The Dark-Hunters (728 page)

I hate you three bitches. May you rot in Tartarus.

*   *   *

The Greek goddess Atropos pulled back from the loom where she and her two sisters wove the lives of those they were responsible for. As the three Fates, each of them had a job to perform. Her sister Lachesis was responsible for assigning the length of a person’s life. Clotho spun the events that shaped and broke those lives.

And Atropos was the one who ended them. She had the final say.…

At least so long as their brother didn’t interfere. Bastard.

Not wanting to think about that, she looked up at Lazaros, who watched her in silence. “It’s done. They’re mated.”

Lazaros smiled in satisfaction. “I can’t thank you enough, little cousin. You are truly a lifesaver.”

What an ironic thing to say to the one whose prime responsibility was death. “I don’t see how. But if Artemis has anything to say—”

“She won’t. I promise. And if she should, I will take care of it.” He kissed her hand. “Now I have one last favor to ask.”

“And that is?”

He plucked at the strand on the loom that represented the Dark-Huntress Samia’s life. “Don’t cut this thread until I tell you to.” Because Sam wouldn’t be able to die until Atropos cut it. So long as it was unsevered, he could torture Sam to his heart’s content.

She inclined her head to him. “As you wish, coz. I’ll leave it until you’ve had your fun.”

He squeezed her hand before he released it. There were times when being related to the Fates was a good thing.

Today it was more than good.

*   *   *

Dev couldn’t stop staring at his hand. It was so strange to see it there after all these centuries of wondering if and when it would happen. Even though it was a girly thought, he’d always expected his mating to be really special. Like there would be the sound of trumpets or fireworks or something. People cheering. His family fainting in disbelief. Remi’s head exploding.

The reality …

It was remarkably anticlimactic.

Just another day.

Nothing had changed and yet everything was different. Closing his eyes, he summoned an image of Sam’s face.
Please don’t leave me hanging, babe.
She had to accept him.

What was there not to love?

He really didn’t like the voice in his head that began cataloging the answers to that.
Yeah, I’m a pig-bear. I leave my wet socks on the floor. I like to fight and I don’t listen as much as I should …

I’m such a schmuck.

“Hey, Dev?”

He sighed as he heard his brother Kyle’s voice in the hallway. Rolling over on the bed, he landed his feet on the floor and went to see what Kyle wanted.

He opened the door.

It wasn’t Kyle.

Stryker was on the other side, smiling snidely. “If Mohammad won’t come to the mountain…”

He shot Dev in the chest.

*   *   *

Sam had her phone clutched in her palm. She was trying to tell herself why calling Dev would be a bad idea. Why she didn’t want to be his mate.

But everything kept coming back to one thing.

How Dev made her feel. How much she loved to see that cocky grin of his even when it annoyed her.

I am so messed up.

She traced the image on her palm that marked her as a bear’s mate. She should be horrified by what had happened, yet it somehow seemed right. In a weird way she felt like Ioel was happy about it too.

But if she went ahead with this, there would be a major problem. She didn’t want to be human again. Ever. There was no need. To be human wouldn’t get rid of her powers. They would remain, but she would be mortal.

She would die.

Yes, she could have children, but that was the only benefit. And after having died while pregnant …

She
never
wanted to be that vulnerable again. And if she didn’t have children, she’d be robbing Dev of that pleasure.

You could always adopt.

Could she? She would still be a Dark-Hunter who owed her service to Artemis. Would the goddess understand or would she demand Sam’s head for this?

The entire thing was giving her a migraine as she tried to unscramble the mess.

She jumped in startled alarm as her phone started ringing. It was from Dev. Smiling, she opened the phone and answered it. “Yes?”

“In the heart and in the soul,

Evil takes its wicked toll.

When moonlight shines like flowing blood,

Over the earth the demons will flood.”

Her blood ran cold as someone in a demonic voice whispered over her phone. “Who is this?” she demanded.

“Someone who misses you. Isn’t that right, Bear?”

“Don’t come near me, Sam. Don’t—” Dev’s words broke off into a sharp growl that sounded like he wanted to go for someone’s throat.

“If you want to see your mate again, leave the house right now, tell no one, and go down the street to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar and I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

“How will I know it’s you?”

“You’ll know, Dark-Hunter. And you better come alone. Dev’s life depends on it.” The demon hung up.

Fury and fear mixed inside Sam and it made her want to kill something. But worse, it brought out her nightmares and shredded her confidence.

How had they captured Dev? How had they known to go after him?

I jeopardize everyone I love.…

Tears gathered in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She would not cry. She would not go down without a ferocious battle.

And right now, she wanted blood from Thorn and Nick. Had they known he’d be captured? Was that what they’d been trying to tell her?

Would Dev have been all right had she stayed with him instead of listening to them? They’d promised her that she was getting him out of the line of fire and instead, she’d handed him over to her enemies.

This isn’t your fault.

Dev’s a big boy.

Yeah, and Ioel had been one too.

Right up to the moment they’d killed him.

Her heart hammering, she dressed in her warrior’s garb and had to sneak out of the house without Nick seeing her. It was just after dark as she crept down Bourbon Street toward the corner where it intersected with St. Philip’s. There was already a nice crowd there. Friends and couples drinking and laughing.

How she wished she could be so carefree.

Sam looked around for her contact, but all she saw were humans. Tons of humans, which would make for a lot of collateral damage in a fight. And right now, all their residual emotions and thoughts were playing havoc in her mind.

She stopped on the corner, scanning the people at the tables while she debated what to do.

A dark shadow fell over her. “Keep walking, Huntress.”

Her blood ran cold as she turned to see the lethal killing machine.

It was Stryker.

She wasn’t about to let him know how he affected her. Putting up her guard, she sneered at him. “So you came yourself.”

“I’m not here to talk.” He jerked his chin to her right. “You go through my bolt hole or I’ll feed your mate to a mob of hungry Daimons who would kill to dismember a Were-Hunter. Literally.”

She lacked all appreciation for a joke he was proud of. And she had to force herself not to attack him. “Do I have your word that you’ll release him if I obey you?”

“Would you accept my word?”

That was a tough call. How could someone trust evil incarnate? And yet Stryker was an ancient warrior—like her.

Sam flinched as that thought triggered her powers. She saw Stryker in a home she’d never seen before. He was with another Dark-Hunter.…

Ravyn Kontis.

Stryker had him and his woman trapped and outnumbered.

“Do we kill him, my lord?” one of the Daimons asked.

Stryker cocked his head as if considering it. “Not today, Davyn. Today, we show a bit of mercy to our worthy opponent. After all, he taught me that you don’t trust the human cattle. Only other immortals understand the rules of war.”

And in another flash, she saw Stryker battling with Nick and Acheron.…

For them, against a common enemy to save everyone.

Even though Stryker was her enemy and didn’t shirk to commit heinous kills on innocent people, he was strangely a man of honor and he followed a very screwed-up code.

Once he gave his oath, he would abide by it.

Even so, it was hard to utter the words she knew he wanted to hear. “I’ll trust you, Daimon.”

Stryker inclined his head to her. “Then yes. I will release both of you once this is over …
if
you obey.”

Sam knew from her powers that she could trust him. But that was easier said than done. Not to mention one small fact—he was the one holding Dev.

So while her common sense screamed at her to run, she did what he said and stepped into the bolt hole. The force of the vortex ripped at her skin and clothes. It was painful and terrifying as she spun and fell without anything to give her any sort of orientation.

I’m going to be sick.

No wonder the Daimons were always in such a foul mood when she ran across them. If she had to travel like this, she’d be grouchy too.

She finally fell out of the vortex and slammed into the ground where she landed unceremoniously as a lump on a cold, black marble floor. She hit it so hard, it knocked all the wind out of her. Groaning out loud, she looked around to find herself in the hall she’d seen through the slug demon’s eyes. Dozens of Daimons were there, along with Zephyra. All of them eyeballed her like the top sirloin on a hamburger buffet.

Stryker landed beside her in a powerful crouch. Without so much as a grunt, he rose to his feet to stare down at her with one arched brow.

Effing showoff.

Sam pushed herself up and stumbled. Yeah, she still didn’t have her vortex legs.

Stryker stepped past her to his throne where a small orb that reminded her of the sun was set on the right arm. It hovered just above his hand—no bigger than the size of her fist. It was so bright that she could barely look at it without flinching.

His dark eyes gleaming, Stryker danced his fingers under it. “This belongs to my father. I want you to touch it and tell me his weakness. Tell me how to break our curse so that my people don’t die. And most of all, I want to know how to kill that bastard.”

His hatred radiated to her.

But the sad thing was, she couldn’t help him. “It doesn’t work that way.”

Fury poured from his glare. “For your sake, Huntress, and for Devereaux’s sake, it better.”

A shiver went down her spine. This had the makings of a royal disaster. She had no idea if she could hone her powers that way.…

C’mon, don’t fail me now.
It wasn’t just her life on the line. It was Dev’s.

Sam looked around at all the Daimons who were gathered, and as she did so, she picked up bits and pieces from them about their lives. Most of all, she picked up their hope that she could free them of their curse.

I have to get Dev and get out of here.

She was a powerful fighter, but she wasn’t good enough to win against this number. If Stryker was lying, there really wasn’t much she’d be able to do except die painfully at their hands.

But she’d go down fighting. To the bitter end.

Taking a deep breath, she closed the distance between her and his throne. Her gaze locked on his, she reached out and touched the orb. The light that emanated from inside it arced and filled her palm with warmth. She saw so many images all at once that she couldn’t understand any of them.

Until one became more prominent than the others.

It was Artemis dressed in a white gown and looking just as she did the night Sam had sold her soul to the goddess. Artemis was furious as she confronted Apollo in his temple. “What have you done, brother?”

Apollo’s golden hair gleamed like pure sunlight. His features were beyond perfect. He sat on an overstuffed gold chaise with his sister beside him. “They betrayed me. They killed my son, my baby son. Was I supposed to forgive them that?”

Artemis shook her head. “Why would you curse
all
of them?”

He sneered at her. “Like you have never acted impulsively? This is all
your
fault. Had you not been sleeping with a human whore none of this would have occurred!”

Artemis glowered at him. “And you’ve killed him too and damn near all of us in the process. Would you destroy this entire pantheon over
your
dead whore?”

He stood up to tower over her. “Why not? You risked it for yours!”

Artemis refused to back down as she faced him. “Leave Acheron out of this, brother, or so help me—”

“What? You won’t do anything to me, Artemis. If you do, I’ll tell every god here how you, the virgin goddess, spread your legs for a common piece of human filth.”

Sam reeled from that revelation.

Artemis didn’t flinch as she fisted both of her hands as if she was one step away from punching Apollo. “I hate you.”

“And I return that to you tenfold, sister. Now leave me.”

“I can’t. Your people are feeding on the humans because of
your
curse.”

Apollo bristled. “Not
my
curse. Apollymi was the one who taught them how to steal human souls. She’s the one housing and protecting them now. I have nothing to do with it.”

“Then lift your curse from your people. Apollymi won’t be able to control them if they don’t need to take human souls to live.”

“I can’t.”

Artemis shook her head. “Can’t or won’t?”

“Can’t. If I take it back, it will kill me and undo the entire creation of the world. I
can’t
fix this.”

Artemis let out a long sigh before she raked him with a sneer. “You’re pathetic, Apollo. Pathetic.” She turned and left him alone in his temple where he stared into an orb similar to the one in Sam’s palm.

Apollo’s hand shook as he conjured an image of Stryker in his orb. His eyes swam with tears. “You were ever disappointing to me, but I never meant to hurt you. I was trying to make you strong.” He choked on a sob. “If I could undo this, Strykerius, I would. I would.… I am so sorry for what I’ve done.…”