The Dark-Hunters (596 page)

In unison, every ex-Dark-Hunter and Nick said, “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”

“And sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right,” Wulf said. When the other guys looked confused by his solo outburst, he added, “I guess I’m the only one he ever said that one to.”

Fury made a strange wolf-like noise. “I still don’t see why we were fighting when you could have just kicked their asses without us.”

“Because I believe in giving everyone a fighting chance … until they piss me off.” Ash cast Vane a quick stoic glance. “Bringing in reinforcements was Stryker’s mistake.”

“And be glad it wasn’t yours,” Fury said with a nervous laugh to Vane. “I know I’m thrilled it wasn’t mine.” The wolf looked around at the Daimon and demon remains, or rather what little of it there was. “Acheron. When it absolutely, positively must be destroyed overnight.”

Ash knelt by Styxx’s side to inspect the damage done. He wasn’t overly worried since Styxx couldn’t die unless he did. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell. The dagger Stryker had held would have killed Acheron had Styxx not stopped the attack.

His brother, who had wanted to die as much as he had, had saved his life.

He could barely even fathom that.

Styxx met his gaze levelly, even though he was shaking from the pain of his wound. “You know, brother, you’re never supposed to close your eyes in battle.”

Ash laughed at his ill-placed humor. “I wasn’t the one training to be a general.”

Styxx glanced around at the men surrounding them. “Perhaps. But you do a much better job of leading than I ever did. I definitely think Father trained the wrong one of us.”

That was the kindest thing Styxx had ever said to him. Ash didn’t speak as he placed his hand over Styxx’s wound.

Styxx’s gaze didn’t leave his. But when Ash sealed the wound closed, Styxx let out an expletive about Ash’s “kind” touch that would have made Stryker proud.

“Am I dead yet?” Styxx asked sarcastically.

“Not yet. You still have a few years left to seriously piss me off.”

Styxx smiled. “I look forward to it.”

For once, so did Ash. “You did a good job for me. Thank you.”

“Yeah, well, next time you need someone to descend into a Daimon sanctuary, pick one of your other assholes to do it. I don’t have the powers of a god when they come at me and it puts me at a definite disadvantage.”

Still, he’d thrown himself in front of Ash to protect him … It went a long way in allowing him to put the past to rest and to accept his brother. Grinning, Ash helped Styxx to his feet.

Talon scratched his head as he watched them. “Hey, T-Rex? Remind me next time I want to get smartass with you that it’s a really stupid move on my part.”

Wulf gaped. “Oh, no, you don’t, you wuss. You told me the next time you saw Ash you were going to ask him if he’d seen the movie
10,000 BC
and if it’d made him homesick.”

Talon made a cut-off gesture at Wulf. “Do you mind not getting me fried tonight? I’d like to use some of my body parts later if you know what I mean and since you’re married with a brood of kids I know that you do.”

Ash looked at Tory and any semblance of agitation he might have felt evaporated. She was safe and that was all that mattered to him.

He looked around at the group who’d come to help him and marveled at it. “Thank you, guys.”

Kyrian offered him his hand. “Anytime you need us, Acheron, we’re here for you.”

And one by one, they shook his hand and made a like declaration.

Until he got to Talon. “One day, you’ve got to tell me how you did that stick thing. That could come in handy not only with Daimons, but stray alligators and annoying neighbors.”

Ash laughed. “One day I might.”

At least until Nick walked past him and shoved his shoulder into Ash’s. It was such a juvenile thing to do. Ash glared at him as he stalked away, into the darkness. “For the record, Nick, I loved Cherise too.”

Nick flipped him off and kept walking.

Zarek was the last man to leave. He sauntered over and cocked his head. His gaze went to Tory before he returned it to Ash and spoke to him in Greek. “You know, it’s amazing to me the wounds we can carry for eternity. But what has fascinated me most these last few years is how the right person can heal them. I remember a wise man once said to me that everyone deserves to be loved. Even you.”

Ash snorted at the advice he’d given to Zarek after the man had almost let his wife go. “And as I recall, you told me to shut up.”

Zarek shrugged, taking it in stride. “I’m an asshole. I admit it. I’ve been going to weekly Assholes Anonymous meetings, but it takes a long time to undo a few thousand years of habit. And to think you have even more years to undo than me.”

“So how’s Bob doing?” Ash asked, changing the subject to Zarek’s young son. “Has Astrid won the battle yet?”

“On calling him Menoeceus? Hell no. I still say it’s too close to Menopause for my taste and there’s not even a good nickname for it. Can you imagine being stuck with that name at school? Call me ridiculous, but I’d like the kid to grow up without a stigma.”

Ash laughed at a tirade Zarek had delivered on more than one occasion. Yet his wife Astrid completely ignored it and continued to call the poor child Menoeceus while his father called him Bob.

Zarek shook his head. “But I tell you this, there’s nothing better than looking at a kid and seeing you mixed in with the one person you know you can trust to never screw you over. And I owe you for that, Acheron. Every time I look at them, I never forget what I owe you.” He stepped away and switched to English, not knowing that Tory understood Greek as well as he did. “You two take care. And for the sake of the gods, stay out of trouble. At least until it warms up. You know how much I hate being in cold places.” He vanished instantly.

Ash sent his staff back to Katoteros as Tory walked over to him. He repaired her shirt.

She tried to peer over his back. “How are you feeling?”

“Right now I could fly.” He held his hand out for her.

The instant she took it, he teleported them back to his small flat on Pirate’s Alley.

She looked around with an arched brow. “Wow, you weren’t kidding. This place is itty-bitty.”

He shrugged his backpack off his shoulder. “I don’t need much.”

“You know, me, either. But there is one thing I need.”

“And that is?”

The heated, sincere look in her eyes scorched him. “You.”

He savored that word and the surge of love that went through his heart. But in the end, he knew the truth. “I can’t stay with you, Tory. There can never be an us.”

“Why not?”

Was she insane? Had she wiped the whole event they’d just lived through out of her mind? “You saw what I deal with on a daily basis. My enemies aren’t human and I have a lot more than just Stryker to deal with, and while Nick might have set you free tonight, he might not tomorrow. Not to mention the large redheaded problem. I can’t put you in that kind of danger. Ever.”

“And if I disagree?”

“I won’t let you. I’m a god, Tory. If I have to, I’ll erase myself from your memories.”

“You ever monkey with my brain and I swear, Acheron, you will be hurt.”

And now that he thought about it, she was probably just like Nick—too flippin’ stubborn for his powers to work on her. “Be reasonable, Tory. My life is very complicated and it’s dangerous.”

Tory wanted to cry over his obstinacy. “Everyone deserves love, Acheron,” she said, repeating Zarek’s words. “Look me in the eye and tell me you really want me to leave. Tell me you never want to see me again.”

Ash swallowed as his emotions roiled through him. He didn’t want her to go. He wanted to hold her and keep her by his side for the rest of his unnatural life.

But so long as she was human, she made him vulnerable. And as long as he had enemies determined to hurt him, he couldn’t allow her near him. “I want you to leave, Tory.”

“Yeah, well, people in hell want ice water. Now take your clothes off and let me see to your back. It has to be killing you right now.”

“So you’re going to completely disregard me?”

“Not completely. I hear what you’re saying and I respect the fact that I was outgunned and outfought tonight—that those demon things came in and snatched me up from where I was sitting. I’m not a stupid woman, but that being said, I don’t give up when I set my sights on something either. I love you, Acheron, and I intend to stand by your side even when you’re trying to push me away.”

Ash closed his eyes as he savored every word out of her mouth. “I don’t know how to love someone, Tory. I don’t.”

“The crowd of people I saw who were willing to lay down their lives for you says you’re full of more manure than a cow pasture, buddy.”

“Artemis isn’t going to let us live in peace. You do understand that?”

“I understand that I told you to take your clothes off and you’re just standing here arguing with me. Give in to me, Ash. Trust me, it’s easier that way.”

Holding his hands up in surrender, he used his powers to remove his shirt.

Tory sucked her breath in as she saw the reopened wounds that lacerated his back. “How can you stand it?”

The blank look he gave her tore through her. “I’m used to it.”

“Get in bed. That back needs to be tended and you need to rest.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ash headed the short distance to his bedroom while Tory went to the kitchen. He paused in the doorway to watch her. Oblivious to him, she pulled a bowl out and ran water in it.

A wave of desire hit him so hard that it literally took his breath away. If he didn’t hurt so badly, he wouldn’t be going to bed alone. But the pain in his back was infinitely more demanding than the one in his groin.

Yet neither of them could compare to the one in his heart, which told him that this couldn’t last. In spite of her stubbornness, she was going to have to go before Artemis killed her.

And Artemis was right. He was about to have to go crawling back to her to beg for food. Between the fighting and the wounds on his back, he was starving and if he didn’t feed very soon, he would start killing.

Wincing, he wondered what Tory would think if she ever saw that side of him. The sad thing was, he never wanted her to deal with him like that. Never wanted her to see the demon beast that lived inside him.

No, Artemis had created that monster. It was only fair that she should be the one who fed it.

He sighed and went to bed to wait on Tory, knowing that come morning, he’d have to let her go.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Tory paused as she entered the room where Ash was sleeping. His breathing was so strange. Not like a human, it reminded her more of a dog panting. Worried about him, she put her bowl and cloth down on the nightstand and sat down by his side.

She placed a hand on his feverish cheek. The moment she made contact, his entire body turned a vivid blue. Gasping, she watched as his skin marbled and swirled with varying shades of blue color. His nails turned black and two small horns emerged from the top of his head.

Shooting off the bed, she scowled as Artemis’s bow and arrow mark appeared over the wounds on his back.

Ash growled even in sleep. And when he opened his eyes to look at her, it was all she could do not to run. No longer silver, they were glowing red and shot through with yellow streaks. He opened his mouth and hissed, showing her a set of serrated fangs.

“Baby?” she whispered, searching for some sign of the man she loved in the creature who terrified her.

He blinked as if seeing her for the first time and crouched on the bed.

Tory approached him slowly. Holding her hand out, she gently laid her palm against his blue cheek. He closed his eyes and nuzzled her hand while he took a sniff of her wrist. That seemed to calm him. He said something to her in a language she couldn’t even begin to translate. “I don’t understand,” she said in Atlantean.

“Akee-kara, akra.”

She brushed his black hair back from his face. “Do you need something, sweetie?”

Ash was trying to focus, but it was impossible. Everything was so hazy. He wasn’t even sure if he was awake or dreaming. The pain in his back seemed to be gone now. And he was around fresh blood—he could smell it and hear the heart beating.

That sound made his mouth water.

Licking his lips, he inhaled the scent of feminine flesh that covered the veins he wanted to puncture …

Eat.

He wasn’t supposed to. Even in this state, he remembered the rule that he’d taught himself. He wasn’t allowed to taste humans. It was wrong. But right now while he was starving, he couldn’t remember why.

All he could think of was sating his demanding ache.

He pulled the human closer so that he could inhale the scent of her neck. Licking the tender flesh there, he grazed her skin with his fangs, wanting to sink them in deep. He felt the chills sweep over her as she sighed in pleasure.

She spoke to him, but he couldn’t understand her words. At least not until her lips touched his. The sweetness of her mouth touched the man inside him and it sent the beast back into submission.

Tory shivered as Ash returned to normal. His skin was once again tawny, his eyes that calm beautiful silver. Even so, there was a ferocity to him that reminded her of a barely leashed tiger.

And when he led her hand to touch him, she hesitated. “You’re hurt, Ash. You should rest.”

He shook his head as if trying to clear it. Her clothes vanished. And this time when he took possession of her mouth, she couldn’t remember her argument. He laced his fingers with hers and pressed her hand against his hardened cock. She felt his shiver in her own body as he rubbed himself against her palm.

He left her hand there so that he could touch her. One moment, she was standing beside the bed and in the next, she was pinned beneath him. She sighed at the wonderful sensation of his naked body lying against hers.

Careful not to touch his back, she cupped his face as he deepened his kiss.

Ash still wasn’t sure if this was a dream or not. All he knew was that the scent of Soteria filled his head and he had to be inside her. His heart hammering, he spread her legs and slid himself deep. The moment he did, he gasped at the pleasure he felt. But it didn’t last long before the beast inside him was back, wanting to feed as her blood rushed through her veins. It was all he could hear. All he could focus on.