The Dark-Hunters (629 page)

Bet you wish you’d never turned on Zeus now, huh?

He didn’t know the name of the Dolophonos who’d killed him that time, but if he ever found that bastard, he’d bathe in his blood.

He gripped the hilt of his sword, dying to use it on anyone who dared to cross him. Again, he was surprised by the warmth of it. It really was as if it were alive, and he knew this was a sword meant for killing.

Why would Azura have given him so valuable a gift? Such creatures as she and Noir weren’t stupid. They wanted something more from him than just a warrior. He could feel it deep inside his soul.

But what exactly were they after? And why was
he
so important to them?

Wanting to find out, he pushed open the door to find Azura alone in the room.

She turned toward him with an arched brow. “Is something wrong?”

“Where is Noir?”

She tsked at him. “We don’t answer to you, love. You fight for us and that is all you do. Don’t ever forget your place.”

Those were not the right words to make him happy. It was all he could do not to tell her to go screw herself.

Her features softened as she jerked her chin toward the door behind him. “Now why aren’t you entertaining yourself with your new pet?”

Her tone and attitude didn’t sit well with him. But he wasn’t about to let her know that … yet. He had a few things he wanted to investigate first. “I want to see the Oneroi who were brought in.”

She scowled in displeasure. “Why?”

Her incessant questions were beginning to piss him off. “I have a score to settle with most of them.”

“Have no fear. They are being made adequately miserable for you. I assure you, you would be impressed with their current conditions.”

His suspicions snapped to the forefront at her continued denial. “Are telling me I’m a prisoner, too?”

“I didn’t say that. But you have to remember that we are as unsure of your loyalty to us as you are of ours to you. You, Noir and I have only a shaky alliance at present. One that is untested.”

“Yet you gave me a rare sword?”

“A token of trust and a hope for our future together.”

Something wasn’t right in this scenario. Every instinct he had was on guard. There was something more to this sword. Something she wasn’t telling him. “Why?”

“I told you. We want you on our side. So long as you’re with us, all you desire will be given to you.”

And if he displeased them, they would make him pay. It was an unstated threat that hung heavy around him. One he didn’t take kindly to. He’d been down that road and crashed hard.

But if she wanted to give him his every wish … “I desire to see the Oneroi.”

She laughed. “Insistent child. In time we will be open with you and you can do as you please. But not yet. Now return to your pet. Or if you’d rather, I can return you to your garage and remove your powers again.”

Tempted to tell her to shove it all up her sphincter, he withdrew from her even though he wanted to attack her for her patronizing tone.

That would be suicide.

Rest now, gain bearings. Attack only when you’re in a position of strength.
He knew the warrior’s code by heart.

Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread inside him. Something was seriously wrong here. He just didn’t know what.

Unsettled and unhappy, he returned to his room to find Delphine dressed in the jeans and pink top he’d left for her. She also wore his cloak wrapped around her like an armored shield. Little did she know, it was. Nothing would be able to penetrate it.

She sat nervously on the bed, watching the door as if expecting someone to come in and attack her. Which, given this place, wasn’t that unlikely a fear.

He stopped halfway to the bed, unsure of what to say to her. Idle chatter hadn’t been something he’d participated in even before he’d left Olympus.

Hell, he’d barely spoken to anyone in centuries.

And especially not to an attractive woman. His cock hardened from need just looking at her. One of Zeus’s cruelest punishments had been to make him burn for a woman whenever he saw one, and then the minute he was alone with her, his body went soft. The frustration of wanting sex and never being able to have it had driven him insane. He couldn’t even take care of it himself.

That alone was enough to make him want to crush the Olympian god’s throat.

So he’d learned to not even think about it. To keep as far away from a woman and her scent as he could lest he make himself ache any worse than he already did. But honestly, he’d missed being touched and held. Missed the softness of a woman naked in his arms.

Yet there she sat, so pretty. So tempting.

One touch …

But he couldn’t. For all he knew, his body would still go soft on him. And that made him even angrier.

“Are you hungry?” he growled at her.

She frowned. Her expression was one of worry and fear.

Was that the wrong thing to ask her? Instead of soothing her it put her more on guard. Or maybe it was his tone. How
should
he reassure her?

Someone really ought to write a manual. Then again, gods trying to communicate with hostages was probably something so rare no one would think to create it.

“I want this collar off me,” she said, her tone stern.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not? Are you afraid of me having my powers?”

He snorted. “Yeah, right. Calling me a coward won’t accomplish anything. Believe me, you’re an amateur in that field and I’ve been called a lot worse.”

Delphine didn’t miss the note of pain in his voice that he tried to hide. Given what she’d seen of his life, she was sure he’d been insulted and then some. But it didn’t change the fact that she was his prisoner and she hated it.

Most of all, she couldn’t understand why he was here. “Why did you join
them?
”

Jericho paused at her question as he considered how to best answer. If she would even understand his reasoning or motivation. In the end, he knew the truth. She’d have had to experience the hell he’d been through to comprehend it.

He raised his hands and created an arc of bright power that pulsed between his palms. For the first time in centuries, he could make and throw a god bolt to fry any and everything. That invigorating sensation … knowing he would never be stepped on again …

For that alone he’d sell his soul, his life and anything else they wanted. How could he have said no to what Azura offered? But he had no intention of sharing that with Delphine. “None of your business.” He dropped his hands down and rested one on the hilt of his sword.

She gave him a frustrated glower. “Noir will destroy the world.”

“So what? Who says it’s worth saving?”

Delphine wanted to shake him for his obstinacy. She’d never met anyone so dense and so unforgiving. What had they done to him to make him like this? “You would kill or enslave everyone? There is so much beauty in the world that they’d destroy. How do you not see it?”

He scoffed at her as if she were a child. “Spoken like someone who has only lived in the cushioned world of dreams. You have no idea what the real world is like. What people will do to you when they know they can get away with it. People are absolutely cruel and I say more power to Noir for tearing it down.”

“They can be cruel at times,” she admitted. “But I’ve seen the best in people. Their hopes and dreams.” That was why she fought so hard for mankind.

“And I’ve lived through their worst.” The pain in his eye scorched her.

It also explained a lot about him and his reasoning. But that didn’t make it right. “So anything you do is justified, is that it? They were mean to you so it’s okay for you to be mean back?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Sounds justifiable to me.”

She let out a long breath. What would it take to get through to him? To make him understand and most of all
care
about what he was doing? “Were you always this bitter?”

Jericho paused at her unexpected question. No one had ever asked him that before. No one. And it forced him to take a hard look inward.

He’d never really liked himself. Not when he served Zeus and definitely not after his banishment. From the moment of his birth, he’d been a god with a destiny that had been forced on him.

Balance your siblings. Serve your master. Do as you’re told. No questions. No life …

And so he’d existed until that one moment when he couldn’t blindly obey anymore.

All things ended. Birth, destruction, death and rebirth. It was the law of the universe. The code of the Source. Who was he to fight against it?

But the truth was still harsh. “Yes,” he said, his tone cold. “I’ve always been this bitter.”

She let out a tired breath. “Then I’m very sorry for you.”

“Don’t be. I don’t need pity from someone who knows so little about living.”

Delphine shook her head. “That’s not true. Every time I’ve stepped into a dream, I’ve seen life. I’ve seen love and joy in its purest forms. They’re beautiful to behold even if they are muted by the dream state.”

He made a rude noise of disagreement. “You live like a by-product.”

That set her ire off to a level of rage she’d never experienced before. “And you don’t? I saw you, too, you know. You didn’t interact with anyone. Not even to say good-bye to them when you left. What kind of living is that?”

His nostrils flaring with anger, he sucked his breath in sharply as he advanced on her with a fury so potent, she tried to flee only to have him trap her in a corner. She had to crane her neck to look up at him. He was so incredibly large. So fierce. And that one eye glowed with absolute hatred.

Jericho wanted to tell her exactly why he couldn’t interact with people. He wanted to lash out and make her pay for what Zeus had done to him. But as he stood there and the scent of her hit him, it paralyzed his entire body.

Worst of all, it evaporated his fury and it made his cock so hard, he was sure he could use it as a hammer. She became the focus of his reasoning, not his hatred.

She and that soft skin and delicate body that he wanted to taste so desperately …

His gaze focused on her lips, which were parted by her rapid breathing. Were they as soft as they appeared? Would they give him the pleasure he hadn’t known since he’d been damned and cursed?

He hadn’t kissed a woman in centuries.… Could he even remember how?

Kill the bitch and get on with your revenge. Deliver her to Zeus in pieces. Let him know what it feels like to suffer. Take from him what he took from you.

But he couldn’t. Even with her words and his rage, it wasn’t enough to make him hurt her. And damned if he knew why.

Her hazel eyes still had that fire and joy … even though she was afraid. He couldn’t take that from her.

No, he didn’t
want
to take that from her.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he picked up a fat curl from her shoulder. Her hair was so unbelievably soft. It wrapped around his finger, teasing his flesh. Lifting it to his face, he closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet scent of it and imagined what it would be like to make love to her until they were both sated.

His cock jerked with need as he imagined her naked in his arms.

Delphine couldn’t breathe as she watched him. Part of her expected him to attack her still. But he didn’t.

Instead he rubbed her hair against his lips. Lips that were so close to hers …

Never had she been kissed. Until this moment she’d never even thought about it. Since she didn’t really feel lust, it hadn’t been a problem. Now for the first time, she felt her body flush with heat. Felt her heart quicken along with a deep heaviness she’d never experienced before.

She wanted him to touch her.…

He dipped his head as if he’d kiss her. But just as their lips would have touched, he buried his face in her hair and inhaled.

Not sure what to do, she cupped his head in her hand and wrapped her other arm around him. She was unprepared for just how good it would feel to hold him like this. He smelled of leather and sharp spices, of all man. His thick white hair was feather soft as it brushed against her face and made her shiver. She could feel his muscles rippling under her hand, the softness of his blond hair in her palm.…

Jericho buried his face in the crook of her neck as he imagined all the things he wanted to do to her. As he tried to imagine how good she would taste. He wanted desperately to breathe her in.

The sensation of her hands on his body right now …

It was heaven.

And it was hell.

He didn’t want to feel like this. He didn’t want to be weak ever again and definitely not for another person. To have someone control him. The last time he’d allowed himself to feel for someone, he’d lost everything.

Even his dignity.

Angry at the thought, he growled low in his throat and tore himself out of her grasp. He didn’t need softness or comfort. He didn’t need to be touched. Zeus had taught him that. He could survive well enough on his own with no one around him.

He was stronger that way.

“Stay away from me,” he snarled at her.

She looked baffled by his words. “You came at me.”

“Don’t press me, woman!”

She narrowed her eyes. “You know, this whole emotion thing is new to me, too. I don’t know how to cope with all these conflicting things, and you yelling at me isn’t exactly helping … Man!”

“Don’t raise your voice to me!”

“Ditto, buddy. Ditto.” She hadn’t realized she’d drawn near him again until she was looking up at him, toe to toe.

The rage inside him actually hurt her, but there was nothing she could do for him. Nothing at all, and the frustration of that made her want to withdraw to someplace where she could feel safe again. “I just want to go home.”

Jericho did a mental flinch at those softly spoken words. It was a cry that he’d echoed so many times the first century he’d been banished that it was still a raw aching need in his heart. How many times had he closed his eyes and remembered the sound of Nike’s laughter? The beauty of being respected?

All he’d wanted was to change what he’d done and to beg forgiveness from them so that he could go home, too.