The Dark-Hunters (105 page)

“What else did she say?”

“That true love could restore your soul to you and free you from your oath to Artemis.”

It was true and yet in his case it didn’t matter. Free or not, he could never have her. “Provided I want my freedom, you mean.”

“Don’t you?”

He looked down at the floor.

She cupped his chin in her hand and forced him to look at her. “Talon?”

He took her hands in his and kissed each one, then held them. How he wanted a lifetime with this woman. It was all he had
ever
wanted.

It was the one thing he could never have.

“It’s not an easy question to answer, Sunshine. I took an oath and I always stand by my oaths.”

“Do I mean anything to you at all?”

Talon flinched at her question. He would gladly sell his soul all over again for them to spend the rest of eternity together. “Yes, you do, but you have to admit that we barely know each other.”

“I know and yet when I look at you, Talon, I do know you. I can feel you so deep in my heart that it aches. Do you not feel that too?”

Yes, he did. But he couldn’t tell her that. He didn’t dare. There was more than just feelings standing between them. There was the wrath of two ancient gods who would be extremely unhappy if he chose to be with her.

“I live a dangerous life, Sunshine. There’s no guarantee whatsoever that Artemis will ever hand over my soul. There have been numerous cases in the past where she’s refused Dark-Hunters that request, and even if she does give it up, there’s still no guarantee you will pass her test and free me.

“Not to mention the small fact that I pissed off a major Celtic god centuries ago and every time I allow myself to love a human, he kills them. Why do you think I live alone in the swamp? Do you think I enjoy being a hermit? I would love nothing more than having a Squire or a human friend, but I don’t dare.”

That familiar steely look came into her eyes as if she had a plan. “Who did you tick off?”

“Camulus.”

“What did you…” Her voice trailed off and she had a faraway look, as if she were remembering something. “You killed his son.”

Talon closed his eyes. How he wished he could go back and undo his actions that day. Had he just stayed home with Nynia and grieved for his uncle, none of this would have happened.

“Yes,” he breathed. “I thought his son had led the attacking party that killed Idiag.”

“Because you chose to marry me and not his daughter.”

He nodded. “I was blinded by grief and didn’t take time to learn that his daughter had married someone else.” He swallowed as he remembered that day and the agony that still lived inside his heart.

“Nynia tried to stop me and I wouldn’t listen. After I had slain their warriors and king, Camulus came to me on the battlefield and cursed me. I didn’t learn until afterward that my uncle’s attack had been staged by his illegitimate son, who was trying to get me and Ceara out of the way so that he could be king. Then it was too late. The die had been cast and all our fates sealed. The truth of it all didn’t come out until my death.”

He cupped her face in his hands as the agony of that day washed through him anew. “I’m so sorry for what I did to you. What I did to us. There hasn’t been a day in my life when I haven’t wished that I could go back and right that wrong.”

“You didn’t do it, Talon. You did what you thought was right.” Sunshine held him close to her, trying to soothe his guilt and pain. “Surely there is some way to beat Camulus’s curse. Isn’t there?”

“No,” he said. “You have no idea how powerful he is.”

She pulled back to look at him. “But have you ever tried to appease him or talk to him about it?”

Before he could respond, her door crashed open.

Sunshine gasped, then scooted off Talon’s lap. Her heart pounded as she saw a man coming slowly through her doorway, walking as if he had all the time in the world.

He wasn’t nearly as tall as Talon, probably no more than six feet. He had long black hair that fell freely around his face and he was dressed in a pair of black leather jeans, a gray henley, and a black V-neck sweater.

He was startlingly handsome, but at the same time there was a dark, sinister aura around him. One that said he delighted in making other people suffer.

Talon got up, ready for battle.

The stranger gave a cocky, arrogant smile. “Hope you don’t mind the intrusion, but my ears were burning. Naturally, I just had to come and see what the two of you were talking about.”

Without being told, she knew this was Camulus.

Talon let out a curse, then the next thing she knew, two daggers came out from under Talon’s coat on her coffee table and flew into Talon’s hands.

He sprung the release with his thumb, ejecting the blades into a circle of three blades, then crouched into a menacing stance that said he was ready to engage the god.

“Wait!” she said, hoping to avert a fight that could cost Talon his life. She looked at Camulus. “Why are you here?”

Camulus laughed evilly. Coldly. “I’m here strictly to torture Speirr by killing you. Why else would I bother coming?”

Horrified, she stepped back.

So much for negotiating with this man. He was evil incarnate.

Talon leapt across the couch, straight for the god’s throat.

Camulus pulled a sword out of thin air. “Oh Speirr, how I have missed you. No one ever fought like you.”

Sunshine’s eyes widened as they engaged each other. She’d never seen anything like it in her life. Forget Hollywood. It had nothing on the two of them. They fought with malice and with consummate skill.

Talon deflected Camulus’s sword with the srads, then ducked the next swing. While the god prepared his next attack, Talon swung about and caught him on the arm with one dagger.

The god hissed as his blood flowed from the wound.

“I won’t let you take her,” Talon said from between clenched teeth. “I’ll kill you first.”

Camulus attacked even harder than before. Faster.

Talon met him stroke for stroke. Lethal assault for lethal assault.

“You never could learn your place, Speirr. You never knew when you should just lay down the sword and play nice.”

Talon caught his sword between two blades. “I don’t play nice with enemies. I execute them.” He head-butted Camulus, who staggered back.

The god shook his head. “You’ve improved.”

“I’ve had fifteen hundred years to perfect my skills.”

As Talon lunged, six more men came through the door.

Two of them shone bright flashlights into his eyes.

Talon cursed and ducked, covering his eyes as if the lights were searing to his senses.

“I really wish I had more time for this,” Camulus said. “But I fear I’m bored now.”

Talon turned toward Sunshine who grabbed the lamp from her end table and brought it down on the head of the first man who reached her.

“Damn you, Camulus!” he snarled.

“Och now, Speirr. It’s you who are damned.”

Talon tried to reach Sunshine, but one of the men opened fire on him. The bullets weren’t lethal, but they were extremely painful as they lacerated his chest, back, and arms. He staggered and then fell.

Sunshine screamed as she saw Talon hit the floor. Terrified, she started for him and then felt a bullet rip into the back of her shoulder. All she could think of was saving Talon and herself. She didn’t have a gun in her house, but she did have a baseball bat in her bedroom.

She had to get to it.

It was little protection against a god. Still, a slim chance was better than none at all.

As she ran for her bedroom, she realized it wasn’t a bullet that had hit her.

It was a potent tranquilizer.

The room swam in front of her eyes as she struggled to walk. Her legs were heavy, hard to move, and felt as if she were trying to walk through murky concrete.

It was too much effort to move.

The next thing she knew, everything went black.

Bleeding and hurt, Talon fought as best he could. Every time he got up, someone shone another light straight into his eyes and shot more bullets into his body. His eyes burned like fire and he could barely open them.

He struggled to reach Sunshine.

Camulus hit him with a god-bolt and slammed him against the far wall.

Talon stared at him, his body throbbing and aching as he bled.

Nonchalantly, Camulus picked Sunshine up in his arms and stared at her. “She’s a pretty little thing, isn’t she? Even more lovely than she was the first time.” He looked back at Talon with a sinister grin twisting his lips. “You have no idea what I intend to do with her.” He kissed her on the cheek. “But I promise you, you will find out.”

Talon roared with the weight of his rage. “So help me, Camulus, I’ll kill you if you harm her.”

Camulus threw his head back and laughed, then strode casually from the room.

Talon could barely breathe from the pain as Camulus lowered him and he fell to his knees. He was covered in blood, which made it even harder to move across the now slippery hardwood floor. But it didn’t stop him from trying.

Keeping Sunshine safe was all that mattered.

Someone started ripping the blinds down from the windows, spilling sunlight into the room.

Talon growled as the daylight singed his skin and he lunged for the door where Camulus had vanished.

Three men rushed him, knocking him back.

He kicked and punched his way through them and followed Camulus.

He ran after them to the back door of the club where they vanished into the alley.

Thinking only about saving her, Talon didn’t realize he was in the sunlight until he felt his skin catching fire. Cursing, he fell back into the club and watched helplessly as Camulus paused at the car and held Sunshine’s head up so that Talon could see her face.

“Say goodbye to your wife, Speirr. Don’t worry. I’ll take really
good
care of her.”

Camulus put her in a car and drove away.

“No!” Talon shouted. He wouldn’t be the death of Sunshine.

Not again.

Chapter 11

It was close to four in the afternoon when Nick rounded the corner of the Pedestrian Mall and caught sight of Ash standing outside of the Corner Cafe, waiting for him. The Atlantean was leaning back against the red-brick wall with his arms folded over his chest and one leg bent and braced on the wall in a way that looked nonchalant, and yet Nick knew Ash could launch himself into action at the slightest provocation.

Dressed in black leather pants, a black T-shirt, and a long, pirate/Colonial style coat, Ash was watching the tourist crowd cut a wide berth around him.

A lethal, dark aura surrounded him. An aura like the one around a wild predator that was both graceful and attractive to behold, but one that let a person know that at any minute they could wind up as lunch.

No one was ever sure how to approach the oldest Dark-Hunter and so most people treated Ash like a visit to the dentist.

In all honesty Nick felt sorry for him. It must be hard to wield so much power and not have anyone to confide in. Ash kept a big distance between him and anyone who would get close to him—both physically and mentally.

Nick tried to treat him just like he would any other guy he hung with and he suspected Ash liked that.

At least he seemed more relaxed around Nick than he did the other Hunters or Squires.

“Look, Mommy, a giant!”

Nick turned to see a little girl around the age of five pointing up at Ash.

Her mother took one look at Ash, gathered her daughter into her arms, and hurried across the street toward the cathedral as fast as her legs would carry her.

Ash waved at the little girl who was still telling her mom to look at him. Poor guy.

Nick closed the distance between them. “You know, if you dressed a little less scary, people might not do that to you.”

Pulling his sunglasses low on the bridge of his nose with his forefinger, Ash gave him a wry smile. “Trust me, Nick, it’s not the clothes.”

He was probably right. Ash had a way about him that was unnaturally intimidating and lethal—kind of like you knew something about Ash wasn’t quite human.

Nick noticed Ash had changed hair color. Again. This morning when he’d been at Kyrian’s, Ash’s hair had been purple. “Back to being black-haired, eh?”

“Back to being annoying, eh?” he quipped.

Nick laughed.

Ash pushed himself away from the wall and picked his black backpack up from the ground. Nick had never known Ash to leave it behind and he’d always been curious about what it contained.

However, he wasn’t suicidal enough to try to find out. Ash guarded that bag like a treasured jewel.

“So, how was your test?” Ash asked.

“It sucked. I could have used my microscopic two-way communicator with you. I’m taking Classical Greek civilization with Julian Alexander and he’s kicking my ass. That man is one tough drill instructor.”

“Yeah, he was never one for nepotism.”

Nick inclined his head toward the restaurant, which was only about half full. “Do you mind if I eat while we have this meeting? I skipped lunch to study and now I’m starving.”

“Sure,” Ash said, then held the door open for him to enter first.

Now that Nick thought about it, Ash did that a lot. He never let anyone get behind him. He always stood with his back to something or kept the crowd in front of him.

His mother would call that a gunfighter’s itch. That nervous twitch of someone who expected at any moment to face an unseen attack.

Nick sat at the far end of the bar counter while Ash straddled a stool and kept his back to the wall so that he could watch the diners and the door.

A burly, older bartender came over to them. “What can I get the two of you?” he asked in a deep, hoarse voice.

“Give me a Bud Light,” Nick said.

The bartender nodded, then turned to Ash. “What about you?”

“Same.”

The bartender narrowed his eyes and gave Ash a thorough once-over. Nick clenched his teeth to keep from smiling. He knew what was coming before the bartender spoke. “You got any ID on you, kid?” he asked Ash.