The Dark-Hunters (650 page)

Asmodeus closed the distance between them. “Jaden said he’d take care of the gallu for us.” He handed the necklace over to Jericho. “And he told me to give you this so that you could buy Jared’s freedom.”

Jericho gaped in disbelief as he held the expensive antique. “Are you serious?”

Asmodeus nodded.

And before Jericho could speak again, he heard Nike scream out in pain. She fell to her knees on the floor, where she rocked back and forth as if she were on fire. The other Skoti reacted the same way.

By the time Jericho reached the cage, Nike looked up at him, her eyes normal again. She was bewildered and scared. “Cratus?”

Jericho nodded as joy coursed though him. It’d worked. He couldn’t believe it. Opening the door, he pulled his sister into his arms and held her close. “Are you all right?”

“I’m confused. I was in a hole and Zelos came to me with a demon. He was so angry. He told me to join them, but I refused. I don’t trust Noir or Azura, and I will not forsake my people.” She shook her head. “Zelos called me a fool and then he made the demon bite me.” She wept against his shoulder.

Jericho soothed her. “Don’t worry, Nike. Zelos is gone.”

“Gone where?”

“Deimos killed him.”

She gasped, then winced. “I wish I could be as sad for him as I was for Bia when she died. But there wasn’t much about Zelos worth mourning. I only hope that by dying, he’s finally found some peace.”

Her features stricken, Nike turned and saw Delphine standing off to the side. Her gaze narrowed thoughtfully as she looked back and forth between them. “I was right about my brother, wasn’t I?”

Delphine smiled. “Absolutely, and I can’t thank you enough.”

Nike cut a devious look to Jericho. “I have a feeling that’s mutual.”

“It is. But that’s all I’m saying on the matter.” Jericho stepped back from them. “Now, if you ladies don’t mind, I have something I need to take care of.”

*   *   *

Jericho hesitated in the glassy dark hallway he’d visited earlier with Tory. Maybe he shouldn’t be doing this.

Jared had been emphatic that Zephyra should never have the amulet. But after all Jaden and Jared had done for them, it seemed wrong to leave Jared enslaved. Having served that sentence in hell, he had a hard time delivering it up to anyone else. Especially when he didn’t deserve it.

“What are you doing here?”

He paused at Medea’s dangerous tone. “Do you always haunt the hallway?”

“No, but I can sense whenever a stranger is here and I don’t like uninvited people in my domain.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “You can stand down. I’m not staying long. I’m only here to see your mother.”

“Mum?” she called, not bothering to take him to the study this time.

Zephyra came in hot and flustered. “I thought I told you not to—” Her voice broke off as she saw Jericho. “What are
you
doing here?”

Damn, could she have added any more loathing to that single word? A lesser man would have had to scrape himself up off the floor.

“I’ve come to get Jared.”

She snorted derisively. “Hell, no. He’s back where he…” Her voice faded off as he pulled the amulet from his pocket and let it dangle from his fingers so that she could see it.

Her eyes eager and hungry, she reached for it.

Jericho pulled it back. “Not until you release Jared to me.”

She hissed. “Fine.”

“And,” he said quickly before she could act, “I want one promise from you.”

She looked at him as if he were the most repugnant creature ever made. “Are you insane? You’re lucky you’re still alive.”

“Believe me, I know,” he said with a bitter laugh. “But I’m not going to provide you with the means to hurt someone who’s helped me. I will give you this on the condition that it’s never used against Acheron or his mother. Ever.”

She rolled her eyes. “As if I’d be that stupid. With my luck it wouldn’t work on them anyway and they’d kill me for the insult. Now give us the medallion.”

He pulled it back again. “Jared first.”

“Jared!” she snapped.

He appeared instantly by her side, his features drawn and tight. As soon as he saw Jericho, he narrowed his gaze suspiciously. “What have you done, Jericho?”

“A favor for a favor.”

Zephyra shoved him at Jericho. “I voluntarily release you from my service into his. Now go.”

Jared shook his head and panicked as he saw the medallion. “You can’t do this!”

Jericho hesitated. The last thing he wanted to do was make a mistake in this. But surely Jaden wouldn’t have sent this to him if it would kill them all. “Why?”

“Because I’d rather Jaden use it to barter his freedom. Please.” His voice was filled with agony.

“It’s too late.” Zephyra snatched it from Jericho’s hand. “Now get out before I feed you both to my Daimons.”

Jared winced as she and Medea vanished. A muscle worked in his jaw as if he wanted to curse.

Jericho felt bad for him. It had to be awful for Jared to find no joy in being free. “I’m sorry.”

“So am I,” he said wistfully.

“At least you’re free now.”

Jared flicked at the thin containment collar around his neck. “Hardly.”

“I can remove it.”

He gave Jericho a flat, dead stare. “And I’ll die when you do. Only the Source can free me from my punishment.”

“I don’t need a slave, Jared. You’ll have all the freedom you want.”

Jared nodded glumly.

Strange, Jericho would have thought he’d be happier than this. But then his freedom had been bought at the expense of Jaden’s. Since he didn’t know what they were to each other, he had no way of knowing how harsh that was.

Jared let out a deep breath. “Do I have to reside on the Isle with the others?”

“No. You can live wherever you want.”

Jared appeared relieved by that. “If you need me, call. I’m now yours to command in any way you see fit.” There was no missing the underlying venom in his tone. It was obvious others had used him well and left him bitter over it. “Now if I may take my leave … Master?”

“I’m not your master, Jared. Your life is yours to do with as
you
see fit. I have no need of a slave. But I’ll always welcome a friend and an ally.” He held his hand out to him.

Jared hesitated as if afraid to take it. He frowned at Jericho before he finally shook his hand. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now you better go before Zephyra makes good on her threat.”

Jericho waited until Jared was safely on his way before he returned to Delphine.

*   *   *

Noir slammed into the war room, with fury streaming through his blood. “We’ve been routed.”

Azura looked up, aghast. “By whom?”

“Who do you think?”

“Jaden,” she sneered. “I’ll have him skinned for this!”

Noir had had the same thought himself. “There’s nothing more to be done about it. The Skoti we’d taken have defected back to the Oneroi. Zelos is dead, killed by Madoc. Nike has been freed and Cratus restored.”

Azura cursed. With Cratus back at full strength, he could break Jaden free from them … or worse, find Cam and Rezar. That would be disastrous for them. “We have got to find Braith.” Everything in the universe was balance.

Their sister Braith was theirs. She was a necessary counterbalance, and no matter what, they needed her.

Noir growled low in his throat, “And the Malachai. We have to make sure we either kill him or convert him.” Because he alone held the power to overthrow all of the Source gods and wipe them out. If he ever absorbed their powers, not even Jared could stop him.

He would be able to destroy all creation and set the universe back to nil.

Those powers needed to be Noir’s. With them, there was no pantheon or power who could stand against him.

Azura narrowed her gaze. “At least we have the gallu. They might be more effective than the Skoti for now anyway.”

He nodded. “But this will take much more careful planning on our part. The Greeks are more resourceful than I’d given them credit for.”

“No. Cratus was more resourceful. But that’s all right. This is only one battle. The war will be ours.”

Noir inclined his head to her. “Yes, it will. As for Jaden…”

Azura laughed. “He’s going to be a very sorry intermediary.”

“Yes, he will be, and I’m going to have fun with our new friends.”

She arched a brow at that. “What new friends?”

“The Greeks. It’s time to let them know we will have no mercy on them. Besides, we have an ally they don’t even know about … yet.”

Azura laughed. “True. And it’s one they’ll
never
suspect.”

*   *   *

Delphine sat in a small room with Madoc, Zarek and Zeth. By their dour expressions, Jericho knew something had happened while he was gone.

“What?”

Zeth shoved a brittle piece of parchment at him. As soon as he looked at it, words wrote themselves across it.

“Noir has officially declared war on us and on the Dark-Hunters. If we surrender his Malachai, he’ll let us live. If we don’t…”

Jericho laughed. “He’s going to make our lives hell.”

“It’s not funny,” Zeth snapped.

Undaunted, Jericho shrugged. “No, it isn’t, but we knew this was coming.”

Zarek sat back in his chair and tucked his hands behind his head. “We have to find Cam and Rezar.”

Jericho agreed. “And train that damned Malachai.”

Zarek snorted. “Good luck on that.”

“Why?”

“He’s a nasty little bastard. I wanted to kill him years ago, but Ash wouldn’t let me. After all is said and done, Ash may be wishing he’d not held me back.”

After all was said and done, they might all be wishing that.

Jericho moved to stand beside Delphine’s chair. “Well, there’s nothing more to be done tonight. I, for one, am exhausted. I’ve been threatened, beaten, bitten and killed, and that was just in the last hour.”

Delphine shook her head at him. “You need someone to tuck you in, sweetie?”

“For that, my goddess, I would worship you forever.”

Laughing, she got up and followed him to her room.

He looked around at all the white lace and other frilly things that made this room uniquely hers. “You know this place is
really
girly.”

She hesitated. “You want me to redecorate?”

“No,” he said, dissolving his clothes and concealing his wings into his back so that he could slide into bed. “I love the fact that everything in here smells like you.”

She picked up a corner of her comforter and sniffed it. “No, it doesn’t. I don’t smell.”

He smiled at her offended tone. “You don’t stink, but your scent is all over everything, and that’s why I don’t want anything changed. I love the way you smell. It comforts me. Now come to bed and let me hold you.”

She stiffened and so did he. “Is that an order?”

“No,” he said with a tired yawn, “it’s the sound of me begging.”

“You’re really out of practice with that.”

He smiled. “True.”

Naked, Delphine snuggled up to his back and wrapped her arms around him. In all his life no one had ever held him like this. Even as tired as he was, he reveled in the comfort of her love.

“I’m scared, Jericho,” she whispered in his ear, “and I’m not used to coping with fear.”

“It’s all right. I’m not used to coping with love and trust.” He took her hand into his and kissed her pale, unscarred knuckles. “We can be the blind leading the blind.”

Delphine squeezed his hand. “But as long as we’re together…”

“Nothing will ever touch us. You are all that matters to me, my angel, and I would walk through hell just to touch your face.”

“And I would walk through hell just to bring you food.”

Jericho laughed. “Good, ’cause when I wake up, I’m going to be starving.”

“I’ll have something waiting for you. What would you like?”

He rolled over and pulled her against him. “You naked in my bed. That’s all the sustenance I’ll ever need.”

CHAPTER 17

Jericho stood on top of the mountain where he’d once looked out, expecting to die. He remembered that day so clearly. The sunset was still the same shade of fire opal.

For Delphine, he’d laid down his arms and resigned himself to Zeus’s punishment. Today, he could think of no better place to declare himself hers than here where it had all begun.

He turned to find her by his side, dressed in a white flowing gown with flowers in her pale hair. Even though gods and goddesses didn’t have weddings the way humans did, he wanted to do something special for her.

“You have given me my life back,” he said as he took her hand.

She kissed his scarred knuckles. “It seems only fair since I wouldn’t have had one at all had you not found your heart and spared me.”

Who would have ever thought that one single act of kindness would lead him to this path?

Lead him to her?

Unable to tell her what was inside him, he went down on one knee.

Delphine was stunned by Jericho’s actions. Dressed in his black armor, he looked up at her with those dual-colored eyes. His white hair ruffled by the breeze, he was breathtakingly handsome.

“I haven’t much to offer you, my lady. But I pledge myself to you. Always.”

Tears clouded her eyes. “That’s not true, Jericho. You have a lot to offer.”

“And that is?”

“All that is good in my life is because of you. And I swear by your mother Styx, that I will
never
harm you. That I will
never
betray you.”

“And I swear on my mother that every day you live you will know just how much you mean to me.”

Delphine smiled. “Good, because it was hard enough to survive this courtship. I shudder at what I’d have to endure to fall in love with someone else.”

He arched a brow at that. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” She knelt down in front of him. “Now give me a kiss and show me your sincerity.”

He laughed deep in his throat. “Lady, take me to your bed and I’ll show you a lot more than just my sincerity.”

“Well, in that case…” She flashed them back to her room where they could lie naked in her bed.

After all, vows meant nothing without consummation.