The Dark-Hunters (856 page)

They can’t eat just one.

One way to spot a Daimon in a Goth crowd is his superb diction—a Goth with custom-made vampire teeth won’t have had the years of practice getting his tongue around them that a Daimon will. (How long did it take
you
to get around that particular impediment?)

Apollites are usually quite tall—a god like Apollo wouldn’t have created a race of short people to take over the world, would he? Daimons use that gift to loom over their prey, giving them an immediate false sense of power, and making them more intimidating.

They also have that mesmeric gaze that made Dracula so sexy and popular in the old Hammer movies. Chicks totally dig that, apparently, too. Don’t ask me why. Must have to do with the “brooding” part of the whole “dark and brooding” thing. They have a variety of psychic abilities, but like Dark-Hunters, they vary. You won’t know what you’re dealing with until you face them.

Another way to spot a Daimon in a Goth club is—and don’t laugh—they can’t dance. Seriously. Apollites have no problem in this arena. It’s as if as soon as they cross over, they lose all sense of rhythm. (I think it might have something to do with them literally not having any soul.) Whatever the reason, it’s a valid one to look out for.

Sometimes simple is best.

And yes, Daimons can enter clubs. In fact, they tend to own the clubs rather than dance in them. They can also come and go as they please from malls and other such public areas. Otherwise, they are indeed forbidden to enter private dwellings without an invitation. (Though chances are that scrumptious little Goth girl is probably going to invite the big bad Daimon in … unless she’s seen him dance.) Hey, there’s a reason punks invented slam dancing. Even a Daimon can do that.

Daimons won’t drink the blood of the dead, and they are forbidden to feed on their Apollite brethren. That doesn’t, of course, mean that there aren’t Daimons who do … but they are hunted even more viciously by their own kind. Dead with a death wish, if you will.

Apollites are also very handy for spotting Daimons. Blood calls to blood, I suppose.

Watch your own reputation—a Dark-Hunter is the personification of Satan for the Apollites. He’s the boogeyman, the monster under the bed, and the thing that will eat you if you don’t clean your room or mind your mother. As for Acheron, well, he’s the Angel of Death and the Grim Reaper and everything else all rolled into one. Apollites are born and bred in fear of the Dark-Hunters, so it is their natural instinct to hide and protect themselves from them.

From you.

If they do not live in established clans or communities, Apollites and Daimons have still been known to take up residence in crypts and catacombs. If they are surrounded by bodiless souls, they have a quick outlet to a pick-me-up when needed. They also have a pretty foolproof way of warding off Dark-Hunters.

Like killing two birds with one soul.

They travel in groups. Usually in even numbers. Kill one and the odd number will make them spaz—that is a joke by the way. We can only wish it were the truth. If they have a female with them, they will protect her at all cost if they are old school. If they’re not, they might very well throw her at you as a shield, hoping you won’t hit a girl. I know your mom taught you better, but in this case, hit her. Your life will depend on it.

Daimons use bolt-holes, or laminas, to travel between dimensions. These bolt-holes drop them in the banquet hall of Kalosis, which is why it is wise for a Dark-Hunter to never follow a Daimon through one. Daimons
must
step through a portal when one opens … which is a good thing to know if you happen to possess that particular ability.

During Mardi Gras of 2003, the threshold between Kalosis and the mortal world was very thin. Dark-Hunters were brought in from all over the globe to keep the situation under control. Some of them stayed. Some of them returned to the cities where they were stationed. Some of them left their otherwise immortal coil.

Such things happen when chaos takes a hand.

Either way, the last such occurrence was in the 1400s, and the next will be in the 2800s sometime. If you’re just joining us now, that means you shouldn’t be too worried about this one. (We hope.) Wait, did I say that out loud? Forget you heard it.

Not that you shouldn’t be worried about an apocalypse in general, of course—you never know when the next god is going to have the next kid cursed by the Fates. Just don’t worry overly much about Mardi Gras. Visit New Orleans and have a coffee and a beignet for me. Off a few Daimons. Enjoy yourself.

You do have the rest of that miserably long life to live, after all.

Oh—one more thing, the answer is no. No, no matter what you’ve heard, no matter how reliable your source may be, Daimons can
not
fly. Promise.

Cross my cold little heart. Unless Kyrian throws them off the hood of his speeding Lamborghini. Or you throw them off a building. While this can be highly entertaining, please don’t as it will only tick the Daimon off and not kill him. He’ll only die if by some fortunate act of some god (and they never do anything when it’s actually convenient for you) he lands on something that pierces his mark.

One last thing: Daimons are afraid of bees. Since Apollo’s son is a beekeeper, bee stings are lethal to them. I have no idea when you would use this information or how, but there you have it.

Daimon Directory

Here is a list of known Daimons, their branches, and the terms they use.

Learn it well.

Akelos/Agkelos
    The Akelos are a branch of Daimons who find it hard to take the lives of “innocent” humans, so they only prey on criminals and predators. This sounds like a good deal on the surface, but the venom of the corrupt souls can overtake the Daimon and turn him or her into one very, very nasty customer. (See Trelos.) Their leader’s name is Karlos.

Allegra
    One of Stryker’s four Spathi commanders.

Amaranda
    Apollite wife of the Dark-Hunter Cael, Amaranda bears a bow-and-arrow tattoo on the small of her back entwined with a rose as a symbol of their love. She also has Spathi teardrop tattoos on her hand. Cael’s nickname for her is Sunshine.

Amaranda accidentally turned Daimon after killing the Daimon who attacked her husband. She then saved Cael’s life by forcing him to feed on the blood of a Daimon, turning him into … gods only know what.

Anaimikos
    A Daimon who only feeds from other Daimons in order to survive.

Apati
    These are the “fake” Spathi Daimons. Dark-Hunters (and many Apollites) can’t differentiate between these and the true Spathi warriors. Most of the Apati are found living in and around human cities. They are tough, but not nearly as lethal as the real thing. Their high leader is Christof.

Arista
    Member of the Illuminati.

Arod
    One of Stryker’s four Spathi commanders.

Athenians
    This large community of Apollites has branches that are mostly found in and around the Apollites’ native homeland of Greece. People and places friendly to this community are marked by various sun symbols.

Bloody Dungeon
    Club in Transylvania where Daimons frequently pick up tourists wanting to meet “real” vampires … and where they’re most likely to run into Velkan Danesti.

Bolt-holes
    Doorways that open when a Daimon is in trouble. The Daimons have no control over them. (See Lamina.)

Buffites
    Nickname for human vampire slayers. While they really do exist, they don’t normally last long in a fight. They will, however, attack you as they can’t tell the difference between you and the Daimons. Sucks (sorry for the pun), doesn’t it? Here’s the really sucky part. Since they’re human, you can’t attack back. You’re supposed to protect them even while they’re trying to stake you.

Callyx
    Apollite husband of Dirce who became an incarnation of Thanatos. After he was defeated, Callyx was given the chance (by Acheron) to be reborn as human so that he might be with his wife. (See Thanatos.)

Carmillas
    Women looking for Daimons to turn them into immortal vampires. Also called “Daimon Bait” or “Incredible Morons.”

Chloe
    Apollite bride whose wedding reception was crashed by the Dark-Hunter Rafael and the Squire Celena.

Cliff
    Amanda Devereaux Hunter’s annoying, half-Apollite ex-fiancé. A nice, quiet, average-looking data entry clerk on the surface, he broke off his engagement with Amanda after meeting her eccentric family … and then later betrayed her to Desiderius. Slimeball isn’t a strong enough word.

Cult of Pollux
    A group of Apollites who take an oath to die exactly as Apollo intended for them to die—slowly, on the day of their twenty-seventh birthday. Members of the Cult of Pollux do not commit ritual suicide or become Daimon. Not well liked by other groups, cult members are usually found in remote areas.

It should be noted that every Apollite in the colony of Elysia has taken an oath to uphold the Cult of Pollux.

Davyn
    Member of the Illuminati who was made second-in-command to Stryker after the death of Trates. Davyn was once a close friend of Stryker’s son Urian.

Dawn Surfer
    Slang for a Daimon exposed to sunlight. Known to the Dark-Hunters as “Daimon Flambé.”

Day-Slayer
    Apollite myth of a Daimon-Apollite that can walk in sunlight. It is believed that one day the Day-Slayer will come and unite all the Daimons, so that they can take their rightful (according to Apollo) place as supreme rulers of the earth. (See Thanatos.)

Deadmen Walking
    Humans who serve Daimons usually because they have been promised immortality. They’re also called really stupid.

Delphinians
    Daimon Oracles. Found throughout the world, it is believed they can summon the bolt-holes at will. You can recognize them by the dolphin tattoo or jewelry they all carry.

Desiderius
    Nickname: Desi. Demigod son of Bacchus (Dionysus) and an Apollite woman, Desiderius was a Spathi Daimon with a grudge against the Devereaux family. His Apollite wife (Eleanor) died at the age of twenty-seven.

Desiderius was originally killed by Kyrian and Amanda Hunter. Unfortunately, due to his Spathi nature, he spent some time as a noncorporeal ghost haunting everybody.

Later, Stryker awarded Desiderius the ability to reincarnate. ’Cause some people just can’t have enough of a bad thing.

He finally wound up taking over the body of the Dark-Hunter Ulric, where he wreaked havoc on a major killing spree, taking the lives of Kyrian and Amanda Hunter, Tia Devereaux, the Dark-Hunter Kassim, and Cherise Gautier. Ulric/Desi was finally stabbed and decapitated by Valerius Magnus and Tabitha Devereaux.

Dikisi
    Also called Vengeance Daimons, the Dikisi specifically target humans who have preyed on Apollites, as well as Dark-Hunters and any who help or serve them. They are governed by a series of leaders, and only the strongest of them is capable of leadership. If a leader is perceived as weak, he is overthrown and killed by his next in command.

Dirce
    When a previous incarnation of Thanatos destroyed Taberleigh (the village where Zarek lived), Zarek fought his way to the Apollite village where Thanatos sought asylum, determined to kill him. In the battle, Thanatos threw an Apollite in front of him whom Zarek unintentionally killed—that was Dirce. Dirce’s husband, Callyx, sought his own vengeance and became the new Thanatos (after Ash killed the one who attacked Taberleigh).

Dirce was reborn into the mortal world as a human named Allison Grant; a dance major sophomore at Ohio State University. After his defeat, Ash gave Thanatos/Callyx the opportunity to be reborn as a human, so that he might be with his former wife.

Doulos
    Human servants of Apollites or Daimons. The doulosi guard and protect the Daimons from being discovered or hunted by humans. Their blood can tide a Daimon over if they are desperate, but they are only killed when they have betrayed their masters or are no longer necessary. Most of the doulosi believe their masters have the ability to turn them into Daimons, and that by doing so they will obtain immortality. I’m telling you, these people watch too many Hammer flicks.

Draco
    Believed to be the oldest Daimon alive, it is said that Draco commands his own Katagaria pack—a rare sight for sure. Legend has it that he is Apostolos, son of Apollymi and the missing heir to Atlantis. He, like Acheron, also travels with a demon that he commands.

Dyana
    Stryker’s Apollite daughter and sister to Urian, Dyana died on her twenty-seventh birthday, when she refused to turn Daimon.

Eleanor
    The Apollite wife of Desiderius who died at the age of twenty-seven when she refused to turn Daimon.

Elysia
    One of the oldest Apollite communities in North America, Elysia is hidden beneath a mountain. Urian, named protector of the city, showed the inhabitants how to build it.

Expire
    Slang term for killing a Daimon.

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

Gatopoulous, Damien
    The Daimon manager of Sin’s casino in Las Vegas. He’s as sarcastic a match for Katra Agrotera as you’ll ever see. And if you want to stay on Sin’s good side, fight the instinct to kill Damien if you ever cross his path. Sin would be highly offended and since he’s not really a Dark-Hunter, he could put a major hurt on you.

Happy Hunting Ground
    Apollite-Daimon bar in Seattle, Washington. There is a black dragon silhouette flying against a yellow sun on the club’s sign—this symbol is the international welcome mat for Apollites and Daimons. It’s also the home of Cael, who patrols it. Stay away should you ever find yourself in Seattle.