The Dark-Hunters (839 page)

He currently lives in Katoteros with Ash, Simi, and Dangereuse St. Richard, Alexion’s Dark-Hunter true love who was brought to Katoteros by Acheron after her death.

H
AIR
/E
YES
: blond/hazel-green

P
OWERS
: godlike

F
EATURED
N
OVEL
:
Sins of the Night

Alousius
    (deceased) A Scottish Dark-Hunter, Alousius was killed by Daimons. Prior to his death, he had lived in Seattle since 1875.

B
ORN
: March 14, 1516

B
IRTHPLACE
: Aberdeen, Scotland

H
EIGHT
: six foot three

H
AIR
/E
YES
: blond

P
OWERS
: telekinesis

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: deceased

ap-Owain, Ryn
    Ryn was a Welsh prince whose family was betrayed and wiped out by an ambitious neighbor. In a vengeful rage, he led a suicide charge against his enemy and was left for dead.

B
ORN
: April 25, 1400

B
IRTHPLACE
: Gwynedd, Wales

H
EIGHT
: six foot five

H
AIR
/E
YES
: black

P
OWERS
: pyrokinesis

A
GE AT
D
EATH
: twenty-four

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: Santa Cruz, California

Arien
    Arien began her life as the kindhearted daughter of a thief. She dedicated her life to helping others, until a clansman accused her of sorcery and blamed her for the death of his wife. Arien and her father escaped into the hills, where they were then betrayed by her lover. Her father was hanged, and Arien was burned as a heretic.

B
ORN
:
A.D
. 1052

B
IRTHPLACE
: Gwynedd, Wales

H
EIGHT
: five foot ten

H
AIR
/E
YES
: dark brown

P
OWERS
: precognition

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: New York City

Baughy, Christopher (aka Rogue)
    Nickname: Kit. A known Dark-Hunter.

B
ORN
: July 4, 1702

B
IRTHPLACE
: London, England

H
EIGHT
: six foot four

H
AIR
/E
YES
: black

P
OWERS
: cryokinesis

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: Chicago, Illinois

Belle
    (deceased) Belle was a tall, blond, gum-chewin’, tequila-drinkin’ Dark-Hunter with a Texan drawl as deep as the Mariana’s Trench. In her heyday, Belle traveled with a Wild West show. Legend has it that she shot the reporter who failed to mention she was a better shot than Annie Oakley, and that she reputedly threw the party that started the Great Fire of Chicago.

Belle was killed by Daimons during an ambush in Seattle.

B
ORN
: November 9, 1869

B
IRTHPLACE
: Austin, Texas

H
EIGHT
: six feet

H
AIR
/E
YES
: blond

P
OWERS
: atmokinesis

Blade
    A Saxon peasant who rose to knighthood on merit alone, Blade eventually became a mercenary for William the Conqueror. He was assassinated by his lover during the 1066 Norman Invasion after he snuck her through enemy troops to safety.

B
ORN
:
A.D
. 1032

B
IRTHPLACE
: Northumberland, England

H
EIGHT
: six foot four

H
AIR
/E
YES
: dark brown

P
OWERS
: telekinesis

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: Atlanta, Georgia

Brady, “Jess” William Jessup (aka Sundown)
    Orphaned at age five, Jess was a gunslinger, train robber, and cardsharp by age sixteen. He obtained the nickname “Sundown” because they claimed he always did his best work after dark. The bounty on his head was enough to persuade the best man at Jess’s wedding to shoot him in the back. The best man collected … and, thanks to Artemis, so did Jess.

Jess is the only Dark-Hunter that Zarek has ever confided in (they met while playing Myst online). Not surprisingly, he wears a black Stetson.

B
ORN
: August 14, 1869

B
IRTHPLACE
: Possum Town, Mississippi

H
EIGHT
: six foot five

H
AIR
/E
YES
: dark brown

P
OWERS
: precognition, telekinesis

A
GE AT
D
EATH
: twenty-four

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: Reno, Nevada

Cael
    A Celtic Dark-Hunter whose wife (Morag), brother, washerwoman mother, and sister (Corynna) were all slain by Vikings in 904. Cael’s nobleborn father had sold them all into slavery to save his own wretched life. He probably knew that the Vikings didn’t want slaves—they wanted people on which to practice their fighting skills. Cael was forced to watch as his entire family and his beloved wife were killed before his eyes.

And then came vengeance.

An artist of sorts, Cael makes recycled trash sculptures that he keeps at his home in the basement underneath the Happy Hunting Ground (an Apollite bar) in Seattle. His only friend through the centuries has been the Dark-Hunter/Were-Hunter Ravyn Kontis.

In 2006, Cael’s Apollite-turned-Daimon (by accident) wife, Amaranda, fed him the blood of a Daimon to save him from dying—an act that caused his black eyes to be streaked with amber.

B
ORN
: September 2, 879

B
IRTHPLACE
: Cornwall, England

H
EIGHT
: six foot six

H
AIR
/E
YES
: black

P
OWERS
: psychometry, telekinesis

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: Seattle, Washington

Callabrax of Likonos
    Nickname: Brax. A Dorian warrior (Dorians are the forerunners of the Spartans), Callabrax was one of the original Dark-Hunters. He, like many other of his Dark-Hunter brethren, enjoys keeping track of his Daimon kills.

B
ORN
: ?

B
IRTHPLACE
: ?

H
EIGHT
: six foot five

H
AIR
/E
YES
: black

P
OWERS
: ferrokinesis

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: Dallas, Texas

Campbell, Maxx
    A Dark-Hunter Highlander currently located in Glasgow. Maxx’s Squire is Keller Mallory’s father.

B
ORN
: June 12, 1419

B
IRTHPLACE
: Northern Scotland

H
EIGHT
: six foot four

H
AIR
/E
YES
: blond

P
OWERS
: teleportation, telekinesis

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: Glasgow, Scotland

Corbin
    Nickname: Binny (to a chosen few). A Dark-Huntress, Corbin is a former beloved Greek queen who married and was widowed young. Her reign was uncontested until her brother-in-law made a pact with a barbarian tribe to sack the city and burn it to the ground. She died trying to save her servants and their children.

Corbin gets her kicks out of sneaking up on people. Her Squire is Sara Addams.

B
ORN
: January 17, 190
B.C
.

B
IRTHPLACE
: Athens, Greece

H
EIGHT
: five foot ten

H
AIR
/E
YES
: auburn

P
OWERS
: chronokinesis, teleportation

A
GE AT
D
EATH
: twenty-six

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: St. Paul, Minnesota

Cromley
    (deceased) Dark-Hunter killed by Desiderius.

B
ORN
: August 19, 1610

B
IRTHPLACE
: Liverpool, England

H
EIGHT
: six foot six

H
AIR
/E
YES
: black

P
OWERS
: pyrokinesis

Danesti, Esperetta
    Nickname: Retta. The daughter of Vlad Te
eş (aka Dracula or Vlad the Impaler), Esperetta grew up isolated in a nunnery in the Caucasus. From the moment of her birth, it was decided that she would be a gift to the Church to atone for her father’s sins. Retta had no desire for anything else … until the day Velkan saved her from a fate worse than death (see Velkan Danesti). Retta fell instantly in love with the handsome warrior prince. They were married in secret and—because he was a sorcerer—Velkan bound her soul to his so that they might remain together for all eternity.

Killed by Retta’s father, Velkan took up Artemis’s deal to become a Dark-Hunter. He swore vengeance upon Vlad, and killed him. But because they had been bound by sorcery, when Velkan was reborn as a Dark-Hunter … so was his soul mate.

B
ORN
: December 25, 1452

B
IRTHPLACE
: Wallachia, Romania

H
EIGHT
: six feet

H
AIR
/E
YES
: auburn/blue

P
OWERS
: longevity

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: Transylvania

F
EATURED
S
TORY
: “Until Death We Do Part” in the
Love at First Bite Anthology

Danesti, Velkan
    Velkan was the illegitimate son of a Hungarian sorceress-princess and a Moldavian prince who—like the infamous Vlad Dracul—was a member of the Order of the Dragon. Velkan grew up at his father’s side, fighting invaders. His brothers were captured and enslaved by their enemies.

Rather than be turned into a slave, Velkan sold his soul to the devil for freedom. He vowed that no one would ever enslave or tame him. At age fifteen, he fought and freed his one brother who still lived.

At twenty-six, Velkan captured a band of invaders who had attacked and ransacked a group of nuns on their way to Trigoviste. There in their midst, he found a novice who they had captured with the intent to rape and kill her.

This novice from Wallachia was none other than Esperetta, the daughter of Vlad Dracul, one of his father’s most hated enemies. Despite her ancestry, Velkan took her to his home and cared for her … and fell in love with her. (See Esperetta Danesti.)

Velkan has a scar that runs from the corner of his left eye to his chin. During his days as a Moldavian warlord, he wore black armor bearing the golden emblem of a coiled serpent, and a dragon-shaped helm.

He owns two huge Tibetan mastiffs: Bram and Stoker.

B
ORN
: September 8, 1450

B
IRTHPLACE
: Moldavia, Romania

H
EIGHT
: six foot four

H
AIR
/E
YES
: black

P
OWERS
: telekinesis, shapeshifting, pyrokinesis

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: Transylvania

F
EATURED
S
TORY
: “Until Death We Do Part” in the
Love at First Bite Anthology

Diego
    Born the spoiled son of a rich aristocrat, when Diego wanted to be a sailor, his father gave him a boat and the best captain to train him. With the influx of gold from the New World and the stories of riches to be had, Diego turned his attention to the Aztec nation. He was reportedly on his way to El Dorado when his second-in-command decided to hand him over to a group of headhunters. Vengeance ensued, and Artemis got herself a new Dark-Hunter.

B
ORN
:
A.D
. 1532

B
IRTHPLACE
: Toledo, Spain

H
EIGHT
: six foot four

H
AIR
/E
YES
: black

P
OWERS
: aerokinesis, electrokinesis, telekinesis

C
URRENT
L
OCATION
: East Los Angeles, California

Dragon
    Dragon is the illegitimate son of a Western merchant and a Japanese woman. Trained as a ninja by his uncle, he was betrayed by his samurai overlord and handed over to his archrival. Dragon still walks the path of the ninja, making time to take on students—often inner-city kids and women from shelters—and train them in the martial arts. He believes that no one should ever be defenseless. Dragon was the sensei of Susan Michaels.