Valerius was torn between his loyalties and his duties. The Dark-Hunter in him wanted to find Acheron, but the man inside refused to leave Tabitha, who was keeping vigil in her sister's store until the coroner, Tate, arrived.
One by one, she'd contacted her family and assured herself that they were safe.
She hesitated on the last number to be called. "I can't call my mama and tell her," she said, her tears welling. "I can't."
The phone rang.
By the look on her face as she saw the caller ID, he had a good idea of who it was.
Valerius pried the cell phone from her hand and flipped it open. "Tabitha Devereaux," he said quietly.
"Who is this?" the woman sounded a bit frantic.
"I'm..." He hesitated at giving her his full name since she would no doubt register it as the name of an enemy and panic even more. "Val," he said firmly. "I'm a friend of Tabitha's."
"This is her mother. I need to know she's okay."
"Tabitha," he said, gentling his voice as he offered her the phone. "Your mother wants to know if you're okay."
She cleared her throat, but didn't take the phone from his hand. "I'm fine, Mama. Don't worry."
Valerius put the phone back up to his ear. "Mrs. Devereaux-"
"Don't say it," she said, her voice breaking. "I already know and I need my baby girl home with me. I don't want her to be alone. Could you please bring Tabitha here?"
"Yes."
She hung up.
Valerius ended the call, then returned the phone to Tabitha, who slipped it into her pocket.
He felt completely helpless against her grief, and he hated that most of all. It seemed like there should be something that he could say at such a moment and yet he knew from personal experience that there wasn't.
All he could do was hold her.
"Hey, everyone?" Otto's voice called out over the Nextel intercom. "I'm at Nick's house. The front gate was open and something really bad went down here. I need a head count immediately."
Kyr came back right away, as did Talon and Janice. Julian answered in next, followed by Zoe and then Valerius.
They all waited for the next one to check in.
No one did.
"Nick?" Otto called. "You out there, Cajun? Come on, buddy, answer me with something smart-ass."
No answer.
Valerius went cold.
"Jean-Luc?" Otto asked.
Again, nothing.
"Acheron?"
A feeling of severe dread ran through Valerius as Tabitha gave him a panicked look.
They knew the next name before Otto spoke it. "Kyrian? Kassim?" Only static filled the line.
Valerius pulled the Nextel off his belt and pushed for Otto alone. "What happened at Nick's?"
"Cherise is dead and there's no sign of him. I found his gun lying in a pool of blood by his mother's body with one round missing, but it's not what killed Cherise."
Valerius ground his teeth as he understood Otto's meaning. "Daimon attack?"
"Yeah."
Tabitha cursed, then bolted off her stool. "I have to get to Amanda."
"Otto, meet us at Kyrian's." He opened the line back out to the group. "Janice? Talon? Zoe? Can you start searching for Jean-Luc?"
"Who left you in charge, Roman?" Zoe sneered. Valerius wasn't in the mood for this bullshit as he went after Tabitha. "Stow it, Amazon. This isn't about my heritage. This is about your brothers-in-arms and their lives."
Julian came back at him. "I'll meet you at Kyrian's."
"No, please. Stay with your wife and children. Make sure they're safe."
"All right. Let me know what you find out." Tabitha was already in the driver's seat of her Mini Cooper. Valerius got inside and slammed the door shut.
She threw it in reverse and didn't bother to open the wooden gate. She crashed through it as she squealed off into the street.
Valerius braced himself against the dashboard while she careened them through traffic at a deadly pace, toward her sister's house.
Once they reached it, she didn't stop at Amanda's tall iron gate, either. Valerius held his arm up to shield his face as she drove straight through it and tore the iron posts off their stone facings.
Tabitha skidded to a stop just in front of the door and launched herself from the car without even turning it off.
Valerius didn't hesitate to follow.
From the outside of the house, everything looked normal. The lights were on, and as Tabitha kicked open the front door, they could hear a television somewhere upstairs.
"Mandy?" Tabitha screamed out in a shrill tone.
Her sister didn't answer her.
"Hey, Dad?" someone called from upstairs. "Your dessert's here."
Artemis paused outside the cemetery where she sensed Acheron's presence. She shivered in revulsion. She'd always hated such places, while he seemed to prefer them.
"Acheron?" she called as she walked through the stone wall.
The dark ground was uneven, making it hard for her to walk. So she floated through the area.
"Acheron?"
A flash of fire shot near her head.
Artemis ducked and moved to return the blast until she caught sight of Acheron's pet. She curled her lip at the demon until she saw Acheron lying in its arms. He looked terrible as he writhed there as if in the throes of torture.
"What have you done to him?" Artemis demanded of the creature.
The demon hissed at her. "The Simi did nothing, you heifer-goddess. You the one who hurts my akri. Not me."
Any other time, Artemis might argue with it, but Acheron lay there as if he were in excruciating pain.
"What happened to him?"
"It's the souls them Daimons are eating. They scream when they die and there are too many of them tonight. The Simi can't make it go away."
"Acheron?" Artemis tried again as she knelt beside him. "Can you hear me?"
He recoiled from her.
She tried to reach for him only to have the demon lunge at her.
"Don't you touch my akri!"
Damn the Charontes! The only one who could control them was...
No, there were two people alive who could control them.
"Apollymi?" she spoke to the mist around her. "Can you hear me?"
Evil laughter echoed on the breeze. The Atlantean goddess couldn't come out of her prison in form, but her powers were so great that she could extend her will and voice even through her limitations. "So, you speak to me, bitch. Why should I listen?"
Artemis clamped her temper down before she answered insult with insult and drove the older goddess away. "I can't help Acheron. His demon won't let me. I need your help."
"And why should I care?"
"Because I..." Artemis ground her teeth together before she spoke the most difficult word of all for her. "Please. Please, help me."
"What will you give me for this service? Will you return my baby to me?"
Artemis curled her lip at the thought. There was no way she'd ever release him. "I can't do that and you know it."
She felt Apollymi pulling away.
"No!" she said hurriedly. "Do me this favor and I'll release Katra from my service. She'll be yours alone to command and will no longer have torn loyalties between me and you."
Once more she heard the ancient Atlantean goddess laughing at her.
The laughter ended on a short note. "I would have helped him anyway, you gullible chit. But I thank you for the gift."
A red, eerie haze fell over the area as the Destroyer withdrew her voice. It formed the shape of a hand that then cradled Acheron's body. Acheron cried out as if the pain were more than he could bear. His whole body turned rigid and strained.
"Akri?" the demon wailed, its face terrified.
Then suddenly, Acheron went completely limp as the mist evaporated.
Artemis let her breath out slowly as she watched him in fear that Apollymi might have actually worsened his condition just for spite. The demon cuddled him to its bosom while it stroked his long black hair away from his face.
His chest rose and fell normally.
"Sim?" he breathed as he looked up at the demon with a tender expression that made Artemis hate him.
"Sh, akri, you needs to rest for the Simi."
He raked his hand through his hair until he noticed Artemis standing in front of him. All the tenderness fled his expression. "What are you doing..."
His voice trailed off as if he suddenly became aware of something.
He vanished instantly, leaving her and the demon alone in the graveyard.
Folding her arms over her chest, Artemis huffed at his rudeness. "A thank-you would have been nice, Acheron!"
But she knew he didn't hear her. He had a remarkable ability to tune her out.
Her only consolation was the demon looked every bit as baffled until its eyes widened and it flashed to the form of a human female with horns.
"They gots baby Marissa!" the demon breathed before it too vanished.
Tabitha lunged at the Daimon, who laughed as he stepped to the side and brought his fist down across her back. Pain exploded down her spine.
Valerius roared with rage before he shot a bolt at the Daimon.
It missed.
The Daimon laughed again. "Let's see if the Roman general dies crying for his human love the same way the Greek did."
Tabitha couldn't breathe as she heard those words. Kyrian wasn't dead. He wasn't.
"You liar!" she snarled.
She turned to watch Valerius fight the Daimon as more of them came running from the stairs. They swarmed into the room like angry ants.
Two of them grabbed her. Tabitha slugged them, but her blows seemed to glance off them without fazing them at all.
Valerius broke free from his opponent to hand her one of his swords.
She took it from him before she turned to face three Daimons. She stabbed the one nearest her, but he didn't explode.
He smiled at her instead. "You don't kill the servants of the goddess, human. The Illuminati aren't typical Daimons."
She swallowed her panic before it defeated her. "Valerius? What goddess are they talking about?"
"There's only one goddess, you pathetic fool. And it's not Artemis," the Illuminati said an instant before sinking his teeth into her neck.
Tabitha cried out from pain.
Suddenly, she was thrown away from them. She looked to see Valerius engaging the Daimons.
"Don't you touch her."
The Daimon tsked at him. "Don't worry, Dark-Hunter, before she dies, we'll all sample her blood. Just as we did her sister."
Tabitha screamed as pain racked her. "Damn you!"
Another Daimon seized her from behind. "Of course we're damned. The Spathi wouldn't have it any other way." He backhanded her, knocking her off her feet.
Tabitha tasted the blood on her lips, but she wasn't daunted. She wasn't about to let them get away with this.
As she stumbled away from the Daimon toward her sword that had skidded to the foot of the stairs, she glanced upstairs and froze. Horror consumed her.
Kyrian lay at the top of staircase, his body on the landing while his head rested on a step, his right arm fully extended. A bloodied Greek sword had fallen halfway down the stairs. His sightless eyes were open and a small trail of blood ran from his lips. But it was the gaping wound in his chest that held her transfixed.
They had killed him.
A few feet away from his body, two bare, feminine legs peeked out from under the hem of a pink nightgown in the doorway of the nursery.
And then she saw Ulric stepping over Amanda's body with a crying Marissa in his arms as he started for the stairs.
"Daddy!" the toddler wailed as she fought against the tight hold the Daimon had on her to reach her father. Pictures flew from the wall into Ulric, who paid them no heed.
"Daddy, Mama, get up." Marissa pulled the Daimon's hair and bit at him. "Get up!"
"Amanda! Amanda! Amanda!" Tabitha didn't know who at first was calling her sister's name as terror filled her. It wasn't until she couldn't scream anymore that she realized the hysterical shrieks were hers.
Grabbing her sword, she ran up the stairs for the Daimon. He knocked her back. She slipped on Kyrian's blood and went tumbling back down.
Valerius caught her from behind before she fell the whole way.
"Run, Tabitha," he breathed in her ear.
"I can't. That's my niece and I'll be damned if he's going to get her without a fight."
She pushed herself away from Valerius as a phantom wind whipped through the room. It tore through the house with a vengeance, hurtling lamps, plants, and anything small around.
And as it touched the Daimons, they fell one by one with nothing more than a gasp.
Clutching Marissa to him, Desiderius, who was still in Ulric's body, ran past her and Valerius into the living room.
Tabitha followed, intending to reclaim her niece.
"Desi!" he cried as his son fell and then vanished into nothingness. "Desi!"
"It hurts, doesn't it?"
Tabitha turned to face the voice she knew so well.
It was Acheron.
He walked slowly through the shattered doorway as if nothing odd had happened.
Marissa stopped crying the instant she saw him. "Akri, akri!" she called, reaching out for him.
"What the hell are you?" Desiderius asked.
Ash held his hand out and Marissa was torn free from Desiderius's arms. She floated across the room to Ash, who cuddled her close to his chest.
"I'm her godfather, with a heavy emphasis on the god part." Ash placed a kiss on Marissa's head.
"Rissa want her mommy and daddy, akri," Marissa said as she locked her tiny arms around Ash's neck and squeezed him tight. "Make them get up."
"Don't worry, ma komatia" Ash said soothingly. "Everything's fine now."
Shrieking, Desiderius lunged at them and rebounded off what appeared to be an invisible wall.
Valerius stood beside Tabitha as Acheron approached them.
Ash held his hand out and Kyrian's sword flew into his grip. He handed it to Tabitha. "Have at it, Tabby. Desiderius is all yours."
"Stryker!" Desiderius called as he pulled out what appeared to be an ancient amulet. "Open the portal."
"There is no portal," Ash said with a sneer. "Not for you, asshole."
For the first time since the whole horrendous night had started, Tabitha smiled. "Eat steel, you sorry bastard!"
She ran at him.
Valerius went to help her. In her current mood, she wasn't thinking straight and he wasn't about to see her hurt. She'd been hurt enough.
While Tabitha attacked the Daimon, Acheron paused on the stairs beside Kyrian's body.
"Close your eyes, Marissa, and make a wish for your daddy to hold you."
She clenched her eyes shut. "Daddy, hold me."
Valerius paused as Kyrian took a deep breath and blinked his eyes. The Greek looked as dazed as Valerius felt while he helped Tabitha fight the Daimon.
Ash handed Kyrian his daughter, who squealed in happiness that her father was alive. Then the Atlantean continued up the stairs.
Valerius didn't have time to contemplate the total bizarreness of that as Desiderius lunged for Tabitha.
He pulled the Daimon back. "Forget it," he snarled.
Desiderius fought his hold.
Yelling in triumph, Tabitha plunged her sword through Desiderius's heart. Valerius jumped back an instant before the blade went through the body and would have stabbed him as well.
Tabitha pulled it out and smiled until the wound on Desiderius healed.
He laughed. "I'm a Dark-Hunter, bitch. You can't-"
His words were silenced as Valerius delivered the one blow that would kill a Dark-Hunter.
He severed the Daimon's head from his shoulders.
"No one calls her a bitch and lives," Valerius snarled as Desiderius collapsed.
Tabitha was frozen completely by the grisly sight. She should have felt avenged.
She didn't.
Nothing could ease the pain this night had wrought.
Valerius pulled her into his arms and turned her away from the body as Otto came crashing through the door's remains.
He stood there, surveying the damage that had once been her sister's prized home.
"Do I want to know?" Otto whispered.
She shook her head.
"Amanda," she breathed in an agonized tone as her tears started again.
How could her twin be dead?
"Tabby?"
Tabitha's breath caught in her throat as she heard her sister's voice from the stairs. She turned her head slowly, almost afraid it would be another specter.
It wasn't.
Amanda stood there, her face pale, her hair disheveled, her gown coated in blood.
But she was alive!
Shrieking, Tabitha ran for her and pulled her into her arms, holding her tight as her tears flowed yet again, only this time in happiness.
Amanda was alive! The words echoed in her mind.
"I love you, I love you, I love you!" she breathed against her sister's neck. "And if you ever die on me again, I'll kill you so dead!"
The two of them stood there locked in an embrace.
Valerius smiled at the sight of them, grateful for Tabitha's sake that Amanda was whole.
His smile died when his gaze met Kyrian's as the Greek came down the stairs with Acheron behind him. There was nothing but open hatred in the Greek's eyes.
"Where's Kassim?" Otto asked.
"He's dead," Ash said wearily. "He's upstairs in the nursery."
Both Valerius and Otto winced.
Tabitha let go of Amanda as she caught sight of Kyrian.
"You were dead," she breathed. "I saw you."
"They both were dead," Ash said as he stepped past the twins and headed into the living room. He held his hand up and clenched it into a fist.
Desiderius's body vanished instantly.
"You're a god?" Valerius asked him as Ash's earlier declaration finally seeped into his mind.
Ash didn't respond. He didn't have to.
"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Kyrian asked.
Ash shrugged. "Why should I? By tomorrow none of you will even remember that you ever learned this about me."
Tabitha frowned. "I don't understand."
Ash took a deep breath. "The universe is an extremely complicated thing. All any of you need to know is that Amanda and Kyrian are now immortal. No one will ever be able to kill them again."
"What?" Amanda asked, stepping away from Tabitha.
Ash looked to Kyrian. "I promised I wouldn't let you die and I am bound by my oath."
"Wait!" Tabitha said. "You're a god. You can bring back Tia!"
Ash's face turned pale. "Tia is dead?"
"Didn't you know?"
"No," Ash said quietly. He got that faraway look as if he were listening for something very faint. "She wasn't supposed to die tonight."
"Then save her!"
He looked as sick as Tabitha felt. "I can't help Tia. Her soul has passed on. I can't force it back into her body against her will. Amanda and Kyrian's souls refused to leave their daughter and I got here in time to restore them."
"What about my unborn baby?" Amanda asked. "Was it hurt by this?"
Ash shook his head. "He's fine and would appreciate it greatly if you'd drink more apple juice." Ash lifted his hands and everything in the house went back to what it had been before the Daimons had come.
Nothing was out of place.
"Ash," Tabitha said, moving to stand beside him. "Please bring Tia back for me."
He cupped her face in his palm. "I wish I could, Tabby. I really do. But know that she's watching out for you and that she loves you."
She saw red at his words. "That's not good enough for me, Ash. I want her back."
"I know, but right now I have other people to check on."
"But my sister..."
Ash took Tabitha's hand and placed it into Valerius's. "I have to go, Tabitha." He turned to Otto. "Jean-Luc is alive, but seriously hurt. I need you and Nick to get him back to his boat."
"We don't know where Nick is," Otto said quietly. "I found his mother dead."
Ash vanished immediately.
"I really hate it when he does that," Kyrian said as he shifted a now-sleeping Marissa in his arms.
Tabitha didn't move while her sister sat down on the floor and started crying.
Tabitha sat beside her and pulled her close.
"What a day," Amanda sobbed. "I saw my husband killed. Kassim... Tia and now Cherise."
"I know," Tabitha said. "I'm not so sure we're the ones who won this time around."
"No," Kyrian said as he joined them on the floor. "We're still here and they're not. To me, that's winning." He pulled his wife against his chest and kissed her on the head.
Tabitha turned to see Valerius heading for the door with Otto.
By the time she caught up, he and Otto were outside the house.
"What are you doing?" she asked him.
"We didn't want to intrude on a family moment," he said quietly. "Your sister needs you."
"And I need you."
Valerius was stunned as she walked into his arms.
She wrapped her arms around him and held him close while Otto turned off her car.
"I'll leave the keys in it and see you guys later." He got into his Jag and drove off.
"Thank you," Tabitha whispered as she tucked her head in below his chin. "I wouldn't have made it through tonight without you."
"I'm sorry I wasn't of more help and I'm so sorry about Tia."
He felt her tears scalding his chest through his shirt.
"Your mother said she wanted you home."
Tabitha nodded. "Yeah, I need to go see her. She draws her strength from us." She pulled away as Amanda came out onto the front porch. "I'm going to see Mom."
Amanda nodded. "Tell her I'll be there tomorrow morning. I don't want her to see me like this."
Tabitha looked at Amanda's bloodied gown.
"Yeah, that's the last thing she needs."
Then Amanda did the most amazing thing of all: She reached out and pulled Valerius close for a hug. "Thank you for coming, Valerius, and for keeping Tabitha safe. I really appreciate it." She kissed his cheek before she pulled away.
Valerius had never been more stunned in his life. In that moment, he felt a strange sense of almost belonging somewhere. It was such a foreign, odd sensation that he wasn't sure how to cope with it.
"My pleasure, Amanda."
She patted his arm, then went back into her house.
Valerius helped Tabitha into her battered car and for once he took the driver's seat. He didn't say a word as she gave him directions to her mother's house in Metairie.
Neither of them spoke the entire way. His heart ached for her. Taking her hand, he held it quietly in the darkness while she stared out the passenger side window.
When they reached her mother's house, he got out and opened the door for her.
Tabitha drew a ragged breath as she contemplated facing her mother. For once her courage was gone.
Valerius handed her the keys.
She frowned at him as he stepped away from her. "What are you doing?"
"I was going to head back."
"Don't leave me, Val. Please."
He brushed a tender hand down her cold cheek and nodded. He kept his hands on her shoulders and in truth she needed to feel his touch as she knocked on the door.
Her father answered it, his face grim. His dour look lightened and tears filled his eyes as he saw her and pulled her up into a rib-crushing embrace. "Thank God at least you're all right. Your mother has been out of her mind with fear for you."
She hugged him back. "I'm okay, Daddy, so's Amanda and Kyrian."
Her father released her, then narrowed his eyes on Valerius. "Who are you?"
"He's my boyfriend, Daddy, please be nice to him."
Kindness was the last thing Valerius expected, so when her father held a hand out to him, he was stunned.
Valerius shook it and then was led into a house that was packed full of the Devereaux clan.
And as he stepped into the living room, Valerius felt something he'd never felt in all his life.
He felt like he'd come home.
