Xypher was missing.

“Is there anything I can do?” asked Ash.

She shook her head. “I should probably check on Kyle and see how he’s doing.”

“We already did. He’s fine. He’ll be recovering shortly and shouldn’t have any lasting damage other than a couple of scars.”

“That’s good. I suppose that describes all of us, huh? Thank you for bringing me home, Acheron.”

“You’re welcome. My number is in your phone. If you need me for anything, call.”

“I appreciate it.”

Then he was gone.

Jesse and Gloria stood off to one side, watching her with a worried expression.

“I’m all right, guys. Why don’t you go and play records or something?”

Jesse swallowed. “You’re scaring me, Simone.”

She was scaring herself. She hurt so bad inside that she couldn’t even cry. It was as if she’d been gutted and there was nothing left except an empty hole where her heart and soul had been.

Wanting to be alone, she pulled her coat off and dropped it on the floor on her way to her room.

The bed was still rumpled from their earlier play.

She shoved that thought aside. If she didn’t mean any more to him than that, he certainly didn’t mean it to her. Her anger simmering, she snatched at a pillow to make the bed.

And it was then the scent of Xypher hit her hard. She hugged the pillow to her chest and inhaled the warm masculine scent.

That was what shattered her numbness. Grief and anguish came boiling up until she wanted to scream out in pain.

Instead, she sank to her knees as racking tears assaulted her.

Xypher was gone.

“Damn you, you bastard. Damn you!”

But the problem was, she didn’t want him damned. The thought of him in Tartarus being tortured …

It was more than she could stand.

*   *   *

Xypher stood in the center of a cell he knew even better than the back of his hand. Over the centuries, he’d counted every grain of sand. Had saturated them all with his blood.

Now he was back.

The chains came out of the ceiling and laced themselves around his wrists. For once he didn’t fight as they lifted him from the ground. His arms burned from the weight of his body.

But that pain was nothing compared to the one aching in his chest.

Simone.

I’m protecting her.
He repeated those words over and over again and they alone gave him comfort. He would rather suffer eternal torment than have her hurt.

It was worth it.

The door of his cell opened.

Xypher braced himself as he saw the god of the Underworld. Tall and dark, Hades was dressed in black. He cocked his head to study him. “I didn’t think you’d last a month out there. Looks like I was right.”

“I’m in no mood to talk, Hades. Just start the torture.”

“Interesting. My prisoners so seldom beg me to hurt them. And to think, right now, you could be in Simone’s arms and not hanging here like so much meat.”

“Leave her out of this.”

“That, unfortunately, I can’t do.”

Fear gripped Xypher’s heart. “What do you mean?”

“You know, Xypher, I really hate you. Truly. I have to say torturing you has been one of my greatest pleasures. And now, just like always, you’re pissing me off.”

“I’m strung up here, waiting to be beaten. Tell me, how in the hell could that possibly piss
you
off?”

“Because I have to let you go, you bastard.”

Disbelief coursed through him. “What?”

“The bargain I made with Kat … remember? I allow you to be human for a month and if within that month’s time you find your humanity, you’re free. You selflessly sacrificed yourself for another. And it didn’t even take you a month. Damn you.”

Xypher still couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

The chains uncoiled so fast, he fell to the floor.

“Get out of here, Skotos. I can’t hold you any more.”

*   *   *

Simone was still rocking in the center of her floor when her phone rang. She looked at the number and saw it was Tate.

Drawing a ragged breath, she cleared her throat and answered.

“There’s another demon kill.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. You know the drill … we’re at the corner of Rampart and Esplanade.”

“I’ll be right there.” She hung up and dried her eyes before she went to Jesse’s room. She found him and Gloria necking on his bed.

They broke apart as soon as they saw her.

“Um, we were just—”

“It’s okay, Jesse. I’m meeting Tate and didn’t want you to get worried. I’ll be back shortly.”

“Are you sure about this? Don’t you need some time?”

“Life goes on, right?” It was the one lesson she’d learned. “It’s not like I have a funeral to plan or anything. Besides, I can do with the distraction.” She shut the door and headed for her car.

You could use your demon powers.

Yeah, she could, but right now she didn’t want to think about that part of herself. She wanted her life back the way it’d been before Xypher had changed it. Most of all, she wanted to be free of the pain lacerating her heart.

It didn’t take her long to reach the crime scene. The police lights were glaring in the darkness.

She got out and headed for Tate, who was standing alone, staring at the covered body. “Don’t you ever take a day off?”

“Not when the kill is this freaky.” He looked past her shoulder. “Where’s—”

“He’s gone. Let’s leave it at that, okay?”

By his expression she could tell he was taken aback by the news, but he didn’t press it. “Jane Doe. Same exact wounds as Gloria and our guy in the Market who had gas that spontaneously combusted him into flames. Want a closer look?”

“Like a screwdriver through my eye socket. Sure, let’s have a look-see.”

“Ooo, welcome back, Ms. Snark. I’ve missed you.”

Simone didn’t comment as he uncovered the body and she took a look at the poor woman. Tate was right, and as she bent down, an unmistakable trace odor hit her.

Kaiaphas.

The woman’s body reeked of the demon.

She closed her eyes as they began to turn and forced herself to calm down. So Xypher’s brother had been the killer they were looking for all this time.

Surely Xypher had smelled him, too. Why hadn’t he told her?

She rose slowly to her feet. “You’re going to need the body to spontaneously combust again, Tate.”

“Yeah … I need something better than that.”

Simone looked up above them. There was a house with an eave that was loose.

That should do the trick.

She moved Tate back with her arm an instant before she used her powers to dislodge it further.

It came crashing down on the body, decapitating it.

“Problem solved.”

Tate gaped at her. He held his hand up. “I don’t want to know what you just did. My report is complicated enough.”

Simone started to respond, but the sensation of being watched returned to her. It crawled over her skin with a malicious intent.

This time, because of her powers, she could pinpoint it. “You’ll be fine, Tate.”

She stepped back as the photographer came running to take more pictures. While Tate dealt with him and the police officers, she slipped away into the darkness toward the source of her discomfort.

“Kaiaphas,” she called. “I know you’re there.”

He appeared directly behind her, sniffing her hair. “You smell like cattle and demon. Have you any idea how provocative that is?”

“Great. I have demon pheromone. Just what I’ve always wanted.”

Kaiaphas laughed. “Xypher didn’t tell you anything about your family, did he?”

“No.”

“Your father, Palackas, was one of the most brutal killers we’ve ever known. Before he was enslaved, he was known to ravage entire villages, killing women and children and anyone who got in his way.”

“You’re lying!”

“No I’m not. Why do you think his master was so determined to have him back? He was too dangerous to ever be unleashed.”

He was lying and she knew it. “My father wasn’t like that. He was a good man.”

Kaiaphas grabbed her by the head and whispered something she couldn’t understand.

In her mind, she saw her father as a young man. No, not a man. He was a demon. His eyes were red as fire, his teeth jagged and sharp, as he stormed through an ancient village killing everyone he saw.

How could this be?

“I knew Palackas had spawned. I just wasn’t sure it was you. You smelled like your mother … but there was no scent of Palackas on you.”

“How do you know what my mother smelled like?”

“I was there, Simone. Don’t you remember?”

She gasped as she went back to that night. She was again in the backseat, looking out the window.

There were two men …

No, there was a third. He’d leaned down and snatched her mother’s necklace from around her neck. Then he’d turned as if sensing her. Frozen, she couldn’t move. All she could do was pray that the headrest on the seat blocked her from his view.

Then the police sirens had pierced the air.

The men in the store had scattered.

No, they had vanished where they stood …

Unadulterated rage tore through her. “You bastard!”

He laughed. “Make it look like a human death, my master had said. If Palackas wants to live like one, he can die like one. And so he did. I killed his family knowing he wouldn’t live without them. A mighty demon taken down by a single gunshot through his head … but you know that, don’t you? You found his body.”

Shrieking in outrage, Simone turned on him and blasted him with one of the energy bursts Xypher had shown her.