The Dark-Hunters (866 page)

Morganette
    Danger St. Richard’s insane aunt. Morganette thought her cat was her dead husband Etienne, so she would dress him up like a man.

Murrdyd
    Talon/Speirr’s bastard cousin.

Neely, Margie
    Assistant on-site nurse to Dr. Carson Whitethunder at Sanctuary in New Orleans. This petite, redheaded ex-waitress is currently attending veterinary school.

Ryssa
    A Greek princess who was one of Apollo’s favorite mistresses. She bore him a son, which made the Apollite queen so mad she sent a team of Apollites to kill them both … the act that ultimately led Apollo to curse the Apollites. She was also, notably, the sister of Acheron.

Ningal
    Sin’s unfaithful Sumerian wife, who publicly announced her affairs to shame her husband. (For example, she wore an Atlantean sun on her chest to advertise her relationship with Archon.) In revenge, Sin’s twin brother, Zakar, made her dream of snakes and Gorgons while she slept.

Nynia
    Ancient Celt, fisherman’s daughter, and Talon/Speirr’s true love. Nynia was married to Speirr for five years. She died giving birth to Speirr’s stillborn child. (See Sunshine Runningwolf.)

Ora
    Talon/Speirr’s aunt who was murdered by Camulus’s illegitimate son.

Parker, Sharon
    Ex-waitress in Alaska whom Zarek saved (along with her baby) from freezing and starving to death. In return, Sharon gave Zarek her friendship and ran errands for him during the days of twenty-four-hour sun.

Parker, Trixie
    Sharon’s daughter.

Penelope
    Born circa 178
B.C.
, Penelope was promised to Iason before the jealous Julian shot her with Eros’s golden arrow. Years later, when Priapus forced her to drink water from the Pool of Memory, she went insane with the knowledge, killing her two children (Atolycus and Callista) and then herself.

Peters, Jefferson T.
    Father of Cassandra and Phoebe Peters. Jefferson is the wealthy owner and founder of Peters, Briggs, and Smith Pharmaceuticals, one of the world’s largest drug research and development companies.

Phaedra
    Kyrian’s sister, younger by one year, Phaedra had the voice of an angel.

Plato
    Born Aristocles, Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher and student of Socrates. He founded one of the earliest known schools, and is known for his
Dialogues.
He also wrote extensively about the existence of Atlantis and its origins.

B
ORN
: 427
B.C.

B
IRTHPLACE
: Athens

Rosa
    Kyrian’s thin, elderly, Hispanic housekeeper and cook. Rosa had a heart attack when she was possessed by Desiderius and tried to kill Kyrian. Thankfully, she survived. She has a son, Miguel.

Runningwolf, Daniel
    Sunshine’s father. Daniel is a Native American with shamanic powers (and can therefore never touch a Dark-Hunter). He is the owner of Club Runningwolf’s on Canal Street in New Orleans.

Runningwolf, Rain
    Sunshine’s older brother; the middle child.

Runningwolf, Starla
    Sunshine’s mother; a daughter of the Morrigán. Starla can see auras; a power she passed on to her daughter Sunshine.

P
OWERS
: aura perception

Runningwolf, Storm
    Sunshine’s oldest brother. Storm is a bad housekeeper who snores. (Well, he does!)

Runningwolf, Sunshine
    A very talented artist with a very short attention span. Sunshine is the wife of the Dark-Hunter Talon, and immortal granddaughter of the Morrigán. Sunshine is extremely fond of the colors pink and purple and is constantly losing things … including herself. She has a tattoo on her inner left ankle of a stylized Celtic sun and the symbol for creativity.

H
AIR
: black

P
OWERS
: aura perception

F
EATURED
N
OVEL
:
Night Embrace

Saatsakis, Megeara
    Nickname: Geary. Born Megeara Kafieri, named after the Fury of Greek mythology. Geary changed her name and sued for emancipation from her father at age sixteen in order to get into college. She has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Yale University.

Trained as a lifeguard, Geary is a certified diving instructor and underwater recovery expert. She wears an Atlantean coin (Apollymi’s gold medallion) around her neck that her father gave her when he died.

With pure Atlantean blood in her ancestry, Geary is a lucid dreamer who is sensitive to the voices of the gods, especially Apollymi. She is married to the former Dream-Hunter Arikos.

B
ORN
: 1968

B
IRTHPLACE
: Santorini, Greece

H
EIGHT
: six feet

H
AIR
/E
YES
: blond/deep blue

F
EATURED
N
OVEL
:
The Dream-Hunter

Santana, Wayne
    Convicted and imprisoned for involuntary manslaughter at the age of sixteen, he served twelve years in jail. Wayne lucked out when Sunshine Runningwolf hired him to work in her father’s club despite his record. The Runningwolf family lucked out too, in gaining a faithful friend and a good lookout for the absentminded Sunshine.

Schliemann, Heinrich
    German treasure hunter obsessed with Homer’s works and the discovery of Troy. In his haste and enthusiasm, Heinrich dug too deeply too quickly, possibly destroying important historical evidence of the Trojan War.

B
ORN
: January 6, 1822

B
IRTHPLACE
: Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany

Scipio
    According to current history books, Scipio was the assassin of Julian and his family. But who believes the history books?

Scott, Cameron
    Once commissioned a painting from Sunshine Runningwolf.

Scott
    A fixation of Cynthia’s who joined her in Greece to hunt for Atlantis the summer that Megeara Kafieri met the Dream-Hunter Arikos.

Sisyphus
    Former king of Corinth, Sisyphus was doomed to Tartarus for his trickery. For all eternity he must push a boulder up a hill. Once he has almost reached the top, it slips and rolls down to the bottom again. Every single time. Forever. That’s hell for you.

Stefan
    The man who, thanks to the Skotos Solin, ultimately signed the permit for Geary so that she could legally look for Atlantis.

St. Michel, Rudy
    A human ex-con who works at Sanctuary, Rudy is responsible for the bar’s arcade games and poker tournaments. When needed, he is also a bouncer and all-around rule enforcer. He has lots of colorful tattoos. Ask him about them sometime.

H
AIR
: black

St. Richard, Edmonde
    Brother of Dangereuse St. Richard. Edmonde died when the family was betrayed by Danger’s husband. He was only four years old.

St. Richard, Esmée
    Maman Esmée, Dangereuse St. Richard’s stepmother. Esmée had a weakness for hats.

St. Richard, Jacqueline
    Sister of Dangereuse St. Richard. Jacqueline died when the family was betrayed by Danger’s husband. She was less than a year old.

Tammy
    A friend of Maggie Tigarian. Tammy is a Goth ex-art major.

Teddy
    A colleague of Megeara’s, Teddy is more like a father to her. With short brown hair and dimples, he is a puckish sort of fellow. My favorite kind.

Te
eş, Vlad
    (aka Dracula or Vlad the Impaler) Heir to the throne of Wallachia, and member of the Order of the Dragon. Vlad was the father of Esperetta Danesti. (See Esperetta Danesti, Velkan Danesti.) Vlad was widely known for his cruelty, his elaborate torture, and his tendency toward inflicting death by impaling.

Legend has it that he placed a golden cup in the middle of the square of Tirgoviste to tempt thieves. They were so scared of him that no one touched it for the entirety of Vlad’s reign. It is also said that he invited the sick and poor to dine in a great hall in Tirgoviste … then he boarded it up and set it on fire.

Nice guy, really.

After Vlad’s death, his head was sent to Constantinople and displayed on a stake for all to see.

B
ORN: A.D.
1431

B
IRTHPLACE
: Sighişoara, Transylvania

R
EIGN: A.D.
1456–62

Theone
    The daughter of a prostitute, a courtesan herself, and pretty much as evil as evil comes. Kyrian broke his engagement to the Macedonian princess in order to marry Theone. As a repayment for his love, she drugged him, betrayed him to the Romans, and became the mistress of Kyrian’s torturer (Valerius the older, not Valerius the Dark-Hunter). She deserves to be crowned Queen Bitch of the Universe … only last time I checked, Artemis still held that title.

Tina
    The skinny, fashionable secretary of Jefferson T. Peters.

Trahan, Whitney Logan
    A member of Maggie Tigarian’s study group.

Tress
    One of Talon/Speirr’s sisters before Ceara. Tress died of the same illness that claimed their mother.

Trish
    Esperetta Danesti’s assistant at her law office in Chicago.

Tsiaris, Cosmo
    The Kafieri family attorney in Greece and pseudo-partner in Eneas Kafieri’s salvage company.

Twisted Hearts
    The favorite local (Minnesota) band of Cassandra Peters and Michelle Avery.

Vargas, Jose
    The cook at Sanctuary; Mama Peltier’s right-hand man and assistant.

Vieux-Doo Dogs
    A local New Orleans biker gang that frequents Sanctuary.

Warren, Angie
    (deceased) Childhood best friend of Susan Kontis. Susan introduced Angie to her husband Jimmy. Angie was the vegan veterinarian who freed Ravyn Kontis in his cat form from the pound by having Susan adopt him … right before the Spathi Daimons killed her and her husband.

Warren, James
    (deceased) Nickname: Jimmy. A detective and best friend of Susan Kontis. Jimmy was killed by Spathi Daimons alongside his wife Angie.

Winston, Cara
    A waitress and short-order cook at Sanctuary. She’s quick with a comeback and loves to pick on both Alain and Kyle Peltier.

Woodard, Tony
    Sanctuary office assistant and entertainment coordinator. Tony also handles publicity and does the Web site updates.

Xanthippe
    An infamous ancient Greek shrew. (Technically she wasn’t ancient when she was infamous … but she was always a shrew. What can I say? You’ve got to watch out for those Greek women.)

Xenobia
    The Devereaux girls’ gypsy aunt who specializes in curses.

Yves
    The best friend of Marla Divine.

Zetes
    Kyrian’s uncle. Zetes bargained with Valerius the older for Kyrian’s life.

Yes, Virginia, It
Is
a Language

Conversational Atlantean for the World Traveler

Never underestimate an Atlantean.

We’re not your average pantheon.

—Katra Agrotera

The World According to Plato

But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods, and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in a like manner disappeared into the depths of the sea.

—from Plato’s
Timaeus,
360
B.C.