The Dark-Hunters (838 page)

Pyramid of Protection

Honey, there’s always hope.

—Selena Laurens

There are three branches of Hunters: Dark-Hunters, Were-Hunters, and Dream-Hunters. Together they form the Pyramid of Protection. These warriors keep mankind safe from all the different kinds of predators who could easily kill or enslave them.

Most often the branches work alone, but they do team up together for not only human protection, but also the protections of other Hunters, Apollites, gods, and ultimately the world itself.

They’re the good guys. You want them on your side. And they’re all hugely powerful, so you
really
don’t want them as your enemies.

Dark-Hunter.com

Be part of the world, but never in it.

—Acheron

At first glance, this Web site might look like a book series and a role-playing game. Don’t be fooled. We did that on purpose. Aren’t we clever?

Dark-Hunter.com is the place to go to keep in touch with other Dark-Hunters around the world, around the clock. It is a lonely life you will lead, but that doesn’t mean you’re completely alone. Since proximity to another Dark-Hunter will drain your powers, the Internet is the perfect solution for a bit of healthy social activity with like-minded folks. (And you thought it was invented by the government.) Brag about your kills, imagine new and inventive ways to kill the enemy, vent about the one that got away. It’s all right here.

The labyrinthine Web site was originally set up by several Squires. Tad Gardner, Carl Samuel, Daphne Addams, and—until recently—Nick Gautier maintain the information and keep the safeguards up-to-date. There are so many twists and turns … it’s a bit like a library housed in some forgotten catacombs.

All of the records are kept here. If something should happen to this book—and Acheron doesn’t take your head off—you can always find what you’re looking for on the site. You just may be looking for a very, very long time.

Dream-Hunter.com
    This is to give you an idea of the important gods for ye non Greek people. It will also explain to you the different Dream-Hunters and what their functions are.

dailyinquisitor.com/bbs/index.php
    This is the message board where our members gather from all over the world. You’ll definitely want to check that out.

Katoteros.com
    Don’t think we’re alone with having our own Web site. In this day and age, the Daimons have their own, too. Keep an eye on it. It’ll give you all kinds of nifty info.

SherrilynKenyon.com
    This is the author we keep hearing about who knows way too much about our world. We’re not sure how she got her info, but she’s scarily tuned into us.

Were-Hunter.com
    These are our friends, the Were-Hunters. The site explains key elements about them and introduces you to their world.

Quick Reference Slang

I’d rather be vindictive than smart.

—Solin

Most of these terms you’ll pick up along the way … heck, you might even invent a few over the years. But just so you’re not completely in the dark, here are a few words and phrases that are common in Dark-Hunter circles.

Act of Vengeance
    The night a Dark-Hunter is given to extract his or her revenge on whoever wronged them and caused their death. It ends with the dawn.

Apollite
    The cursed descendents of Apollo, who either die on their twenty-seventh birthday or choose to become Daimon. More on them in chapter 6, “How to Roast a Daimon.”

Arcadians
    Humans who can take animal form. They are descendents of a human father and an Apollite mother. More on them in chapter 3, “Were-Hunters.”

Blood Hunt
    The search for a Rogue Dark-Hunter. A successful blood hunt ends in the death of the hunted.

Bolt-Hole
    Astral opening between dimensions that can be used by Were-Hunters or Daimons. Also called a lamina.

Buffites
    Human vampire slayers. It was inevitable, wasn’t it? Just be glad you’re not called Angels.

Carmillas
    Women looking for Daimons to turn them into immortal vampires. Also referred to as Complete Morons.

Daimon
    An Apollite who has chosen to steal human souls to fool their bodies into maintaining their life. More on them in chapter 6, “How to Roast a Daimon.”

Dark-Hunter
    Someone who has sold their soul to Artemis for one single Act of Vengeance, and will now spend eternity hunting Daimons. You ready?

Day-Slayer
    Daimon myth about one of their kind who can move in daylight and who will one day come to lead them back into Apollo’s favor.

Day-Surfer
    A Dark-Hunter who dies by sunlight. If you want to be a surfer, give Savitar a call and get your jollies out in the ocean.

Deadmen Walking
    Humans who serve Daimons (usually because they have been promised immortality). Daimons will promise their food anything to make it stick around and stay fresh for that much longer.

Diktyon
    Magical net Artemis uses when hunting. Pretty cool. Pray it’s never used on you.

Expire
    To kill a Daimon.

Fabio/Kato
    Derogatory term for a Daimon stemming from the fact that they are all blond and good-looking.

Feeder
    A Dark-Hunter who drinks blood. If you must, do so cautiously. Ultimately, though, feeding can only lead to trouble. Best to avoid it altogether.

Four Realms
    Time, Space, Earth, Dreams. These are what the Pyramid of Protection guard. There is only a small group of individuals who can walk all four. Yeah, the tall Atlantean is one of them.

Full Alert
    When all hell is breaking loose, literally, and Daimons are emerging from their bolt-holes en masse. Most likely to happen in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Only Acheron can call a Full Alert.

Inkblot
    Slang for Daimon. Named after the black mark that appears on a Daimon’s chest after turning from Apollite. It is this spot that must be pierced to free the souls and to kill the Daimon.

Kalosis
    The mysterious nether region where Apollymi the Destroyer is imprisoned. It is the Atlantean hell realm.

Katagaria
    Plural term for the animal branch of the Were-Hunters. They are animals who can take human form. Katagari is the single term.

Katoteros
    The mysterious nether region where Acheron lives. It is the Atlantean heaven realm and was once the home of the gods.

Kori
    A servant of Artemis. They are found in her temple on Olympus.

Kynigostaia
    Homer’s history of the Dark-Hunters that was lost.

Laminas
    Bolt-holes the Spathis use to travel. The rabbit hole leads straight to Kalosis. Don’t follow.

Oneroi
    Dream-Hunter champions who protect those who are asleep. They also help Dark-Hunters to heal psychologically and physically. It is sometimes used as the generic term for any sleep god.

Ords
    Slang for “ordinaries”—normal humans who have no idea about the world around them.

Patria
    A Were-Hunter clan.

Rogue
    A Dark-Hunter who has spurned the ways of Artemis and turned against Acheron and his Dark-Hunter brethren. No longer protecting humans, they are a threat to humanity. Pretty much an instant death sentence. You’re always welcome to question authority … but don’t.

Rytis
    The ripple that allows Were-Hunters to travel forward and back through time.

Scooby
    Derogatory term Lykos Were-Hunters use to insult one another, meaning a stupid or cowardly pup.

Scuds
    Young Daimons out to prove themselves worthy.

Sentinels
    Chosen by the Fates, they are members of the Arcadian Were-Hunters who protect the humans and Arcadians from the Katagaria.

Shade
    Dark-Hunter who dies before his or her soul can be returned. Shades have translucent, ashen skin and dark eyes. They are doomed to an eternal unlife without powers, where they cannot touch anything and cannot be heard by anyone but the Oracles. They crave food and water but cannot eat or drink.

Shadedom
    The existence of being a Shade. If you can go so far as to call it an “existence.”

Skoti
    Dream predators hooked on excess emotions. They infiltrate sleep so they can tamper with and seduce dreamers in order to get their emotional fix. Skotos is the singular term.

Slayers
    Katagaria or Arcadians who are driven to madness by their hormones. They kill indiscriminately.

Spathi
    Warrior class of Daimons who will pursue and kill Dark-Hunters.

Squire
    Servant to the Dark-Hunters. (Just don’t go using the word
servant
around one of them.)

Strati
    Katagaria soldiers. Often confused with Slayers, Strati only kill to defend themselves, their pack, or their territory.

Telikos
    Armageddon. End of the world. Death to all. You get the picture.

Temple of Artemis
    Artemis’s home on Olympus.

UHF
    Universal Hunter Food: pizza. Quick, easy, and fast.

Van Helsings
    Another term for human vampire slayers.

Whelps
    Young Were-Hunters who have reached puberty, mastered their hormones, but have yet to harness all their powers. Again, it’s a derogatory term.

Dark-Hunter Directory

Your Fellow Soldiers

He’s a vampire, isn’t he? I knew it!

—Selena Laurens

There are thousands of Dark-Hunters all over the world. Trying to keep track of them all on paper would be like trying to print a global phone book. (Plus, we don’t exactly want to give away the locations of some of our operatives, if you know what I mean.) With that in mind, here is a list of just a few Hunters you may have already encountered, or ones that you’ll be hearing stories about soon enough.

Hopefully this list will give you some small bit of insight into who might be guarding your back, what harsh world they came from, and what made them who they are today. It will tell you more about those who have taken advantage of the out clause, but still fight the Daimons on the side of Artemis.

It is also meant to serve as a memorial to those Dark-Hunters who have come before and passed away in the line of duty. We honor them by always being conscious of just how mortal we immortals can be.

If you need to get in touch with any of these Hunters, view their pictures and profiles, or run a background check, you should find all you need and more on www.Dark-Hunter.com.

Alexion
    Alexion is not a name, it’s an Atlantean title. The Alexion we know and love today is technically neither human nor Dark-Hunter nor Shade … he’s one of those Acheron classifies as “other.” His original incarnation was Ias of Groesia.

Ias was the third Dark-Hunter created after Acheron, and he’s the whole reason there’s an out clause to begin with. Ias, as a human, was killed by his wife’s lover. Trusting that Ias’s wife’s love for him was pure (their first mistake), Acheron entrusted her with Ias’s soul medallion.

However, even Ash can be wrong sometimes. The unfaithful wife, unwilling to bear the pain and bring Ias back to humanity, dropped the medallion and instantly doomed Ias to Shadedom. (And don’t think she just got away with that. Happily, Ash turned Ias’s wife into stone.)

Ash took pity on Ias. He gave him form (of sorts) and took him to live beside him in Katoteros. He bestowed upon Ias the title of Alexion and branded him with Acheron’s mark: a gold sun with three lightning bolts.

Unfortunately, Acheron at the time was still coming into his role and was not aware of the full extent of his powers, so—unlike many Acheron has revived since—Alexion can never be truly human again. As a Shade his senses are muted; his lot is to observe life, not live it.

His duties include watching over Simi and keeping her out of trouble. Alexion can also pass judgment on Dark-Hunter groups that are trying to overthrow Acheron’s authority, but he can’t be outside Acheron’s domain for any longer than ten days. No Dark-Hunter retains a memory of the white-coated Alexion once he has passed judgment and returned to Katoteros.

Alexion, like Simi, can only be killed by an Atlantean dagger from the Destroyer herself. He can explode Daimons with a thought. He can hear the Shades as they wail in their living hell. He does not eat; he drinks Ash’s blood to survive. (Though he does like popcorn … it has something to do with the consistency.)