The Dark-Hunters (844 page)

Patria: Tigarian (tiger)

Last Seen/Fought: Scotland, 1742

Only a select few Sentinels are born to each patria, and they are chosen by the Fates. They are stronger and faster than the rest of their species. They are immune to everything but the common cold and a couple of odd diseases, like the one that takes away their ability to do magic.

Arcadian Sentinels can be recognized by the geometric designs covering one side of their face—a birthmark that appears at maturity. Most use their powers to hide these markings.

The Strati do not share the facial markings that brand Sentinels. However, it should be noted that the legendary Kathoros Daimons—a sect more evil than their Spathi brethren—have similar facial markings. Encountering a Kathoros is exceptionally rare … but that doesn’t make it impossible.

Were-Hunters can kill Daimons but usually don’t, as they are cousins to the Apollites, and therefore cousins to their foul brethren as well. Were-Hunters also tolerate the existence of Dark-Hunters, but not generally well. Most powerful beings don’t like to share that power, and when it comes to the Weres, it’s all about being the one in control—the leader of the pack.

Mating

If you ever threaten Vane or his brothers again,

I’m going to show you just how human I am.

I will don my camouflage, hunt you down,

and skin you while you scream.

—
Bride McTierney

Mating is a serious affair in the Were-world. Mating is not just sex; it is the discovery of a soul mate. That soul mate is one chosen by the Fates. As many of the animals that Lycaon crossed the Apollites with were ones who mated for life, the prospect of finding a soul mate for most Weres is as natural as breathing.

I did say
natural,
not
easy.
For some species, mating involves a hunt or a chase. For some, the female must have reached maturity and be ready to receive the male. For some, it is just the divining of the proper pheromones. Then all of this animal instinct has to be weighed against the two Weres as humans, with all the pain and emotional baggage that goes along with that.

Like I said, not easy. But even the most basic animal heart cannot argue with Fate. They all succumb eventually. And if they resist … well, you’ll see.

Once the soul mates have discovered each other, beautiful Greek scroll-markings burn themselves into the palms of the male and female after they have sex. The markings mirror each other exactly, showing parental lineage, and the ancient cipher can only be read by another Were. It looks a bit like a delicately detailed henna tattoo. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite as harmless.

While they bear the mark the couple must be careful, as each will carry the scent of his or her mate. This complication has put a Were in mortal danger more than once. Once an enemy has pegged a Were, that Were will be tracked by his scent. A Were’s scent is the one thing he cannot change or hide with magic.

Once the mating marks appear, the happily doomed couple has three weeks in which to consummate the mating—an act over which the female has total control. She is the one who must decide whether to take her partner into her body and accept him as a mate.

This is a tribute to the first law of Weres: “Nothing a woman gives is worth having unless she gives it of her own free will.” (I have a feeling this has a great deal to do with the Fates being women … but for gods’ sakes don’t quote me on that.)

If for any reason she does not, and the couple does not consummate their relationship within the allotted weeks, the Fates have declared that they must live out the rest of their very long lives without another mate.

And there’s more.

Such solitary damnation has less of a biological impact on the female of the species. She is still able to copulate with whomever she pleases—she just won’t ever be able to have any children.

Those are only the Fates’ laws, however. The clan laws are not so benevolent. They are strict about who and what they will allow into their patria, Fates be damned. In certain Arcadian groups, punishment for a female mating with a despised Katagaria male is that she be “given” to the unmated men of the clan.

Few women survive such a punishment.

What the male of the species must face if he decides to reject his chosen soul mate is just as cruel. He is rendered not only sterile, but also unable to perform the sexual act with any other woman, ever again, so long as his rejected mate lives.

To make it worse, it’s not something the couple can just change their minds about later. The couple must make the decision within the allotted time, and they must make the right one. It’s
forever.
Their future depends on it.

You don’t really ever want to cross the path of a Were that has turned against his soul mate. Talk about bitter; you haven’t seen a person with serious issues until you’ve met one of these folks. (See Markus Kattalakis.)

Now, once mated, there are two classifications of how strong the bond between each couple could possibly be:
claimed mates
and
bonded mates.

Each couple is given the chance to decide whether or not to claim each other. Like almost every other decision in a Were’s life, the decision to bond or not to bond is once again eternal and irreversible.

In order to bond, during the consummation of their love the couple must clasp their mating-marked hands together. Then, each must recite the words of the Bonding Spell:

I accept you as you are, and I will always hold you close in my heart. I will walk beside you forever.

Directly after the Bonding Spell, the Weres succumb to the
thirio
—their passionate animal instinct. They give in to their wild side, and their canine teeth elongate.

At this time, the couple can officially bond with each other by mutually sinking their teeth into each other, drinking their partner’s blood, and combining their life forces. It may sound scary and more than a bit stomach-turning, but in the world of the Were-Hunters, the bonding is a sacrament. It is beautiful and natural, and it is a testament to true love.

Just as it is the female’s choice to claim her mate, bonding is also totally within the female partner’s control. However, resisting the thirio is apparently much easier than resisting a soul mate.

The act of choosing to not claim her mate is more common practice among the indecisive female Arcadian Weres. Very few Katagaria females refuse their mates. To them, claiming your mate is simply accepted as the way things should be.

Once formally bonded, if one of the Were couple should die, the other will die as well. The only exception to this is if the female Were is with child. If a Were is pregnant when her mate dies (or is killed), she will outlive her partner only long enough to give birth to her litter. (See Anya.) If the couple is not bonded, then when one mate dies, the other is free to mate again.

So you can see why the Arcadians tend to be a bit hesitant about committing. Forever in Were-Hunter years is a pretty long time.

Also, while Arcadians and humans can mate due to their similar human base-form, it is not possible for Katagaria and humans to do so. Okay, okay, I know we’re never supposed to say never. It
is
possible, but there would never be any children from such a union.

However, all human males (and Dark-Hunters, where applicable) should heed this warning: Keep an eye on your woman. It is said that the Weres can seduce any woman alive just by saying her name.

Believe it or not, but know this: Vane Kattalakis said my name once. Sometimes, in the moments before I fall asleep, or just before I awake, I hear him repeat it in that low, predatory voice, calling to my soul.

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t envy his mate Bride in the least. That much power is simply too frightening for most of us folks to handle.

Just like Dark-Hunters, each Were and his powers are unique, but there are some traits common to each patria. These traits are discovered through eyewitness account … and generally whenever the Were-Hunters slip and flat-out tell us. For example, thanks to Dante Pontis, we can now include certain specific information about Were-panthers.

Forget what you know about humans and their social habits; women rule the roost in the world of the Panthiras Katagaria. Typical female Were-panther behavior is to mate, get pregnant, and then leave the cubs for the men to raise. Daughters remain in the pack until puberty. After that time they form a pack with other females from their own group and leave to search for mates. (Contact with any male outside her clan is forbidden until the female’s first menstrual cycle.)

This is one of the more defining differences between Katagaria and Arcadians; Arcadian pantheresses do not abandon their children until adulthood, as befits their human nature. (At which point, of course, it’s hard to say who exactly is abandoning whom.)

We know that pregnant Katagaria are Daimon magnets due to their soul strength and power. An unborn child is a Daimon delicacy as it is, with its unlimited soul-sustaining power. Were-mothers have
litters
of children—anywhere from two to six and possibly more—and though the birthrate is higher than that of their animal cousins, there is still an unfortunate chance for infant mortality.

Were-mothers are also inherently extremely powerful beings, oftentimes more so than their male counterparts. This may have to do with the inherent power of the mother, the combined untapped powers of her unborn children, or both. Put that all together and you have a Daimon smorgasbord fit for a king … or a queen and her army.

Magic and Time Travel

Nothing is ever truly set by fate.

In one blink, everything changes.

—
Acheron

While mating is heavily influenced by the animal instinct of the Weres, there are some characteristics that can only be attributed to their human and Apollite natures. One of the traits the Were-Hunters inherited from their sorcerous forefather was … well … sorcery. And, like any other hereditary attribute, some Weres are simply better at it than others.

Most Katagaria have trouble maintaining their human form until nightfall. In turn, it is easier for Arcadians to turn animal at night. Part of this is due to the mostly nocturnal nature of the beasts they descended from, and part of it has to do with the cosmic forces of the moon—the leftover curse from their Apollite ancestry. On any given day, it is easiest for a Katagari or Arcadian to remain in their birth form, but the moon—and the forces that surround it—can amplify a Were’s powers, for better or worse. Sometimes during the full moon (a force powerful enough to wreak havoc on any untrained Were’s powers), an Arcadian can’t help but turn animal … thus giving birth to the popular werewolf legends of today.

Then there are Aristi, a rare breed of Arcadian who can wield magic almost effortlessly. In the Arcadian realm, the Aristi are considered gods. (See Vane Kattalakis.) And why not, right? If they’ve got the powers, other Weres just call ’em like they see ’em. Not that I think any Aristos would last three rounds in a cage match with one of the twelve Olympians … and neither do the Aristi, who are too smart to provoke such a duel.

At the other end of the spectrum, those without innate magical abilities can still perform basic Were acts, but they cannot do things as complicated as, for instance, shapeshifting with their clothes on.

There are more forces at work between the moon and the earth besides the tides, and it is these and other natural forces which govern both the scope and limitations of Were-powers—natural forces, such as storms, and the electricity born within them. (It is said that Benjamin Franklin’s “key on a kite string” experiment originally had something to do with the discovery of Were-Hunters in his midst … but that has yet to be proven, thank the gods.)

Because of their reliance on natural gravitational, magnetic, and electrical forces, you may notice that a faint electric crackle heralds a Were’s change in form. It is a natural side effect, as they are relying on natural electrical impulses to make this change. That reliance on these forces of nature is what makes Weres so susceptible to electricity-based weapons and torture devices such as metriazo collars, fazers, Tasers, and cattle prods.

In the case of a metriazo collar, tiny ionic pulses are sent from the collar into the body of a Were-Hunter. This prevents the trapped Were-Hunter from using his or her magic powers. (It can only be removed by magic or a whole lot of strength, making it an effective neutralizer for a Were-Hunter.) The collar will also stop a shapeshifter from changing shape.

A fazer is a customized Arcadian Sentinel weapon developed specifically to target Katagaria Slayers. It sends a jolt of electricity through the victim, making their magic go berserk and rendering them unable to hold on to either animal or human form. If the jolt is strong enough, there is the possibility that the Were-victim might “fall out” of his body altogether.

Tasers and other stun-type weapons are slightly less powerful than fazers. These are weapons that use electrodes to relay a brief, high-voltage charge to incapacitate victims without killing them. That charge, of course, is what will incapacitate your not-so-average Were-Hunter. These devices are a lot easier for humans to get their hands on, especially with regards to self-defense, and so are more common.

Along with the ability to harness the powers of nature, the Weres can also time travel. With the exception of the Aristi, most Weres only wield enough power to time-jump by the light of the full moon. They use the
Rytis
—invisible energy waves that run through everything in the natural world—to move through space and time.