That thought terrified him, and somewhere in the back of his mind was a little voice that warned him Desiderius might use her against him.
If they gave him the chance.
Kyrian cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. He was going to kill the Daimon. As soon as Desiderius emerged from his bolt-hole, the Daimon would live no more. And for the first time in his existence, he would relish taking a life.
He looked up and caught Talon's censuring gaze and knew what thoughts were on the Celt's mind. Dark-Hunters weren't supposed to become romantically tied to anyone. It was the first, and most necessary rule of the Code. No one could ever think clearly when their heart was involved. Of all men, Kyrian knew that for fact.
Still, it didn't change what he felt for her.
"I need you to keep Amanda safe," Kyrian told Talon.
Talon narrowed his eyes. "Tell me what happened."
"Desiderius used Rosa to trap me. He had complete control of her. If he can do that to Rosa, he can do it to anyone."
Talon let out a slow breath. "And you wonder why I live alone."
Kyrian ignored his warning tone and the meaningful look Talon gave Amanda.
Kyrian met Amanda's gaze and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Amanda, I need you to call your sister. Tell her to guard her back and to not be alone. Have one of your sisters raise a cone of protection or whatever it is they do to protect her from Desiderius. We've no idea what other powers he might have."
He sensed her worry and fear. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
"I take it these aren't normal Daimon powers?" she asked.
"No. We've never encountered anything like it." He looked back at Talon. "I spoke to D'Alerian and he said Desiderius is messing with the human subconscious in order to weaken their resistance to his power. D'Alerian should be able to provide some help, but he can't guarantee absolute protection. Call Acheron and tell him I think we have a rogue god on the loose. One of them has to be helping Desiderius. There's no other explanation. And it would help if we knew who and why."
Talon nodded. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to do my damnedest to finish this tonight. If I can find his bolt-hole, I'm going into it."
Talon's eyes were harsh. "Kyrian, you're not a Were-Hunter. If you go in, you won't be able to come back out. You'll kill yourself trying, or worse, you'll be stuck between dimensions forever. Let me call Kattalakis-"
"I told you, we don't dare let a Were-Hunter near this guy. I'm more convinced of that now than ever. God help us all if Desiderius claims one of their souls. It's a risk we can't take." He glanced to Amanda and the concern on her face. He would protect her, no matter what. "Second rule of the Code, you've got to do what you've got to do. If I die, you're up next. And if you are, don't fail."
Talon nodded even while Amanda grabbed Kyrian's arm. "Kyrian," she whispered, "I don't want you out there alone."
"I know, Amanda. But he's too powerful and dangerous to go unchallenged. He almost killed Rosa." Kyrian left out the part about how she'd almost killed him. They didn't need to know that.
Thank the gods D'Alerian had sensed Rosa's subconscious turmoil and come when he had. If not for the Dream-Hunter's intervention, Kyrian would still be trapped in his bed.
And trapped in his bed without Amanda was not something he wanted.
"Nick," he said, looking past her to his Squire. "Call me the instant you hear from the doctor." He started to leave, but Amanda stopped him.
Before he realized what she intended, she pulled him to her lips and kissed him blind. Her lips tugged at his while her tongue stroked his. He felt her hands clutching the lapels of his coat. Felt her fear for him, and it scorched his wounded heart with pure bliss. "You be careful," she said in a stern voice.
He touched her lightly on the chin. "I will."
Amanda watched him walk off with a sick feeling in her stomach. "Talon, are you sure you can't help him?"
"Believe me, I hate the 'no help' rule as much as you do. But if I tried to help, I'd only weaken him."
Nick handed her his phone. "Call Tabitha and warn her."
As Amanda dialed the first number another thought struck. "Who is D'Alerian and how can he guard our subconscious?"
"He's one of the Dream-Hunters we told you about," Talon said.
She frowned. "So do you guys get to pick which one you are?"
Talon shook his head. "Dream-Hunters are a whole other species. They're born of the gods and not made from humans."
"And the Were-Hunters? Where do they come from?"
"They are half human, half Apollites who got a hold of some seriously bad mojo."
She swallowed the fear that rose up to choke her. That didn't sound good at all. "I thought they were good guys."
"Some of them are, but some of them are slayers."
"With the powers of a sorcerer who can walk through time and space," she said, her stomach knotting.
"And occasionally dreams," Nick supplied.
Amanda laughed nervously. "You know, I was a whole lot happier when I didn't know about any of this."
"Which is why we do our best to keep this silent," Talon said. "Believe me, humans would never be able to sleep at night if they knew what was out there waiting for them."
Amanda nodded, wondering if she'd ever be able to sleep again.
Terrified, she finished dialing her sister's number. Now that she knew more about what they were dealing with, she needed to get her sister to watch out for Lord King Badass, and the Dark-Hunter who was their only hope.
Kyrian spent the entire night hunting the streets of New Orleans to no avail. Desiderius was still in his bolt-hole and there was no sign of him or any other Daimon anywhere. It may have been that his powers still weren't up to their full capacity or that the Daimon had some way of shielding his location. Whatever it was, Kyrian couldn't find a trace of him. Not even his electronic tracker helped.
He cursed his luck.
Never in his Dark-Hunter existence had he been so uncertain.
He didn't like the feeling one bit. Especially not when Amanda's life balanced on whether or not he could find the fiend and stop him.
Disgusted and weary, he made his way into his house. Everything was dark and silent. Amanda was upstairs in the house. He could feel her presence like a touch and it soothed him in a way he didn't want to contemplate.
Just knowing she was here...
Happiness surged through him.
But he didn't seek her out. He had too many things on his mind. Things he needed to sort out. Think through.
He entered the billiard room and grabbed his glove and baseball, then went to pitch it. Focusing on the ball, he let his mind wander. Wander through his painful past, and to the doubts that still lingered.
Why couldn't his wife have loved him?
Since the day Theone had betrayed him, he had been suspicious of anyone who came near him. He had given his wife everything he had, and still it hadn't been enough. If he couldn't win her love, then he could win no one else's. He knew it.
Over the centuries, Kyrian had convinced himself that it didn't matter. That he needed no one at all.
Until Amanda. She had breached his defenses and now he felt naked before her.
She, alone, had opened his heart and touched him deep inside it. He wanted her. Mind. Body. Soul. There was no part of her he didn't want to claim.
A movement to his left caught his attention.
Turning his head, he saw Amanda coming through the doorway, dressed in sweats. He couldn't believe how sexy he found them on her. She had her hair in two braids down the side of her face. There was something innocent and almost childlike in the way she was dressed, but there was nothing girlish about the woman approaching him.
She shook the man in him all the way to his foundations.
"How long have you been home?" she asked.
Kyrian would have answered, but she chose that moment to walk up to him and kiss his cheek. A strange sensation ran through him. Her actions were those of true affection.
"What are you doing up?" he asked. "It's after four."
"I couldn't sleep."
She left his side to walk to the other end of the atrium room. When she turned to face him, he saw Nick's baseball glove on her hand. Like a pro, she held the glove up to catch the ball.
He smiled and tossed the ball gently to her.
She caught it, then fired back a fast ball that hit his glove with a resounding smack and burned his palm beneath the leather. "Ow!" he teased at the sting on his hand. She threw better than Nick did. "I'm impressed."
She winked at him. "I was the closest thing to a son my poor father had. He taught me to play."
Kyrian tossed the ball back to her. "He taught you well."