Kyrian woke up the instant his bedroom door opened.
Not fully conscious, he sensed Rosa entering his room and wondered why she would disturb him. She'd never done so before.
He rolled onto his back. "Is something..."
The sentence died when a light, shimmering web covered him, pinning him to the bed. Kyrian froze as fury welled up inside him. He couldn't stand being trapped, especially flat on his back. Blood lust surged through him with a murderous frenzy.
Until he saw Rosa.
She stood by his bed, her brow covered in sweat as she stared at him with lost, dazed eyes. Over and over, she whispered the Spanish words, "Debe matarle, debe matarle."
Must kill him, must kill him...
She raised the cleaver in her hand.
"Rosa," Kyrian said as calmly as possible. "Put the cleaver down."
"Debe matarle ..." She stepped closer to the bed.
"Rosa, no haga esto. Don't do this. Let me up. Dejeme para arriba, por favor."
She was shaking so badly, Kyrian feared she'd have a stroke or coronary at any moment. Her frail body couldn't sustain this amount of stress.
"Desiderius say you are bad, m'ijo. You must die."
Kyrian tried to think of some way to reach through her hazy madness and bring her back to reality. "Rosa, you know me better than that."
She lifted the cleaver higher.
Helpless beneath the net, Kyrian stared at the shining steel, waiting for it to slice into him. He wanted to implore her, to shout at her until she listened, but he didn't dare for fear of what it might do to the older woman. She was under enough stress without his adding to it. He would die before he harmed her.
His cell phone rang.
"I know, Desiderius," she whispered in Spanish. "I know. He must die." She placed a hand on Kyrian's chest as if to keep him still. Not that he could move. The net held him completely immobile. "Must be cut into pieces."
Kyrian tensed as she brought the cleaver down.
It missed him by a hairsbreadth.
"M'ijo," she whispered. Life returned to her eyes a second before they rolled back into her head.
She fell to the floor.
Terrified she was hurt, and panicking over his own vulnerability, Kyrian fought against the net with all his strength. It was no use. It was one of Artemis's nets, and once captured beneath it, any prey was completely trapped.
How in the gods' names could Rosa have gotten hold of it? Not even Desiderius should have had access to it. Only a god or demigod could claim an immortal weapon from its sacred resting place, and Artemis in particular guarded her weapons well.
And how could the Daimon reach out and control Rosa from a bolt-hole? No Daimon was that powerful.
Just what the hell was going on here?
Even though he knew it was futile, Kyrian fought against his confinement. As every minute passed, memories surged through him.
"How does it feel, Commander?" Valerius's voice taunted him from the past. "You are completely under my control. Totally powerless. Defenseless." He could still see the evil smile on the Roman's face, feel the agony of his torture. "I'm going to enjoy watching you squirm for me. Hearing you beg for my mercy."
Kyrian's sight dimmed as he relived every moment. He struggled to breathe. He would not be trapped again. Not like this.
Like a man possessed, he fought the net with every shred of strength he had.
An hour after dark, Nick entered the house first with Amanda and Talon only one step behind.
"Rosa?" Nick shouted, rushing through the kitchen and living room, toward the stairs. "Kyrian?"
No one answered. The eerie silence rang in Amanda's ears as they ran up the stairs toward Kyrian's bedroom. Nick threw open the doors so forcefully that the breeze stirred the bed's sheers.
The room was empty.
Amanda hesitated in the doorway as she surveyed everything. Nothing was out of place, except for the bed's covers.
Yet...
She felt something wrong. Something deep within her stirred her dormant powers and allowed her to connect with Kyrian. She sensed his concern. His fury.
Talon moved to the bed and cursed as he lifted a shimmery, silver web. "This is unbelievable," he snarled, balling it up into his fist.
"What is it?" Amanda asked.
"A diktyon. One of Artemis's nets."
Amanda had absolutely no idea what that was, but she could tell by Talon's face it wasn't good. Nor should it be in Kyrian's bed while Kyrian was nowhere to be found. Panic sliced through her even more ferociously than before. "Why is it here?"
"I have no idea, but if Kyrian was under it, I would say he's been taken by whoever tossed it on top of him." Talon leaned over and picked a cleaver up from the floor.
Amanda's panic increased, and against her will, her powers surged, searching for Kyrian. She hated the thought of letting her psychic abilities have control of her, but she needed to know he was all right. She had to know something.
Closing her eyes, she saw him in a sterile environment. He was worried, but she didn't sense any danger from him. "Try calling his cell phone," she said to Talon.
He gave her a "duh" stare. "I've tried a dozen times."
"Try a dozen and one."
His expression told her he didn't appreciate her commanding tone one iota. "All right," he reluctantly agreed. "What the hell? Futility has its purposes in life." Talon pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and dialed.
"There's no sign of a struggle," Nick said, looking around.
"Kyrian," Talon snapped, giving Amanda an odd look. "Where the hell are you?"
Amanda took a step closer, her heart hammering as she realized that she had been right.
"You stay put until we get there." Talon hung up and looked at Nick. "He's at the hospital. Rosa had a heart attack."
"Oh, my God," Nick gasped. "Is she all right?"
"He didn't go into it since he's not supposed to be on the cell phone in the hospital. Said he'd fill us in when we get there."
Kyrian paced the waiting room anxiously. Anger and fear warred inside him. He wanted Desiderius's head for this. One way or another, he would make the Daimon pay.
"Just let Rosa be okay," he breathed for the millionth time.
"Kyrian?"
He turned at the sound of Amanda's soothing voice. An inexplicable joy and relief tore through him at the sight of her approaching him.
Before he realized what he was doing, he pulled her into his arms and held her so tightly that she protested. But he couldn't help himself. His relief at seeing her alive and unhurt was too great. Now that he knew just how easily Desiderius could enter someone's home, nowhere was safe for her.
Desiderius could reach her anywhere. Use anyone to kill her.