The Dark-Hunters (858 page)

However, just because they’re
forbidden
to help you doesn’t mean they
won’t.
You try to forbid a god something. Go ahead. Let me know how that turns out for you.

If you’re summoning a god to ask a favor from them, remember that you can’t get something for nothing—especially with these folks. Compassion isn’t one of their biggest traits. You better have something to barter with, something good, or they’ll come up with something they want that you might not be prepared to give (very often a soul, and not always yours). And once they have their hearts set on something, that’s the way the deal goes down or not at all. Tread carefully, and be prepared.

Power of the Gods

Sweetie, in our world, fair’s got nothing to do with anything. He who has the greatest power wins. It’s why we’re all willing to kill each other off without flinching.

—Solin

Thunderbolts, immortality, resurrection—who wouldn’t want god-powers? Watch yourself on Mount Olympus though; the big guys can instantly sense when someone is using an unauthorized or unfamiliar power. It’s the best security system in the world.

Gods always want the best, and must always have the best of anything and everything. Better than humans; better than other gods. Gods, like all immortals, can’t have addictions. Despite their love for caffeine and their fondness for spirits that have nothing to do with souls, they won’t get a buzz, nor will they get drunk. (Hard to say never, though, since Dionysus has a way about him that tends to get around those rules … but I digress.) Of course, you don’t need to be drunk to be bold, arrogant, or stupid. So why bother? Save yourself the calories.

Anyone with a god’s blood in them has that god’s protection, as well as immortality. Blood is important. And be careful—you never know who you’ll run into at the grocery store whose ancestor is a god. Ask Cassandra Tryggvason (descendent of Apollo), or Sunshine Runningwolf (granddaughter of the Morrigán). Anyone who is a god, or has even the tiniest bit of god blood, has a certain aura and scent that can be discerned by a sensitive individual. Learn to be sensitive in a killer kind of way.

It is also important to note that if a god is defeated by another god, a chunk of the loser’s powers is absorbed by the victor. Not quite
all
the powers, of course, and we’re talking true and utter defeat here, not just plain old competition. (If that were true, Athena would be goddess of the Sea as many times as she’s kicked Poseidon’s water-pruned butt over the years.) Any time a major god is killed, their powers are released back into the universe. If no one absorbs them, they can easily detonate like a nuclear bomb … especially if the dying god was born of the sun or the moon. (Acheron Parthenopaeus, anyone?)

As far as the Cthonians are concerned, the only person capable of killing a Cthonian is another Cthonian. If the person talking to you has really funky eyes, stay on their good side.

God-powers can also be obtained by consuming ambrosia, as in the case of Valerius Magnus or Zarek of Moesia.

Holy Moly

Well it isn’t every day we fish a nearly naked god out of the sea, now is it?

—Thia

There are indeed more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy … or contained within these meager pages. There are a great many books on the different gods and their pantheons, be they Greek, Roman, Norse, or Egyptian. For further reading, I suggest starting with
Bulfinch’s Mythology,
or Edith Hamilton’s
Mythology.
But please remember that these are cursory guides and by no means are the end-all, be-all information on the gods. The ancient scribes took a lot of liberty when writing about their superbeings and much of that is contradictory. Case in point, in some myths Artemis is a virgin. In others, she’s the lover of not only Orion, but also her brother Apollo. Still, Bulfinch and Hamilton are a good starting point.

Where you go from there is up to you.

The gods and goddesses appear in this guide by their Greek names (when applicable), along with their Roman name in parentheses. Their totem symbols—including animals, birds, and trees—are listed beneath their description.

Aeacus
    Former Greek king of the island of Aegina, Aeacus was famous for his sense of righteousness and his ruling of his people with a steady hand. To honor him, he was appointed one of the judges of the dead in Hades. Aeacus oversees the souls of those of European descent.

Aengus/Angus
    Irish god of Love and Youth; the product of the god Dagda’s affair with a married woman. In order to hide their fling, Dagda made the sun stand still for nine months … so Aengus was technically conceived and born in one day. He fell in love with a girl (Caer) he saw in his dreams. After searching the world for her he found her trapped in the body of a swan, so he turned himself into a swan to be with her.

Agapa
    Love is blind. That current universal truth finds its origin in Agapa, the Atlantean goddess of Love. Unlike her Greek counterpart Aphrodite, Agapa is virginal. The embodiment of pure love, she has never allowed anyone to touch her. She is also the goddess of Childbirth and Hearth and Home. It is said that she was born the moment Archon first looked at his half-sister Apollymi. His heart swelled to ten times its normal size and out of it popped Agapa (Love) and Chara (Joy).

H
AIR
: red

Agrona
    Celtic goddess of War and Strife.

Agrotera, Katra
    Nickname: Kat. Daughter of Acheron Parthenopaeus, Katra was handmaiden to both her mother Artemis and her grandmother Apollymi. (Artemis released Katra from her service as handmaiden so that Apollymi could help Acheron.) She served as bodyguard to Cassandra Peters. She also worked with Eneas Kafieri in his search for Atlantis, and later with his daughter Megeara.

Raised on Olympus, Katra used to sneak into Athena’s temple and play with the owls. She is known as the Abadonna. “Agrotera” is also one of the Greek names for Artemis, meaning “strength” or “huntress.” Katra is as quick and deadly with her body as she is with her wit. She lives to taunt any male she can find, especially Stryker.

Katra’s powers, derived from both the sun and the moon, are second only to Acheron. (She was once forbidden to be near or touch her father, as he was blind to those closest to him, but she was always his unknown protector.) At sixteen, she became able to invoke Apollymi’s powers as well. She is also a “conduit,” through which godlike powers can be transferred. On the downside, her healing powers only work on other people. She can feel emotions, but cannot trace their root. And the longer she is away from either the sun or the moon, the weaker she becomes.

She has a small sfora from her father with Acheron’s DNA in it that she wears around her neck; it was this sfora that she used to help imprison the Dimme. She has a bow-and-arrow tattoo just above her left hip, and a tattoo on her stomach of a sun. Some say it’s the mark of the Destroyer; others believe it’s the mark of Apostolos. More than likely, it’s both.

Kat has incredible weaknesses for New York at Christmas, flannel pajamas, chocolate, and her Dark-Hunter, Sin. After Katra was bitten by a gallu demon, Acheron blood-bonded his daughter to Sin in order to save her. She must drink from him every so often to survive.

H
EIGHT
: six foot four

H
AIR
/E
YES
: blond/green

F
EATURED
N
OVEL
:
Devil May Cry

Alastor
    Demon who sometimes works with the Were-Hunters to cause mischief. Conjured by Vane Kattalakis’s mother, Bryani, Alastor brought Bride McTierney back in time to Dark Age Britain. Has dark purple skin, flaming red hair and eyes, twisted feet, and large teeth.

Alecto
    One of the Furies. (See Erinyes.) Whereas Nemesis seeks vengeance on crimes committed in anger against the gods, Alecto seeks vengeance on crimes committed in anger against man. She is the Fury in charge of increasing anger.

Alera
    One of the Dolophoni. She has bright red hair.

Alexander, Julian
    (aka Julian of Macedon, Augustus Julius Punitor [Julian the Great Punisher]), Champion of Greece, Macedonia, Thebes, Punjab, and Conjara. Demigod son of Aphrodite and Diokles of Sparta, Julian was dipped in the river Styx (like Achilles) so that he would be invulnerable. Pretty much the sexiest thing to walk the planet (and I’m not even into blonds). Julian was cast out of Olympus by Zeus only hours after his birth.

Reared in the manner of his Spartan brethren, he knew no love of any kind. His childhood was harsh and unforgiving. As a man, he fought his way to the top and became the most feared Macedonian general of his time. He was the original commanding officer of Kyrian of Thrace.

He fathered two children, Atolycus and Callista, by his mad wife Penelope. She later killed them both, before committing suicide, when she found out that Julian had tricked her into loving him by shooting her with one of Eros’s arrows.

Julian was cursed—trapped inside a book—at age thirty-two (149
B.C.
) by his brother Priapus, after having sex with one of Priapus’s prized virgins. Julian was forced to be the monthlong love slave of any woman who conjured him. He was rescued from the book in 2002 by his now-wife Dr. Grace Alexander.

He currently resides in New Orleans with his family, and is a professor of history and the classics at Loyola and Tulane as well as being an Oracle, He is a ridiculously inept driver.

B
ORN
: 182
B.C.

B
IRTHPLACE
: Sparta, Greece

H
EIGHT
: six foot three

H
AIR
/E
YES
: blond/blue

F
EATURED
N
OVEL
:
Fantasy Lover

Anatum
    Ancient Sumerian goddess of Creation and wife of Anu. She was the first victim of the gallu demons—Anu caged her after she tried to bite him in his sleep. Sin and his daughter Ishtar destroyed Anatum; Ishtar absorbed her powers to replace her in the pantheon.

Anemoi (Venti)
    Gods of the Winds: Boreas (North), Notus (South), Eurus (East), and Zephyros (West).

Annwn
    The Underworld in Welsh mythology, or “land of departed souls.” Also called Annwfn. Annwn is ruled by Arawn, Lord of the Underworld.

Anu
    Ancient Sumerian god who created the gallu to combat the Sumerian pantheon’s enemies. (Specifically, they were created to battle against the Charonte demons.) He was ultimately killed by them. Some of his powers were locked up in the Tablet of Destiny.

Aphrodite (Venus)
    Greek goddess of Love, Beauty, and Sexual Rapture. Mother of Priapus, Eros, Julian, Anteros, Hymenaios, and Aeneas (among others). Daughter of Uranus. (Not, as is commonly thought, Zeus and Dione. Blame Homer.) Aphrodite is the wife of Hephaestus, but remains promiscuous, and has taken many lovers. She is often referred to as Kypris, Vanessa, or Cytherea.

H
AIR
/E
YES
: blond/blue

B
IRD
: dove, swan

A
NIMAL
: dolphin

T
REE
: pomegranate, lime

Apollo
    Greek god of Light, often called Phoebus. He is also the god of Music, Prophecy, Medicine, Plague, Poetry, Dance, and many other things. The son of Zeus and Leto, and twin to Artemis. One of the only men allowed to set foot in the temple of Artemis (Ash is the other one).

One of Apollo’s famous love affairs involved his infatuation with the nymph Daphne, a passion invoked by Eros in revenge for Apollo’s mocking. Daphne did not share the god’s love and so she ran from Apollo’s embrace, finally transforming into a laurel tree to escape him.

Another love affair involved the infamous Cassandra, who spurned Apollo after learning the art of his prophecy. In his anger Apollo cursed Cassandra, so that no one who heard her prophecies would ever believe her.

Apollo killed Acheron when Ryssa was slain. He also claims that it was he who trapped Apollymi in Kalosis, since he was the greater god.

As you can see, Apollo is pretty full of himself.

B
IRD
: swan

A
NIMAL
: wolf, dolphin

T
REE
: laurel

S
YMBOL
: tripod (prophecy), lyre (music)

Apollymi
    The Atlantean goddess of Life, Vengeance, Death, and Wisdom, Apollymi is the daughter of Chaos and Zenobi (the Atlantean north wind). She holds many epitaphs including: the Destroyer, the Bringer, the Giver, Biosia (Life), Thanata (Death), Magosa (Wisdom), and Fonia (the Killer). Her name is also the Atlantean word meaning “soul.”

Capricious and vain, she is the most powerful of all the Atlantean gods and can only be controlled by her half-brother and husband Archon. She travels in the wind and can strike down her victims in an instant. It is said those who are about to die by her hand can glimpse her blond hair swirling in the mist a second before they die; at the instant of their death, the last vision they hold is her merciless pale eyes.

A goddess of contradictions (I’m sure she’s a Gemini), Apollymi tends to be loving and kind in one breath and then brutal and cold in the next. No one is safe from her wrath, so Archon imprisoned her in Kalosis, where she can see the human world and other gods, but not affect them. She was sent to this realm while her natural son lived, and when he died, she escaped and went on a killing spree. The Greek gods put her back but no one knows how … or if they do, they’re not telling.

There are various legends that tell of her release. Some claim it is only by the sacrificial blood of an Atlantean that she can be freed, while others claim it is strictly the hand of her lost son Apostolos that can free her. Because of her imprisonment, she alone escaped death when Atlantis was destroyed. Now she sits in her prison, awaiting her release so that she can wreak her havoc across the earth and bring about Telikos—the end of the world as we know it.