The Dark-Hunters (864 page)

Zeus was raised on the Greek island of Crete (where his cave still remains). When he was a young man, he challenged Cronus and forced him to … well … vomit up all his siblings. He then defeated his father, banishing him and the rest of the Titans to Tartarus. Afterward, Zeus and his brothers drew straws to see which aspects of the world they would rule over. Zeus got the sky, Poseidon the ocean, and Hades the Underworld.

Zeus sowed his godly seed far and wide, for better or worse, and had many, many offspring. To list them all would take another whole book.

B
IRD
: golden eagle

T
REE
: oak, olive

Zurvan
    Ancient Persian god of Time and Space. Also known as Cas.

Civilians

Your Raison d’Être

Life’s too short … well, maybe not for you, but for the rest of us mortals it is.

—Tabitha Devereaux

The gods created humans, and without them the Dark-Hunters would have no purpose. Without humans, the Were-Hunters would not exist, and the Dream-Hunters would starve to death. They are stubborn and unpredictable, their imaginations have no boundaries, and their capacity for every emotion between love and hate is infinite. There are six billion of them on this planet, and each one has the potential to be something amazing.

They are the humans, the mortals (or, mostly mortals). Inherently good or inherently evil, they are what makes this beautiful little green-and-blue planet worthwhile.

Some of them have developed powers that rival the gods, and some are merely spectators of the game that is being played out before them. But each individual one is important in his or her own way.

Stay alert: That next human you save from a Daimon may hold the fate of the world in her hands.

Some Humans of Distinction

If they’ve got one of the following last names, they’re safe to talk to.

Alexander

Chartier

Devereaux

Hunter

Kafieri

Laurens

McDaniels

McTierney

Peters

Runningwolf

Saatsakis

Aara
    Queen of the ancient Greek island of Didymos. Aara is the wife of Icarion, and mother of Acheron and Styxx.

Achilles
    Handsome hero of the Trojan War, Achilles was the son of King Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis. His mother tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx as a babe, but she forgot that she was holding him by the backs of his heels … making this his most vulnerable spot. Achilles was later killed by Paris, prince of Troy and lover of the famous Helen, queen of Sparta.

Agrippina
    A lowborn slave who served in the Magnus family household in Rome. Valerius (the younger) acted as Agrippina’s protector. She was later raped and killed in front of Val by his brothers.

Agrippina was afraid of the dark as a child, and Val made her a promise that she would never have to sleep in darkness. Val kept a statue of Agrippina at his house in New Orleans in her honor, accompanied by an eternal flame.

Alexander, Grace
    Grace works as a sex therapist at her practice in New Orleans. Her parents died when she was twenty-four. Grace loves books, pizza, cheesy movies, and her handsome, hunky god of a husband Julian, whom she rescued out of a cursed book in 2002.

H
EIGHT
: five foot two

H
AIR
/E
YES
: brown/light gray

F
EATURED NOVEL
:
Fantasy Lover

Alexander, Niklos James
    Son of Grace and Julian Alexander (twin to Vanessa Anne).

Alexander, Vanessa Anne
    Daughter of Grace and Julian Alexander (twin to Niklos James).

Alkis
    Kyrian Hunter’s wealthy father. Alkis disowned him when Kyrian married Theone, telling his son that women only loved men like him for their money. When he received word that Kyrian was dead, Alkis went insane and jumped out a window. He died calling Kyrian’s name.

Althea
    Kyrian’s quiet and bashful youngest sister who stuttered when nervous. Althea cut off all her hair when her beloved brother was killed.

Althea
    Onboard physician of Megeara Kafieri’s salvage vessel in search of Atlantis.

Aristophanes
    Ancient Greek comedic playwright circa 450–388
B.C.
Aristophanes was the author of
The Birds, The Frogs, The Clouds, The Knights, The Wasps,
and many more.

Arnhild
    A blue-eyed, white-haired girl that Wulf Tryggvason had a yen for in his past life, only he didn’t want to stay on his father’s farm and marry her.

Avery, Michelle
    One of Cassandra Peters’s friends from college.

Bellioi, Gentile
    An artist whom Velkan Danesti spirited away from Venice to paint Esperetta’s portrait before their wedding.

Berwick, Elise Lenora
    Maggie Tigarian’s best friend since grade school. Tall, blond, rich, and augmented. Elise was the founder of their study group.

Brenda
    Friend of Cassandra Peters.

Brian
    The financial backer of Megeara Kafieri’s salvage company. Brian is tall, independently wealthy, and calmer than most humans have a right to be.

Carmichael, Rodney
    Obsessive patient who stalked Grace Alexander. Rodney was killed by police when he attempted to shoot Julian. Believe me, the world is a better place without him.

Ceara
    Talon/Speirr’s little sister, sacrificed in front of him only days before her sixteenth birthday. For two thousand years Ceara refused to cross over, haunting her brother, warning him of danger when it came, but unable to tell him the exact future. After Talon found happiness with Sunshine Runningwolf, Ceara finally chose to leave her brother and let her soul be reborn into the world of man.

Chartier, Menyara
    An African-American voodoo high priestess, Menyara watched over Cherise Gautier’s grave after Nick turned Dark-Hunter and disappeared for a while. Nick calls her “Aunt Mennie.” She was the tenant in the room next to Nick and his mother all the while when he was growing up. She was also the woman who delivered Nick as a baby, since his mother hadn’t been able to afford a hospital stay.

H
EIGHT
: four foot ten

P
OWERS
: clairvoyance

Chatelaine, Todd Middleton
    Member of Maggie Tigarian’s study group.

Christof
    Captain of Megeara Kafieri’s salvage boat.

Cobb, Tristan
    A regular patron of Sanctuary and part-time bookie. Tristan takes bets only when Mama and Papa Peltier aren’t around to catch him.

Cody, Tom
    The good-looking guy to whom Cassandra Peters introduced her friend Michelle at a bar.

Corvinus, Mathhias
    Ancient member of the Order of the Dragon who lost his wife to a Daimon. He reestablished the order to purge the world of the undead … including Were-Hunters and Dark-Hunters. The Corvinuses and the Danestis have a
looooong
history of bad blood.

Corwin, Stephen
    Real name: Stefan. Investment banker in Chicago who tried to woo Esperetta Danesti to no avail. Stephen is a descendent of Mathhias Corvinus, and a member of the Order of the Dragon. He and his cohorts kidnapped Retta in order to snare her husband Prince Velkan.

H
AIR
/E
YES
: blond/blue

Crenshaw, Richard
    Waiter at Mike Anderson’s Seafood.

Crystal
    A woman in Sin’s casino who was pulled from a gallu demon’s clutches by Sin himself. Of course, the memories of the event were immediately erased from her mind.

Cynthia
    Nickname: Thia. Megeara and Tory’s cousin daughter of the sister of Theron and Eneas who owns a deli in New York. Named after Artemis, Cynthia looks a bit like her, too. Cynthia hates Greece, hunting for Atlantis, and pretty much everything that isn’t related to shopping or members of the opposite sex.

B
ORN
: 1978

H
EIGHT
: six foot two

H
AIR
: red

Daniels, Leslie
    The bank president of Wachovia, whom Vane Kattalakis calls when Bride’s movers need to verify a money transfer.

Darius
    Brother of Ias of Groesia/Alexion. Died a year before Ias.

Davis, Matt
    A college student and bartender, Matt sometimes doubles as a bouncer at Sanctuary.

Dere
    One of Talon’s sisters before Ceara, and only one year Talon’s junior. Dere died at the age of four when—while searching for the fey folk Talon told her lived on the edge of the cliff—she slipped on the rocks and fell.

Devereaux, Amanda
    (See Amanda Hunter.)

Devereaux, Ekaterina
    Nickname: Trina. Fourth of the Devereaux sisters. Trina is a very good friend of Sunshine Runningwolf.

H
AIR
: black

Devereaux, Esmerelda
    Nickname: Essie. Eldest of the Devereaux sisters, Esmerelda works as a midwife.

H
AIR
: black

Devereaux, Karma
    Fifth of the Devereaux sisters.

Devereaux, Petra
    Third of the Devereaux sisters.

Devereaux, Selena
    (See Selena Laurens.)

Devereaux, Tabitha Lane
    Nickname: Tabby. Named after the daughter on
Bewitched,
Tabitha is the eighth of the Devereaux sisters and twin to Amanda—identical except for the scar running down her cheek, a memento left by the Daimon Desiderius. She has a master’s degree in Ancient Civilizations.

A self-proclaimed vampire slayer, Tabitha has a bizarre fondness for a “strength potion” that consists of curdled milk, Tabasco sauce, egg yolks, and tea leaves. She owns Pandora’s Box, an adult shop on Bourbon Street.

Tabitha is the wife of the Dark-Hunter Valerius Magnus (not to be confused with the Valerius who tortured and killed Kyrian. That was Valerius’s
grandfather.
I really can’t stress this enough). She was made immortal by Acheron, so that she might walk beside her equally immortal sister Amanda for all eternity.

H
EIGHT
: five foot ten

H
AIR
/E
YES
: auburn/blue

P
OWERS
: clairsentience, psychometry

F
EATURED
N
OVEL
:
Seize the Night

Devereaux, Tiyana
    (deceased) Nickname: Tia. Sixth of the Devereaux sisters, Tia was a voodoo priestess. Tabitha used to refer to Tia affectionately as “Gladys,” after the nosy neighbor from
Bewitched.

Tia was killed by the Dark-Hunter Ulric, when he was possessed by the Daimon Desiderius.

H
AIR
/E
YES
: jet-black/blue

Devereaux, Yasmina
    Nickname: Mina. Second of the Devereaux sisters.

H
AIR
: brown

Diana
    Kyrian’s sister, older than him by two years. Diana had a shrewish temperament. She named her first son Kyrian.

Dierdre
    The Gaulish-Celt woman Talon/Speirr was supposed to marry.

Dieter
    An older man, member of the Order of the Dragon and cohort of Stephen Corwin.

Dimitri
    A friend of Kyrian’s while in the army.

Diokles of Sparta
    (aka Diokles the Butcher) A Spartan stratgoi (top general) with a scar that ran down the length of his left cheek. Diokles was the father of Julian Alexander—he slept with Aphrodite after saving one of her temples. Diokles died in 167
B.C.

Divine, Marla/Marlon
    The stylish and outgoing drag queen friend of Tabitha Devereaux. Marla has a fetish for men’s coats.

Duvall, Ethan
    Recently out of juvenile detention, Ethan is trying to put his life back together. His probation officer got him a job bussing tables for Mama Peltier at Sanctuary. That probation officer’s got nothing on Mama. Just ask Ethan.

Eala
    The mean-spirited smith’s daughter in Talon/Speirr and Nynia’s clan.

Father Anthony
    Dangereuse St. Richard’s priest in Paris.