The Dark-Hunters (837 page)

Boot-Toe Knife
    One of the most popular weapons among Dark-Hunters. Portable, lightweight, easily concealed, and easily missed by anyone searching you for weapons. And hey, you never leave home without your shoes.…

Butterfly Knife
    Quick to open; easy to conceal. A fad in the 1980s among teenagers and martial artists, this type of knife is now banned by many states in America. It was nicknamed the butterfly knife by soldiers stationed in the Philippines in World War II.

Claws
    Articulated silver finger sheaths that usually culminate into a sharp point. They can be used as talons to scratch and slay enemies. This is the weapon of choice for Zarek of Moesia or any Hunter who likes to get down and dirty with their kills.

Crossbow
    Favored by the Greek armies of Dionysus and made popular in Europe during the Middle Ages, this weapon is now mostly used for target shooting and sport hunting. Bows are typically made of ash or yew … but Kell can always hook you up with modifications if this happens to be your weapon of choice. And he can make a groovy one that hides up your sleeves.

Dirk
    Celtic straight-bladed dagger used as a backup to a broadsword, or to swear a ceremonial oath. Dirks have the benefit of being small, lightweight, and easy to conceal.

Double Ax
    Also known as a labrys, this two-headed ax was widely used in Ancient Minoan, Thracian, and Greek symbology to represent Zeus. In Scandinavian mythology, this ax was used to represent their thunder god, Thor.

Dummies
    The most widely available for weapons training are wooden dummies, which come in a variety of woods and sizes. Then there are punching bags (I’m told Valerius used to dress his in a Hawaiian shirt) in the shape of people. Some Hunters have been known to put fangs on them just for effect.

Glaive
    A long-reaching shaft weapon, like a spear, only a glaive has a much longer blade (anywhere from one to two feet in length).

Grenade/Grenade Launcher
    The grenade gets its name from the word
pomegranate,
a popular fruit if you know your mythology. (And if you do, tell Hades “Hi.”) This small bomb can be filled with a variety of things such as shrapnel (for destruction) or smoke (for distraction) or gas (for incapacitation of your enemy). The grenade launchers do tend to be a little hard to hide though. The last one I remember hearing about was being used by Spathi Daimons to attack Wulf in Minnesota.

Halberd
    This fancy ax with a long spike at the top is mounted on a pole shaft. It was used in battle against cavalry and other mounted foes. The halberd was once the primary weapon of the Swiss Army. Wielders were known as “pikemen.”

Handclaws
    Used by the ninja to cross ice, climb trees, and scratch messages in stone, glass, wood, or the bodies of their opponents.

Hurlbat
    An all-metal throwing ax with either a point or a blade (or both) sharpened onto all conceivable (and some contrived) ends. Whatever—or whomever—you hurl this one at is going to be hurting … and hopefully, dust.

Kama
    This small, handheld scythe originated as a farming implement in Japan and China. (Favored by Cassandra Peters Tryggvason.) The handle can be made of wood or metal, and is usually the length of the user’s forearm. The short, curved blade can be used for slashing, stabbing, or deflecting an opponent’s weapon.

Katana
    Japanese single-edged longsword. Japanese swords are differentiated by length—the shorter form of this sword is called a
wakizashi.
The katana is traditionally worn sharp-side up.

Kevlar
    Kevlar is DuPont’s light but strong fiber, with a strength-to-weight ratio five times that of steel. It comes in various grades: Kevlar 29 is the grade used for body armor. Even though they can’t kill you, bullets can still slow you down. A Kevlar jacket is a handy item to have around. Do note, however, that Kevlar decomposes when exposed to chlorine, so don’t go using it as a flotation device in your neighbor’s pool. It also has adverse effects in UV light … but since I’m pretty sure you’re not going to be sunbathing in it, I’m not going to worry. There are other fabrics on the market as well, like Dyneema, which can be purchased from retailers selling tournament-quality fencing equipment.

Kunai
    Ancient Japanese trowel with a sharpened tip. It looks a bit like a chisel with a loop at the end, where it could be attached to a cord, to be worn around the neck or affixed to another weapon. Like many other weapons, the kunai was originally used as a gardening tool. But, like many other gardening tools, it was discovered that the sharp-tipped kunai was especially effective against Daimons.

Mace
    Like a club only heavier, deadlier, much cooler, and much older—the first wooden maces date back to 12,000
B.C
. Not popular with the Romans, the mace came back into fashion during the Middle Ages when metal flanges were added that could dent or pierce armored knights.

Mat
    This plastic-covered foam can be procured in a variety of colors, shapes, sizes, widths, and foam densities. The question to ask yourself is: How hard do you want to hit the ground?

Panic Alarm
    Most often kept on a key chain to page your Squire in emergencies. But remember that since you have heightened hearing, it will hurt when used.

Punching Bag
    A fairly modern invention in the world of athletic training, this water- or grain-filled sack comes as a “heavy bag” (hanging) or “standing bag” (freestanding with a wide, round base). Heavier bags will sway less; water-filled bags weigh more. Be careful, though—too heavy and you may as well be punching the wall.

Retractable Knives
    Kell makes these handy-dandy carbon steel puppies with Velcro wrist-fasteners.

Sai
    Another weapon whose origin lies in ancient Japanese agriculture, this unsharpened dagger can be used lethally (stabbing) or nonlethally (disarming your opponent). Traditionally, sais are carried in threes (one at either side and one in back)—unless you’re a Ninja Turtle.

Scramasax
    This is a Viking blade—a cross between a curved machete and a crude sword that tapers to a point at its end. The shorter scramasax (as short as six inches) was commonly used as an eating utensil, while the longer ones (up to three feet) were used in farming.

Shobo
    A shobo consists of a small piece of wood connected to a ring worn around the finger. Adopted by the Japanese ninja for its simplicity and concealment factor, it was used for striking an opponent’s pressure points. Of course, there’s only one “pressure point” you need to worry about on a Daimon. Go for it.

Shuriken
    Commonly known as “ninja throwing stars,” these supplemental Japanese blades can be made of anything and only some are shaped like flat stars (
hira-shuriken
). The
bo-shuriken
(a metal spike sharpened at one or both ends), may be of greater use to Dark-Hunters.

Srad
    A circular dagger; an ancient Celtic weapon that can be thrown or used hand to hand.

Stake
    An oldie but a goodie. Not fancy, but it does the job. Both wood and steel are acceptable.

Sword
    Long, bladed weapon. Kind of easy to use. The pointy part goes into your victim’s body.

War Fan
    Used in Japanese feudal warfare. Can come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials. The Dansen uchiwa fighting fan is made of iron, and was used more like a shield. (Kell specializes in a smaller one, roughly eleven inches long, with a razor-sharp edge.) An iron-spoked Tessen fan can also be used as a club, for throwing, or for aid in swimming.

Watch
    Seems silly, but it is a good idea to have a watch, with the alarm set to go off twenty minutes before sunrise. You never know when you’ll get distracted right before sunup.

How to Die

Dying’s easy. It’s living that’s hard.

—Zarek

No Dark-Hunter likes to hear about the death of another.

Like Daimons, Dark-Hunters turn to dust upon death. I pray you never have to witness it … but you will. You can’t die from a gunshot wound or a blow to the head or a drink spiked with Drano. Crosses and garlic are as useless on you as they are on Daimons.

But you’re not invincible. Your body is gifted with regenerative powers, but some things even the gods themselves can’t fix.

Remember rule number five: An unconscious Dark-Hunter is a dead Dark-Hunter, and a dead Dark-Hunter only takes about five minutes to decompose.

There are four ways a Dark-Hunter can die:

1. Total dismemberment
(Though I can’t imagine partial is too easy to come back from. Avoid wood chippers.)

2. Sunlight

3. Beheading

4. Stabbing the bow-and-arrow tattoo
(You’re not supposed to know about this one, Hunter, so as soon as you turn the page you won’t remember that you’ve ever read it.)

Those of you from the Middle Ages will remember the punishment of being hanged, drawn, and quartered. Contrary to popular opinion, the quartering part comes from Dark-Hunters. If quartered and buried separately, you are dead.

The reason sunlight can kill you is because Artemis is the goddess of the Moon. The reason it kills Daimons is because they were cursed by Artemis’s twin brother Apollo, god of the Sun. Isn’t it pretty how it all fits together like that?

Apollo hates you with a passion just because of what you are. He won’t hesitate to rid the world of your hide if he catches you in his domain. Never let a ray of sunlight come into contact with your body. Umbrellas and coats will not shield you from daylight—any part of you that is exposed to daylight will burn. There is no SPF high enough.

Make sure to know where your safety zones are. Have more than one safe place to run to should you be trapped after sunup. Squires are handy, but remember there’s only so much they can do.

If you die as a Dark-Hunter, you die without a soul. You cannot cross over into a happily hereafter. You become a Shade, trapped forever in a painful, horrific place that makes hell look like paradise. In Shadedom, you exist insubstantially on the mortal plane. You have no body, but full cognition. No one can see you, or hear you, or touch you. When a human walks through your “body,” their soul rips through you like broken glass. You are always hungry, always thirsty, and always lonely. Nothing can sate your hunger or thirst or mind. Ever.

Forever.

The Out Clause

Everyone wants someone they can hold and love. Someone who will be there to help pick up the pieces when everything falls apart.

—Acheron

Before I go into this one, consider the benefits of being a Dark-Hunter. You have a well-paying job, literally all the time in the world, and pretty much nothing can touch you. Now consider mortality. Death. Disease. Stubbed toes and paper cuts. Reading glasses and gray hair.

If you fall in love, it better be someone you’re willing to die for … because that’s exactly what you’re going to do. Only slowly this time. And you don’t come back.

Each out clause varies by Dark-Hunter, and is a secret even to them. Beware of when you find it—you will be drained of your Dark-Hunter powers for a period of time. But
if
you find it, you know that regaining your soul is within your grasp.

Well, technically, it will lie in the grasp of your beloved. Artemis keeps your soul inside a medallion that swirls any and every color of the rainbow. A pure, loving heart must hold this medallion in the palm of her (or his, if that’s your thing) hand and hold it, while you are drained of your powers.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. The medallion is not meant to be held by mortals, and so it burns the flesh irreparably. It is a torturous, unyielding pain … but your true love must
not let go.
If they do, your soul will be lost forever and you will be doomed to live as a Shade for all eternity.

So: medallion in hand, drained of your powers. With me so far? Good.

Because then you have to die.

Worse than forcing your lover to bear the pain of the soul medallion is asking them to kill you. And no halfways. Your heart
must
stop beating. Staking is best.

Once your heart stops beating, your lover must place the medallion over the mark where your soul was captured; this area is conveniently marked somewhere on your body by a clever double bow-and-arrow mark. It is where Artemis touched you when she took your soul, and that exact place is where the soul needs to reenter the body.

If you’re very lucky and your love is pure, you are reintroduced to the mortal coil.

Every few hundred years there’s a rash of Dark-Hunters who find true love and make a break for it. To them I say,
Vaya con Dios.

Or … you know … not.

There is one nifty part—if and when your soul is returned to you, you will have the option of remaining in the service of Artemis. Ex-Dark-Hunters have found it difficult to give up their day … er … night jobs and intimate circle of friends.

But hey—there’s one easy way around all of this.

Just don’t fall in love.